OPENING WEEKEND: DENK PLAYS “EMPEROR”

XIAN ZHANG conductor
JEREMY DENK piano
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Beethoven fans, rejoice! Xian Zhang kicks off a multi-concert tribute to Ludwig with the composer’s “Emperor” Concerto, starring phenomenal pianist and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Jeremy Denk. The NJSO shows its virtuosity in Berlioz’s fantastic tale of thwarted love, opium dreams and witchcraft.

• BEETHOVEN Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus
  Stirring and primal, introduces Beethoven’s sole ballet. Displays a youthful spark of genius.

• BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
  Beethoven composed this majestic piece during a Napoleonic siege; like his Fifth Symphony, an iconic masterpiece.

• BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique
  An obsessive love turns demonic in this bold tour de force, which Berlioz wrote to win over celebrated actress Harriet Smithson.