NJSO presents Strauss’ ‘Don Juan’

SUSANNA MÄLKKI CONDUCTS A PROGRAM FEATURING STRAUSS’ DEATH AND TRANSFIGURATION AND MESSIAEN’S LES OFFRANDES OUBLIÉES

JEAN-EFFLAM BAVOUZET PERFORMS DEBUSSY’S FANTASIE

NJSO HOSTS ‘FRIDAY NIGHT OUT’ LGBT EVENT ON APRIL 5

NEWARK, NJ (February 28, 2013)—The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents Strauss’ Don Juan and Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration) April 5–7 in Newark, New Brunswick and Morristown. Highly regarded conductor Susanna Mälkki leads the Orchestra in a program that also features Messiaen’ Les offrandes oubliées (The Forgotten Offerings); pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet joins the NJSO for Debussy’s Fantasie for Piano and Orchestra.

Of the two Strauss tone poems, Music Director Jacques Lacombe says: “Don Juan is a very flashy and tragic work. [When Strauss composed] Death and Transfiguration, he was a young man, but I find the piece to be his most moving, most sincere work. There is a sense of the spirit of his life and his ambition, but there is also something really profound that speaks to the soul.”

Debussy’s only piano concerto, Fantasie for Piano and Orchestra, features pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. “Jean-Efflam and I have been friends for many years,” Lacombe says. “I worked with him in Metz, France, and I have wanted to introduce him to New Jersey. He has had an amazing international career, and he is a champion of French and 20th-century music. I am excited to welcome the wonderful Susanna Mälkki to lead this program.”

Performances take place on Friday, April 5, (8 pm) at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark; Saturday, April 6, (8 pm) at the State Theatre in New Brunswick and Sunday, April 7, (3 pm) at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown. A Classical Conversation begins one hour before the performance on April 5 in Newark.

The Orchestra’s April 5 concert at NJPAC is a “Friday Night Out” LGBT event; the NJSO will host a post-concert champagne and dessert reception—set to the jazz-age sounds of the Michael Arenella Trio—for ticketholders who are LGBT community members and friends.

TICKETS
Tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476). To reserve a space for the Friday Night Out LGBT reception on April 5, enter the promotion code FRIDAYOUT when purchasing online or mention FRIDAYOUT to a ticketing representative over the phone.