Concert Companion

Music has the incredible power to speak without saying a word—just ask Joseph Haydn! This episode of the Concert Companion turns over a new leaf as host Sara Stovall dives into Sarasota Orchestra's Discoveries series, a format that's a little like bringing the Concert Companion live to the stage. Joining her is Sarasota Orchestra Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero, who shares how he got into the art of classical musical storytelling and developed his signature impassioned, riveting style. 

As the Orchestra prepares for its final bow of the 2025-2026 season, Giancarlo and Sara explore the nature of the "unfinished business" with each piece on the program. You’ll hear why Schubert may have simply forgotten he started his famous Eighth Symphony and how a period of downtime during the COVID-19 pandemic led Giancarlo to discover the unsung brilliance of African American composer Julia Perry. The conversation culminates with a look at Haydn’s "Farewell" Symphony—a 250-year-old symphonic protest. While Haydn scripted the musicians' walk-off, he left the conductor’s departure wide open. Giancarlo teases his own secret plan for his final exit of the season, promising an "Oscar-winning moment" you have to see for yourself!

Sarasota Orchestra performs Discoveries: Unfinished Business on May 16 at the Sarasota Opera House. The program features Schubert’s mysterious Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished), Julia Perry’s groundbreaking Short Piece for Orchestra, and Haydn’s theatrical Symphony No. 45 (Farewell). Experience the 2025-2026 season finale with Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero leading this 75-minute journey of musical discovery. Tickets are available at SarasotaOrchestra.org.

Symphony No 8. (Unfinished) by Franz Schubert

Episode Overview:

Last summer, the Chicago Classical Review dubbed Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero a "gifted and idiomatic Mahlerian, insightful yet individual and willing to take risks." That term "Mahlerian" was a new word for host Sara Stovall, and their conversation in this episode reveals more about why it fits Giancarlo to a tee. As Sarasota Orchestra prepares for the grand finale of the 2025-2026 Masterworks season, Giancarlo reveals why he feels it necessary to conduct Gustav Mahler’s music every concert season, exploring the chaotic, grief-stricken, and creatively brilliant life of a composer who truly composed autobiographically.

But this isn't just a Mahler episode. Giancarlo has paired Mahler with the American genius who saved his legacy: Leonard Bernstein. Giancarlo and Sara discuss in depth why their two voices naturally belong together on the same stage, and imagine what would happen if Bernstein and Mahler grabbed cocktails together (perhaps there would be a lot of complaining about their conducting "day jobs")! 

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Music in This Episode:

Serenade (after Plato's Symposium) by Leonard Bernstein

Episode Overview:

It’s been sixteen seasons since Sarasota Orchestra last tackled Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, and according to Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero, it's high time for the Orchestra's marvelous musicians to perform the Rite again. In this episode of the Concert Companion, your "happy host" Sara Stovall sits down with Giancarlo to discuss why this piece remains the ultimate test for an orchestra. They dive into the work’s scandalous history—including the infamous 1913 Parisian riot that might have been a clever marketing ploy.

Beyond the Stravinsky behemoth, Giancarlo discusses the profound significance of Joan Tower’s 1920/2019, a work that bridges the centennial of women’s suffrage with the modern #MeToo movement. They also celebrate the return of violin superstar Benjamin Beilman, with Giancarlo offering a glowing look at their international collaborations and the unique imagination Ben will bring to Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5.

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Episode Overview:

As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary (the "Semiquincentennial"—try saying that three times fast!), Giancarlo dives into the American voice in orchestral music. From the "rock star" energy of George Gershwin and oceanside sounds from living composer Adolphus Hailstork—to the groundbreaking brilliance of William L. Dawson and Charles Ives, this episode explores how these composers were often decades ahead of their time. Join Giancarlo and Sara for a "musical road trip" that explores what an American sound truly means.

About the Concert:

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Episode Overview:

About the Concert: 

Violin Concerto by Erich Korngold

In Sarasota Orchestra's Concert Companion to Masterworks: Grand Treasures (April 4-6, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall), we dig into a deep question about orchestral music: Art museum or living art form? Well, what if it's both?! Principal Keyboardist Jonathan Spivey masterfully guides us through Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3, to be performed by Jon Kimura Parker in this concert. In highlighting Sarasota Orchestra’s co-commission of Horizons by Peter Boyer, we learn how orchestras become active participants in presenting contemporary compositions and whether an orchestra leaves fingerprints when new works are born. On the flip side of the coin, we ponder what makes a canonical composition a “masterwork” and discuss the orchestra’s vital importance in keeping these treasures from getting buried in the sands of time. How do orchestras and conductors make centuries-old music feel vital, relevant, and timeless, inspiring generations of repeat listens?
Tickets available at SarasotaOrchestra.org!
Music in this episode:Symphony No. 4 by Johannes BrahmsCzech National Symphony Orchestra
Piano Concerto No. 3 by Ludwig van BeethovenDrew Petersen, pianoMarcelo Lehninger, conductorSarasota OrchestraRecorded live at the Sarasota Opera House, September 28, 2019

In Sarasota Orchestra's Concert Companion to Masterworks: Heroic Spirit (January 30, Neel Performing Arts Center; January 31 - February 2, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall), we hear from Nicholas Arbolino, who has played oboe and English horn with Sarasota Orchestra since 2014.
Every professional orchestra musician may not live in the spotlight; however, they all pour astonishing amounts of time, energy, sweat, and soul into their position. We talk with Nick about the athleticism and performance psychology inherent to being a musician and invite him to tell us about his music heroes. Nick's preview of the Heroic Spirit concert program explores other acts of musical heroics in Beethoven's Coriolan Overture and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, as well as Anne Akiko Meyers' performance of Fandango for violin and orchestra, a Latin GRAMMY®-winning work she recently commissioned from Arturo Márquez.
Tickets are available online at SarasotaOrchestra.org!
Music in this episode:
Fandango by Arturo Márquez
Anne Akiko Meyers, violin
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic
From the album Fandango, released September 15, 2023 (Platoon)
 
Symphony No. 5 by Dmitri Shostakovich
Kenneth Schermerhorn, conductor
Sarasota Orchestra
Recorded live at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, January 2005
Coriolan Overture by Ludwig van Beethoven
Case Scaglione, conductor
Sarasota Orchestra
Recorded live at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, January 7, 2017