Reviews
Up on the Roof, Into the Woods, and Down in the Graveyards … Classical Music Lives
WQXR Editorial (David Patrick Stearns)
Published October 14, 2020
“Yet another impossible performance circumstance became temporarily viable thanks to some “You’ve got to be kidding” thinking in an industry that is said to be hidebound, but has proven to be anything but.
The afternoon traffic around Times Square would normally drown out Grieg’s Holberg Suite and newer, more emphatically expressive works by Robert Paterson. But the previous day at the DiMenna Center, this group of 28 New York City freelancers recorded the program, and used it as sonic reinforcement during the Manhattan Plaza performance while playing along with itself under the direction of David Rosenmeyer.
Performances were razor-sharp, and audiences included the residents whose personal balconies overlooked the open-air, second-floor terrace where the orchestra was playing. Down on the street, passersby on the sidewalk often stopped, and in what is perhaps the ultimate kudo, they looked up from their phones.”
Opera Production Featuring AME:
On Site Opera’s Das Barbecü
Broadway World
Published February 1, 2020
“The band, taken from members of the American Modern Ensemble, that winningly knows its way around a variety of musical styles...” To read the entire review, click here.
Opera Production Featuring AME:
On Site Opera’s Intimate Amahl Fulfills Christmas Mission in a Meaningful Way
New York Classical Review
Published December, 2018
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Opera Production Featuring AME:
On Site Opera: Amahl and The Night Visitors
Broadway World
Published December 9, 2018
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10TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON CELEBRATION: GHOSTS AND GHOULS
10th Anniversary Season Celebration: Ghosts and Ghouls Review
New York Music Daily
Published October 31, 2014
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Prototype Opera Festival Review
Steve Smith, The New York Times
Published: January 10, 2014
"Robert Wood conducted the players of the American Modern Ensemble... in a luminous account of Mr. Spears’s ravishing music, scored for string quartet, double bass, two clarinets, piano and harp. All told, the sold-out premiere provided... a sublime start." To read the entire review, click here.
American Stories Review
Steve Smith, The New York Times
Published: March 26, 2013
"... played with eloquence and passion." To read the entire review, click here.
American Stories Review
Daniele Sahr, Seen and Heard International
Published: April 13, 2013
"First off, this concert was fun, and the house was packed... Second, the players were excellent. Listening to and watching the musicians for the American Modern Ensemble is like experiencing a "perfect ten" dance team..." To read the entire review, click here.
Catchy Tunes
Dan Greene, Sports Illustrated
Published: March 12, 2012
To read review, click here.
Good Sports Review
James Barron, The New York Times
Published: February 29, 2012
"Any resemblance between the Mets catcher Mike Piazza and the catcher in the song cycle “Stepping Into the Batter’s Box, He Hears His Father’s Voice” is, Robert Paterson said, purely intentional." To read the entire review, click here.
Concert Listing for Raritan River Music Festival Concert
Steve Smith, The New York Times
Published: February 5, 2010
"A five-year-old group that consistently shows a knack for inventive programming." To read the entire review, click here.
M&Ms Review
Steve Smith, The New York Times
Published: November 5, 2009
"Devoting a program to Minimalist and microtonal compositions could easily amount to an egghead agenda; leave it to the American Modern Ensemble to make it a party instead." To read the entire review, click here.
Women Who Rock Review
Bruce Hodges, MusicWeb International
Published: September 29, 2008
"...the American Modern Ensemble vaulted into the front ranks of New York's contemporary music ensembles...their gutsy reading was even more riveting than the version available for listening on [the composer's] website." To read the entire review, click here.
Food and Music Review
Bruce Hodges, MusicWeb International
Published: June 8, 2008
"Chuckling and walking down West 13th Street, I couldn't recall a classical evening overflowing with so much outright humor. Contemporary music in particular, sometimes accused of being cheerless and didactic, could use a lot more of it, and in this regard AME concocted the funniest concert of the season." To read the entire review, click here.
First Time in the Big City
Rob Deemer, Sequenza21
Published: February 4, 2008
"...a damn fine group of performers, with kudos going to cellists Robert Burkhart and Eric Jacobsen, harpist Jacqueline Kerrod, baritone Robert Gardner and serious, serious props going to Stephen Gosling and Blair McMillen, two pianists who have already gotten a lot of press and deservedly so - their performance of Corigliano's Chiaroscuro was playful, intelligent, and so very... right... all of the works were performed at an very high level of maturity and subtlety... Ultimately the entire concert was extremely successful and the folks at AME should be very proud of what they accomplished." To read the entire review, click here.
Standing Room Only for New Music, Fierce and Quiet Alike
Bernard Holland, The New York Times
Published: October 18, 2005
"Pessimists about the future of classical music may be looking in the wrong places. There were empty seats at the Metropolitan Opera's estimable "Aida" on Friday night, but on Saturday, "Powerhouse Pianists" filled the Tenri Cultural Institute to its gills, with standees crowding the rim of this small West Village gallery and hopeful ticket buyers stretching out onto 13th Street." "The American Modern Ensemble is new this year and dedicates its time to American composers... This is a worthwhile new organization with what seems a strong fan base and, if Mr. McMillen and Mr. Gosling are examples, performers of high quality." To read the entire review, click here.
Pianists Who Make News
Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times
Published: October 7, 2005
"The contemporary music scene in New York may seem like a niche within the niche of classical music. But this teeming musical world has an intensely loyal audience and its share of brilliant young stars... You could call Mr. McMillen and Mr. Gosling the dynamic duo of contemporary music pianists in New York. Yet they are not close friends who hang out, just good colleagues who move in the same circles. In a rare occurrence, they are sharing a recital program on Oct. 15 at the Tenri Cultural Institute, with Mr. McMillen playing the first half, and Mr. Gosling the second. Presented by a new group, the American Modern Ensemble, the program of mostly new and recent works by, among others, Chester Biscardi, Lee Hyla, Eric Moe, David Rakowski and George Tsontakis, is called "Powerhouse Pianists." And few people who have heard them would quibble with that billing for these thoroughly impressive players." To read the entire article, click here.
Seen and Heard International Concert Review—The Music of Steven Stucky
Bruce Hodges, MusicWeb International
Published: May 28, 2006
"The last few years have seen an explosion of new contemporary music ensembles in New York, most of them with exceptional energy, thoughtful programming and a core of outstanding musicians culled from the legions who ache to play something more than late 19th-century Germanic repertoire. And there's an audience for their vision. In addition to the outstanding quality on display, it is a further credit to the American Modern Ensemble that on not one, but two nights – and on a holiday weekend, to boot - the Tenri space was packed with eager, attentive listeners." To read the entire review, click here.
The American Modern Ensemble Plays Steven Stucky at the Tenri Cultural Center
Carmen Tellez, Sequenza21
Published: June 1, 2006
"The American Modern Ensemble, ending an auspicious inaugural season, seemed to embrace Stucky's aesthetic through and through... It was a sign of their consummate versatility that the ensemble's presentation matched the spirit of the music in so many ways. Each of the players conveyed the technical elegance and emotional discipline of the composer and his music. The program was artfully paced from the simplest to the most complex, throwing an arching line from a recollection to Bach to an exploration of the Baroque. Paterson interviewed Stucky at intermission and they entertained questions from the audience. The ambience in the Tenri Cultural Institute enhanced the cheerful closeness between performers and the public, who applauded the ensemble warmly throughout." To read the entire review, click here.
AME at Tenri Cultural Institute
Victoria Paterson
Published: April, 2006
This article was written at the request of the Tenri Cultural Institute for their online newsletter. To read the entire article, click here.
"Devoting a program to Minimalist and microtonal compositions could easily amount to an egghead agenda; leave it to the American Modern Ensemble to make it a party instead." – The New York Times
"... American Modern Ensemble, a group who makes new classical music feel as catchy as this week’s Top 40." - Seen and Heard International