Composer Kevin Lau – ‘The Nightingale’ [WORLD PREMIERE]

Violinist Scott St John, clarinetist Nathan Williams and composer/pianist Kevin Lau performing the world premiere performance of Kevin Lau's 'The Nightingale'

Violinist Scott St John, clarinetist Nathan Williams and composer/pianist Kevin Lau performing the world premiere performance of Canadian composer Kevin Lau's 'The Nightingale' for violin, piano and clarinet.

Commissioned by the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (ROCO) and recorded live on the 8th of April, 2019 - at the Midtown Arts and Theater Center, in Houston, Texas, United States.

“The music of 'The Nightingale' was directly inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale of the same name ..." Kevin has told The Violin Channel.

"Set in ancient China, the story concerns a nightingale whose exquisite song charms the Emperor and his court, but who is eventually replaced by an ‘artificial’ nightingale which can out-sing the original ..." he has said.

"The formal design of the piece, as well as its dramatic arc, mirrors Andersen’s narrative quite faithfully ... the aesthetic of this piece — which I would describe as hyper-Romantic, lush and lyrical, with a touch of the cinematic — really grew out of violinist Scott St. John’s lifelong passion for all things Disney ..."

"We were trying to find a way of paying tribute to Disney without actually doing Disney."

SCOTT ST JOHN, NATHAN WILLIAMS & KEVIN LAU | KEVIN LAU | 'THE NIGHTINGALE' FOR VIOLIN, CLARINET & PIANO | RIVER OAKS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA | WORLD PREMIERE | 2019