SoundWaves with The Florida Orchestra

No angels allowed...

Not for TFO Principal Harp Anna Kate Mackle. She commissions new music for harp and percussion with her husband, TFO Principal Percussionist John Shaw. Tune in as Anna Kate chats with Resident Conductor Chelsea Gallo about what makes the harp so captivating that people just can’t keep their hands off it. Plus, you’ll never believe where Anna Kate found their cat (which has the best cat name ever).

Secret Lives of Musicians featuring Anna Kate Mackle, hosted by Chelsea Gallo

If you think you hear hints of Star Wars in Holst’s The Planets, you are not wrong. This cosmic experience has inspired composers and patrons for more than 100 years. The Planets is a suite of miniature, often turbulent tone poems of varying moods. The Percussion Collective starts off the program with Christopher Theofanidis’ Drum Circles, a sonic and visual blockbuster that has plenty of bells and whistles – for real. Think of it like a percussion concerto, in collaboration with the full orchestra. These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 1 of the 23/24 Season
Performances: Sept. 30 & Oct. 1, 2023

When was the last time you met someone who sat through Richard Wagner’s entire 15-hour Ring cycle? The full spectacle rarely appears outside the most consecrated of opera houses. Now there’s a version that lets you cheat. Wagner’s The Ring Without Words takes all the best parts of music – yes, Ride of the Valkyries – and condenses them into a digestible 70 minutes. Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 is a powerful, dramatic work that perfectly sets up the journey through Wagner. These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 13 of the 22/23 Season
Performances: May 20 & 21, 2023

At 6-foot-6, heavily recruited Harold Van Schaik had a choice to make in college. Football or music? Now the secret life of TFO’s bass trombone player is filled with Wagner, sports and his three cats – who may not be the biggest fans of the trombone. And perhaps the best secret of all? What it takes to get into TFO’s secret society, the Order of the Skull.   

Thank you to The Scott at Cordova Inn for lending your library to us for the recording. 

It might be called an event of Biblical proportions. Rainstorms, floods, droughts, fire from heaven. A child brought back to life. A cloak of angels. The coming of a Messiah and the promise of eternal life. That’s a tall order, but Felix Mendelssohn pulls it off in his monumental oratorio, Elijah. The visceral power of Mendelssohn’s music propels the story to a higher level of consciousness, and mirrors the great choral works of Bach and Handel.
These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 12 of the 22/23 Season
Performances: May 5-7, 2023

Beethoven’s even-numbered symphonies often get a bad rap. But they shouldn’t! His Fourth Symphony is joyous and rhythmically charged and could easily be embraced as a best effort by countless other composers. As one of the few early composers of color, Joseph Bologne is often overlooked. One of the finest examples of Bologne’s style is the Symphony No. 2, composed in 1779 as a 10-minute jaunt. Vaughan Williams’ ethereal The Lark Ascending is one of the most exquisite creations in the violin repertoire, with impressionistic themes that don’t linger so much as evaporate into the air. In contrast, Ravel’s Tzigane is a virtuoso showpiece with a dazzling display of fireworks for the violin.
These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 11 of the 22/23 Season
Performances: April 1 & 2, 2023

 Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto is breathtakingly beautiful – but fiendishly difficult. Partly because not every pianist has hands the size of Rachmaninoff’s – his thumb and pinkie could span 12 inches, more than most NBA players – and could canvas nearly two octaves. Audiences feel like anything could happen, makes it one of the most thrilling works to watch live. For Carl Nielsen, his Symphony No. 4, “Inextinguishable,” was conceived as a “battle between the forces of order and chaos.’’ But his inspiration was the spirit of life. At the top of the score, he wrote “Music is life, and like it, it is inextinguishable.’’ These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 10 of the 22/23 Season
Performances: Feb. 24-26, 2023

Rachmaninoff wrote music that sticks to the ribs of listeners. His Piano Concerto No. 2 is extravagant and voluptuous from start to finish, and he would take pride in knowing it remains the single-most played work in the repertoire. Sibelius struggled to complete his Symphony No. 5. But the ending is worth all the angst – a triumphal, powerful finale described as “Thor wielding his hammer.” Sibelius’ tone poem The Swan of Tuonela is more peaceful, with the swan’s song played by the English horn. These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 9 of the 22/23 Season 
Performances: Feb. 17-19, 2023

In this episode, we talk to Principal Bass Dee Moses, who is “retiring” after 47 seasons with TFO. Well, more like “refocusing” his life to make more time for what’s important to him and his family. Even after more than four decades on stage, there’s a lot we don’t know about the man behind the double bass. Think motorcycle fanatic. Lead guitar rocker. In his own words, hear how he got his start at TFO -- auditioning in the music director’s living room. Hosted by Andi Tafelski.

Here’s the moment you fall in love with Mahler. His lyrical Symphony No. 4 has started many a love affair with Mahler’s work, which can feel daunting. This very accessible masterpiece looks at the world through the lens of a child, who in the finale, “tells us what it all means.’’ If ever art imitates life, Elgar’s very personal Cello Concerto is it. His last major work is a haunting, gut-wrenching reflection of his life. These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 8 of the 22/23 Season
Performances: Jan. 28 & 29, 2023