Hear three NJSO concert broadcasts on WWFM
Tune in to WWFM this Friday, March 31, at 8 pm to hear Xian Zhang’s debut program as NJSO Music Director!
In a new partnership, WWFM The Classical Network will air NJSO concert broadcasts on Friday, March 31; Thursday, April 27; and Friday, June 2. Each broadcast airs at 8 pm on 89.1 FM and streams simultaneously online at www.wwfm.org.
The programs will feature music by Tchaikovsky, Haydn, Strauss and more in performances led by Music Director Xian Zhang, recorded live at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. Webcasts will become available for on-demand listening on the NJSO and WWFM websites.
Fri, Mar 31, at 8 pm
WWFM airs Zhang’s debut program as Music Director, featuring a trio of Tchaikovsky scores—the Fifth Symphony, First Piano Concerto (with pianist Simon Trpčeski) and Polonaise from Eugene Onegin. Zhang “showed complete command of these scores and a deep feeling for them,” The New York Times wrote in its concert review. 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.”
Thu, Apr 27, at 8 pm
The April 27 broadcast features Haydn’s Symphony No. 102 and Strauss’ Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, recorded in November 2016, and Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony and Marche Slave, recorded in April 2016. The Star-Ledger praised the chemistry between orchestra and conductor in April: “Employing her theatrical conducting style, poised on the balls of her feet, often leaping with arms outstretched and making compact but forceful baton gestures, Zhang coaxed precise pizzicato playing from the strings, various emotional shadings from the woodwinds, and Wagnerian crescendos from the horns.” Zhang brought “not just skill but also heart,” the paper wrote in its November review.
Fri, June 2, at 8 pm
Program details for the June 2 broadcast will become available at a later date.