In the second Concertmaster Series outing of the 2023-24 season at the Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster William Shaub and his KSO colleagues chose to make the legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz the connecting force for their recital.
Preview: KSO’s Concertmaster Series – Beethoven’s Final String Quartet: The Answered Question
BY DIANA SALESKY Most of us who study the violin dream of one day playing the late Beethoven string quartets. Most of us never will. Why? They are excruciatingly difficult. Due to the incredible technical requirements, as well as…
Review in Brief: KSO’s 2022 Concertmaster Series Wraps with Splendid Schumann Quintet
BY ALAN SHERROD Since its inception, the joy of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Concertmaster Series has actually been its crescendo of dual attractions—shorter, intriguing works, often virtuosic, that may be new to the audience or works you probably won’t…
Review: The Bijou Theatre Sees An Energetic Installment of KSO’s Concertmaster Series
BY ALAN SHERROD When the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra began its Concertmaster Series of chamber music in 2012 under former concertmaster Gabriel Lefkowitz, its concept of attracting new audiences to alternative venues seemed very contemporary and cool. Housed in a…
Review: Virtuosity and Warm Reflection Highlight January’s Concertmaster Series Concert
By Alan Sherrod If Tchaikovsky’s ballets, symphonies, and operas tell us anything, it is that the composer gravitated to the richness and complexity of orchestral textures as a main vehicle for musical creation. Chamber music seems to have had…
Review: William Shaub and Friends Illuminate a Treasure of Baroque Gems in KSO’s Concertmaster Series
By Alan Sherrod Many Baroque composers are known for prolific output—J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel among them—but none so much as Antonio Vivaldi. His concerto output alone totals more than 500 works, yet none of these have been rewarded…
William Shaub Takes the Reins of the KSO’s Concertmaster Series
Most regular concertgoers have, at least, a vague idea of the role of an orchestra’s concertmaster. He or she symbolically represents the orchestra as a whole, occupies the first chair position of the first violins, calls for tuning at the…