Join us on Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 3:00 pm to hear pianist Avery Gagliano and the Balourdet Quartet perform works for string quartet and piano quintet. The final work on the program, the Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor, is a dark and powerful work that many consider to be the crown of his chamber music oeuvre.

• Program
• About the Artists
  • Avery Gagliano
  • Balourdet Quartet
• About the Concert
  • Reservations

Program

About the Artists

Avery Gagliano

20-year-old pianist Avery Gagliano captures audiences with her sensitivity, emotional depth, and musical expression. She first gained international attention when she won first prize at the 10th National Chopin Piano Competition in 2020. Avery was the only American semifinalist at the 18th International Chopin Competition. In November 2021, she made her Carnegie Hall debut and released her first album “Reflections” on the Steinway & Sons label.

An alumna of the Verbier Festival Academy and the Lang Lang International Music Foundation’s Young Scholars Program, Avery is a four-year winner of the US Chopin Foundation Scholarship and has made several appearances at the WRTI Performance Studio and on National Public Radio’s From The Top. She was recently selected as one of two piano fellows at the 2022 Bravo!Vail Music Festival.

Born in Washington, D.C., Avery studied with Marina Alekseyeva during her early years. Avery currently resides in Philadelphia and studies with Robert McDonald at the Curtis Institute of Music. She received additional instruction at Curtis from Gary Graffman and Jonathan Biss.

Balourdet Quartet

The Balourdet Quartet, based in Boston, Massachusetts, is currently in residence at the New England Conservatory’s Professional String Quartet Program. The quartet received the Grand Prize at the 2021 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition as well as the top prize awarded in the 2021 Premio Paolo Borciani in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The group also received the Gold Medal in the 2020 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Gold Medal and Audience Award at the 2021 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition, and the Second Prize in the 2019 Carl Nielsen International Chamber Music Competition.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Balourdet appeared in numerous virtual performances for institutions such as the Schneider Concert Series, the New England Conservatory’s First Mondays Series, Music For Food, and Massachusetts Peace Action. The group also curated and performed an educational program for over 500 children in schools across the Michiana region, as well as gave masterclasses through the Fischoff Chamber Music Academy. They have also conducted workshops and masterclasses for NEC’s Preparatory Division, Upper Valley Chamber Music Center, and string students in the Dallas area.

Highlights of the 2021-2022 season include Accademia Musicale Chigiana, La Jolla Summerfest, Nevada Chamber Music Festival, Pro Musica Classical San Miguel, CMA Showcase, and an in-person return to the Schneider Concert Series.

The Balourdet has shared the stage with renowned artists including Cho-Liang Lin, as well as members of the Dover Quartet. It has studied and performed at festivals including the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Robert Mann String Quartet Institute, and Accademia Musicale Chigiana. The Balourdet Quartet works primarily with Paul Katz at the New England Conservatory, as well as members of the Cleveland and Borromeo Quartets. The quartet was formed in 2018 at Rice University in Houston, Texas under the tutelage of James Dunham, Norman Fischer, and Cho-Liang Lin.

The quartet gets its name from Antoine Balourdet, chef extraordinaire at the Hotel St. Bernard and beloved member of the Taos School of Music community.

About the Concert

Our concerts take place at a private home in southern Rhode Island, near the village of Wakefield. The address is 103 North Road, Wakefield RI 02879. Driving time from Providence, Newport, Westerly, and southeastern Connecticut is under an hour. An Amtrak station is only 10 minutes drive from the venue.

Map and Directions

This performance begins at 3:00 pm. One hour before the performance, join us for a discussion about the music on the program. After the performance, you’ll have an opportunity to meet the artists and learn about their backgrounds, interests, and career plans.

Reservations

If you’d like to attend this concert, send an email to craig@corememorymusic.com with the full name of each guest in your party. If seating is available, we’ll confirm your reservation. If you have a confirmed reservation and a member of your party decides not to attend, please let us know so another guest can take their place.

The suggested contribution is $50 per person but any amount is welcome. Contributions are collected at the door. We accept cash, personal checks, and credit cards.

IMPORTANT: As a precaution, we’d like everyone attending this concert to be fully vaccinated and symptom-free. Masks are optional at this time.

Seating capacity for this concert: 20