NJPAC in Newark
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NJPAC Series 2 - Thursday and Sunday Afternoons
Thursday and Sunday afternoons at 3 pm
To renew or purchase this series, please call NJSO Patron Services at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476), Monday–Friday from 9 am to 5 pm and concert-weekend Saturdays from 11 am to 5 pm. This series is not available for purchase online. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Dawn Upshaw & Xian Zhang
2019 Winter Festival: Music Speaks
XIAN ZHANG conductor
DAWN UPSHAW soprano
JAY ANDERSON bass | FRANK KIMBROUGH piano | SCOTT ROBINSON clarinet
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
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MARIA SCHNEIDER Winter Morning Walks (NJSO Premiere)
This poignant song cycle follows the singer on a series of walks in the woods, tracing a path back to wellness as winter gives way to early spring.
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MAHLER Symphony No. 4
The playful and the profound mingle in this life-affirming symphony; its idyllic finale aims to “gladden our senses, so that all awaken for joy.”
Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto
2018–19 Season
HANS GRAF conductor
JEFFREY KAHANE piano
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
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RAVEL Le tombeau de Couperin
Each of the four wistful and elegant movements commemorates a friend who died in battle during World War I. The oboe shines throughout.
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BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4
Grand yet nuanced; generations of listeners have loved this piece, and critics have judged it to be among Beethoven’s greatest and most innovative works.
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SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 1
Shostakovich composed this sardonic work at 18; it was an enormous success, instantly bringing him international attention.
Sarod & Scheherazade
2018–19 Season
XIAN ZHANG conductor
AMJAD ALI KHAN sarod (pictured)
AMAAN ALI BANGASH sarod
AYAAN ALI BANGASH sarod
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
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AMJAD ALI KHAN Samaagam: A Concerto for Sarod, Concertante Group and String Orchestra (NJSO Premiere)
Samaagam means “confluence”; Western and Indian musical streams merge to propel this heartfelt, emotive work.
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RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade
Sumptuous and brilliant; like its fabled heroine from One Thousand and One Nights, Scheherazade captivates with tales of adventure and romance.
Xian Conducts Mozart
2018–19 Season
XIAN ZHANG conductor
SIMONE DINNERSTEIN piano (pictured)
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
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WALTON Suite No. 2 from Façade
Sassy, comedic and very British; in its debut, poet Edith Sitwell sat behind a screen and recited her poems set to music through a megaphone, scandalizing the audience.
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MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23
Warm and tender; its sublime, melancholy Adagio speaks of heartbreak and acceptance.
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MOZART Symphony No. 40
Mozart’s second-to-last symphony crackles with a powerful dramatic tension, a musical “appeal to eternity” as his life was cut short.
Art of the Double Concerto
2018–19 Season
XIAN ZHANG conductor
ERIC WYRICK violin
ANNELLE GREGORY violin
STEVEN MACKEY electric guitar
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
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WEBER Overture to Oberon
Exciting and suspenseful; based on a medieval story of an Elf King who must search the globe for one faithful human couple.
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STEVEN MACKEY Four Iconoclastic Episodes
“Music driven by energy, motion and joy of playing.” Mackey’s eclectic piece for violin and electric guitar includes hints of Radiohead, Chicago blues and much more.
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BACH Concerto for Two Violins
Riveting and inspiring; its achingly lovely second movement was unforgettably featured in Children of a Lesser God as actress Marlee Matlin “heard” music.
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BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3
Beethoven’s heroic and triumphant overture tells the story of his only opera, Fidelio, bringing this palindrome concert to a delightful close.
Blockbuster All-Orchestral Season Finale
2018–19 Season
XIAN ZHANG conductor
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
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MENDELSSOHN Selections from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Whimsical, sparkling, emotional—was more joyous music ever put to paper? Closes with the famous Wedding March, which in its full orchestral form is a marvel.
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RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 2
The superlatives rack up when describing this glorious work: stunning, titanic, sweeping—even sweetly intimate in spots. A perfect conclusion to the season.