Past and present are spotlighted in New Jersey Symphony performance featuring Nico Muhly and Rachmaninoff
Music Director Xian Zhang and the New Jersey Symphony delivered performing Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2, March 13–16 in Newark, Princeton and Morristown in a program that also featured the New Jersey premiere of Nico Muhly’s Sounding featuring guest pianist Adam Tendler. James C. Taylor of NJ Advance Media reviewed the performance at NJPAC on Thursday.
The first half of this NJS program, with Muhly and McDaniel, delivered the sound of the future. The second half showcased the present. With Zhang and Rachmaninoff, this weekend was an excellent opportunity to hear a conductor and her orchestra in sync.
James C. Taylor of NJ Advance Media
» Read the full review from NJ Advance Media
Nancy Plum of Town Topics was in Princeton to review the Friday evening performance.
As played by New Jersey Symphony, this work was Russian Romantic music at its best. Zhang maintained a dramatic ebb and flow, with the richness of the violins contrasted by gentle wind playing.
Nancy Plum of Town Topics
» Read the full review from Town Topics
Ralph Malachowski of PhillyGayCalendar also reviewed the Princeton performance.
The Second Symphony was intensely visceral, as several in the audience felt as if we were on an endangered transatlantic ocean liner in the midst of a deadly storm. The vibrant acoustic of this intimate hall thrilled us through every movement, as the orchestra members breathed the Rachmaninoff into life.
Ralph Malachowski of PhillyGayCalendar