Newport Classical looks ahead to bringing world-class musicians to downtown Newport

In the midst of the holiday season, and with our sold-out holiday concerts in the rearview mirror, we are looking ahead to the calm of early 2024 in Newport, a perfect time to join us for our Chamber Series concerts at the Newport Classical Recital Hall downtown on Dearborn Street. We hear from audience members that our concerts are a welcome opportunity to gather with friends for a relaxed evening, a glass of wine from Greenvale Vineyards, and a performance by world-class classical musicians in a comfortable and inviting setting. We also hear from musicians that this is one of their favorite places to play, both because of the atmosphere and the wonderful acoustics of the hall. We hope you will join us and invite your friends!

Newport Classical’s mission is to bring timeless music for today to the city year-round, through our popular summertime Newport Classical Music Festival which takes place at Newport’s historic mansions and venues, our Community Concerts which bring free performances to Newport residents right in their own neighborhoods, and these Chamber Series concerts which take place monthly on Friday nights throughout the year.

Our first Chamber Series concert of 2024 on Jan. 26 features rising star pianist Eric Lu, who has been described by The Guardian as “a veritable poet of the keyboard.” Eric will be making his Newport Classical debut in a program featuring music by Schubert, Mendelssohn, Bach, and Chopin. The Massachusetts native has been described as possessing “a touch that was at once crystal clear and sublimely expressive” (WTTW Chicago). Eric won First Prize at The Leeds International Piano Competition in 2018 at the age of 20. The next year, he signed an exclusive contract with major label Warner Classics, and has since performed with leading orchestras such as the London Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic, and at many top venues around the world including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, the Seoul Arts Centre, and more. We can’t wait to welcome him to our stage!

The next Chamber Series concert on Feb. 23 features the Galvin Cello Quartet, which burst onto the scene after earning the Silver Medal at the 2021 Fischoff Competition and the 2022 Victor Elmaleh Competition. The quartet met while attending Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music, forming at the height of the pandemic. The four cellists channel their collective passion for music, each with their own personality and charisma. Their Newport Classical program explores empathy and diversity with composers of different cultural backgrounds. Composed of members from China, Brazil, South Korea, and the United States, the Quartet’s own diverse backgrounds are also reflected in their programming. The centerpiece of their concert in Newport is Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout by Gabriela Lena Frank, which combines elements of the composer’s American, South American, and Asian heritage.

On March 22, bassoonist Eleni Katz will perform a concert celebrating the many facets of the bassoon. Hailed for her virtuosity and vibrant musical spirit, Eleni has established herself as a prominent soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. She is a winner of the 2022 Concert Artist Guild Competition and will be joined by pianist Evren Ozel in his return to the Newport Classical stage. Together, they bring life to the classical bassoon repertoire exploring dance styles, rhythms, lyricism, and emotion in music by Debussy, Ravel, Saint-Saëns, Coleridge-Taylor, and more.

Later in the spring, we’ll present the Balourdet Quartet on April 27, which recently won the Grand Prize at the 2021 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition. They will perform favorite quartets by Beethoven and Mozart, plus Karim Al-Zand’s String Quartet No. 4 “Strange Machines,” composed in 2022. Polish-American soprano Magdalena Kuźma, praised as a "standout" with "star quality" by Opera News performs a concert exploring the concept of “home” on May 17. Pianistic powerhouse Asiya Korepanova closes the 2023-2024 Newport Classical Chamber Series on June 7 in an eclectic program called Transformations, featuring self-transcribed works for piano and exploring how music takes on different meanings when performed on alternative instrumentation. This concert is made possible through the generous support of Laura and Stephen Lang.

We look forward to welcoming you at these performances! Please also mark your calendar for the 2024 Newport Classical Music Festival, which will be held from July 4-21, 2024, with programming to be announced on March 26. Tickets for the Newport Classical Chamber Series are available at www.newportclassical.org.

Gillian Friedman Fox, is the executive director at Newport Classical. Her column appears monthly in The Newport Daily News and on newportri.com.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Newport Classical looks ahead world-class musicians in Newport