By Any Other Name

British pianist Anthony Hewitt will make his debut with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra during its 2001-2002 season-opening concert Sept. 30.

By: Susan Van Dongen
   A simple name change can bring major transformation. Think of Norma Jean Baker, Ralph Lifshitz and Gordon Sumner — better known as Marilyn Monroe, Ralph Lauren and Sting, respectively.
   Add the Princeton Symphony Orchestra to the list of entities that have been transmogrified by a new moniker. Conductor Mark Laycock says the group has absolutely thrived since changing its name last year from the Princeton Chamber Symphony to the PSO.

British pianist Anthony Hewitt will make his debut with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra Sept. 30.

   "It really was a case of the name of the organization catching up to what we had become," he says.
   Whatever you wish to call it, the PSO is one of central New Jersey’s jewels. The group opens its 2001-2002 season at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium Sept. 30 in a concert featuring works by Serge Prokofiev, Ottorino Respighi and contemporary American composer Lowell Liebermann. Guest solo pianist Anthony Hewitt will perform Liebermann’s Piano Concerto No. 2, which won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
   Mr. Laycock has added special works to the program in homage to the victims of the attacks on New York and Washington. He hopes music’s transcendence will facilitate a sense of healing in the community.
   He was on the New Jersey Turnpike en route to a rehearsal in Newark that Tuesday morning and could see the twin towers burning. Mr. Laycock and his musicians — who have close ties to New York’s classical music community — were stunned, yet didn’t think twice about going forward with the concert.
   "We all felt disbelief, shock, tremendous sadness, but also compassion," he says. "(My musicians) are all sensitive, caring people who value life and want to touch other people’s lives through the expression of their music. I feel very fortunate to have a profession that speaks to the minds and souls of others, and I take that responsibility very seriously."
   Mr. Laycock is optimistic that British pianist Anthony Hewitt will be able to travel overseas.
   "I haven’t heard otherwise," he says.
   This will mark Mr. Hewitt’s debut with the PSO. He’ll tackle the technically challenging Piano Concerto No. 2, written in 1992 by the youthful American composer Liebermann. The program includes excerpts from Prokofiev’s ballet, Romeo and Juliet, and Respighi’s impressionistic tone poem, The Pines of Rome.
   In a departure from the old stalwarts many musical organizations seem to prefer, Mr. Laycock is known for programming less frequently heard works.
   "The Liebermann piano concerto is just one," he says. "This season we’ll also be doing the Stenhammer 2nd Symphony, works by Cesti, Pfitzner, Messiaen, Argento and an American premiere of a work by Augusta Read Thomas — all fantastic pieces and unlikely to be heard anywhere else."
   One of the most esteemed conductors of his generation, Mr. Laycock has been with the PSO since 1986. He began conducting at the age of 16, advancing his studies at the St. Louis Conservatory of Music. From 1975 to 1979, he studied as a violist with Philadelphia’s Curtis String Quartet. In 1979 at the age of 21, he won the Stokowski Memorial Conducting Award, which afforded him the rare opportunity to conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra. He is the second youngest man in history to lead the internationally renowned group.

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra opens its 2001-2002 season at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium Sept. 30.

   In addition, Mr. Laycock was music director for Orchestra London Canada and has been guest conductor for some of the most prestigious groups in North America. He regularly works with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra to present a state-wide series of children’s concerts.
   He says the PSO’s name change sends a more welcoming message to potential concert-goers and subscribers.
   "Somehow, it feels safer to go to the ‘symphony’ rather than the ‘chamber symphony,’ and our subscription base increased by an enormous percentage," Mr. Laycock says. "The comment we still hear is ‘I can’t believe we have something like this right here in Princeton.’ That means we need to do a better job getting greater visibility for the orchestra.
   "Although, I had one person in New York tell me her friend comes to our concerts in Princeton instead of staying in the city. I think it’s the quality of the orchestra and the music making that makes the PSO special. The word is definitely spreading beyond our community."
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra opens its 23rd season at Princeton University’s
Richardson Auditorium, Sept. 30, 4 p.m. Mark Laycock conducts works
by Prokofiev, Respighi and Liebermann, with guest solo pianist
Anthony Hewitt. Musicologist Laurence Taylor will present a pre-concert
discussion at 3 p.m. Single tickets cost $27-30 for adults, $24-27 for seniors,
$6-$8 for students and children. Series tickets cost $110-$125. For information,
call (609) 497-0020. On the Web: www.princetonsymphony.org