KSO Concertmaster Series

During October’s inaugural installment of Knoxville Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Gabriel Lefkowitz’s new Concertmaster Series at Remedy Coffee in the Old City, it probably dawned on many audience members that this was more than just interesting music being played in a friendly and intimate setting. The chamber experience may have even been revelatory for some, but all came away with a satisfying and entertaining immersion in the composers’ music and intent, and in the performers’ individual and ensemble intensities.
The second concert in the series promises to be every bit the same. Opening with solo violin works that set the tone for the evening, Lefkowitz will draw listeners along a historical arc of sorts, making connections along the way. The “Preludio” movement of J.S. Bach’s Solo Partita No. 3 in E major (BWV 1006) will be familiar to many, if not by name then by its frequent use in films.
Freely admitting his obsession with Bach, Eugène Ysaÿe quotes directly from the Bach in the first movement, “Obsession,” of the piece that follows, his Sonata No. 2 for Solo Violin, allowing Lefkowitz to draw the audience from the Baroque into the 20th century. The Belgian Ysaÿe (1858-1931) was a phenomenal violinist as well as composer, known for brilliant technique, razor-sharp intonation, and compelling interpretations—more reasons for the work’s inclusion in Lefkowitz’s program.
The Remedy Coffee stage will fill a bit for the second half of the program, as Lefkowitz will be joined by his associate Gordon Tsai, violist Kathryn Gawne, cellist Andy Bryenton, and pianist Kevin Class for Antonin Dvorak’s Piano Quintet in A Major. This work, one of the most satisfying piano quintets ever written, has a magnificent balance of lyrical subtlety, melodic creativity, and emotional depth. (Alan Sherrod)