Newport, Rhode Island
July 10-26, 2015
by Michael J. Moran
If you tell someone you’re going to the Newport Music
Festival, they’re likelier to assume you mean the folk or jazz festival in
August than their less famous classical music sibling in July. But as it
celebrates its 47th season, this venerable event also offers far more
programming than its two counterparts, with 66 concerts of music from the
Romantic Era and beyond presented by more than 100 performers from 17 countries
in 12 venues over almost three weeks.
Opening weekend featured a stunning Newport debut in the
Breakers by Finnish-born Metropolitan Opera soprano Soile Isokoski. Her silken
tone, clear enunciation (in five languages), and nuanced acting skill conveyed
a vast range of emotion in music by Grieg, Wagner, Strauss, Sibelius, and
Bernstein. From the sweet yearning of Grieg’s “Solveig’s Song” to the haunting
depths of Wagner’s “In the Greenhouse” to the childish playfulness of
Bernstein’s “My Name Is Barbara,” Isokoski communicated with total empathy and
flawless technique. Finnish pianist Ilkka Paananen accompanied with warmth and
flexibility.
Another highlight of opening weekend was a blazing Newport
debut in an all-Chopin recital by seventeen-year-old American pianist Eric Lu.
Walking on stage at the Breakers, he looked like a modest teenager, but once
his fingers hit the keyboard, his complete focus on the music was riveting. A
selection of nocturnes and mazurkas, a waltz, and the Ballade #4 made an enticing
first half, but the full cycle of Preludes, Op. 28, which followed
intermission, showed off both the intimacy and the high drama of Lu’s playing.
More surprising than his technical proficiency was the interpretive maturity of
his performances. This is a pianist to watch.
This weekend also presented the first installments in
several series of concerts which will continue throughout the festival honoring
Mozart, Sibelius, and Nielsen, both of whom were born 150 years ago. Festival
veterans Eric Ruske and Thomas Hrynkiw impressed in an arrangement by Ruske for
French horn and piano of Mozart’s fourth horn concerto, while Hrynkiw brought
Nielsen’s rarely heard “Suite for Piano” to virtuosic life.
The beauty of the performance venues, including the Chinese Tea
House and several mansions, and a stimulating mix of new and returning artists
make the Newport Music Festival a uniquely rewarding attraction.
