(NEWARK, NJ) -- Acclaimed Music Director Xian Zhang and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra present Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, March 23–26 in Newark, Princeton and Morristown. Lukáš Vondráček, who garnered praise for his NJSO debut in 2013, returns for Shostakovich’s First Piano Concerto, which also features NJSO Principal Trumpet Garth Greenup. The program also includes Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony.
Performances take place on Thursday, March 23, at 1:30pm and Saturday, March 25, at 8:00pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark; Friday, March 24, at 8:00pm at the Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, and Sunday, March 26, at 3:00pm at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown.
Zhang leads the Orchestra in one of Beethoven’s most enduring symphonies; the Seventh’s second movement gained new mainstream cultural prominence as the score to the climactic scene of Oscar-winning film The King’s Speech. Prokofiev’s aptly named Classical Symphony draws inspiration from Haydn.
In his first appearances with the NJSO, Vondráček “showed all the hallmarks of a piano powerhouse: the imposing sound, the authority as he blazed through breakneck runs and intricate passages, the sense of nothing held back,” The Star-Ledger wrote. The pianist returns to New Jersey stages for a dramatic work Shostakovich originally envisioned as a double concerto with trumpet; Greenup performs the trumpet’s prominent role.
NJSO Accents include Riffs, beginning one hour before the concert on March 23. NJSO violinist Darryl Kubian, an accomplished theremin player, performs a set on the ethereal instrument. The event is free for ticketholders.
TICKETS
Concert tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).
THE PROGRAM
Zhang Conducts Beethoven’s Seventh
Thursday, March 23, at 1:30 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Friday, March 24, at 8 pm | Richardson Auditorium in Princeton
Saturday, March 25, at 8 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Sunday, March 26, at 3 pm | Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown
Xian Zhang, conductor
Lukáš Vondráček, piano
Garth Greenup, trumpet
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
PROKOFIEV Classical Symphony
SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Concerto No. 1
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7
Full concert information is available online.
The March 24 performance is generously sponsored by Novo Nordisk. The March 25 performance is generously sponsored by Bank of America.
NJSO ACCENTS
Inspired by the concerts and designed to inspire audiences, NJSO Accents are pre- or post-concert events that complement the concert experience and provide audience members with more opportunities to personally connect with the music and music makers.
Riffs—Thu, Mar 23, before the concert
NJSO Violinist Darryl Kubian is also an accomplished theremin player, one of the most unusual instruments you'll ever encounter. Here, he sets aside the violin and performs a set on this most ethereal of instruments. Free for ticketholders.
NJSO Accents in Newark are generously sponsored by the Prudential Foundation.
