NJSO to Present Schumann, Wagner & Brahms with Pianist Stephen Hough This March

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents Romantic masterworks from Schumann and Brahms, March 17-20 in Newark and New Brunswick. Stephen Hough performs Schumann's Piano Concerto in A Minor; Christian Arming conducts a program that opens with Wagner's Siegfried Idyll and closes with Brahms' Second Symphony.

Performances take place on Thursday, March 17, at 1:30 pm and Sunday, March 20, at 3 pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark and Saturday, March 19, at 8 pm at the State Theatre in New Brunswick.

Music Director Jacques Lacombe says: "Stephen Hough is one of my favorite pianists, and I am excited to welcome him back to the NJSO for Schumann's Piano Concerto. The way Schumann conceived musical phrases might have had something to do with his own state of mind. He was a very complex man, and life was not easy for him; that is reflected in his music-some of it can be very joyful, and some of it can be pretty dark-and there's some beauty in that. You feel the big weight, the ups and downs, of his mood and his music.

"Schumann and Brahms together is always a winning combination. They knew and respected each other, and Brahms' relationship with Clara Schumann was so special to him. Brahms' Second Symphony is pure joy and happiness; it's sunshine and very positive energy. It's a masterwork, and it is amazing to think that Brahms had [such complex feelings] about writing a symphony after what Beethoven had achieved [with symphonic form]. It's one of my favorites."

NJSO Accents include Riffs-NJSO clarinetist Andrew Lamy and violist Michael Stewart will perform traditional Irish tunes in a St. Patrick's Day salute before the March 17 performance and after the March 19 performance.

The Orchestra presents an insider's look at the 2016-17 season one hour before the March 19 concert.

The NJSO will collect non-perishable food items at each performance as part of the Orchestra's annual food drive to benefit food banks across New Jersey.

TICKETS
Concert tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

CONCERT PROGRAM
Romantic Masterworks from Schumann and Brahms
Thursday, March 17, at 1:30 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Saturday, March 19, at 8 pm | State Theatre in New Brunswick *
Sunday, March 20, at 3 pm | NJPAC in Newark

Christian Arming, conductor
Stephen Hough, piano
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

WAGNER Siegfried Idyll
SCHUMANN Piano Concerto
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2

Full concert information and program notes are available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/romantic-masterworks-from-schumann-brahms.

* 2016-17 preview: Get an insider's view of the NJSO's new season, beginning one hour before the performance.

The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey is concert sponsor of the March 19 performance.

NJSO ACCENTS

Inspired by the concerts and designed to inspire audiences, NJSO Accents are pre- or post-concert events that complement the concert experience and provide audience members with more opportunities to personally connect with the music and music makers. Learn more at www.njsymphony.org/accents.

Riffs-Mar 17 before the concert; Mar 19 after the concert
NJSO musicians Andy Lamy and Michael Stewart play traditional Irish tunes in a St. Patrick's Day salute!

NJSO Food Drive
Non-perishable food items will be accepted at all performances.

www.njsymphony.org/fooddrive

The Prudential Foundation generously sponsors NJSO Accents in Newark.

THE ARTISTS

Christian Arming, conductor

Christian Arming is one of Austria's most sought-after conductors, and is highly successful in both the symphonic and operatic fields. He has held the position of music director of the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège since the 2011-12 season, prior to which he was music director of the New Japan Philharmonic in Tokyo.

Recent highlights include performances with Tampere Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfonica de Barcelona, Utah and Colorado symphony orchestras and Staatsoper Hamburg. Upcoming engagements include his debut with the NHK Symphony Orchestra and returns to the Taiwan Philharmonic and National Polish Radio Orchestra. This is his NJSO debut.

Born in Vienna, Arming studied conducting under Leopold Hager at Vienna's University of Music and Performing Arts. Seiji Ozawa has been a strong supporter of his career, introducing him in Boston and Tokyo. At the age of 24, Arming was appointed chief conductor of the Janá?ek Philharmonic in the Czech Republic.

His extensive discography includes works by Janá?ek, Schubert, Brahms, Franck and Mahler and a critically acclaimed 2015 recording of Wagner opera arias with baritone/bass Evgeny Nikitin and the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège.

Stephen Hough, piano

Stephen Hough is regarded as a renaissance man of his time. Over the course of his career, he has distinguished himself as a uniquely insightful concert pianist, as well as a writer and composer. He is known for his mastery of the instrument along with an individual and inquisitive mind which has earned him a multitude of prestigious awards and a long-standing international following.

Highlights of his 2015-16 season include appearances with The Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Houston and San Francisco symphonies, among numerous other orchestras. He presents solo recitals in New York, Chicago and London, performing his third sonata, Trinitas. He also performs a collaborative program with cellist Steven Isserlis which features his Sonata for cello and left-hand piano, Les Adieux, released on the Hyperion label in 2015.

In 2001, Hough became the first classical performing artist to win a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. He was named a Commander of the British Empire in 2013. More information is available at www.stephenhough.com.

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