2013-14 Florida Blue Masterworks - season announcement

Contact: Paul Witkowski Director of Public Relations Mobile: (904) 504-9952 Email: pwitkowski@jaxsymphony.org

Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra Announces the 2013-2014 Florida Blue MASTERWORKS Series For release on Sunday, February 10, 2013 (Jacksonville, Fla.) The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2013-14 Masterworks Series, which promises to offer unique audience experiences throughout the season. The series features a roster of today’s most dynamic and impactful young conductors including (in order of appearance) Teddy Abrams, Ward Stare, Robert Moody, Cristian Macelaru, André Raphel, Courtney Lewis, Andrew Grams and Shizuo Z Kuwahara.

The season also marks Fabio Mechetti’s final season as music director and principal conductor. Maestro Mechetti will conduct two monumental works, including Verdi’s Requiem in his final concert with the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus, followed by a season finale performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3.

As each guest conductor takes the podium this season, a new dimension of variety is added to the experience. Every concert will have unique expression and sound from the orchestra, as each conductor shapes a new dynamic in rehearsing and preparing their program. This lays the ground for fresh interpretations of the greatest symphonies, including Brahms’ First and Second symphonies, Beethoven’s “Eroica,” Tchaikovsky’s Fourth and Dvorak’s Seventh. Dazzling soloists will be featured in Mendelssohn’s beloved Violin Concerto, as well as the piano concertos of Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Prokofiev and Liszt.

The composers most noted for shaping the music of the past century are also featured, including Barber, Britten, Stravinsky, Gershwin, Vaughan Williams, Ravel and Prokofiev.

Season tickets are now available by calling the Jacksonville Symphony box office at 904.354.5547. The deadline for renewing subscribers is March 31 to retain or upgrade their seating location. A complete schedule of programs can be viewed at JaxSymphony.org.

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Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra Florida Blue Masterworks Series - 2013-2014 Season

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Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra – 2013-2014 Season Florida Blue MASTERWORKS Series Thursday, October 3, 2013, at 7:30 p.m.

Friday & Saturday October 4 & 5, 2013, at 8:00 p.m.

Opening Weekend!

GERSHWIN & TCHAIKOVSKY Sponsored by Haskell Teddy Abrams, conductor & piano GERSHWIN An American in Paris RAVEL Piano Concerto in G TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 The season opens in Jacksonville Symphony tradition with an American classic by Gershwin. A piano concerto by Gershwin’s mentor, Ravel, features soloist Teddy Abrams, conducting from the piano. The full expression of Tchaikovsky’s artistic voice emerges in his fate-themed Fourth Symphony.

Friday & Saturday October 25 & 26, 2013, at 8:00 p.m.

BRAHMS SYMPHONY NO. 1 Ward Stare, conductor Susanna Phillips, soprano* HAYDN Symphony No. 96 “Miracle” BARBER Knoxville: Summer of 1915* BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 Brahms’ first symphony was a masterpiece nearly two decades in the making. This long gestation period is often attributed to the public’s expectations that he would continue “Beethoven’s inheritance” and produce a work of commensurate scope. Barber’s “Knoxville” reveals a kinship between the composer and poet William Agee, whose short story “Knoxville” provides the prose for this nostalgic American gem.

Thursday, November 21, 2013, at 7:30 p.m.

Friday & Saturday November 22 & 23, 2013, at 8:00 p.m.

BEETHOVEN’S “EROICA” Robert Moody, conductor Christina Major, soprano Troy Cook, baritone Jacksonville Symphony Chorus BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Dona Nobis Pacem Beethoven dedicated “Eroica” to Napoleon but later scribbled his name off the front page when Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor. He later dedicated the symphony to the heroic in everyman.

Amid fears of an impending war, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ cantata makes a plea for peace, using text from Walt Whitman, a political speech and the Bible.

Thursday, January 9, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.

Friday & Saturday January 10 & 11, 2014, at 8:00 p.m.

BRAHMS SYMPHONY NO. 2 Cristian Macelaru, conductor BARBER Symphony No. 1 BRITTEN Peter Grimes: Four Sea Interludes BRAHMS Symphony No. 2

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The second of Brahms’ first two symphonies, which Jacksonville symphony audiences will explore this season, was a seemingly effortless composition following the success of his first symphony for which he labored for some 20 years. This “Thee B’s” program also features two of the most influential composers of the mid-20th century, Samuel Barber and Benjamin Britten.

Thursday, February 13, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.

Friday & Saturday February 14 & 15, 2014, at 8:00 p.m.

Valentine’s Weekend!

ROMEO AND JULIET André Raphel, conductor Pilippe Quint, violin PROKOFIEV Romeo and Juliet (Selections) MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 2 “Little Russian” Prokofiev created one of the most enduringly popular ballets, based on Shakespeare’s timeless love tragedy. The Valentine’s Weekend program also features the romantic works of Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn.

Thursday, February 27, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.

Friday & Saturday February 28 & March 1, 2014, at 8:00 p.m.

VERDI REQUIEM Fabio Mechetti, conductor Jacksonville Symphony Chorus VERDI Requiem Fabio Mechetti leads the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus for the last time as music director in one of the most monumental choral-orchestral works of our time.

Thursday, March 13, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.

Friday & Saturday March 14 & 15, 2014, at 8:00 p.m.

RACHMANINOFF THIRD PIANO CONCERTO Sponsored by Mayo Clinic Courtney Lewis, conductor Joyce Yang, piano WAGNER Tristan und Isolde, Prelude and Liebestod RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3 DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7 Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto, of which many consider to be the most difficult concerto in the piano repertoire, will showcase the stunning virtuosity of Joyce Yang, the 2005 silver medalist at the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

Thursday, April 3, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.

Friday & Saturday April 4 & 5, 2014, at 8:00 p.m.

VIRTUOSO LISZT Andrew Grams, conductor William Wolfram, piano BRAHMS Hungarian Dance No. 1 LISZT Les Preludes John ADAMS The Chairman Dances (Foxtrot for Orchestra)

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DVOŘÁK Carnival Overture LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 LISZT Piano Concerto No. 1 (William Wolfram, piano) This well-rounded concert features unprecedented virtuosity, the irrepressible rhythmic joy of Hungary and Bohemia, and a dash of minimalism. Featured is American pianist William Wolfram, who is highly sought after for his special focus on the music of Liszt.

Friday & Saturday April 25 & 26, 2014, at 8:00 p.m.

THE FIREBIRD Shizuo Z Kuwahara, conductor Stewart Goodyear, piano SHOSTAKOVICH Tahiti Trot PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 3 KHACHATURIAN Masquerade Suite STRAVINSKY The Firebird Suite Enjoy the “fun side” of Soviet-era music. Stravinsky’s vividness, Prokofiev’s energy, Khachaturian’s rhythms and Shostakovich’s humor.

Friday & Saturday May 16 & 17, 2014, at 8:00 p.m.

FABIO MECHETTI’S FINALE Fabio Mechetti, conductor Elise Quagliata, alto Jacksonville Symphony Women’s Chorus Jacksonville Children’s Chorus MAHLER Symphony No. 3 Mahler’s colossal “Third” is a tour-de-force for orchestra and voice, and sets the stage for an emotion-packed final concert with Fabio Mechetti on the podium as music director.

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