BY ALAN SHERROD To say there was an air of excitement at the past weekend’s Knoxville Symphony Orchestra concerts at the Tennessee Theatre would be an understatement. The occasion was the world premiere performances of Michael Schachter’s Violin Concerto:…
Review: KSO Honors Ukraine’s Struggle; Brilliant in Tchaikovsky and Brahms
BY ALAN SHERROD Orchestra programming and guest artist booking by symphony orchestras are done a year or more in advance, so it hardly seems fair to dwell on unfortunate coincidences that somehow manage to sneak their way onto an…
KSO This Week: Connecting Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Ethel Smyth
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks Series Aram Demirjian, conductor— Guest artist Tanya Gabrielian Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street Thursday and Friday, March 17 and 18, 7:30 PM Tickets and Information Dame Ethel Smyth: The Boatswain’s Mate: Overture Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Piano…
Review in Brief: KSO Offers Beautiful Bach; Coincidences Abound in Shostakovich
BY ALAN SHERROD As Maestro Aram Demirjian indicated in his preface of Sunday afternoon’s Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra concert, the programming for it had been done over a year in advance. So, it was both a grand and somber…
Review: Demirjian and the KSO Present Gems from the Past: Mozart, Farrenc, and Still
BY ALAN SHERROD Browsing the obituaries of notable citizens in the New York Times in September 1875, readers may have come across an obit for “Mme. Jean Louise Farrenc…a musician and composer of considerable distinction in the generation immediately…
Review: William Shaub and KSO Warm a Cold Evening in Barber’s Violin Concerto
BY ALAN SHERROD There is something of a notable history to the January Masterworks concerts by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra—a history that seems a bit contradictory on its face. In our coldest month, when inclement weather is likely to…
KSO This Week: ‘Pines of Rome’, William Shaub in Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks Series: William Shaub and the Pines of Rome Maurice Ravel: La Valse Samuel Barber: Violin Concerto Carlos Simon: The Block Ottorino Respighi: Pines Of Rome Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street Thursday and Friday, January 20,…
Tuesday Arts Miscellany: December Happenings
Big Ears — Julian Lage Squint, we are told, is Julian Lage‘s debut album for Blue Note Records, “…a striking new album that weds incisive, expressive songwriting with the profound interplay Lage has honed over the past few years…” Presented…
Review: KSO Is ‘Fantastique’; Violinist Paul Huang Exhilarates in Bruch
BY ALAN SHERROD If there was a word that combined “exhilaration” with “exuberance,” we would surely be using it today to describe the October installments of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks concerts this past Thursday and Friday evenings at…
KSO This Week: Berlioz’ ‘Symphonie Fantastique’ and Paul Huang in Bruch Violin Concerto
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks “Symphonie Fantastique” Clarice Assad: Sin Fronteras (Without Borders) Max Bruch, Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor (Paul Huang, violin) Hector Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique Conductor: Aram Demirjian Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Downtown Knoxville Thursday…