Gemma New and George Li lead the way in a dazzling performance with the New Jersey Symphony
Former Associate Conductor Gemma New returned to the New Jersey Symphony stage to lead the orchestra in Berloz’s Symphonie fantastique and Sarah Gibson’s warp & weft at Newark, Red Bank and Morristown, with George Li joining as a soloist for Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. NJ Advance Media would review the Thursday Matinee at NJPAC, saying that New, Li and the Symphony made Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody sound new.
George Li was the virtuoso seated at the Steinway in Prudential Hall, and the 27-year-old pianist won over the Newark audience with his commanding phrasing and ringing tone ... credit conductor Gemma New (a former associate conductor here in the Garden State) and her soloist Thursday at NJPAC for taking on this well-worn megahit and making it sound vital and well, new.
James C. Taylor of NJ Advance Media