Pierre Jalbert's "Sonatine" Sees NYC Premiere

by Ted Gordon on Dec. 5, 2017, noon

Whether he's writing for a full orchestra or a small chamber ensemble, Pierre Jalbert composes with a hallmark intensity of spirit, a forward-moving propulsion, and virtuosic precision. This trademark style is apparent in his Sonatine, for violin and guitar, which was originally composed for Duo 46, and which saw its New York City premiere on December 5th at Symphony Space, performed by guitarist David Leisner and violinist Jesse Mills.

This performance was part of a concert celebrating the tenth anniversary of Guitar Plus, for which Leisner serves as Artistic Director, and was co-sponsored by the New York City Classical Guitar Society.

For more on Jalbert's compositional style, check out his interview with NewMusicBox below. 

Adrian Knight: Performances in New York, Upcoming Long-Form Piano Composition

by Ted Gordon on Oct. 23, 2014, 2:53 p.m.

San Francisco's Mobius Trio, a classical guitar trio composed of Robert Nance, Mason Fish, and Matthew Holmes-Linder, is coming to New York to perform Adrian Knight's Bon Voyage, a work for three guitars that was composed specificaly for these players. The trio will perform this work in three venues: November 5th at Spectrum in Manhattan, November 6th at Shapeshifter Lab in Brooklyn, and November 7th at Van Dyke Park (AKA New Amsterdam Records' space in Brooklyn). Check out a video of them performing this work on some beautiful, vintage guitars: 

Also, be on the lookout for a new, long-form composition for Piano by Adrian Knight, commissioned by pioneering new music pianist R. Andrew Lee. The piece is a result of Lee's commissioning project for new works "of considerable duration" by Knight and Randy Gibson. The new work is set to be performed at the Wayward Music Series in Seattle, WA, in 2015, and will also make its way to the East coast. Lee said he was inspired by Knight's composition Unruhe, from his 2008 Ricky Bruch Album. Check it out here:   

The Living Earth Show Perform Knight, Andres on New CD

by Ted Gordon on Nov. 22, 2013, 5:31 p.m.

Adrian Knight and Timo Andres are among several composers whose works have been recently recorded by The Living Earth Show, a San Francisco-based duo of guitarist Travis Andrews and percussionist Andrew Meyerson. Their new CD, High Art, was released on Innova on November 19th, and includes Knight's "Family Man" and Andres' "You Broke It, You Bought It." Already well-reviewed by the SF Examiner and written up in the San Fransisco Classical Voice, the album is The Living Earth Show's recording debut; they have performed the works of Knight, Andres, and others across the country since 2012. Check out the video for "Family Man" below: 

Knight's works on PSNY for guitar include "Bon Voyage" (three guitars) and "Daedaldualism" (guitar, synthesizer, and electronics); other electro-acoustic works include "The Tears" (harp, live electronics) and "Vain Attempts" (piano, electronics). Andres' works on PSNY with percussion include "Crashing Through Fences" (piccolo, glockenspiel, two bass drums) and "Trade Winds" (bass clarinet, piano, percussion, string quartet).