David Tanenbaum is in the middle of four recording projects:

1. A disc containg music of his father, Elias Tanenbaum
2. The complete solo guitar works of Toru Takemitsu for Stradivarius
3. Recordings of the Steve Mackey ensemble piece Measures of Turbulence (with Tanenbaum conducting) and Two Awakenings and a Double Lullaby by Aaron Jay Kernis for guitar, soprano, piano and violin.
4. A concerto disc with New Century Chamber Orchestra containing:
   • Aaron Jay Kernis - Concierto de Dance Hits
   • Astor Piazzolla - Double Concerto for guitar, bandoneon and strings
   • Terry Riley - Triple Concerto for two guitars and violin

David Tanenbaum’s second recording of Aaron Jay Kernis‘ 100 Greatest Dance Hits for string quartet and guitar was released by the British label BlackBox in England. It is available on Amazon.

David Tanenbaum’s second recording of Hans Werner Henze’s monumental guitar opus Royal Winter Music was released in Italy May 27, 2005 by Stradivarius and will be distributed worldwide. The cycle, lasting almost an hour, is one of the longest pieces ever written for solo guitar, and it remains the only major solo instrumental work by Henze. The cd is available on this site, or from Stradivarius.It. Upon hearing David Tanenbaum play Royal Winter Music for the first time, in 1983, the composer wrote:

..nobody plays this music as well as you do. I think that your extraordinary musicality also makes you find technical answers on the guitar that seem unknown to the average player. I have never heard such a skillful and musically moving performance, and such mastery.

The composer and guitarist have since collaborated on many projects, including tours and a recording of the concerto Henze wrote for David Tanenbaum, An Eine Aolsharfe. Most recently they joined forces for a Carnegie Hall production of El Cimarron in 2000. In 2003, just before recording this cd, Mr. Tanenbaum performed Royal Winter Music at a special house concert arranged by Mr. Henze in his villa in Marino, Italy.

Some months after he died a guitar trio was found in Lou Harrison’s papers called Elegy for Harpo Marx, composed in 1964. The history of the piece is unclear but the version found was certainly written for guitar. Tanenbaum performed (premiered?) the work at the San Francisco Conservatory November 7, 2004 with Brian Dowdy and Rodrigo Placencia, and they recorded the work Nov. 25 for Mode Records.

The long awaited recording of John Adams‘ Naive and Sentimental Music, featuring David Tanenbaum as guitar soloist with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, was released July 30, 2002 by Nonesuch. Mark Swed, in the Los Angeles Times, writes of

‘The gorgeous solo guitar melody (elegantly played by David Tanenbaum) that haunts the central slow movement.’

The cd was nominated for a Grammy in 2003.

Tanenbaum performed the Vivaldi D Major concerto with John Adams conducting on May 11 at the Dean Lesher Center in Walnut Creek, California. Tanenbaum performed Naive and Sentimental Music with the San Francisco Symphony October 20-24, 2004

New Albion Records has released Serenado-Lou Harrison (NA 123), containing the complete solo guitar music plus arrangements from harp and piano, performed by David Tanenbaum. The CD features the first recording of the final guitar piece, Scenes from Nek Chand, which was dedicated to Charles and Carol Amirkhanian and to David Tanenbaum. The work, premiered by Tanenbaum March 7, 2002, is for National Steel Guitar, in DADGAD tuning.

Some reviews:

So far, this is my cd of the year.’ T. Hashimoto, San Francisco Examiner

’superlative…a delectable collection of Harrison’s gutar pieces performed with vigor and sensitivity by David Tanenbaum.’Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle

‘It is no surprise that following the death of Lou Harrison, one of the great champions of modern music on the guitar should provide a retrospective recording of Harrison’s idiosyncratic contributions to the repertoire. Housed in New Albion’s earth-toned, stylish packaging which, like the composer, entices the consumer with casual wildness, the new recording also surprises, as the composer did, with an intellectual rigor and honesty often obscured by outside appearances.

‘Over the last thirty years, no one has done more for new music on the guitar than David Tanenbaum. Henze, Riley (Elder, younger), Harrison, and Kernis have all found champion, friend and interpreter in Tanenbaum. Thus, it with heavy heart that Tanenbaum offers up Serenado, a collection of original works and transcriptions, which span Harrison’s fifty-year relationship with the guitar…Tanenbaums excellent program notes provide the background for his remarkable performance.’Andrew Hull, Guitarra Magazine

Tanenbaum performed the New York Premiere of Scenes from Nek Chand June 26 during the New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes College of Music.

An article on Lou Harrison and the Guitar by David Tanenbaum appeared in Guitart International Issue 4. Acoustic Guitar published an article by Tanenbaum on Harrison’s Serenado in the February 2004 issue. Articles also appeared recently on Harrison by Tanenbaum in Soundboard and Guitar Review Magazines.