Chief violinist tunes up for well-seasoned music
I got on an elevator the other day and piping through a speaker was – you guessed it – Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. On the way home, I stopped…
Afterthoughts: A precious season that defied the odds
Since The Florida Orchestra began playing music in 1968, no season has been like this one, and no experience – including various woes and hurricanes – compares to what Covid…
Concert Afterthoughts: TFO gives orchestral gems new life onstage
The Florida Orchestra continues to adapt during this unusual season, and anyone who attended the Tampa Bay Times Masterworks program this past weekend got an unexpected twist under the baton…
Maestro Wilkins: ‘We’re seeing a fresh fervor for making and hearing music’
Thomas Wilkins is a busy guy these days, regardless of the setbacks Covid has made on the arts, especially symphony orchestras.He should know. The former resident conductor of TFO from…
Multer on Mendelssohn: In pursuit of perfection
Jeff Multer has the toughest job in town this weekend. Why? He wants to craft perfection on something already flawless. In three concerts at the Mahaffey Theater, TFO’s concertmaster tackles…
Serenity concert review: Exactly what we needed
My friends had been itching to get out of the house, to do something – anything – other than sit in quarantine in front of their televisions. The Covid lifestyle…
In ‘Across the Calm Waters,’ composer finds hope in horror
Ahmed Alabaca, the young American composer featured on this week’s Masterworks program, believes in the healing power of art. In his work, Across the Calm Waters of Heaven – A…
To keep the music playing in Covid era, flexibility is key
Jeannette Sorrell had to scramble. She would be guest conducting this weekend’s TFO Masterworks program, which featured selections for soprano and orchestra, when suddenly everything had to change because of…
For composer Jessie Montgomery, music is her voice
Juilliard-trained composer Jessie Montgomery finds her voice in music. Her engrossing work Strum opens our reimagined season this weekend. Read about how she composes on the TFO Blog.
In isolation, listening to Beethoven with fresh ears
Some tips to listening to Beethoven’s Fifth in a new way, since we can’t listen to it live with TFO. Kurt Loft writes today on the TFO Blog.