BY DIANA SALESKY Clouded in myth and speculation, Mozart’s Requiem remains a veritable mystery to this day. The work was incomplete when Mozart died in 1791 and thus begat the centuries of confusion and controversy that were to follow.…
Review: Big Ears Magic-Shara Nova and the Knoxville Symphony in ‘The Blue Hour’
BY ALAN SHERROD As the 2023 Big Ears Festival was winding down on Sunday evening, a couple of performances by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra remained: violinist Tessa Lark performing Michael Schachter’s Violin Concerto: Cycle of Life, followed by vocalist…
Review: Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Journeys Through Higdon, Copland, Sibelius
BY ALAN SHERROD If you sat back, closed your eyes, and indulged your imagination for just a bit, it was entirely possible that the evening’s music could conjure up a vision of the blue hazy mountains of the Appalachians…
Knoxville Symphony This Week: Jennifer Higdon, Aaron Copland, Jean Sibelius
BY DIANA SALESKY Composer Jennifer Higdon: A Tennessee Treasure Comes Home Composer Jennifer Higdon once remarked that she grew up “a stone’s throw as the crow flies” from Cold Mountain, the setting of her twice Grammy-nominated opera based on…
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Announces 2023-2024 Season
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Aram Demirjian, has announced the program lineups and dates for the 2023-24 season for each of its five main series. • The eight Masterworks concert pairs at the Tennessee Theatre feature the…
Review: KSO Finds Delightful Sunday Companions in Mozart, Rossini, and Schubert
BY ALAN SHERROD Sunday afternoon’s Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Classics concert at the Bijou was not “Mostly Mozart,” but it was—at least—“partly Mozart” in much the same clever spirit and variety that has been showcased in the notable long-running…
Sunday Spotlight: Pianist Emi Kagawa & KSO Chamber Orchestra—Mozart, Rossini, Schubert
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra—Chamber Classics Series “Mozart Piano Concerto No. 27” Conductor: Aram Demirjian • Gioachino Rossini: Overture To Il Signor Bruschino • W.A. Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 27 In B-Flat, K. 595 (Pianist Emi Kagawa) • Franz Schubert: Symphony No.…
Review: KSO and Violinist Blake Pouliot Take Mendelssohn Concerto To An Electric Finale
BY ALAN SHERROD If art thrives on turmoil and risk-taking—which is often the case—it should come as no surprise that the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, last week faced with the turmoil of a last-minute soloist cancellation, would find an exciting…
Review: Exploring Appalachian and Slavic Roads with Mandolinist Jeff Midkiff and KSO Strings
BY ALAN SHERROD Knoxville’s Bijou Theatre enjoys a whirlwind of concert bookings during its busy season, covering every imaginable genre of performance from every imaginable description of performer. Few of these guests, however, can showcase and illuminate the hall’s…
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra: January Concerts Abound
• • • • • • • • Knoxville Symphony Orchestra: January Concerts • • • Q-Series at The Elks Lodge • • • This monthly series of chamber music invites listeners to a Wednesday Lunchtime performance by the KSO’s…