Edition 1 | 2018-2019
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HICKORY CONSTRUCTION FIFC-C Did You Know? Young people who participate in the arts for at least three hours on three days each week through at least one full year are: • 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement • 3 times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools • 4 times more likely to participate in a math and science fair • 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance • 4 times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem 6 knoxville symphony orchestra welcome from our music director Dear Beloved Audience Members, Thank you for being a part of yet another astonishing season of music at the Knoxville Symphony. We started a little bit early this year with an inspiring collaboration with the Clarence Brown Theatre on Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, and now, with the great momentum of this experience at our backs, we launch full steam ahead into this season of great classics, new discoveries, and exciting milestones. To open our Moxley Carmichael Masterworks Series, I am overjoyed to welcome one of the true treasures of the musical world, Joyce Yang, back to Knoxville. Joyce is a powerful, elegant, magnetic artist who radiates joyous warmth both on and off stage, and she headlines a program Aram Demirjian featuring two warhorses. While at first blush, it may seem that the only thing Brahms’ First Symphony and Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto have in common is the key of C minor, each composer endured similar emotional trials in writing them. Brahms required over two decades to complete his First Symphony, so heavily did he bear the self-imposed burden of living up to the symphonic legacy of his predecessor, Beethoven; Rachmaninoff similarly suffered crippling anxiety while composing his Second Piano Concerto, and it was not until he spent time with a psychologist that he was able to complete the piece, which became his most popular work. I think the human vulnerability and yearning of these pieces is one of the reasons they resonate with so many listeners. The youthful turbulence running throughout this program is first stirred with a stunning overture by American composer Jonathan Leshnoff. Starburst is true to its name: a fiery burst of symphonic energy that has been performed by dozens of orchestras across the country, and we are delighted to present its East Tennessee debut. “A Touch of France” examines Haydn’s legacy, using one of his six “Paris” symphonies as a point of departure. These symphonies were commissioned by French court musician Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, who was one of the greatest violinists of his time and one of the first composers of African descent in Western classical music history. Bologne’s music is tragically underperformed, and we are eager to feature one of his violin concertos performed by KSO Associate Concertmaster, Gordon Tsai. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw’s Haydn-inspired “Entr’acte” takes us ‘through the looking glass’ in the composer’s words, and we wrap up the program with yet another “Paris” symphony by a young upstart contemporary of Haydn and Bologne. You may have heard of him: Wolfgang Amadé Mozart. I feel so grateful to begin this season, in which we rediscover music from the past, explore how it is relevant to our present and look forward to the new compositions that will shape our artistic future. We are glad you will be participating in this journey. Listen boldly! Sincerely, Aram Demirjian knoxville symphony orchestra 7 8 knoxville symphony orchestra coming events KSO Q Series Principal String Quartet and Principal Woodwind Quintet Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 12 p.m. The Emporium Center* (*Note the new location! Ticket includes lunch.) KSO UnStaged: FLOW Thursday, Oct. 4 6:30 p.m. at The Mill & Mine Relax and flow to the sounds of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra while being guided through instructor-led breathing and stretching exercises. Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra Fall Concert Monday, Nov. 12 7:00 p.m., Tennessee Theatre Sheena McCall Young People’s Concerts: Aram Demirjian conducts Oct. 31, Nov 2 | 9:30 a.m., Civic Auditorium Nov. 1 at 9:30 & 11 a.m. Nov. 20 | 9:30 & 11 a.m., Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Greeneville, TN knoxville symphony orchestra 9 10 knoxville symphony orchestra meet the music director ARAM DEMIRJIAN Aram Demirjian is the 8th Music Director of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and is internationally sought after for his dynamic performances, innovative programming and distinctive ability to forge connections with both audiences and performers. Under Demirjian’s galvanizing leadership, KSO audiences have continued to grow, and the orchestra has routinely found itself in the regional and national spotlight. Highlights of his two-year tenure include a landmark collaboration with Clarence Brown Theatre, presenting Bernstein’s Candide as part of the Bernstein Centenary celebration, the founding of KSO and Minnesota orchestras, the Detroit, UnStaged, a new series of multi- Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City sensory, music-centric events taking and St. Louis, plus appearances place in unconventional venues, plus at the Tanglewood Music Center two appearances on the Big Ears and Breckenridge Music Festival. Festival. In 2020, the KSO will be one Internationally, he has performed with of four North American orchestras Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, to be featured in SHIFT: A Festival of Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal American Orchestras at the Kennedy and Orquesta Sinfónico de Minería. Center, Washington, DC. Demirjian is the winner of a 2017 Solti Demirjian is deeply involved in a Foundation U.S. Career Assistance substantial breadth of education and Award and the 2011 Robert J. community outreach initiatives with the Harth Conducting Prize from the goal of ensuring that East Tennesseans of Aspen Music Festival, where he was all ages, backgrounds and circumstances a three-time Conducting Fellow in have access to great symphonic music. the Aspen Conducting Academy. He holds a joint Bachelor of Arts Beyond Knoxville, Demirjian has in Music and Government from conducted many of the most Harvard University and a Master of distinguished orchestras in the Music in Orchestral Conducting from country, including the Philadelphia New England Conservatory. knoxville symphony orchestra 11 12 knoxville symphony orchestra BRAHMS AND RACHMANINOFF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 & FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 7:30 P.M. TENNESSEE THEATRE Aram Demirjian, conductor Joyce Yang, piano Sponsored by JONATHAN LESHNOFF Starburst (2008-9) (b. 1973) SERGEI Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Opus 18 (1901) RACHMANINOFF I. Moderato (1873-1943) II. Adagio sostenuto III. Allegro scherzando Joyce Yang, piano INTERMISSION JOHANNES BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Opus 68 (1876) (1833-1897) I. Un poco sostenuto; Allegro II. Andante sostenuto III. Un poco Allegretto e grazioso IV. Adagio; Più Andante; Allegro non troppo, ma con brio Piano provided by Steinway Nashville This concert will be broadcast on WUOT 91.9 FM on Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at 8 p.m. This concert will be rebroadcast on Monday, July 1, 2019 at 8 p.m.. Latecomers will be seated during the first convenient pause in the performance. The use of recording devices and/or cameras is strictly forbidden. Please remember to turn off all electronic devices and refrain from text messaging during the concert. Programs and artists subject to change. knoxville symphony orchestra 13 notes on the program Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer more detached idea in the strings. The music climbs to a big outburst, and then a clarinet Starburst (2008-9) cadenza in a much slower tempo leads to the second phase. The fleeting motive returns in Jonathan Leshnoff was born in New a march-like, repetitive guise. “From then Brunswick, New Jersey, on September 8, on, the piece gets bigger and bigger until it 1973. The first performance of Starburst took explodes at the end—just like its name.” place at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 30, 2010, Concerto No. 2 for Piano and with Marin Alsop conducting the Baltimore Orchestra in C minor, Symphony Orchestra. Starburst is scored for Opus 18 (1901) piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, three clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, Sergei Rachmaninoff was born in Semyonovo, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, Russia, on April 1, 1873, and died in Beverly tuba, timpani, percussion, and strings. Hills, California, on March 28, 1943. The first performance of the Second Piano Duration: 9 minutes Concerto took place in Moscow, Russia, on November 9, 1901, with the composer as Named by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra soloist, and Alexander Siloti conducting the as one of the top ten living composers most Moscow Philharmonic Society. In addition performed in 2015-16, Jonathan Leshnoff is to the solo piano, the Concerto is scored a leader of contemporary American lyricism. for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, Commissioned by Carnegie Hall as well as the two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Baltimore, Nashville, and three trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, Kansas City Symphony Orchestras, Leshnoff’s cymbals, and strings. compositions have been performed by over 50 orchestras worldwide. He has written for Duration: 33 minutes Gil Shaham, Manuel Barrueco, and Ricardo Morales. His catalog of more than 50 works When Sergei Rachmaninoff completed his First includes symphonies, concertos, string quartets, Symphony in August of 1895, he was 22, and and oratorios. Born in 1973, Leshnoff currently brimming with all the confidence of youth. resides in Baltimore, where he is a Professor of “I imagined that there was nothing I could Music at Towson University. not do and had great hopes for the future,” he later recalled. Rachmaninoff’s First Symphony Starburst was co-commissioned by the Baltimore received its premiere in St.