Edward Knight (composer) - Twenty-first Century

Twenty-first Century

After composing for the stage, Knight’s chamber compositions became infused with theatrical flare and heightened interaction between players. A review of a Knight work premiered at the International Trumpet Guild Festival in 2006, noted:

Edward Knight's Sonata through Salt-Rimmed Glasses tells a story of romantic hopes raised and dashed in a cantina as an evening progresses. Anderson, and pianist Rebecca Wilt, gave a remarkable performance of this work, moving seamlessly between impressive all-out trumpet sonata work and something verging dangerously close to musical comedy as the protagonists worked out their tensions across a seemingly smoldering piano. This work is really a very intense and complex piece and tests the trumpet player to the limit.…The third movement in particular is wonderful, starting with a beautiful and lyrical muted tune played passionately and with supreme control by Anderson - but it all gets a bit unstructured as the night goes on and the melody comes back in a variety of guises, some distorted, others maudlin or angry, moving toward a slow tango which pretty much explodes with passion. This is a witty and novel piece.”

Knight’s musical output at OCU is prolific. A 2009 release notes five premieres of commissioned works in six months, spread over four states. He toured China with the Oklahoma City University Symphony Orchestra as it performed a program of American music including his work and compositions from his students.