2014-2015 Masterworks series, Part 1

Time has gotten away from me somehow; Mid-June flew by, and now it's the Mid-Teens! We took a trip to Vermont to deliver our son Richard to Middlebury College, where he is attending the summer language program. (speaking of “Midd”-teens, har har har). Big brother Thomas lives in Middlebury, so it was a family reunion for sure. And YES, we watched the World Cup. Hopefully the USMNT will still be in contention on the 4^th, GO USA!

I just don't know how I have gotten this far into the summer without rapping about the KSO's 2014-2015 season! It's inconceivable... I know I've told people about it, but not through this grapevine, I guess, so here it is...

The Masterworks Series starts on September 18^th and 19^th with a diverse concert featuring Hindemith's colorful Symphonic Metamorphosis, and finishing with the Brahms 1^st Piano Concerto. Jon Kimura Parker will be the piano soloist in a show that also offers Michael Torke's Bright Blue Music, speaking of colorful. (Please note that he is not related to the ex-Monkee Peter Tork; the names are spelled differently).

I don't know if you saw the Metro Pulse on May 8^th, but there was a letter from a reader, a classical music fan, who longed to hear the KSO perform some scary, Halloween-ish music in a darkened theatre. He listed some pieces, and I had to chuckle, because I knew already that there was quite some overlap between his list and the repertoire for the October 16^th and 17^th Masterworks performances. Guest conductor Sameer Patel, Music Director of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, will lead the KSO in Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain, Dukas' Sorceror's Apprentice (with concertmaster Gabe Lefkowitz as soloist),and Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique.. Three wild rides, and our house lights are always down at performances...

November brings a touch of the Alps as Maestro Richman will continue his journey through the rich catalog of the works Richard Strauss, bringing his Alpine Symphony to life for the first time in Knoxville. Opening the show will be Verdi's Overture to La forza del destino, and arias by Verdi and Mozart will complete the first half.

The January Masterworks concert pair is one of the most action-packed shows imaginable. Three iconic works will be led by guest conductor Lawrence Loh, resident conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony. We shall go back to Berlioz, this time for his Roman Carnival Overture. Guest cello soloist Julie Albers will perform Shostakovich's manic 1^st Cello Concerto, and we will finish with Tchaikowsky's ridiculously beautiful 4^th Symphony. Taking in the Shostakovich Tenth Symphony we just performed in may, his 8th String Quartet that the Principal Quartet will perform in early November and this Cello Concerto, an opportunity for a very significant overview of Shostakovich's musical vocabulary is in the offing.

Stay tuned for the rest of the season...