SoundWaves with The Florida Orchestra

A concert that’s a little bit city and a little bit country. In his Symphony No. 6, Beethoven is in awe of the power of nature, from flowing streams and peasant dances (fueled by alcohol) to thundering storms that ease into a prayerlike sense of gratitude. Jessie Montgomery’s tone poem Records from a Vanishing Citysoaks up the music that surrounded her growing up in New York, including Latin jazz, alt rock, classical and Caribbean dance music. Mozart’s sunny Violin Concerto No. 3 features TFO Associate Concertmaster Nancy Chang in music full of effervescence and elegance. These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 7 of the 22/23 Season 
Performances: Jan. 21 & 22, 2023

In this episode, hear directly from tuba soloist TJ Graf on how he ended up in a rare spot – center stage for Wynton Marsalis’ jazzy Tuba Concerto. Plus: Composer Joshua Cerdenia talks about infusing fire into Feuertrunken, and guest conductor Fawzi Haimor and TFO trombonist Ross Holcombe dig into Duke Ellington’s groundbreaking Black, Brown and Beige and spotlight the real star of Gershwin’s An American in Paris: taxi horns. 

In TFO’s Pre-Concert Conversations, get the real story behind the composers and their music, straight from the conductor and soloists for Masterworks concerts.

Recorded live at Straz Center for the Performing Arts on January 6, 2023

A jazzy program of music by groundbreaking composers. Gershwin captures beautiful sights and intense sounds in his postcard from An American in Paris. A rare Tuba Concerto, by jazz legend Wynton Marsalis, features our own TJ Graf in a playful work with a great sense of humor. Duke Ellington’s grand masterpiece Black, Brown and Beige -- a broad tale of African-American history -- has been hailed as one of the most significant works in American orchestral music. Rounding out the program is Filipino composer Joshua Cerdenia’s Feuertrunken (Fire-Drunk), stimulating waves of sound inspired by Dante’s take on purgatory. These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 6: Performances: Jan. 6-8, 2023 

Hang on for an explosive tribute to fate. In his Symphony No. 4, Tchaikovsky takes us on a powerful journey that ends in a virtuosic volley of fireworks at breakneck speed. Breathtaking. This program’s real star is the world premiere of the Violin Concerto composed by Michael Ippolito, a Tampa native and award-winning composer. Music Director Michael Francis and TFO commissioned the full-length work as part of our commitment to music as a living art form and our unique collaboration with Ippolito. The program also includes the hauntingly beautiful Elegy by Grace Williams, Wales’ most notable female composer. These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 5: Performances: Dec. 2-4, 2022 

Have you ever had a really intense reaction to live music? We explore Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring – a ballet with music so “shocking” that it started a riot during its premiere in Paris in 1913. That leads us to the opposite end of the ballet spectrum: Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, with a sumptuous, soaring score and tear-jerker story. The other piece on the program, Michael Abels’ Delights & Dances, brings a multicultural mix of jazz, blues, bluegrass and Latin elements from the composer best known for his Oscar-winning score to Get Out. These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 2: Performances Oct. 21-23, 2022

A program of 1001 stories and more that celebrates women as heroes. In Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, the clever sultana spins exotic, cliff-hanger Arabian stories from A Thousand and One Nights to delay her demise. Then there’s Clara Schumann, who finished composing her Piano Concerto by age 16 at a time when women simply did not compose. Rounding out the program is Bartok’s The Miraculous Mandarin Suite, a thrilling adventure into the dark side of power. These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 3: Performances Nov. 5 & 6, 2022

Is it a concerto or a symphony with a fiddle in the middle? That’s the debate surrounding Brahms’ demanding Violin Concerto, in part because the orchestral writing doesn’t bow to the violin; instead, it’s in full throttle throughout. Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8, too often overshadowed by his great New World Symphony, offers an idyllic refuge of joy and harmony, with themes warm and amiable. Rounding out the program is Partita for Strings by Gideon Klein, whose creative voice rose from the darkness of the Theresienstadt concentration camp during World War II. These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 4: Performances Nov. 12 & 13, 2022 

We explore one of the biggest primal screams in music: Carmina Burana. Carl Orff’s barbaric yet lyrical cantata for orchestra and chorus is an epic fight back against the powers of fate. The iconic musical drama is filled with drunkenness, debauchery and love. We’ll also hear the strange love story of Daphnis et Chloe, by Maurice Ravel. These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 1:  Performances Oct. 7-9, 2022