“Charlotte Gardner presents our annual guide to upcoming festivals throughout the world, covering events from concerts and recitals to large-scale operas… This Rhode Island festival sets 30 intimate concerts within the grandeur of 11 iconic venues such as Newport mansion…

In an era of massive stadium tours and AI curated playlists, there is something quietly radical about a single voice and piano in a room. No spectacle. No production. Just poetry, melody, and emotion. This is the world of German Lieder, a musical tradition born in the 19th century that, surprisingly, feels more relevant than ever.

A popular phrase often thrown around in pop culture, “it girl,” is a term reserved for those whose influence extends beyond talent alone—shaping taste, visibility, and cultural conversation by their mere presence. Classical music has one, too: Rachel Barton Pine….