Florida Orchestra featuring Pinchas Zukerman

Program:
ELGAR: Serenade for Strings
MOZART: Violin Concerto No. 3
SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 5


Previously this month I was lucky enough to win tickets to see the Florida Orchestra featuring Pinchas Zukerman from the local NPR station here in Tampa. James and I went and over all it was a decent concert.

The tickets ended up being 5th row center, which is not bad but for orchestral music it would have probably been better to sit a little further back. We did luck out that there was no one sitting directly in front of us.

The concert started out with Elgar's Serenade for Strings. Elgar is the most contemporary of the composers featured, and it definitely is apparent in his works. Most people would know Elgar as the composer of the six Pomp and Circumstance marches. (Think graduation song) This serenade is quite a bit different from that. It is a very relaxing piece of music, which makes it easy to listen to. This is an excellent choice for performing for an audience that may not be hard core classical music fans.

The second piece is the one that really showcased Maestro Zukerman's talent. The other two he conducted, but this one he actually played the violin. Pichas Zukerman is one of the top violinists in the World. Zukerman has recorded over 100 works and has been nominated for 21 Grammy Awards, winning two, most notably with Itzhak Perlman playing Music for Two Violins. Being able to hear some one of his caliber play in person was a privilege. This concerto is played with limited winds, and is beautiful to behold. It is three movements long and holds the same theme throughout. Again, like the Elgar it is a "happy" piece of music that could be enjoyed by anyone.

After a brief intermission, the final piece began. The instrumentation is light for Schubert's 5th Symphony as clarinets, trumpets and timpani are not called for. This was by far the "meatest" piece of music the entire night. It does not always follow the traditional form of a symphony, which keeps the more attentive classical music listener guessing. In the interest of avoiding too much music theory, there are many things in this piece that are very much known to be associated with "Schubert." This one is a little more elaborate and therefore a little harder for the casual listener to enjoy, but over all a nice piece of music.

As far as the performance was concerned, it was what is to be expected of a small, local orchestra. They were decent, but not any stand outs. Only once did I hear a mistake made, of course by a French Horn player, but it was quick and not too many people seemed to notice.

Overall I would give this concert 4 out of 5 stars.