PRINCETON — The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) and Edward T. Cone Music Director Rossen Milanov have announced a 2022-23 season filled with top guest artists and varied programming including lesser known important works and a range of genres from thrilling dances to enthralling arias.
Distinctive Latin and Spanish, English, American, Italian and Eastern European sounds can be heard among works by Joaquín Turina, Ruperto Chapí, Edward Elgar, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, George Gershwin, Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Alexander Borodin and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, according to a press release.
Concert-goers can look forward to symphonies by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky as well as newer works by Jessie Montgomery and Carlos Simon. Equally anticipated are the U.S. premiere of Marcos Fernandez’s “America” and the world premiere of William Harvey’s “Seven Decisions of Gandhi.” Harvey performs his work as solo violinist.
PSO debuts include star soprano Pretty Yende performing arias by Rossini and Verdi, plus violinists Anne Akiko Meyers and Elina Vähälä and violist Roberto Díaz, each showcasing their talents with works respectively by Arturo Márquez, Benjamin Britten and Hector Berlioz.
Piano virtuoso Inon Barnatan marks his return appearance with the PSO with a performance of Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2, according to the press release.
All performances take place on select Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m., at Richardson Auditorium on the Princeton University campus. Rossen Milanov conducts all concerts but one, which will be led by guest conductor Sameer Patel.
Milanov is enthusiastic about the season. He said, “I am excited to announce PSO’s new season with concerts taking place at our acoustically superb and intimate home at Richardson Auditorium. I hope everyone will be inspired by the variety and richness of the repertoire, the incredible artistic partners we will share the stage with, and the opportunity to hear unique and diverse musical stories.”
The season opens the weekend of Sept. 10-11 with Anne Akiko Meyers performing the melodies and dance rhythms of Mexico’s leading composer Arturo Márquez’ Fandango violin concerto, commissioned by Meyers and recently premiered with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.
On Oct. 15-16, Finnish violinist Elina Vähälä makes her PSO debut performing Benjamin Britten’s inventive Violin Concerto, Op. 15. Exploding gestures and fleeting melodies are found in contemporary composer Jessie Montgomery’s “Starburst,” and Edward Elgar’s “Enigma Variations” completes the program.
South African-born opera star Pretty Yende graces the PSO stage at the Jan. 14-15 Edward T. Cone Concert, giving voice to a boy’s idyllic remembrances of his native city in Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915.”
Yende also performs her favorite arias, Gioachino Rossini’s “Una voce poco fa” aria from “Il barbiere di Siviglia” (“The Barber of Seville”) and Giuseppe Verdi’s “È strano! è strano!” from “La Traviata.” The balance of the program is taken up by Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring.”
On Feb. 4-5, Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan returns to perform Johannes Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major. Carlos Simon’s “Fate Now Conquers,” inspired by a journal entry by Beethoven quoting Homer’s Iliad, draws upon structural elements of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, also on the program.
On March 11-12, Sameer Patel conducts the world premiere of William Harvey’s “Seven Decisions of Gandhi” featuring the composer as solo violinist. This concerto for violin and full orchestra was inspired by the life of Mahatma Gandhi. The work is set off by Alexander Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances and Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” Symphony.
Capping the season on May 13-14, the PSO features violist Roberto Díaz in a performance of Hector Berlioz’s “Harold in Italy,” which musically evokes a young man’s wandering among the mountains, a procession of pilgrims, a lover’s serenade and a gathering of wild brigands.
Study for Orchestra spotlights the compositional work of Westminster College graduate Julia Perry, and George Gershwin’s popular “An American in Paris” recalls the sights and sounds of the City of Light.
Initially, these concerts are available only by subscription, with single tickets going on sale over the summer. Subscriptions start at $180. Youths between the ages of 5 and 17 receive a 50% discount with an adult purchase. To subscribe, visit the Princeton Symphony Orchestra website at princetonsymphony.org or call 609-497-0020.
Programs, artists, dates, and times are subject to change.