"The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra was in good form for Saturday's concert. Works by Sergei Rachmaninov and Emmanuel Chabrier bracketed the weekend's world premiere of a brand new score for flute and orchestra by Geoffrey Gordon. Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 3 received top billing, but Gordon's work generated most of the pre-concert excitement ... Gordon's work is a collection of contrasts that mesh into a whole. The flute is treated almost as an equal in the score, rising above the sound to make its presence known ... The music is active but not overly busy, filled with tensions but not congested. Sections of the orchestra are assigned roles that rise and fall within the context of the whole, sometimes climbing over each other in order to enter the fray and, at other times, cruising beneath the prevailing themes only to rise from beneath the surface to take their place alongside the other materials. In that regard, it was cinematic in the same way that a Bernard Herrmann--John Corigliano hybrid would be if it were drawn through that kind of lens and out of Gordon's pen."

- Garaud MacTaggart
April 8, 2013

"This is a major work for the instrument, well crafted, interesting and musical. It is technically difficult for both the soloist and the orchestra but at the same time idiomatic. This concerto rightfully takes its place alongside other recent music for solo trombone and orchestra by major composers including works by Christopher Rouse, Luciano Berio, Jennifer Higdon, Carlos Chavez, Jan Sandstrom, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and Toru Takemitsu."

-Karl Hinterbichler

“Geoffrey Gordon’s music is consistently impressive, especially in its command of timbral and formal dimensions, and his work speaks with an authentic and substantial musical voice. Echoes of Ferrara (2005) is a three movement piece of about 20 minutes in length for solo recorderist (outer movements for tenor; inner for alto) and harpsichord, inspired by the history of 15th century Ferrara. The particularly rich legacy of music and art of that period is the source material (including extensive musical quotations from Josquin, Ockeghem, and Compere), which Gordon blends into an imaginative fantasy. This is the first work of Gordon’s that I have encountered incorporating historical musical material into its discourse, and these modal/tonal elements are seamlessly combined with Gordon’s own freely atonal harmonic palate…. This piece would make a terrific inclusion at an early music conference or as a general recital offering, particularly in the context of a mixed program.”

Carson Cooman
May, 2012

Fulcrum Point: Speaking in Tongues
"Just by definition new-music concerts are often mixed, uneven affairs but in this March program Fulcrum Point managed to deliver one of the finest contemporary programs of recent seasons with three world premieres. Most notable were Vivian Fung’s engaging Yunan Folk Songs and Geoffrey Gordon’s unapologetically 12-tone Tiger Psalms, the latter given a sterling performance by Julia Bentley. With artful, non-distracting projections, all the varied works received tight, full-metal performances under Stephen Burns’ focused direction."

“Geoffrey Gordon’s new concerto for Megumi Kanda, the MSO’s principal trombonist, was a big success at Friday night’s premiere with the Milwaukee Symphony. The charms of this 25-minute piece are abundant ...The first movement jingles, squawks, cries, shimmers, and groans ... The second movement pits jaw-dropping lyrical trombone themes against ringing cluster chords, laced with harp and metal percussion ... and an epic coda blows the doors off the place!”

“You just never know what you're going to hear when a new piece is premiered. In the case of Geoffrey Gordon's new trombone concerto, which Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra principal trombonist Megumi Kanda premiered with guest conductor James Gaffigan and the orchestra on Friday evening, listeners got a piece that ought to come with the postscript: 'That, ladies and gentlemen, is what the trombone can do!' ”

“In an era of reflexive Neo-Romanticism and vacuous pop-influences, there are not many young composers today who dare to write uncompromising 12-tone music. Not only does Geoffrey Gordon adhere to a fairly tough and astringent serial style in his Tiger Psalms, but the composer also makes the music sing magnificently. Like Alban Berg, Gordon’s modified serialism brings an individual and communicative style to his tone rows. These three songs for mezzo-soprano and chamber orchestra, written to poems by Ted Hughes, are bracing and pungent stuff, scored with a striking ear for colors and unusual timbral contrasts and combinations... this is a very impressive and significant world premiere by a composer we should be hearing more from.”

"The 1st composition on the program, Geoffrey Gordon’s Shock Diamonds, was an endlessly engaging, technically flawless, and a beautifully unique experience. The work begins in the percussion section with inconclusive material that spills seamlessly and unexpectedly over into other members of the ensemble. As harmonies progress, certain points of concentration emerge amongst divided subsets of individuals while varied and lyrical lines are announced by solo performers. The melodic writing had 12-tone inclinations, but no traditional serial techniques were pursued. The harmonies remained dense yet beautiful throughout, and the balance of anonymous webs of sound with focused arrivals on single notes resulted in a very effective dramatic energy. All in all, this piece was a wonder to listen to."

“Inspired by the beauty of science, the mathematically elegant "Shock Diamonds" evoked a metallic, faceted light that jettisoned like a sonic comet across the night sky, shattered into debris then, disintegrated into stillness.”

"Gordon's opus for 13 players -- the Latin title means "Eternal Light of the Sun" -- tries, and succeeds, to evoke cosmic beauty in a dozen minutes of acutely crafted music. The sun rises in iridescent shimmers and sprays of instrumental color, now quiet and glowing, now fierce and eruptive. There is a sacred subtext but the sonic evolution may be enjoyed as pure music, complete with a bebop interlude led by two saxophones."


John von Rhein

“Utilising the trade-name of his chosen music-paper, Geoffrey Gordon's Bright White Smooth is a finely-integrated assembly of gestures that reflects its inspiration in a three-part 'sonatine' whose sections blend imperceptibly into each other.”

-classicalsource.com

"This is dark, haunting and brooding atonal music and is ideally suited to invoke the imagery of Hammershøi's works. The artist usually worked with a limited palette of muted colors and Geoffrey Gordon has managed to capture this very well in this most interesting composition ... a fascinating and mesmerising journey!"

-Steve Marsh
Classical Guitar (UK)

"Unusually, there was a premiere on an EMN concert, by composer Geoffrey Gordon. His four-movement Stanza della Segnatura is an interpretation of Raphael's Vatican palace frescoes, with themes of theology, poetry, justice and philosophy ... throughout it revealed Gordon's elegant, deep intellect in a neo-Baroque palate. It is the best new piece heard here in recent years."

"The stunner was Geoffrey Gordon's Cool RED Cool, for flute, alto sax, trumpet, two percussion, piano and bass, which doled out its jazz in mostly brilliant little flashes deftly bursting and dissolving amid a light fog of dissonance. Its inspiration was the 1986 Self Portrait, though one long stretch of jazz was lifted straight out of a 1950s Village bebop club -- sophisticated, chromatic and cool."

-Peter Dobrin

“Lorca Musica per cello solo is the absolute standout ... vigorous ... longing ... remarkable. ”

“Gordon writes wonderfully idiomatic music, while earmarking his scores with an individual voice. ”