Jan 13–29 in six venues across New Jersey

• Celebrated conductor and violinist is Artistic Director of three-concert festival
• Zukerman performs prized violin works by Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Bach
• Concerts feature Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony, Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, Mendelssohn’s ‘Italian’ Symphony, Saint-Saëns’ ‘Organ’ Symphony and more
• NJSO Accents include Prelude Performances, Classical Conversations and Riffs, plus organ tour and recital at Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart

NEWARK, NJ (December 1, 2016)—The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra welcomes legendary violinist and conductor Pinchas Zukerman for its three-concert 2017 Winter Festival in January at all six NJSO venues across the state. Serving as the festival’s Artistic Director, Zukerman solos in some of the violin repertoire’s most prized works by Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Bach. He also conducts the NJSO in the festival’s bookends, with Venezuelan conductor Christian Vásquez leading the middle program.

Spanning three weekends, January 13–29, the Winter Festival includes performances at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick, Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown and bergenPAC in Englewood.

Zukerman has inspired acclaim for his artistry and live performances. In concert, The Los Angeles Times wrote, “[he] seemed the forever-young virtuoso: expressively resourceful, infectiously musical, technically impeccable, effortless. As usual, it was a joy to be in his musical company.”

“I am delighted to be working with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra as we make music together throughout the state this January,” Zukerman says. “In a festival, you can experiment with different centuries of music in a very short time. In a concise three weekends, we will present great music [of different eras] in concerts across New Jersey, [allowing] the music we have selected to serve as a conversation between me, the Orchestra and the audiences.

“It is my hope and intention that the programs we present, and especially the two programs in which I both conduct and solo, will create a total immersion in sound and will demonstrate the camaraderie and community needed to create this beauty.”

Zukerman—principal guest conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and former music director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Ottawa—conducts and solos in the first Winter Festival program (January 13–15 in Newark, Red Bank and New Brunswick), performing Tchaikovsky’s Sérénade Mélancolique and “Melodie” from Souvenir d’un Lieu Cher. He also leads the Orchestra in Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, “Italian.”

In the second program (January 20–22 in Princeton, Newark and Morristown), Zukerman performs Beethoven’s sole Violin Concerto as Vásquez conducts a program that also features Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3, “Organ,” and Barber’s Overture to The School for Scandal.

The festival finale (January 26–29 in Englewood, New Brunswick and Newark) again features Zukerman in a play/conduct role. The program includes Bach’s Second Violin Concerto, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica,” and Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night).

As Artistic Director of this year’s Winter Festival, one of the NJSO’s signature annual events, Zukerman relishes the opportunity to collaborate with the Orchestra at venues across the state. “Throughout my association with the NJSO, I’ve always been impressed by the Orchestra’s mission and commitment to bringing music to its audiences wherever they reside,” he says. “I think bringing music to the people, instead of the other way around, is important and an incredible journey.”

NJSO Accent events across the three weekends include Prelude Performances by the young musicians of the NJSO Academy, pre-concert Classical Conversations and a Riffs jazz session with NJSO French horn player Chris Komer. The Orchestra will also offer a tour of Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart and a demonstration and mini-recital on its magnificent Schantz organ by Cathedral Basilica Director of Music Ministries—and Saint-Saëns’ “Organ” Symphony featured performer—John Miller.

For more information on the Winter Festival and related events, visit www.njsymphony.org/winterfestival.

 

TICKETS

Tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

 

2017 WINTER FESTIVAL PROGRAMS

WEEK I: Zukerman Plays Tchaikovsky

Friday, January 13, at 8 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Saturday, January 14, at 8 pm | Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank
Sunday, January 15, at 3 pm | State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick

Pinchas Zukerman, conductor and violin soloist
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

TCHAIKOVSKY “Melodie” from Souvenir d’un Lieu Cher
TCHAIKOVSKY Sérénade Mélancolique
TCHAIKOVSKY Serenade for Strings
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 4, “Italian”

NJSO ACCENTS: Prelude Performances – Fri, Jan 13, and Sun, Jan 15, before the concert
Enjoy live music in the lobby, performed by the young musicians of the NJSO Academy. Free for ticketholders.

Full concert information is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/winter-festival-zukerman-plays-tchaikovsky.

 

WEEK II: Zukerman & Beethoven’s Violin Concerto

Friday, January 20 at 8 pm | Richardson Auditorium in Princeton
Saturday, January 21 at 8 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Sunday, January 22 at 3 pm | Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown

Christian Vásquez, conductor
Pinchas Zukerman, violin
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

BARBER The School for Scandal Overture
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto
SAINT-SAËNS Symphony No. 3, “Organ”

NJSO ACCENTS: Tour and Recital – Sat, Jan 21, starting at 5 pm
Tour Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, then relish a demonstration and mini-recital on its magnificent Schantz organ by John Miller, the Cathedral Basilica’s Director of Music Ministries, and the evening’s featured performer in Saint-Saëns’ “Organ” Symphony. Originally built in 1953–54, the Schantz organ was rebuilt with tonal alterations in 1989–90 and features 154 ranks, 193 stops and 9,513 pipes. $10 for the tour/recital, reservations required. More information.

NJSO ACCENTS: Classical Conversation—Sat, Jan 21, and Sun, Jan 22, before the concert
Enjoy a lively Classical Conversation beginning one hour before the performances. NJSO Director of Artistic Planning Patrick Chamberlain will talk with guest conductor Christian Vásquez and soloist Pinchas Zukerman. Free for ticketholders.

The January 22 concert is generously sponsored by RBC Wealth Management.

Full concert information is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/winter-festival-zukerman-beethovens-violin-concerto.

 

WEEK III: Zukerman Performs Bach

Thursday, January 26, at 7:30 pm | bergenPAC in Englewood
Saturday, January 28, at 8 pm | State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick
Sunday, January 29, at 3 pm | NJPAC in Newark

Pinchas Zukerman, conductor and violin soloist
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

BACH Violin Concerto No. 2
SCHOENBERG Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”

NJSO ACCENTS: Riffs—Sat, Jan 28, after the concert
NJSO French horn player Chris Komer’s other musical love is jazz. Showcasing marvelous versatility, he performs a set of smooth jazz tunes. Free for ticketholders.

Full concert information is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/winter-festival-zukerman-performs-bach.

 

NJSO ACCENTS

Inspired by the concerts and designed to inspire audiences, NJSO Accents are pre- or post-concert events that complement the concert experience and provide audience members with more opportunities to personally connect with the music and music makers.

NJSO Accents in Newark are generously sponsored by the Prudential Foundation.

 

2017 WINTER FESTIVAL ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PINCHAS ZUKERMAN

Pinchas Zukerman’s 2016–17 season, his eighth as principal guest conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and his second as artist-in association with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, includes more than 100 concerts worldwide. Orchestral engagements include the Cleveland Orchestra and Boston, Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Montreal symphonies, plus overseas appearances with the Berlin and Israel philharmonics, Camerata Salzburg, Sydney Symphony, Korean Chamber Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and Miyazaki Festival Orchestra. European recitals with pianist Yefim Bronfman and chamber concerts with the Zukerman Trio round out the season.

Zukerman’s extensive discography contains more than 100 titles and has earned him two Grammy Awards and 21 nominations. His complete recordings for Deutsche Grammophon and Philips were released in July 2016 in a 22-disc set spanning Baroque, Classical and Romantic concertos and chamber music. In October, Analekta released Baroque Treasury with Zukerman, National Arts Centre Orchestra, cellist Amanda Forsyth and oboist Charles Hamann in works by Handel, Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann and Tartini.

Born in Tel Aviv, Zukerman came to America in 1962, where he studied at The Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian. He has been awarded a Medal of Arts, the Isaac Stern Award for Artistic Excellence and was appointed as the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative’s first instrumentalist mentor in the music discipline. A devoted and innovative pedagogue, Zukerman chairs the Pinchas Zukerman Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music, where he has pioneered the use of distance-learning technology in the arts. He currently serves as conductor emeritus of the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada, as well as artistic director of its Young Artist Program.

 

NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Named “a vital, artistically significant musical organization” by The Wall Street Journal, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra embodies that vitality through its statewide presence and critically acclaimed performances, education partnerships and unparalleled access to music and the Orchestra’s superb musicians.

The NJSO welcomes new Music Director Xian Zhang in the 2016–17 season. The Orchestra presents classical, pops and family programs, as well as outdoor summer concerts and special events. Embracing its legacy as a statewide orchestra, the NJSO is the resident orchestra of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark and regularly performs at the State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick, Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown and bergenPAC in Englewood. Partnerships with New Jersey arts organizations, universities and civic organizations remain a key element of the Orchestra’s statewide identity.

In addition to its lauded artistic programming, the NJSO presents a suite of education and community engagement (ECE) programs that promote meaningful, lifelong engagement with live music. Programs include school-time Concerts for Young People performances, NJSO Youth Orchestras family of student ensembles and El Sistema-inspired NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project). The NJSO’s REACH (Resources for Education and Community Harmony) chamber music program annually brings original programs—designed and performed by NJSO musicians—to a variety of settings. In the 2015–16 season, REACH ensembles performed at nearly 200 events, and ECE programs served more than 66,000 New Jerseyans in nearly 21 counties.

For more information about the NJSO, visit www.njsymphony.org or email information@njsymphony.org. Tickets are available for purchase by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or on the Orchestra’s website.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s programs are made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, along with many other foundations, corporations and individual donors.

 

PRESS CONTACT

Victoria McCabe, NJSO Senior Manager of Public Relations & Communications | 973.735.1715 | vmccabe@njsymphony.org

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