The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will present “Misha Dichter Plays Tchaikovsky” at the Tennessee Theatre on Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m.
According to the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s official Web site, Mischa Dichter is a renowned concert pianist, who has performed with nearly all of the world’s major orchestras. The son of Polish parents who fled the Nazi regime, he was born in Shanghai in 1945. In 1949 he moved with his family to Los Angeles where he began taking piano lessons at the age of 8.
As a 20-year-old student at The Juilliard School, he entered the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and won, launching his international career. Since then he has toured the world with prestigious symphony orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and a 14-city tour with the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra.
Because of his tight touring schedule, the KSO had its first rehearsal with him on Wednesday afternoon. Lucas Richman, music director of the KSO and conductor for this event, said the orchestra has four rehearsals for events in the Masterworks Series.
In addition to Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1 in B Flat Minor, the orchestra will be playing “The Moldau” from “My Fatherland” by Bedrich Smetana and Symphony No. 8 in G Major by Antonin Dvorak. These pieces were chosen to be performed together because of their “Slavic spirit,” Richman said. He also likes to present livelier music during the winter months to encourage audiences to attend in what could be inclement weather.
Richman emphasized that in addition to the draw of Mischa Dichter and the liveliness of the pieces, the event will be “very audience friendly. These are some of the most famous concertos, instantly recognizable from the opening notes on the horns.” Dvorak’s piece is particularly “buoyant” and highlights the orchestra as an ensemble.
Performing the Masterworks Series in the Tennessee Theatre enhances the experience because of its acoustics, Richman said. When the theater was renovated, an orchestra shell specifically for the KSO was built, so the acoustics in the space are of high quality.
Richman said he hopes students will attend so they can feel “the electricity that comes across the footlights.” Since all the music is made in the moment, it is a completely ephemeral occurrence where “even one night to the next is a different experience.” He said he has had many students come to him after a show and say “they never realized we have such a great orchestra.”
“Our hope is more students become aware of what’s in their own backyard.”
