David Leisner

Cathalena Burch of the Arizona Daily Star raved about this recent duo recital: “The Tucson Desert Song Festival kicked off its second weekend with arguably its most interesting song recital: the vocal guitar duo of tenor Rufus Müller and guitarist David Leisner..When Leisner plucked the strings, his fingers dancing over the frets with balletic grace, he sucked you into another dimension. The man has some mad skills, but not the…

Tough critic, Eduard Laurel wrote in his recent CrackCritic blog that the Guitar Plus concert of tenor Rufus Müller and David Leisner last year was “the most moving and memorable recital of the season”.  For the full review: http://crackcritic.blogspot.com/2014/10/david-leisner-supreme-guitartist.html

In the October issue of Stereophile magazine, reviewer John Marks raves about David Leisner’s Hovhaness Concerto and solo Favorites recordings:  “The playing is beyond superb…Leisner’s transcription of the Ciaccona is sublime, and he plays it with reverence for its structure and depth. Most highly recommended, and a candidate for a ‘Record to Die For.’” He also mentions that “David Leisner is not only an accomplished soloist; he is an important composer.”

Theodore Presser Co. has released two new works by David Leisner:  Twilight Streams for cello and guitar, and A Timeless Procession for baritone and string quartet.  Twilight Streams is a meditation on light and dark, fullness and emptiness, in five movements, just recorded by Zuill Bailey and David Leisner for their upcoming CD on Azica.  The text for A Timeless Procession is a poem by the little-known mid-20th-century American poet,…

David just finished recording a new CD for Azica with the acclaimed cellist Zuill Bailey. The album, with music by Schubert, Falla, Leisner, Villa-Lobos, Gluck, Saint-Saëns and Paganini, is scheduled for release in October, 2015.

Theodore Presser Co. has just released David composition from the 1990’s, On Jazz Terrain for flute, clarinet, saxophone and piano. Score and parts available from www.presser.com. Live YouTube videos of each movement can be found on the composition videos page.

Theodore Presser Co. continues to release a number of Leisner compositions. Most recent are: Embrace of Peace for full orchestra (rental), Das Wunderbare Wesen for baritone and cello, Labyrinths II for solo piano, and Disturbed, A Lullaby for solo guitar. At the premiere of Embrace of Peace, the Westport News (CT) reported that it is “a rich tone poem, striving, passionate, hopeful. It reflects brilliant intellect in combination with brilliant…