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Tag: Princeton Symphony Orchestra

Julian Grant Dances in the Dark with PSO

Julian Grant has extended an invitation to dance at the edge of the volcano.

I interviewed the Princeton composer in advance of two scheduled performances by the Princeton Symphony Orchestra of his concert work 五代同堂, or “Wu Dai Tong Tang” (Chinese for “Five Generations, One House”), which were to have taken place at Richardson Auditorium on March 21 & 22. Sadly, COVID-19 swept through New Jersey before the concerts could be given, and before my preview article could be printed. So Mr. Grant and I both eagerly await the Princeton premiere of 五代同堂 on some future season.

Happily, this was not the first of Grant’s pieces to be taken up by the PSO. In 2016, the orchestra performed “Is It Enough? Perhaps It Is…,” with its roots in an influential chorale setting by Johann Sebastian Bach, and in 2014, it tackled “Dances in the Dark.”

“Dances in the Dark” is the featured work on this week’s “At Home with the PSO.” Hear Julian Grant introduce his own music, read the program note, and then listen to the Princeton Symphony Orchestra performance:

https://princetonsymphony.org/home-pso/music-play-it-forward

Grant serves on the boards of both the PSO and Trenton Music Makers. As a composer, he has written 20 operas, in all shapes and sizes, including “Hot House,” which was performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 2012. His opera “The Nefarious, Immoral and Highly Profitable Enterprise of Mr. Burke & Mr. Hare” – about the infamous “resurrection men” who provided cadavers for dissection at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh in the 1820s – was given its premiere by Boston Lyric Opera in 2017.

五代同堂 is informed by his years living in Hong Kong, Beijing, China, and Tokyo. From 2002 to 2007, he also served as music director at St. Paul’s Girls’ School in London, a post previously held by Gustav Holst, Herbert Howells, and other notables.

“At Home with the PSO” is a gateway to original online content – performance webcasts, musicians’ recipes, photo albums, and more – with fresh material being introduced weekly.

While you’re at the PSO website, be sure to check out the Virtual Gallery. Explore artwork and creative writing by student participants of the PSO Bravo program by navigating a 3-D space. Click on the speakers located throughout the gallery to hear Saad Haddad’s Clarinet Concerto, the PSO co-commission that inspired the works adorning the virtual walls.

https://princetonsymphony.org/

Also, search under “Cooking with the PSO” to learn how to cook “Mushroom Beef Barley Soup” with violinist Margaret Banks. (More recipes archived at the bottom of the page.)

You can learn more about Julian Grant by visiting his website, juliangrant.net.

Further examples of his music are posted on his YouTube channel, easily reached by following this link:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzcaUueh5wi_gR_BREJ_JO6ghvKn614t7

April 27, 2020
Dvořák Symphony No 8 Princeton Symphony Orchestra

Chase away the rainy-day blues with Dvořák’s sunniest symphony!

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra continues its “At Home with the PSO” series, as music director Rossen Milanov introduces the Symphony No. 8. Escape into a world of birdsong, uplifting fanfares, and continuous melody, influenced by the Czech countryside. The live performance took place at Richardson Auditorium on March 24, 2019.

“At Home with the PSO” is a gateway to original online content – performance webcasts, musicians’ recipes, photo albums, and more – with fresh material being introduced weekly.

While you’re over there, at the PSO website, check out the new Virtual Gallery. Explore artwork and creative writing by student participants of the PSO Bravo program by navigating a 3-D space. Click on the speakers located throughout the gallery to hear Saad Haddad’s Clarinet Concerto, the PSO co-commission that inspired the works adorning the virtual walls.

Then search under “Cooking with the PSO” to learn how to bake Chunky Chocolate Drops with concertmaster Basia Danilow. Rossen Milanov’s Maple Soy Sauce Glazed Tofu is archived at the bottom of the page. A new recipe on the way on Wednesday!

To hear Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8, look online at princetonsymphony.org, search under “At Home with the PSO,” and click on “Play it Forward.”

PHOTO: Dvořák and family, making the most of a lovely day

April 13, 2020
Princeton Symphony At Home with Mendelssohn

Last week, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra launched “At Home with the PSO,” a new gateway to original online content, including performance webcasts, musicians’ recipes, photo albums, and more, with fresh content being added weekly.

But my Spidey sense didn’t start tingling until they linked my program note for one of their past concerts. This week, the focus is on Felix Mendelssohn’s “Reformation Symphony.”

Read the note, enjoy the performance, and while you’re over there, learn to cook maple soy sauce glazed tofu with music director Rossen Milanov!

Look online at princetonsymphony.org, click on “At Home with the PSO,” and scroll down under “Play it Forward.”

April 6, 2020
Beethoven Week on The Classical Network

When Inon Barnatan joins the Princeton Symphony Orchestra tonight at 8:00, for a special radio broadcast of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 5, it will commence The Classical Network’s annual celebration of this King of Composers.

December 16 marks the anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, in 1770. So as not to leave any concertos on the vine, Carl Hemmingsen and I will do what we can tomorrow, from about 3 to 6 p.m., to work through most of the remaining works for solo instrument(s) and orchestra.

Then on Monday, Beethoven’s actual natal day, we will hear all of the symphonies, in sequence, including a knockout performance of the Symphony No. 9.

All this will come your way with limited interruptions this year. No breaking in between movements or playing highlights from the major works – pure, unadulterated Beethoven, as the composer intended.

Of course, we hope that you will be moved to support it. We’ll be reminding you of our phone number in between the symphonies on Monday, hoping to take your calls. But you can also support us anytime by donating at our website, wwfm.org. You’ll find a nice array of incentives there when you head over to contribute.

In this season of giving, make a gift for “Ludwig van.” Beethoven is the beating heart of WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org. Thank you for your help in keeping great music on the air!

December 12, 2019
Rachel Barton Pine on The Classical Network

When you tune in to The Classical Network this afternoon at 4:00 EST, you’ll be able to enjoy a conversation with Rachel Barton Pine, Violinist. Pine will be a guest of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra this Sunday, when she appears as the soloist in Niccolò Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1. The concert will take place at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall. Also on the program will be works of Leoš Janáček and Igor Stravinsky. Pine will tell us a little more about the concert, her insights, and her work promoting music by Black composers, both through her foundation and a new recording on the Cedille Records label.

We’ll round out the hour with a recording on Boston Records of Princeton Symphony music director Rossen Milanov conducting a performance of Reinhold Glière’s Harp Concerto, with Gretchen Van Hoesen, principal harpist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

At 8:00 tonight, Carl Hemmingsen will host a broadcast concert with Milanov conducting the Princeton Symphony. Guest soloist Simone Dinnerstein will perform the Keyboard Concerto No. 7 by Johann Sebastian Bach and the Piano Concerto No. 3, a PSO co-commission, by Philip Glass. The program will also include works by Mason Bates and Maurice Ravel.

In matters unrelated to the PSO, it’s also the birthdays today of Paul Hindemith, Antipodean colossus Alfred Hill, and neglected Baroque master Guillaume Dumanoir. We’ll celebrate with some of their music, and more, in the 5:00 hour.

At 6:00, we’ll turn our attention to music for the silver screen, as we do every Friday, on “Picture Perfect.” This week, we’ll anticipate Thanksgiving with film scores by Aaron Copland, James Horner, Hugo Friedhofer, and John Williams.

It’s a veritable cornucopia! Give thanks for variety in music. Make us your horn of plenty, at WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

November 16, 2018

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