Reviews

​​

The Scotsman

'His score – for the unusual but striking quartet of violin, cello, trumpet and trombone – shifts from the slow-moving and monumental to the filigree, with tendrils of melody and ornamentation providing poignant connections with its underlying themes. There’s an almost Britten-like clarity and sense of purpose to his writing – seldom a note is wasted. Likewise, his vocal lines – sometimes stuttering with staccato and pauses, other times soaring and lyrical – convey his own libretto’s sense with gratifying directness.

https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/edinburgh-festivals/fringe-musicals-opera-reviews-stumped-meet-me-in-buenos-aires-and-more-4728261

​

Edinburgh Music Review

'The whole is artfully constructed to take the audience on an emotional and musical journey which veers between tonality and atonality, punching emphasis and textural sophistication. In such a small setting there is absolutely no place to hide for the performers (or for the composer, for that matter), and they do not need to.'

https://www.edinburghmusicreview.com/reviews/stumped

​

​

The Stage

'Both jazzily popular and rigorously serious. It is inventive, coherent and often quite tough'  

https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2017/collision-review-at-londons-arcola-theatre/

​

Opera Today

'Coenen-Rowe has crafted strong vocal lines and evocative instrumental moods which capture the darkness and bitterness of so much of the music of the Weimar era, with its experimental intermingling of the ‘popular’ and the ‘classical’'. http://www.operatoday.com/content/2017/08/collision_spect.php

​

Live Theatre UK

'Composer Lewis Coenen-Rowe has produced a jagged, often raucous score, sweetened every now and then with some cabaret lilt or jazz and ragtime inflections.'

http://livetheatreuk.co.uk/2017/08/18/review-collision/