Happy Lunar New Year!  New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) celebrates its third annual Lunar New Year celebration and it is the year of the Ox.  The second sign of the Chinese Zodiac, diligence and hard work are the hallmarks of the Ox.  Considering the year that we've come through, we knew that 2021 would be a lot of work and the Ox supports our resolve.
Gabriel van Aalst, CEO of the NJSO, kicked off the events.  While last year featured a festival in the foyer of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, this year's Zoom meeting began with a special VIP event that became a virtual festival! In fact, this year's Festival Concert featured a simulcast in China, via Sinovision, when East and West could truly meet.
After a brief introduction, van Aalst introduced Music Director Xian Zhang, who provided insight about her planning.  2020 was barely finished when planning began for 2021.  Featured artist Xuefei  Yang has said she did not choose the guitar, but rather the guitar chose her.  Originally, her parents wanted her to play the accordion, which was very popular as a more portable version of a piano, to develop keyboard skills.  Yet, Yang's teacher felt that it was so heavy that the guitar was a better option.  And if she had the opportunity to choose again, she would still choose guitar.  She hopes the quality of her playing speaks for itself in defining her talent. In fact, Yang was so good at 14 that she played in Madrid, where composer Joaquín Rodrigo attended the concert and was suitably impressed.  In 1995, composer John Williams was equally impressed with her virtuosity and gave her two guitars on the spot!  She was the first guitarist to ever train at the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music.  Claude Debussy's "La fille aux cheveux de lin" (Girl with the Flaxen Hair) was Yang’s chosen piece during the special VIP event.  The guitar gives a piquance in Yang's use of harmonics and the timbre of the guitar's voice is nearly human.
We traveled literally around the world with the NJSO, and first stop was Li Huanzhi's "Spring Festival Overture," which underscored some of the highlights of last year's Festival and Concert.  It felt like paging through a well-loved album of a great celebration and all of the emotions come rushing back for those fortunate enough to attend.  Principal Cellist Jonathan Spitz was featured in Pyotr IlycihTchaikovsky's Andante cantabile for Cello and Orchestra, which is so beautiful that Fyodor Dostoevsky is said to have burst into tears upon first hearing it! Guitarist Xuefei Yang took us from the steppes to Brazil with Luiz Bonfá's "Manhã de Carneval."  I was haunted by the tune when I realized I was singing along with this favorite tune that originally appeared in the Portuguese film "Orfeo Negro" in 1959.  The technique, color, and voice of the guitar in Yang's hands give us every bit of pathos and bittersweetness, preparing our palate for what's next.
Lovers of art songs immediately recognized Franz Schubert's "Erlkönig," the original phantom as he menaces his quarry--and this audience.  George Li gave us the verve and driven compulsion of the King of the Fairies as he bent the piano to his will. Other highlights for me include anything Xuefei Yang plays--her turn on the traditional "Fisherman's Song at Eventide" was again tag-teamed with George Li's bravura "Happy Days" then back to the literal tour de force of the NJSO on one continent playing their portion of Astor Piazzola’s divine "Libertango," while Xuefei Yang played her portion half a world away. Na-young Baek, who grew up in Philadelphia, made her professional debut with the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra during her studies at Curtis. Her solo on the cello gave the human timbre that the guitar then extends with the trills and thrills that keep one's eyes glued to a soloist's fingers even via the miracle of the internet. Piazzola's driving rhythm only brought home the genius of these musicians--you need to see it!  This first fully virtual Lunar New Year festival took full advantage of this brave new world, as Yang used a speaker during filming, done on her iPad, and the result was truly spectacular.
Starry Arts Group Children's Chorus performs a three song arc that was a technical marvel of its own--these young singers rehearseded and perform for you from the safety of their own homes!  If you've ever been on a Zoom meeting trying to do something simple as a group, you know the challenge!  They regaled us with "Spring Dawn" and "Singing and Smiling," both by Gu Jianfen.  Being completely honest, the energy of these brilliant singers thaws and warms your snowy winter heart!
Don Besig's "Flying Free" is a choral piece that features Bart Feller, on flute, with Xian Zhang playing the piano accompaniment. In the VIP Pre-concert Zoom, Feller spoke of how different it is to collaborate with Zhang the artist, and how much he enjoyed their work together and learning of this new facet of music director as soloist. Sung by the Peking University Alumni Chorus, more than 150 voices from around the world, the beautiful harmonies with the soaring flute literally flying above the singers giving light and vibrant life to the words that illuminate exactly what has been missing for so long.  As I write this, tears stand in my eyes, as they will in yours when you listen.
The celebration favorites, "Farewell" and "Gong Xi" are classic songs that have become the traditional close to the NJSO concert and, in archival footage from the first celebration in 2019 and last year's in 2020, we got to enjoy the memory of having stood shoulder to shoulder, when that was still possible. In the audience, we stood together with the Peking University Alumni Chorus, Starry Arts Group Children's Chorus, the emcees, and artists and performers who made such joy possible.  "Gong Xi" is a singalong and in both 2019 and 2020, a number of us were singing or humming it to our cars and all the way home.  The energy and love is just as affecting in the shared memory and the love flowed warmly through the chat.
Want more?  Subscribe to NJSO, support their work and check out the link to all of the Festival offerings:  Here’s the link to the full Lunar New Year playlist that has the concert and festival: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_TGycBvdN2K8lWFVTOZWb8hV5PJx301t.  Enjoy!