|
BY HENRY ADAMS
Special to Tropical Breeze
For those who enjoy that uniquely American institution of the musical, the
next Holland America Line Coffee Concert
features Resident Conductor Andrew
Grams leading the orchestra in a program of highlights from Leonard
Bernstein’s “On The Town,” Jerome
Kern’s “Showboat” and George and Ira Gershwin’s “Porgy & Bess.” With complimentary
coffee and donuts, this concert
is 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 20 at the
Mahaffey Theater at the Progress Energy
Center in St. Petersburg.
At the next Progress Energy Masterworks concert, internationally renowned
conductor Gunther Herbig conducts a program of Mozart’s dazzling “Jupiter
Symphony” and Sibelius’ gloriously romantic
“Symphony No. 1.” With more than 100 recordings to his name and a
conducting career that includes most of
the world’s great orchestras, his TFO debut promises to be a special experience
for The Florida Orchestra musicians
and audience members alike. In
fact, England’s Manchester Evening
News calls Herbig “one of the greats,” adding that he “brings life and distinction
to everything he touches.” These
concerts are January 4, 5 and 7 in Tampa,
St. Petersburg and Clearwater respectively.
During January, The Florida Orchestra
(TFO) offers a spectrum of emotionally
packed symphonic blockbusters, a
morning Coffee Concert and a pair of
Super Pops shows, including one with world renowned cirque artists.
The Raymond James Super Pops series
features Cirque de la Symphonie showcasing world-class cirque artists
accompanied by the orchestra performing
a hit parade of favorites by
Khachaturian, Rimsky-Korsakov, John
Williams and others on Friday, Jan. 11
in Tampa and Jan. 12 and 13 in St.
Petersburg. Pops fans should also mark
their calendars for a sizzling salute to
George and Ira Gershwin with Broadway star Lisa Vroman on Feb. 1, 2 and
3.
TFO Music Director Stefan Sanderling
takes the podium on Jan. 19 and 20 for Bruckner’s monumental “Symphony
No. 9.” Great masters have described
Bruckner’s music as “a cathedral of sound,” “being of staggering epic proportions,”
and “an expression of his
profound faith.” More simply put,
Bruckner’s music touches people deeply. Appropriately paired with this
work is Messiaen’s “LAscension,” inspired
by liturgical texts depicting
Christ’s ascent from earth to heaven.
On Jan. 25, 26 and 27, Stefan Sanderling conducts Tchaikovsky’s ever-popular
“Symphony No. 5” on a program featuring award-winning French cellist
Xavier Phillips performing fellow compatriot
Henri Dutilleux’s “Tout un monde lointain.” On Jan. 31,
concertgoers will enjoy complimentary
coffee and donuts at a French-themed morning Coffee Concert with Resident
Conductor Grams at the Mahaffey Theater
at the Progress Energy Center.
The orchestra regularly performs at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center
in Tampa, Mahaffey Theater at the Progress Energy Center in St. Petersburg,
and Ruth Eckerd Hall in
Clearwater. For concert details and tickets, visit www.floridaorchestra.org or
call 813-286-2403 or 1-800-662-7286,
9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.
|
Front Page 
Arts & Lifestyles 
