NJSO garners praise for concerts, hosts special events

The NJSO welcomed in-demand Finnish conductor Susanna Mälkki to New Jersey this weekend. Mälkki made her NJSO debut in the Orchestra’s critically praised performances of Strauss’ Don Juan, April 5–7 in Newark, New Brunswick and Morristown. A full weekend of music also featured two exciting special events—a “Friday Night Out” LGBT event and “Ms. Maestro: Women Leaders in Music,” a meet-and-greet Q&A session with Mälkki.

The New York Times lauded the Orchestra’s performance: “Energetic conducting can often mean, simply, fast. But Ms. Malkki’s work was never exaggerated in tempo. The vitality came instead from the precision of the orchestra’s playing and the crispness of the musical line, the way that Ms. Malkki, the music director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris, was able to make transitions of speed and mood both surprising and natural.”

On April 5, the NJSO hosted “Friday Night Out” at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. Longtime patrons and new guests mingled with NJSO musicians and enjoyed the Jazz Age sounds of the Michael Arenella Trio at a post-concert champagne and dessert reception.

On Saturday, April 6, Mälkki greeted patrons for “Ms. Maestro: Women Leaders in Music” following the performance at the State Theatre in New Brunswick. NJSO Assistant Conductor Gemma New led a Q&A session with Mälkki; the guest conductor spoke about her experiences as a prominent woman in a conducting field traditionally dominated by men.

New says the guest conductor made a powerful impression during her week with the NJSO: “It was great to work with her—I loved every minute of it. She is an international, world-renowned conductor, and it was inspiring to talk with her and see her work in rehearsal and concert. She has a very calm, but also strong and intense, energy she brought to the orchestra; they really fed off that and created something very meaningful in performance.”

The “Ms. Maestro” event gave patrons the opportunity to hear from an important figure in the conducting world. Says New: “It was nice to have the post-concert meet and greet with the audience; they seemed to really enjoy it. [Mälkki] talked about her career and women in conducting. She has an optimistic view that though it has been hard for women to break the tradition in conducting, that [same challenge] has happened for musicians of every instrument. Men were the only people in orchestras years ago, and it’s slowly becoming more equal. Conductors are still getting there, but we’re on our way.”

“The concert closed, as it had begun, on a high note,” Bachtrack writes of the Sunday matinee performance. “Kudos to the New Jersey Symphony and Susanna Mälkki for an afternoon of variety delivered with great finesse.”