Newport Music Festival facts for kids
The Newport Music Festival is a special event where amazing classical music is played. It happens every year in Newport, Rhode Island. In November 2020, a new leader named Gillian Friedman Fox was chosen to be the executive director. She is known for creating exciting and thoughtful music programs. Gillian will help the festival start a new chapter as it celebrates its 53rd year in 2021.
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A Rich History and Bright Future
Since 1969, the Newport Music Festival has shown off both famous and new classical music artists. This festival in Rhode Island has put on over 2,500 concerts. Nearly 150 artists made their first American performances here, leaving a big mark on classical music history.
For its 50th anniversary season in July 2018, the festival played a wider variety of music. It celebrated important composers like Rossini, Debussy, and Bernstein. It also included music by composers who are alive today. The festival kept its traditions alive by holding the Mark P. Malkovich III Memorial Concert and a popular French Opera Night. They also had three Sunrise Concerts at the Chinese Tea House. The festival also offered free concerts for local people and visitors. This showed their commitment to the community and local music programs.
How It All Began
The Newport Metropolitan Opera Festival started in 1966. Later, in 1968, it became a non-profit group called the Rhode Island Arts Foundation at Newport Inc. Glenn Sauls was hired as the first General Director. He planned the first summer season in 1969. This first festival included many types of performing arts. There was chamber music, ballet, films, singing groups, and a full show of The Barber of Seville.
In 1971, the festival's third year, Mr. Sauls felt proud of their hard work. A famous music critic, Harold Schoenberg, praised the festival. He wrote that musicians loved to return because they found unique music. He said there was no other festival quite like it.
The festival also worked with the Preservation Society of Newport County. This allowed them to play chamber music inside the historic Newport Mansions. These grand rooms were perfect for the kind of music that was originally written for such spaces.
Mark Malkovich III's Leadership
In 1975, Mark Malkovich III became the festival's General Director. Under his guidance, the festival became famous worldwide. It was known for showing off young international artists making their first North American appearances. It also gave American artists a chance to shine. Plus, the festival played rare and forgotten music.
One writer, Richard Dyer, said that Mark chose an amazing variety of music for Newport. Over the years, the festival played all the keyboard and chamber music by major composers up to the mid-20th century. They also played interesting new music. Mark often put well-known pieces next to forgotten works by the same composers. This made the concerts very interesting.
The Newport Festival became famous for the important artists who debuted there. Many world-class musicians made their American debuts at Newport. Mark also loved bringing back great older musicians who rarely performed in the U.S. He was always interested in new talent, and each season featured promising young musicians.
Some famous American Debuts at the Newport Music Festival include:
- 1976 – Andrei Gavrilov (piano) – He won a gold medal at the famous Tchaikovsky Competition.
- 1979 – Bella Davidovich (piano) – She debuted at NMF just before her big concert at Carnegie Hall.
- 1982 – Dimitris Sgouros (piano) – He made his first North American recital performance at NMF when he was only 12 years old.
- 1997 – Valery Afanassiev (piano) – He won a gold medal at the Queen Elizabeth of Belgium Competition. This was his first American performance.
Other artists who made their American debuts at Newport include Italian pianists Andrea Lucchesini and Pietro De Maria. French violinists Augustin Dumay and Raphael Oleg also debuted here. Pianists Jean-Phillipe Collar, Francois-Rene Duchable, and Alain Jacquon also had their first American performances at the festival. Since 1969, nearly 150 new American artists have made their festival debuts at Newport.
Mr. Malkovich III passed away in 2010. He had led the festival for 36 years, making it famous both in the U.S. and around the world.
Mark Malkovich IV's Vision
In 2008, Mark Malkovich IV became the General Manager. After his father passed away, he took over the leadership of the festival. The younger Malkovich shared his father's love for music. He also brought his own new ideas to the organization.
While still loving music from the Romantic era, the festival started to feature music from many different time periods. Music from Bach to Bernstein became part of the concerts. They also played new works by both famous and new composers. The festival even found and performed forgotten musical masterpieces. For example, they performed a never-before-heard four-hand Andante Cantabile by Claude Debussy. This piece was found in a manuscript in New York. They also found an unknown Prelude by Rachmaninoff in Washington.
