The UK Times' lead classical review this week is the high-energy new release from Brooklyn orchestral collective The Knights. The new album, the ground beneath our feet, explores the compositional form of the concerto grosso from Bach to Stravinsky to Steve Reich, along with two new compositions from members of the group.

"The first album from the Knights at their new home of Warner Classics hums with panache," writes the Times critic, who was particularly taken with the title track. "A pun on the Baroque ground bass, this joyful mash-up - devised by the whole group - takes a basic rhythmic cell and applies a collage of different styles, from salsa to Irish jig, over the top.

"Hipster credentials aside, these are serious players," declares The Times.

The ground beneath our feet is available now.

Following the release of their new album the ground beneath our feet, Brooklyn's young, dynamic orchestra The Knights is touring Europe next week with six dates in Germany and Austria, including performances in Salzburg and Vienna with acclaimed American soprano Dawn Upshaw.

The tour program, ranging from Shostakovich to Ligeti and Berio to John Adams, hints at the orchestra's adventurous spirit. So too does the concept behind the new album, their Warner Classics' debut: tracing the history of the Concerto Grosso form in music from Bach to Stravinsky (whose face graces the cover in an illustration by Knights flautist Alex Sopp) to a collaborative composition by members of the group.

the ground beneath our feet is out now.

Dynamic young Brooklyn ensemble The Knights release their Warner Classics debut in Europe next week. In this NPR exclusive video, watch the group rehearse music from the album, ...the ground beneath our feet, at the Brooklyn home of their conductor and co-artistic director Eric Jacobsen. Members of the orchestra also talk about the eclectic repertoire, in particular the ground-breaking title track: a collective composition by members of the orchestra.

"The range and inventiveness of the Knights, the New York orchestra founded and led by the brothers Eric and Colin Jacobsen, is everywhere on display in this beguiling new release," declared the SF Gate.

NPR wrote that "Bach, Stravinsky, Reich and even a couple of the ensemble's own adventurous compositions commingle on this satisfying new release."

The Knights' new album ...the ground beneath our feet hits shelves and online stores outside the US on 27th April.

Warner Classics is proud to announce the signing of Brooklyn-based orchestra The Knights in an exclusive recording contract, with their label debut, the ground beneath our feet, to be released early 2015.

Flexible in size and repertory, this young collective is the most intrepid ensemble to emerge from New York in recent years, playing Bach and Haydn with the same energy and razor-sharp attention to detail they summon in exciting new music composed for the group.

A cursory glance at their 2014-15 schedule confirms just how versatile The Knights are: a Carnegie Hall debut in the New York premiere of Jeremy Denk and Steven Stucky’s opera The Classical Style; curation of the Caramoor Fall Festival as well as three concerts with saxophonist Joshua Redman and violinist Gil Shaham; shows with Bryce Dessner from Brooklyn rock band The National; East Coast US performances with banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck followed by a European tour with soprano Dawn Upshaw. Other recent projects include the orchestra’s first appearance at Tanglewood and collaborations with two of the greatest musicians of our time, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Itzhak Perlman.

Founded by two brothers, composer-violinist Colin Jacobsen and conductor-cellist Eric Jacobsen (who also form half of the genre-defying string quartet Brooklyn Rider), The Knights evolved from late-night chamber music reading parties among friends into a professional ensemble on a mission to “surprise audiences by constantly seeking new approaches to music-making”, “to play old music like it was written yesterday and inhabit new music in a way that’s familiar and natural.”

It’s this camaraderie and spirit of shared adventure that led The New York Times to ask: “Is there another orchestra that seems to be having as much fun when it plays as The Knights do?”

The orchestra’s Warner Classics debut was recorded live at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., the namesake of Stravinsky's masterwork, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of that chamber concerto. It’s the first stop on a journey through the concerto grosso genre from Bach to Steve Reich, along with the premiere recording of the Concerto for Santur, Violin and Orchestra by Silk Road Ensemble’s Siamak Aghaei  and  The Knights’ own Colin Jacobsen, both of whom feature as soloists. In a rare feat, the orchestra has also collectively composed the album’s title track, …the ground beneath our feet, rounding off a truly inspired programme.

The Knights’ Warner Classics debut album the ground beneath our feet will be released on 26^th January 2015 (US) and 27^th April 2015 internationally.