CSO opens 85th season with Mahler’s Symphony No. 1

The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera will open its 85th season tonight, Sept. 28, with Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 at the Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St.

The performance will begin with Benjamin Britten’s “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra,” in which each section of instruments gets its moment in the spotlight.

Guest cellist Benjamin Karp, from the University of Kentucky, will be featured in Tan Dunn’s “Crouching Tiger Con- certo for Cello.” The concert work is based on Tan’s Oscar-winning score for Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning f ilm, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

Karp is a music professor and director of chamber music at the UK School of Music, as well as principal cellist with the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra.

He has performed on four continents, including appearances as soloist with the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra in China and the Espirito Santo Philharmonic in Brazil.

He is a widely known chamber musician, appearing at festivals throughout the United States. For six years, he was cellist of the New College String Quartet and principal cellist of the Florida West Coast Symphony. He has recorded for Telarc, Gasparo, Arabesque, CRI, BMG, Centaur and Sony Legacy labels.

The concert culminates with the performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, also known as “The Tit a n.” The four- movement work is written for a large symphony — and with nearly 100 musicians onstage “Titan” certainly applies to this performance.

Tickets start at $21. For more information: 423-2678583.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Cellist Benjamin Karp will be the featured soloist with the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera tonight.