Press praise NJSO's Scheherazade concerts

this was a performance that put a spotlight on the orchestra's strengths and made one look forward to the upcoming Shakespeare-themed Winter Festival, where storytelling will once again be a focus. - The Star-Ledger

Press hailed this weekend's performances of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade and Stravinsky’s Petrouchka on Thursday at bergenPAC in Englewood and Saturday and Sunday at NJPAC in Newark. 

The Star-Ledger writes:

When it comes to color and character, and a willingness to dive into challenging works with power and emotional generosity, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra knows exactly how to go for it without sacrificing technique or sound quality.

This particular talent was on display at bergenPAC on Thursday in a program led by music director Jacques Lacombe that paired two Russian chestnuts, Stravinsky's "Petrouchka" and Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade."

In their own ways, each combined the simplicity of folklore and folk music with gifts of refined craft and vivid imagination. The works also provided a fine showcase for the individual players of the orchestra ...

Lacombe led a performance marked by clarity, balance and authority. The buoyancy and excitement of the festival scene came through immediately in the brisk, perky winds, the waterfall gush of strings sliding downward and weighty cello strikes. As the orchestra conveyed the appearance of various visitors, Bart Feller's flute solo stood out as by turns delicate, singing and strong.

Adding to the rich fabric were bright, taut trumpets; florid clarinet; and the gleeful, precise clang of the xylophone. In the second of the piece's four "tableaux," elaborate piano lines mixed captivatingly with well-blended winds.

Angularity combined beguilingly with a graceful lilt and the string players brought pointillistic precision to a pizzicato section. Lacombe led a well-calibrated rendition, knowing when to increase intensity without becoming overbearing.

The heartiness often associated with Russian music came through in pungent low brass and tensile tremolo strings, and nimble, fast-paced fiddling led into a satisfying finale ...

Read the full review.