Grammy-winner Jason Vieaux, “among the elite of today’s classical guitarists” (Gramophone), is described by NPR as “perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation”. In appearances from New York’s Lincoln Center to Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and the Seoul Arts Center, Jason Vieaux has cemented his reputation as an artist of brilliance and uncompromised mastery. Cited for his “eloquent and vibrant performances” on disc (Gramophone Magazine) he is hailed as “virtuosic, flamboyant, dashing and, sometimes ineffably lyrical” (New York Times) on stage.
Sought-after for his extensive concerto repertoire, Vieaux has performed with a long list of orchestras including Cleveland, Toronto, St. Louis, Houston, Columbus, and has made premiere recordings with the Nashville Symphony (Jonathan Leshnoff Concerto) and the Norrköping Symphony (Jeff Beal Six Sixteen). He has worked with renowned conductors including Giancarlo Guerrero, Jahja Ling, Gerard Schwarz, and David Robertson. Vieaux’s passion for new music has fostered premieres from Jeff Beal, Avner Dorman, Vivian Fung, Pierre Jalbert, Jonathan Leshnoff, David Ludwig, Mark Mancina, and Dan Visconti, among many others.
Vieaux’s extensive discography includes “Bach Volume 2: Works for Violin” released on Azica in 2022 to rave reviews for his “eloquent and vibrant performances” (Gramophone). Additional 2022 releases include “Shining Night” featuring his duo with acclaimed violinist Anne Akiko Meyers (Avie Records) and Michael Fine’s “Concierto del Luna” with flutist Alexa Still (Sony Classical), both enjoying strong critical acclaim. Vieaux recorded Pat Metheny’s “Four Paths of Light”, a solo work dedicated to him by Pat, for Metheny’s 2021 album “Road to the Sun” (Modern Records). Jason Vieaux won the 2014 Best Instrumental Classical Solo Grammy Award for “Play”. The Huffington Post declared PLAY as “part of the revitalized interest in the classical guitar”.
A busy touring performer, Jason Vieaux enjoys repeated invitations from distinguished series including San Francisco Performances, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the 92nd Street Y, among others. Festival engagements include Ravinia, Caramoor, Domaine-Forget, Music@Menlo, Round Top, and the Eastern Music Festival. Overseas performance venues include Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Seoul Arts Center, Shanghai Concert Hall, Sala Sao Paolo, and Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.
Jason Vieaux enjoys ongoing performing and recording collaborations with the Escher String Quartet, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, harpist Yolanda Kondonassis, accordion/bandoneon virtuoso Julien Labro, saxophone virtuoso Timothy McAllister, and violinist Francisco Fullana.
In 2011 Vieaux co-founded the guitar department at the Curtis Institute of Music (with David Starobin). He has taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music for 25 years. Jason’s online Guitar School for Artistworks Inc. has hundreds of subscribers from all over the world. He plays a guitar by Gernot Wagner, 2013, made in Frankfurt.
For more information, visit www.jasonvieaux.com; Jason is tweeting @JasonVieaux, and his Facebook fan page is www.facebook.com/jasonvieaux.
CD news: Azica Records releases Jason Vieaux’s Bach Volume 2: Works for Violin. Following Jason’s acclaimed Bach Volume 1: Works for Lute, this new release completes Vieaux’s Bach cycle with the Partita No. 3/Lute Suite No. 4, the Sonatas No. 1 and No. 3. Jason comments “Bach is completely timeless, ageless, ‘style’-less. It represents what ‘great’ or ‘awesome’ actually means…” More information here
Mixed into his fall 2020 virtual concerts was Jason’s in-person return to the Ft. Worth Symphony Orchestra. The beloved “Aranjuez” was the focus of the four-performance engagement, about which TheatreJones had this to say: “Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez was the highlight of the performance—guitarist Jason Vieaux brought a humane, relaxed approach to this best-known of guitar concertos, and the famous extended English Horn solo in the second movement was played with heartrendingly beautiful phrasing and tone by Roger Roe.” [Full review.]
Jason Vieaux and His Broad Spectrum Approach to Classical Guitar: This feature in Classical Guitar Magazine states that “It’s futile to attempt to pigeonhole the musical proclivities of Grammy winner Jason Vieaux” highlighting his three new CDs and his many musical influences.
Fall 2019: Jason Vieaux is guitarist-in-residence for San Francisco Performances this season, continuing his multi-year association with the distinguished Bay Area cultural arts organization.
Fall 2019: Jason’s latest CD on Azica, Dance, features guitar quintets by Boccherini, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and Aaron Jay Kernis with the Escher String Quartet. The CD is “Brimming with vivacious and contagious dynamism… and with a magnetic charm so strong one cannot resist a repeated listening.” (theclassicrreview.com). Released earlier this year, his recording of the Jonathan Leshnoff Guitar Concerto with the Nashville Symphony is on the all-Leshnoff CD just nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium.
Fall 2019: Performance highlights include a solo recital at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco and his debut with the New West Symphony in the world premiere of Canvas, a double concerto for guitar and bandoneon composed by and performed with Julien Labro.
May 2019: Jason Vieaux’s latest recording is the world premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff’s Guitar Concerto with the Nashville Symphony, released May 2nd on the Naxos label. The American Record Guide calls Vieaux the “ideal soloist” for this worthy addition to the orchestral repertoire. Upcoming releases include a new album with the Escher String Quartet and a new solo Bach recording, both on Azica.
Spring 2019: Recent Jason Vieaux performance highlights include duo concerts with violinist Anne Akiko Meyers and with harpist Yolanda Kondonassis, a spring tour of coast-to-coast solo recitals, including his debut at the Virginia Arts Festival, and his Masterworks Series performances with the Knoxville Symphony, performing Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez.
September 2018: Jason Vieaux returned to the Houston Symphony to play the beloved “Concierto de Aranjuez” of Joaquin Rodrigo. During his stay in town he appeared on KHOU-TV’s “Great Day Houston”. See the broadcast here. Jason Vieaux also teams up with Billboard Top-Selling violinist Anne Akiko Meyers in a coast-to-coast tour of Paganini, Piazzolla and more. Upcoming engagements include the gorgeous Green Music Center at Sonoma State and the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival. Sample program… “perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation.” — NPR Grammy® Award Winner — PLAY (Azica Records) Best Instrumental Classical Solo PLAY is “part of the revitalized interest in the classical guitar” — Huffington Post
Audio Interview – Jason Vieaux talks with John Mills about the Avner Dorman concerto ‘How to Love’
Press Release – Naxos Records Release: Jason Vieaux performs Leshnoff Concerto with Nashville Symphony
Classical Classroom feature: Jason Vieaux on the new Leshnoff Concerto Recording with the Nashville Symphony
“The Nashville Symphony returned to Leshnoff’s music in April, presenting the Nashville premiere of the composer’s Guitar Concerto with soloist Jason Vieaux.” “The writing for the solo instrument was fantastic—lyrical, virtuosic, tender, and passionate all at once. Vieaux proved to be an ideal soloist, playing fast music especially in the Spanish-flavored finale with dash and slow passages with warm feeling. Guerrero and his musicians supplied supple, musical accompaniment. The Nashville Symphony recorded the concerto as a companion piece for the Leshnoff [4th Symphony]. Both works are worthy additions to the orchestral repertoire and to Naxos’s American Classics series.”
American Record Guide
Chicago Tribune – preview
“This terrific guitarist, a Philadelphia favorite, worked wonders with Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez: in place of flamenco-fied fire, he played with elegance and fine-tuned precision. The fastest passages were distinct and clear; the subtlety with which he varied dynamics and timing from note to note was a marvel.”
Philadelphia Inquirer
“This was a show-stopping performance. Both Vieaux and Armstrong played this amazing and difficult piece from memory with passion, patience, introspection and extraversion. It was indeed a far-ranging conversation played by two virtuosi with gorgeous tone and expression on each instrument.”
Greensboro News & Record [full review]
“virtuosic, flamboyant, dashing and, sometimes ineffably lyrical.”
New York Times
“the guitar line fizzed with energy…A more alert, precise reading can hardly be imagined.”
New York Classical Review [full review]
“[Vieaux] makes everything look and sound easy. An uncommonly relaxed figure onstage, he seems immersed entirely in the moment. Every note comes out fully formed, but nothing he does feels premeditated, and the music, just a little understated, speaks eloquently for itself.
Washington Post
“Vieaux is certainly one of the best classical guitarists before the public today. He is indeed a great artist on his instrument, playing with nuance, great confidence and musicality.”
Sarasota Observer
“Vieaux can embrace jazz with the same finesse and care as he approaches his strictly classical work.” [Ellington and Jobim]
Lincoln County News
“…one of America’s premier guitarists…Notes shone with different weights and hues; melodies were alive and recalled the nuanced beauty of light reflecting off a string of pearls…Vieaux’s performance spun magic. Rarely has a single instrument so clearly painted such cinematic vistas and searching introspection.”
Fort-Worth Star-Telegram
“Jason Vieaux blew me away with his Saturday afternoon performance which, true to form, ran the gamut from Giuliani and Bach to Pat Metheny and Antonio Carlos Jobim (and plenty more). I heard three big Bach pieces performed on Saturday—all superbly rendered—but there was something special about the way Vieaux handled the Prelude, Fugue and Allegro, BWV 998 that I have difficulty articulating. It was more than just the natural smoothness and utterly rhythmic command with which he executed it; it was also the deep feeling he communicated with little vibrato touches throughout. He is a truly special player. “
Classical Guitar Magazine [full review]
“Vieaux gave the Prelude, Fugue and Allegro (BWV 998) a stately, sharply articulated and subtly driven reading, in which the closing Allegro gradually took on the exciting qualities of a perpetual-motion piece.”
New York Times
“[a] spirited and expressive guitarist”
The New Yorker
“One of the things I love about Jason Vieaux’s performance, which is the best I’ve heard, is how he pulls out all the stops in this movement without any sense of losing control. Comedy is famously hard, and it’s hardest of all to pull off in music. There’s a lot of layers here: Vieaux carefully negotiates the complex technical logistics while putting across Ginastera’s take-off of Wagner’s not-as-subtle put-down of Sixtus Beckmesser. Vieaux makes the whole Sonata sound completely organic, and this fine performance only emphasizes the importance of this piece in the Classical Guitar literature.” [CD Review- Ginastera: One Hundred]
Music for Several Instruments
“The enormous range in the color and texture of his guitar sound reflected the changing characteristics of the music. In the several substantial cadenzas his playing was sometimes gentle and other times ferocious.” [Aranjuez Concerto]
ClevelandClassical.com
“a winning end-of-season concert by guitarist Jason Vieaux and mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke… Vieaux and Cooke brought committed professionalism to each item on the menu.” “Cooke applied her rich, expressive voice and crisp diction to each song, and Vieaux was attentive to every change in mood and texture.” “Sasha Cooke made rich little scenes out of “Who am I” (Peter Pan) and “My New Friends” (The Madwoman of Central Park West), and once again, Jason Vieaux provided colorful instrumental support. Who needs a piano when a fine guitarist can do the job so eloquently?”
ClevelandClassical.com
“a substantially gifted guitarist whose playing revealed equal portions of stylistic elegance and technical polish.”
Baltimore Sun
“Vieaux opened ears with his rhythmic clarity and remarkable left-hand facility….He made the single guitar seem like a body of instruments at work in music full of the emotion of loss.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Jason Vieaux [was] nimble-fingered in a Vivaldi Concerto that was remarkable for its variety of colors.”
Boston Globe
“Guitarist Vieaux excelled in its flamenco-style flourishes, ethereal high notes and spiraling passage work.” [Villa-Lobos, San Diego Symphony]
San Diego Union Tribune
“Vieaux gave a cleanly played performance full of personality. This gentle concerto (it was a favorite of Mata’s) gave the soloist plenty of opportunities to display his technical skill.”
Fort-Worth Star Telegram/DFW.com
“His sense of colour, phrase shaping and beautifully expressive dynamics are remarkable. It is not easy, especially in a long fugue, to keep the listener with you…the playing displays consummate artistry”
MusicWeb-International.com
“Vieaux showed why he is among the most talented guitarists of his generation, a player whose effortless technique and fluidity gave the concerto a singing voice.”
Tampa Tribune
“Allen Krantz’s guitar concerto Songs of Innocence and Experience filtered Pacific Rim musics through Krantz’s own American lens in a work so affable that with a charismatic interpreter like Jason Vieaux, it’s bound to become standard guitar concerto repertoire.”
Philadelphia Inquirer
“Jason Vieaux displayed dexterity in rapid passages, and a plaintive, singing tone during slower, more expressive moments.” [Villa-Lobos, San Diego Symphony]
San Diego.com
“Visconti’s piece begins with an expansive solo in which the guitar intones a note-bending aria over droning string, in imitation of a sitar…. featured a nimble solo turn by guitarist Jason Vieaux” [Visconti, California Symphony]
San Francisco Chronicle
“The first thing one notices is his consummate technique, with a virtually flawless left hand and an almost total absence of the glistening sound of sliding fingers during position change. The technique is so secure that after five minutes one forgets about it and pays attention to matters of interpretation.”
Buffalo News
“Vieaux lit into Jose Luis Merlin’s “Suite del Recuerdo.” His smooth phrasing and the dramatic pulsing swells he created on the low strings made this a tough act to follow.”
The Washington Post
“…close to perfection…with a maturity, confidence, emotion and virtuosity which belie his youth…”
Soundboard Magazine
“Vieaux was first-class. One movement on Ponce’s concierto del sur made me want to hear more of his work, such was the range of sounds he drew from his instrument.”
New Zealand Herald
“Jason Vieaux has magic in his fingers… Vieaux gave an inspired and impeccably prepared recital before a large audience.”
The Daily Gazette
“Vieaux shows why he flies above crowded field of classical guitarists”
Buffalo News
“…perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation.” NPR
“…the dazzling guitarist” The New Yorker
“…masterful ease, and great panache.” San Francisco Classical Voice
“faultless delivery… even the arpeggiated chords resound as a solitary line.” DownBeat
“Vieaux’s encore, a capriccio from his most recent recording, was a lesson in artistry, with his inflection on the guitar almost identical to that of the human voice.” Columbus Dispatch (link)
“The virtuosic Vieaux’s impeccable performance, warm stage presence, and winning smile telegraphed optimism to all in attendance that live music is moving toward a full comeback.” Boston Musical Intelligencer (link)
“…artfully done, with Segovia-like virtues: a multitude of colors, subtle dynamics, and long arcs of phrasing.” “So convincing was his ability to change color, you might have thought he had changed instruments if you weren’t looking” ClevelandClassical.com (link)
Bach vol. 2 CD Reviews:
NPR’s #NowPlaying“Electric guitar wizards such as Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen aren’t the only shredmasters who can melt your face with a killer solo. The classical guitar has its heavy hitters and virtuosic repertoire too – it’s all just a few decibels softer. Consider Jason Vieaux. The Grammy-winning co-founder of the guitar department at the Curtis Institute of Music is known for his formidable technique and his transparent, soulful playing, whether in a Spanish fandango or music by Pat Metheny. Still, it’s the sturdy, all-encompassing music of J.S. Bach that has been a constant for Vieaux… For this final movement from his Violin Sonata in G minor, what Bach was feeling must have been something akin to euphoria. The notes cascade in waterfalls, and in Vieaux’s immaculate, joyful performance you hear all of Bach’s interlocking voices, propelled by a steady beat and singing line. This is guitar playing at its most shred-worthy and satisfying.”
Gramophone “eloquent and vibrant performances…Vieaux re-establishes his Bach credentials in the Preludio, shaping lines with utmost fluency, beauty of tone and rhythmic flexibility.” “The dance movements are enchanting episodes of motion in sound; and when the music calls for imaginative decoration, Vieaux applies subtle ornamentation.”
theartsdesk.com “Bach’s Partita No. 3 already exists in the composer’s lute transcription; in Vieaux’s hands, the “Preludio” erupts with joy, and you’re amazed at the dynamic control, Bach’s accompanying figures never too intrusive. The rhythmic flexibility is another plus, Vieaux knowing instinctively just when to pull back or surge ahead. Exhilarating stuff.” “Vieaux’s account of the G minor sonata is similarly potent. The little “Siciliana” is sweet and soulful, the final “Presto” thrilling.”
Metheny Four Paths of Light Review:
Wall Street Journal: “Vieaux gives the four movements a fluid, texturally clean and beautifully nuanced performance.” (Allan Kozinn)
Leshnoff Concerto CD Reviews:
WFMT.com “… a stunning virtuoso showcase for soloist Jason Vieaux.”
Cleveland Classical “Suspense, groove, romance, and Latin flair – guitarist Jason Vieaux’s performance of Jonathan Leshnoff’s Guitar Concerto… has it all.”
Gramophone “The concerto is charming, lyrical and beautifully performed on this new Naxos release.”
Textura.org “A better classical guitarist than Grammy-winner Vieaux would be hard to find for the Guitar Concerto…”
ThisIsClassicalGuitar.com “A work of beauty and virtuosity, the lyrical writing and imitative exchanges between the guitar and orchestra are complimented with beautiful orchestration. Vieaux’s musical phrasing, articulation, and tone shine on this exquisite recording.”
MusicCityReview.com “The vibrant, three movement work proves no easy task for the performer but Vieaux’s clarity is exceptional considering Leshnoff has written many bright runs in the upper register and descending arpeggio passages.”
MusicWeb International “The three-movement Guitar Concerto is bejewelled and does not seek to distance itself from Rodrigo; quite the contrary. It’s played by Jason Vieaux with the breathless concentration of an adept.”
Dance CD (Kernis, Boccherini and Castelnuovo-Tedesco with the Escher Quartet) Reviews 2019…
Midwest Record “A lovely listening set, if this doesn’t bring new ears into the tent, things are hopelessly broken beyond all repair. Just give this one a Grammy now and let’s get on with it.”
ConcertoNet.com “Dance has the energy of a live performance session rather than a studio set.” “With Vieaux and the Escher Quartet… the ensemble virtuosity is expected, but there is also that undefinable collaborative mystique that comes through”
MusicForSeveralInstruments “Boccherini really lets his inner Tony Manero out in the Fandango Finale, which has been a crowd pleaser, I’m sure, since the 18th century.” [It] is a triumph for Jason Vieaux and the Escher Quartet; it brought me as much pleasure as many a more substantial chamber work by Haydn or Mozart or Beethoven.”
RafaelsMusicNotes “Throughout the album, the superb playing of Jason Vieaux provides the perfect partnership to the Escher players.”
Jason Vieaux in Performance…
ClevelandClassical.com “Grammy-winner Jason Vieaux… is both an international touring artist and a local hero, who treated the capacity audience to an elegant performance of Vivaldi’s D-major concerto — originally for lute — with a fine sense of pacing and crisp articulations.”
Statesman-Review “Vieaux’s outstanding attributes as a guitarist: his ability to voice several simultaneous melodic lines with complete independence, imparting subtle shadings of tone and phrasing to each one.” [with cellist Zuill Bailey] Full Review PDF
ClassicalSource “a virtuosic performance by Jason Vieaux.” “His superb technique was immediately evident in the solo that begins the work, and even more so in the dazzling cadenza toward the end of the opening movement.” [Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez]
Seen and Heard International “Vieaux was bluesy, but as classy and cool as the great Duke Ellington”
“…the classical or Spanish guitar remains a wonderful instrument….In the hands of a master such as Jason Vieaux, however, its sounds are among the most beautiful, varied and enticing imaginable.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer “The soloist in the Rodrigo music used his fierce technical gifts to inspire orchestral support to meet his flights and moody arias. Colors glinted and deepened as Vieaux built theatrical scenes in each section. As he explored those moods and quick splashes of sound, he displayed articulation that seemed just beyond the possible. Those sudden passages gave the work exuberance, sly humor, and a sense of daring.” [Rossen Milanov, conductor Haddonfield/Symphony in C]
TheatreJones “Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez was the highlight of the performance—guitarist Jason Vieaux brought a humane, relaxed approach to this best-known of guitar concertos, and the famous extended English Horn solo in the second movement was played with heartrendingly beautiful phrasing and tone by Roger Roe.”
ClevelandClassical.com Online Concert: “The intimacy of the venue and the close-up images of the performers made the experience special.” “Most importantly, the sound was excellent.” “Vieaux turned in a rich, dark performance of Andrés Segovia’s Estudio Sin Luz, written when the guitarist was losing his eyesight, before ending with a second work of his own, the gently syncopated Prayer.”
San Francisco Classical Voice “Vieaux’s command of the improvisatory ornaments, projection of harmonic tension and release, dynamic shaping of melodic lines, and clarity of metric structure were masterful.”
Arts Knoxville “It’s impossible to discuss the classical guitar repertoire without immediately mentioning Joaquín Rodrigo’s 1939 concerto, Concierto de Aranjuez. Equally impossible, it seems, is mentioning the Rodrigo without mentioning guitarist Jason Vieaux who joined Demirjian and the orchestra for the admittedly oh-so familiar work. Despite the fact that Vieaux probably performs the difficult concerto a dozen or more times a season, his performance was as fresh and briskly detailed as it was confidently and solidly rendered.”
Strings Magazine “By this point, the audience had grown accustomed to Vieaux’s flawless and seemingly effortless technique. That did not, however, make it any less extraordinary. [with violinist Anne Akiko Meyers]
San Francisco Classical Voice “The high point arrived with Piazzolla’s Histoire du Tango, a tour de force for both violin and guitar that demands incredible dexterity and rhythmic flexibility.” “Meyers and Vieaux displayed their formidable talents to an appreciative audience at Sonoma State’s Green Music Center” [with violinist Anne Akiko Meyers]
ClevelandClassical.com “a winning end-of-season concert by guitarist Jason Vieaux and mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke… Cooke applied her rich, expressive voice and crisp diction to each song…. Who needs a piano when a fine guitarist can do the job so eloquently?”
Greensboro News & Record “Vieaux played this intimate rhapsodic and intensely romantic three-movement work beautifully.” [Castelnuovo-Tedesco Concerto]
Charleston Gazette-Mail “Vieaux played with fiery vigor and technical brilliance.” “These had a distinctive bite in Vieaux’s hands, indicative of his flair for style and substance.” [Rodrigo, Sierra concertos]
ClevelandClassical.com “Vieaux’s and Labro’s high-energy playing perfectly captures the Tango Nuevo flavor of the Argentine masters.”
Washington Post “Every note comes out fully formed, but nothing he does feels premeditated…”
San Jose Mercury News “played with terrific commitment”
San Jose Mercury News “a jewel-like trove of colors” (with mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke)
San Francisco Classical Voice “excellent performance throughout”
New York Classical Review “Tautly played by Jason Vieaux, the guitar line fizzed with energy… A more alert, precise reading can hardly be imagined.”
Philadelphia Inquirer, “This terrific guitarist, a Philadelphia favorite, worked wonders with Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez”
New York Times, “virtuosic, flamboyant, dashing and, sometimes ineffably lyrical.”
Boston Musical Intelligencer “…five classical pros…” “Add Jason Vieaux to the Escher String Quartet and it becomes inarguable that there is a very deep sensitivity to what all the members are doing.”
Albuquerque Journal “natural fluency, idiomatic phrasing and superb technique.”
Tulsa World “Vieaux combines a surprisingly sharp, percussive attack with fingering of such fluid precision to create a truly singing tone that gave this very familiar music the sort of energy that made it sound fresh and new.”
NPR Music’s 50 Favorite Songs Of 2014 “perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation.”
ClevelandClassical.com with Julien Labro “the dynamic duo performed from one musical mind… perfectly in sync”
Soundboard Magazine CD Review “If you ever want to give a friend a disc that will cement his or her love for the guitar, this is a perfect candidate. Very highly recommended.”
Philadelphia Inquirer [Corigliano Concerto] “Vieaux’s virtuosity emerged in rapidly articulated passages….”
WQXR CD Review “displays of dexterity and rhythmic agility… lyrical elegance” [Featured CD]
Philadelphia CityPaper (feature) “he tackles composers as varied as Andrés Segovia and Duke Ellington with grace, expressive intensity and flawless technical execution.”
San Jose Mercury News “The program had a third hero, classical guitarist Jason Vieaux, a renowned player … can stretch a chord like taffy while letting each component note sparkle.”
Philadelphia Inquirer “…he uses vibrato and color for interpretive points when most demanded, and with particularly arresting effect, in part because your ears don’t take them for granted.”
Buffalo News (with harpist Yolanda Kondonassis)
Boston Musical Intelligencer (with Julien Labro, Bandoneon)
WGBH Drive-Time-Live (with Julien Labro, Bandoneon)
Cleveland Classical “stunning expressiveness and a fine sense of pace.”
Santa Barbara News Press
Cleveland Plain Dealer with harpist Yolanda Kondonassis
Buffalo Newswith the Buffalo Philharmonic
ClevelandClassical.com 5/2011(with harpist Yolanda Kondonassis)
Boston Globe 12/2010 (with A Far Cry and Julien Labro) *Related Article: New CD with A Far Cry
News-Times 10/2010 (with the Escher String Quartet)
Fort-Worth Star Telegram/DFW.com 10/2010 (Fort Worth Symphony)
Ottawa Citizen Preview & Interview 9/2010
Fort-Worth Star Telegram/DFW.com 7/2010
Kalamazoo Gazette/mlive.com 7/2010
Charlotte Observer 10/09 (Charlotte Symphony)
Journal & Courier 4/28/09 (Lafayette Symphony)
Idaho Statesman 4/19/09 (Boise Philharmonic)
The Capital 4/3/09 (Annapolis Symphony)
Tampa Tribune 3/29/09 (The Florida Orchestra)
Buffalo News 11/24/08 (Vivaldi Festival)
“Thanks to his supreme command of color, Vieaux’s performances of three works by Albéniz were the highlight of the evening. The lilting transparency of Albeniz’ Mallorca brought to mind a brightly colored veil blowing in a gentle wind, and the facile fingerwork, tang, and shifts of dynamics and shading in Torre Bermeja were masterful. The beauty of Vieaux’s playing, which undulated with understated elegance, brought forth smiles and cheers from the audience.” (Music @ Menlo Festival) TheClassicalReview.com [2010]
“Allen Krantz’s guitar concerto Songs of Innocence and Experience filtered Pacific Rim musics through Krantz’s own American lens in a work so affable that with a charismatic interpreter like Jason Vieaux, it’s bound to become standard guitar concerto repertoire.” Philadelphia Inquirer [2008]
“The fine guitarist Jason Vieaux led off with his own “Five Songs in the Form of a Baroque Suite,” an arrangement of works by Johann Sebastian Bach interspersed with songs by Pat Metheny, for acoustic guitar. The idea of arranging Metheny’s music in Baroque dance forms – here an allemande, there a chaconne – is a clever one. Vieaux offered clear, clean, sensitive playing throughout.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch [St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Guitar Festival, 2008]
“Joined by Madrid-born guest conductor Pedro Halffter at the podium, Vieaux showed why he is among the most talented guitarists of his generation, a player whose effortless technique and fluidity gave the concerto a singing voice.” Tampa Tribune [The Florida Orchestra, 2008]
“He followed the concerto with an encore, the popular Vivaldi lute concerto slow movement that everyone knows. Again, what a moment. You could see people draped over the balcony rails, sitting forward in their seats, loving every note.” The Buffalo News [2008]
“Vieaux’s talent is so huge, and has been apparent for so long… He is still the most accomplished guitarist I have heard with my own ears, and that’s a list that starts with Segovia.” Absolute Sound [2006]
“Jason Vieaux has arranged some of Metheny’s most striking compositions for his solo instrument — and plays them with clarion beauty. The resulting album is an inspired masterpiece,with appeal far beyond classical and jazz listeners to virtually anyone who
loves music.” The Star-Ledger [2005]
“[Vieaux]…seemed just beyond the possible.” Philadelphia Inquirer [2004]
“Vieaux deserved the limelight.” “His scales, and this work is full of them, came across as almost Mozartean: They were music in and of themselves, not just bridges from one bar to another.” – The New Mexican [Santa Fe Symphony 2004]
PLAY – Jason Vieaux’s Grammy-winning CD link
Metheny: Four Paths of Light link
Leshnoff: Guitar Concerto 1st mvmt – link
Leshnoff: Guitar Concerto 2nd mvmt – link
Leshnoff: Guitar Concerto 3rd mvmt – link
Avner Dorman: How to Love, guitar concerto – link
Bach Lute Suite #3, BWV 995 Prelude – link
Bach and Ellington from the Classical Guitar Sessions – video
Piazzolla: Four Seasons of Buenos Aires (double concerto) sampler – video
Jalbert: Sweet & Doleful Timbres, with saxophonist Timothy McAllister – video excerpt
Villa-Lobos/Schubert/Lennon/etc: with mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke at Round Top – video
Ellington: In My Solitude (with violinist Anne Akiko Meyers) – video
Piazzolla: Histoire du Tango (with violinist Anne Akiko Meyers) – video
Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez, 1st mvmt – link
Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez, 2-3 mvmts – link
Duke Ellington: In a Sentimental Mood [WHYY Articulate] – video
WHYY Articulate Special – video …Just after winning a Grammy award, Articulate did a special on Jason and stated frankly he is “one of the greatest living guitarists in the world.” See this short presentation and find out why.
Aaron Jay Kernis: 100 Greatest Dance Hits (with Escher Quartet) – video
Acoustic Guitar Series: Jason Vieaux discusses musicality and more – video
Acoustic Guitar Series: Jason performs Bach BWV 996 Allemande – video
Tárrega: Caprichio árabe – video
J.S. Bach BWV 996 Gigue – video
J.S. Bach BWV 1006a Prelude – audio
Tiny Desk Concert (NPR) – video
Tiny Desk Concert (NPR) with harpist Yolanda Kondonassis – video
Duke Ellington: In a Sentimental Mood – video
Vivien Fung: Twist (with Kristin Lee, violin) PREMIERE – video
WHYY Articulate: interview/performance #2 – video
Duke Ellington: In a Sentimental Mood [WHYY Articulate] – video
Isaac Albéniz: Sevilla – video
J.S. Bach BWV 998 Prelude – video
Isaac Albéniz Asturias – video
Bach Behind the Scenes – video
Tárrega: Caprichio árabe (with intro) – video
J.S. Bach BWV 995 Allemande – video
Brouwer El Decameron Negro – video
Agustin Barrios Julia Florida – video
WGBH with Julien Labro – video
Metheny: Antonia (with Julien Labro) – video
Visconti: Devil’s Strum on WNYC Soundcheck – listen
WRTI Jason Vieaux on Crossover – listen
WGBH with Julien Labro – listen
WHYY RadioTimes – listen
Jason Vieaux Concerto Repertoire
Jason Vieaux Concerto PAIRS
Jason Vieaux solo recital program suggestions
Jason Vieaux chamber music repertoire
Jason Vieaux and Francisco Fullana NEW
Jason Vieaux Collaborations with Escher Quartet and others – PDF
Timothy McAllister & Jason Vieaux, saxophone & guitar
Zuill Bailey & Jason Vieaux sample program
Sasha Cooke & Jason Vieaux, mezzo soprano & guitar “a winning end-of-season concert” – video
Jason Vieaux & Julien Labro, guitar & bandoneon/accordion “this duo has it all on the ball. Killer stuff.”
Anne Akiko Meyers & Jason Vieaux, violin & guitar “Fleet fingerwork in both instruments marked the players as virtuosos”
Yolanda Kondonassis & Jason Vieaux harp & guitar “the results are beguiling.” – video