On the final concert of this year’s New York Guitar Festival, the Newman and Oltman Guitar Duo will present the world premiere of a new work written for them by arguably Cuba’s most venerable living composer, Leo Brouwer. “Through the Looking Glass” will be streamed today at 4:00 EDT. As the title suggests, the piece is inspired by Lewis Carroll.

The festival is presented each year by the Mannes School of the Music – The New School. The programming of this year’s concerts has been curated to honor the legacy of legendary guitarist Julian Bream.

Michael Newman and Laura Oltman, who make their home in Warren County, New Jersey, are artistic directors of the Raritan River Music Festival. The duo has been ensemble-in-residence at Mannes for 34 years. Between them, they’ve also held teaching positions and residencies at Princeton University, Lafayette College, and the College of New Jersey. Newman has been on the guitar and chamber music faculty of Mannes since 1979.

Previously, Brouwer composed for them a work titled “El Libro de los Seres Imaginarios” (“The Book of Imaginary Beings”), for which they hold exclusive performance rights. The piece has been recorded and released on the MusicMasters label. I am proud to say, I hosted the duo in the WWFM studios in 2019 for the world broadcast premiere of selections from the work, performed live.

Music and interview are still posted on Soundcloud. Some of the information may be outdated, but the music is timeless. Listen, and then tune in to the world premiere of “Through the Looking Glass,” AT THE LINK ABOVE, THIS AFTERNOON AT 4 PM!