Premieres

The Kennedy Center
Washington, DC

Alice Tully Hall
Lincoln Center
New York

Carnegie Recital Hall
New York

Queen Elizabeth Hall
London

Wigmore Hall
London

Morning Pro Musica
National Public Radio

CBC National Radio
Canada

Jordan Hall
Boston

Merkin Hall
New York

Merchant Hall
Glasgow

Biltmore Hotel
Los Angeles

Purcell Room
London



Acclaim for Funk Pearson

THE BOSTON GLOBE
"Unique..."

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
"ELASSOMORPH... folksy, jazzy, breezy, even bluesy at times, provided a welcome leavening moment dring the corse of this enjoyable evening."

FANFARE
"Not since... 1964 has a newcomer from the acoustic guitar camp set me so dramatically back on my heels. He is an astonishing musician and this is an astonishing debut, or anything else."

Guitar International Magazine
"There in fact is some of the most original and entertaining guitar music to have emerged in a long time..."

HIGH FIDELITY
"This music is smart, understated, and offered without pretense; it clears the head and quiets the soul."

THE L.A. TIMES
"energy... genial... metrically bent... cool... jazzy... pleasing... non-stop action."

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
"FOUR STARS. A solo guitarist with a feeling for whimsy and wry reverie... jazzy ebulience... and a sensitive, sensual originality... with a classical bent."

STEREO REVIEW
"...the album reveals Funk Pearson to be an unusually inventive performer as well as a composer of a sophisticated hybrid of classical and popular music. An impressive bow."

THE TIMES, London
"Funk Pearson shows no fear of intricate counterpoint or new effects...an impressive command a composer of rare sympathy... (whose works)... would be a valuable addition to any virtuoso’s repertoire." Read the full review below.

THE WOODSTOCK TIMES
"Among composers he reminded me of Satie, Django Reinhardt, John Williams, Thelonius Monk... The music impels you; it is continually surprising and always right..."

THE TIMES, LONDON (complete text of the review follows)

"The guitarist Stephen Funk Pearson had no problems with the nature of his instrument. He chose an attractive programme and played it in a relaxed and confident manner with an impressive command of tone colours. Two of his own works, 'Four Skaals' and 'Waftures', despite their off-beat titles, showed him to be a composer of rare sympathy for an instrument that is difficult to write for in a language that is both contemporary and idiomatic. Both of these cycles in which Funk Pearson shows no fear of intricate counterpoint or new effects would be valuable additions to any virtuoso's repertoire.

Otherwise there were pieces by Sor and Ponce, salon music tinged with an Hispanic roughness, and an elegant suite by Buxtehude which included a touching Sarabande. Another Sarabande, that of Poulenc, was neat and pretty and pretended to be no more, while Funk Pearson's transcription of Ravel's 'Pavane pour une Infante Defunte' reflected with breathtaking vividness the orchestral colours of the original."




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