Aram Demirjian, conductor
Tessa Lark, violin
The Knoxville Symphony opens its 85th season with a program described by music director Aram Demirjian as “colorful and festive, [containing] musical fireworks.” Opening the program, Ravel’s “choreographic poem” La valse evokes a world in transition at the start of the 1920s. Violin virtuoso and Kentucky native Tessa Lark (who made a triumphant Knoxville debut in January of 2019) returns with a concerto written for her by acclaimed American composer Michael Torke. Inspired by Tessa’s bluegrass training, Sky employs banjo-picking techniques and fiddle licks for a piece critics hail as “…energetic, tuneful, and brilliantly orchestrated.” Duke Ellington’s last major work, The Three Black Kings, was conceived as a eulogy for Martin Luther King, Jr., and creates portraits in sound of Balthazar (King of the Magi), King Solomon (King of Israel), and Dr. King, himself. The evening concludes with another quintessential piece from the ‘20s, Respighi’s majestic Pines of Rome and its signature blazing brass finale, an immersive musical experience facilitated by brass players positioning themselves all around the audience.
Click to view the entire Masterworks Series.
