The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the state’s preeminent performing arts organization, is one of the oldest orchestras in the United States. It was founded in 1922, but traces its roots to 1846, when the Eintracht Orchestra and Singing Society of Newark was founded. Today, the NJSO fulfills its mission as a true state orchestra by [...]

A sunken area immediately in front of the stage intended to accommodate an orchestra.

A large work for orchestra, usually with multiple movements. The movements are usually grouped in the order of fast, slow, minuet or some other dance, and fast. In the symphony, the orchestra is the soloist, which is where the term “symphony orchestra”, as in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, originated.

A composition for orchestra intended as an introduction to an opera or other vocal or dramatic work. The overtures are sometimes performed separately , however, as they can serve as brilliant showcases for the orchestra in a purely orchestral concert.

A symphonic work most often written for a single instrument as the soloist and orchestra. The term literally means “to fight.”

Commitment Factor: About 85 minutes.

Vital Statistics: Romantic Period. A large-scale work for chorus, orchestra and soloists.

What to Listen For: The intense drama and soaring lyricism of the Requiem have led some to call it “Verdi’s greatest opera.” In times past, this implied a certain lack of spirituality — and in fact, Verdi was not [...]

Cocktail Party Fact: Tapiola was the last major composition Jean Sibelius published before falling famously silent for the last thirty years of his life. For years afterward, there were rumors (partly encouraged by Sibelius) of new compositions including an eighth symphony, but nothing ever materialized.
Commitment Factor: About 20 minutes.
Vital Statistics: Late Romantic Period tone poem [...]

Cocktail Party Fact: The instantaneous notoriety of Maurice Ravel’s Bolero was mind-boggling. Not long after its 1928 premiere, Ravel was vacationing in north Africa and overheard a villager whistling the Bolero theme.
Commitment Factor: “Fifteen minutes of orchestra without music.” — Maurice Ravel
Vital Statistics: Modern Period. It’s fashionable to show one’s good taste in classical [...]

Cocktail Party Fact: When Maurice Ravel played the piano score of La valse for Diaghilev, the great impresario’s judgment failed him for once. He rejected the music, and Ravel had to wait a decade to see it performed as a ballet.
Commitment Factor: About 15 minutes.
Vital Statistics: Late Romantic/Early Modern Period. A symphonic poem for [...]

Cocktail Party Fact: The most famous recording of the horn concertos is a monaural record that features the legendary British horn player Dennis Brain. It was the top best seller in the Angel catalog for years after the stereo record became the standard recording medium.
Commitment Factor: About 15-20 minutes per concerto.
Vital Statistics: Classic period. (1782-89). [...]