Event
Ax & Alexander
Naples Philharmonic Masterworks
Naples Philharmonic
Alexander Shelley, artistic and music director
Emanuel Ax, piano
Barber — Adagio for Strings
Mozart — Piano Concerto No. 22
Strauss — Also sprach Zarathustra
Grammy Award-winning pianist Emanuel Ax, celebrated for his insightful interpretations, diverse repertoire and engaging performances, joins Artistic and Music Director Alexander Shelley and the Naples Philharmonic for a program of emotionally charged and musically iconic works.
The program opens with Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, a work of profound intensity and aching beauty, heard at presidential funerals and made famous to modern audiences through its use in the Oscar-winning film Platoon. Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22 follows, showcasing Ax’s versatility in a work full of charm, clarity and unexpected interplay between piano and winds. Featured in the film Amadeus, the concerto also marked Mozart’s first to include clarinets. The evening concludes with Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra, whose unforgettable opening fanfare—immortalized in 2001: A Space Odyssey—has become one of the most iconic musical moments in film history.
Prelude at 6:30pm
Join the conductor before the performance for an insightful 30-minute prelude discussion about the program.
Music and Museum
All Masterworks tickets include same-day admission to The Baker Museum. Museum hours on day of performance: 10am-7:30pm. In addition, the doors to Hayes Hall will open 90 minutes prior to this performance. Arrive early to enjoy the exhibitions and light fare available at Heidi's Place.
The Artistic and Music Director position is generously endowed by Sharon and Timothy Ubben.
The April 23 performance is generously sponsored by Judy and Verne Istock.
Tickets start at $29.
Naples Philharmonic
Naples Philharmonic
Founded in 1982, the Naples Philharmonic normally performs over 140 orchestral and chamber concerts, as well as opera and ballet, education, community and special event concerts from September through June each year.
Meet the Musicians
Alexander Shelley
Artistic and Music Director Meet Alexander
Jack Everly
Principal Pops Conductor Meet Jack
James Ehnes
Artistic Partner Meet James
Manuel López-Gómez
Associate Conductor Meet Manuel
Alexander Shelley
Alexander Shelley
Sharon and Timothy Ubben Artistic and Music Director
Alexander Shelley was named Sharon and Timothy Ubben artistic and music director in April 2023. Alexander begins his tenure in this role in the 2024-25 season following a successful designate year through the 2023-24 season. As artistic and music director of Artis—Naples, Alexander provides artistic leadership for the entire multidisciplinary organization, including The Baker Museum and the Naples Philharmonic.
This appointment marks Alexander’s first titled position in the U.S. In addition to his role with Artis—Naples, Alexander remains music director of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra and principal associate conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra — positions he has held since 2015.
Meet Alexander
Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax
Born to Polish parents in what is today Lviv, Ukraine, Emanuel Ax moved to Winnipeg, Canada, with his family when he was a young boy. Ax made his New York debut in the Young Concert Artists Series and, in 1974, won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. In 1975 he won the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists, followed four years later by the Avery Fisher Prize.
Ax has been a Sony Classical exclusive recording artist since 1987 and has received Grammy Awards for the second and third volumes of his cycle of Haydn’s piano sonatas. He has also made a series of Grammy-winning recordings with cellist Yo-Yo Ma of the Beethoven and Brahms sonatas for cello and piano. In the 2004-05 season, Ax contributed to an International Emmy Award-winning BBC documentary commemorating the Holocaust that aired on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Ax is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds honorary doctorates of music from Skidmore College, New England Conservatory of Music, Yale University and Columbia University.
