Palm Beach Symphony’s 2025-2026 Masterworks Series tickets are now on sale, with the season opening at 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 9, at Dreyfoos Hall in the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. The concert will feature pianist Shelly Berg and Music Director Gerard Schwarz leading the orchestra in a program that includes George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris, Alan Hovhaness’ Prelude and Quadruple Fugue, and Ottorino Respighi’s Pines of Rome. This performance is generously sponsored by Patricia Lambrecht.
The season opener highlights American music in celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday, as noted by Maestro Schwarz. “When you think about great American music, you think of Gershwin,” he said. Shelly Berg, a Steinway piano artist and five-time Grammy Award-nominated arranger, will perform Rhapsody in Blue, blending jazz and classical styles. Berg’s recent projects include his album Alegría and a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Composition for his original song “At Last.” He serves as Dean and Patricia L. Frost Professor of Music at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami.
The concert will also feature Hovhaness’ Prelude and Quadruple Fugue, described by Maestro Schwarz as a piece where melodies are passed among instruments in a round-like fashion. The program concludes with Respighi’s Pines of Rome, a tone poem that includes off-stage brass to create the sound of birds chirping. The Masterworks Series continues at the Kravis Center with performances by pianists Misha Dichter (Dec. 16), Simon Trpčeski (April 19), and Emanuel Ax (May 17); cellist Alisa Weilerstein (Jan. 13); and violinist Vadim Repin (March 2). Individual tickets range from $27.50 to $104.50, available online at PalmBeachSymphony.org, by phone at (561) 281-0145, or at the Palm Beach Symphony Box Office.
Symphony Sessions: Lunch & Learns will be held the Thursday before each concert from noon to 1:30 p.m., starting November 6 with principal cellist Claudio Jaffé. Tickets are $125 per session or $600 for a subscription to all six, and include a gourmet lunch and wine. These sessions provide insights into the repertoire and composers. Jaffé, described by The New York Times as “an elegant and accomplished artist,” is principal cellist of the Florida Grand Opera and Palm Beach Symphony and Music Director of the Florida Youth Orchestra. The complete season schedule is available at palmbeachsymphony.org.
