Beethoven and Schubert.

10-25-26 SHORT HILLS: We used to go to the Metropolitan Opera and the  NY Philharmonic, both at Lincoln Center, NYC several times a season. In addition, we would go NJ Performing Arts Center in Newark for the visiting orchestras that regularly came to the NY area. Sometimes we would catch those visitors at Carnegie Hall. It all came to an end when the pandemic began. Since the end of the Covid, we have seen a few shows, but no music or opera. Until last night.

Last night we went to NJPAC and heard the NJ Symphony Season Opening. Lead by music director Xian Zhang, a very animated lady conductor, they played Beethoven’s ‘Emperor’ Piano Concerto No. 5 and Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 in C Major, ‘The Great’. George Li was the pianist, a Silver Medalist at the 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition. 

To my old, wax-filled, half-deaf ears, aided by Fortell Hearing Aids set for live music, the performances were beautiful. The acoustics at NJPAC are excellent. For us, it was a great way to get back into symphony going without needing to cross the river. We have tickets for several more performances. Can’t Wait. 

A sure sign of fall is holly berries turning red. Back in the spring, I showed these female berries ready for pollination. Then those that were pollinated grew these fruits. They were green until a few days ago, but now are red. Being red, they get noticed by birds, eaten by birds and then the seeds get pooped out, with a dollop of fertilizer somewhere nearby. We had this tree and two others, one male and two females, but now we have at least a dozen trees in the yard. Last year a flock of robins spent a day in this tree and pretty much stripped it of all the berries.

Here's NJPAC auditorium before the concert.

A closer look at the stage. It's a very pretty venue.