Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Presents Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony
October 15 & 16 at 7:30 PM
Tennessee Theatre (604 S Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902)

Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 anchors a program exploring the many voices of American poetry. Alongside one of the great symphonies of the Romantic repertoire, Music Director Aram Demirjian brings together works by Julia Perry and Leonard Bernstein that use words and music to explore American experiences across generations.

The evening opens with Ye, Who Seek the Truth by Julia Perry, a prolific American composer whose career took her from the Juilliard School and Tanglewood to studies with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Perry wrote both the words and music for the anthem, originally composed for tenor, choir, and organ and heard here in an arrangement for strings and harp. In 1965, Perry became the first African American woman to have a work performed by the New York Philharmonic. Leonard Bernstein’s Songfest brings six vocal soloists together with the orchestra in a sweeping portrait of American poetry. Conceived for the nation’s Bicentennial and premiered in 1977 with Bernstein conducting, the work draws on 13 poets spanning three centuries, including Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Edgar Allan Poe, Anne Bradstreet, e.e. cummings, June Jordan, and Frank O’Hara. Their words explore love, identity, race, sexuality, artistic expression, loss, and mortality, creating a wide-ranging portrait of American voices and experiences. The program concludes with Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. Although Tchaikovsky insisted the symphony did not tell a specific story, his sketches suggest he was contemplating a confrontation with Fate as he composed it. A recurring musical idea travels through all four movements, changing along the way before emerging as a triumphant march in the finale. At its 1888 premiere in St. Petersburg, conducted by Tchaikovsky himself, the symphony received a rousing ovation.

Number of seats reserved for Penny4Arts:  Limit three children per paying adult
We stop giving out seats/admissions for Penny4Arts at: 4pm on day of show
Open to students outside of Knox County: YES
Advanced reservations required: YES

To request Penny4Arts tickets, contact the KSO Box Office:
865-291-3310 | boxoffice@knoxvillesymphony.com
Website link for more information: Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony – Knoxville Symphony