Princeton Symphony Announces 2017-18 Season - Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Westminster Symphonic Choir and More!

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) announces its 2017-2018 season, the biggest yet with a six-concert classical series including Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and its life-affirming "Ode to Joy," symphonies by Mendelssohn and Shostakovich, an entire program of Mozart, and exciting PSO co-commissions by Philip Glass and Saad Haddad. The PSO continues to attract quality solo artists with an all-star line-up of pianists Simone Dinnerstein and Shai Wosner, violinist Ilya Kaler, and cellist Joshua Roman performing his own work, Awakening. Collaborations with the Westminster Symphonic Choir and the LARK Quartet set the bar early on for quality performances throughout the season. Music Director Rossen Milanov will conduct all but the March concert, which will be led by guest conductor Teddy Abrams.

The season-opening BEETHOVEN's 9th - Edward T. Cone Concert spotlights Ludwig van Beethoven's great masterwork, his Symphony No. 9 in D Minor "Choral" and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's iconic 1812 Overture, Op. 49 performed with the acclaimed Westminster Symphonic Choir, Joe Miller, director. There are two weekend performances to choose from: Saturday, September 16 at 8 pm and Sunday, September 17 at 4 pm.

On Sunday, October 29, PSO concertmaster Basia Danilow and fellow members of the LARK Quartet appear with the PSO to perform Erwin Schulhoff's Concerto for String Quartet and Wind Orchestra, WV97 on a program with Ottorino Respighi's Gli uccelli (The Birds) and Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5 in D Major, Op. 107 "Reformation." LARK delivers string quartet performances of "grace, proportion, and burnished brilliance" (The Washington Post).

The orchestra's All MOZART program on Sunday, November 12 celebrates the prolific musical genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with Israeli-American pianist Shai Wosner's mastery of the composer's Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major, K.414, and performances by the PSO of Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K.525 and Symphony No. 29 in A Major, K.201.

On Sunday, January 28, superstar pianist Simone Dinnerstein plays BACH and GLASS, spanning styles and centuries with performances of Johann Sebastian Bach's Piano Concerto in G Minor, BWV 1058 and Philip Glass' new Piano Concerto, co-commissioned by the PSO. Philip Glass describes Ms. Dinnerstein as "one of the most exciting interpreters of music from the baroque to the very modern." Mason Bates' Auditorium and Maurice Ravel's Le tombeau de Couperincomplete the program.

Teddy Abrams takes the podium as PSO guest conductor for the Sunday, March 18 BEETHOVEN "Pastoral" concert, the highlight of which is Ludwig Van Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68. Drawing attention as an impassioned cellist and composer, Joshua Roman makes his long-awaited return to the PSO stage performing his work Awakening. Also on the program is Joan Tower's celebration of her native country, Made in America.

Powerhouse violinist Ilya Kaler takes center stage at the Sunday, May 20 concert for a magnificent performance of Johannes Brahms' Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77. "Kaler displays a complete virtuoso arsenal, rhythmic vitality, warmth of tone and sentiment" (Los Angeles Times). After a triumphant debut appearance with the PSO in January 2017, Saad Haddad returns with a new work, co-commissioned by the PSO, and the orchestra is on grand display during Dmitri Shostakovich's witty Symphony No. 9 in E-Flat Major, Op. 70.

Each classical series concert is preceded by a pre-concert talk hosted by the conductor and ancillary events to enrich the live concert experience and encourage a dialogue connecting the community to the orchestral music heard in the concert hall.

Subscription Information

New subscriptions to the six-concert 2017-2018 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 are available at $420, $348, $270, and $180. Subscribers are eligible for discounts on PSO POPS! tickets and receive priority reservations for free tickets to the PSO Chamber Series.

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 in July. Chamber Series tickets become available to the general public three weeks prior to each concert.

Princeton Symphony Orchestra 2017-2018 Classical Series Calendar

Saturday, September 16, 2017 - 8 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 7 pm - Richardson Auditorium

Sunday, September 17, 2017 - 4 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 3 pm - Richardson Auditorium

BEETHOVEN'S 9th

Edward T. Cone Concert

Rossen Milanov, conductor

Westminster Symphonic Choir, Joe Miller, director

Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky / 1812 Overture, Op. 49

Ludwig van Beethoven / Symphony No. 9, Op. 125 "Choral"

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

MENDELSSOHN "Reformation"

Rossen Milanov, conductor

LARK Quartet

Ottorino Respighi / Gli uccelli (The Birds)
Erwin Schulhoff / Concerto for String Quartet and Wind Orchestra, WV97
Felix Mendelssohn / Symphony No. 5 in D Major, Op. 107 "Reformation"

Sunday, November 12, 2017 - 4 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 3 pm - Richardson Auditorium

All MOZART

Rossen Milanov, conductor

Shai Wosner, piano

W.A. Mozart / Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525
W.A. Mozart / Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 12 in A Major, K. 414
W.A. Mozart / Symphony No. 29 in A Major, K. 201

Sunday, January 28, 2018 - 4 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 3 pm - Richardson Auditorium

Dinnerstein plays BACH and GLASS

Rossen Milanov, conductor

Simone Dinnerstein, piano

Mason Bates / Auditorium
J.S. Bach / Piano Concerto in G Minor, BMV 1058
Philip Glass / Piano Concerto (Princeton Symphony Orchestra co-commission)

Maurice Ravel / Le tombeau de Couperin

Sunday, March 18, 2018 - 4 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 3 pm - Richardson Auditorium

BEETHOVEN "Pastoral"

Teddy Abrams, guest conductor

Joshua Roman, cello

Joan Tower / Made in America
Joshua Roman / Awakening
Ludwig van Beethoven / Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastoral"

Sunday, May 20, 2018 - 4 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 3 pm - Richardson Auditorium

BRAHMS Violin Concerto

Rossen Milanov, conductor

Ilya Kaler, violin

Saad Haddad / new work (Princeton Symphony Orchestra co-commission)
Johannes Brahms / Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77
Dmitri Shostakovich / Symphony No. 9 in E-Flat Major, Op. 70

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. His 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 the 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.

Mr. 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

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is a cultural centerpiece of the Princeton community and one of New Jersey's finest music organizations, a position established through performances of beloved masterworks, innovative music by living composers, and an extensive network of educational programs offered to area students free of charge. Led by Music Director Rossen Milanov, the PSO presents orchestral, pops, and chamber music programs of the highest artistic quality, supported by lectures and related events that supplement the concert experience. Through PSO BRAVO!, the orchestra produces wide-reaching and impactful education programs in partnership with local schools and arts organizations that culminate in students attending their first live orchestral performance. With considerable community support and funding 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. 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.