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Opening with a surprise
A toast with champagne for all
Sunday, October 2, 2005
By Reena Esmail

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi (conductor), Marc-André Hamelin (piano). Haydn: Symphony no. 94 in G major ("Surprise"); Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto no. 2; Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances. Prudential Hall, NJPAC, Newark.

At the end of each concert of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra's first series of the 2005 season, board chairman Victor Parsonnet came out on stage with two filled champagne glasses. He handed one to newly appointed conductor Neeme Järvi so they and the entire audience could toast in celebration of the new season. And rightly so!

The NJSO had many things to celebrate. With a subdued but powerful energy Järvi led the group in their first performance with him finally as full-fledged Music Director. The orchestra's performance was inspired. The audience's response was so enthusiastic that they demanded and received two encores. And Dr. Parsonnet announced that Prudential had given the symphony $2 million as well as a challenge to raise $1 million dollars from new donors, which will be matched by Prudential dollar for dollar. Celebration was certainly the theme of the afternoon.

The orchestra's rendition of the Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances was vivid and colorful. The woodwind section blended effortlessly. Particularly beautiful was the work of principal flutist Bart Feller, whose consistent resonant and crisp sound gave the music its characteristic glisten.

Pianist Marc-André Hamelin joined the orchestra for a flawless performance of Saint-Saëns' Second Piano Concerto. Hamelin was a technical powerhouse: his execution was so brilliant that the audience demanded an encore. Ironically, it was in the encore (an early Scriabin etude in C-sharp minor, op. 2, no. 1) that his intimate, emotional playing was best brought forth.

Järvi found the true humor in Haydn's "Surprise" Symphony, which opened the concert. He conducted with a playful smirk as if to communicate an inside joke that both orchestra and audience were in on. Members of the audience could actually be heard chuckling at various points during the third movement Minuet, a welcome rarity in the usually ever-so-stodgy concert hall.

There is not one thing the NJSO has overlooked in their commitment to reaching a wider audience. Laurie Shulman's program notes were enjoyable to read and accessible to a wide variety of listeners. The atmosphere at the concert was friendly and welcoming, engaging a diverse group of attendees. Champagne was offered to the entire audience after the concert, and the ushers made sure everyone got a glass to take home, even if they didn't drink champagne. And still, walking out after the concert, a mother commented to her daughter, "It's so sad that we can't fill up a hall for a concert like this. I wish there were more people like us."

If anyone is capable of rising to such a challenge by finding those people and drawing them in, it is certainly the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.