Classics Series

All concerts performed at Steinmetz Hall. Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

Pictures At An Exhibition

September 30 - October 1, 2023

Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Bella Hristova, violin

Dai Wei • TheDancingMoonlight

Barber • Violin Concerto

Mussorgsky/Ravel • Pictures at an Exhibition

What a glorious beginning to our 2023-2024 Classics Series! Music Director Eric Jacobsen and the Orlando Philharmonic present the celebratory opening concert featuring Mussorgsky’s “gallery crawl” (in Ravel’s glittering orchestration). Come along as your “mind’s ears” conjure the ten pictures on exhibit—including baby chicks pecking their way out of their shells, eerie Parisian “Catacombs,” and “The Great Gate of Kiev” shaking you with the tumultuous pealing of bells in the grand finale. Bella Hristova (The New York Times praises her “expressive nuance and rich tone”) steps into the spotlight for Barber’s Violin Concerto, exploring its serenity, angularity, and shifting accents that demand formidable virtuosic abilities. Dai Wei’s The Dancing Moonlight dazzles with energetic verve and rhythmic flair to start the concert.

The Rite Of Spring And Emanuel Ax

November 4 - 5, 2023

Anna Clyne • This Moment (Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program)

Mozart • Piano Concerto No. 25, K. 503 Stravinsky • TheRiteofSpring

The remarkable Emanuel Ax (“his touch is amazing. The keys are not so much struck as sighed upon—moved as if by a breath.” – Seattle Times) lavishes his prodigious talents on Mozart’s stately piano concerto, whose trumpets and timpani underscore its classic elegance. Then sparks fly in The Rite of Spring, roaring to life with primeval rhythms and the raw energy of ancient pagan rituals. The violent Russian spring “seemed to begin in an hour and was like the whole earth cracking…,” Stravinsky himself said. Abandon yourself to the electrifying pulses of this magnificent work—a thrilling visceral experience— whether you’re hearing it for the first or 50th time. A new work by GRAMMY-nominated Anna Clyne reveals her bold and vivid voice.

RACHMANINOFF & RAVEL

January 13 - 14, 2024

Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Sterling Elliott, cello

Ravel • La valse

John Corigliano • Phantasmagoria, Suite from The Ghost of Versailles, arranged for cello and orchestra by the composer for Sterling Elliott (commissioned by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra; world premiere)

Rachmaninoff • Symphonic Dances

Ravel’s homage-with-a-twist to Johann Strauss, Jr. imagines a mid-19th century imperial court with couples dancing and whirling in a voluptuous waltz that ends in a wild, shattering climax. Cellist Sterling Elliott–whose stellar stage presence and joy in music-making—solos in John Corigliano’s Phantasmagoria, a sort of “phantasy” on his opera Ghosts of Versailles, arranged for him by the composer. Rachmaninoff’s kaleidoscopic Symphonic Dances, his last—and many say his greatest—work, includes a haunting alto saxophone, mysterious tubular bells, allusions to Russian Orthodox chants, a thundering Dies irae from the Mass for the Dead, and a shadowy, eerie waltz that seems to echo the darker harmonies of La valse that opens our concert.

Brahms Third Symphony

February 24 - 25, 2024

Mei-Ann Chen, guest conductor

Alexandra Dariescu, piano

Mayer • Faust Overture

James Lee III • Piano Concerto (co-commissioned by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra; Florida premiere)

Brahms • Symphony No. 3

Conductor Mei-Ann Chen, praised for her passionate conducting style, leads the Orchestra in the Florida premiere of the new Piano Concerto by Orlando favorite James Lee III. Bookending the Concerto is Emilie Mayer’s Overture, whose romantic vocabulary explores Faust’s searching, questing soul and leads into the beautiful conclusion of our concert, Brahms’s Third, often called his most personal symphony. “Like a rainbow after a thunderstorm,” as the composer’s biographer Karl Geiringer describes it, with an emotional palette that paints in colors of yearning, reflection, and serene acceptance.

RIMMA, SIBELIUS & THE “ORGAN SYMPHONY”

March 16 - 17, 2024

Chloé van Soeterstède, guest conductor Rimma Bergeron-Langlois, violin

Katarina Leyman • RollerCoaster:Super8

Sibelius • Violin Concerto

Saint-Saëns • Symphony No. 3 - “Organ Symphony”

Intended to be a “free comment” on Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony, Katarina Leyman’s wild roller coaster ride gets us rolling in this crowd-pleasing concert. When the soloist enters over oscillating strings, it’s as though the violin were emerging from some pristine Nordic landscape in Sibelius concerto. The second movement spins a melody that embraces you with exquisite radiance, and the final Allegro, beginning with galloping timpani rhythms, is a breathless, non-stop showcase for Concertmaster Rimma Bergeron-Langlois’ virtuosity.

Saint-Saëns’ beloved “Organ Symphony” propels you ever forward to the blazing C Major chord that shows off the power and majesty of “the queen of instruments.”

MAHLER’S “RESURRECTION” SYMPHONY

May 11 - 12, 2024

Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Sarah Shafer, soprano

Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano

University of Central Florida Chorus, Dr. Jeffery Redding, director Stetson University Concert Choir, Dr. Timothy Peter, director

Mahler • Symphony No. 2 - “Resurrection” orlandophil.org

Whatever your concept of heaven, when hearing Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony you’ll feel as though you were standing at the portals of paradise, welcomed by music that stirs your heart and soul. It encompasses memories of happiness, thunderous surges and brass fanfares, a serene, childlike song of faith, drum rolls, the last trumpet, and then—out of nowhere—a whispered chorus intones the ecstatic resurrection ode. Voices soar, singing of forgiveness, divine compassion, and eternal life: you have not lived in vain; what you have suffered, yearned and struggled for, and loved is not lost; it is yours. Do not quake; death is conquered; prepare yourself to live. You shall rise again, my heart, in an instant. Wings that you have won, shall carry you to God!