Jacksonville Symphony Blog

Gershwin & Copland Program Notes Program Notes by Laurie Shulman © 2024. Reproduction of all or part of these notes without explicit written permission from the Jacksonville Symphony is strictly prohibited.    George Gershwin’s An American in Paris  World Premiere December 13, 1928; New York, New York 16 Minutes    George Gershwin’s father immigrated from Russian in 1890, changing his … Read More

Conrad Tao & Rite of Spring Program Notes Program Notes by Laurie Shulman © 2024. Reproduction of all or part of these notes without explicit written permission from the Jacksonville Symphony is strictly prohibited.    Claude Debussy’s Nocturnes World Premiere October 27, 1901; Paris, France 25 Minutes    Nocturnes was one of Debussy’s earliest orchestral compositions to secure a niche … Read More

Beethoven’s “Emperor” Program Notes    Program Notes by Laurie Shulman © 2024. Reproduction of all or part of these notes without explicit written permission from the Jacksonville Symphony is strictly prohibited.    Samuel Barber’s Overture from The School for Scandal  World Premiere August 30, 1933; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 8 Minutes    Lyricism and neo-romanticism are hallmarks of Samuel Barber’s music. Barber was an … Read More

Mozart’s Requiem & Double Concerto Program Notes   Program Notes by Laurie Shulman © 2024. Reproduction of all or part of these notes without explicit written permission from the Jacksonville Symphony is strictly prohibited.    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante in E-flat major, K. 364  World Premiere Unknown  30 Minutes   In addition to fortepiano, Mozart played violin and viola exceptionally well.  He … Read More

Dvořák’s “New World” Program Notes   Program Notes by Laurie Shulman © 2025. Reproduction of all or part of these notes without explicit written permission from the Jacksonville Symphony is strictly prohibited.    Valerie Coleman’s Seven O’Clock Shout Virtual World Premiere June 6, 2020; Philadelphia Orchestra 6 Minutes    Valerie Coleman is equally well known as performing flutist and composer. She did … Read More

Beethoven & Rachmaninoff Program Notes   Program Notes by Laurie Shulman © 2024. Reproduction of all or part of these notes without explicit written permission from the Jacksonville Symphony is strictly prohibited.  Guillaume Connesson’s Flammenschrift (Flame Writing)  World Premiere November 8, 2012; Paris, France 10 Minutes    Guillaume Connesson is fascinated with cosmic phenomena.  Disco, funk and minimalism play a role in … Read More

Gershwin & Tchaikovsky Program Notes    Program Notes by Laurie Shulman © 2024. Reproduction of all or part of these notes without explicit written permission from the Jacksonville Symphony is strictly prohibited.   Carlos Simon’s Motherboxx Connection  World Premiere January 26, 2022; Ann Arbor, Michigan 6 minutes   Black heritage and identity are central to Carlos Simon’s music. His film scores draw on … Read More

Alexei Plays Dvořák Program Notes    Program Notes by Laurie Shulman © 2024. Reproduction of all or part of these notes without explicit written permission from the Jacksonville Symphony is strictly prohibited.   Angel Lam’s Please let there be a paradise… (Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Consortium Partner)  World Premiere April 5, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri  9 Minutes   “Please let there be a … Read More

Rodrigo and Ravel’s Boléro Program Notes   Program Notes by Laurie Shulman © 2024. Reproduction of all or part of these notes without explicit written permission from the Jacksonville Symphony is strictly prohibited.   Maurice Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso  World Premiere May 17, 1919; Paris, France  8 Minutes   Maurice Ravel is usually called an impressionist, but he was really a classicist. He … Read More

Sibelius’ Violin and Elgar’s Enigma Program Notes   Program Notes by Laurie Shulman © 2024. Reproduction of all or part of these notes without explicit written permission from the Jacksonville Symphony is strictly prohibited.   Benjamin Britten’s Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell (Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra)   World Premiere October 15, 1946; Liverpool, England  18 Minutes     Benjamin Britten … Read More