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  NJPAC Series 1
Prudential Hall, NJPAC in Newark
9 concerts, Friday / Saturday at 8 pm
 
 
 
MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN
piano
JÄRVI AND THE KEYBOARD
Paris: Fantasy & Discovery, week 1
Friday, January 9 at 8 pm
NEEME JÄRVI conductor
MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN piano
POULENC Les biches
RAVEL Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
SAINT-SAËNS Africa Fantasy
SAINT-SAËNS Symphony No. 3, “Organ”
Celebrate the French joie de vivre in the opening program of the 2009 Winter Festival. Applauded by The San Francisco Chronicle for his “breathtaking display of fiery virtuosity and interpretive subtlety,” Marc-André Hamelin treats you to a double bill of Ravel’s awe-inspiring Concerto for the Left Hand and Saint-Saëns’s Africa Fantasy, which offers an exciting tour of exotic lands and oriental undertones. Finally, Saint-Saëns’s “Organ” Symphony will blow the roof off with its sheer power and exploding colors.
 
PAMELA ARMSTRONG soprano
MAJESTY & MISCHIEF
Paris: Fantasy & Discovery, week 2
Friday, January 16 at 8 pm
NEEME JÄRVI conductor
PAMELA ARMSTRONG soprano
DUKAS The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
FAURÉ Pavane
RAVEL Shéhérazade
FRANCK Symphony in D Minor
In the second week of the 2009 Winter Festival, Paul Dukas’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice will amuse you with images of magical mischief and themes you will remember from Disney’s Fantasia. Fauré’s Pavane is a serene palate-cleanser that will provide a pleasant contrast. Ravel’s Shéhérazade casts a sensuous spell and takes you to a world of exotic fantasy and mystery. Finally, César Franck’s Symphony in D Minor evokes the grandeur of European tradition.
 
KRISTJAN JÄRVI
conductor
IDYLLIC IMPRESSIONISM
Paris: Fantasy & Discovery, week 3
Friday, January 23 at 8 pm
KRISTJAN JÄRVI conductor
MIKHAIL SIMONYAN violin
DEBUSSY Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
MILHAUD Le boeuf sur le toit
SAINT-SAËNS Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso
RAVEL Daphnis and Chloe Suites No. 1 and No. 2
In the tranquil Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, Debussy portrays the hazy desires and dreams of a faun in the heat of the afternoon. Milhaud’s music is a raucous romp of popular Brazilian tunes that was originally written to be the score for a silent Charlie Chaplin film. Revel in the height of impressionism as the carnal tale of Daphnis and Chloe unfolds. With pirates, nymphs and bird songs all painted in a veil of impressionistic colors, this love story builds to an erotic tumult you won’t soon forget.
 
JONATHAN BISS
piano
VIENNA: OLD & NEW
  Friday, February 27 at 8 pm
GERARD SCHWARZ conductor
JONATHAN BISS piano
MENDELSSOHN Son and Stranger Overture
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3
WEBERN/SCHWARZ Langsamer Satz
STRAUSS/SCHWARZ Der Rosenkavalier Suite
Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto was more expansive and dramatic than any piano concerto Vienna had previously heard—a true statement of the composer’s desire to produce ever-grander works for the piano. Enjoy conductor Gerard Schwarz’s own arrangements of two Viennese classics. Webern’s contemplative Langsamer Satz stands in contrast to Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier Suite, which reflects the elegance, humor and romance of 18th-century Vienna with spirited themes and robust waltzes.
 
ARABELLA STEINBACHER violin
RUSSIAN PASSION
  Friday, March 6 at 8 pm
ROSSEN MILANOV conductor
ARABELLA STEINBACHER violin
GLAZUNOV Concert Waltz No. 1
PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No. 2
RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances
According to The Chicago Tribune, Rossen Milanov is “one who bears watching by anyone who cares about the future of music.” In this program of Russian dance music, Glazunov’s delightful Concert Waltz will leave you dancing in the aisles, while Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances will grab you with its pulsing drive, assertive rhythms and animated waltzes. With an undeniably Russian flare, Prokofiev’s magical violin concerto rounds out this celebration of Russian passion.
 
ARNALDO COHEN
piano
SLAVIC FIRE
  Saturday, March 21 at 8 pm
JAMES GAFFIGAN conductor
ARNALDO COHEN piano
SMETANA Má vlast: "Vyšehrad" ("The High Castle")
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7
“The High Castle” from Smetana’s Má vlast sets the tone for this program of intense Czech flavor. From the meandering currents of the Vltava River and the chatty salons of Prague to the folk spirit of Bohemia and the stubborn civilian resistance to political oppression, Dvořák’s Seventh captures the true essence of the Czech experience. The centerpiece of the program is Beethoven’s magnificent Fourth Piano Concerto—the most popular of his five concertos among pianists—which reveals a more tender side of Beethoven, one of geniality and sensitivity.
 
LOS ANGELES GUITAR QUARTET
TCHAIKOVSKY’S PATHÉTIQUE
  Friday, April 3 at 8 pm
ANDREW GRAMS conductor
LOS ANGELES GUITAR QUARTET
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Serenade to Music  

ASSAD Interchange for Guitar Quartet and Orchestra
 
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique”

Enjoy the New York City-area premiere of Brazilian composer Sergio Assad’s new piece written specifically for the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” Symphony is an unforgettable experience of human triumph and loss. The composer himself said, “I have put my whole soul into this work.” Hear Tchaikovsky’s final orchestral statement for yourself and discover what some consider to be his most autobiographical work.
 
ERIC WYRICK
violin
VIVA ITALIA!
  Friday, April 24 at 8 pm
NEEME JÄRVI conductor
ERIC WYRICK violin
RACHMANINOFF Variations on a Theme of Corelli
BUSONI Violin Concerto
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 4, “Italian”
Rachmaninoff’s tribute to Arcangelo Corelli opens this celebration of Italy. Then, concertmaster Eric Wyrick will thrill you with Italian composer Ferrucio Busoni’s romantic Violin Concerto. Finally, take a trip with Mendelssohn through the Italian countryside and enjoy the playfulness and joviality of his musical depictions of Italy.
 
NEEME JÄRVI
conductor
JÄRVI’S FAREWELL
  Saturday, May 2 at 8 pm
NEEME JÄRVI conductor
DENIS MATSUEV piano
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7
Don’t miss your chance to bid Neeme Järvi farewell as he conducts his final subscription program as music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra! This glorious season finale opens with Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto, a work of heroic spirit that marks the highest peak of Beethoven’s lifelong relationship with the piano. Then, Maestro Järvi leads the NJSO in Bruckner’s Seventh—a monumental work composed at the height of the composer’s genius and the most popular and well-loved of all his symphonies.

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