BY ALAN SHERROD Sometimes, if we’re lucky, there is more to a concert than just a collection of music, more than just sounds in the air and notes on a page. That was the case for the Knoxville Symphony…
Review: A Superb Midori and KSO Combine for a Memorable Beethoven Violin Concerto
BY ALAN SHERROD It is an inarguable truth that every concert comes with its own set of expectations, a delicious combination of factors—conductor, orchestra, soloists—that ideally turn the “merely intrigued” into “definitely compelled” ticket buyers. Clearly, concert expectations were…
One Name. One Legend. Midori.
BY DIANA SALESKY It was August 25, 1988. Leonard Bernstein was turning 70, and his birthday bash was nothing less than a televised tribute concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Seiji Ozawa. The evening overflowed with stars…
KSO This Week: Jonathan Leshnoff’s Premiere — 3 Quilts, 1 Chorale, and an Entire Community
BY DIANA SALESKY GRAMMY-nominated composer Jonathan Leshnoff had an unusual assignment: create an orchestral work inspired by quilts made in Maryville. It turned out to be a natural fit. Quilts, he says, are “precious expressions” – stories, textures, repetitions,…
Review: KSO Visits Amy Beach’s ‘Gaelic’, Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances, and a ‘Cocktail Concerto’
BY ALAN SHERROD Asked to describe American orchestral music over the last 130 years in a few words, we may find ourselves struggling for a quick answer. Admittedly, that’s probably because our own music history doesn’t necessarily feel like…
KSO Chamber Series This Sunday — Beethoven, Ravel, Schoenberg, Zwilich
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra resumes its Chamber Series this Sunday afternoon, March 1, with a program enticingly titled “A Cast of Characters: Peanuts, Mother Goose and More.” The concert will open with Beethoven’s Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus and…
Review: KSO Offers a Valentine of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev
BY ALAN SHERROD Admittedly, Valentine’s Day is one of our stranger holidays. Having been commercialized into a merchandizing platform for chocolate, roses, jewelry, and anything pink, the day also impacts the programming of events in February. Classical music falls…
Review: Concertmaster Series Explores a Different Side of Romance
BY ALAN SHERROD For the winter installment of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Concertmaster Series, Concertmaster and host William Shaub offered up an intensely intriguing program with an evocative title: “Tides of Solitude.” That title, of course, referred to a…
Review: Gluzman and KSO Combine For A Dynamic Brahms Violin Concerto
BY ALAN SHERROD For a variety of reasons, the January Masterworks concerts of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra always seem to acquire a disproportionate amount of unforeseen drama. For example, it was ten years ago this month that Aram Demirjian…
KSO This Week — A Perfect Pairing: Gluzman and Brahms
BY DIANA SALESKY One of the most important jobs a Music Director has is selecting soloists for its symphonic season. Maestro Aram Demirjian never disappoints in the violin category. In fact, he may have outdone himself this season with…