| Mucony.com is a new website where you can download half-hour videos of private lessons and keep them for a month, for only $5 each. David has four lessons on the site so far. One is about getting rid of physical tensions, called "Playing with Ease", there is one long lesson split into two videos on Fernando Sor's Introduction and Variations on a Theme by Mozart, op. 9, and a lesson on the Villa-Lobos Prelude No. 1. To see a sample video and to log in, please click here. _________________________________________________________________________ Two new recordings are scheduled to be released very soon. David's concert DVD for the Mel Bay Co., Classics and Discoveries, will be out in early May. And Azica Records will release David's new solo CD in the summer. The album's title is Wenzeslaus Matiegka: the Beethoven of the Guitar. David plans to introduce the unjustly neglected music of Matiegka (1773-1830) to the general public, much as he did for Johann Kaspar Mertz almost 30 years ago. _________________________________________________________________________ Excerpts from the Guitar Review triple review by Ian Gallagher of Leisner's Naxos recording of the Hovhaness Guitar Concerto, the Cavatina Duo's recording, Acrobats, of Leisner's complete flute and guitar compositions, and Self-Portrait, Azica's release of Leisner playing Leisner: "For David Leisner, the past year has been an efflorescence that few composer-guitarists ever achieve. Compositionally, pedagogically, and performance-wise, Leisner's career is more impressive than ever... [In the Guitar Concerto, op. 325], Leisner's tone and phrasing are perfectly fitted to the lush dreamscape of Hovhaness's music, especially salient in scale passages and shifting chords...Mr. Schwarz's interpretation never surrenders to being a concerto more than a piece of music, and Leisner's performance illustrates his support of this approach...Hovhaness's concerto is one of the guitar's best... [Re: Acrobats] Leisner balances clarity with creativity, something that is admirable. Leisner's originality here is subtle and hidden, like gargoyles on top of medieval churches... [Re: Self-Portrait] The emotions of Leisner's solo works are dizzying. Here, Leisner exudes creativity and expression at every moment, and each piece has an almost improvisatory quality that sounds like music, not "composition." Nel Mezzo: Sonata is a brilliant chromatic exploration. The middle movement, Lamento, is six and a half minutes of tension building that hooks the ear to its beautiful and surprising dissonances. On Four Pieces Leisner strums with such intensity that I can't believe his nails are intact... Leisner performs this music with the vigor of Glenn Gould playing a Brahms Ballade. Every piece on here is inventive and refreshing, pushing the expressive envelope, while keeping harmony and rhythm accessible but never boring. Most importantly, SP never sounds like you've heard it before: a must have for guitar lovers and players alike." For more info, see Recordings. ________________________________________________________________________ Review of the new Cedille album, Acrobats from Pan, the flute magazine by Michael Copley: "I must admit that I felt rather wary of having to review a recording devoted entirely to the music of a contemporary composer of whom I knew nothing. American David Leisner is both a composer and a guitarist. Acrobats, a recording of his music made by the Cavatina Duo of Eugenia Moliner on flute and guitarist Denis Azabagic, turned out to be a surprising and considerable pleasure. Leisner writes intelligent, varied and often very beautiful music, basically tonal in style and often highly programmatic by nature, with a hard edge fleetingly reminiscent of Piazzolla and a lyricism worthy of Poulenc. It is music ideally suited to the considerable talents of the Cavatina Duo. Eugenia Moliner is an excellent, exciting and imaginative flute player, totally in control of the sometimes ferocious technical demands of the scores and Denis Azabagic plays with both great virtuosity and considerable sensitivity. The Duo is joined by a cellist for one of the compositions and a clarinetist for another. A truly enjoyable and thought-provoking recital. Strongly recommended." More details/Buy this CD _______________________________________________________________________ iTunes now has David's Azica CD of The Complete Solo Guitar Works of Villa-Lobos. Click here, and "search iTunes store" for David Leisner. _________________________________________________________________________ David Leisner has now joined MySpace Music. A couple of clips from his new album are there. Check it out. Website content © David Leisner 2008. All rights reserved. |
What's New
| The performers at the March 1 Tribute to Julian Bream concert at the 92nd St. Y in New York. Left to right: David Tanenbaum, Bill Kanengiser, David Leisner, Ben Verdery, Scott Tennant, Fred Hand |
| david leisner guitarist and composer |
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