The PSO Announces 2018-2019 Classical Season

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) announces its 2018-2019 season, featuring more concerts than ever before including a six-concert subscription series with new Saturday evening performance options and music ranging from classical Beethoven and Brahms concertos to a celebration of Leonard Bernstein favorites, works by Paganini, Janá?ek, and Stravinsky, and a Dvo?ák symphony. There is a recent piece by Missy Mazzoli and a new work by Derek Bermel, co-commissioned by the PSO. Superstar violinist Rachel Barton Pine, pianists Inon Barnatan and Dominic Cheli, soprano Meghan Picerno, and guest conductor Marcelo Lehninger grace the PSO stage. Audience favorites Daniel Rowland and flutist Chelsea Knox make highly anticipated return appearances, and an afternoon of music by Falla is accompanied by flamenco dancing. Presiding over all is conductor and Music Director Rossen Milanov, whose 10-year anniversary celebration with the PSO gets underway in early 2019.

The season-opening A Bernstein Celebration concert spotlights Bernstein's popular orchestral works for the Broadway stage, including the spirited "Three Dance Episodes" from On the Town. The West Side Story Suite for Violin and Orchestra is performed by violinist Daniel Rowland, known for his virtuosity and "a restless curiosity ranging across violin repertoire" (Classical Music Magazine). Selections from Candide complete the program, including the energetic showpiece "Glitter and be Gay" featuring soprano Meghan Picerno, described by Anthony Tommasini as a "bright voiced" and "exuberant Cunegonde" (The New York Times?). There are two weekend performances to choose from: Saturday, September 29 at 8 pm and Sunday September 30 at 4 pm.

Through two separately programmed concerts on Saturday, October 27 at 8 pm and Sunday, October 28 at 4 pm, the PSO offers a complete immersion in Beethoven's five concertos for piano and orchestra under the baton of Brazilian-born conductor Marcelo Lehninger, currently music director of the Grand Rapids Symphony. Pianist Inon Barnatan, "one of the most admired pianists of his generation" (The New York Times), is soloist for the complete cycle. He'll perform Concertos No. 1, 2, and 4 on Saturday and No. 3 and 5 "Emperor" on Sunday.

On Sunday, November 18, the "no less than spectacular violinist" (The Strad) Rachel Barton Pine plays Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the PSO. Bookending this performance are the Czech composer Leoš Janá?ek's festive Sinfonietta and Stravinsky's theatrical Divertimento, an orchestral suite from the ballet The Fairy's Kiss.

The PSO heralds Music Director Rossen Milanov's 10th Anniversary year on Saturday, February 2 at 8 pm and Sunday, February 3 at 4 pm with two titanic works on the season's Edward T. Cone Concert. Brahms' massive Piano Concerto No. 1 is played by pianist Dominic Cheli, First Prize-winner of the 2017 Concert Artists Guild Competition. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, with its iconic first four notes, brings the program to powerful conclusion.

On Saturday, March 23 at 8 pm and Sunday, March 24 at 4 pm, former PSO principal flutist Chelsea Knox is welcomed back as soloist to perform Lowell liebermann's delightful Concerto for Flute and Orchestra. She is currently principal flute of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Leading off the concert is Missy Mazzoli's atmospheric Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres). Mazzoli wrote music and performed for the hit television show Mozart in the Jungle which has championed the work of women composers. She is viewed as "one of the more consistently inventive, surprising composers now working in New York" (The New York Times). Dvo?ák's exuberant Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88 completes the innovative program.

Composer and PSO board member Derek Bermel's new Mango Suite headlines the PSO's Sunday, May 19 concert. Critics are dazzled by the "profusion of ingenuity, beauty, and wit he brings to everything he touches" (San Francisco Chronicle). The work is based on Sandra Cisneros' acclaimed novel The House on Mango Street and is co-commissioned by the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. The remainder of the concert is devoted to works by Falla, including his well-known Three Cornered Hat Suite No. 1. Concert attendees will also be treated to Falla's El amor brujo and artful footwork by flamenco dancer Griset Damas-Roche during Spanish Dance No. 1 from La vida breve.

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.

While single tickets go on sale in July, subscriptions to the six-concert 2018-2019 PSO Classical Series with Saturday options 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 $438, $366, $282, and $180. Subscribers are eligible for discounts on PSO POPS! tickets and receive priority reservations for free tickets to the four-concert PSO Chamber Series at the Institute for Advanced Study (Chamber concert tickets become available to the general public three weeks prior to each concert).

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.

Princeton Symphony Orchestra 2018-2019 Classical Series Calendar

A BERNSTEIN CELEBRATION

Saturday, September 29, 2018 - 8 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 7 pm - Richardson Auditorium

Sunday, September 30, 2018 - 4 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 3 pm - Richardson Auditorium

Rossen Milanov, conductor

Daniel Rowland, violin

Meghan Picerno, soprano

Leonard Bernstein / Three Dance Episodes from On the Town

Leonard Bernstein / West Side Story Suite for Violin and Orchestra (arr. Brohn)

Leonard Bernstein / Selections from Candide

BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTOS

Marcelo Lehninger, guest conductor

Inon Barnatan, piano

Saturday, October 27, 2018 - 8 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 7 pm - Richardson Auditorium

Ludwig van Beethoven / Piano Concertos Nos. 1, 2, & 4

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

Ludwig van Beethoven / Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 5 "Emperor"

RACHEL BARTON PINE plays Paganini

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

Rossen Milanov, conductor

Rachel Barton Pine, violin

LEOŠ JANÁ?EK / Sinfonietta (arr. Stein)
NICCOLÒ PAGANINI / Violin Concerto No. 1
Igor Stravinsky / Divertimento from The Fairy's Kiss

BEETHOVEN'S FIFTH Edward T. Cone Concert

Saturday, February 2, 2019 - 8pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 7 pm - Richardson Auditorium

Sunday, February 3, 2019 - 4 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 3 pm - Richardson Auditorium

Rossen Milanov, conductor

Dominic Cheli, piano

JOHANNES BRAHMS / Piano Concerto No. 1

Ludwig van Beethoven / Symphony No. 5

DVO?ÁK & LIEBERMANN

Saturday, March 23, 2019 - 8pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 7 pm - Richardson Auditorium

Sunday, March 24, 2019 - 4 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 3 pm - Richardson Auditorium

Rossen Milanov, conductor

Chelsea Knox, flute

MISSY MAZZOLI / Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)
Lowell liebermann / Concerto for Flute and Orchestra
ANTONÍN DVO?ÁK / Symphony No. 8

DEREK BERMEL'S Mango Suite

Sunday, May 19, 2019 - 4 pm; Pre-Concert Talk, 3 pm - Richardson Auditorium

Rossen Milanov, conductor

Griset Damas-Roche, flamenco dancer

DEREK BERMEL / Mango Suite (PSO Co-Commission)
Manuel De Falla / El amor brujo
Manuel De Falla / The Three-Cornered Hat, Suite No. 1
Manuel De Falla / La vida breve, Spanish Dance No. 1

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 premieres 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.

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.

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