NJSO presents Chopin’s First Piano Concerto and Brahms’ Fourth Symphony

Inon Barnatan performs Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1

Stefan Sanderling conducts

November 29 is ‘Saturday Night Out’ event for LGBT community members and friends

NJSO Accents for Thanksgiving-weekend program include post-concert chat with Sanderling about his experience growing up in a musical family

Fri, Nov 28, at the Richardson Auditorium in Princeton
Sat, Nov 29, at NJPAC in Newark
Sun, Nov 30, at the State Theatre in New Brunswick

 

NEWARK, NJ (October 15, 2014)—The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents Chopin’s First Piano Concerto and Brahms’ Fourth Symphony, November 28–30 in Princeton, Newark and New Brunswick. Pianist Inon Barnatan makes his NJSO debut performing Chopin’s concerto. Guest conductor Stefan Sanderling conducts. On Saturday, November 29, the NJSO hosts Saturday Night Out—a post-concert champagne and dessert reception for ticketholders who are LGBT community members and friends—at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark.

Of Barnatan’s gifts at the piano, The Washington Post observed “the widest variety of touch and dynamics that I’ve ever heard … From barely audible, feathery trills to heaven-storming thunderbolts, Barnatan orchestrated every phrase with sovereign mastery… [This was] fine music-making wedded to astounding technique.”

Performances take place on Friday, November 28, at 8 pm at the Richardson Auditorium in Princeton; Saturday, November 29, at 8 pm at NJPAC in Newark; and Sunday, November 30, at 3 pm at the State Theatre in New Brunswick. Prelude performances by student musicians from NJSO education programs precede the November 29 and 30 concerts in Newark and New Brunswick, respectively. In a November 30 post-concert talkback fittingly scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend, Sanderling discusses growing up in a family of musicians and the impact that had on his choice of profession.

Music Director Jacques Lacombe says. “This program features major works by two important composers. The Chopin concerto is remarkable, with a delicate touch. Brahms’ Fourth Symphony is one of those cathedrals of the repertoire. Yet, in terms of style and language, I don’t think that Chopin and Brahms were too far apart from each other. You’ll hear two ways to express the heart of Romantic music—the Chopin is like a fine sculpture, and the Brahms stands more like a monument. I think the two works complement each other very well.”

TICKETS

Tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476). Concert tickets purchased using promo code SATURDAYOUT online or by phone include the post-concert reception; current ticketholders can add on the reception by calling Patron Services at 1.800.ALLEGRO.

THE PROGRAM

Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1
Friday, November 28 at 8 pm | Richardson Auditorium in Princeton
Saturday, November 29 at 8 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Friday, November 30 at 3 pm | State Theatre in New Brunswick

Stefan Sanderling, conductor
Inon Barnatan, piano
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

CHOPIN   Piano Concerto No. 1
BRAHMS  Symphony No. 4

Full concert information and program notes are available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/chopin-piano-concerto-no-1.

The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey is concert sponsor of the November 28 performance.

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.

Prelude Performance—Sat, Nov 29, and Sun, Nov 30
Come early and enjoy live music in the lobby, spotlighting young musicians from NJSO education programs.

Saturday Night Out: An LGBT event—Sat, Nov 29
Spend an evening with friends and enjoy the sounds of the NJSO, followed by a champagne and dessert reception for ticketholders who are LGBT community members and friends. Concert tickets purchased using promo code SATURDAYOUT include the reception. An add-on price for ticketholders is available by calling Patron Services at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476). More information is available at www.njsymphony.org/lgbt.

“All in the Family” post-concert talkback—Sun, Nov 30
Conductor Stefan Sanderling comes from a musical family: his mother, father and brother are all professional musicians. Was Stefan’s career choice in his DNA? Was there any other path he might have followed? In a special post-concert session, listen as NJSO President & CEO James Roe chats with Sanderling and other special guests about keeping business “All in the Family.”

Learn more at www.njsymphony.org/accents.

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

THE ARTISTS

Stefan Sanderling, conductor
Stefan Sanderling has swiftly emerged as one of the leading international conductors of his generation. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, and he served as music director of The Florida Orchestra from 2003–12.

Sanderling made his US debut at the 1989 Tanglewood Music Festival. Since then, he has led such prestigious North American orchestras as those of Baltimore, Colorado, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Montreal, Ottawa, Saint Louis, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver, as well as the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, among others.

Born in East Berlin in 1964, and the son of legendary conductor Kurt Sanderling, he studied musicology at the University of Halle and conducting at the conservatory in Leipzig before leaving East Germany to continue his studies in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, he returned to Germany, where his career ascended rapidly. He has held conducting positions at the Brandenburgische Philharmonie, Potsdam Opera and Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Inon Barnatan, piano
Pianist Inon Barnatan has been named the New York Philharmonic’s first artist-in-association, a major three-season appointment highlighted by multiple concerto and chamber collaborations with the orchestra. The Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient has performed recitals at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Wigmore Hall and the Concertgebouw, among others. He is a member of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and frequently performs as a recital partner of cellist Alisa Weilerstein.

Barnatan has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Dallas, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Francisco, as well as the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Deutsche Symphonie Orchester Berlin, National Arts Centre Orchestra and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.

Born in Tel Aviv in 1979, Barnatan started playing piano at the age of 3 and made his orchestral debut at 11. He has studied with Victor Derevianko, himself a pupil of Russian master Heinrich Neuhaus; Maria Curcio, a student of the legendary Artur Schnabel; Christopher Elton at London’s Royal Academy of Music and Leon Fleisher. More information is available at www.inonbarnatan.com.

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.

Under the bold leadership of Music Director Jacques Lacombe, the NJSO 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 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 programs that promote meaningful, lifelong engagement with live music. Programs include school-time Concerts for Young People performances and multiple offerings—including the three-ensemble NJSO Youth Orchestras and El Sistema-inspired NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project)—that provide and promote in-school instrumental instruction as part of the NJSO Academy. 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, reaching as many as 17,000 people in nearly all of New Jersey’s 21 counties.

For more information about the NJSO, visit www.njsymphony.org or email information@njsymphony.org. Tickets are available for purchase by phone 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. United is the official airline of the NJSO.

PRESS CONTACT

National & NYC Press Representative:
Dan Dutcher, Dan Dutcher Public Relations | 917.566.8413 | dan@dandutcherpr.com

Regional Press Representative:
Victoria McCabe, NJSO Communications and External Affairs | 973.735.1715 | vmccabe@njsymphony.org

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