SoundWaves with The Florida Orchestra
For more than 55 years, The Florida Orchestra has been a driving force for cultural arts in the Tampa Bay region. Every work of music, every musician, every composer has a story to tell. SoundWaves with The Florida Orchestra gives those stories a voice, so you can experience a deep, personal connection to the music during a concert or anytime. The non-profit Florida Orchestra is the largest orchestra in the state and the only arts organization that bridges Tampa Bay. TFO exists to INSPIRE – UNITE – EDUCATE as we build community through the power of music onstage and in our schools and community. With 71 full-time professional musicians and conductors, TFO performs more than 100 concerts a season, including a wide range of classical, popular, film, rock and family-friendly music. Performances are at three major performing arts venues: Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg, Straz Center in Tampa and Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. For tickets and information: FloridaOrchestra.org
SoundWaves with The Florida Orchestra
Program Notes: Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
This episode explores music shaped by struggle and sweeping emotional range. Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 stands as a triumph born from personal crisis, unfolding in waves of brooding intensity and soaring lyricism that define the height of the Romantic concerto tradition. From there, Vaughan Williams expands the canvas with his Sea Symphony, a vast, multifaceted work that blends symphony, oratorio and opera. It sets Walt Whitman’s poetry to music that surges like the ocean itself — at once contemplative and monumental.
Masterworks 14 of the 25/26 Season
Performances May 29 & 31, 2026