The month of January has been known in recent years to have the mysterious ability to inspire notable—dare I say, sublime—music performances for Knoxville audiences. The schedule for January 2019 gives a hint of what wintertime concertgoers might possibly expect if artistic gravitational fields align and the air is just right.
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra leaps immediately into the January calendar with a month of intriguing concerts. This Sunday, January 6, the KSO offers a Chamber Classics concert featuring members of the orchestra’s Principal Ensembles (Principal Quartet and the Woodwind Quintet) and their colleagues at UT Music’s Powell Recital Hall. Prior to the headliner performance of Schubert’s Octet in F Major, KSO players will be heard in Mozart’s Oboe Quartet in F Major, K. 370, and Médailles antiques by Philippe Gaubert. That afternoon concert is at 2:30 PM. (Plan ahead for parking on the UT Campus)
Next week finds KSO Concertmaster William Shaub and Friends back at the Knoxville Museum of Art for the January edition of the popular Concertmaster Series of chamber music. On Wednesday and Thursday evenings (January 9 and 10) at 7:00 PM, Shaub and his colleagues offer works by Saint-Saens, Glazunov, Massenet, and Shostakovich, concluding with Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A minor.
If history has told us anything about January music, it is that one should not give in to possible weather scares and pass up the KSO’s Masterworks concert pair at the Tennessee Theatre. This month’s Masterworks concerts on Thursday and Friday (January 17 and 18) have all the elements that, in the past, have yielded strangely unforgettable January performances despite inclement weather. The focus of this month’s program is Dvořák’s “Symphony from the New World”, the Symphony No. 9, a work that thematically frames the evening. Also on that concert, violinist Tessa Lark joins conductor Aram Demirjian and the orchestra for Erich Korngold’s Violin Concerto. Demirjian opens with Rachel Grimes’ Book of Leaves.
Those that have a Wednesday noon-time free, and love surprises, can gravitate to the Q-Series performance on January 30 at the Emporium Center in the 100 block of Gay Street. This month has the added inducement of lunch catered by Holly’s Gourmet Market to go along with the performances by the KSO’s Principal Quartet and Woodwind Quintet.
Also on the KSO’s January calendar are performances at Night with the Arts: A Concert in Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Sunday evening at 6:00 PM, January 20, at the Tennessee Theatre. That concert is free. The January pops concert features the Music of John Williams (conductor James Fellenbaum) on Saturday evening, January 12, at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium.
In conjunction with the exhibition Violins of Hope: Strings of the Holocaust at the University of Tennessee Downtown Gallery from January 4 – 27, the KSO will participate in two evenings of performances, January 23 and 24, 7:00 PM, at the Tennessee Theatre. Event Tickets and information
More information on this important exhibition and event later.
KSO Tickets and Information
Evelyn Miller Young Pianist Series
This three-recital series—one each in January, February, and March—begins this year on Sunday, January 27, with the young Hungarian pianist, László Váradi. Recitals are at UT’s Powell Recital Hall at 2:30 PM. Tickets for the series, or individual recitals, are available on YPS’s website.
UT School of Music
The UT School of Music’s faculty and guest artist recital series offers a notably diverse range of performers and performances. Schedules are subject to change, so check their website for the latest information on events of interest or phone their concert line at 865-974-5678 the day of the event. Here is a selection of events from their schedule.
Ready For the World Music Series: Americana
A faculty and guest artist recital exploring music of American composers
Sunday, January 13 at 2:00 PM, in UT’s Powell Recital Hall
Violin Festival Opening Recital featuring Jinjoo Cho
Winner of the 2014 Indianapolis International Violin Competition
Friday, January 18 at 8:00 PM in the Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall
Guest artist Abby Fisher and faculty member Jorge Variego will present a recital of new music for percussion, clarinet, and electronics.
Tuesday, January 22 at 8:00 PM in the Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall
Low Brass Faculty Recital
Faculty members Alex van Duuren and Alex Lapins present a program ranging from the Baroque to a world premiere
Wednesday, January 23 at 8:00 PM in the Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall
Violist Hillary Herndon and pianist Wei-Chun Bernadette Lo
Faculty recital featuring viola sonatas written in 1919
Sunday, January 27 at 8:00 PM in the Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall
