(NEWARK, NJ) -- New Jersey Symphony announced that Lina González-Granados will conduct alongside Vadim Gluzman as he performs Johannes Brahms' Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77. Performances will take place in New Brunswick, Red Bank, and Newark.
Robert Schumann’s Overture, Scherzo, and Finale starts off the program. Composed in 1841 and often described as “the symphony without a slow movement,” the high-spirited melodies keep the music upbeat throughout the piece. The program’s first half continues with Mexico City native Gabriela Ortiz’s Clara as it sonically explores the relationship between husband and wife — Robert and Clara Schumann — in its five sections.
The program closes with Brahms’ Violin Concerto. A year after composing his Second Symphony, Brahms completed this concerto in summer 1878. Brahms’ friend Joseph Joachim, one of the great violinists of the 19th century, was instrumental in shaping the solo part of the piece.
Performances take place Thursday, March 20, 2025 at 7:30pm at State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick; Saturday, March 22, 2025 at 8:00pm at Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank; and Sunday, March 23, 2025 at 3:00pm at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark.
Two pre-concert Classical Conversations will take place on Thursday, March 20, at 6:30pm at State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick and Saturday, March 22 at 7:00pm at Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank. Concertgoers will be able to learn more about the music from Symphony musicians, guest artists, and other engaging insiders.
The concert on Sunday, March 23, will open with a performance by the students from the El Sistema New Jersey Alliance, featuring Paterson Music Project, Trenton Music Makers, and United Children’s Music Project.
More information on concerts and tickets: njsymphony.org/events.
Lina González-Granados - Praised for her “rich, heartfelt orchestral sound” (Chicago Sun-Times), “rhythmic vitality” (San Francisco Chronicle), and “raw power” (LA Times), Colombian American conductor Lina González-Granados has distinguished herself nationally and internationally as a singular talent. Her spectacular interpretations of the symphonic and operatic repertoire, as well as her dedication to highlighting new and unknown works by Latin American composers, have earned her international recognition. Most recently, she was named one of Bloomberg Línea’s 100 Influential Latinos of 2022. She is also the recipient of the 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the Third Prize and ECHO Special Award (European Concert Hall Organization) of La Maestra Competition, and the 2020 and 2021 Solti Foundation US Career Assistance Award.
After winning the Fourth Chicago Symphony Orchestra Sir Georg Solti International Conducting Competition, González-Granados was named the Solti Conducting Apprentice and served as the assistant to Riccardo Muti from February 2020 through June 2023. In the fall of 2022, she was appointed resident conductor by the LA Opera, a post she will hold through June 2025. She has also previously held positions as the inaugural conducting fellow of the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as the conducting fellow of the Seattle Symphony.
González-Granados’ 2024–25 season starts with an extensive tour across Colombia with Filarmónica Joven de Colombia, followed by debuts with the Minnesota Orchestra; Royal Stockholm Philharmonic; the Phoenix, New Jersey, and National Dublin Symphonies; as well as National Arts Center Ottawa. In January 2025, González-Granados conducted the finale of the Sphinx Competition and returned to Chicago Symphony as well as San Antonio Philharmonic. At the Los Angeles Opera, she will be conducting several captivating performances throughout the season, including Romeo and Juliet; she will lead the production of Golijov’s Ainadamar in the spring of 2025.
Vadim Gluzman - Universally recognized among today’s top performing artists, Vadim Gluzman breathes new life and passion into the golden era of the 19th and 20th centuries’ violin tradition. Gluzman’s wide repertoire embraces new music, and his performances are heard around the world through livestreams, broadcasts and a striking catalogue of award-winning recordings on BIS, Platoon, and EuroArts lables.
The Israeli violinist appears with world’s leading orchestras and conductors, including Tugan Sokhiev with the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, and Orchestre de Paris; Neeme Järvi with Chicago Symphony and London Philharmonic; Riccardo Chailly with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali with Gothenburg Symphony and Philharmonia Orchestra, as well as with the Cleveland Orchestra under the batons of Hannu Lintu and Michail Jurowski. He appears at Ravinia, Tanglewood, BBC Proms, Grant Park, and the North Shore Chamber Music Festival, which he founded in 2011.
Gluzman starts the 2024–25 season with return to the Grant Park and Colorado Music Festivals, followed by performances with the Gewandhaus, NDR Elbphilharmonie, and the Bavarian Radio Orchestras, Solistes Européens Luxembourg, as well as Pittsburgh, Vancouver, and New Jersey Symphony orchestras. He continues to lead performances with the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra in Columbus, Ohio, where he serves as a creative partner and principal guest artist.
Gluzman has premiered works by Sofia Gubaidulina, Moritz Eggert, Giya Kancheli, Elena Firsova, Pēteris Vasks, Michael Daugherty, and Lera Auerbach. In the current season he continues to introduce the new violin concerto by Erkki-Sven Tüür “Dialogues with the Unknown,” commissioned for Gluzman by the HR Frankfurt Radio Orchestra and the Oregon Symphony.
Accolades for his extensive discography include the Diapason d’Or of the Year, Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice, Classica Magazine’s Choc de Classica award, and Disc of the Month by The Strad, BBC Music Magazine, and Classic FM.
Distinguished artist in residence at the Peabody Conservatory, where he teaches a selected group of young violinists, Gluzman performs on the legendary 1690 ‘ex-Leopold Auer’ Stradivari, on extended loan through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.
New Jersey Symphony is a GRAMMY and Emmy Award-winning orchestra. Under the direction of the Music Director Xian Zhang, the Symphony performs more than 60 concerts at mainstage venues across the state, including Newark, Princeton, New Brunswick, Red Bank, and Morristown as well as schools and public spaces statewide. Programming at the Symphony reflects an unwavering commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion while providing students across the state unparalleled opportunities to achieve musical excellence through its Youth Orchestra and other outreach programs. In 2024, the Symphony announced it would continue to deliver its statewide activities from a new, permanent office, rehearsal, and concert space in Jersey City, set to open in 2026.
