SoundWaves with The Florida Orchestra

Antonin Dvorak’s Ninth Symphony is as big a deal today as it was in 1893, when it premiered with huge fanfare at Carnegie Hall in New York. The Ninth was special. Major composer. Written in America. Inspired by African-American spirituals. No wonder it prompted one of the most elaborate music reviews in the history of newspapers, a 3,000-word essay. In Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola, the sublime middle movement is dipped in grief, but all sadness vanishes in the presto finale. The concert begins with Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture – full-throttled music, virtuosic and splashy – from a colorful composer who would make a delightful dinner party guest.
These program notes include music excerpts.

Masterworks 10 of the 23/24 Season
Performances April 12-14, 2024

This is the symphony that changed all symphonies, Beethoven’s monumental Third. No one had heard anything like it before. The work was originally called “Bonaparte” after Napoleon, but a disgruntled Beethoven hastily changed the title to “Eroica,” meaning heroic. Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 breaks free from oppression after the death of Stalin. The program starts with the evocative Chairman Dances: Foxtrot for Orchestra, composed by John Adams, one of the most performed American composers. A common thread links the three works on the program, each in some way stimulated by the politics of its time.
These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 9 of the 23/24 Season
April 5-7, 2024

Cellist, conductor, Robin Hood of Fried Chicken

For TFO Associate Principal Cello Victor Minke Huls, his life in music started way before he was born. And it keeps getting better. From homework in the concert hall to conducting, salsa dancing, an Irish family band and his secret career as a counter tenor, the Florida native keeps adding to an amazing life. Dare we mention that unfortunate job in the school cafeteria? With. All. That. Food. There’s a lot to look forward to in his new role with The Florida Orchestra, but a big moment will be performing Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben. He’ll share the stage with someone very special. 

 A heroic concert indeed. Beethoven’s famed Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor,” composed when he was deaf, is a stunning example of Beethoven’s stubborn nature. He overcame his liability to create a work of unprecedented depth and expression. The adagio is simply sublime. “The concerto encapsulates the heroic struggle of the individual,’’ says TFO Music Director Michael Francis, “and how one determined soul can influence the world around him to a magnificent degree.’’ Rounding out the program is Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben, or A Hero’s Life. In this case the hero is, well, Strauss. He was an enormous talent with an ego to match. The muscular work also is a great showcase for the orchestra. These program notes include music excerpts.

Masterworks 8 of the 23/24 Season
Performances Feb. 23-25, 2024

This program is packed with American greats in honor of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, a smash hit since its debut 100 years ago. “I wanted to put it on a pedestal because it deserves to be there,” says TFO Music Director Michael Francis. The concert starts with jazzy fanfare Herald, Holler & Hallelujah composed by Wynton Marsalis before launching into Mason Bates’ Alternative Energy, which goes techno with a conductor’s laptop and monitors for the musicians, among other surprises. Bernstein’s Three Dance Episodes from On the Town follows three sailors on a one-day shore leave in New York. And serious Russian master Stravinsky shows his quirky American side with his jazzy, bluesy Ebony clarinet concerto, featuring Natalie Hoe. These program notes include music excerpts.

Masterworks 7 of the 23/24 Season
Performances Feb. 17 & 18, 2024

Tchaikovsky packs a lot of emotion into his Sixth: “Without exaggeration, I have put my entire soul into this symphony.” Less than 10 days after its premiere, Tchaikovsky died. This symphony would become his requiem, a last will and testament of a composer whose music comes so directly from the heart. Barber’s Violin Concerto starts out lush and lyrical before finishing with a ride wild at breakneck speed. The program begins with an orchestral version of Valentin Silvestrov’s meditative Prayer for Ukraine.These program notes include music excerpts.

Masterworks 6 of the 23/24 Season
Performances: Jan. 19 & 20, 2024

The word of the day is hurdy-gurdy. Which, in case you don’t know, isa medieval stringed instrument with an attached keyboard. And an inspiration for two pieces on this program written 200 years apart – Missy Mazzoli’s contemporary Sinfonia (For Orbiting Spheres) and Mozart’s charming Violin Concerto No. 4 – though in very different styles. The concert also takes audiences to the famous Fountains of Rome by Respighi and On the Waterfront Symphonic Suite by Leonard Bernstein. These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 5 of the 23/24 Season
Performances: Jan. 6 & 7, 2024

Brahms was incredibly hard on himself. Plus, he couldn’t seem to shake the shadow of Beethoven and his incredible success. That’s why Brahms struggled for more than 14 years to complete his first symphony, which premiered when he was 43 years old. It was worth the wait –widely considered to be one of the most significant symphonies ever written. In contrast, Chopin composed his Piano Concerto No. 2when he was just 19, yet delivered some of his most heartfelt melodies. Starting off the concert is Wagner’s Flying Dutchman Overture, which perfectly captures the turmoil of a roiling ocean and the fear of the travelers. These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 4 of the 23/24 Season 
Performances: Nov. 17-19, 2023

The concert that takes off “faster than a speeding bullet” with Michael Daugherty’s Metropolis Symphony, inspired by the adventures of Superman. Music Director Michael Francis calls it “Dvorak with a dash of Marvel comics thrown in.” Then you’ll instantly recognize Rachmaninoff’s painfully beautiful Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, often featured in romantic films and pop culture. The program concludes with Ravel’s La Valse, a passionate waltz that Ravel himself described as “a dancing, whirling, almost hallucinatory ecstasy.” These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 3 of the 23/24 Season 
Performances: Oct. 28 & 29, 2023

Aaron Copland’sAppalachian Spring was a breakthrough for its time. The music resonated across America like few works of its day, and not surprisingly, won Copland the Pulitzer Prize a year after its premiere. Also on the program are Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances, Op. 72, a continuation of his wildly popular earlier dances, which made him a household name overnight and helped pay the bills. Starting off the concert is a selection of American spirituals such as Were You There and Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,with baritone Jubilant Sykes. These program notes include music excerpts.
Masterworks 2 of the 23/24 Season 
Performances: Oct. 21 & 22, 2023

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 Planetsis a suite of miniature, often turbulent tone poems of varying moods. The Percussion Collective starts off the program with Christopher Theofanidis’ Drum Circles, asonic 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 isextravagant 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

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’sFeuertrunken(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 

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 

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 Nightsto 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

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

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