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."