What does an orchestra sound like? Well, it sounds pretty much like you'd think an orchestra would: Brass, woodwinds, strings and percussion playing classical music. But Aram Demirjian says it should also sound like its hometown.
"The most successful orchestras in the country [are the ones] embracing the character of the cities in which they reside," Demirjian told WUOT's Brandon Hollingsworth. "And I hope that's what the Knoxville Symphony will be able to do."
Demirjian debuts as the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's music director on Thursday evening, when he takes the stage to lead the KSO in the opening concert of the Moxley Carmichael Masterworks series. The program will feature a Rachmaninoff's third piano concerto and Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony.
The conductor described the Rachmaninoff as "the Mount Everest of pieces for piano." It requires a balance of technical excellence and extreme musical sensitivity, he said, and both can be found in the orchestra's guest soloist, Orion Weiss. Demirjian compared the orchestra, conductor and soloist to three train cars, all trying to reach the same destination.
"You don't have three train cars that are connected to each other, but you have three train cars riding on parallel tracks, staying lined up with each other," Demirjian said. "There's no question who has the hardest job on stage, and that's the pianist."
