Press review Grieg Piano Concerto with Stewart Goodyear

Oct 11, 2016

Superconductor writes:

Ms. New offered a program of works pitched as celebrations of the national spirit of three very different countries. It began with the overture Aotearoa by her countryman Douglas Lilburn. Lilburn, who wrote this work in 1940 as a tribute to New Zealand, is almost entirely unknown in North America, but performances like this may change that circumstance. Shimmering strings and hushed brass captured the dazzle of sunlight along the beaches of that country's two islands, and a bright thrust of orchestral color sang of the love of this remote and beautiful nation.

Next was the lone Piano Concerto by Edvard Grieg, a work that cemented this Norwegian composer's reputation outside Scandinavia ... Here it was played by Stewart Goodyear, who brought a fearless approach to the flourishes and ornamentations of the opening movement.

The themes were carefully developed by Ms. New. She used the orchestra to create an elaborate setting for the glittering, jewel-like solo part. Mr. Goodyear shone in the cadenza, playing this music with a total lack of fear and a bold approach to his instrument. The slow Adagio prefaced the Grieg that would come later, with warm woodwind and string writing and a sad, singing central melody. The two-part finale dazzled again, with Ms. New and Mr. Goodyear racing through the finale, a succession of variations on the simple theme of a Norwegian folk dance.

...

The key to the finale of [Sibelius' Second Symphony] rests with the brass, particularly the horns that have the unenviable task of lifting this whole work to a transcendent state. At Thursday's performance, the NJSO brass were up for the task, producing warmth and a choir of sound that made the listener feel lifted out of their comfortable auditorium chair. The triumph of the Finnish people was also the triumph of Ms. New, who proved herself the equal of anyone else to pick up a baton.

» Read the full review at super-conductor.blogspot.com.

The Star-Ledger writes:

In a fitting move, the NJSO had outgoing associate conductor Gemma New lead these concerts, before Maestra Zhang takes the baton later this month.

New's tenure with the NJSO has been a time of rising stature for her: a 2013 WQXR news story declared her one of the "top five women conductors on the rise,"; in 2014 she was selected as a prestigious Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The concert heard Saturday night at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank showed exactly why she's in demand right now.

...

Indeed, it's hard to recall a night when the orchestra sounded more precise, or more in-synch ...

Performed for the first time by the NJSO this weekend, Douglas Lilburn's nine-minute "Aotearoa Overture" was an inspired choice. No doubt the New Zealand-born New enjoys playing this work. From the gentle theme played by the wind section to the dark cello notes, New made this modest piece — which is very much in the old-fashioned English pastoral style of Arnold Bax or Ralph Vaughn Williams — feel immediate and full.

» Read the full review at www.nj.com.

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