BY DIANA SALESKY Most of us who study the violin dream of one day playing the late Beethoven string quartets. Most of us never will. Why? They are excruciatingly difficult. Due to the incredible technical requirements, as well as…
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…
Review: ‘Men on Boats’ at Clarence Brown – Old History, New Perspective
BY ALAN SHERROD On its most basic level, the Jaclyn Backhaus play, Men on Boats, which opened Friday evening in the Lab Theatre of the Clarence Brown, is a retelling of the 1869 exploratory journey made by John Wesley…
Review: MCO’s ‘The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace’ Is Infinitely Charming
BY ALAN SHERROD In its ten years of existence, Marble City Opera has filled a niche in Knoxville’s music scene, a niche for which it seems it was destined. It has also earned a reputation for a mind-boggling variety…
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.…
Big Ears 2023: David Byrne-“Reasons To Be Cheerful”
In 2019, David Byrne—known for being the face of Talking Heads and for his diverse solo work—announced a venture called Reasons to be Cheerful, a project that calls itself “part magazine, part therapy session, part blueprint for a better world.”…
Tuesday Arts Miscellany: March Comes In Like A Lion
Dogwood Arts: “Converge: Coming Together, Embracing Balance” Dogwood Arts opens a new exhibition on FIRST FRIDAY (March 3) entitled “Converge: Coming Together, Embracing Balance.” The show is a group exhibition featuring artwork by twenty-five local immigrant and refugee artists. The…