The Library's signature fundraising event was held on Tuesday, June 4, 2019.

The 21st annual signature fundraising event was the inaugural program in the Christian J. Trefz Forum, the Library's newly transformed, premier entertainment space.  

Frederic Chiu has performed on five continents, in all 50 states and in many unusual venues. He has played with orchestras worldwide including The National Symphony in Washington, D.C., The China National Symphony, The BBC Concert Orchestra Symphony and many more. His classical music collaborations with friends Joshua Bell, Pierre Amoyal and the St. Lawrence String Quartet, as well as jazz pianist Bob James and storyteller David Gonzalez, bring a vivid piano concert experience to all audiences.

Frederic’s 27 CDs include the most extensive recording of the piano works of Prokofiev. He is an internationally recognized expert on Prokofiev and a personal friend of the Prokofiev family. In 2020, Frederic will release a new recording that will include Beethoven’s Symphonies V and VII for Solo Piano, as transcribed by Liszt, to mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. They are considered among the most technically demanding piano music ever written. Frederic is an innovator in programming. He has worked with Yamaha for 30 years, pushing the boundaries of technology and the piano. He tours with his “Classical Smackdown” programs, in which the music of two composers is performed in head-to-head comparisons and the audience votes for the winner. “Romeo & Juliet - The Choice,” his immersive, interactive production of the popular Prokofiev ballet, places dancers, solo piano and the audience together on stage, with the audience voting their preference for either Prokofiev’s traditional tragic conclusion or for his little-known happy ending. With his wife and collaborator Jeanine Esposito, Frederic created the arts nonprofit, Beechwood Arts & Innovation, here in Westport, fostering collaboration across all art genres and deepening community connection through art and technology.

Frederic Chiu photo credit: Chris Craymer

BOOKED for the evening is the Library's signature fundraising event. On this occasion, the Library honors an individual whose work reflects the purpose of the Library—to nurture the love of learning and to enhance our understanding of the world. 

Previous award winners are Tom Brokaw, E.L. Doctorow, Calvin Trillin, Wendy Wasserstein, Pete Hamill, Martin Scorsese, Arthur Mitchell, Doris Kearns Goodwin, David Halberstam, Oscar Hijuelos, Adam Gopnik, Will Shortz, Patti Smith, Barry Levinson, Jon Meacham, Nile Rodgers, Lynsey Addario, Ron Chernow, Alan Alda and Justin Paul.