The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra opened its 2024-25 season with George Gershwin’s Concerto in F and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, plus ‘Kauyumari’ by the contemporary Mexican composer, Gabriela Ortiz. Aram Demirjian conducted.
KSO Season Opener This Week: Beethoven’s Fifth and Gershwin’s Concerto in F
BY ALAN SHERROD As 21st Century listeners, we discover there is something strangely satisfying about the familiar “ta-ta-ta-DAH” opening passage of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. That satisfaction, though, goes well beyond the pleasure of simple recognition. The remainder of the…
Review: The Gravity of ‘The Planets’ – Resistance is Futile
Although last evening’s Masterworks concert—Part 2 of the KSO’s Cosmos Festival— had the massive orchestral suite The Planets by Gustav Holst as its focus, there were other attractions to enchant the listener.
Not To Be Eclipsed, KSO Celebrates the Cosmos With A Festival
While Knoxville mostly missed the celestial entertainment of the Total Eclipse this week due to cloud cover and rainy weather, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Cosmos Festival will not require special glasses or rain gear, but—at most—a ticket or two.
Confessions of a Bachophile: Chenette, Shaub, and Friends Take on J.S. Bach in Concertmaster Series
After the first half of magnificently rendered solo violin works including a movement from the Bach Violin Sonata No.3, the Baroque-inspired Ysaye Sonata No. 4, and Corelli’s variations on La Folia, Shaub was joined by colleagues from the orchestra for two Bach works: the Violin Concerto in A minor, followed by the Concerto for Oboe and Violin in C minor, BWV 1040R. The oboist was KSO Principal Claire Chenette.
KSO Concertmaster Series This Week: Shaub Shares the Spotlight
When there’s an opportunity to hear the concertmaster and principal oboe as a duo, standing mere feet from one another instead of sitting myriad yards apart, it is, indeed, a rare treat. Knoxville audiences will have that opportunity on April 3 and 4 at the Concertmaster Series, where KSO Concertmaster William Shaub and KSO Principal Oboe Claire Chenette will present J.S. Bach’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe, BWV 1060R.
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Announces 2024-2025 Season
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Aram Demirjian, has recently announced the program lineups and dates for its 2024-25 season for each of its five main series. Season subscriptions are on sale to current subscribers who want to…
Review: KSO and Guests Deliver Sweeping Scale and Delicious Details in Dvořák and Tchaikovsky
March has been Guest Conductor and Cello month for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. For this weekend’s Masterworks concerts, Conductor Vinay Parameswaran and cellist Tommy Mesa joined the KSO for works by Dvořák (‘Silent Woods’ and Symphony No. 8) and Tchaikovsky (Rococo Variations).
Spotlight: KSO and Guest Conductor Vinay Parameswaran This Week
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra concerts this week feature guest conductor Vinay Parameswaran and cello soloist Thomas Mesa. The program includes Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8 and Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations.
Review: KSO and Violinist Geneva Lewis Present a Detailed and Subtle Beethoven
There are some concert program combinations that are simply too intriguing to pass up, for any number of reasons. Maestro Aram Demirjian and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra unlocked one of those combinations this past weekend, cutting an enjoyable swath through music history from early Romanticism through turn-of-the-century Impressionism, then finally introducing a compelling new work by a living American composer.