New Jersey Symphony. Xian Zhang, conductor. George Li, piano. October 25, 2026.

New Jersey State Theater, New Brunswick, NJ.  Left Main Balcony (Seat K123, $57).

George Li and Xian Zhang after performance of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto.

Program

Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73, "Emperor" (1809)by Beethoven (1770-1827).

Symphony No. 9 in C Major, "The Great" (1826) by Schubert (1797-1828).

NJ Symphony had its (last) season's finale in early June, and today's performance was the opener for this season, and interval of over 4 months.  And the two pieces on the program were "The Emperor" and "The Great," so expectations coming in were quite high.

Well, it was an enjoyable concert.  Certainly the two warhorses didn't hurt.  But it was not quite at the "great" level.  My major complaints were the uneven execution, and the overall muddled sound that came from the stage.  Admittedly the latter could be the acoustics of the auditorium, and not much can be done about that.

I had heard George Li perform twice before, both times with this ensemble.  And they were both works by Rachmaninoff.  While Beethoven may be easier technically (and I am in no position to judge), it requires a lot more musicality from the performers.  For one, it is much more of a dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra, and it also retains a classical form that - depending on how it is brought out - defines how good a performance is.  Musicologists can talk about how Beethoven broke with tradition when he composed this concerto, or how the term "emperor" got attached to it (as today's annotator did); good to know, but not necessarily helpful in one's enjoyment of the piece.  The genius of Beethoven is that his music speaks for itself.  I think it was Bernstein who said Beethoven's notes follow one another inevitably.  Whether true or not, there is this quality to his music that makes the progression satisfying.  In a poor performance, the music seems to repeat itself too many times (a good example is the Pastoral Symphony); and it is also true of his piano and violin concertos.  There was no such problem today.

George Li put in a brilliant performance, somewhat diminished by the acoustics of the hall which made the sound a bit more muddled (I am sure it wasn't due his faulty pedal techniques).  For an encore he played Clair de lune by Debussy.  I never quite understand how soloists select their encore pieces, but enjoyed how Debussy painted moonlight via his music.  (The title helps, and I assume "quiet night in a valley" would also work as the title.)

Better shot of George Li after he played the encore.

If my blog entries of past performance of Schubert's Great are any guide, I will get bored with the symphony at some point.  And I listened to the piece performed by NY Phil, Mostly Mozart, and NJ Symphony (also conducted by Zhang).  So it was with a certain degree of curiosity and trepidation when the second half of today's program started.

It was a much better experience than I anticipated.  Perhaps the best remark I can make is "it didn't sound repetitive at all."  (Well, a bit of exaggeration.)  Every now and then there was a bit of sloppiness, but in general it was a well-presented, coherent performance.  Even the oboe, which had an important part in the slow movement, sounded a lot stronger than it usually does (could still be louder).  It was also nice to sit there and appreciate how Schubert comfortably and effortlessly moved from one key to the next - he had a special knack for doing that.

Conclusion of concert.

In the past I always thought NJ Symphony should stick with the basics.  Somehow today's program was slightly disappointing, perhaps that speaks to my appreciation of the progress the orchestra has made in the years Zhang has been its music director.  Of course I would complain if a few modern pieces are included in the program.

The balcony section I was in still had many empty seats.  In fact I moved one row up after the intermission.

A testimony to my "faith" in the orchestra is that I bought both the Red Bank and State Theater (Sunday) series for his season.  I went for the cheaper seats ($55 per seat plus service fee), and will be attending around 10 concerts.

Close-in off-street parking was readily available, but nowadays the ones really close to the venue charges even on a Sunday - $7 for 3 hours.  The parking garage nearby charges about the same, but there usually is a long line after the concert.

The Philadelphia Orchestra. Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor. October 13, 2026.

Isaac Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall.  Balcony (Row O, Seat 3, $88).

Nezet-Seguin acknowledging the different sections of the orchestra at the conclusion of the concert.  Here he is with the cello section.

Program

Im Sommerwind, idyll for large orchestra (1904) by Webern (1883-1945).

Liberty Bell (2025) by Wolfe (b. 1958).

Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp Minor (1901-1902, rev. 1904) by Mahler (1860-1911).

Nezet-Seguin will be conducting all 9 of Mahler's symphonies this 2026-2027 season.  Four of them with the Philadelphia Orchestra, two with the MET Orchestra, and three with the Vienna Philharmonic.  All but one will be performed in Carnegie Hall.  The Eighth (Symphony of a Thousand) will be performed at the Met Opera Auditorium.  It makes sense, as it calls for a huge stage (although NY Phil did that in then Avery Fisher Hall).  What's puzzling is that event will be repeated three times, and the MET auditorium is quite large (at about 4000 seats, Carnegie Hall seats about 3000).

When I was aware of the Mahler cycle, there were no more tickets available for the Vienna Philharmonic performances (they would have sold out regardless of the program).  I bought tickets to the remaining five concerts at Carnegie Hall, and plan to buy the MET Opera tickets - they are for June 2027.

I bought tonight's concert as a single ticket (Anne has class Tuesday nights).  The rest I bought as a "Create Your Own" series.  I decided to get the less expensive tickets in the Balcony and Dress Circle sections.  Tonight's seat was at the top of the balcony, so even with binoculars I could barely make out the individual orchestra members.  The acoustics was quite good, though.

Today's performance was sold out, and the audience got a lot of music.  The first two pieces are 13 and 12 minutes in duration, and the Symphony is 75 minutes long.  A total of 100 minutes.  While the headliner was this concert would inaugurate the Mahler cycle, the other two pieces on the program are also quite interesting, at least on paper.

"In the Summer Wind" was written before Webern went completely modern (or Schoenberg), and it employs a rather large orchestra (the title says as much).  From the Program Notes one learns that Webern's later period is characterized as sparse and pointillistic (first time I encounter this term used to describe music).  But tonight's piece was composed during an idyllic summer the composer spent at his family's country estate.  The Notes contains a brief description of the structure of the piece, which one can try to follow as the music is performed.  If one is so inclined.  I wasn't today.

Indeed "Im Sommerwind" was written for a large orchestra.  Not all the percussion instruments were used in the piece, and notice the empty seats in the brass section.

Liberty Bell was commissioned by several organizations, including The Philadelphia Orchestra and Carnegie Hall.  The orchestra is even "huger" than that for Webern's piece.  Webern used five percussion instruments (counting harps), Wolfe used 13 (including one piano).  While Wolfe in her Program Note describes liberty is achieved via a messy and boisterous process, I heard it more as liberty evolving with culture: there were sounds of jazz, new age, and even traditional in the mix.  And at times the music sounded Philip Glass, moving along slowly, but at a volume much louder than one would associate with Glass.  While the actual Liberty Bell may have been the inspiration, one gets the feeling that the process of creating the music involved a lot of perspiration.

Wolfe being acknowledged as today's performance was a New York premiere.  Note how all the seats in the brass section were taken.  The red sheet in the back is a "thunder sheet" which was put to good use.

Even though both pieces contain some interesting passages, they did feel a bit on the long side.  That made me worry about how I could sit through 75 minutes of Mahler after the intermission.

That fear was unwarranted.  Other than the third movement (Scherzo), all the other movements came and went without my losing my concentration.  The third movement is the longest of the five movements, and I am still not sure how it belongs in a symphony that brings the listener from a dark place to total triumph.  (Of course Mahler would claim there is no program in this composition.)  Overall, I rate this a great performance, but how does it compare with Dudamel in 2009?  Of course Dudamel was just beginning his meteoric career, and Nezet-Seguin is at his prime.

A few specific remarks.  The beginning passage was performed by PO's principal trumpet James Vaughen, it was done well.  The Sticky Notes Podcast on this symphony identifies this theme as from Mahler's Fourth Symphony.  For the scherzo, principal horn Jennifer Montone played the obbligato.  She had a short hesitant beginning, but provided a steady contrast for the remainder of the movement.  I was wondering if the slapstick could change its pitch, and wondered the same thing at an April 2011 concert!  (I did some web searches, and it appears our ears can trick us into thinking that the pitch changes.)

The applause was very enthusiastic (Carnegie Hall audiences tend that way).  Nezet-Seguin acknowledged the different sections.  I had to leave to catch the train, so didn't stick around for the additional curtain calls.

The next Mahler concert will be in February next year, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic.  My next Mahler in this series will be in early April, same season, but about 6 months later.  I wonder if I will feel any continuity at all (of course continuity wasn't on top of Mahler's mind when he composed his symphonies).

Regardless, I look forward to the next concert in the cycle.