Visiting orchestras, plus more music fun
Here’s great news for those who miss the Festival of Orchestras organization — or anyone who just likes good music. It’s an all-music column today with a reminder about the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra’s Summer Serenades and a new CD from a prominent local musician.
But first, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts has announced it will host a three-concert classical-music series featuring a trio of the nation’s best orchestras in the 2022-23 season. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and Cleveland Orchestra will all perform in the downtown Orlando arts center’s Steinmetz Hall this winter.
Longtime Central Floridians remember the Festival of Orchestras, which brought national and international orchestras to Orlando for years. It closed down in 2011, and we haven’t had a regular visiting-orchestra series since.
Called the Great American Orchestra series, the Dr. Phillips Center concerts will begin Jan. 22 with the Cleveland Orchestra playing Schubert’s 8th Symphony and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 (“Pathetique”). Acclaimed music director Franz Welser-Möst, who has led the orchestra for more than 20 years, will conduct.
“It’s a great way to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Steinmetz Hall by presenting some of the nation’s most accomplished musicians and showcasing their sounds in the one-of-akind concert hall,” said Kathy Ramsberger, president of the Dr. Phillips Center, in the series announcement. Steinmetz Hall opened in January 2022.
Next up will be the Philadelphia Orchestra, on Feb. 17, led by principal guest conductor Nathalie Stutzmann. A face familiar to classical fans, violinist Gil Shaham, will be the guest artist on Brahms’ Violin Concerto. Shaham joined the Orlando Philharmonic for a Steinmetz Hall performance in March. The program also will include Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony.
Finally, the Chicago Symphony arrives Feb. 28 to play works by Beethoven and Russian composer Anatoly Lyadov, along with Modest Mussorgsky’s beloved “Pictures from an Exhibition.”
Conducting will be music director Riccardo Muti, a star of the conducting world with numerous accolades and honors, including two Grammy Awards.
The series is made possible by new partner PNC Bank, the arts center said, with support from music lovers Chuck and Margery Pabst Steinmetz, Mary and Frank Doherty, and Judy and David Albertson. Tickets start at $120 for a season subscription; go to drphillipscenter.org for more.
Of course you don’t have to wait until 2023 to hear fine classical music. Our own Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra’s Summer Serenade series has started up once again. The concerts are curated by the musicians who perform them and feature principal players from the Philharmonic along with special guests.
There’s a brunch option, too. The concerts are 1 p.m. Sundays, with brunch served at noon at The Plaza Live, 425 N. Bumby Ave. in Orlando. Next up is a Brass Quintet on July 10; the brunch menu includes chicken and mushroom crepes and pecan coffee cake. That’s followed July 31 by a Woodwind Quartet (poached salmon salad and mini-croissants are on the menu), and two more performances in August.
Tickets are $35 for the concert, $60 for concert and brunch (vegetarian options are available); go to orlandophil.org/ summer-serenades for more information.
Finally, if you want to hear some locally connected music in the comfort of your home — music that makes you feel as if you are on vacation — check out “Cubatina,” an album from flutist Nora Lee García and guitarist Rene Izquierdo.
García is based in Orlando and is a flute professor at the University
of Central Florida. A guest soloist with ensembles around the world, she is also regularly seen locally in concert as the principal flute player for the Bach Festival Society Orchestra.
The collaborative album consists of music from Cuba and Argentina, and the two create multiple moods in their soundscapes.
Astor Piazzolla’s “Ave Maria” is a soothing lullaby, while Maximo Diego Pujol’s “Nubes de Buenos Aires” has a perky air. Back to Piazzolla, and his “Cafe” movement from “Histoire du Tango” offers a wistful nostalgic quality.
Garcia’s skill is on display throughout, but her beautifully rhythmic phrasing particularly sparkles on the “Histoire du Tango” final movement, “Concert d’aujourd’hui.”
“Cubatina” is available for digital download from the usual sources — spotify. com, amazon.com — and can be purchased on CD through outlets such as barnesandnoble.com.