The season is underway, and we’re getting ready for a weekend of concerts that feature a piece especially close to my heart. I doubt many of you know it since it’s rarely played outside the British Isles, yet it contains music that offers some of the concert hall’s deepest spiritual experiences. I’d like to spend this column telling you a little about Elgar’s masterpiece, The Dream of Gerontius. Edward Elgar was the first great English composer since Henry Purcell. Almost two hundred years elapsed between their births, causing Germans to refer to England as “The Land Without Music”. Born in 1857, we often associate Elgar with his Pomp and Circumstances marches and all things imperial. Yet he was anything but the quintessential Edwardian gentleman. He

Continue readingElgar and “The Dream of Gerontius”

This Thursday sees the second instalment of our new concert series, Symphony in 60. Over the last season, we’ve been experimenting with new ways of presenting music with the hope of reaching new listeners and inspiring music-lovers. For many people with families or busy workdays, a concert at 8.00pm doesn’t work, so we’ve set up Sunday matinees at 3, and Symphony in 60, which begins at 6. Although we come to the orchestra to hear music, concerts also provide a great opportunity to socialize and meet new people. Symphony in 60 begins with a happy hour at 5pm. Come right after work and mingle with fellow Jacksonvillians over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres before the concert. Symphonic music can often be baffling to newcomers. Each Symphony

Continue readingSymphony in 60 and Sibelius Symphony No. 2