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"Today we’d like to introduce you to an Oregon composer who’s a little off the–well, he’s not so much off the beaten path as he is on a different beaten path. Where most contemporary composers work in a distinctly contemporary idiom, a soundworld where Stravinsky is considered old hat and socially relevant post-tonal aleatoric graphic scores are all the rage, Andrew Lewinter composes music inspired mainly by Brahms, Bach, and the other “Dead White European Males” that fell out of fashion around the time of the semi-apocryphal Le Sacre riot and–despite the best efforts of Bernstein and an army of eagerly conservative symphony directors–have never completely recovered.

We first heard about Lewinter upon the release of his album Music for Brass and Piano last year. He wasn’t exactly on our radar, but the players on the album are all Oregon Symphony pros–specifically the principals of the legendary OSO brass section (Jeffrey Work, Jeff Garza, Casey Jones, and JáTtik Clark) and that raised an eyebrow–so we looked him up. First result: Andrew Lewinter, Employment Attorney.

​“Employment attorney Andrew Lewinter fights for victims of employment discrimination, retaliation, whistleblowing, and sexual harassment in Eugene, Oregon. Mr. Lewinter advocates for employees in State and Federal courts. Mr. Lewinter also represents individual employees before State and Federal administrative agencies, such as the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI). Mr. Lewinter has been an attorney for both public and private sector labor unions in a wide spectrum of fields.”

Um. Right guy? A little more digging: Andrew Lewinter, Composer. Same guy! Far out, man. It’s always fascinating knowing what composers do for a living. Philip Glass famously worked as a plumber, a cabbie, even had a moving company. Andy Akiho was a sushi chef. Charles Ives was an insurance executive. And so on.

Anyways, since “the proof of the pudding is in the eating,” we sat and listened to the album–which turned out to be awesome.

Not too many composers do this sort of thing anymore. In the cathedral of Classical Music you get the canonical DWEMs–the Hallowed Three B’s (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms)–but not a lot of serious new music composed in the old style, perhaps slightly updated for modern ears (a chromatic mediant here, an overtone scale there), without the slightest trace of irony or “deconstruction.” Here is a composer, we thought, who really likes this stuff.

So we wrote to Mr. Lewinter and asked him the burning question: why write Romantic music in the 21st century?"

by Huntley Dent, Fanfare Magazine

​"What immediately confronts the listener in Horn Sonata No. 2 are telltale traits that run throughout the collection." "I can almost see him sitting in the orchestra paying close attention to Brahms and Richard Strauss (a hornist’s best friend). This sonata owes the piano part considerably to Brahms and the leaping intervals of the principal theme in the first movement to Strauss."

"All these sonatas follow a traditional slow-fast-slow structure in three movements, the slow movement being a songful melody, the finale a Rondo. Typically, brass sonatas are display pieces, but Lewinter concentrates on lyricism and instrumental color–..."

"I’ve never before encountered a chamber work for piano and three brass instruments (trumpet, French horn, and trombone), which makes Lewinter’s contribution to the genre unique."

"I imagine that brass players who pick up these scores will recognize that the music sits well for their instruments. The performers are all of high caliber, and Navona’s recorded sound is vivid and well balanced. Although this is Lewinter’s first appearance as a composer in Fanfare, I gather that his chamber pieces, which are mostly for brass but also extend to woodwinds and a string quartet, have been gratifyingly popular."

"Four stars: Tuneful, consistently attractive brass music."

By Infodad

"In the conventional three movements, this is the most pleasantly melodic work on the CD, and inclusion of the piano produces a sound for the piece that differs substantially – and to the work’s benefit – from the sound of everything else on this disc."
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Read the full article: http://transcentury.blogspot.com/2022/12/rarities.html

By Josep Bosch, Sonograma

Today's music - and we can be proud of it - embraces all kinds of styles, and only writing and performance could be separated into different categories. This is demonstrated by Andrew Lewinter, a horn scholar, who began his compositional career in 2016 cultivating a neoclassical and romantic style. His works include a sonata for horn and piano (2017), a woodwind quintet (2019), a nonet (2018), a sonata for tuba and piano (2018), and a waltz for flute and cello.

This disc includes the Trio for oboe, horn and piano, the Quintet for oboe and string, and the Quintet for horn and string . There are sublime moments throughout the recording. We can emphasize that the movements of all the compositions are interconnected and thematically related to the initial intervals of the main theme of each first movement. In addition, it must be said that the string responds with nerve to the magnificent performances of John Dee on the oboe and Bernhard David Scully on the horn.

The whole album contains special moments, some of more interest than others, both in the trios and the two quintets. Lewinter's music, performed impeccably by the Jupiter String Quartet, balances the lightness and gravity of evocative music. However, it is undeniable that this is a repertoire of tonal music that deserves the attention and enthusiasm of the performers. John Dee, Bernhard David Scully and pianist Casey Robards, three soloists gifted with great personality, are committed to offering respectful versions of trios and quintets.

Andrew Lewinter's brilliant sonorities, full of lyricism, exude precision and neatness, and have been picked up with conviction by performers of great merit.

Article Link: https://sonograma.org/suplement-de-discos/andrew-lewinter/

By Núria Serra, Sonograma

"With the work of the composer Andrew Lewinter, the Trio for Oboe, Horn and Piano, we enter a much more introverted world in which the intervals have an expressive weight; the fugue of the penultimate variation, in the subject, is an inversion of the initial intervals of the movement."

Read the full article: https://sonograma.org/suplement-de-discos/figments-vol-3/

By Nagamag

​“A very rich composition of the repertoire, with a powerful sound palette of a chamber, wind orchestra. A real treasure for connoisseurs of such music, in which instrumental textures decorate your inner world in bright colors.”

Article Link: https://www.nagamag.com/the-latest/andrew-lewinter-x-new-london-chamber-ensemble-woodwind-quintet-no-1-ii-dumka-andante/

By Classical Music Indy

"The seven composers’ works on the album soar with modern flair, making use of various instrumental textures and irregular meters with jazz-driven influences sprouting from classical roots. Dynamic displays of dexterity and luscious interplay between performers burst with refined energy in this recording, uplifting listeners into a satisfying and equally enticing atmosphere."

Read the full article: https://www.classicalmusicindy.org/cmi-streaming/#/post/280267