My “Most Memorable of the Year” list of classical music performances began in the pages of the former Metro Pulse, later finding a place in the Knoxville Mercury. Now, it has a home in Arts Knoxville. Here, then, is the list for 2017.
Preview: Appalachian Ballet Offers Its 46th Season of Tchaikovsky’s ‘The Nutcracker’
Irony has an amusing place in music and dance performance history, for that history is full of examples of works that were unimpressive to audiences when they premiered, but later became giants of the repertoire. Tchaikovsky’s ballet ‘The Nutcracker’ certainly finds itself in this historic group.
Review: KSO’s ‘Classical Christmas’ a Joyous and Welcome Alternative
It had become a familiar theme for me every December. “Where’s the Music?” was the question one article’s headline posed to the realization that in the most festive, and seemingly busiest, month of the year, there were actually few music…
Review: Joshua Gersen Leads KSO in Beethoven, Strauss, and Tchaikovsky
The Beethoven Violin Concerto returned to the Tennessee Theatre this weekend for the first time since 2011, again with a guest conductor, Joshua Gersen, and this time with a remarkable young violinist, Paul Huang.
Preview: KSO Welcomes Guest Conductor Joshua Gersen and Violinist Paul Huang to Masterworks Series
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks: “Beethoven Violin Concerto” Guest conductor: Joshua Gersen Guest violinist: Paul Huang Beethoven: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major Richard Strauss: Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration) Tchaikovsky: Romeo & Juliet Overture-Fantasy 7:30 PM, Thursday and Friday,…
Review: Operatic Ecstasy Marks the Beginning of Knoxville Opera’s 40th Season
If you ask a hundred opera lovers why they are drawn to the art form, you’re likely to get a hundred different answers. After all, it is essentially an unanswerable question. While all arts appeal to individuals in distinctly particular…
Review: KSO’s ‘Red, Hot, & Bolero’ – A Feast for the Eyes and Ears
Every symphony concert is like a bubbling cauldron of ingredients, a mixture of music, performers, and performances that takes on a dynamic life of its own. Add or remove one ingredient, or alter the mixture’s balance, and something new emerges.…
This Weekend: An Overwhelming Diversity of Events
Gospel music, opera, Agatha Christie, Ravel, Shostakovich, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Opera, horror films, documentaries, home movies, Appalachian Ballet — oh my. For at least 10 years, we’ve been predicting a time would come in Knoxville’s surging arts and…
New Faces in the KSO — 2017 Edition
There was a time when American symphony orchestras had the reputation for stubbornly resisting change, entities that embraced neither innovation nor diversity in their ranks. However, the last 25 or 30 years have brought miraculous changes to the makeup of…
KSO and CBT To Team Up Again in 2018 With Bernstein’s ‘Candide’
(Above: CBT Artistic Director Calvin MacLean and KSO Music Director Aram Demirjian) Artistic collaborations may seem like natural extensions of a performing arts scene, but they aren’t necessarily that easy to accomplish for a number of reasons. However, in a…