The Jacksonville Symphony will soon wrap on its first full season since the pandemic’s peak. And what a year it’s been. This was also the symphony’s first full season without the late Robert E. Jacoby (1928-2021) — an Eagle Scout, an Army tank commander and one of the key philanthropists in Jacksonville’s history. His influence could be felt in places …
Go | Jacksonville Symphony wind and string ensembles at WJCT
The Jacksonville Symphony’s 2021/2022 season is underway, and, as expected, the beloved local institution has been firing on all cylinders. From the highly approachable Symphony in 60 and pops series events to the mind-blowing musicianship on display in the symphony’s Mozart Piano Series (which kicked off with Italian virtuoso Alessio Bax and contiuned with once-in-a-generation talent Conrad Tao in late …
Conrad Tao is an undeniable maestro of the millennial age
The renowned musician tackles Mozart with the Jacksonville Symphony
There are prodigies and then there are prodigies. At the earliest age, pianist Conrad Tao displayed quasi-supernatural, or surely genius, skills in performing music. The Illinois native began playing children’s songs on the piano while only 18 months old; he began violin lessons at the age of three, gave his first piano recital at the age of four, and five …
What’s All the Fuss About the Jax Symphony’s New Piano?
Those in the know are giddy about this state-of-the-art Steinway.
The Jacksonville Symphony’s 2021-2022 season includes the David M. Hicks Mozart Piano Series: an impressive roster of guest artists, all younger and celebrated pianists who are performing an equally savvy program of piano concertos composed by the 18th-century composer. In September of last year, pianist Daniel Hsu joined the orchestra for performances of Piano Concerto No. 20; last month, pianist …
Virtuoso pianist Alessio Bax and the Jacksonville Symphony present Mozart’s atmospheric masterpiece
The classical music maestro discusses his love for Mozart and the Jax Symphony's new Steinway
While still only in his early forties, pianist Alessio Bax has the credentials of a bona fide maestro of classical music. At 14 years old, he graduated from the Niccolò Piccinni Conservatory in Bari, Italy. In his teens, he was already winning international competitions. In the decades since, he’s performed with major symphonies around the globe, has been featured on more …
Symphony in 60 | Courtney Lewis and the Jacksonville Symphony are bringing classical music to places its never been
“Symphony in 60” is the latest initiative by the Jacksonville Symphony, which under the leadership of Music Director Courtney Lewis has been putting an increased emphasis on accessibility over the last few years. Those efforts have paid off well. Conditions were far from ideal for classical music institutions like the Jacksonville Symphony even before the pandemic applied near-lethal financial pressure …
Víkingur Ólafsson Wants To Change Your Mind About Mozart
When Víkingur Ólafsson was 8 years old, he threw a tantrum over Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. As he tried to play the runs in the deceptive little Sonata facile in C major, the so-called “Easy Sonata,” he grew so frustrated that he literally scratched out the notes with a pencil. Since then, the 37-year-old Icelandic pianist has made peace with Mozart. …