Adam Neiman is considered one of the preeminent American classical pianists. He is among the musicians who will be performing in the annual Maui Classical Music Festival. Courtesy photo

Celebrating more than 40 years of presenting concerts on Maui, the annual Maui Classical Music Festival will return with its opening concert Friday at the Makawao Union Church.

Additional concerts will be in Makena at the Keawalai Congregational Church, the Wananalua Congregational Church in Hana and the Iao Theater in Wailuku.

Musicians performing include pianist Adam Neiman, violinists YooJin Jang and David McCarroll, violists Abigail Rojansky and Pei-Ling Lin, cellists Angela Park and Amir Eldan, and Katherine Collier, who has helped lead the festival since its founding in 1982.

Violinist YooJin Jang has been lauded for “fiery virtuosity” and “consummate performances.” Courtesy photo

“Except for Amir, everybody will be (performing for) the first time at the festival,” said Collier. “Usually our musicians have been in the festival before. There’s a lot of great music and great musicians, as always.”

Friday’s “From Grace to Ghosts” concerts features Mozart’s popular “Divertimento in D major, K. 136,” Ravel’s “Sonata for Violin and Cello,” which was dedicated to Claude Debussy, Russian composer Shostakovich’s “Five Pieces for Two Violins and Piano,” and Beethoven’s “Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70, No. 1,” known as “the Ghost” for its eerie-sounding slow movement.

“The Ghost is a masterpiece,” said Eldan. “I chose pieces that are just masterpieces and fun to play. It has a lot of humor and it’s also very contrasting. So there’s something in it for everybody.”

On Monday in Makena, the “Young Romantics” concert includes Schubert’s “String Trio in B-flat major, D. 471,” Josef Suk’s “Piano Quartet No. 1 in A minor, Op. 1,” dedicated to his teacher Dvořák, and Mendelssohn’s dramatic “String Quintet No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 87.”

Heading to Hana on Wednesday, festival musicians will perform a “Twilight and Radiance” concert with Mozart’s “Divertimento in D major, K. 136,” Schoenberg’s “Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op. 4,” and Mendelssohn’s “String Quintet in B-flat major, Op. 87.”

“I’m most looking forward to playing the Schoenberg ‘Transfigured Night,'” said Eldan. “It’s a very early Schoenberg piece. He wrote it when he was still in the extremely romantic stage of his music. It’s just an amazing emotional piece. I feel that it’s like a culmination of the Romantic era and connecting the world of the 19th century and the 20th century.”

The “Radiant Splendor” concert May 15 at the Iao Theater will feature Mozart’s “Piano Trio in C major, K. 548,” Schoenberg’s “Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op. 4,” and Dvořák’s “Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 87.”

The final “From the Russian Soul to Hungarian Heart” concert May 17 at the Iao Theater will feature Anton Arensky’s “String Quartet in A minor, Op. 35,” composed in tribute to Tchaikovsky, Hungarian composer László Weiner’s “Duo for Violin and Viola,” Adam Neiman’s romantic “Serenade for Violin and Piano,” composed for his wife, and Brahms’ “Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 25,” best known for its rousing finale, the famous Rondo alla Zingarese (Gypsy Rondo).

Eldan called Brahms’ finale a masterpiece. “It’s incredible and very exciting,” he said. “It’s also very deep and solemn and haunting. An amazing piece.”

The festival co-music director, Eldan, is a Juilliard Competition winner. At age 22, he became the youngest member of New York’s Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He has served as principal cellist of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and guest principal cellist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Praised by the Washington Post for his “elegance, poise and good taste,” Neiman has been hailed as one of the preeminent American classical pianists. Professor of Piano at Roosevelt University, he has performed as a soloist with many major orchestras, including those of Chicago, Dallas, Indianapolis, Saint Louis and San Francisco.

An assistant professor of violin at the Eastman School of Music, Jang was lauded by the Strad for her “fiery virtuosity” and “consummate performances.” The first-prize winner of the 2016 Sendai International Music Competition, her recent concerto performances include appearances with the symphony orchestras of Chautauqua, Dubuque and Roswell.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s concertmaster, McCarroll, was described as “a violinist of mature musicality and deep understanding of his repertoire” by Musik Heute. Winner of the 2012 European Young Concert Artists Auditions, he has appeared as a soloist with many orchestras, including the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta.

An assistant professor of chamber music at Oberlin College and Conservatory, Rojansky is the violist with the acclaimed Verona Quartet. She has performed in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and London’s Wigmore Hall.

The Maui Classical Music Festival opens on Friday in Makawao. Tickets are $30 for adults and $10 for students for each concert. Concert times are 7 p.m. except 6 p.m. in Hana and 4:30 p.m. for the finale in Wailuku. For more information, go to mauicmf.org.