Brian King gave a riveting solo recital last year, his freshman year at Oberlin. This year, he decided to save his work on his solo material for a Fall program and instead to give a full program this spring with his flutist partner, Katie Kim. She and Brian began playing together last year in Guitar Ensemble, playing a Giuliani Sonata and the ubiquitous l'Histoire du Tango of Piazzolla. This year, they added the highly appealing but fiendishly difficult Sonatina of Castelnuovo-Tedesco and three of the Robert Beaser Mountain Songs. In addition, Brian, an adept and creative arranger, created four new duets from the works of Chick Corea, for a highly engaging group of jazzy and colorful pieces to end to program.

The performance, in Kulas Recital Hall, was superlative. Every piece on the program was played with virtuosic control and expressive élan. The duo communication and symbiosis was spot-on and the interpretations were fresh. The concluding Chick Corea set launched a sudden standing ovation from the audience. Bravo Brian and Katie!!!

Here are a few pics from the evening; the full program follows.