For artists and composers, recognition—or even health and comfort—often comes far too late for the individual. Such is the case with painter Beauford Delaney, born in Knoxville in 1901, dying in an insane asylum in Paris in 1979. However, in…
Strad and Rad: KSO Brings Two Stradivarius Violins To Knoxville for Bach, Shostakovich, and Schnittke
Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra’s Chamber Classics Conductor: Aram Demirjian Schnittke: Moz-Art à la Haydn Golijov: Last Round (Muertes Del Angel) Bach: Concerto For 2 Violins (Soloists William Shaub and Edward Pulgar) Jessie Montgomery: Starburst Shostakovich: Chamber Symphony Sunday, February 4,…
Preview: ‘Alabama Story’ at CBT – A Play About Books, Censorship, and the American Condition
It would probably have been easy to thumb past the obituary of Emily Wheelock Reed in the New York Times in May 2000, its headline not really shouting out its significance: “Emily W. Reed, 89, Librarian in ’59 Alabama Racial…
Big Ears Festival 2018 Announces Additions and Daily Lineups
As if one needed more reasons to grab a pass and attend the 2018 Big Ears Festival, festival programmers have just announced some additional performers and performances for the festival that make it virtually impossible to miss. And, the day-by-day…
Review: ‘Mary’s Wedding’ – A Dream of Romance and War
A dream forms the structure of Stephen Massicotte’s play, Mary’s Wedding, which opened last weekend at Flying Anvil Theatre—and it is very much the poet’s dream. However, Massicotte has not penned a purely romantic story, but has also made a…
Review: KSO Tests New Territory with “Bohemian Rhapsodies”
As I suggested in my preview of this weekend’s Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks concerts, the conversation on what constitutes the future of classical music is not a new one. While it has been a regular topic for years for national…
Young Pianist Series Opens Its 38th Season with Shijun Wang
The 38th season of the Evelyn Miller Young Pianist Series begins this Sunday, January 21, with pianist Shijun Wang.
The Hammer Ensemble Launches With ‘The Pall: In the Shadows of Human Trafficking’
“Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.” —Attributed to Bertolt Brecht That concept forms the basis for the Hammer Ensemble, Flying Anvil Theatre’s performance wing dedicated to social justice issues.…
KSO This Week: PROJECT Trio Joins the Orchestra for “Bohemian Rhapsodies”
Put a group of classical music musicians or listeners together for any extended period, factor in an alcoholic beverage or two, and the conversation will inevitably find its way to the question—“what’s the future of classical music?”
Review: ‘Catastrophe’ at the Hive-Three Short Plays by Samuel Beckett
As night fell and temperatures dropped, snow had begun to fall. Drifting down slowly at first then faster and thicker, the snow melted on the asphalt warm from the afternoon traffic, but began to stick on windshields and motionless objects.…
