SoundWaves with The Florida Orchestra

Experience two monumental works that bridge centuries. Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, a dazzling precursor to his Ode to Joy, blends virtuosic piano, orchestra and chorus in a joyful, triumphant finale that echoes through his Ninth Symphony. Written for a legendary concert and featuring Beethoven himself at the piano, this piece captures the raw energy of genius in motion. In contrast, Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3 “Kaddish” conf...

Experience the emotional sweep of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, a fiery showcase of virtuosity and lyricism once panned by critics but now cherished as one of the greatest violin concertos ever written. From its bold opening to the folk-inspired finale, this 34-minute masterpiece brims with Russian flair and heart-racing brilliance. Then, dive into the sonic whirlwind of John Adams’ Harmonielehre, a modern American classic that fu...

Explore three lush, evocative works that celebrate nature and the power of storytelling through music. Start with a day-long mountain hike in Richard Strauss’ An Alpine Symphony, a grand tone poem with a massive orchestra — including wind machine and thunder sheet — to portray everything from sunrise to a thunderstorm. Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending offers a serene contrast: a pastoral 13-minute piece where the solo violin so...

Art comes to life. The great orchestra showpiece Pictures at an Exhibition started out as an extended piano suite in 10 movements by Mussorgsky. That is until a half-century later, when Maurice Ravel had the good sense to see its true potential for a full orchestra. His orchestration has been a showstopper ever since. With a heady, cinematic feel, Korngold’s Violin Concerto pulls from his career as a staff composer for Warner Broth...

Is it possible to find someone who cannot hum a bit of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons -- arguably one of the most enduring works of all time? Vivaldi presents a musical travelogueof spring, summer, autumn and winter, complete with bird songs, shimmering creeks, a thunderstorm, peasant’s dance and a freezing ice storm. It’s exuberant and captivating every time. Another masterpiece on the program is Mozart’s Symphony No. 39, one of three...

This program spotlights an unusual instrument for a classical program: the saxophone. For Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, the tenor saxophone makes a rare appearance in a symphony orchestra with the theme representing Juliet. Of Prokofiev’s nine ballet scores, this is his finest – even though he originally wrote a happy ending to Shakespeare’s tragedy. An “altered” version was performed, however. The saxophone is front and center for...

Beethoven composed his Violin Concerto in 1806, when he was deaf. From the onset, the music unfolds with a sense of spaciousness, its character more graceful than frenetic. This work is not about power and bravura but poise and spirituality. At nearly 45 minutes, it also requires a lot of stamina for the soloist. Also on the program are Šárka and Die Moldau from Smetana’s Ma Vlast, a set of six tone poems depicting life and nature ...

For some listeners, Tchaikovsky’s evergreen Piano Concerto No. 1 is overplayed and overwrought. For others, it never fails to thrill with its embraceable tunes and striking rhythmic flourish. No, Tchaikovsky wasn’t subtle, and this piece is supercharged with pulsating sentiment. Meanwhile, the music of English composer William Walton is seldom heard in American concert halls, so a performance of his Belshazzar’s Feast is a treat. T...

A concert immersed in the sea. It opens with Garth Neustadter’s Seaborne, a film with stunning images of the sea set to music, performed by the Percussion Collective. The work explores water from the air, surface and underwater vantage points. Then the concert flows to Sibelius’ The Oceanides, which has been described as “the finest evocation of the sea that has ever been produced in music.” In Debussy’s La Mer, he pays tribute to ...

Variations on a Rococo Theme is the closest Tchaikovsky ever came to writing a cello concerto. Scored for a reduced orchestra, the Variations assume a chamber-like texture and balance the sweetness of the classical style with a romantic warmth, the soloist never leaving the spotlight − much less having a moment to rest. The program opens with the tone poem Elegia Andina by Gabriele Lena Frank. She was born hearing impaired, yet the...

Felix Mendelssohn’s best-loved work has to be his radiant Violin Concerto. It is loaded with good tunes. In particular is the finale, a puckish movement full of sparkle and bravado. One of the most significant African-American composers of the 20th century, William Dawson seamlessly wove folksong into works such as the Negro Folk Symphony. Quotes from American spirituals simmer throughout the work, which ends in an explosion of rhy...

Brahms’ idyllic Symphony No. 2 radiates warmth – until an explosion of brass announces one of the most exciting endings in music. In Grieg’s impassioned Piano Concerto, the opening rumble of timpani sends the piano on a flourish of unforgettable melodies. This fragrant and impassioned work is among the most performed – and recorded – of any music in the repertoire. Rounding out the program is Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s fresh and ene...

The concert pairs two of the most famous openings in music: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra (Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey). In Beethoven’s Fifth, it’s up to you, the listener, to interpret those four iconic bursts of sound – da da da dum! Fate knocking at the door? Victory over tyranny? A deaf composer shaking his fist at his lot in life? In Zarathustra, you’ll get a true feel for Strauss...

Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3 may be his most intriguing – and underrated – symphony. Four decades separate Rachmaninoff’s First and Third symphonies, both neglected compared to the celebrated Second. Written in America, his Third Symphony radiates lush romantic melodies, drenched in his trademark orchestral colors. The program starts off with Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, an unquestioned masterpiece revered by concert violinists for ...

Ravel’s Bolero begins quietly and ends demonically. The repetition – a maddening rat-a-tat-tat of the snare drum – may sound simple, but the gradual crescendo builds into a frenzy of intensity and brilliant color. Ravel himself underestimated the appeal of the piece, calling it “orchestration without music.” Instead of sliding into oblivion, Bolero enjoys unflagging popularity still today. Also on the program: De Falla’s Nights in ...

Mahler knew how to think big. For his Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection,” he stuffed the stage with 270 musicians, including 10 trumpets and 10 horns in the original score. It took Mahler five years to complete the symphony, which stretches more than 80 minutes and holds a special place among musicians and audiences. Today, millions of people have heard the Resurrection for the first time not in the concert hall, but in the movie Maest...

The power of friendship. Edward Elgar’s most popular work, Enigma Variations, was dedicated to 14 friends portrayed in the pieces – from his wife to an Oxford professor, a bulldog and even Elgar himself. Like the Elgar, each section of Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin (The Grave of Couperin) is dedicated to someone the composer knew, but this time they are friends who died on the battlefield. The music is far from gloomy. The compose...

We’re taking a tour of France in the spring. Magnifique! Saint-Saens’ Organ Symphony – used so effectively in the 1995 movie Babe – is a lush masterpiece that builds and builds until … wait for it … the organ is let loose in the finale. Fauré’s Requiem creates a place of peace and serenity with rich, soulful melodies, featuring The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay. The vibrant energy of Lili Boulanger’s Of a Spring Morning begins the co...