NJSO Presents 2019 Winter FestivalMUSIC SPEAKS

A trio of renowned guest artists with distinct musical voices-pianists Emanuel Ax and Daniil Trifonov and soprano Dawn Upshaw-headline the NJSO's Winter Festival, "Music Speaks," in January 2019. The Orchestra's signature artistic event takes place across three weekends, January 10-27, in six New Jersey venues.

"For the Winter Festival, the NJSO brings in three of the top living artists," Zhang says. "Personally speaking, it's a highlight of my career to conduct these three soloists in three consecutive weeks.

The music director says: "The Winter Festival is the main highlight of our season theme, and this year's theme-Music Speaks-is about music inspired by great poetry, stories and myths. Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra was inspired by Nietzsche; Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony was inspired by Lord Byron. Scriabin wrote the music for his Poem of Ecstasy, then wrote 300 lines of poetry to accompany the music."

Ax performs Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 22 on a program featuring Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony, based on Lord Byron's epic poem of doomed love (January 10-13 in Englewood, Newark and New Brunswick).

Upshaw sings Maria Schneider's Winter Morning Walks, which draws from former Poet Laureate Ted Kooser's collection of poetry written during his cancer recovery, and Mahler's Fourth Symphony, which finds wisdom in a child's vision of heaven (January 18-20 in Princeton, Red Bank and Newark).

Trifonov performs Schumann's Piano Concerto on a program that also includes Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy and Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra (January 25-27 in Newark, New Brunswick and Morristown).

NJSO Accent events include pre-concert performances by dancer Maurice Chestnut and poet Kurtis Lamkin, panel discussions with NJSO musicians who perform in hospital settings through the NJSO Music and Wellness Program, and a prelude performance by the Anne Lieberson Ensemble from the NJSO Youth Orchestras. More information on NJSO Accent events is available at njsymphony.org/accents.

For more information on the Winter Festival and related events, visit njsymphony.org/winterfestival.

Concert tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase at njsymphony.org or 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).