GARTH KNOX - PRESS QUOTES

“This is as vibrant, as colourful, as entertaining a disc as you’ll ever hear…”

CD: Saltarello - The Arts Desk, 12 April 2012

"The viola is emerging from the shadows:Garth Knox's utterly original recital combines its dusky tones in new music – by Kaija Saariaho (with electronics) and Knox himself (a flash of moody Piazzolla) – with music for the larger viola d'amore and medieval fiddle. The repertory swirls across the centuries: eloquent, pared down arrangements of Dowland and Purcell songs for viola d'amore and cello, and a complete Vivaldi concerto reduced to its bare outline rub shoulders with vigorous folk dances and a flowing transition from Hildegard of Bingen to Machaut 200 years later, all unified by Knox's clear-sighted vision and superb, earthy playing."

CD: Saltarello - The Guardian, Nick Kenyon, 25 March 2012

"If I thought six pieces of new music in one concert was impressive, Garth Knox clearly felt himself up to the challenge by playing seven, albeit none of them premieres, in this ecat (Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust) concert. He faced, perhaps, a bigger challenge as one might not necessarily imagine the viola could sustain a whole concert, certainly I had my doubts. Such concerns were unfounded and Knox quickly erased them."

Garth Knox's recital of modern viola music - Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust, Monday, 23 March 2009 by Tam Pollard

"Though Bach, Mozart, Dvorak, Schoenberg and Britten all played it, the viola remains widely regarded as the Cinderella of the strings, its versatility unacknowledged, its beauty concealed. But a surge of fine modern violists, with Garth Knox in the vanguard, have been championing it, and here was the man himself with a recital for Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust that exhilaratingly liberated every timbre, note or noise his instrument could produce."

Queen's Hall, Edinburgh - Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust, 24 March 2009 by Conrad Wilson

"Garth Knox applies magic to viola d'amore and viola works for Cleveland Museum of Arts Viva! & Gala Around Town series...Moments before Garth Knox was about to play a work of his own creation titled "Misfortune strikes me," it did. A string on his viola d'amore snapped, prompting the Irish-born musician to reorder the program and perform one of his other pieces on modern viola."

Cleveland.com, 09 November 2009 by Donald Rosenberg, the Plain Dealer

"Der vormalige Bratscher des Arditti-Qartetts, Garth Knox, hat sich der Viola d'amore verschrieben. Auf seinem jüngsten Album kombiniert er zeitgenössische Musik mit Originalkompositionen."

CD: Garth Knox and Agnès Vesrerman: d’Amore - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 22 April 2008 by Martin Wilkening

"Som dere alle observerer har dette stykket nå nådd et punkt hvor følelsene så og si er sluppet helt fri. Musikerene følger ikke lenger et strengt partitur eller komponistens plan, men uttrykker seg selv. De er bedt om å utføre diverse katharsiske handlinger og er mer opptatt av egen sjelelig rensing enn av konvensjonell musikalsk struktur”, var eitt av mange innspel frå Trond Reinholdtsen i hans nye verk. ”Music as Emotion” er eit stykke med trøkk, meiner Ida Habbestad i denne meldinga."

*Kammerkonsertar med Garth Knox og Plus Minus - Ballade, Bergen, 20 March 2007 by Ida Habbestad *

"Lumineuse idée que d’avoir invité le presque légendaire Garth Knox – ancien alto de l’Intercontemporain de 1983 à 1990, puis du non moins zénithal quatuor Arditti jusqu’en 1997 – pour la deuxième soirée du quatorzième cycle Syntax à l’auditorium John Cage de Perpignan. L’homme impressionne par un mélange de candeur enfantine et d’aisance, un regard espiègle de jeune homme de 50 ans et un pedigree musical impressionnant."

Garth Knox à l'auditorium John Cage, Perpignan L'homme des hautes altitudes - Resmusica , 29 March 2006 by Silver Berg

"In his inviting and personable manner, well-matched to the relaxed mood of the Hugh Lane, viola - player and former member of the Arditti String Quartet Garth Knox announced a simple plan and, partnered by cellist Agnès Vesterman, turned it into a most satisfying concert."

Knox, Vesterman, Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin - The Irish Times, 17 October 2006 by Michael Dungan

"These hour-long concerts, supported by Dublin City Council and the Arts Council, are free to the public and would make one feel proud to be a citizen of Dublin. The recital was given by Scottish viola maestro Garth Knox and French cellist Agnès Vesterman, professors of music, in Spain and Italy, respectively."

Knox, Vesterman, Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin - The Sunday Business Post, 22 October 2006 by Dick Riordan

"Propice à décourager les entreprises discographiques, tant par la multiplicité des effectifs qu'il requiert que par sa délicatesse d'éxécution, le cycle composé par Gérard Grisey entre 1976 et 1985 était resté longtemps sans édition intégrale. Celle parue chez Accord pouvait d'emblée être considérée comme une référence."

CD: Gerard Grisey, Les Espaces Acoustiques (Diapason d’Or) - Diapason, June 2005 by Pierre Rigaudière

"En contados instantes, el espacio blanco, liso, triangular y recortado por tres viejas columnas de hierro está totalmente repleto de jóvenes y por un puñado de edad intermedia y algunos mayores. El clima del lugar es distendido y todo es espontáneo. Las sillas en forma de platea están agotadas, se acercan otras, se suman banquetas, almohadones y al mismo tiempo se palpa un clima de amistad, confianza y de unidad espiritual."

*Brillante actuación de Garth Knox - La Nación, Domingo 27 noviembre 2005 by Juan Carlos Montero *

*"Estreno de la ópera «Fábula», con música de Oscar Strasnoy sobre un libereto de Alejandro Tantanián y un esquema dramatúrgico de Renate Ackermann. Compuesta para el contratenor Daniel Gloger y Garth Knox, en viola d´amore. Decorados y vestuario: Genevieve Périat. Cantado en castellano, salvo una escena en idish (traducción de Meilach Glocer. En la Sala Martín Casacuberta del Teatro San Martín."

«Fábula»: el amor y la imaginación - La Nación, Domingo 27 noviembre 2005 by Héctor Coda