By Alan Sherrod Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, probably a day or so earlier than his recorded baptismal date of December 17, 1770. The composer’s subsequent life and work of 57 years shaped western music in ways…
Review: Pianist Chih-Long Hu and UT Symphony – A Memorable Beethoven “Emperor”
By Alan Sherrod Ludwig van Beethoven—born on December 17, 1770—still has 14 months to go before his 250th anniversary, but that isn’t stopping musicians, ensembles, and orchestras all over the globe from taking advantage of a two-year celebration period…
Recital Report: UT’s Hristov and Hu Survey the Beethoven Violin Sonatas
Leading up to the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven in 2020, musicians and listeners worldwide will be celebrating the creative genius whose music is fully ingrained in our musical consciousness. With festivals and performances going on around the globe,…
Saturday Evening: UT Symphony To Offer a Beethoven Fantasy and a Bruckner 7
By Alan Sherrod It isn’t at all uncommon for audiences today to willingly take in performances of four and five hours, or even more, if the occasion demands it. Marathon concerts, even all night ones, always attract the curious…
Recital Report: UT’s Ready For the World – Americana
By Alan Sherrod Sunday afternoon saw the next installment of the University of Tennessee’s Ready for the World Music Series, an offering of three programs per year intended to illuminate the music and culture of a variety of regions…
Review: UT Opera Theatre’s Colorful ‘The Secret Gardener’
By Alan Sherrod Performances reviewed: Friday evening, November 9; Sunday afternoon, November 11 When the opera La finta giardiniera (The Secret Gardener) premiered in Munich in 1775, its composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was still two weeks shy of his…
Sunday: UT Symphony Launches ‘Beethoven250’ with the Seventh Symphony
One hardly needs an excuse to listen to more of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven—but if one did demand an excuse, the inevitable march of time is about to provide one. The year 2020 represents the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth, so you can be sure that there will be a host of musical explorations of the composer’s works across the globe between now and then.
The University of Tennessee School of Music has launched its own program of focus, Beethoven250, which will act as an organizing umbrella for concerts, recitals, discussions, and lectures over next two years. The UT Symphony Orchestra, under Director of Orchestras James Fellenbaum, is kicking off their participation this Sunday with their season-opening concert that will feature Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major.
Review: An Auspicious Start to Chamber Music Season
The distinction of being the first chamber music recital of the 2018-19 season in Knoxville goes to violinist Miroslav Hristov of the University of Tennessee School of Music, along with four notable guests, for their “An Evening of Chamber Music” recital this past Sunday evening. Their performance of Schubert’s String Quintet in C Major, along with works by Reinhold Glière and Beethoven, was their second of the weekend—the first being on Friday evening at East Tennessee State University where two members of the quintet, violist David Kováč and cellist Sean Hawthorne, are on the music faculty. The quintet also included violinist Yu-Fang Chen of Ball State University and cellist Daniel Veis of Park University in Missouri.
Nief-Norf Summer Festival Performance Schedule
The Nief-Norf Summer Festival is an interdisciplinary summer music festival that attracts contemporary music performers, composers, and scholars to an environment of performance, creation, and discussion. The 2018 nnSF takes place June 11-25 with public performances in the Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall of the Natalie L. Haslam Music Center at the University of Tennessee.
Sunday in the Concert Hall: UT Symphony and Young Pianist Series
The University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestra finds itself downtown this weekend at the Tennessee Theatre for its Sunday afternoon concert—“Viva l’Italia! II”—a sequel of sorts to its September 2017 concert. UTSO music director and conductor James Fellenbaum follows up that…