The New Jersey Symphony show some ‘international flare’ in their first concerts of 2025
The New Jersey Symphony kicked off 2025 with guest conductor Kevin John Edusei leading the orchestra through Donghoon Shin’s Of Rats and Men and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2, with legendary pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet joining to solo in Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G. James C. Taylor of NJ Advance Media reviewed the Saturday night performance at NJPAC.
The quiet assurance that Thibaudet shows at the keyboard with Ravel has been widely heard around the world and on recordings, but his collaboration with the New Jersey players had moments that uniquely shined. Concertmaster Eric Wyrick gave some particularly soft notes extra oomph, while harpist Lynette Wardle brought real shimmer to the harp cadenza midway through the Gershwin-esque “Allegramente.” Flutist Bart Feller made the last minute of the “Adagio assai” feel like a lifetime, as if time stopped to just let him and Thibaudet shine with a fleeting piano and flute duet. Under Edusei’s baton, the whole piece felt bold and lyrical, a performance worth savoring.
James C. Taylor of NJ Advance Media