NJSO presents 2014 Winter Festival: Earth

CONCERTS MARK FINALE OF FOUR-YEAR ‘MAN & NATURE’ WINTER FESTIVAL ODYSSEY EXPLORING NATURAL ELEMENTS IN MUSIC

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE U.S. PREMIERE OF TAN DUN’S EARTH CONCERTO, MAHLER’S DAS LIED VON DER ERDE, STRAUSS’ ALPINE SYMPHONY

NEWARK, NJ (December 11, 2013)—The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Jacques Lacombe present the 2014 Winter Festival: Earth—the fourth and final season of a multi-year odyssey spotlighting the symbolic power of natural elements that have inspired composers for centuries. The festival, which runs January 17–19 and 24–26, encompasses two concert programs celebrating the earth in music. Music Director Jacques Lacombe leads each Winter Festival program. Performances will take place at four of the Orchestra’s venues throughout the state of New Jersey.

The first Winter Festival program (January 17–19 in Princeton, Newark and Morristown) pairs Mahler’s masterful Das Lied von der Erde with the U.S. premiere of Tan Dun’s Earth Concerto. Percussionist David Cossin—who performed Tan Dun’s Water Concerto with the NJSO during the first Man & Nature Winter Festival season in 2011—performs the concerto, which uses clay and stone instruments to complement Chinese wind instruments, performed by Zhang Meng.

“Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde was the first piece that came to mind when I approached the Earth Winter Festival,” Lacombe says. “Tan Dun was very inspired by Mahler’s work—he actually wrote the Earth Concerto to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Das Lied. In our Winter Festivals, we like to present works in a context that illuminates different layers and elements. To have stone and clay become instruments is a beautiful and powerful idea, and it closes a circle that began when we presented Tan Dun’s Water Concerto, in which water became the instrument. [It reminds us] that music can be found in almost anything around us.”

Strauss’  Alpine Symphony  is the centerpiece of the festival’s second program (January 24–26 in Newark and New Brunswick), which also features Wagner ’s Venusberg Music from Tannhäuser. Pianist Pascal Rogé jo ins Lacombe and the Orchestra for D’Indy’s Symphony on a French Mountain Air. 

“I see music as a part of our lives, not only as a ‘museum’ experience,” the music director says. “Strauss’ Alpine Symphony shows us how music is a reflection of our world—it is a monument of the repertoire and such a majestic depiction of mountains and nature. I also like to revisit and rediscover forgotten repertoire like D’Indy’s Symphony on a French Mountain Air. Pascal Rogé is a very fine pianist, especially when it comes to French music, and I am thrilled he will join us. Wagner’s Venusberg Music works well to introduce the mountain theme that inspired this program.”

On select dates, extramusical Winter Festival events, presented in collaboration with partnering organizations, explore earth-related topics. On January 26, Christopher Daggett of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation moderates a panel discussion with GreenFaith Executive Director Rev. Fletcher Harper and New Jersey Conservation Foundation Executive Director Michele S. Byers, beginning one hour before the concert at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark. Artisan and Information Fairs will showcase displays from artisans and environmental organizations on January 18, 24 and 26 at NJPAC. Winter Festival partnering organizations include The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Friends of Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and New Jersey Sierra Club.

“The idea behind the ‘Man & Nature’ Winter Festivals is to connect what we do on the concert stage to our daily lives, using nature and the environment as a link,” Lacombe says. “It has been interesting to look at music on many levels, to take the time to reflect on nature and environmental issues. I’m very pleased with how the cycle evolved and how we in the concert hall were able to reflect on our world, on the beauty of nature and how important it is to treat it well. It’s been a very rich experience, and in four seasons we have included many groups from our communities in the Winter Festival—theater companies, choirs, environmental organizations.”

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