Southampton Arts Festival More Than Just Music

More than music will be coming to town this year when the “Southampton Arts Festival” opens its second season at the Southampton Cultural Center on Thursday, August 18.

Adding on to the program from the inaugural season, this year the international classical music festival, which runs through Saturday, August 27, will also include multimedia performances and connections between different forms of art, according to co-founder and concert pianist, Elena Baksht.

“That’s why it’s called an arts festival, not just a music festival,” she said during an interview last week.

Ms. Baksht and co-founder Dmitri Berlinsky both said they have been to festivals all over the world and that the most beautiful places are the most perfect places for music festivals.

“The Hamptons is the ideal place to do a festival like this,” Ms. Baksht said. “There are sophisticated cultured people and it is such a beautiful setting.”

Ms. Baksht also mentioned that the proximity to Manhattan makes the festival more valuable because of the talented musicians residing there.

“Once we started working on the idea, we started to attract musicians who are world-class international players,” she said. “A lot of them are coming from New York City and are excited and happy to participate.”

According to Ms. Baksht, the festival’s international faculty and artists include winners of multiple competitions, including the Tchaikovsky, William Kapell, Montreal, Paganini, Young Concert Artist and Queen Elisabeth International. Participating musicians hail from the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva, among others. And participating students include musicians from Yale University, Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory, Michigan State University, the University of Chicago, University of Michigan, Duke University and the Peabody Conservatory.

Ms. Baksht said she Mr. Berlinsky had many goals for the festival, but overall, they want to build the event into something very big.

“We feel like the support we are getting from the community will help us to reach more people and build something extraordinary,” she said.

Mr. Berlinsky reported that he was inspired by his own musical upbringing and that he wanted to give other upcoming musicians a similar experience.

“I remember growing up, for me it was really important to spend some time with my teacher, outside of the academic environment,” he recalled. “I was inspired the most by spending time with some of my mentors, not only learning the craft of the instrument, but actually communicating, besides, only through music. That’s something I’d like to re-create for young musicians.”

He went on to explain that chamber music requires a unique and demanding ability for each player to have a chemistry with the other musicians and to be able to communicate on a musical level, which is exactly what this festival can offer.

“They spend time together, eat together, go out together and that helps them blend much better professionally,” he said. “Without that blend, it’s impossible to play chamber music.”

Mr. Berlinsky explained that the festival concerts provide a great example of how people from different backgrounds and age groups can find a common language through music. He added that two free student concerts will be presented at the Southampton Cultural Center. The first will be held on Saturday, August 20, at 12:30 p.m. and the second on Monday, August 22, at 3 p.m.

And those involved in making the festival a success pride themselves on bringing established, world-class musicians to the Hamptons, according to Mr. Berlinsky.

“Chamber music is something people need to have in their lives,” he said. “Classical music in particular makes an incredible impact on everyone. We are doing this for the people who live in Southampton and really hope they will be able to appreciate it.”

The “Southampton Arts Festival” concerts will kick off with a faculty and guest artist concert of chamber works by Tchaikovsky and Brahms on Thursday, August 18, starting at 7 p.m. On Saturday, August 20, there will a 5:30 p.m. faculty and guest artist concert of Tchaikovsky String sextet “Souvenir de Florence” and Mozart “Piano Quartet in G-minor.” Next up, on Monday, August 22, there will be a concert and artist showcase combination at 7 p.m. with a photography exhibition, which inspired a young composer to develop a virtuoso showpiece for piano, violin and cello. Lastly, showing on Thursday, August 25, is a Brahms “Trio in B-major” and Schumann “Piano Quintet” at 7 p.m.

“Southampton Arts Festival” admission is $20 for each event. For more information, visit southamptonartsfestival.org.