Jan Vogler and the Knights: Experience Live from New York

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For two nights in October 2008, The New York club, Le Poisson Rouge rocked to the sounds of Shostakovich and Jimi Hendrix and the result is a live recording of a stunning collaboration that takes Jan Vogler’s trademark “singing-playing” style to new heights. Vogler abandons a typical classical orchestra and teams up with the cutting-edge New York ensemble The Knights. The CD's repertoire centers on the music of Russia's Dmitri Shostakovich – from his Cello Concerto No. 1 to the catchy waltzes he wrote for film scores and jazz suites – but it ends with a surprising take on Jimi Hendrix’s “Machine Gun.”

Since Jan dedicated himself to his instrument, he has constantly been working on expanding the spectrum of his cello sound and refines his musical language in an enduring dialogue with renowned contamporary composers and interpreters – with passion and the required dose of risk. The New York Times admires Jan Vogler’s “lyrical intuition”, the Gramophone Magazine praises his “spiralling virtuosity” and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung certified him the talent to be able to “let his cello speak like a singing voice”. “From Screaming to singing – Jan Vogler and his cello” was the title of a 2004 Strad issue. In October 2006, Jan Vogler received the European Award for Culture.

The Knights are a group of young musicians from various backgrounds who combine to create a new sense of musical exploration. The New York-based ensemble tries to to expand the concept of the orchestra and what it can do. Through creative programming and a strong sense of fellowship for what they're doing, The Knights create a sense of intimacy and immediacy, generally only achieve by smaller groups. Each individual player helps shape, distill, develop, and amalgamate the overall sound of the ensemble. The sense of honesty, affection and conviction present in their rehearsals translates into an amazing amount of energy, impulsiveness and ecstasy in each performance.

"You had the feeling of being with musicians, not just observing them…" - New York Times

The new Sony Classical recording, Experience: Live from New York, is scheduled for release on June 2, 2009.

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