The New Jersey Symphony presented their season finale at Richardson Auditorium on the Princeton University campus on Friday, June 5, 2026.
The late Mr. Justice Potter Stewart once said that he might not be able to define pornography, but he’d know it when he saw it. When we hear Music, what then? We can define it, and we definitely know it when we hear it.
These thoughts undoubtedly raced through at least eleven people this night. We were hearing a World Premiere, and a New Jersey Symphony commission by composer Allison Loggins-Hull titled Doublespeak.
It followed a program in three parts: “The Party,” “Connection,” and “Hold.”
We were to make of it what we could. What many in the audience heard began with an astute, academically sound composition. The music began as a sort of soundscape one might hear accompanying a silent movie, while injections of prehistoric dinosaurs roamed and roared occasionally, drawing an ominous, carnivorous landscape suited to Jurassic Park. Some Party indeed. We then experienced a feverish dream, part sensual, part sexual, and mostly kaleidoscopic. Music which might explain the titles Connection and Hold.
Next, we heard a beloved Mozart concerto, his Piano Concerto Number 22, played superbly by the beloved Emanuel Ax. The decades haven’t faded his adroit and sensuous playing. Having heard him play many times in the previous century, as we have, all can agree that Mr. Ax remains a stellar musician. His thrilling, intense, yet introspective interpretation beguiled the audience. He was aided by the superb orchestra and expert conducting of Xian Zhang.
At the conclusion, the entire audience rose to its feet giving all on stage a rousing standing ovation which repeatedly recalled the soloist back to the stage. So inspired, Mr. Ax granted an encore. The only way to quell the continued waves of acclaim from the audience, was for Mr. Ax to lead Concertmaster Eric Wyrick and his orchestra off the stage.
The second part of the program was Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz.
Maestro Xian Zhang proved that she could muster force and sensuality from her orchestra. Every member contributed every moment, every skill to the work. Set in the intimate acoustics of this hall, the performance thrilled.
Many were transported into the Berloz world of rapture, addiction, sensuality, demonic possession, and life, in general, as no doubt Princetonians lived it.
In the reverie of many, clothes of strapping young men were unbuttoned, unzipped, and tossed aside, fragrant oils and unguents were deftly massaged into firm, rippling flesh by patrons and matrons alike. Flower petals blown by the raging orchestral storm, and the concupiscent, opium hallucinations were greatly enjoyed by the Dionysiac audience. Naturally, these lusty Princetonians recalled the conductor and orchestra repeatedly, until all listeners darted like Bacchantes out into the night and into unspeakable mischief.
———–
Now is the time to consider subscribing to tickets for the new season. The Princeton season opens all too soon.
Visit www.njsymphony.org for further information.