New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark

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.

The superlatives rack up when describing this glorious work: stunning, titanic, sweeping—even sweetly intimate in spots. A perfect conclusion to the season.

At the dawn of the 20th century, Elgar summed up the pride and power of the English with this march; its later use as a graduation theme made him a household name far beyond Britain.

The New Jersey-based composer was inspired by the Welsh word for nostalgia for this innovative work, touching music commissioned alongside an equally moving film.

The myths and astrological meanings of our heavenly neighbors moved Holst to create his masterpiece. The work gathers a new depth accompanied by jaw-dropping NASA visuals.

At the dawn of the 20th century, Elgar summed up the pride and power of the English with this march; its later use as a graduation theme made him a household name far beyond Britain.

The New Jersey-based composer was inspired by the Welsh word for nostalgia for this innovative work, touching music commissioned alongside an equally moving film.

The myths and astrological meanings of our heavenly neighbors moved Holst to create his masterpiece. The work gathers a new depth accompanied by jaw-dropping NASA visuals.

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.

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.

A defining work in this Brooklyn-based composer’s career. Written for strings alone, this tender piece is the song of loss and memory for her mother.

Rachmaninoff wrote this concerto to showcase his exceptional talent and blindingly fast technique. It starts with a deceptively simple melody that every beginner can play, but it quickly becomes the Everest of all piano concertos—one that few soloists attempt to conquer.

Dvořák’s Eighth poured out of him while he was surrounded by the cherished Bohemian countryside that was his inspiration. Close your eyes and you’ll see the colors of autumn, awash in sunlight.

A defining work in this Brooklyn-based composer’s career. Written for strings alone, this tender piece is the song of loss and memory for her mother.

Rachmaninoff wrote this concerto to showcase his exceptional talent and blindingly fast technique. It starts with a deceptively simple melody that every beginner can play, but it quickly becomes the Everest of all piano concertos—one that few soloists attempt to conquer.

Dvořák’s Eighth poured out of him while he was surrounded by the cherished Bohemian countryside that was his inspiration. Close your eyes and you’ll see the colors of autumn, awash in sunlight.

One of Mozart’s most famous works—with good reason. This church solo from Mozart’s teenage years rivals his secular arias for sheer brilliance.

NJSO Concertmaster Eric Wyrick performs a Mozart concerto into which the composer crafted too much virtuosity to perform himself!

Xian Zhang’s selection of magnificent arias and scenes creates a masterful abridged version of Mozart’s dramatic bad-boy opera.

Ten minutes of utter serenity: Wagner has painted the most delicate sound, with soft strings evoking the tenderness of silver moonlight.

NJSO audiences demanded Trpčeski’s return. Don’t miss him in this dazzler by the composer-pianist genius Franz Liszt.

Wagner’s four-night epic of Ring operas is full of heaven-storming music. The American conductor Lorin Maazel, who mentored Xian early in her career, arranged it into this amazing 60-minute suite.

Ten minutes of utter serenity: Wagner has painted the most delicate sound, with soft strings evoking the tenderness of silver moonlight.

NJSO audiences demanded Trpčeski’s return. Don’t miss him in this dazzler by the composer-pianist genius Franz Liszt.

Wagner’s four-night epic of Ring operas is full of heaven-storming music. The American conductor Lorin Maazel, who mentored Xian early in her career, arranged it into this amazing 60-minute suite.

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.

When Beethoven moved from his small-town home to the big city of Vienna, he used this music to impress the Viennese with his once-in-a-lifetime virtuosity at the piano.

You know Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. His Third Piano Concerto has the same drama and impact, and it is a thrill to witness as it unfolds through a great pianist’s hands.

The opening is Beethoven magic: a hushed piano solo brings you to the edge of your seat for what becomes his most joyous concerto.

Not just a curtain-raiser, the overture to Rossini’s 39th (!) and final opera, William Tell, is a full symphony in miniature.

This lyrical new piece completes Christopher Rouse’s cycle of concertos for every wind instrument. The NJSO co-commissioned this work to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Principal Bassoon Robert Wagner, who has given so much to our organization on and off stage.

With two thunderous opening chords, Beethoven unlocked a new world of music-making, and every performance of his “Eroica” sounds revolutionary.

A daring 20th-century masterpiece! Revel in the sounds of the NJSO strings, accentuated by keyboard and percussion—writing so evocative that Stanley Kubrick famously used it in The Shining.

Critics of Tchaikovsky’s day crushed this new symphony (“a horde of demons struggling in a torrent of brandy,” wrote one), and even the composer said, “It is a failure.” But its hypnotic melodies and triumphant mood turned the Fifth into an audience favorite.

Brahms reimagined an old German hymn tune in eight different ways, then wove these variations together into one breathtaking showpiece.

With Nicholas McGegan at the harpsichord, NJSO Assistant Concertmaster Adriana Rosin pairs up with 2018 Sphinx Competition winner Rubén Rengel for dazzling Vivaldi.

2015 Sphinx Competition winner Eduardo Rios partners with newly named NJSO Assistant Principal Cello Na-Young Baek for Baroque fireworks in this virtuosic showpiece.

Both Sphinx winners and Rosin perform together in the give and take of Vivaldi’s brilliant melodies as if in sparkling conversation.

The program concludes with the sunniest of an often-stormy composer’s symphonies.

Brahms reimagined an old German hymn tune in eight different ways, then wove these variations together into one breathtaking showpiece.

With Nicholas McGegan at the harpsichord, NJSO Assistant Concertmaster Adriana Rosin pairs up with 2018 Sphinx Competition winner Rubén Rengel for dazzling Vivaldi.

2015 Sphinx Competition winner Eduardo Rios partners with newly named NJSO Assistant Principal Cello Na-Young Baek for Baroque fireworks in this virtuosic showpiece.

Both Sphinx winners and Rosin perform together in the give and take of Vivaldi’s brilliant melodies as if in sparkling conversation.

The program concludes with the sunniest of an often-stormy composer’s symphonies.

A four-minute joyride, with the strings and brass tumbling over each other, and a touch of groove inspired by Mason Bates’ love of electronic dance music.

Famous for blending elegance with fireworks, Suwanai performs one of the most beloved of all violin concertos.

For decades early in his career, Shostakovich was hounded and harassed by Soviet leader Josef Stalin. Shostakovich’s 10th was written just after Stalin’s death; it is a towering testament to resilience over tyranny.

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!”

Sweep into summer with Mahler’s most innovative music! A guitar, a mandolin and the rarely heard tenor horn all add touches of surprise and mystery to the Seventh—alongside the thrilling, massive sound of the entire NJSO.