Various Venues,
Newport, RI
July 10-28, 2013
by Michael J. Moran
The 45th season of the Newport Music Festival presented
music from the Romantic era in 62 chamber music concerts – up to six per day – over
two and a half weeks, performed by 90 musicians (almost 60 making their Newport
debuts) from 18 countries in eleven Newport venues. Seven concerts celebrated
the shared bicentennial of opera giants Verdi and Wagner.
This year’s expanded repertoire encompassed tango, jazz, and
klezmer music. The closing weekend, for example, included “Tangofest,” a
program that featured classical musicians performing arrangements by Astor
Piazzolla and other composers written in the rhythm and spirit of the Argentine
dance form. Piazzolla’s “Le Grand Tango,” played by cellist Jiri Barta and
pianist Grigorios Zamparas, and Ernesto Nazareth’s “Odeon” played by pianist
Daniel del Pino were particular audience favorites.
A highlight of the festival was a “Tribute to Dave Brubeck”
presented in the Breakers mansion by the Jazz Arts Trio and alto saxophone
player Billy Novick. The classically trained musicians gave scrupulous but
spirited accounts of many Brubeck standards, from “Take Five” to “Blue Rondo a
la Turk.” Three rare nocturnes for solo piano, beautifully played by the trio’s
pianist Frederick Moyer, featured vocal commentary that was consistently informative
and engaging.
Traditional programs included a blazing performance by Barta
and del Pino of Debussy’s haunting “Cello Sonata” and a full-blooded rendition
of Faure’s youthful “First Piano Quartet,” in which they were joined by
violinist Eugene Tzikindelean and violist David Quiggle. A concert of music by
the Mendelssohn siblings featured six songs by Fanny Mendelssohn gorgeously
sung by soprano Theresa Cincione with sensitive accompaniment by pianist
Michael Endres. Violinist Grazia Raimondi, cellist Luigi Piovano, and pianist
Kevin Fitz-Gerald rousingly played Felix Mendelssohn’s “Second Piano Trio.”
A good number of the above artists are Festival veterans of
as many as sixteen seasons, and their performances often radiate the joy of
making music with longtime friends and family. Their passion, combined with
spectacular performance venues, including several mansions, the Newport Art
Museum, and the historic Touro Synagogue, creates a unique formula for a
winning music festival.
