New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Presents MAHLER 9, Now thru 6/10

Music Director Jacques Lacombe and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra present Mahler's Ninth Symphony for the Orchestra's 2011–12 classical-season finale tonight, June 7 and June 9 and 10 in Newark and Morristown.

Performances take place tonight, June 7, (1:30 p.m.) and Sunday, June 10, (3 p.m.) at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark and Saturday, June 9, (3 p.m.) at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown.

Lacombe says that something inherent in Mahler's music makes his Ninth Symphony a perfect capstone for the classical season. "You can't come out of a performance of Mahler's music and be unchanged," the music director says. "There is something that happens when you hear a piece like that; both performers and listeners come out of it transformed somehow by the deep messages that are in his music.

"For a time after Beethoven, composers were not able to write a symphony past their ninth; they would die, and Mahler was obsessed with that idea. There were things in Mahler's past-losing a brother at an early age, personal struggles and his health-that made him come back to the idea of death. Those fears and troubles culminate in his Ninth Symphony; it is a very tender and moving farewell to life. In a way, it is like a shout for love and a cry that his life is potentially coming to an end."

The Orchestra closed its 2010–11 classical season-Lacombe's first as music director-with Mahler's Third Symphony.

Tickets range in price from $20 to $85 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

THE PROGRAM:

MAHLER 9

Tonight, June 7, at 1:30 pm | NJPAC in Newark Saturday, June 9, at 3 pm | Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown Sunday, June 10, at 3 pm | NJPAC in Newark

Jacques Lacombe, conductor MAHLER Symphony No. 9 This program will be performed without intermission.

Jacques Lacombe, conductor New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Music Director Jacques Lacombe is renowned as a remarkable conductor whose artistic integrity and rapport with orchestras have propelled him to international stature.

Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montre?al from 2002 to 2006, he led the orchestra in more than 100 performances. He served for three years as Music Director of both orchestra and opera with the Philharmonie de Lorraine in France; he has been Music Director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Trois-Rivie?res since 2006.

Lacombe's engagements for the 2011–12 season include his debut with the Orquesta Filarmonica de Malaga in Spain, return engagements with the Vancouver Opera in Rome?o et Juliette and with the Deutsche Oper in Un Ballo in Maschera, as well as two rarely performed operas: Felix von Weingartner's Die Dorfschule and Carl Orff's Gisei – Das Opfer. Lacombe will make his Carnegie Hall debut as part of the May 2012 Spring for Music Festival with the NJSO.

In recent seasons, Lacombe made his debut with the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden and at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. He led Turandot and Les Contes d'Hoffmann for Ope?ra de Monte-Carlo and Der fliegende Holla?nder, Eugene Onegin, Zemlinsky's Der Traumgo?rge and concert performances of Waltershausen's rarely heard Oberst Chabert at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Oberst Chabert was released as a live CD by CPO in 2011. He has also led operatic productions at the Metropolitan Opera and Teatro Regio in Turin, given the world premiere of Vladimir Cosma's Marius et Fanny at l'Ope?ra de Marseille and worked abroad with orchestras in Nice, Toulouse and Halle, as well as with the Orchestre Lamoureux in Paris, Slovakia Philharmonic, Budapest Symphony, Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Victoria Orchestra Melbourne and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra is comprised of some of the country's finest musicians. The Orchestra is proud to have Jacques Lacombe as its Music Director and Neeme Ja?rvi as its Conductor Laureate. Artistic excellence, innovative programming and community engagement are hallmarks of its mission. To best serve the people of New Jersey, the orchestra brings its programs to seven outstanding venues throughout the state. Education and community engagement programs enrich the listening experience for children and adults alike. Select performances of the NJSO are broadcast regionally and throughout North America. United is the official airline of the NJSO.

The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey is Concert Sponsor of the June 7 performance.
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra continues its major fundraising initiative-the NJSO Comprehensive Campaign. To date, more than $30 million towards a $32 million goal has been raised in support of the Orchestra. For information about contributing to this historic campaign, contact Nicole Kagan, Vice President of Development, at 973.735.1720.

For more information about the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, visit www.njsymphony.org or e-mail information@njsymphony.org.

For venue contact information, directions and information about public transportation, parking, dining options and more, visit www.njsymphony.org/venues.

Photo credit: Fred Stucker