PSO Expands Classical Subscription Series to Include THE SEASONS

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is offering a sixth concert addition to its Classical Series at Richardson Auditorium with a special prelude-The Seasons on Thursday, September 15, 2016 at 8 pm.

Guest violinist and conductor Daniel Rowland will lead musicians of the PSO as they perform Vivaldi's beloved The Four Seasons interwoven with the movements of Astor Piazzolla's tango-flavored homage, The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. The inclusion of an additional concert in the series addresses a call for more PSO performances from long-time fans of the orchestra. The remaining 5 concerts in the series will feature symphonies by Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Nielsen, and Hindemith, and music from no less than six living composers: JulIan Grant, Saad Haddad, Wlad Marhulets, Osvaldo Golijov, David Krakauer, and Zhou Tian. Their works include a world premiere commissioned by the PSO and a US premiere. Complementing these are return solo performances by violinist Leila Josefowicz and pianist Natasha Paremski, as well as appearances by clarinetist and Klezmer artist David Krakauer and violinist Philippe Graffin.

Music Director Rossen Milanov has programmed a season filled with sounds influenced by individual life experiences of the soloists and composers. He said, "The orchestra is eager to transform and inspire through profound repertoire and powerful new works at the exciting fore-front of classical music. We offer audiences the opportunity to enjoy first-hand the voices of compelling soloists and composers."

According to PSO Executive Director Marc Uys, subscribers are responding positively to the expanded series, with most eagerly signing up for the additional The Seasons concert. He said, "We wanted to explore a new concert model to cater to patrons' interest in more music while also offering a new time-in this case, a mid-week evening. So far, it has been a hit with subscribers and looks promising for when single tickets go on sale in August."

At the opening of the Classical Series proper on Sunday, October 9 at 4 pm at the Viennese Reflections Edward T. Cone Concert, Princeton-based composer JulIan Grant's latest work Is it enough? Perhaps it is... will receive its world premiere. Commissioned by the PSO for the 2016-2017 season, the work is derived from the same musical roots as the Violin Concerto by Alban Berg, also on the program. Violinist Leila Josefowicz, whose playing inspired the The New York Times to exclaim, "As ever, the soloist astonished," will perform the concerto by Berg. Ms. Josefowicz first appeared with the PSO in 2010 to play Steven Mackey's Beautiful Passing. Schubert's Symphony No. 9 in C Major, D. 944 "Great" completes the program.

On Sunday, November 6, Impassioned Russia will see the return of 2014 audience favorite and star pianist Natasha Paremski to perform Prokofiev's lively Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26. She will collaborate with the PSO under guest conductor Jayce Ogren. Mr. Ogren was assistant conductor to Franz Welser-Möst at The Cleveland Orchestra, guest conductor to the New York Philharmonic, and Music Director of the New York City Opera. He will also be conducting Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 "Pathétique".

On Sunday, January 29, the Un/Restrained concert features highly acclaimed klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer who will explore expressions of personal and cultural identity in performances of Wlad Marhulets' award-winning Concerto for Klezmer Clarinet, Osvaldo Golijov's intimate K'vakarat, and two pieces of his own. Also featured are Saad Haddad's inventive fanfare Manarah and Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a, an orchestration of the composer's intensely personal eighth string quartet.

The Sunday, March 19 concert, Restless Romantics, showcases French violinist Philippe Graffin performing Elgar's stormy Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op. 61. According to The Strad magazine, he plays with "whole-hearted passion with crisp, articulate playing." Mr. Graffin and the PSO will be led by guest conductor Christopher Lyndon-Gee whose recordings have garnered five Grammy nominations, including "Best Orchestral Performance." The program is balanced by Carl Nielsen's raucous Symphony No. 4, Op. 29 "The Inextinguishable".

Metamorphosis completes the season on Sunday, May 7. Composer-in-residence Zhou Tian's Broken Ink, a contemporary evocation of the Chinese poetic tradition, will receive its US premiere under Music Director Rossen Milanov on a concert also featuring Debussy's La Mer and Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber. Zhou Tian holds music degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, and the University of Southern California, and has earned many awards including first prize in the Washington International Competition for Composers and first prize in the ASCAP/Lotte Lehmann Art Song Competition.

New subscriptions to the 2016-2017 PSO Classical Series are available now. All concerts will take place at Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall on the campus of Princeton University. Single-seat subscriptions for all six concerts are available at $174 and up (five-concert subscriptions from $145 and up). The entire season may be viewed online at princetonsymphony.org.

To subscribe and receive savings of up to 18% off PSO Classical Series single ticket prices, call: (609) 497-0020 or subscribe online at princetonsymphony.org. Individual concert tickets go on sale August 1.

Princeton Symphony Orchestra 2016-2017 Classical Series Calendar:

Thursday, September 15, 2016 - 8 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 7 pm - Richardson Auditorium

The Seasons

Daniel Rowland, violin and conductor

Antonio Vivaldi The Four Seasons

Astor Piazzolla The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires

arr. Desyatnikov

Sunday, October 9, 2016 - 4 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 3 pm - Richardson Auditorium

Viennese Reflections

Edward T. Cone Concert

Rossen Milanov, conductor

Leila Josefowicz, violin

JulIan Grant Is it enough? Perhaps it is...*

After J.R. Ahle and J.S. Bach

Alban Berg Violin Concerto "To the Memory of an Angel"

Franz Schubert Symphony No. 9 in C Major, D. 944 "Great"

Sunday November 6, 2016 - 4 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 3 pm - Richardson Auditorium

Impassioned Russia

Jayce Ogren, guest conductor

Natasha Paremski, piano

Sergei Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 "Pathétique"

Sunday, January 29, 2017 - 4 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 3 pm - Richardson Auditorium

Un/Restrained

Rossen Milanov, conductor

David Krakauer, clarinet

Saad Haddad Manarah

Wlad Marhulets Concerto for Klezmer Clarinet

Osavaldo Golijov K'vakarat

David Krakauer Synagogue Wail

trad. arr. Krakauer Der Heyser Bulgar

Dmitri Shostakovich Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a

Sunday, March 19, 2017 - 4 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 3 pm - Richardson Auditorium

Restless Romantics

Christopher Lyndon-Gee, guest conductor

Philippe Graffin, violin

Edward Elgar Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op. 61

Carl Nielsen Symphony No. 4, Op. 29 "The Inextinguishable"

Sunday, May 7, 2017 - 4 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 3 pm - Richardson Auditorium

Metamorphosis

Rossen Milanov, conductor

Zhou Tian, guest composer

Zhou Tian Broken Ink**

Claude Debussy La Mer

Paul Hindemith Symphonic Metamorphosis

of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber

*World Premiere commissioned by the PSO

**US Premiere

Programs, artists, dates, and times are subject to change.

ABOUT MUSIC DIRECTOR ROSSEN MILANOV

Respected and admired by audiences and musicians alike, internationally renowned conductor Rossen Milanov was appointed music director of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra in 2009. With an impressive pedigree, including positions at the Philadelphia Orchestra, he has since galvanized the PSO with his energetic and exacting conducting. Milanov's exuberant and brilliant performances are characterized by sharp musical intellect, artistic ingenuity, poetic eloquence and critical acclaim.

Mr. Milanov is also at the helm of the Columbus Symphony, the Chautauqua Symphony and of Orquesta Sinf?nica del Principado de Asturias in Oviedo, Spain. At the PSO, his programming embraces the standard repertoire, rarities and premiers performed by emerging and superstar soloists and featuring celebrated American composers.

Milanov is deeply committed to music education and every season he leads the PSO's BRAVO concerts for thousands of children. He was named Bulgaria's Musician of the Year in 2005; he won a 2011 ASCAP award for new music at the PSO; and he was selected as one of the top 100 most influential people in New Jersey in 2014. He is a graduate of Curtis and the Juilliard School.

ABOUT THE PRINCETON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Whether performing classical masterworks, introducing music by modern-day masters, or hosting students at their first live orchestral performance, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is a cultural centerpiece of the Princeton community and one of New Jersey's finest music organizations. Led by Music Director Rossen Milanov, the PSO offers orchestral, pops, and chamber music programs of the highest quality, as well as lectures and other events to complement these concerts. Through PSO BRAVO!, the orchestra produces wide-reaching and innovative education programs, carried out in partnerships with local schools and arts organizations. With considerable community support and funding for excellence from the National Endowment for the Arts, the PSO is also a multiple-year recipient of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts' highest honors. In addition, the PSO has been recognized for its commitment to new music with an ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and a Copland Fund Award. The only independent, professional orchestra to make its home in Princeton, the PSO performs at historic Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University.

Find the PSO online at www.princetonsymphony.org; on facebook at www.facebook.com/princetonsymphony; on Twitter at www.twitter.com/psomusic and on flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/princetonsymphony.