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1st Up For Orchestra: No. 7

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By KATHY L. GREENBERG

Tribune correspondent

Published: October 19, 2008

TAMPA - Classical music is so called because it has worldwide, timeless appeal. For opening night, which is part of the Progress Energy Masterworks series, The Florida Orchestra celebrates the opuses of musical geniuses born centuries ago.

The orchestra will open the 2008-09 season with Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, conducted by Stefan Sanderling.

"One of the reasons we thought No. 7 was great was because it's an uplifting symphony," said David Rogers, the orchestra's artistic administrator.

"Of all of Beethoven's symphonies, this is his most jubilant. It's one that sweeps you off your feet, and it gets the season off to the right start."

Bach's Cantata No. 60 and Alban Berg's Violin Concerto also will be performed. Bach soloists will include Opera Tampa apprentice Jessica Best, tenor Bryce Westervelt and University of South Florida Professor Won Cho. The Opera Tampa Chorus will participate as well, and the orchestra's concertmaster, Jeff Multer, will perform the Berg concerto.

"To have soloists connected to Opera Tampa and USF is a statement that The Florida Orchestra is an important public arts facility," Rogers said. "It helps establish and sustain the fact that we're Tampa Bay area a cultural community."

More in October with The Florida Orchestra:

Latin Fire, Oct. 30: Alastair Willis will conduct a collection of Latin American-inspired compositions as part of the Holland America Line Coffee Concert series. The spicy lineup features Bizet's suite for "Carmen," plus works by Falla, Golijov, Piazzolla and Marquez.

Musical Spooktacular, Oct. 31, Nov. 1 and 2: This program for the Raymond James Pops series features a mix of spooky movie themes and classical pieces in celebration of Halloween. Principal Pops conductor Jeff Tyzik will set the mood with music from the films "Batman," "King Kong," "Creature From the Black Lagoon" and "The Wizard of Oz." Some of the scary classics will be Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain," Camille Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre" and Stravinsky's "Firebird." Musical Spooktacular promises to be a fun and frightful evening, especially if orchestra members perform in costume.

ORCHESTRA PREVIEW

WHAT: Opening night features Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.

WHEN AND WHERE: 8 p.m. Friday, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Ferguson Hall, 1010 MacInnes Place, Tampa; 8 p.m. Saturday, Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. S., St. Petersburg; 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26, Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater

HOW MUCH: $19 to $65; 1-800-662-3331, www.florida orchestra.org

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