Press hail Xian Zhang’s week with NJSO
Next NJSO Music Director Xian Zhang garnered widespread press attention in advance of her four performances with the Orchestra this week; the concerts earned critical raves from national and local media outlets.
The New York Times writes:
The dynamic performances [Xian] Zhang led on Friday proved that hers is a name worth memorizing. On the podium she is a pint-size bundle of energy, conducting with feet firmly grounded and big, purposeful motions of the torso and arms. In brief remarks from the stage, she also showed herself to be a natural communicator, brimming with enthusiasm and humor: a good choice for this orchestra, which takes its ambassadorial role seriously with concert series offered across the state and numerous outreach initiatives.
The orchestra is also stocked with excellent players, and there were moments during Friday’s program when the sound reached a fullness and polish that would be the envy of better-known ensembles on the other side of the state lines.
The Star-Ledger writes:
So as a trailer — or overture — to the Xian Zhang era of the New Jersey Symphony, which starts later this year, the Chinese maestra's concerts this weekend must be seen as a success. At NJPAC on Friday night, Zhang — who will formally begin as Artistic Director this fall — won over the crowd with both her remarks and her musicianship. And like any good trailer or overture, it left you wanting more. ... A good music director isn't just a conductor; she's also a communicator and a leader.
WQXR writes:
A welcoming audience embraced the incoming music director at Thursday’s concert, a preview of Zhang’s term, which goes through the 2019-2020 season. The performance reflected her strong rapport with the orchestra, as seen through a program of Tchaikovsky’s Marche Slave and Fourth Symphony, as well as Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto.
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Following the program, Zhang enumerated her ambitious goals for the NJSO once she does officially assume the role of music director ... “You have a sound in your head,” Zhang said, explaining that the conductor’s job is to implement it: “The conductor’s vision exists in sound.”
Superconductor writes:
The program was chosen two years ago, long before Ms. Zhang was on the orchestra's radar. However, the program of Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto between a pair of durable Tchaikovsky bookends was suited to her talents. ... Ms. Zhang led a gripping account of [Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony], in which the demons of the opening theme are conqured by a bright major coda.
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Read what this week's concertgoers are saying about the NJSO's next music director on Concert Coda.