According to those that count such things, Giacomo Puccini’s La Boheme is perennially in the top five of the “most produced” operas worldwide. Closer to home, Knoxville Opera’s own history suggests a similar calculation, the company having performed the work six times since 1982, with a seventh coming this past weekend at the Tennessee Theatre.
Review: KSO Offers a Chamber Classics Concert of Mozart, Cellos, and Brass
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Classics Series on Sunday afternoons has become quite popular, with audiences gravitating to music that really benefits from the intimate acoustic environment of the Bijou Theatre. Perhaps a more important asset, though, is that the series is an enticing showcase for the orchestra musicians who are featured as soloists or ensemble members. This past Sunday’s concert, “Mozart & More”, took that idea even further than usual, featuring the KSO’s Principal Second Violin Edward Pulgar as soloist and conductor in an after intermission performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major, K. 216. The first half of the concert featured delightfully different programming with two ensembles drawn from members of the orchestra: a cello quartet and a brass quintet.
Review: KSO Offers A Mahler Symphony No. 5 of Mythical Proportions
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra has at last given Knoxville audiences something Mahler to talk about—Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 was the sole work on the weekend’s Masterworks concerts. Judging by the impressive attendance, anticipatory buzz, and post-concert ebullience, the KSO audience was ready for an event—and they got one, thanks to an epic performance by Maestro Aram Demirjian and the orchestra that was sprawling and ultimately triumphant, yet carefully detailed in all the appropriate places.
The KSO This Week: Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra — Conductor Aram Demirjian “Mahler Symphony No. 5” Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Downtown Knoxville Thursday and Friday evenings, January 16-17, 7:30 PM Tickets and Information It was just one year ago that the Knoxville Symphony…
Review: ‘Shucked’ National Tour — A Musical Feast of Puns and Groaners
BY ALAN SHERROD All you probably need to know about the musical Shucked is in that title. The show, now on a National Tour following a nine-month run on Broadway, is at Knoxville’s Tennessee Theatre through Sunday, January 5,…
2024 Most Memorable Classical Music Performances in Knoxville
First, stepping onto the soapbox. As we reach the Winter Solstice of 2024 in Knoxville’s arts and music world, we can definitely feel positive and optimistic about the achievements of individuals, organizations, and of the arts scene as a whole.…
UT Music To Launch Distinguished Artist/Lecturer Residency Series with Akropolis Reed Quintet
It is difficult to believe that 11 years have passed since the University of Tennessee music world crossed a major threshold by moving into a new home, the Natalie L. Haslam Music Center. Along with the natural growth and expansion…
Review: River & Rail’s ‘It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play’ – A New Holiday Tradition?
One of the most interesting ironies of the American cinema is that the now-classic holiday television vehicle, the 1946 Frank Capra film, ‘It’s A Wonderful Life,’ was not initially successful, either financially or critically, despite its director and its star, James Stewart. While it was nominated for five Academy Awards, it failed to win any; critics in the post-war years were generally complimentary, but found it too “simple-minded” and overly sentimental. Falling into Hollywood’s version of obscurity, the film languished and its copyright was eventually allowed to expire in 1974, an event that ironically set the stage in the 1980s for its subsequent television appearances and belated popularity.
The current River & Rail Theatre Company production, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play’—an adaptation by Joe Landry— runs at the Old City Performing Arts Center through December 22.
Sunday: Amadeus Concert Ensemble Presents Chanukah Music Fest
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Knoxville Jewish Community Family of Funds, Amadeus Concert Ensemble is presenting a free community-wide CHANUKAH MUSIC FEST concert under the direction of Maestro Brian Salesky on Sunday, December 8 at 4:00 PM at the Arnstein…
Review: ‘Tina: The Tina Turner Musical’ at the Tennessee Theatre
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, now in its second National Tour run, is making a stop in Knoxville this week for eight performances at the Tennessee Theatre. This quintessential biographical jukebox musical follows the rise and rock queen-dom of Anna Mae Bullock, who would eventually triumph as the super-star Tina Turner.
