“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
Read More“Jacobsen looks back warmly on the experience of making the work together. Getting to work on a piece with the person who wrote it, who is in the room as the musicians learn and experience the music for the first time, is an amazing gift, he said — a process that can be precise, fine-tuned and improvisational all at once.”
— By the Way Berkshires
Read More“So when they’re joined by an audience, the musicians on stage will listen and adjust. And those audiences will know that they were not only there for the birth of, but a part of the growth of, an exciting new work.”
— The Berkshire Eagle
Read More“In the festival ‘Archive of Desire,’ artists and musicians thoughtfully engage with the writing of Constantine P. Cavafy, a self-assessed ‘ultramodern poet.’”
— The New York Times
Read More“The Knights consistently put on some of the most interesting classical concerts in New York.”
— Bach Track
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