Live Log 2024: Return To Zankel Hall
“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
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A "Rhapsody in Blue" Remix Playlist
“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
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The Knights on the eve of war at Carnegie Hall
“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
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Concert Review: The Knights - Music from and Inspired by the Weimar Republic, and a Du Yun World Premiere for Pipa and Orchestra
“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
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Hubs & Huddles - The Knights
“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
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WQXR: Have You Heard | "Zodiac Suite"
“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
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Wu Man To Premiere Du Yun's New Concerto For Pipa At Zankel Hall in February
“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
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23 Classical-Music Performances We Can’t Wait to Hear in 2024
“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
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Best Classical Music Albums of 2023
“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
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Zodiac Suite Named one of The Best Jazz Albums of 2023
“It’s a bundle of joy, swing, and surprise.”
— Slate
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Ensemble Celebrates Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody’ with New Commissions
“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
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Concert Review: The Knights with Chris Thile @ Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
“The Knights are a force to be reckoned with themselves, bringing a youthful dynamism to the sometimes-staid world of classical music.”
— Nippertown
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Chris Thile and The Knights charm Zankel Hall
“Eric Jacobsen, the Knights’ conductor and Colin’s brother, led the group in a well-balanced, propulsive accompaniment.”
— Bachtrack
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The Knights Kicks Off Carnegie Hall Series
“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
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The Knights Orchestra Begins its Carnegie Hall Residency
“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
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★★★★: Aaron Diehl & The Knights: Zodiac Suite review – Mary Lou Williams’s joyous 1945 work takes flight
“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
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'Zodiac Suite' by Aaron Diehl and The Knights Review: Reviving Mary Lou Williams' Little-Known Masterpiece
“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
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Jazz and Classical Met in the 1940s, and We’re Still Catching Up
…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
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The Knights Under the Stars
“The program was distinguished and the playing spirited, casting the concert as a memorable addition to this summer’s classical circuit.”
— The New Criterion
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The Knights Close Festival in Grand Style
“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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