Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Xian Zhang conductor
Juan Esteban Martinez clarinet
New Jersey Symphony
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertimento in D Major, K. 136
The spotlight opens on the New Jersey Symphony’s virtuoso strings playing the sunniest music Mozart ever created.
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Clarinet Concerto
Principal Clarinet Juan Esteban Martinez will shine in this sunny crown jewel of the clarinet repertoire, which was written for an earlier iteration of the modern clarinet.
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Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral”
His greatest inspiration came from long walks in nature, score paper, and pencil stuffed in his pocket. Beethoven takes us with him in his Sixth, his music full of open-air melodies, and the drama of a ferocious storm.
Xian Conducts
Prokofiev & Strauss
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Xian Zhang conductor
Francesca Dego violin
New Jersey Symphony
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Anton Webern Im Sommerwind
A lovingly lush hymn to the charms of summer, written just before Webern helped stand traditional classical music on its head.
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Sergei Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2
It opens with a wisp of melancholy Russian folksong and closes with castanets and Spanish flair, creating fireworks for a world-class violinist and orchestra.
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Richard Strauss Ein Heldenleben
Orchestras love this ode to “A Hero’s Life” for its bold, voluptuous sweep, created by Strauss as a musical pat on his own back.
Mozart’s Requiem
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Xian Zhang conductor
Mei Gui Zhang soprano
Taylor Raven mezzo-soprano
Eric Ferring tenor
Dashon Burton bass-baritone
Montclair State University Chorale | Heather J. Buchanan, director
New Jersey Symphony
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Gabriel Fauré Pavane
A slowly winding melody that started as a simple little five-minute piano solo. But when Fauré orchestrated his Pavane and added the rich sound of a chorus, he made magic and his greatest hit.
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Gustav Mahler Songs of a Wayfarer
Come enjoy one of the finest voices in America: bass-baritone Dashon Burton sings the suite of beautiful songs Mahler wrote as he took solace in nature after being spurned in love.
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Requiem
A swansong full of fire, grace, and a transcendent prayer that the human spirit will live on. Mozart’s Requiem was left maddeningly incomplete at his all-too-early death, but is nevertheless his final masterpiece.
Joshua Bell Leads Mendelssohn’s “Italian”
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Joshua Bell conductor & violin
New Jersey Symphony
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Ludwig van Beethoven Egmont Overture
A master storyteller, Beethoven instantly captures the mood of Goethe’s play about resisting oppression in this taut and thrilling overture.
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Camille Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto No. 3
One of Saint-Saëns’ most treasured concertos, this is where superstar Joshua Bell stands and lets his Stradivarius violin shine in dramatic melodies and virtuosic displays.
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Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4, “Italian”
“The jolliest piece I’ve ever done,” wrote an ecstatic young Mendelssohn to his parents back in Berlin, after arriving in Italy and falling in love with its sunshine, sidewalk tunes, coast, and effervescent colors—all of which he poured into his Fourth Symphony.
Symphonie fantastique
Season Finale | New Jersey Symphony Classical
Xian Zhang conductor
Emanuel Ax piano
New Jersey Symphony
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Allison Loggins-Hull Doublespeak (World Premiere, New Jersey Symphony Commission)
You may have seen her performing with Lizzo at the GRAMMYs, or heard her on the soundtrack to The Lion King, or loved her Can You See? performed by the New Jersey Symphony last fall. Be the first to hear our Resident Artistic Partner’s latest creation.
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 22
Mozart in his late 20s took a tune he wrote when he was eight and turned it into this half-hour masterpiece, the second of its three movements so moving that its first audience demanded a repeat.
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Hector Berlioz Symphonie fantastique
Smitten with unrequited love, Berlioz funneled all his frustrations and utter mind-blowing genius into a whirlwind of orchestral color.
New Scores: The Cone Composition Institute Concert
Part of the Edward T. Cone Composition Institute
Eric Jacobsen conductor
Steven Mackey institute director and host
New Jersey Symphony
Witness the future of classical music in-the-making as the New Jersey Symphony performs works by four emerging composers selected for the Edward T. Cone Composition Institute. Institute Director Steven Mackey hosts the culminating concert, as Eric Jacobsen takes the podium.
Beethoven’s “Emperor”
& Schubert’s “Great”
Opening Weekend | New Jersey Symphony Classical
Xian Zhang conductor
George Li piano
New Jersey Symphony
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Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
New Jersey favorite George Li returns with Beethoven’s final and most epic piano concerto, a work of uncommon power and passion, both heroic in scope and striking in its intimacy.
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Franz Schubert Symphony No. 9 in C Major, “The Great”
Schubert was classical music’s original tunesmith—his melodies rival Paul McCartney, Richard Rodgers, and even Taylor Swift. His songful gift is heard to maximum effect in the “heavenly lengths” of his final symphony, never performed during his lifetime.
Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances
Part of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival
Eric Jacobsen conductor
Christian McBride double bass
Chris Komer horn
New Jersey Symphony
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Claude Debussy Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
A languid flute solo opens a portal into another world, with Debussy’s shimmering orchestral colors as vivid as any Monet painting.
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George Duke Dark Wood: Bass Concerto for Christian McBride
Hear the Garden State’s own jazz master in a work tailor-made for his unique groove and virtuosity as he solos with the New Jersey Symphony for the first time.
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Christian McBride Fried Bacon
Christian McBride’s first work for symphony orchestra, Fried Bacon was originally written for and premiered by Chris Komer, New Jersey Symphony Principal Horn extraordinaire, in 2022. The world premiere brought the house down and we can’t wait to play it again.
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Sergei Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances
An elegiac melody, a Dies Irae quote, a saxophone solo, and the tolling of church bells are among the many extraordinary effects in Rachmaninoff’s final work, written in exile from a Russia to which he’d never return, and which would never be the same.
Mozart & Ravel
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Valentina Peleggi conductor
Blake Pouliot violin
New Jersey Symphony
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Anna Clyne Masquerade
Originally written for the Last Night of the Proms, English composer Anna Clyne conveys a sense of “occasion and celebration.” Or, as the Berkshire Eagle put it, “Masquerade has the style and sound of an old English music hall, a little like the nostalgic sounds on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5, “Turkish”
At just 19 years old, Mozart wrote this virtuosic and sparkling concerto for himself to play (even though it wasn’t his primary instrument!). Canadian phenom Blake Pouliot brings his signature stage presence to this equally thrilling and elegant masterpiece.
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Maurice Ravel Mother Goose Suite
The New York Times recently said “Ravel wrote nothing more magical, and perhaps nothing so moving” as the final movement of this extraordinary suite—ostensibly for children, but with a complexity and emotional depth as profound as any work of art.
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Samuel Barber Symphony No. 1
In just 20 minutes and one movement, Barber’s First Symphony packs a punch well beyond its relatively short length. The first American symphony to be played at the Salzburg Festival, Barber’s singular emotional voice, which would later produce Adagio for Strings, shines through every bar.
Rhapsody on a
Theme of Paganini
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Xian Zhang conductor
Tony Siqi Yun piano
New Jersey Symphony
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Richard Wagner Overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Long before The Voice, Wagner created the original drama about a singing competition with his only comedy, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. This rousing overture prominently features the “Prize Song” which wins the whole contest—a real catchy tune!
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Sergei Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Rachmaninoff’s final work for piano and orchestra, this masterpiece of invention transforms a seemingly simple melody 24 different times, taking full advantage of the expressive and technical possibilities of the piano. Rachmaninoff himself was the soloist at the world premiere—hear the next best thing as “true poet of the keyboard” (Pianist magazine) Tony Siqi Yun navigates every twist and turn.
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Alexander Zemlinsky The Mermaid
Travel “Under the Sea” with Alexander Zemlinsky for his shimmering musical retelling of the legendary Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. While a relative rarity, Xian Zhang has long championed this work, reveling in its romantic sweep and glittering orchestrations—you’ll wonder why it took so long for this piece to be “Part of Your World.”
Gil Shaham Plays Dvořák
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Xian Zhang conductor
Gil Shaham violin
New Jersey Symphony
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Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 3
Dvořák called this symphony Brahms’ most beautiful. A deeply personal work, its autumnal harmonies embody the composer’s personal motto, “free, but happy.” Orchestral musicians regularly call Brahms the most satisfying composer to play—with this masterpiece, it’s easy to hear why.
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Antonín Dvořák Violin Concerto
Full of folk flavor and rustic rhythms, Dvořák’s only violin concerto is fiendishly difficult. “A virtuoso and a player of deeply intense sincerity” (The New York Times), Gil Shaham makes it sound easy.
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Antonín Dvořák Carnival Overture
A musical celebration of life and all its joys and possibilities, this delightful bonbon of an overture is the perfect dessert at the end of our program.
Joshua Bell Leads Beethoven
Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Passing
Joshua Bell conductor & violin
New Jersey Symphony
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Ludwig van Beethoven Coriolan Overture
Beethoven captures turmoil and drama like few other composers. In this harrowing overture to a play set in Ancient Rome, hear the march to battle and the plea for peace in conflict with one another. Which wins out? Join us and see.
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Ludwig van Beethoven Violin Concerto
As if playing this difficult and profound work wasn’t enough, Joshua Bell also conducts from the soloist position. Among Beethoven’s most transcendent works, the violin soars and sings through the full range of human emotion.
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Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 7
Richard Wagner called this symphony “the apotheosis of the dance.” Its slow movement was memorably used in the Oscar-winning film The King’s Speech. Over 200 years later, Beethoven’s masterpiece still moves and inspires.