VIOLIN VIRTUOSO: Stefan Jackiw is the soloist with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Rossen Milanov, at Richardson Auditorium May 7 and 8. (Photo by Sangwook Lee)

On Saturday, May 7 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, May 8 at 4 p.m., the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) presents its Milanov & Jackiw concert featuring violin virtuoso Stefan Jackiw. Jackiw performs Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s lush Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 on a program with Gabriela Lena Frank’s Elegía Andina and Felix Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 56. Edward T. Cone Music Director Rossen Milanov conducts both concerts at Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall, on the campus of Princeton University.

Milanov and Jackiw are no strangers, having performed with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2015, the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra in 2019, and, most recently, with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra this past October. Milanov invited the violinist to play with the PSO in March 2020, but that performance was pre-empted by the pandemic. Milanov said, “I’m so pleased to finally be able to collaborate with Stefan Jackiw here with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra in such an intimate setting as Richarsdson Auditorium. His intelligent and virtuosic interpretation of Korngold’s concerto is not to be missed.”

Jackiw is one of America’s foremost violinists, captivating audiences with playing that combines poetry and purity with an impeccable technique. He has appeared as soloist with the Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco symphony orchestras, among others. In the 2021–2022 season, highlights include performances with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Alan Gilbert, and with Orchestre National de Lyon under Nikolaj Znaider. Born to physicist parents of Korean and German descent, he began playing the violin at the age of four. His teachers have included Zinaida Gilels, Michèle Auclair, and Donald Weilerstein. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, as well as an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory, and is the recipient of a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. Jackiw plays a violin made in 1750 in Milan by G.B. Guadagnini, on generous loan from a private collection.

Leading off the concert program is contemporary composer Gabriela Lena Frank’s Elegía Andina (Andean Elegy), written in 2020. Frank’s work explores what it means to be of several ethnic persuasions. Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Violin Concerto was dedicated to Alma Mahler, widow of his childhood mentor Gustav Mahler, and Felix Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony was inspired by the composer’s tour of the ruined chapel of Holyrood Castle near Edinburgh, Scotland.

Both concerts take place at the orchestra’s home venue of Richardson Auditorium, on the campus of Princeton University. All attendees are required to wear masks at all times while inside the building, be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, and must have received boosters, if eligible.

Tickets for the May 7 and May 8 performances at Richardson Auditorium start at $20, youth (ages 5-17) are half price, and may be ordered at princetonsymphony.org or by calling (609) 497-0020.