Wall Street Journal, Playbill Arts preview Thanksgiving-weekend concerts

Playbill Arts conducts a Q&A with NJSO Music Director Jacques Lacombe about the Orchestras Thanksgiving-weekend concerts:

What makes Ravel’s [Piano Concerto in G Major] so unique?

There is something both jazzy and quite classical about Ravel’s piano concerto, and also something very simple—more so than some of his other orchestral works. The second movement has fantastic dialogues between the piano and orchestra. There are some light, almost crystal-like, melodic lines from the winds, and a moment with the English horn that is a very special moment in the history of music. Exposed moments for the orchestra make for an interesting combination with the piano.

The program closes with Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra. What strikes you about this work?

I have always had a special relationship with Bartók’s concerto—I made my debut with a few orchestras with this piece. There is so much maturity in the Concerto for Orchestra. Other Bartók works have a more complex structure, but the Concerto for Orchestra has both richness and a clarity that I appreciate very much. It’s something you find more often in his piano works.

It’s a flashy piece, and the finale is especially difficult for the orchestra. Bartók wanted the tempo to be extremely fast. Because of his musical language, the scales he uses are not the typical ones that musicians have in their fingers. You have to work at them! But once you have mastered them, his system is very organic. It’s a matter of being able to anticipate the language and go with it. It’s the kind of piece that once you have it, you have it for life.

Read the full Q&A at playbillarts.com.

The Wall Street Journal also previews this weekend’s concerts, which feature the world premiere of a new work by New Jersey composer Lowell Liebermann.

Move over, Bruce and Snooki. The Garden State isn’t just the home of rock stars and reality TV, but has classical composers, too. The Symphony’s New Jersey Roots Project, which began in 2010, showcases existing works and commissions new ones from composers who were born in New Jersey or count the state as an artistic influence; past composers include Steven Mackey, Robert Aldridge and John Harbison.

Read the preview at wsj.com.