Charles Knudsen

Recently, I've been asked why I use live (human) performers rather than Midi or AI. First, I have nothing against using technology for any endeavor, you know, except really bad stuff. But I do think live musical performance could be at risk if the airwaves get overwhelmed with digital and, in particular, AI music. So I've been working with and in some cases hiring human musicians using old instruments made out of wood and strings. It would easier and cheaper to use Suno, I know. But The Emerald Quartet and I believe that it would be a shame for string, brass, woodwinds, and vocal music to get lost in all of the noise and eventually fade away. In our case, we work in the classical tradition, but the same holds true for all types of music. We've all got work to do. But rather than screaming at clouds and railing against AI music, we are trying to build a stock of new music made by biological beings, adding to the complex conversation about music, music that reminds us of our roots and connects to us our ancestors, and hopefully to one another. Not to wax philosophical, but music started with a heartbeat and a mother's voice, foot tapping with friends, beating on animal skins at a cultural jam, chanting, strapping a diddely-bow to the front porch, blowing into a blade of grass or wooden reed, and eventually a harmonica or a flute or a clarinet. The world has produced such a rich array of instruments that require direct human contact, and through that contact all of us connect so deeply. I hope we never lose that. So I'm trying to do my little part in my little corner of Youtube to keep this kind of music alive, the kind that requires a human touch, literally. Again, not to rail against the future, but simply to remind folks that these types of instruments and the music we can create from them are simply worth saving. In my case, I started with the piano, then moved on to the violin and piano, and now I'm working with a wonderful quartet. In fact, the quartet is performing one of my pieces for a concert for children in Poland soon, with the purpose of exposing children to live music, yes, in a classical tradition for this particular performance, but more so to provide in-person, tangible experiences for children, to show them, before AI music becomes the norm, that there is value in watching, say, a cellist squint and furrow his eyebrows as he takes on a difficult passage, and then looks to the violinist to land together on a beat, and for us in the audience to see the look of satisfaction on their faces, and to feel the satisfaction in our own hearts in such a special way. Is that a pipe dream? Is anyone else on board? Or am I just pining about the good old days just a little too much? I'd be curious to know your thoughts. In any case, thanks for your support, everyone!

2 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 13

Charles Knudsen

I wonder if there are other composers as confused as I am about what genre to write in. I have a classical background, and I love all sorts of classical music from the traditional stuff to modern post-Schoenberg. I also love cinematic music and contemporary jazz.

I find myself always wondering if my music sounds too old fashioned because I haven’t embraced atonal or theatrical, conceptual music as mediums for my own writing. I like melodies. Beats. Cool harmonies. And motifs causing havoc. But I have to wonder if my sound is too straight, lacking the rhythmic grooves that characterize much of modern pop, soul, Rnb, and basically anything from the past fifty years. I sometimes feel like I’m in a time warp writing mush for people who lived 80 years ago. This is certainly not my intention. I’m always feeling that I’m making harmonic and structural breakthroughs that to me are exciting. And I try to do so in a lyrical and tightly structured way.

Just curious if any other composers are in the same predicament. Am I overthinking it? What should I do I get stuck because of these puzzles?

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 10

Charles Knudsen

Hi, everyone. I just wanted to share some good news. I recently found out that I won the gold prize at the Debussy International Music Competition for my composition Violin and Piano Sonata in three categories: original composition, sonata, and duo. I had never entered a competition before, and I had no idea what to expect. So I have to say I am surprised as well as thrilled that my music was selected. I’d like to thank all of you who have been so supportive since I started composing again after decades away. I really appreciate all of you. Your support gives me the encouragement to keep going. Thank you all!!

Violin and Piano Sonata – Full Score Version by Charles Knudsen
https://youtu.be/xAHqOoZJA_g

static.wixstatic.com/media/5e1524_87484818b3b944d3…

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 17

Charles Knudsen

Hi. Just sharing with you a nice publication from Vault Lab about one of my pieces. The writer seems to really understand the piece. I’ll post both piano solo version and the strings version below. Thanks for listening!

Charles Knudsen – “The Lillies of Monument Road”

With "The Lillies of Monument Road , " Charles Knudsen brings to the editorial an instrumental offering with a powerfully evocative title. Even without a detailed description of the concept, the title of the piece immediately conjures up a precise imagery: lilies, a monumental road, memory, passage, perhaps a place marked by memories, presences, or commemorations.
The artist's placement in the classical/instrumental realm suggests a listening experience built more on interior images than explicit narrative. Here, the title becomes a gateway: "The Lillies of Monument Road" seems to invite the listener to walk along a path, observing flowers that are not merely natural elements, but symbols of purity, mourning, fragile beauty, and memory.

Instrumental music, when it works, doesn't need to explain everything. It can leave room for a form of personal interpretation, allowing the listener to construct their own emotional landscape. In this sense, Knudsen's piece seems to belong to that dimension where the composition becomes a wordless narrative: a suspended scene, perhaps melancholic, perhaps contemplative.

The reference to "Monument Road" adds an almost cinematic component. We're not simply looking at a garden or a floral image, but at a road, and therefore a journey. The monument can indicate what remains, what is remembered, what time has not entirely erased. The lilies, along this road, become silent presences: delicate yet charged with meaning.

"The Lillies of Monument Road" therefore lends itself to attentive, intimate listening, capable of embracing nuances and silences. It's a track that can speak to those who love instrumental music when it becomes a space for meditation, imagery, and memory.

Emeralds Strings Quartet | The Lillies of Monument Road by Charles Knudsen
https://youtu.be/fmJIym49Ohk

Artworks by Monet, Turner, Pissarro | The Lilles of Monument Road by Charles Knudsen
https://youtu.be/6LH338PYKbw

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 4

Charles Knudsen

A lot of people have commented on the great sound quality of this performance. The magic lies in the studio itself.

Please click here to learn all about the new upgrades at the Wroclaw Academy!

www.lsionline.com/news/wroclaw-academy-upgrades-st…

3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 2

Charles Knudsen

A few years ago, someone in my family with whom I was very close asked me if I would write a piano piece for her.

She had attended her older brother's wedding, where I performed a piece I had composed for the occasion. Afterward, she asked if I would write one for her wedding someday. I promised I would.

At the time, she wasn't seeing anyone, so I didn't begin working on it right away. Later, she met a wonderful man whom she loved dearly, and I finally started writing the piece. It was meant to be romantic, nostalgic, and full of hope.

But I never finished it.

In a tragedy that shocked our entire family, she passed away unexpectedly one night while I was still working on the music. She never heard a single note of it.

For a long time, the unfinished manuscript remained just that—unfinished. I couldn't continue writing it in the same spirit after what had happened.

Then, a few years later, I discovered an old recording on my phone containing some of the original ideas. I decided it was finally time to return to the piece and complete it.

The result is Pavane.

It is not the piece I originally intended to write. It still contains traces of the hopeful and romantic music that came first, but it also carries feelings of loss, longing, and, if I'm honest, a little regret. Above all, though, I hope it reflects something of the grace, kindness, and goodness that made her so special to those who knew her.

I've shared this piece with my family, and now I'm sharing it with all of you.

For those who knew and loved her, I hope it brings a measure of comfort. And for everyone else, I hope the music speaks for itself.

3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 6

Charles Knudsen

Many of you know Lament for Piano. At the moment, it’s my most-streamed piece on Spotify and probably the piece people mention most often when they contact me.

Recently, I had the opportunity to create a string quartet version, performed by the Emerald Quartet. This was my first time arranging one of my piano works for strings, and I quickly discovered that it was much more than simply assigning notes to different instruments.

One challenge was resonance. A piano can sustain notes with the pedal while other musical events happen around them. In one passage of Lament, a low E continues to ring beneath an F major arpeggio, creating a gentle dissonance that gives the music its color. With strings, that note cannot simply linger on its own. I had to find ways to establish it in the listener’s ear while preserving the flow of the music, sometimes moving material between instruments to keep the passage alive.

Another challenge was harmony. On the piano, all the notes of a chord can be played at once by a single performer. A string quartet gives you four principal voices, and even with occasional double stops, difficult choices have to be made. I found myself asking which notes were truly essential and which could be sacrificed without losing the character of the harmony.

One surprise was that dissonances often sound less sharp in an open string texture than they do on the piano. In a few places, I actually changed bass notes from the original version to restore some of the tension and color I was hearing in my head.

I learned a tremendous amount from this project, and I can’t thank the Emerald Quartet enough for their patience, musicianship, and ability to make the piece sound as though it had always belonged to strings rather than piano.

If you’re interested, I’ll create a playlist so you can listen to the piano and string quartet versions side by side.

And this won’t be the last experiment. The Waltz of Time is already being transformed into a string quartet. Its character is very different from Lament, which presents an entirely new set of challenges. I’m looking forward to sharing that as well.

3 months ago | [YT] | 3

Charles Knudsen

A little story behind my recently released piece, Nocturne for Piano.

A few years ago, a friend asked me if I would write a romantic nocturne. I thought it was a lovely idea and promised I would. Then life got busy, and somehow two years passed before I finally got around to it.

The funny thing is that by the time I finished the piece, my friend had completely forgotten about the request.

Still, I’m glad I followed through. Inspired by the nocturnes of the late Romantic period, I wanted to create something lyrical, expressive, and heartfelt. I can easily imagine it being played at a wedding or during another special moment.

If you’re a pianist and would like to perform Nocturne for Piano at a wedding or event, send me an email through my website and I’d be happy to send you the score.

I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

3 months ago | [YT] | 2

Charles Knudsen

More photos from the rehearsal with the Emerald String Quartet!

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3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 18

Charles Knudsen

Hi, everyone. Just wanted to share that Pavane has been accepted onto a very cool playlist on Spotify. If you like reading to chill music, this playlist is for you.

open.spotify.com/playlist/7dQQPuB0vyQiaoQjULh0Sn?s…

3 months ago | [YT] | 4