On first glance, the very idea of mentioning Broadway’s musical hit, Hamilton, and the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance, in the same sentence may seem ridiculous in the extreme. Of course, the whole of the American musical…
Review: KSO Brings Back Paul Huang For a Spectacular Tchaikovsky Concerto
It did not require a seer or soothsayer to predict what would happen at the end of the first movement of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto at this past weekend’s Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks concert. Given violinist Paul Huang’s flight of speed, dazzling technique, and breathtaking virtuosic storytelling, it was practically inevitable that the ending would yank the audience out of their seat for a performance-stopping, extended ovation that included cheers and a few bravos.
Review: Marble City Opera’s Haunting ‘dwb (Driving While Black)’
Marble City Opera’s latest production is ‘dwb (driving while black)’, a one-act opera that dives headlong into the inherently intensifying anxiety faced by Black families as children approach driving age and face the intersection of modern mobility and the horrors of profiling and racist policing. With music by Susan Kander and a libretto by Roberta Gumbel, the 45 minute work features three performer/musicians: Mother (soprano Allison Sanders), Cellist (Cremaine Booker), and Percussion (David Verin). ‘dwb’ is directed by Ivan Griffin, who previously directed MCO’s The Christmas Spider.
On Sunday: UT Symphony Celebrates 100th Anniversary of ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ With Pianist Sean Chen
The University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestra will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with its October concert featuring pianist Sean Chen. Chen was a Van Cliburn 2013 medalist and appeared with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra in…
This Week: KSO Concertmaster Series Leaps Into Autumn — and the Dvořák Piano Quintet No. 2
This week on Wednesday and Thursday at the Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster William Shaub and his colleagues will be opening the 2024-25 Concertmaster Series with the spirit of early autumn evocatively infused into its programming—an evening…
Review: Amadeus Concert Ensemble Focuses On “Sacred Music of Dvořák”
After a performance history that has embraced composers like J.S. Bach, Giuseppe Verdi, Rossini, Mozart. and curated selections of French and Spanish musical gems, the Amadeus Concert Ensemble turned its attention last Sunday afternoon to sacred music of the Czech composer, Antonin Dvořák. Chosen were four movements from the Stabat Mater (1877) and the complete four movement cantata Te Deum (1892). Howard Skinner conducted the orchestra and chorus. Soloists were soprano Maria Natale, alto Diana Salesky, tenor John Overholt, and bass Stephen Morscheck.
Review: KSO Chamber Classics Opens With A Very ‘Memorable’ Beethoven, Mozart, and McKay
This past Sunday afternoon yielded two concerts that practically defined memorable, one of which was the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s season opening concert in their Chamber Classics Series at the Bijou that featured the world premiere of Dosia McKay’s ‘The Lure of the Flowering Fern’, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 with pianist Emi Kagawa, and Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony. Aram Demirjian conducted.
Review: ‘Cry It Out’ — Clarence Brown Theatre – The Lab Theatre
BY ALAN SHERROD Molly Smith Metzler’s play, Cry It Out, may be set in a backyard in the New York City suburb of Port Washington, Long Island, but it covers a lot of territory inhabited by new mothers—unaware husbands,…
Sunday Spotlight: Pianist Emi Kagawa & KSO Chamber Orchestra—Mozart, Beethoven, McKay
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra begins its Chamber Classics Series on Sunday, September 29, at the Bijou Theatre. The concert will offer Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4, preceded by the world premiere of the KSO-commissioned, ‘The Lure of the Flowering Fern’ and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17. KSO’s Emi Kagawa is the pianist in the Mozart concerto. Aram Demirjian conducts.
On Sunday: Amadeus Concert Ensemble Turns To Dvorak For Season Opener
As reported previously, ACE is now the Amadeus Concert Ensemble—a reflection of its sizable presence in Knoxville’s classical music scene and the impressive scale of its performances with full orchestra and chorus in Knoxville’s Sacred Heart Cathedral. Its 2024-25 season…
