Oct. 24: Carnegie Hall Presents The Knights with Pianist Aaron Diehl in World Premieres by Keith Jarrett and Michael Schachter

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Carnegie Hall Presents The Knights with Pianist Aaron Diehl
Thursday, October 24, 2024 at 7:30pm at Zankel Hall

Diehl Featured in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and the World Premiere
of Book of Ways Suite by Keith Jarrett, both Arranged by Michael P. Atkinson

World Premiere Rhapsody, Being and Becoming, by Michael Schachter
with Diehl as Soloist

Plus, Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony

“one of Brooklyn’s sterling cultural products… known far beyond
the borough for their relaxed virtuosity and expansive repertory…” 
–The New Yorker 

theknightsnyc.com
 

New York, NY (September 30, 2024) – On Thursday, October 24, 2024 at 7:30pm at Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall presents intrepid chamber orchestra The Knights with pianist Aaron Diehl in a continuation of The Knights’ multi-year Rhapsody commissioning project, inspired by the centennial of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. In this program, pianist and master improviser Aaron Diehl joins The Knights, conducted by Eric Jacobsen, in a world premiere by Michael Schachter, a suite of music by Keith Jarrett, newly arranged by Michael P. Atkinson, and the original rhapsodic Gershwin masterpiece, also arranged for chamber orchestra by Michael P. Atkinson. The orchestra also treats audiences to Beethoven’s exhilarating Fourth Symphony.

A suite of music by Keith Jarrett, in a world premiere arrangement by Michael P. Atkinson features Aaron Diehl on harpsichord: the Suite from Book of Ways. Keith Jarrett, American pianist, composer, and improviser, is well known across the globe through an extensive recording catalog spanning nearly 50 years and over 100 albums. Book of Ways was recorded for ECM on the 14th of July 1986 in Ludwigsburg, Germany. Jarrett reflected on the process: “We had three clavichords in the studio, two of which were angled together so that I could play them both simultaneously, and the third off to the side. Also we miked the instruments very closely so that the full range of dynamics could be used (clavichords are very quiet and cannot be heard more than a few feet away)... No material was organized beforehand. Everything was spontaneous. The recording was done in four hours.” The result is an impressive series of 19 separate improvisations totaling 100 minutes. Jarrett takes the Clavichords through a vast range of styles, ranging from Neo-Baroque to the avant-garde.

An evening highlight is the world premiere of Michael Schachter’s Being and Becoming, a Rhapsody work co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall. The title Being and Becoming refers not only to the kaleidoscopic form of the rhapsody, but more broadly to the inescapable interplay between presence and transience. Schachter states that “In a sense, each of us is a collective—a partnership of particles and spirit, held together in that dynamic combination of consistency and change that we call the self, experiencing an impulsive, episodic assortment of infinite present moments, until we eventually dissipate and return to the source.”

Schachter’s rhapsody set out not to create a pastiche of Gershwin’s New York, but rather to take the context of his rhapsodic project as impetus to reckon with the here and now. Through those priorities and more, the piece comes to life as a proper, old-school rhapsody, an extension of a through-line from Liszt through Bartók and Gershwin to the Beatles, Queen, and Radiohead: a single-movement work, tuneful and vernacular, moving more by the hot thrill of impulse than the cool logic of austere design. Across the escalation of themes and grooves, the piano and orchestra examine what it means to make acoustic music—vibrations, bodies, resonance, in a space together—in the digital age, with the rise of social media and short form “content” evoking a pendulum swing back to the variety show of the vaudeville/silent era.

Rounding out the program will be Ludwig van Beethoven's inventive and effervescent Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 60. After writing the Eroica, his Third Symphony, Beethoven did not complete a new symphony for almost three years. In summer 1806, Beethoven was commissioned by Count Franz von Oppersdorff to write a work in his earlier pre-Eroica style. This piece was chosen to be paired with the rest of the works in the program due to the complimentary instrumental forces that work together to create cohesion.

The Knights multi-year Rhapsody commissioning project, inspired by the Rhapsody in Blue centennial, invites a wide array of today’s most visionary composers to create an original rhapsody, which artistic directors Colin and Eric Jacobsen describe as “one of the most ecstatically joyful expressions of art ... [a] combination of virtuosity, improvisation, and unfettered imagination.” Future Rhapsody commissions this season include Allison Loggins-Hull's world premiere Rhapsody with Alex Sopp as flute soloist at the Peoples' Symphony Concerts performance on December 8th and Christina Courtin's World Premiere Rhapsody on May 15th at Carnegie Hall.

The program also features an arrangement by Knights member Michael P. Atkinson of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, featuring Diehl as soloist.

Program Information
Thursday, October 24, 2024 at 7:30pm
The Knights at Carnegie Hall with Aaron Diehl
Zankel Hall Carnegie Hall | New York, NY
Tickets: Start at $74, through CarnegieCharge (212) 247-7800, carnegiehall.org, or at the Box Office on 57th Street and Seventh Avenue.
Link: www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2024/10/24/The-Knights-0730PM

Program:
Keith Jarrett (arr. Michael P. Atkinson) – Suite from Book of Ways [WORLD PREMIERE]
     Aaron Diehl, harpsichord
Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major, Op. 60
Michael Schachter – New Work / Rhapsody [WORLD PREMIERE, co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall]
     Aaron Diehl, piano
George Gershwin (arr. Michael P. Atkinson) – Rhapsody in Blue
     Aaron Diehl, piano

The Knights
     Colin Jacobsen, Artistic Director and Violin
     Eric Jacobsen, Artistic Director and Conductor
     Aaron Diehl, Piano and Harpsichord

About Aaron Diehl
Pianist Aaron Diehl has quietly re-defined the lines between jazz and classical, and built a global career around his nuanced, understated approach to music-making. Praised for his “melodic precision, harmonic erudition, and elegant restraint” (The New York Times), and his “traditional jazz sound with a sophisticated contemporary spin” (The Guardian), Diehl has performed with musical giants such as Wynton Marsalis, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Tyshawn Sorey, and Philip Glass, and has been a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Cleveland Orchestra, working with conductors like Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Marin Alsop, and Alan Gilbert. In 2023, Diehl was named as the Artistic Director of 92NY’s Jazz in July Festival, succeeding the legendary Bill Charlap. 

With an expansive, orchestral, lyrical approach to the piano that channels predecessors like Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner, Art Tatum and Jelly Roll Morton, Diehl has headlined the Monterey, Detroit, and Newport Jazz Festivals, and had residencies at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Village Vanguard, SF Jazz, and many more. He counts among his mentors towering figures such as John Lewis, Kenny Barron, Fred Hersch, Marcus Roberts, and Eric Reed.

In September 2023, Diehl released his Grammy-nominated recording of Mary Lou Williams’s Zodiac Suite with The Knights, a Brooklyn-based orchestral collective led by conductor Eric Jacobsen. As the first-ever studio recording of Zodiac Suite, it has been touted as “a joyous, enchanting creation… a triumph” (The Guardian) with Diehl lauded as “a contemporary champion” (The New York Times) and “a perfect choice to preside over this landmark recording” (The Wall Street Journal). The album is Diehl’s fourth recording on Mack Avenue Records, following 2020’s The Vagabond, 2015’s Space Time Continuum, and his 2013 label debut, The Bespoke Man’s Narrative. 

Diehl was born in Columbus, Ohio, where he grew up listening to his grandfather, pianist and trombonist Arthur Baskerville. In 2002, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington competition, where he placed as a finalist, Diehl attracted the attention of Wynton Marsalis, who invited him to join his septet for a European tour. After studying at Julliard under the direction of Kenny Barron, Eric Reed and Oxana Yablonskaya, Diehl was awarded the 2011 American Pianists Association’s Cole Porter Fellowship. Diehl, who holds commercial single and multi-engine pilot certifications, inherited a lifelong love of flying from his father who was himself an avid pilot. Diehl has been a Steinway Artist since 2016.

About The Knights
The Knights are a collective of adventurous musicians dedicated to transforming the orchestral experience and eliminating barriers between audiences and music. Driven by an open-minded spirit of camaraderie and exploration, they inspire listeners with vibrant programs rooted in the classical tradition and passion for artistic discovery. The Knights evolved from late-night chamber music reading parties with friends at the home of violinist Colin Jacobsen and cellist Eric Jacobsen. The Jacobsen brothers together serve as Artistic Directors of The Knights, with Eric Jacobsen as Conductor.

Proud to be known as “one of Brooklyn's sterling cultural products... known far beyond the borough for their relaxed virtuosity and expansive repertory” (The New Yorker), the orchestra has toured extensively across the United States and Europe since their founding in 2007. The Knights are celebrated globally, appearing across the world’s most prestigious stages, including those at Tanglewood Music Center, Ravinia Music Festival, the Kennedy Center, the Vienna Musikverein, and Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie. The orchestra has collaborated with many renowned soloists including Yo-Yo Ma, Dawn Upshaw, Béla Fleck, and Gil Shaham.
 
In the 2024-25 season at Carnegie Hall, The Knights will be joined by esteemed musicians such as Aaron Diehl, Aoife O’Donovan, Reena Esmail, and Cécile Mclorin Salvant. The group also continues its premieres of new works for the Rhapsody project, a multi-year commissioning initiative inspired by the 2024 centennial of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. For the latest on our season and a complete list of artistic partners and collaborative projects, please visit our website: https://theknightsnyc.com/.

About Colin Jacobsen
Violinist and composer Colin Jacobsen is “one of the most interesting figures on the classical music scene” (The Washington Post). Since the early 2000's, Jacobsen has forged an intriguing path in the cultural landscape of our time, collaborating with an astonishingly wide range of artists across diverse traditions and disciplines while constantly looking for new ways to connect with audiences.

For his work as a founding member of two innovative and influential ensembles – the string quartet Brooklyn Rider and orchestra The Knights – Jacobsen was selected from among the nation’s top visual, performing, media, and literary artists to receive a prestigious and substantial United States Artists Fellowship. He is also active as an Avery Fisher Career Grant-winning soloist and has toured with Silkroad since its founding by cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 2000 at Tanglewood. 

As a composer he has written pieces for an eclectic mix of artists including pianist Emanuel Ax, singers Anne-Sofie Von Otter and Jamie Barton, banjo player Bela Fleck, mandolinist Avi Avital, clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, choreographers John Heginbotham and Brian Brooks, theater group Compagnia de' Colombari and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. Starting in the 2022/23 season, Jacobsen assumed the position of Artistic Director of Santa Fe Pro Musica, an organization with which he has had a fruitful long term association as a guest soloist and leader.

About Eric Jacobsen
Already well-established as one of classical music’s most exciting and innovative conductors, Eric Jacobsen combines fresh interpretations of the traditional canon with cutting-edge collaborations across musical genres. Hailed by The New York Times as “an interpretive dynamo,” Eric, as both a conductor and a cellist, has built a reputation for engaging audiences with creative and collaborative programming.

Eric is artistic director and co-founder of The Knights, the uniquely adventurous NYC-based chamber orchestra. The ensemble, founded with his brother, violinist Colin Jacobsen, grew out of late-night music reading parties with friends, good food and drink, and conversation. Current projects include a multi-year Rhapsody project as well as a residency at Carnegie Hall.
Eric also currently serves as Music Director of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, as he continues to pioneer both orchestras’ programming and community engagement in new and exciting directions.

A frequent guest conductor, Eric has established continuing relationships with the Colorado Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Oregon Bach Festival, and the Dresden Musikfestspiele. Recent engagements also include concerts with the Omaha Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, and Grant Park Festival.

Eric brings joy, storytelling, and a touch of humor to what he describes as “musical conversations” that delight audiences around the world, including those who do not traditionally attend classical music concerts. Jacobsen is married to Grammy-Winner singer-songwriter Aoife O’Donovan and together they have a daughter.

*Photography credit: Shervin Lainez

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