Newport Music Festival 2009 Celebrates 41st Season
Sixty Concerts in Newport Mansions Scheduled July 10-26

Newport, RI, November 01, 2008—The Newport Music Festival 2009 celebrates its 41st season July 10–26, continuing the tradition of presenting unique chamber music programs, American debuts, world-class artists and special events in the Gilded Age “summer cottages” of Newport, Rhode Island. Entering his thirty-fifth season, Artistic Director Dr. Mark P. Malkovich, III researches and selects works from the 19th century chamber music, vocal repertoire and the Romantic-era piano literature, to create one of the most extraordinary festivals in the world. In its forty- year history, the Newport Music Festival has become celebrated for presenting over one hundred thirty artists and ensembles in their American debuts. Your New England Toyota Dealer is the major Festival sponsor.

The Festival will present 60 concerts—three to five per day—in the famous Newport Mansions with American and international artists. The entire season will be a tribute to the centenary of Victor Borge’s birth. Morning concerts are at 11 a.m., afternoons usually at 4 p.m. and evenings at The Breakers, the queen of the Newport Mansions, at 9 p.m. Midnight concerts feature one-hour intermission-free works with champagne receptions preceding. The Festival was again selected for “America’s Elite 1000—the Ultimate List,” the very best American luxury goods, shops, services and special events; it ha also been named one of the “Top 50 Outstanding Festivals & Events” in North America by Leisure Group Travel magazine.

We’re planning one of our “most festive of festivals” [Bernard Levin, London Times]. Morning and afternoon concerts are being given collective nouns’ names: “Quiver of Quartets,” “Troop of Trios,” “Leap of Liszt,” “Gaggle of Greeks,” “Brace of Brahms,” “Huddle of Handel,” etc. Nearly 500 works will be performed from July 10-26; 17 days with 3, 4 and 5 concerts per day in the magnificent Newport Mansions. Many are seldom heard including piano concerti with 2nd piano by Anton Rubinstein and Ignaz Moscheles.

In keeping with the “festive” aspect of 2009’s Newport Music Festival, morning and afternoon concerts have been created with collective nouns as titles. For the morning concerts we shall have a “Rafter of Russians” (rafter of turkeys) including works by Glinka, Balakirev, Kabelevsky’s “Piano Sonata,” and Pyotr von Schlozer’s rare “Concert Etude;” a “Quarrel of Quartets” (after quarrel of sparrows) with piano quartets by Prince Louis Ferdinand and Ignaz Lachner; a “Quiver of Quintets” (quiver of cobras) including piano quintets by Mrs. Beech, Johann Hummel and Onslow’s “Grand Quintet” (violin, viola, cello, contrabass and piano); a “Troop of Trios” (kangaroos) with piano trios by Robert Volkman and Sergei Taneyev and “Trio” for violin, viola and cello by Nicolai Amani. Our 17 mornings also include “Hornists Nest” featuring one of the Festival’s sensational artists Eric Ruske, French horn and our popular “Amo, Amas, Amadeus,” featuring music of Mozart.

The 17 afternoon concerts keep the same fun theme with programs such as “Bank of Bach” (swans), including a rare version for two pianos by Josef Rheinberger of the “Goldberg Variations,” “Bouquet (pheasants) of Beethoven,” “Brace (ducks) of Brahms,” “Chine (polecats) of Chopin,” and a “Duel (doves) of Danes” in honor of long-time friend and patron Victor Borge. A “Fluther (jelly fish) of French” includes works by “Les Six,” d’Indy, Florent Schmitt and Auguste Franchomme’s “Fantaisia for cello and piano;” “Huddle (penguins) of Handel” features various composer’s versions of The Harmonious Blacksmith; “Leap of Liszt” featuring the brilliant young Hungarian pianist Gérgély Boganyi who made his American debut with us several years ago; several “Mission (monkeys) of Mendelssohn” in recognition of the master’s 200th anniversary; “Palazzo Italiano” recreating 18th century songs starring Austrian baritone Peter Edelmann (son of the famous basso Otto Edelmann) and Theresa Cincione of the Metropolitan Opera; “Pod (dolphins) of Poles” with works by Godowsky, Paderewski, Moszkowski and brothers Ignaz and Philipp Scharwenka; “Romantic Sunset” featuring the last and great pupil of Horowitz, Eduardus Halim, playing Granados’ “Goyescas” (a 7-8pm concert at one of Newport’s fabled mansions); “School (whales) of Scandinavians” featuring Norway’s Grieg and Kvandal, Sweden’s Sjögren and Stenhammer, Denmark’s Nielsen and Finland’s Sibelius. “Sleuth (bears) of Slavs” with composers Griboyedev, Tchaikovsky, Liadov, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Mussorgsky and Moscheles “Sonata Concertane for Flute and Piano;” and “Span (oxen) of Spaniards” with works by Cervantes and also Granados and Albeniz featuring the Australian guitarist Rupert Boyd.

More than 500 compositions are included in the morning and afternoon concerts, many of which are unusual and seldom played. This has been our hallmark.

Our evening concerts at the beautiful Vanderbilt mansion “The Breakers” include recitals by pianists Agustin Anievas, Edward Auer, Jean-Philippe Collard (who accompanied Virgil’s reading in the historic Satie’s “Sports and Diversions”), pianist Jens Elvekjaer from Denmark, French pianist Alain Jacquon (who holds the record of nine gold medals from the Paris Conservatoire), German pianist Michael Endres (one of Germany’s leading pianists), Greek pianist Grigorios Zamparis and Russian duo-pianists Jakov Jakoulov and Igor Tkachenko. Our roster also includes violinists Nai-Yuan Hu from Taiwan (gold medalist of the Queen Elisabeth Competition of Belgium), Kazakh superstar Marat Bisengeliev, Americans Jennifer Frautschi (Mrs. Eric Ruske) and Livia Sohn (born in Korea) and the sensational young Romanian artist Eugen Tichindeleanu, who made his American debut at the Festival. Cellists are the famous Jiri Barta from the Czech Republic, Luigi Piovano from Italy and gold medalist of the Tchaikovsky Competition, Russian Sergei Antonov, now living in Boston.

For further information and brochure requests, kindly write the Newport Music Festival, PO Box 3300, Newport, RI 02840-0992, or phone 401-846-1133. Newport County tourist information is available at the Newport County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 23 America’s Cup Avenue, Newport, RI 02840, local phone 401-849-8098 or toll-free 800-976-5122. The Rhode Island Division of Tourism may also be reached toll-free at 800-845-2000. Informational websites include GoNewport.com and VisitRhodeIsland.com.