The San Francisco Classical Voice has posted a review of The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players‘ concert on February 23, 2009 at the Herbst Theatre. The concert featured David Tanenbaum on his specially-tuned National Steel guitar, performing Terry Riley’s Quando cosas malas caen del cielo (When bad things fall from the sky).

Out Of The Blue by Jeff Dunn @ sfcv.org

Scott Cmiel, in the San Francisco Classical Voice, has posted a review of the Oct. 11, 2008 concert at the San Francisco Conservatory.

Tanenbaum is without peer in this music. He captured every mood to perfection — ebullient opening, mournful solo, building determination, and painful conclusion — with an amazing command of color, time, and empathy.

‘A highpoint (of the festival) was certainly the evening with the American guitarist David Tanenbaum, who is one of the most renowned international artists of that speciality. How cleanly Tanenbaum has mastered the sounds and at the same time playing with amazing acrobatics.’ Heinz Zietsch, Feb. 17, 2006, Darmstadter Echo

‘The performance [of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez] certainly justified Tanenbaum’s reputation. He is an outstanding perfromer and a master of his instrument. He moved from the highest to the lowest range of the guitar with aplomb. His rhythms were precise and lively, and his tone was always clear and singing. It’s difficult to imagine a more satisfactory performance of this concerto.’

Peter Bergquist, Eugene Register Guard

…David Tanenbaum [is] a most mercurial guitarist, capable of great stylistic control of color, mood and voice. In a De Visee suite, Tanenbaum managed to coax a wonderfully dry and delicate baroque sound from a modern instrument. This set was also admirable in that it in no way presented these as “potted pieces,” but gave a fair sense of graceful strumming that a royal court could (and no doubt did) gavotte to.

A far different court is evoked by Hans Werner Henze’s Royal Winter Music.. In David Tanenbaum’s hands, the two excerpts presented were far more approachable than is commonly the case. True, his spoken set-up of each was fine..he is a surprisingly good reader and beautifully recited , from memory, the opening monologue of Richard III (•••Now is the winter of our discontent…). After such a preamble, the emotive intent of the music followed clearly and logically. As per Henze’s instructions, he gave his Daniel Friederich guitar quite a shellacking, but Friederich being French, after all, who can say Richard III wouldn’t have done as much and more?’Mark Greenberg, NyLON Review, Winter 2005 (review of March 25, 2005 concert)