Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto
Featuring pianist George Li
XIAN ZHANG conductor
GEORGE LI piano
-
ANNA CLYNE Within Her Arms (NJSO Premiere)
A defining work in this Brooklyn-based composer’s career. Written for strings alone, this tender piece is the song of loss and memory for her mother.
-
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3
Rachmaninoff wrote this concerto to showcase his exceptional talent and blindingly fast technique. It starts with a deceptively simple melody that every beginner can play, but it quickly becomes the Everest of all piano concertos—one that few soloists attempt to conquer.
-
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8
Dvořák’s Eighth poured out of him while he was surrounded by the cherished Bohemian countryside that was his inspiration. Close your eyes and you’ll see the colors of autumn, awash in sunlight.
The Irish Tenors with the NJSO
THE IRISH TENORS
Members of the NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Get in the spirit of the season when The Irish Tenors: Christmas/Holiday Tour 2019 comes to bergenPAC with members of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra for a joyful night of traditional and secular holiday songs, including favorites like “We Three Kings,” “O! Holy Night,” “White Christmas” and “Jingle Bell Rock.” The Irish Tenors have been the acknowledged Celtic music kings since arriving on the scene with their 1998 PBS special and have performed on the biggest stages around the world.
Handel’s Messiah
Featuring guest conductor Roderick Cox
RODERICK COX conductor
SARAH SHAFER soprano
J’NAI BRIDGES mezzo-soprano
FREDERICK BALLENTINE tenor
DOUGLAS WILLIAMS bass-baritone
MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY SINGERS | Heather J. Buchanan, conductor
-
HANDEL Messiah
The opening aria begins with, “Comfort ye …” In the rush of the holiday season, set aside time for glorious music that touches the soul.
Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet
2020 Winter Festival: In the Spotlight
XIAN ZHANG conductor
INON BARNATAN piano
-
SMETANA “The Moldau” from Má vlast
Sail with us down a fabled river, lined on either side by castles and forests full of myth and mystery.
-
CLARA SCHUMANN Piano Concerto (NJSO Premiere)
A great pianist, Clara Schumann composed this glittering and graceful concerto in her teens—a remarkable achievement.
-
PROKOFIEV Selections from Romeo and Juliet
Xian has won acclaim in opera and ballet houses around the world; you’ll hear why in Prokofiev’s riveting ballet about Shakespeare’s doomed lovers.
Mozart’s Don Giovanni
2020 Winter Festival: In the Spotlight
XIAN ZHANG conductor
ERIC WYRICK violin
Singers from the METROPOLITAN OPERA’S LINDEMANN YOUNG ARTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
-
MOZART Exsultate, jubilate
One of Mozart’s most famous works—with good reason. This church solo from Mozart’s teenage years rivals his secular arias for sheer brilliance.
-
MOZART Violin Concerto No. 4
NJSO Concertmaster Eric Wyrick performs a Mozart concerto into which the composer crafted too much virtuosity to perform himself!
-
MOZART Scenes from Don Giovanni
Xian Zhang’s selection of magnificent arias and scenes creates a masterful abridged version of Mozart’s dramatic bad-boy opera.
Wagner’s The Ring Without Words
2020 Winter Festival: In the Spotlight
XIAN ZHANG conductor
SIMON TRPČESKI piano
-
WAGNER Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin
Ten minutes of utter serenity: Wagner has painted the most delicate sound, with soft strings evoking the tenderness of silver moonlight.
-
LISZT Piano Concerto No. 2
NJSO audiences demanded Trpčeski’s return. Don’t miss him in this dazzler by the composer-pianist genius Franz Liszt.
-
WAGNER/arr. Maazel The Ring Without Words (NJSO Premiere)
Wagner’s four-night epic of Ring operas is full of heaven-storming music. The American conductor Lorin Maazel, who mentored Xian early in her career, arranged it into this amazing 60-minute suite.
Lunar New Year Concert and Celebration
2019–20 Season
XIAN ZHANG conductor
Soloists, performers and program details to be announced.
Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto
2019–20 Season
CHRISTOPH KÖNIG conductor
SIMONE PORTER violin
-
MOZART Overture to The Magic Flute
Hear the majesty and magic of Mozart’s final opera—a fantastical tale of mystery, adventure and love—distilled into this glowing overture.
-
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto
This is the diamond in the crown of violin concertos, with sparkling melodies and quicksilver beauty in every bar. Simone Porter, only in her early 20s, has been hailed by the Los Angeles Times for playing that is “lovingly lyrical, occasionally frisky. She is clearly on the cusp of a major career.”
-
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 6
Bruckner was a church organist by day, but when he took up his composing pen at night, he opened a whole new world of orchestral splendor. His Sixth Symphony begins with violins playing so softly you may miss them; then, a mysterious horn call sounds, and suddenly the whole orchestra sweeps you away.
Beethoven’s Piano Concertos 1 & 5
2019–20 Season—Beethoven’s Birthday Bash
XIAN ZHANG conductor
LOUIS LORTIE piano
-
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1
Beethoven was considered a great pianist in his time, and this early showcase for his own talent holds an affectionate nod to his hero, Haydn.
-
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
Full of Beethoven’s most beautiful melodies and powerful rhythms, his final piano concerto more than earns its regal title.
Beethoven’s Piano Concertos 2, 3 & 4
2019–20 Season—Beethoven’s Birthday Bash
XIAN ZHANG conductor
LOUIS LORTIE piano
-
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 2
When Beethoven moved from his small-town home to the big city of Vienna, he used this music to impress the Viennese with his once-in-a-lifetime virtuosity at the piano.
-
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3
You know Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. His Third Piano Concerto has the same drama and impact, and it is a thrill to witness as it unfolds through a great pianist’s hands.
-
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4
The opening is Beethoven magic: a hushed piano solo brings you to the edge of your seat for what becomes his most joyous concerto.
Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony
2019–20 Season—Beethoven’s Birthday Bash
XIAN ZHANG conductor
ROBERT WAGNER bassoon
-
ROSSINI Overture to Guillaume Tell
Not just a curtain-raiser, the overture to Rossini’s 39th (!) and final opera, William Tell, is a full symphony in miniature.
-
CHRISTOPHER ROUSE Bassoon Concerto (East-Coast Premiere and NJSO Co-Commission)
This lyrical new piece completes Christopher Rouse’s cycle of concertos for every wind instrument. The NJSO co-commissioned this work to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Principal Bassoon Robert Wagner, who has given so much to our organization on and off stage.
-
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”
With two thunderous opening chords, Beethoven unlocked a new world of music-making, and every performance of his “Eroica” sounds revolutionary.
Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony
2019–20 Season
HENRIK NÁNÁSI conductor
-
BARTÓK Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
A daring 20th-century masterpiece! Revel in the sounds of the NJSO strings, accentuated by keyboard and percussion—writing so evocative that Stanley Kubrick famously used it in The Shining.
-
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5
Critics of Tchaikovsky’s day crushed this new symphony (“a horde of demons struggling in a torrent of brandy,” wrote one), and even the composer said, “It is a failure.” But its hypnotic melodies and triumphant mood turned the Fifth into an audience favorite.