New Jersey Orchestra Presents Mahler’s Symphony

The soaring vocal beauty of leading soprano Twyla Robinson and mezzosoprano Nancy Maultsby, coupled with the worldrenowned 150voice Westminster Symphonic Choir, converge in an unforgettable performance of power, passion and brilliant music.Three performances of Mahler’s Resurrection will take place without intermission Friday, November 30 at 8 pm at NJPAC in Newark; Saturday, December 1 at 8 pm Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton; and Sunday, December 2 at 3 pm at NJPAC. Single tickets begin at $20 for all three performances.

About the Artists

Born in Tallinn, Estonia, Neeme Järvi is one of today’s busiest conductors. He makes frequent guest appearances with some of the foremost orchestras of the world, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and The Philadelphia Orchestra. Opera performances include The Metropolitan Opera and the Opéra National de ParisBastille.

In the 200708 season he has guest conducting engagements with the Berlin Philharmonic, at a memorial concert for Mstislav Rostropovich with the Bayerischer Rundfunk, and he visits the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris and Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Norske Opera also welcomes him for a Gala concert to celebrate the opening of the new opera house in Bjørvika. Neeme Järvi has amassed a distinguished discography of more than 400 discs and many accolades, and awards have been bestowed on him worldwide. He holds honorary degrees from the University of Aberdeen, the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and the University of Michigan.

He has been appointed Commander of the North Star Order by the king of Sweden. Winner of the 2002 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and MacAllister Award for Opera Singers, exciting young soprano Twyla Robinson has debuted with many of the world’s leading orchestras. Her dramatic portrayals of Mozart heroines with the New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Florida Grand Opera have earned her critical acclaim. In a 2004 Carnegie Hall debut, she joined world renowned artists in a gala concert to honor mezzosoprano Marilyn Horne. No stranger to Mahler’s work, Robinson has sang Des Knaben Wunderhorn as part of San Francisco Opera’s Song Recital Series and was recently soprano soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

American mezzosoprano Nancy Maultsby’s unique vocal quality allows her to pursue repertoire ranging from Monteverdi and Handel to the music of John Adams. She has sung Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with more than ten major orchestras including the National Symphony and Brooklyn Philharmonic and has also performed the composer’s Symphony No. 3, Symphony No. 8, Das Lied von der Erde, Kindertotenlieder and Das Klagende Lied in venues across the globe. Maultsby trained at Westminster Choir College and the Indiana University School of Music. Recent career highlights include her debut at Boston Lyric Opera in a new James Robinson production and performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Seattle Symphony and Florida Orchestras. Under the baton of Conductor Joe Miller, the Westminster Symphonic Choir is composed of students from Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, New Jersey. It has been the chorusinresidence for the Spoleto Festival USA since 1977 and was the chorusinresidence for the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, for 23 years. Recent seasons have included tours of the United Kingdom, Korea and Taiwan. The Choir has been praised by The New York Times for its “fullbodied, incisive singing” and regularly performs with leading conductors and orchestras across the globe.

About the Music

A notorious perfectionist, Austrian composer Gustav Mahler worked tirelessly on Symphony No. 2 for more than two decades. The first movement was originally conceptualized as a tone poem called Todtenfier (“Funeral Rite”). His intense and unconventional scores attracted criticism early in his career. In 1891, Mahler played the poetic Todtenfeier for German conductor and pianist Hans von Bülow, who commented of Mahler’s work, “Well, if that’s music, then I know nothing about music!” The first and fifth movements are the pillars that uphold the three inner movements of “Resurrection.” Ironically, he would base the fifth movement on German lyric poet Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock’s hymn, Auferstehung ("Resurrection Ode") after it was performed at the funeral of his critic von Bülow. Shortly thereafter, Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection,” would premiere in Berlin on December 13, 1895.

The five movements of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 explore the Christian progression from death through transfiguration to resurrection, the ultimate affirmation. They provide a taste of the composer’s provocative style, along with his preoccupation with death. The first movement, angry and filled with strife, stands in stark contrast with the instrumental and nostalgic sounds of the second and third movements, which include Austrian folk dance and waltzlike elements. Mahler’s finale, based on the funeral hymn, is an astounding work that carries us on an unforgettable journey from the Day of Judgment to God’s love, and elicits Christian imagery of revival and resurrection, love and redemption.

Mahler’s monumental Second Symphony epitomizes the composer’s instinctive ability to touch the human soul. Known for grappling with major topics in his music, he continues this trend with Symphony No. 2, which is perhaps Mahler’s most profound expression of faith and spirituality. Set against the power of an enormous orchestra and choir, every stanza of “Resurrection” skillfully explores the very meaning of life and attempts to come to terms with death. -- www.njsymphony.org