PRESS
Featured
The Stage was constantly in motion, from the journey that each song took to the movement of musicians going on and off stage to the bodies of the players as they swayed with the beat, perfectly in tune with the sounds they were generating… The excitement and passion for what they do was palpable in every performer…
— Katie Cristiano, The Spectator | Full Review
Everyone played with a clear and focused direction of sound. There were moments when one felt like they were being drawn into the “Veil,” and there met with the deeper purpose of Tavener’s transcendental composition of heightened bliss.
— Jennifer Pyron, OperaWire | Full Review
I knew I was in for a great night of music but didn’t expect to enjoy myself as much as I did… the overall experience was magical.
— Jason Greene, One Good Dad | Full Review
The reduction of the string section led to great clarity and sharp contrasts; the soloist plays the virtuoso part without pause and great lyricism, while the other strings interject, comment, and offer drama, sometimes with cruel dissonances, even more stabbing here than with a larger complement of players.
— Robert Levine, Classics Today | Full Review
…there [Stranger Love] was onstage, performed by the new music group Contemporaneous under the auspices of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, a glorious marathon that seemed to make the hours stand still.
— Joshua Kosman, SF Chronicle Datebook | Full Review
Performed with admirable virtuosity and buoyancy by the formidable line-up of Contemporaneous… the ensemble scoring was given an astounding workout under Bloom’s invigorating and ever-attentive direction. A case in point of clarity and expressivity, the 1154-page score was brought to life with remarkable dedication.
— Jari Kallio, Adventures In Music | Full Review
These are players well versed in Mattingly’s idiom, and well suited to take on such an immense, difficult score for one night: exact and detailed, but also lively and openly dancing, as full of personality as any singer… They are the stars of the purely instrumental third act…
— Joshua Barone, The New York Times | Full Review
Stranger Love, a singular and hypnotic work by Dylan Mattingly and Thomas Bartscherer, opens (and closes) on Saturday in Los Angeles.
— Zach Wolfe, The New York Times | Full Feature
…Contemporaneous is internalizing lessons of the pandemic and leading new music toward its better self.
— Lana Norris, I Care If You Listen | Full Review
…the impeccable, electrifying Contemporaneous.
— National Sawdust
[Dawn] Upshaw's lustrous instrument was delicately framed by members of Contemporaneous, led adroitly by conductor David Bloom.
— Bruce Hodges, Seen and Heard International | Full Review
Contemporaneous attacked, with passion[...] Feverishly varied, [Andrew Norman's] Try was given a ferocious, focused performance by Contemporaneous and its conductor, David Bloom, that ended, after 10 minutes of fury, in a sinuous melody for piano, then barely audible breathing through the clarinet and flute.
— Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times | Full Review
What came through loud and clear were the ensemble’s tremendous versatility, fine musicianship, focus, and incredibly rich and varied talent, as well as the powerful commitment to creating and fostering an ever-expanding community among composers, musicians, and listeners.
— Susan Scheid, Prufrock's Dilemma | Full Review
Contemporaneous has once again displayed the passionate drive for new music in a younger generation of composers and musicians. The musical ability of all of the players in the group is fantastic… Contemporaneous is setting an extremely high bar for other ensembles to live up to.
— Sam Reising, I Care If You Listen | Full Review