Douglas Knehans — Press Reviews
‘While a nicely shaped account of Sculthorpe's "Grief Singing" opened the concert, a sometimes growling, sometimes melancholic rendition of Douglas Knehans's "Rive" beautifully closed it out.’
The Washington Post
October 31, 2006
‘Other highlights included Douglas Knehans's Bang, [which] somewhat blows the ‘Tasmanian sound’ theory. Knehans, who is head of the Tasmanian Conservatorium, uses electronics and a driving rhythm to explore variations in time and attack. However, there are a directness of expression and lack of pretension which resonate with his compatriots' music.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
June 3, 2003
‘A splendid world premier. The piece (seraphic ride) tells an exciting story, ever-intensifying in color, thematic ideas, texture and tempo.’
The Washington Post
June 24, 2002
‘... winter steps... is a witty, ambitious, inventive and passionate work... a brief and powerful piece... ‘
The Tuscaloosa News
February 28, 1996
‘... night chains, by Douglas Knehans, was like a Hitchcock soundtrack gone truly psycho: wildly inventive...’
Miami Herald
April 18, 1994
‘The Ascension of Robert Flau's composer, Douglas Knehans, is a full-on Modernist... the score is insistent, often violent and confrontational. A piece like this deserves several hearings, but at this stage, I am impressed with the score.’
Australian Financial Review
November 9, 1990
‘The score teems with detail... the result is consciously anti-dramatic... a miasma of meaning and un-meaning, it was the only one of the three [operas] to come consciously to terms with post-modern culture musically or dramatically.’
The Sydney Review
December, 1990
‘I was particularly impressed with Knehans' setting of the poem called You're. His music is brilliantly catchy and eerily bright, providing an extra dimension to Plath's heavily condensed imagery.’
The Australian
December 2, 1986
‘...used his vocal resources with great freedom ...many quite striking aural effects in this score as well as some highly ingenious rhythmic permutations; however, with a strong tonal bias to the music, there are also a number of sections of considerable beauty...’
The Canberra Times
October 17, 1987
‘The quality of sound in Knehans' composition reflects very well the fractured imagery of Plath's poems, her shrill, often startling passion, and her wry, sometimes self-deprecating humour.’
The Canberra Times
September 1, 1987
