(NEWARK, NJ) -- Acclaimed Music Director Xian Zhang and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra present Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto and Elgar’s Enigma Variations, February 23–26 in Englewood, Newark, Red Bank and Morristown. Pianist Kirill Gerstein—hailed as “alarmingly gifted” by Classical Review—returns to perform the Rachmaninoff concerto, one of the most enduring works in the canon.
The program features a trio of perennial concert-hall favorites. Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto offers keyboard pyrotechnics and memorable melodies that have gained popularity beyond the classical realm through film scores and radio hits like Eric Carmen’s “All By Myself.” Elgar’s Enigma Variations is a collection of musical portraits of his friends; the central hidden message that connects them remains a mystery. Verdi’s Overture to Nabucco highlights the opera’s powerful “Va, pensiero” chorus, which became an unofficial Italian national anthem.
Zhang returns to New Jersey stages—and makes her first appearance of the season at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank—to continue her debut season as NJSO Music Director. Her welcoming concerts at five venues statewide this fall inspired critical and audience accolades.
The New York Times praised Zhang for both her skills at the podium and her chemistry with the Orchestra: “[Zhang] showed complete command of these scores and a deep feeling for them … [The performance] spoke to meticulous preparation by Ms. Zhang, but also to a certain freedom and risk-taking on the part of the players that suggested an enthusiastic and confident response to her direction.”
The NJSO’s artistic leader brought “not just skill but also heart,” The Star-Ledger wrote. “Zhang whipped the orchestra into a fine frenzy.”
In a rave review of Gerstein’s 2015 NJSO appearance, The Star-Ledger wrote: “From his first impeccable chords ... [his] playing was dignified yet full of life, with a sound that started out as present and full, yet still possessing an inward quality before torrents of descending tones and penetrating brass combined to searing effect.
“He maintained authority as the music grew increasingly tense, leaning into accents before building to blazing, explosive fury. Even in quieter sections, his playing was clean but never stark, with an appealing soft-grained quality.”
Performances take place on Thursday, February 23, at 7:30 pm at bergenPAC in Englewood; Friday, February 24, at 8 pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark; Saturday, February 25, at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, and Sunday, February 26, at 3 pm at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown.
NJSO Accents include #OrchestraYou—the NJSO’s celebrated pro-am experience that brings amateur instrumentalists and Orchestra musicians together for a fun post-concert performance session—on February 24. #OrchestraYou is free to the evening’s concertgoers; there are no auditions, but registration is required by February 17. More information and downloadable instrumental parts are available at www.njsymphony.org/orchestrayou.
Other NJSO Accent events surround the February 25 and 26 performances. Classical Conversations with Zhang and NJSO Director of Artistic Planning Patrick Chamberlain begin one hour before each concert. Following both performances, Chamberlain hosts talkbacks exploring the hidden messages in works such as the Enigma Variations.
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
Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto
Thursday, February 23, at 7:30 pm | bergenPAC in Englewood
Friday, February 24, at 8 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Saturday, February 25, at 8 pm | Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank
Sunday, February 26, at 3 pm | Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown
Xian Zhang, conductor
Kirill Gerstein, piano
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
VERDI Nabucco Overture
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2
ELGAR Enigma Variations
Full concert information is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/rachmaninoffs-second-piano-concerto.
