(NEWARK, NJ) -- Music Director Xian Zhang leads the New Jersey Symphony and violinist Hilary Hahn in the Sibelius Violin Concerto on a January 28–29 program featuring Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Ballade in A Minor and Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912) was a prolific black British composer of chamber music, choral works, songs and orchestral works, including the brilliant single-movement Ballade in A Minor.
Prokofiev's popularity briefly eclipsed that of Edward Elgar, an early mentor. He composed his Fifth Symphony toward the end of World War II, a period of increasing optimism. The work’s premiere in Moscow in January 1945—with the sound of artillery audible in the background—was the high point of Prokofiev’s career after his return to the Soviet Union in the 1930s.
Performances take place at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank on January 28 at 8:00pm and at New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark on January 29 at 3:00pm. Tickets are available online at njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).
Grammy Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn melds expressive musicality and technical expertise with a diverse repertoire guided by artistic curiosity. Hahn recently premiered six new violin partitas by Antón García Abril as part of her commissioning project for solo violin. Her album Eclipse—featuring music by Sarasate, Dvořák and Ginastera—was released in October 2022. Hahn has toured with folk-rock singer-songwriter Josh Ritter and is the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s inaugural CSO Artist-in-Residence through June 2023. Her long-running “Postcards from the Road” blog series chronicles her travels around the world; she has hosted a YouTube interview series with her musical colleagues; and her initiatives to make classical music more accessible include a “Bring Your Own Baby” concert series and the Instagram #100daysofpractice challenge, inviting people to join her for 100 days of practice.
More information is available at https://www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/hilary-hahn-xian-zhang-unite.
Hilary Hahn & Xian Zhang Unite
Saturday, January 28, 8:00pm | Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank
Sunday, December 29, 3:00pm | New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark
Xian Zhang conductor; Hilary Hahn violin
New Jersey Symphony
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Ballade in A Minor, Op. 33
Jean Sibelius Concerto in D Minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 47
Sergei Prokofiev Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100
The Emmy and Grammy Award-winning New Jersey Symphony, celebrating its Centennial Season in 2022–23, is redefining what it means to be a nationally leading, relevant orchestra in the 21st century. We are renewing our deeply rooted commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion by championing new, and often local, artists; engaging audiences for whom the inspiring depth and breadth of classical music will be new; and incorporating the broadest possible representation in all aspects of our organization—all to better reflect and serve our vibrant communities. Since 2021, Music Director Xian Zhang has worked together with composer, violinist, educator and social-justice advocate Daniel Bernard Roumain, the orchestra’s resident artistic catalyst, to offer programming that connects with diverse communities in Newark and throughout New Jersey.
Internationally renowned Chinese-American conductor Xian Zhang began her tenure as the New Jersey Symphony’s current Music Director in 2016. Since her arrival at the New Jersey Symphony, Zhang has revitalized programming with an industry-leading commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in mainstage concerts. The centennial season opened in October with concerts featuring Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto with soloist Yefim Bronfman; Jessie Montgomery’s Banner; Nimbus Dance performing original choreography to Copland’s Appalachian Spring Suite; Strauss’ Burleske for Piano and Orchestra with soloist Michelle Cann; Brahms’ Fourth Symphony; and Dorothy Chang’s Northern Star. The centennial season will conclude in June 2023 with Zhang leading the orchestra and violinist Joshua Bell in Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and a commissioned world premiere by Daniel Bernard Roumain.
PHOTOS: (TOP) Photo by OJ Slaughter (MIDDLE) Photo by Dana van Leeuwen Decca (BOTTOM) Photo by Cherylynn Tsushima
