This Sunday: KSO Takes An Italian Voyage with Mendelssohn, Rossini, and Vivaldi

Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony
Knoxville Symphony Chamber Classics Series
    –Guest Conductor Michelle di Russo
    –Cello soloists: Adam Ayers and Sarah Senn

Nicknames for musical works often arise independently of their creators and for the oddest of reasons. In the case of Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A Major, there was nothing odd about it. It was the composer himself who attached the nickname “Italian” to it, a reference he had made for years since the work was begun during an extended Italian visit. In addition to the captivating “Italian” Symphony as something of a theme, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will be dealing with some Italian flavor this Sunday afternoon in its Chamber Classics Series at the Bijou Theatre. In addition to the Mendelssohn, the concert includes works by Rossini, Vivaldi, and the late Venezuelan composer, Aldemaro Romero. 

Guest conductor Michelle di Russo will have the baton for the concert. A native of Argentina with Italian roots, Di Russo is currently serving as Associate Conductor with North Carolina Symphony, and recently has been a 2023/24 Dudamel Fellow, covering other conductors at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Di Russo holds a Doctoral Degree in Orchestral Conducting from Arizona State University and a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Kentucky.

As we often point out, one of the most compelling features of the KSO’s Chamber Classics Series is its use of exceptional soloists from the ranks of the orchestra itself. For this Sunday’s concert, KSO cellists Adam Ayers and Sarah Senn will perform Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Cellos, RV 531. The work is unique in that it is the only known Vivaldi concerto written for 2 cellos, despite the fact that he composed over 500 concertos for a variety of instruments.

Di Russo will open the afternoon with Rossini’s Overture to The Italian Girl in Algiers and Aldemaro Romero’s Fuga con Pajarillo.