The sold-out 2026 edition of Knoxville’s beloved Big Ears Festival is around the corner, running March 26-29. Throughout the long weekend, Wise Music titles cherished and new will grace the stages of one of the world’s most adventurous music festivals.
The festival culminates with the US Premiere of Non Fiction, a new piano concerto by Hania Rani, performed by the composer with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. This audacious, four-movement concerto is based on the sketches of Josima Feldschuh, a 20th-century child prodigy from Poland who was tragically killed during the Holocaust. Non Fiction was released on Decca Records US in 2025.
Rani also presents her solo project Chilling Bambino in a new venue repurposed from a bus station. Fusing analog synthesizers, amplified piano, and striking lighting design, Chilling Bambino represents a new chapter of her artistry. Read more about Hania Rani in a recent New York Times profile.
Hania Rani: Tiny Desk Concert
Opening the festival is a performance of Femenine, a 1974 American masterpiece by Julius Eastman, performed by the Los Angeles-based ensemble Wild Up. One of the great champions of Eastman’s music over the past several years, Wild Up’s 2021 recording of Femenine was widely celebrated in the press and led to a new performance edition of the piece edited by featured soloist richard valitutto.
Other highlights include Adam Tendler’s Inheritances, featuring solo piano works by Missy Mazzoli and Sarah Kirkland Snider; Tyshawn Sorey performing duets with Roscoe Mitchell and Ryan Clackner; and the JACK Quartet performing the music of John Luther Adams.
