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By Lawrence ToppmanSometimes you grab a cello, only to realize it has grabbed you back. Sometimes you pick up a violin and find it has picked you up out of your old life and shown you a new one. [..] Read More

BY LAWRENCE TOPPMANThere was a time a brief time, from 1876 through 1914 when most of Europe wasn't embroiled in a war. Fifteen small conflicts took place, every one involving Turkey or Romania [..] Read More

The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is full of talented and experienced musicians. But talent doesn't always correspond to a certain age. WFAE's Sarah Delia explains.
Twenty-three-year old John [..] Read More

Two Gaston County high school choral students are among a group of young singers who will experience the thrill of performing live with the Charlotte Symphony on Nov. 19-21 at Belk Theater at [..] Read More

BY LAWRENCE TOPPMANCarolina Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman likes to talk about a "big hog molly," the overpowering player who dominates a game from his first steps on the field. The arts [..] Read More

By Sharon SmithA recent graduate of South Mecklenburg High School is coming home to be part of a patriotic program with the Charlotte Symphony.Midshipman 4th Class Adam Thomas is a member of the U. [..] Read More

BY ANDY SMITHAFTER A ROUSING finish, each performance of Charlotte Symphony Orchestra's Mahler Symphony No. 5 ended with a Q&A last weekend. Conductor (and CSO music director) Christopher Warren [..] Read More

BY LAWRENCE TOPPMANltoppman@charlotteobserver.comCan one 70-minute orchestral work justifiably stand alone as a concert? Only if it contains an entire world of ideas, emotions and physical [..] Read More

By Perry TannenbaumWith an opening funeral march and a brassy, jubilant conclusion, it's hard to mistake the arc of Mahler's Symphony No. 5, but the way each orchestra and each maestro will make [..] Read More

BY MARTY PRICECorrespondentThe Cabarrus Arts Council has provided live professional performances to the school children in Cabarrus County since 2000.Partnering with Cabarrus County and Kannapolis [..] Read More

What says October more than German composers and tasty beer?But do you know which German composer goes best with local beers? Before you hit up the Charlotte Symphony's Bachtoberfest Friday night [..] Read More

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By Claire Kuhlkin Thinking the Charlotte Symphony's Bachtoberfest this Friday night might be a bit too much class for you? Here are five reasons why you can handle this event from KnightSounds, the [..] Read More

Interview from [..] Read More

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BY LAWRENCE TOPPMANltoppman@charlotteobserver.comThe pieces on the Charlotte Symphony's second Classics concert share something you might not suspect: Each composer wrote because he fell in love [..] Read More

By Perry TannenbaumOne of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra's signature moments happened the last time they performed Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring at Belk Theater, in 2009. Acknowledging the [..] Read More

BY ANDY SMITH
THIS FALL is a season of a change for the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra's 150 volunteer singers. The Oratorio Singers of Charlotte have been rebranded as the "Charlotte Symphony [..] Read More

BY LAWRENCE TOPPMANltoppman@charlotteobserver.comAnyone who follows the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra knows the brass section sounds bolder, cleaner and more cohesive since Christopher Warren-Green [..] Read More

BY LAWRENCE TOPPMANltoppman@charlotteobserver.comMusic director Christopher Warren-Green decided not to hire an international star for the brass solos in Shostakovich's Concerto for Piano, Trumpet [..] Read More

Watch Video Feature from WCNC [..] Read More

BY LAWRENCE TOPPMANltoppman@charlotteobserver.comWe seldom associate Beethoven or Stravinsky with fun: Paintings and photos show dour composers who look intolerant of criticism or dissenting [..] Read More

Christopher Warren-Green, conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, speaks with Frank Dominguez of WDAV about the 2015-2016 Classics Series. Program Audio
Feature at WDAV [..] Read More

BY LAWRENCE TOPPMANltoppman@charlotteobserver.comPeople dispute which Oscar-winning film least deserved the top prize, and "The Greatest Show on Earth" leads the contenders. They also like to argue [..] Read More

SURE, CHARLOTTE'S got a lot in terms of cultural offerings. But it's not always cheap to get a comprehensive sampling of what the city has. That's why the Arts & Science Council created the [..] Read More

BY LAWRENCE TOPPMANltoppman@charlotteobserver.comWhat's the most noteworthy thing about the Symphony on Tap concert Wednesday?That it's free? That you can wander in off Tryon Street (or back out [..] Read More

BY LAWRENCE TOPPMANltoppman@charlotteobserver.comRobert Stickler lobbed good and bad news at the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra's board of directors at the end of August.The bad news? He wants to [..] Read More

by Ashley MahoneyNothing beats free. Symphony On Tap marks the first Charlotte Symphony free season preview at Belk Theater on September 16.The sample of the upcoming season starts at 5:30 p.m. and [..] Read More

BY JESSICA CAPWELLCorrespondent
A chorus of excitement swells among Andrew Fierova's friends when they see him remove the eight half-racks of St. Louis style ribs from the smoker in his [..] Read More

BY LAWRENCE TOPPMANltoppman@charlotteobserver.comRobert Stickler, who steered the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra back into smoother waters over the last three seasons, has told his board of directors [..] Read More

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View Gallery at Charlotte Observer [..] Read More

Albert-George Schram, conductor, talks with Bo.The Charlotte Symphony kicks off its exciting Summer Pops lineup with an eclectic array of works from Henry Mancini and Cole Porter to Brahms and The [..] Read More

Watch Video at Charlotte Observer [..] Read More

BY STEVEN BROWN
Correspondent Do you enjoy listening to Tchaikovsky under the stars? Or would you rather do the "Macarena"?
Either way, the Charlotte Symphony's Summer Pops series [..] Read More

BY LAWRENCE TOPPMANThe Charlotte Symphony Orchestra's 2015-16 Pops lineup will begin with a guy who has been singing in the rain for six decades and end with a woman who has reigned as one of [..] Read More

by Meg Freeman WhalenOn Friday, May 15, Scott Allen Jarrett will conduct the final concert of the Charlotte Symphony's 2014-2015 KnightSounds concert series, a program of music composed for royals. [..] Read More

BY LAWRENCE TOPPMANI doubt Natasha Paremski can play the piano with her elbows. (I saw Jerry Lee Lewis do that once. It was cool.) But on the evidence of her performance Friday night in Rachmaninov' [..] Read More

By Perry TannenbaumThere was plenty for the Charlotte Symphony and its Classics Series subscribers to celebrate even before the opening bars of the 2014-15 season finale were played. Press releases [..] Read More

By Lawrence Toppmanltoppman@charlotteobserver.comIf you passed Belk Theater at 6:15 Thursday and heard a roar from inside, here's why: Board chairman Brian Cromwell announced Christopher Warren- [..] Read More

by Ashley MahoneyJune 7 marks opening of the Charlotte Symphony's annual outdoor Summer Pops Series.For four consecutive Sundays (June 7, 14, 21, and 28)--in addition to a fifth performance to [..] Read More

By Lawrence Toppmanltoppman@charlotteobserver.comThink of the Charlotte Symphony's 2015 Summer Pops season as an international smorgasbord.It starts in England, with Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance [..] Read More

By Lawrence Toppmanltoppman@charlotteobserver.comWhen I hear the words "pink martini," adjectives come to mind: tart, cool, refreshing, nontraditional. Well, I've just walked back from the Pink [..] Read More

By DUNCAN MCFADYEN
The band Pink Martini defies labels. The Portland-based group has an eclectic repertoire including standards from the Great American Songbook, original material with that [..] Read More

BY LAWRENCE TOPPMAN, LTOPPMAN@CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.COMApart from his skills as a conductor and programmer, Christopher Warren-Green has a knack for unearthing soloists under 35 who may not yet be [..] Read More

Since winning First Prize in 2010's Chopin Competition, pianist Yulianna Avdeeva continues to draw critical acclaim as a stand-out among Chopin's foremost interpreters. She's performed with [..] Read More

By Perry TannenbaumEmceeing A Night in New York, the latest in Charlotte Symphony's series of KnightSounds concerts, musical director Christopher Warren-Green wasn't the only big man in the [..] Read More

Michael Solender, Contributing WriterThere is nothing quite as impressive and majestic as experiencing a fine symphony orchestra performing a grand classical score. The exquisite precision, timing [..] Read More

By SARAH DELIA
Friday and Saturday the Charlotte Symphony is trying something new. The symphony will perform its KnightSounds Series concert, A Night In New York inside the Knight Theater [..] Read More

The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra's KnightSounds concert will play inside and outside Knight Theater. People along Levine Avenue of the Arts will watch a simultaneous telecast of Gershwin, [..] Read More

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Start spreading the news! The Charlotte Symphony will premiere a free outdoor plazacast during its KnightSounds Series concert, A Night In New York. The concert will take place on Friday and [..] Read More

by Joshua PetersFor most, live classical music is the quintessential local culture experience -- that's culture with a big "C." For children, field trips to the symphony or an orchestra concert are [..] Read More

by Ashley Mahoney What if the symphony played outside?On April 17-18 at 7:30 p.m., the Charlotte Symphony hosts its premiere free outdoor plazacast during its KnightSounds Series concert, "A Night [..] Read More

Charlotte Symphony to Present "A Night in New York," including Klezmer Music and Gershwin's Rhapsody in BlueBy Gene KavadloAs I approached my 40th season as principal clarinetist with the Charlotte [..] Read More

The clarinetist is an ambassador for klezmer, the Jewish folk music of his youth

BY LAWRENCE TOPPMANltoppman@charlotteobserver.comIt was never the job: It was the commute. Scott Allen Jarrett finally decided to stop weekly round-trips from his Boston home to guide the Oratorio [..] Read More

by Meg Freeman Whalen
It must be a bit disheartening to musical patriots that American orchestral music is still so exotic to an American orchestra that it gets a single, isolated program [..] Read More

Listen to Interview
Sir James Galway, the virtuoso flute player known as "The Man with the Golden Flute," visits Charlotte to perform a special Charlotte Symphony Orchestra event, conducted [..] Read More

The famed Irish flutist comes to Charlotte Tuesday for a one-night gig with his wife, Lady Jeanne, and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.

by Jordan Lawrence
Though active in a real sense for only about 12 years, the game-changing albums of Led Zeppelin span a wealth of styles -- from the proto-metal stomp of "Black Dog" to the [..] Read More

BY LAWRENCE TOPPMANThe hippest four minutes of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra season came Friday night at Belk Theater between 8:47 and 8:51 p.m.Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto had just [..] Read More

By Perry TannenbaumA strange chemistry pervaded Belk Theater as the Charlotte Symphony rambunctiously tore into their third Classics Seriesconcert of 2015. Music director Christopher Warren-Green, [..] Read More

As if the breezy KnightSounds concerts weren't informal enough, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra will make the next one a chairs-and-blanket affair.Folks who pay the regular $29 fee will get a [..] Read More

Grammy Award winning singer song-writer, Mary Chapin Carpenter is coming to Charlotte. Carpenter's impressive career includes an induction to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. She's also [..] Read More

Nearly every boy grows up wanting to be a Rock Star. But how many get to play the role of Robert Plant? From the iHeart Radio Studio I'm Unplugged and Totally Uncut with the man who'll perform with [..] Read More

By Lawrence ToppmanEvery arts entrepreneur in a midsized city knows the back-and-forward programming dance: Challenge the audience while reassuring it unfamiliar pieces will go down easily, import [..] Read More

By Lawrence ToppmanLast season, Lukas Vondracek wrung high drama out of Liszt's Second Piano Concerto with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. At the time, I wrote, "The mood of coiled-spring [..] Read More

By Lawrence ToppmanThe victim, crushed and broken, left Charlotte in a casket in spring 2014. People eventually forgot the familiar figure they'd seen around their workplace for four decades. But [..] Read More

Listen
Perception is often our reality but the trouble is, your perception could be wrong. A new Discovery Place exhibit makes that crystal clear. Nothing is as it seems in Illusion, which [..] Read More

By Lawrence ToppmanRoughly half the numbers in the Charlotte Symphony pops concert "A Symphonic Valentine" are about relationships that end in death, loneliness or separation possibly the influence [..] Read More

Listening to classical music isn't how I typically spend my Friday nights, but I couldn't resist an invitation to experience the Charlotte Symphony's KnightSounds. It's a more casual production [..] Read More

Video from Carolina Impact on WTVI [..] Read More

CSO's assistant conductor is helping young people see classical's cool factor
By Page LeggettAs assistant conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Roger Kalia has to be ready to take [..] Read More

By Lawrence Toppman
People who believe in reincarnation talk about old souls in young bodies and if they're right, cellist Julian Schwarz has been around a few times. He got a bachelor's [..] Read More

By Perry Tannenbaum
A Seattle legend with multiple Emmy Awards and Grammy nominations to his credit, Gerard Schwarz has also been principal conductor and musical director at the Eastern [..] Read More

This weekend the Charlotte Symphony welcomes distinguished guest conductor Gerard Schwarz to lead the orchestra in the next Classics Series concerts, which feature his son, cellist Julian Schwarz, [..] Read More

The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra's next classics performance, featuring Strauss's Don Quixote, takes place this weekend at Belk Theater.The Symphony welcomes guest conductor Gerard Schwarz and his [..] Read More

By Lawrence Toppman
Benjamin Geller ought to be fatter, older, slightly inebriated and smelling of a donkey when you meet him. After all, he's responsible for bringing earthy peasant Sancho [..] Read More

by Herbert L. White
Capathia Jenkins grew up on old school soul.
On Jan. 9-10, Jenkins and fellow vocalist Darius de Haas will salute the genre with the Charlotte Symphony at Knight [..] Read More

by John Schacht

In a week's time (Jan. 9-10), two of Broadway's finest vocalists -- Capathia Jenkins and Darius de Haas -- will join conductor Albert-George Schram and the Charlotte [..] Read More