Program Notes: Beethoven, Brahms & Dinnerstein Nina Shekhar’s Lumina: World Premiere May 12, 2022; New York, New York (12 minutes) Nina Shekhar is a composer and multimedia artist who explores the themes and intersection of identity, vulnerability, love and laughter. She double majored in chemical engineering and composition at the University of Michigan. Currently, she is completing a PhD in … Read More
Program Notes: Beethoven, Schumann & Liebermann
Program Notes: Beethoven, Schumann & Liebermann Ludwig van Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 2, Op. 72a: World Premiere November 20, 1805; Vienna, Austria (13 minutes) Ludwig van Beethoven favored instrumental music: symphonies, sonatas and concertos. His vocal music includes songs, folk songs and some sacred masses. He labored on his only opera, Fidelio, for more than a decade. Leonore Overture No. … Read More
Jacksonville Symphony has big plans for season
Steven B. Libman, President & CEO of the Jacksonville Symphony Although we are presently in the midst of an incredible heat wave, our administrative, artistic and production teams are very busy with preparation for the opening of our 2023/24 Season. Our 74th season has so much to offer the community – from phenomenal classical music to Pops concerts featuring … Read More
Jacksonville Symphony gears up for season
Courtney Lewis, Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony The summer months are some of my favorites of the year. Ironically, time away from the Symphony gives me the opportunity to learn new music and absorb all the scores for the coming season. What the audience hears at a concert is like the tip of the iceberg: most of the preparation … Read More
Jazz, ‘Carmen,’ ‘E.T.’ part of upcoming Jacksonville Symphony season
Steven B. Libman, President & CEO The 2022/23 season at the Jacksonville Symphony just concluded with the thrilling energy and virtuosity of pianist Conrad Tao as he performed Sergei Prokofiev’s famous Third Piano Concerto. Having also featured Dmitri Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony, this finale marked the perfect exclamation point on a remarkable season. Now, we are turning our sights toward the … Read More
Performance Review: Conrad Tao Plays Prokofiev
Performance Review: Conrad Tao Plays Prokofiev The Jacksonville Symphony’s 2022/23 Florida Blue Classical Series season concluded in rousing fashion this weekend with “Conrad Tao Plays Prokofiev,” a program featuring the work of two 20th century Russian symphonic titans. Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26 by Sergei Prokofiev The first half of the concert was given over to … Read More
Program Notes: Conrad Tao Plays Prokofiev
Program Notes: Conrad Tao Plays Prokofiev Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26: World Premiere: December 16, 1921; Chicago, Illinois (27 minutes) Though Sergei Prokofiev was from the Ukraine, his Third Piano Concerto has strong American connections. Prokofiev was the soloist in the first performance with the Chicago Symphony in 1921, under the direction of Frederick Stock. … Read More
Ticket to Ride: Beatles, Prokofiev close Jacksonville Symphony season
Tony Nickle, Vice President & Artistic Administrator The 2022/23 season at the Jacksonville Symphony has shown us the boundless possibilities of symphonic music by spanning a wide expanse of eras, genres and artistic icons. The Pops Series in particular has featured perhaps our most diverse concert experiences with programs ranging from Cirque de la Symphonie all the way to celebrations … Read More
Performance Review: Mozart, Brahms & Schumann
Performance Review: Mozart, Brahms & Schumann The Jacksonville Symphony’s Florida Blue Classical Series presented “Mozart, Brahms & Schumann” this weekend, a generous and approachable program of three Austro-Germanic masterpieces under the baton of Music Director Courtney Lewis. Overture, Scherzo & Finale, Op. 52 by Robert Schumann Kicking off the evening was Robert Schumann’s Overture, Scherzo & Finale. Essentially a symphony in … Read More
Jacksonville Symphony leader bound for Paris
Courtney Lewis, Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony This weekend, I head to France to spend six weeks conducting a very exciting new ballet with music by the English composer, Thomas Adès, for the Opéra national de Paris at the famous Palais Garnier. Inspired by Dante Alighieri’s 14th century epic poem, “The Divine Comedy,” “The Dante Project” is a rarity … Read More