NJPAC in Newark

Inspired by Spanish dance, Russia’s Rimsky-Korsakov turns a brilliant solo spotlight on members of the orchestra.

“The Joy of Suffering” explores the composer’s view that joy and suffering are “a matter of ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang’, inseparable and hence all things should contain both. Like loss and gain, they are bound to balance out.”

A soulful start prepares the listener for a heartbreaking piece—then fireworks erupt. The soloist’s left hand blurs on the fingerboard, and the bowings require an elite athlete’s stamina and grace. Only the best violinists like Feng can make this piece sing.

From the ballet stage comes this lighthearted Spanish tale filled with the rhythm and seduction of the dancing it is meant to accompany.

Hear the majesty and magic of Mozart’s final opera—a fantastical tale of mystery, adventure and love—distilled into this glowing overture.

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 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.

A journey from darkness to light, a powerful expression of freedom and a thrilling, virtuosic conclusion—this overture encapsulates everything we love about Beethoven in just over 10 minutes.

After making a splash for our celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday, artist-in-residence Louis Lortie returns to play Mozart’s most dramatic piano concerto—famous for its interplay of woodwinds and piano. After hearing Mozart’s concerto for the first time, Beethoven said, “We shall never be able to do anything like it!”

Based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, Stravinsky paid homage to Tchaikovsky with this delightful ballet music ful of spiky rhythms, graceful melodies and glittering orchestration.

This masterpiece from Bartók was banned after its first performance but is now recognized as one of the 20th century’s most thrilling and evocative examples of the power of a live orchestra—full of violence, love, horror and wonder.