In the space of only two weeks, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra has launched four of its five performance series, with a fifth series opening just days away. The most recent of these season openers was last evening’s Concertmaster Series, a set of three concerts in October, February, and April at the Knoxville Museum of Art, hosted and performed by KSO Concertmaster William Shaub, assisted by pianist Kevin Class, and often featuring Shaub’s colleagues from the orchestra.
Tantalizing themes are a hallmark of Shaub’s programs and last evening’s was no exception. “Spanish Vices” conjured up all sorts of ideas and images and begged the question: how does one define Spanish flavor? Answering that question with music, Shaub chose four pieces that ran the gamut of spice, intrigue, and delicious substance, all with entertaining violin virtuosity thrown in.
Following the general scheme of a first half of virtuosic appetizers, Shaub and Class opened with John Williams’ arrangement of Tango por Una Cabeza, an appropriate starting point that draws the listener in with its rhythm and familiarity. Jumping back in time to explore the international fin de siècle, Shaub and Class followed with a work by violinist and composer Pablo de Sarasate, the Introduction and Tarantella. Altering the spice combination a bit, the duo performed the Spanish Dance from De Falla’s opera La Vida Breve and closed the first half with a music history lesson in the form of a compelling “Corta Jaca” by the Brazilian pianist and composer Chiquinha Gonzaga.
For the second half of the concert, Shaub was joined by KSO Principal Flute Devan Jaquez for the evening’s entrees, two trios for flute, violin, and piano—first the Sonata for Flute, Violin, and Piano by Bohuslav Martinů, followed by Italian composer Nino Rota’s Trio for Flute, Violin, and Piano. The two works took different paths, not unlike different storytellers with wildly different attitudes.
There were moments in the Martinů sonata when I felt the gravity of French composers of the 1930s: a tension and energy belied by jazz of a sort, somehow smoothed over by dance motifs. The final movement doesn’t seem to belong to the earlier three, something that seemed to show on the body language of Shaub and Jaquez. Nevertheless, I was thoroughly smitten by the work and this performance.
Fans of Nino Rota’s film scores know full well of his fondness for the flute, making this trio a perfect inclusion on the program. Its rhythms and conversational scheme of statement and echo was handled in a gentle theatricality by Shaub and Jaquez. The piano became dictatorial at times in the final movement, but the work concludes with a nice sense of equality.
The opening concert of the KSO’s Concertmaster Series has one more performance Thursday evening at 7:00PM at the Knoxville Museum of Art. Tickets.
