Approval Matrix
from Thursday, April1st of the year2010.
Nico Muhly and Thomas Bartlett’s gay-straight back-to-back dueling-twee-piano shtick at the Kitchen.
Roundhouse Reverb Festival
from Wednesday, January27th of the year2010.
Critics spend their lives throwing around adjectives after concerts, usually in the nature of good, bad or indifferent; and in my case, thrilling is a word that doesn’t surface too often in the vocab. But it did on Sunday at the Roundhouse. Three decades on from its glory days as a centre for cutting-edge contemporary [...]
The Reader Soundtrack
from Monday, November9th of the year2009.
This is one of those scores where the devil is in the detail, where the little instrumental touches and clever combinations are more appealing than the swooning themes.
Chamber, Indie Rock and Much in Between
from Friday, September11th of the year2009.
Mr. Muhly’s appealing instrumental compositions drew on Philip Glass’s harmonic stasis and the rhythmic vitality of Stravinsky and Ligeti, mixed with a flair for electronic counterpoint that was all Mr. Muhly’s own. Yuki Numata, a terrific violinist from the ACME group, brought out an ardent romanticism in “Honest Music,” for violin and electronics.
Wonderboy Nico Muhly doesn’t disappoint
from Friday, May22nd of the year2009.
Muhly’s sense of humor shines through in his music, too. Though he interpreted the likes of “Quiet Music” and
“A Hudson Cycle” (both from his ï¬rst album: Speaks Volumes) with all the nuance and gravity they merit, his
default mode is decidedly lighthearted.
Nico Muhly: Union Chapel, London
from Tuesday, May12th of the year2009.
In the final epic number, Muhly found his special alchemy, fusing the best aspects of classical and pop rather than boiling them down.
The Perfect Head Shot
from Saturday, August23rd of the year2008.
Impish Ãœber-talent Nico Muhly, known to some as Philip Glass’s protégée, to others as the guy who helps make Björk, Rufus Wainwright, and Antony sound better, and to most as the one of the next great hopes for the future of classical music, is about the head to Paris for the premiere of his second [...]
Nico Muhly’s New Territory
from Saturday, August23rd of the year2008.
The climax of the concert was a riveting performance of “The Only Tune,” from Muhly’s new album, “Mothertongue.” Starting with a quirky little folk song called “The Wind and the Rain,” Muhly built “Tune” into a searing, explosive powerhouse that defies categorization: a work of brain-bending originality and power.
Nico Muhly Smashes Language Barriers
from Friday, August22nd of the year2008.
The composer’s reaction against one tradition is actually a re-embrace of an older one.
Thee For One
from Friday, August22nd of the year2008.
The last time Nico Muhly played Boston, in the spring of 2007, he was put up at the Copley Place Hotel and given a prime seat at Symphony Hall. That’s when the Boston Pops performed his orchestral piece “Wish You Were Here.” This time, Muhly will arrive by van. He’s going the indie-rock route, coming [...]