Introducing Duo Mantar, guitar and mandolin duo

Received this from Jacob Reuven and Adam Levin who don't frequent the Cafe in person as much and am sharing for them.

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I want to take a moment to formally introduce the mandolin community to our new group, Duo Mantar, which is comprised of Israeli Mandolinist, Jacob Reuven (whom you may know already), and American classical guitarist, Adam Levin (me). We met two years ago after my father sent me a random email with a video of Jacob performing Eugene Ysaye’s famous solo virtuoso violin piece, Preludio (Obsession). I, similarly, adapted it for solo guitar. Hazaa! I wrote him and he just happened to be proposing two projects, both of which included the GUITAR! Lucky me. We met, rehearsed, and the rest is history.

Today, we embark on a new project together of Israeli music for mandolin and guitar. To our knowledge this has never been done before. We have both commissioned new works by today's top Israeli composers and arranged others for our combo. For me, it’s been a revelation; the music is fantastic and my musical partner, Jacob (Yaki), is a truly sensational musician.

This October 2019, we will record this Israeli music on the Naxos Label with master Canadian engineer Norbert Kraft. It will include works by Jan Freidlin, Paul Ben-Haim, Yehezkel Braun, Oren Lok, Josef Bardanashvili, Ittai Rosenbaum, and Marc Lavry. Take a moment to listen to some of their music. Two years ago, I had no idea they existed. Their music is simply wonderful. We go on tour tomorrow for 11 shows! Join us.

For more details about our tour, please visit:
https://www.jacobreuven.com/events

For more info about us please visit:
http://www.jacobreuven.com
http://www.adamlevinguitar.com

Thank you!
Adam and Jacob

https://youtu.be/pcrPqgr7X3o
https://youtu.be/VHO3hakEXI0
https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/a...0&d=1569849489

(Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with these two fine gentlemen at all. I'm just including the above videos/image as they were originally included in Mr. Levin's post of yesterday.)

Most excellent, and glad to hear of it! Too bad Chicago is not on the tour. Thanks as always to Scott and the Cafe for continuing to expand my musical horizons.

Saw this duo in Sterling, VA last evening. The duo played contemporary music from Israel, as mentioned above. It wasn’t a toe tapping concert but it was so refreshing to not hear Vivaldi. Musical interest centered not so much on whistle-able melody as on rhythmic variation, innovative colors, and sometimes complex narrative lines. Including one atonal piece, it all certainly held my interest and, considering the difficulty of this repertoire, my admiration. Also provoking my interest and admiration was the sound of Reuven’s Kerman mandolin. If their travels take them within listening range for you, you can count on a fascinating and rewarding evening.

Joe