New York Times chats with Zhang about ‘defining her own sound’
The New York Times’ Michael Cooper speaks with “dynamic podium presence” Xian Zhang after attending the first day of rehearsal for her debut concerts as NJSO Music Director:
How does it feel to have finished your first rehearsal with your new orchestra?
It feels great. This is a time to really build something, and that’s very exciting. It’s like you have a garden: You can plant and see it grow. And I think that’s a very fulfilling feeling.
One challenge the New Jersey Symphony faces is that it is a very good orchestra that can be overshadowed by the world-famous orchestras that play nearby.
This is a very special location. We’re kind of squeezed in the middle, but we benefit from it. Our players are at a very high level. Also, I think we have a special audience. Our audience is really in New Jersey, all over, each town. Those are very big advantages of this orchestra. Which means we should have the conditions to really make this grow into a higher-profile orchestra than it is now. The prestige of this group, I think, deserves to be higher.
How did you become a musician? Is it true that your father built you a piano?
“String” is the meaning of my first name, Xian — the string of a string instrument. So from my name, you can tell that my parents had already set their minds to making me a musician. They were musicians. But my mother couldn’t finish music school because of the Cultural Revolution. My dad used to be an instrument maker — violin, cello. The story is when I was 3, they wanted to start me on the piano, but they couldn’t find an instrument. So he had this idea of buying some parts from a closed-down factory. He bought them and took them home and built a wooden shell of a piano, and he painted it red, because that was the only color he could find. Bright red. We still have it.
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What do you hope to accomplish with the orchestra?
I look for a fuller sound — not just in volume, but in dimension. In other words, the orchestra’s sound, it can be light sometimes, but you don’t lose anything — you still get clarity and layers. And when it’s loud, you can still get layers.
How do you hope to build audiences?
I really want to promote parents’ taking their kids to concerts. I’ve seen some, but the more the better. If you don’t take them now, they’ll never come.
» Read the full story at www.nytimes.com
Music Director Xian Zhang in the news
» U.S. 1 interviews Xian Zhang about NJ arrival
» The Times of Trenton previews Xian Zhang’s Music Director debut
» The Star-Ledger interviews Zhang ahead of music director debut
» Listen: WWFM interviews Music Director Xian Zhang
» The New York Times anticipates debut of ‘charismatic’ Xian Zhang
» U.S. 1 previews arrival of ‘vibrant’ Xian Zhang
» The Star-Ledger features NJSO in fall arts preview
» Princeton Magazine features Xian Zhang on September cover
» Newark Happening: Xian Zhang to debut as NJSO Music Director
» #TBT: ‘Xian Zhang burst onto the stage like a firecracker’
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Watch a behind-the-scenes “State of the Arts” feature on Zhang and her NJSO arrival, filmed during her week with the Orchestra in April:
» Read press and see highlights from Zhang’s April week with the Orchestra
Xian Zhang’s debut concerts as NJSO Music Director
Zhang conducts a trio of Tchaikovsky scores—Symphony No. 5, Piano Concerto No. 1 and Polonaise from Eugene Onegin—October 27–30 in Newark, Princeton, New Brunswick and Morristown. Pianist Simon Trpčeski joins the Orchestra for Tchaikovsky’s concerto.
She leads a program featuring Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, Haydn’s Symphony No. 102 and Adagio from Piano Trio No. 40 and Strauss’ Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, November 3–6 in Englewood and Newark. The Beethoven concerto features NJSO Concertmaster Eric Wyrick, Principal Cello Jonathan Spitz and pianist Pedja Muzijevic.
» View concert details and purchase tickets