Review: Fire and Ice—KSO Takes A Journey Through Stravinsky, Debussy, and John Williams

In his opening remarks for the audience at the past weekend’s Knoxville Symphony Orchestra concerts, conductor Aram Demirjian offered that one would invariably find that the program would be a showcase of sorts for the orchestra’s players, one chock full of impressive moments for a host of individual musicians. That was certainly the case. But in the bigger picture, this was also a program of five very different works that meshed brilliantly with each other, rewarding the audience both musically and intellectually. Demirjian’s programming included two works by Igor Stravinsky, Firebird Suite and the Violin Concerto. Yet, Stravinsky style did not overwhelm. Somehow, John Williams’ “Hedwig’s Theme,” Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, and Lera Auerbach’s Icarus, were deliciously purposeful and appropriate as concern companions.

KSO This Week: Demirjian and Violinist William Shaub Prepare a Feast of Stravinsky

This week, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra is offering a veritable feast of Stravinsky, including the Violin Concerto in D with KSO Concertmaster William Shaub as the soloist. Concluding the concert will be Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, a suite of five movements taken from the composer’s score for Sergei Diaghilev’s ballet, The Firebird, for the Ballets Russes. Aram Demirjian conducts.

This Week: KSO Concertmaster Series Leaps Into Autumn — and the Dvořák Piano Quintet No. 2

This week on Wednesday and Thursday at the Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster William Shaub and his colleagues will be opening the 2024-25 Concertmaster Series with the spirit of early autumn evocatively infused into its programming—an evening…

Grit and Glitz: William Shaub and Friends Release Album

BY DIANA SALESKY   Since William Shaub’s arrival in Knoxville in 2017 at age 24, I’ve watched his musical and personal evolution with fascination. He’s always been a great violinist, which is why he won the Concertmaster position with the…

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.

Review: KSO Concertmaster Series Looks at the Legacy of Violinist Jascha Heifetz

In the second Concertmaster Series outing of the 2023-24 season at the Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster William Shaub and his KSO colleagues chose to make the legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz the connecting force for their recital.

KSO This Week: Why William Shaub Needs Two Violins for Mahler’s Symphony No. 4

BY DIANA SALESKY   William Shaub plays on one of the finest violins in the world – an 1865 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume.  When he takes the stage of the Tennessee Theatre on January 25-26 as Concertmaster of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra,…

Review: KSO’s Concertmaster Series—Nostalgia and History

BY ALAN SHERROD   “Nostalgia is just History after a few drinks.” The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Concertmaster Series as hosted by Concertmaster William Shaub has always enjoyed displaying its dual personality of virtuosic violin showmanship contrasted with deep dives into…

Can Concertmaster William Shaub Pass His Own Music Programming Test?

BY DIANA SALESKY   “Somewhere in Time”— Knoxville Symphony Orchestra – Concertmaster Series William Shaub, violin; Kevin Class, piano; Rachel Loseke, violin; Katy Gawne, viola; Andy Bryenton, cello Knoxville Museum of Art Wednesday and Thursday, October 4 and 5—7:00 PM…

Arts Knoxville Article Archive
Stay Up To Date On Arts Knoxville

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new articles by email.