This episode explores Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 and Brian Raphael Nabors’ Pulse. The German composer Bruch left a rich library of works, but he lived and died under the shadow of one piece, his Violin Concerto in G Minor. Optimistic and bold, Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 – his 100th published work – was embraced by Soviet censors as a symbol of freedom and stands today as a virtuosic, concerto-like showcase that pushes an orchestra to its expressive limits. With Pulse, The Florida Orchestra offers its first-ever performance of a work by the American composer Brian Raphael Nabors, whose music has been described as a fusion of homegrown soundscapes with a contemporary edge. 

Masterworks 8 of the 25/26 Season
Performances February 21 & 22, 2026

Beethoven Meets Bruckner
In this episode, we explore two very different kinds of musical journeys. First, Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, often described as “basically a cello concerto with violin and piano,” where the cello sings in a high register, leading to music that’s elegant, playful and deceptively simple. Then, we shift to the vast sound world of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, “Romantic,” opening with a legendary horn call meant to evoke Medieval knights at dawn and unfolding as a meditative, immersive experience best heard live. Listen in for immersive music, from chamber-like conversation to monumental symphonic landscapes.

Masterworks 7 of the 25/26 Season
Performances February 6 & 7, 2026

Charles T. Griffes’ The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan is an American masterpiece that captures the dreamy quality of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem. Then comes a French masterpiece, Ravel’s Piano Concerto, a lighthearted romp with an air of American jazz and an homage to George Gershwin. Paul Dukas may be a one-hit wonder with The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, but it’s a doozy. Forever immortalized in Disney’s Fantasia, the whimsical work tells a story through vivid colors and dynamics that bring characters to life. When the program ends with Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2, you have to wonder, does any music capture the miracle of morning better than Daybreak from this work?

This episode includes music excerpts to illustrate each work.

Masterworks 6 of the 25/26 Season
Performances January 23-25, 2026

Enjoy Siegfried’s Rhine Journey, a digestible nugget from Wagner’s massive Ring of the Nibelung. This arrangement by Engelbert Humperdinck preserves the work’s atmosphere, the awakening at dawn and the love themes of Brünnhilde and Siegfried. In Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, this stellar work stands out for its iridescent andante in F major, arguably one of the composer’s most captivating creations. The program ends with Shostakovich’s final symphony, No. 15. In contrast to his often dour personality, Shostakovich’s sense of humor shines through in the first movement with quotes from Rossini’s William Tell Overture.

 This episode includes music excerpts to illustrate each work.

Masterworks 5 of the 25/26 Season
Performances January 9-11, 2026

This Masterworks program celebrates Baroque and beyond with music by Handel, Haydn and Mozart. Handel’s Water Music — commissioned for King George’s 1717 Thames celebration — sparkles with regal pomp, innovative use of horns and vibrant dance movements. Mozart takes audiences on an irrepressible romp in the Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, which perfectly captures the opera’s comic energy. It's a different feel from his elegant Ballet Music from Idomeneo, a French-style suite that closes a tragic opera with festive dances, rich orchestration and the first use of clarinets in a Mozart opera. Music from Haydn's Uninhabited Island shows his symphonic genius, creating dramatic tension between calm and storm.

This episode includes music excerpts to illustrate each work.

Masterworks 4 of the 25/26 Season
Performances November 22 & 23, 2025

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” confronts God in a deeply personal and political reckoning. With searing text by Holocaust survivor Samuel Pisar, this emotional tour de force for narrator, soprano, chorus and orchestra explores faith, hope and humanity’s struggle for meaning in a fractured world.

This episode includes music excerpts to illustrate each work.

Masterworks 3 of the 25/26 Season
Performances November 7 & 8, 2025

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 fuses Minimalist drive with lush Romanticism. Inspired by vivid dream imagery — including a supertanker blasting into the sky — this 40-minute symphonic journey delivers pulsing rhythms, glowing orchestration and an unforgettable, full-throttle finale.

This episode includes music excerpts to illustrate each work.

Masterworks 2 of the 25/26 Season
Performances October 18 & 19, 2025

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 soars like a lark in flight, reflecting a deep love of the English countryside. The program closes with Ottorino Respighi’s Pines of Rome, a colorful and cinematic four-movement tone poem that evokes Roman landscapes, from playful gardens to moonlit hills. It ends with a powerful march of ancient soldiers on the Appian Way — a thunderous finale with the orchestra at full tilt.

This podcast includes music excerpts to illustrate each piece. 

Masterworks 1 of the 25/26 Season
Performances October 3 & 5, 2025

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 Brothers, where he wrote music for 22 films and won two Oscars. Rounding out the program is Paul Hindemith’s Mathis der Maler, inspired by 16th-century artist Matthias Grünewald.

These audio program notes include music excerpts.

Masterworks 12 of the 24/25 Season
Performances April 26 & 27, 2025

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 symphonies that he completed in just six weeks in the summer of 1788. The opening has been described as “so majestic that it so surprised even the coldest, most insensitive listener.” 

These audio program notes include music excerpts.

Masterworks 11 of the 24/25 Season
Performances April 4 & 5, 2025