(NEWARK, NJ) -- The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents Romantic masterworks from Schumann and Brahms, March 17-20 in Newark and New Brunswick. Stephen Hough performs Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A Minor; Christian Arming conducts a program that opens with Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll and closes with Brahms’ Second Symphony.
Performances take place on Thursday, March 17, at 1:30pm and Sunday, March 20, at 3:00pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark and Saturday, March 19, at 8:00pm at the State Theatre in New Brunswick.
Music Director Jacques Lacombe says: “Stephen Hough is one of my favorite pianists, and I am excited to welcome him back to the NJSO for Schumann’s Piano Concerto. The way Schumann conceived musical phrases might have had something to do with his own state of mind. He was a very complex man, and life was not easy for him; that is reflected in his music—some of it can be very joyful, and some of it can be pretty dark—and there’s some beauty in that. You feel the big weight, the ups and downs, of his mood and his music.
“Schumann and Brahms together is always a winning combination. They knew and respected each other, and Brahms’ relationship with Clara Schumann was so special to him. Brahms’ Second Symphony is pure joy and happiness; it’s sunshine and very positive energy. It’s a masterwork, and it is amazing to think that Brahms had [such complex feelings] about writing a symphony after what Beethoven had achieved [with symphonic form]. It’s one of my favorites.”
NJSO Accents include Riffs—NJSO clarinetist Andrew Lamy and violist Michael Stewart will perform traditional Irish tunes in a St. Patrick’s Day salute before the March 17 performance and after the March 19 performance.
The Orchestra presents an insider’s look at the 2016–17 season one hour before the March 19 concert.
The NJSO will collect non-perishable food items at each performance as part of the Orchestra’s annual food drive to benefit food banks across New Jersey.
Concert tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).
