Subscriptions Masterworks

Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero opens the Masterworks season with a technicolor program of audience favorites. Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances was the master’s final orchestral composition. A virtuoso showpiece for the orchestra, it bursts with the fierce energy and Romantic melodies that are Rachmaninoff’s trademarks. Alessio Bax, “among the most remarkable young pianists now before the public” (Gramophone), performs Tchaikovsky’s glorious Piano Concerto No. 1, perhaps the most beloved piano concerto of all time. Jennifer Higdon’s ethereal blue cathedral opens this vibrant program.

Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero opens the rich treasure chest of American music. Adolphus Hailstork’s An American Port of Call captures the relentless energy of the port of Norfolk, Virginia. Pianist Clayton Stephenson performs Gershwin’s jazz and blues-infused Concerto in F. Charles Ives composed his delightful and quirky Variations on “America” when he was only 17. Audiences at the 1934 premiere of Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony were so moved that they erupted in applause at the end of each movement. Decades later, the extraordinary work has returned to the standard repertoire with accolades.

Spring is in the air as Sarasota Orchestra offers a program of monumental works, each of which broke new ground in their day. Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring was so novel and unprecedented that a riot broke out at its premiere. A tour de force for the orchestra musicians and conductor, its live performance is a not-to-be-missed event. Violinist Benjamin Beilman brings his trademark flair to Mozart’s final and most virtuosic violin concerto. The program opens with Joan Tower’s 1920/2019, composed in 2019 to honor the 1920 passage of the 19th amendment granting women suffrage.

The program features Beethoven’s iconic Fifth Symphony, whose four opening notes are recognized the world over and whose sheer power remains unmatched. One of the most popular symphonies of all time, every performance brings something memorable to enthusiastic audiences. Brahms composed his Academic Festival Overture as a musical thank-you for his awarding of an honorary doctorate. The lighthearted work incorporates several student “beer hall” songs and spotlights Brahms’ sense of humor. Cellist Zlatomir Fung performs Dvořák’s glorious Cello Concerto, adored for its nobility and sentimentality.

Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero conducts a richly compelling program pairing Leonard Bernstein and Gustav Mahler. Violinist Chee-Yun brings her “high gloss tone” (The New York Times) to Bernstein’s Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium). The masterwork is an exploration of the nature and purpose of love and is one of Bernstein’s most lyrical compositions. Mahler’s Fifth Symphony is a towering work, showcasing an enormous orchestra and Mahler’s legendary emotional power. Fierce yet uplifting, it provides a majestic conclusion to the Masterworks season.