The Newport Music Festival in Newport RI is the best festival in the world, at least in my opinion. I’ve been going there for close to 30 years, first as a Bosendorfer technician, then as Yamaha Artist Services Director, now as friend.
The magic of the festival is the genius of it’s General Director Mark P.Malkovich III. Mark combines a sophisticated musical sense with a unique combination of artists in a setting that is unmatched anywhere. The result is, many times (though, even he would admit, not always) pure magic, especially for those of us who are tired of hearing the same old war horses. Every year Mark unearths unknown and/or underplayed music that often fascinates and quite often captivates.
I could go on and on, but last night I heard 2 Octets for strings (basically, 2 string quartets playing together), the Octet Op post by Bruch and the Octet in E flat Major Op 20 by Mendelssohn, written when he was 16! The 3rd movement of the Mendelssohn is sublime.
I could go on and on about my experiences at the festival, including Dubravka Tomisc and Sergio Fiorentino, but go hear for yourself.