APRIL JEWELS

It's April, and for some people that means only one thing-- golf's Masters Tournament, taking place down in Georgia right now. On Saturday, the 8th, KSO audiences will be treated to the work of a Fiddle Master-- Nova Scotian performer Natalie MacMaster! In addition to the electrifying fiddle work, Ms MacMaster can dance the jig and strathspey like nobody's business. You will be amazed at what a large catalog of songs stems from Canada's Cape Breton tradition, and by the ensemble's dazzling precision. That's Saturday night at 8 at the Civic Auditorium. Be aware that there will be a Knoxville Ice Bears game on the other side of the building, so maybe allowing a little extra time to park will be a good strategy.

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Is it already time for another Q Series concert?? Time flies when you're having fun, I guess. We are happy to provide you all with a smile-inducing smorgasbord of chamber music on Wednesday the 12th at the Square Room. The principal String Quartet is going to divide and conquer, with two duos filling out our half. Violinist Gordon Tsai and violist Katie Gawne will present the Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia, while violinist Edward Pulgar and I will render for your approval Ravel's 1922 Sonata for Violin and Cello. The Woodwind Quintet will close the show with Endre Szervánsky's Wind Quintet No. 1 from 1953.

When you say “Handel-Halvorsen,” every string player's eyes light up and you can tell you've struck a chord (lol). The Passacaglia starts with a theme written by Handel, then a deftly written series of variations on that theme follows, written by Norwegian composer Johan Halvorsen. Why we don't just call this the Halvorsen “Variations on a Theme by Handel” is beyond me; it would save so much explanation. Both it and the Ravel that follows are virtuoso works that have tremendous effect. This is not the Ravel of the Mother Goose Suite and Bolero, but an entirely different animal. Look for two amusing tunes in it; the first in the wacky 2nd movement which, I believe, inspired the Armor Hot Dogs jingle from the mid-'60s, and in its last movement, one that predicts the J Geils Band's song Centerfold (you know, with the whistling outro... I think it's a strathspey...). Although the Szervánsky quintet is the most recently composed work on the program, you will find it's accessibility pleasantly surprising.