Inside the Music: The Maestro reveals the magic of The Firebird
The Florida Orchestra Blog
by Kurt Loft
2y ago
You’re sitting in a concert hall listening to Igor Stravinsky’s The Firebird, the first of his three famous ballet scores. Midway through, you wonder what the composer was thinking, why the music takes so many twists and turns, and what makes it such a magical experience. It’s human nature to want to know more. And that’s the beauty of The Florida Orchestra’s Inside the Music series. This week TFO Music Director Michael Francis will dissect The Firebird before offering a full performance at the Mahaffey Theater on Wednesday (Feb 16). It’s also affordable: pay what you want at the door. “My des ..read more
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The Florida Orchestra’s Soundwaves series returns
The Florida Orchestra Blog
by Kelly Smith
2y ago
Chamber concerts range from Baroque to more modern in Tampa, St. Petersburg The Florida Orchestra is bringing back its popular Masterworks Soundwaves concerts with a series of intimate performances throughout Tampa Bay starting in February. Tickets are just $25 and are on sale now. Part of the Tampa Bay Times Masterworks series, Soundwaves concerts originated last season as a creative way to offer great music with fewer musicians onstage due to Covid safety measures. However, the concerts quickly became a favorite with patrons drawn to the wide range of music and composers the orchestra doesn ..read more
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TFO Afterthoughts: A night to explore the two worlds of Beethoven
The Florida Orchestra Blog
by Kurt Loft
2y ago
“How can I possibly admit an infirmity in the one sense which ought to be more perfect in me than in others, a sense which I once possessed in the highest perfection,’’ Beethoven lamented in 1802, calling his life “hopelessly afflicted.’’ Hopeless is not a word to describe a composer whose internal struggle with deafness rendered such resounding masterpieces as the late piano sonatas and string quartets, the Missa Solemnis, and improbably, the Ninth Symphony. This juxtaposition – isolation and creativity – took flight in TFO’s Masterworks program this past weekend, an imaginative pairing of wo ..read more
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Beethoven’s own words set the stage for his powerful Ninth Symphony
The Florida Orchestra Blog
by Kurt Loft
2y ago
In 1802, Ludwig van Beethoven sat down to write a letter to his brothers, Johann and Caspar. The world he loved was fading, and he struggled with thoughts of suicide. “How can I possibly admit an infirmity in the one sense which ought to be more perfect in me than in others, a sense which I once possessed in the highest perfection?’’ These words reveal Beethoven’s distress over his growing deafness. In the next two decades he would compose some of the greatest masterpieces in Western music, but working in silence, his life “hopelessly afflicted.’’ Though possessed with a determined and fiery t ..read more
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Akiko Fujimoto: It’s the music that matters, not the gender
The Florida Orchestra Blog
by Kurt Loft
2y ago
When Marin Alsop stepped down as music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra last summer, she left a fraternity. With her departure, the nation’s top 25 orchestras stay centered on the tradition of a male culture, although Nathalie Stutzmann will take over the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in the 2022/23 season. But Akiko Fujimoto downplays any controversy or indifference toward women. She sees more women and diversity than ever before, although for her sexism isn’t the issue: What’s important is how you make music. “Conductors don’t even think about it, because it’s not up to us,’’ she sa ..read more
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Handel’s Messiah: Why it’s still a smash hit after 300 years
The Florida Orchestra Blog
by Kurt Loft
2y ago
Three hundred years is plenty of time for something to go out of style. But don’t tell that to George Frideric Handel, who composed a bit of music back in the mid-18th century that refuses to fade away. His smash hit, Messiah, is among the world’s most performed works, especially during the holidays, and shows no signs of slowing down. The Florida Orchestra and The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay have presented it often over the last four decades. But each new concert reveals another layer – and something more to be discovered, says Brett Karlin, artistic director of the acclaimed choir. “Musicall ..read more
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Open rehearsal: Come inside the workings of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5
The Florida Orchestra Blog
by Kurt Loft
2y ago
That night 23 years ago will always be remembered as a touching moment in The Florida Orchestra’s history. In November 1998, I sat in a crowded Morsani Hall at what is now the Straz Center, waiting in silence as Music Director Jahja Ling took the podium, looked out over the audience and spoke. He announced a dedication to his late wife, Jane, who had passed away from cancer at age 49, leaving behind two teenage sons. Ling then turned to his musicians and led them in a gripping performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. But what stood out was the ethereal Adagietto, which Ling intended as t ..read more
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TFO Afterthoughts: Augustin Hadelich gives intense, intimate performance
The Florida Orchestra Blog
by Kurt Loft
2y ago
Playing the big symphonic works with precision is a goal of any orchestra, and TFO always makes a point of delivering its sonic punches in detail. This was the case over the weekend during an all-Russian program, a study in color and contrast under the baton of guest conductor Vladimir Kulenovic at Mahaffey Theater. Saturday night offered its share of highlights, including what could be the exclamation point of the season: guest violinist Augustin Hadelich giving a master class on how to make a well-worn classic sound fresh. The 37-year-old virtuoso seems to own Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No ..read more
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At the top of his game, violinist talks Harry Potter, Prokofiev, playing by memory
The Florida Orchestra Blog
by Kurt Loft
2y ago
Augustin Hadelich is justly regarded as a phenom in the music world, a brilliant violinist who channels his mastery of the instrument and material through a penetrating mind. Sometimes music schools can turn out rubber stamp performers, but the 37-year-old virtuoso – who was born in Italy to German parents – isn’t one of them. His appearance in this weekend’s TFO Masterworks program should more than prove the point, and the orchestra was lucky to get him, says Music Director Michael Francis. “This is another example of the amazing soloists we have this year,’’ he says. “Augustin is at the very ..read more
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Opening Night Afterthoughts: New music, old favorites shed light on today’s world
The Florida Orchestra Blog
by Kurt Loft
2y ago
I first met Michael Ippolito at his parents’ home in Brandon more than 20 years ago, as he sat at the piano crafting his latest creation. The Rhapsodie Pathetique, which was played by the Tampa Bay Youth Orchestra, would soon be followed by other originals, including Waltz and Triptych, and these were anything but the scribblings of a teenager. The Florida Orchestra commissioned them and gave their premieres to audiences around Tampa Bay. Now 36, Ippolito teaches music composition at Texas State University in San Marcos, but keeps his grassroots connection back home. He struck a resoundin ..read more
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