NJSO Announces RACHMANINOFF BLOCKBUSTERS, 10/25-28

Music Director Jacques Lacombe and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra perform two landmark works by Rachmaninoff October 25–28 in Newark, Princeton and New Brunswick. Pianist Serhiy Salov joins the NJSO for Rachmaninoff's epic third piano concerto, and the Orchestra performs the stirring and melodically evocative Symphony No. 2.

"You have the feeling that you're really in front of a monument when you hear this music," Lacombe says of the "Rach 3" piano concerto, a giant of the piano literature. "It's a very strong piece, and it is probably one of the most challenging piano concertos in the entire repertoire."

Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony features some of the composer's finest orchestral writing. The symphony's rich melodies and lush orchestration perfectly complement the technical brilliance of the piano concerto, Lacombe says. The music director finds in this piece "something that is so moving that it's hard to find the right words to describe."

Performances take place on Thursday, October 25, (1:30 p.m.) and Saturday, October 27, (8 p.m.) at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark, Friday, October 26, (8 p.m.) at the Richardson Auditorium in Princeton and Sunday, October 28, (3 p.m.) at the State Theatre in New Brunswick.