Along with “music,” one word would dominate any word cloud describing 35-year-old virtuoso pianist Rachel Naomi Kudo.

That word would be “Passion.”

“When I say ‘passion,’” Ms. Kudo explains, “I mean channeling composers and what they wanted. What I love about playing piano, especially now that I’m older and have some perspective, is how I can dive inside the world of composers through the window of each piece I play, and put myself in their shoes.”

This January in Naples, she’ll put on metaphorical dancing shoes to spotlight dance suites of different eras — waltzes, minuets, jigs, sarabands, even a traditional German “Grandfather Dance” hidden between the lines.

The only professional musician in her family, Kudo began playing at the age of four, at her grandmother’s piano.

“My parents love music but had no idea what a pianist’s life meant,” she said. “They were happy that I was interested and have been my biggest supporters. But when I began to perform and eventually compete, they were driving me everywhere. It’s more complicated than training for the Olympics!”

Among many competition laurels, including the 2017 Cliburn competition, she took first prize in the 21st J.S. Bach Competition in Leipzig, Germany.

“There’s no such thing as being too old to compete,” the artist said. “But it’s easier the younger you are.”

After her grandmother, other teachers shaped her, including Joseph Kalichstein at The Juilliard School, Richard Goode at Mannes College of Music, Gilbert Kalish at Stony Brook University and Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Institute.

She speaks especially fondly of her Juilliard teacher Yoheved “Veda” Kaplinsky.

“She was my only female teacher, a motherly figure and incredibly supportive. When you find another woman who believes in you no matter what, you can’t put a price on that love.”

Her mentor’s influence continues to feed Kudo’s passion for reaching out to teach a younger generation of artists, whether children or master classes.

“Music can mean so much to kids who have nothing, to people in nursing homes. Even in concerts, music moves people and brings them together. People often come up to me afterward and say how moved they were.

“I’m so grateful to have this life as a musician and be able to share this amazing thing that really is bigger than any of us.”