BY ALAN SHERROD As Maestro Aram Demirjian indicated in his preface of Sunday afternoon’s Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra concert, the programming for it had been done over a year in advance. So, it was both a grand and somber…
Review: Demirjian and the KSO Present Gems from the Past: Mozart, Farrenc, and Still
BY ALAN SHERROD Browsing the obituaries of notable citizens in the New York Times in September 1875, readers may have come across an obit for “Mme. Jean Louise Farrenc…a musician and composer of considerable distinction in the generation immediately…
Review: William Shaub and KSO Warm a Cold Evening in Barber’s Violin Concerto
BY ALAN SHERROD There is something of a notable history to the January Masterworks concerts by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra—a history that seems a bit contradictory on its face. In our coldest month, when inclement weather is likely to…
KSO This Week: ‘Pines of Rome’, William Shaub in Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks Series: William Shaub and the Pines of Rome Maurice Ravel: La Valse Samuel Barber: Violin Concerto Carlos Simon: The Block Ottorino Respighi: Pines Of Rome Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street Thursday and Friday, January 20,…
Tuesday Arts Miscellany: December Happenings
Big Ears — Julian Lage Squint, we are told, is Julian Lage‘s debut album for Blue Note Records, “…a striking new album that weds incisive, expressive songwriting with the profound interplay Lage has honed over the past few years…” Presented…
Review: KSO Is ‘Fantastique’; Violinist Paul Huang Exhilarates in Bruch
BY ALAN SHERROD If there was a word that combined “exhilaration” with “exuberance,” we would surely be using it today to describe the October installments of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks concerts this past Thursday and Friday evenings at…
KSO This Week: Berlioz’ ‘Symphonie Fantastique’ and Paul Huang in Bruch Violin Concerto
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks “Symphonie Fantastique” Clarice Assad: Sin Fronteras (Without Borders) Max Bruch, Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor (Paul Huang, violin) Hector Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique Conductor: Aram Demirjian Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Downtown Knoxville Thursday…
Review: KSO Opens 2021-22 Season With Sparkle and Substance
BY ALAN SHERROD A sensation almost dreamlike and otherworldly permeated the Tennessee Theatre this past Thursday and Friday evening as the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra began its 2021-22 season of Masterworks concerts. Having juggled their vaccination credentials, satisfied the contraband…
This Week: Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Opens Season With Works By Vivaldi, Elgar, and Valerie Coleman
BY ALAN SHERROD Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks – “The Four Seasons” Valerie Coleman: Umoja (Anthem Of Unity) Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons with violinist Robyn Bollinger; spoken word poetry by Rhea Carmon and the 5th Woman Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations…
Review: KSO Wraps Four Month Season, Looks to the Future, with Torke’s ‘Sky’ and Beethoven
BY ALAN SHERROD Although Isaac Newton probably wasn’t thinking about performers and performances when he developed his First Law of Motion, that Law of Inertia has certainly demonstrated its truth in the music world over the last year—a body…