OCTOBER 6, 2021
U.S. 1
7
Classical Music Review: Princeton Symphony Orchestra
H
aving just heard the
Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s
first indoor concert in more than 18
months, I can truly say they have
not missed a beat.
For safety/social-distancing reasons, the PSO’s current venue is the
Matthews Theatre at the McCarter
Theatre Center. Yes, there were a
few new protocols to absorb, for
example, the printed program was
available online or via QR code.
Tickets were also virtual or printed
out and scanned. Concertgoers
showed proof of vaccination and
identification, and we all wore
masks inside as well.
Any minor inconveniences were
worth it.
Music director and conductor
Rossen Milanov noted that the
PSO’s annual fall debut traditionally opens with “The Star Spangled
Banner.” This year, however, the
orchestra performed “Banner,” a
work by African-American composer Jessie Montgomery (born
1981).
Integrating a range of musical
and historical sources from various
world anthems and patriotic songs,
all of which represent our nation of
plurality, “Banner” was written in
2014 as a tribute to the 200th anniversary of the national anthem.
It’s a surprising new take on
Francis Scott Key’s work, giving a
nod to the myriad of sounds and
ethnic styles various people have
brought to our country.
As the piece took off with a
by Susan Van Dongen
modernistic flair, breaking down
the familiar melody of the anthem,
we heard a bit of Leonard Bernstein
here, a Spanish influence there,
even a brief flash of folk music.
The busy beginning of “Banner”
shifted into a long, quiet passage,
then a kind of “found music,” with
plucked strings, bass violinists rapping on their instruments, even foot
stomping.
A close listen revealed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (by James
Weldon Johnson, and commonly
At its first indoor concert in more than 18
months, it was clear
the Princeton Symphony Orchestra had
not lost a beat.
known as the Black National Anthem), woven into the texture of the
piece. The snare drum and syncopated strings built and built, bringing “Banner” to a sudden finish.
The concert continued with Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto
in E minor, featuring soloist Simone Porter in a remarkable performance.
Sporting a burgundy jumpsuit,
Porter seized upon the unusual way
the Mendelssohn concerto opens.
There is no orchestral introduction
or exposition, the solo violin just
launches into a familiar, bittersweet melody.
The first movement (Allegro
molto passionate) requires both soloist and orchestra to play with
vigor and precision, and the PSO
did so easily and with elegance.
Porter executed the break-neck
passages with a passion, leaning
into her instrument, even swaying
at times. Yet, she was never out of
control, mastering even the highest
registers of the instrument.
After all these musical fireworks, there was a brief moment of
calm, shared with the woodwinds.
This allowed us all to take a breath,
and served as a bridge to the second
movement.
We were treated to a hushed and
familiar melody, lulled into relaxation before the third movement
(Allegro molto vivace) took off
again, on another spirited romp.
Plucked strings and playful melodies were passed between the solo
violinist and the woodwinds, and
the combination was effervescent.
The final segment showcased how
superbly the PSO accompanies its
special guests, never overwhelming a soloist.
The second half of the concert
featured Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony, a lesser acknowledged
“middle child,” written in 1806 between the revolutionary Third
Symphony, “Eroica,” and the iconic Fifth Symphony. Music historians have noted that the Fourth re-
Simone Porter was the violin soloist for Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor.
flects Haydn’s influence on
Beethoven, who stayed within musical boundaries with this work,
rather than trying to break new
ground.
You could easily hear the classical aesthetic in the lighthearted motifs traded between the bassoon and
flute. But this piece really belongs
to the strings, ebbing and flowing
from grandeur to almost silence.
The second movement introduced gentle musings on a melody,
carried again by the woodwinds —
Andy Cho on clarinet, flutist Yevgeny Faniuk, and especially Brad
Balliett on bassoon. The symphony
rolls on with a third movement in a
lively triple meter, rollicking almost.
Then, if Beethoven was holding
back his enormous energy early in
this composition, we heard it in the
finale (Allegro vivace), which featured masterful playing of this fastpaced music, and the full, rich volume of the PSO.
Rossen Milanov conducts the
Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s
next concert, Thursday, November
4, 7:30 p.m. at McCarter Theater. It
will feature pianist Shai Wosner,
performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto, K. 450, as well as Shubert’s
“Tragic” Symphony and Evan Williams’ “The Dream Deferred.”
Tickets cost $25-$90. 609-4970020 or www.princetonsymphony.org.
October 7
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duction of the Crossroads Festival
Theatre is a world premiere live
production by Ricardo Khan that
features members of the internationally acclaimed a cappella
group Sweet Honey in the Rock
and offers a poetic and musical
journey through our most recent
times, inspired by Amanda Gorman’s poem “The Hill We Climb.”
$30. 7 p.m.
Murder for Two, Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe
Street, Bristol, Pennsylvania, 215785-0100. www.brtstage.org. Comedic musical whodunnit for two
actors, one playing the detective
and the other playing all 13 suspects. Both accompany each other at the piano. $43 and up. 7:30
p.m.
Emergency!, Crossroads Theater Company, Arthur Laurents
Theater, NBPAC, 11 Livingston
Avenue, New Brunswick. www.
crossroadstheatrecompany.com.
Written and performed by Obie
Award winning playwright Daniel
KOA Beaty, EMERGENCY! is a
captivating theater experience
that begins when a slave ship
emerges from the depths of the
Hudson River in contemporary
times. $30. 7:30 p.m.
Film
Sublet, Hopewell Theater, 5
South Greenwood Avenue,
Hopewell, 609-466-1964. www.
hopewelltheater.com. Feature film
account of a New York travel writer who travels to Tel Aviv to write
and grieve about his lost husband
but has a life-altering encounter
with the young film students who
sublets him an apartment. $12.50.
7 p.m.
The High Frontier: The Untold
Story of Gerard K. O’Neill,
Princeton Garden Theatre, 160
Nassau Street, Princeton. www.
princetongardentheatre.org.
Screening of the film uncovering
the legacy of Princeton physicist
and space visionary Gerard K.
O’Neill. Film written and produced
by Princeton native Will Henry.
Register. $12.50. 7:30 p.m.
Literati
Poets at the Library, Princeton
Public Library. www.princetonlibrary.org. Featured readers David
Crews and Ysabel Y. Gonzalez
share their work for 20 minutes
each, followed by an open mic
session. Poets who sign up in advance may share one poem during open mic. Held virtually via
Crowdcast. 7 p.m.
Farm Markets
Princeton Farmers Market,
Franklin Avenue Lot, Princeton.
www.princetonfarmersmarket.
com. Vendors sell fresh produce,
meats, baked goods, and artisanal products. Face coverings
and social distancing required. 10
a.m. to 2 p.m.
Mental Health
Harvest of Hope, NAMI Mercer.
www.namimercer.org. Workshop
as part of month-long virtual conference on mental health. Carol
Rickard, founder and co-host of
“The Well You” show, offers the
exact blueprint and tools that she
has used when navigating the
challenge of maintaining her mental health throughout the course
of the COVID-19 pandemic and
her battle with cancer simultaneously. Free. Register. Visit website for full schedule of events. 7
p.m.
Kids Stuff
Outdoor Storytime, Princeton
Public Library, Princeton Shopping Center Courtyard, 301 North
Harrison Street, Princeton. www.
princetonlibrary.org. Open-air, interactive storytime features
books, songs, rhymes, fingerplays, and movement for children
18 months and older and their
families. Weather permitting.
Bring a blanket or towel to sit on.
Register. 10 to 10:30 a.m.
For Families
The Amazing Pumpkin Carve Drive-Thru, Hopewell Valley
Arts Council, Woolsey Park, 221
Washington Crossing-Pennington
Road, Titusville. www.hvartscouncil.org/amazingpumpkincarve.
Forty colossal pumpkins will be
carved and electrified by area artists and displayed in a twinkling
drive-thru. $25 per car. 5 to 10
p.m.
Lectures
Queer Politics Webinar: Born
This Way and Brokering Identi-
Princeton native Jamie Danielle Weiner, above
left, exhibits her artwork in a show titled ‘Love Thy
Nature’ on view at Princeton Public Library beginning Saturday, October 9. Pictured above is
‘Vines.’
ty, School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University. spia.princeton.edu. Talk
by Joanna Wuest, lecturer & Fund
for Reunion-Cotsen postdoctoral
fellow, Society of Fellows; and Zein Murib, assistant professor, Political Science and Women’s,
Gender, and Sexuality Studies,
Fordham University, via Zoom.
Register. 11:30 a.m.
Artist Conversation, Princeton
University Art Museum, Friend
Center 101, William Street, Princeton. artmuseum.princeton.edu.
Join the artist Adama Delphine
Fawundu and Anna ArabindanKesson, assistant professor of African and Black Diasporic art at
Princeton University, for a discussion about cultural inheritance
and the significance of materials
for Fawundu’s work in the exhibition Gathering Together / Adama
Dephine Fawundu, on view at
Art@Bainbridge. Moderated by
Beth Gollnick, curatorial associate, photography and modern and
contemporary art. Register for inperson attendance or for Zoom
link. 5:30 p.m.
The Fungus Among Us: Mushrooms 101, Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, 1635 River
Road, New Hope, PA. www.bhwp.
org. “Feeding Butterflies, Not
Bambi: Deer-Resistant Native
Plants with Deb Ellis.” Via Zoom.
Register. $15. 7 to 8 p.m.
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