The program begins with Respighi’s Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 3, a unique work from 1932 based on Renaissance music and is following contemporary composer Michael Daugherty’s new piano concerto Deus ex Machina, a co-commission from the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and the Charlotte, Nashville, Rochester and Syracuse symphony orchestras, featuring New Jersey resident Terrence Wilson as the soloist. Four New Jersey performances will take place; Thursday, November 15 at 8 pm at bergen PAC in Englewood, Friday, November 16 at 8 pm and Saturday, November 17 at 8 pm at NJPAC in Newark; and Sunday, November 18 at 3 pm at The State Theatre in New Brunswick.

The 2007–08 season marks Neeme Järvi's third season as Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, a tenure highlighted by acclaimed performances that have delighted both critics and audiences alike. The Estonian native’s engaging presence and masterful conducting have earned him the highest honors throughout the world and have won the hearts of his audiences. Järvi continues to champion new artists and has brought some of the brightest new stars in classical music to New Jersey’s concert halls, as well as presenting great artists with established reputations. He is Chief Conductor of The Hague Residentie Orchestra in the Netherlands, Music Director Emeritus of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor Emeritus of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (National Orchestra of Sweden), Conductor Laureate of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and First Principal Guest Conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra.

Pianist Terrence Wilson has established a reputation as one of today's most gifted musicians. The Montclair, NJ resident has appeared with many prestigious ensembles, including the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Washington, DC (National Symphony), San Francisco and St. Louis, as well as with the orchestras of Cleveland, Minnesota and Philadelphia. He has worked with top conductors around the world including Marin Alsop, Christoph Eschenbach, Yoel Levi, Andrew Litton and more. Abroad, Wilson has played concert with such ensembles as the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra in Switzerland and the Malaysian Philharmonic at the Dewan Philharmonik Petronas and in 2005 toured Spain with the Baltimore Symphony.

About the Music

Fidelio is Beethoven’s only opera and debuted in 1805 when Beethoven was 35. As with many of his works, the opera was a struggle for the lauded musician and saw various incarnations before achieving success. It tells the story of Leonore, a passionate wife who disguises herself as a prison guard, named Fidelio, to rescue her husband from sure death in a political prison.

Beethoven struggled to produce an overture for Fidelio and, in fact, composed four versions. Leonore No. 3 is widely considered the best, but for the 1814 revival Beethoven presented his fourth version, now known as the Fidelio Overture. In addition to that final piece, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra will present the Leonore Overtures Nos. 1, 2 and 3 f or audiences to hear the full spectrum of Beethoven’s operatic process.

Also on the evening’s bill is Ottorino Respighi’s Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 3. This is music of the modern era, but owes much to the past. The Italian composer had an abiding love f or music history and wrote three suites between 1917 and 1932, based on arrangements of Renaissance music from the late 16t h and early 17t h centuries. Suite No. 3 is f or strings only.

Moving into the 21st century, Michael Daugherty’s Deusex Machina for piano and orchestra made its world premiere on March 16, 2007 in Charlotte, S.C. The music was inspired by images of speeding locomotives in paintings by European modernists. “Abstract musical lines, mechanical velocities, contrary vectors, polyrhythmic vibrations, and fragmented reverberations all move ‘fast forward’ to arrive at a modernist utopian future,” says Daugherty. The central slow movement, “Train of Tears,” recalls Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train, while the finale, “Night Steam,” is a response to photos of locomotives from the 1950s. -- www.njsymphony.org