“In almost any other city, an entire cultural center would be built around The Knights, the orchestra founded by brothers Colin and Eric Jacobsen in the late 90s, such is the excellence and commitment they bring to their performances. But perhaps part of their artistic success lies in their flexibility, with players free to pursue other interests outside of The Knights, returning newly invigorated when called upon for a show.”
—AnEarful
Read More“For ‘Ears of the Book,’ a concerto premiered by The Knights and pipa virtuoso Wu Man last month at Carnegie Hall, Du Yun says she wasn’t inspired by the music of Gershwin itself, but—similarly to ‘Rhapsody in Blue’—the work does move in a series of polaroids, capturing ephemeral moments in time…Another entry in The Knights’s ‘Rhapsody’ project comes courtesy of walking rhapsody Chris Thile. Like Gershwin, he has crafted a piece that is somewhat undefinable.”
—Van Magazine
Read More“Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin (in the composer’s 1919 orchestral arrangement) fluttered and twirled like Disney butterflies on the Zankel Hall stage at Carnegie Hall.”
—BachTrack
Read More“At times it made me feel physically uncomfortable - but in a good way, feeling the presence of a massively imaginative spirit finding expression through a collective of smart, game realizers who embody the best of creative 21st-century performance synthesis.”
—BlogCritics
Read More“Deftly mixing everything from the Baroque, to the Classical and contemporary, the program for a concert by The Knights often reads like the roster of an All-star team—with players from different sports.”
—CANNOPY
Read More“This recording is no awkward collision of two genres, but rather an organic, unselfconscious fusion. It combines the lushness of an orchestra with a distinctly American vibe and swagger. The New York-based Knights, Diehl, and their musical guests exchange phrases and themes seamlessly.”
—WQXR
Read More“Pipa virtuoso Wu Man joins the genre-defying orchestral collective, The Knights, and conductor Eric Jacobsen at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall for the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Du Yun's Ears of the Book, a new concerto for pipa and orchestra.”
— Broadway World
Read More“The nimble orchestra, which skips around time periods and genres as if such categories were an abstraction, joins pipa player Wu Man and singers Magos Herrera and Christina Courtin for a wildly diverse program that flings itself from Ravel to Bob Dylan and Chico Buarque.”
— Vulture
Read More“The chamber orchestra edition of Mary Lou Williams’s “Zodiac Suite” receives marvelous new life here. The Knights revel in textures flowing from her appreciation of Hindemith…”
— New York Times
Read More“A Tempo host Rachel Katz this week chats with co-founders and artistic directors Eric and Colin Jacobsen about the [Rhapsody] initiative and the variety of composers and artists participating.”
— WWFM, The Classical Network
Read More“The Knights are a force to be reckoned with themselves, bringing a youthful dynamism to the sometimes-staid world of classical music.”
— Nippertown
Read More“Eric Jacobsen, the Knights’ conductor and Colin’s brother, led the group in a well-balanced, propulsive accompaniment.”
— Bachtrack
Read More“The performances are part of the ensemble’s multi-year Rhapsody commissioning project, inspired by the 2024 centennial of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, involving commissions, performances, recordings and educational initiatives.”
— Forbes
Read More“These performances are part of the ensemble’s three-year Rhapsody commissioning project — inspired by the upcoming 2024 centennial of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue — which involves commissions, performances, recordings, and educational initiatives.”
— The Violin Channel
Read More“A jazz-classical portrait of the 12 star signs, the American jazz great’s suite finds its ideal realisation in Diehl and co’s lovingly performed rendition.”
— The Guardian
Read More“First performed in 1945, the 12-part work elegantly blends classical music and jazz, and receives an excellent, overdue studio recording by the contemporary pianist and orchestra.”
— The Wall Street Journal
Read More…On the new Mack Avenue recording, [Aaron Diehl]’s joined not by the Philharmonic, but by the adventurous chamber orchestra the Knights, which is staffed by some of the brightest younger players on the classical scene."
— The New York Times
Read More“The program was distinguished and the playing spirited, casting the concert as a memorable addition to this summer’s classical circuit.”
— The New Criterion
Read More“This fitting cap to a festival expressed a forward vision for music that encompassed the human story―its trials and triumphs through great music of the past and new music of the future, much of it with a distinctively American expressive voice.”
— The Boston Musical Intelligencer
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