Duo Noire

Duo Noire

Duo Noire is a "virtuosic pair” (I Care if You Listen) of the pioneering American classical guitarists, Thomas Flippin and Christopher Mallett. Focusing on audience-friendly contemporary music, their concerts offer “profoundly enjoyable” genre-bending repertoire with “spectacular precision” (St. Louis Post- Dispatch).

After their 2014 EP release, FIGMENTS, featuring Juilliard professor Raymond Lustig’s masterful 30-minute composition for the duo, Duo Noire gained international prominence with the 2018 release of their full-length debut album, Night Triptych, on New Focus Recordings. Named as an Editor’s Choice for top classical music albums of 2018 by both All Music and I Care if You Listen, the album featured new works exclusively written for Duo Noire by accomplished women composers: GRAMMY-nominee Clarice Assad, MacArthur Fellow Courtney Bryan, E.C.M. Artist Golfam Khayam, Mary Kouyoumdjian, Gity Razaz, and Gabriella Smith. The project was launched with a 2015 grant from the Diller-Quaile School of Music to help the duo make classical guitar concerts more gender-inclusive. The album was hailed as an "astounding...goldmine of ideas and feelings" (Stereophile), a “marvelous recital” (Limelight Magazine), “truly pathbreaking” (All Music), and “an important disc” (The Arts Fuse).

Recent highlights include giving the world premiere of GRAMMY-nominee Nathalie Joachim’s new work for Duo Noire, Held Together; filming a premiere recording at Severance Hall with members of The Cleveland Orchestra; receiving a standing ovation at the 2022 Guitar Foundation of America Convention; and Mallet’s release of a landmark Naxos recording of the music of Justin Holland.

Duo Noire’s work has been featured in Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Classical Guitar Magazine, the Guitar Foundation of America's journal Soundboard, and Chamber Music Magazine. Their recordings have aired on radio stations nationwide, including New York City public radio’s New Sounds. Past highlights include fellowships for contemporary music at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute and the Norfolk Music Festival in Connecticut, as well as concerts at China’s Peking University, the 92 Street Y, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Georgetown University, the New York City and St. Louis Classical Guitar societies, the Omaha Under the Radar and April in Santa Cruz new music festivals.

Thomas and Christopher are graduates of the Yale School of Music. Their name is a combination of “Noir” (Black) and “La Noire” (quarter note). 

News Highlights

2023/2024 Seasons

• 2024 - February: Duo Noire on Tidewater Classical Guitar Series, Virginia.

• 2024 - February: Flippin’s composition for string quartet in Juilliard showcase at Chelsea Factory with Ivalas Quartet.

• 2024 - April: Mallett in recital @ Seattle Classical Guitar Society

• 2024 - March: Flippin @ Peabody Conservatory Fret Fest for premiere of his composition for guitar orchestra.

• 2024 - September: Duo Noire @ University of Denver for Denver Guitar Festival, Colorado.

• 2023 - February: Duo Noire in Denver @ Metropolitan State University

• February: Chris Mallet releases landmark recording on Naxos featuring world premiere recordings of the music of Justin Holland.

• March: Duo Noire in Virginia for Loudon County Guitar Fesitval

• April: Duo Noire in Seattle for Northwest Guitar Festival

• April: Duo Noire in Chicago for Lead Guitar

• April/May: Flippin’s string quartet premiered in joint project with Juilliard, The New York Philharmonic, and American Composers Forum

• September: Flippin premieres double concerto by Chris Brubeck @ Memphis Symphony.

2022 Season

• October 2022: Duo Noire in St. Louis Classical Guitar residency.

• June 27-July 2nd 2022 - Guitar Foundation of America Convention: Duo Noire Recital
  * World premiere of Grammy-nominee Nathalie Joachim’s new work Held Together.

• February 2022 - Northern Illinois University: Duo Noire Recital

• March 2022 - Cleveland Classical Guitar Society Duo Noire residency

• 2022 Oberlin Conservatory Duo Noire Recital

• March 2022- Austin Classical Guitar Society Duo Noire Residency

Past Highlights

Press

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, Guitarists Duo Noire get 'a little weird' at Ethical Society concert
It’s always a special pleasure to have Duo Noire back in town, and Saturday night at the Ethical Society was no exception. Classical guitarists Thomas Flippin and Christopher Mallett created a relaxed, informal atmosphere as they presented an eclectic program that included two world premières...With its incredibly transparent and lightly textured delivery, spectacular precision, delightful commentary, and a wide range of guitar techniques, Duo Noire produced another engaging and profoundly enjoyable program.”

STEREOPHILE: An Enlightening Debut from Duo Noire by Jason Victor Serinus
"Duo Noire's debut recording for New Focus Recordings, Night Triptych, covers so many bases, and speaks so clearly to contemporary realities, that it immediately qualifies for several gold stars. But once you hear the sheer musicality of its premiere recordings of six new works for duo guitar, and how wonderfully they are played, you may be tempted to award the album several more...the depth, variety, and range of colors is astounding....There's a goldmine of ideas and feelings here, whose riches will unveil themselves more and more over time." 

The ARTS FUSE: “Its first strengths rest precisely where they should: in the music and the sheer excellence of the performances that catch the ear and don’t let it go…Mallett and Flippin play the whole program with terrific panache. Indeed, it would be hard to imagine more engaged or sympathetic performances of any of these pieces and the guitarists’ command of the varied stylistic demands between all six is faultless. An important disc, sure, but, even more, an inviting one that takes you to some fresh places well worth experiencing.”

LIMELIGHT MAGAZINE: Review- Terrific premiere recordings of new music for two guitars.- October 2018"
“The music really is terrific: original, colourful, exciting and taking advantage of everything two guitars have to offer in the way of technique, tone and timbre. It helps that the music also has such talented advocates, who embrace opportunities to improvise and embellish with style and gusto…[a] marvelous recital.”

TEXTURA, Night Triptych Album Review - July 2018
"As laudable as the project is for presenting works by female composers, it would be less of an accomplishment were its contents of only middling value, but that's hardly the case: the pieces are a varied lot that speak highly on behalf of their creators, and it doesn't hurt that the musicians bringing the material to life are Flippin and Mallett, virtuosos who invest their performances with energy and conviction. To claim that the two break new ground in the world of classical guitar music on the hour-long release isn't overselling it: deploying everything from stabs and strums to trills and taps, the guitarists consistently extend the acoustic instrument into adventurous territory without sacrificing musicality in the process."

ALL MUSIC REVIEW: Night Triptych by James Manheim
You might not expect much...and you would be making a major error...All-contemporary programs of guitar music are not common, and this may be the first to feature exclusively female composers. All the works were commissioned by Duo Noire, and…the duo handles a large variety of technical demands well. Another star of the show is producer William Coulter, a guitarist himself, whose crystal clear, close-up guitar sound is absolutely exemplary. A truly pathbreaking recording that is greatly satisfying in its own right."

I CARE IF YOU LISTEN, Duo Noire Presents Newly Commissioned Works on Night Triptych
"listeners will expand their understanding of the kinds of sounds that may be drawn from this beautiful instrument…the Duo achieves their sonic explorations with an impeccable sense of ensemble and easy musicianship that sounds like they’ve been playing together for decades. The disc is a delight...an imaginative world full of one new acoustic discovery after another. Duo Noire transitions between extended and standard techniques with virtuosic ease, using their athletic and beautifully focused sound to project musicianship in perfect ensemble."

NEW MUSIC BUFF: Duo Noire, Guitar Duo Revisioned by Allan J. Cronin 8-10-2018

"…they even seem to be expanding the very possibilities of a guitar duo...It appears to be a landmark release for identifying new composers contributing to the guitar...Above all this is an intelligent album...you have a glorious celebration of gender/cultural diversity as well as some mind blowing compositional efforts ably handled by these visionary musicians. It is admittedly unusual (though clearly not risky) to program compositions by all women composers.  This is a wonderful collection with performances that are incisive and intriguing enough to leave their listeners wanting more.  This is a group to watch/listen to."

AN EARFUL: Night Triptych Album Review-
This [is a] brilliant album…[they] expand the repertoire for two guitars in marvelous ways…the works both transcend and exemplify the characteristics of the instruments…this wouldn’t work without the Duo’s phenomenal technique…Gabriella Smith fill[s] out the collection, which is a delight throughout. When ideology intersects with music it only advances the cause of both when the results are as compulsively listenable as what Duo Noire has put forth on Night Triptych. The album, out now on New Focus Recordings, is a complete success on all counts.”

AN EARFUL: Focus on Contemporary Classical
“A digital-only bonus track contains three further variations by Vigeland, a young Icelandic composer named Halidór Smárason, and [Dan] Lippel himself, a fine dessert after the sonic feast of the album proper. Along with Duo Noire's Night Triptych, this is the best classical guitar album of 2018.”

WQXR RADIO: NEW SOUNDS on Night Triptych
"Duo Noire is so named because the two guitarists are both African-American. There album called "Night Triptych" is something that we'll be returning to in the future on New Sounds because it is full of really interesting pieces for their combination of two classical guitars." - John Schaefer, Episode #4128

SOUNDBOARD MAGAZINE Vol.44 No.4 December 2018
”This music is excellent…[Duo Noire] have done us all a great service…Thomas Flippin and Christopher Mallett are fantastic players and their duo is a treasure for our guitar community.” - Al Kunze

I CARE IF YOU LISTEN, Where Classical Guitar Meets Minimalism
"Figments, composed by Raymond Lustig and performed by the virtuosic pair, DUO NOIRE (Thomas Flippin and Christopher Mallett) is a unique and entrancing album that exists at the unusual intersection of minimalism and impressive classical guitar technique...The impressive technique displayed by DUO NOIRE is perfectly suited to Lustig's delicious compositions, and you wouldn't regret getting a hold of this…excellently produced and mastered album."

Duo Noire, Night Triptych Album Review: 
"Duo Noire, aka Thomas Flippin and Christopher Mallett are talented exponents of the contemporary classical guitar, with technique to spare and an interpretive acumen that serves them well in bringing to us the subtleties and sonic pleasures of each composition in the program...The result is a sort of state-of-the-art view of what we can understand and appreciate today...It is thoroughgoing, most musical in design...one gets something of lasting worth not just a shock blast of newness! I most definitely recommend this to any with an interest in New Music for guitar. Bravo!" 7-26-18

The Saint Louis American: Saint Louis Classical Guitar Society Welcomes Duo Noire to Town
"In the ten years since classical guitarists Thomas Flippin and Chris Mallett formed Duo Noire, they have become trailblazers."

Testimonials:

"DUO NOIRE PLAY WITH STUNNING TECHNIQUE AND DEEP MUSICIANSHIP. The new repertoire on this recording expands the horizons for the classical guitar duo. The pieces traverse various musical landscapes and bend genres into new shapes. The idea of commissioning female composers is wonderful, as they are sadly underrepresented in the classical guitar world. Bravo to Duo Noire for this amazing sonic adventure, working with them is an honor and a joy."  - William Coulter, GRAMMY-winning guitarist.

"BOTH THE PIECE AND THE PERFORMANCE ARE INCREDIBLE.  It is a really exciting contribution to the repertoire.  Congratulations!"
- Marc Teicholz,  Professor of Guitar at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. 1st Prize: Guitar Foundation of America Competition.

"WHAT A PLEASURE it was having Duo Noire on our series.  Not only was their musicianship brilliant , but also the diversity of their programming was exceptional.  The two provided delightful on-stage commentaries, adding tremendously to our audience's appreciation of each selection.  How gratifying it is to see young artists so devoted to their craft."   --Musical Programming Director, Placitas Artists Series

"THEY'RE BOTH FANTASTIC RECITALISTS and teaching artists, equally loved by students and community audiences alike. Reach out to them—they  belong on your next guitar series!" William Ash, Executive Director, St. Louis Classical Guitar Society

"Duo Noire plays with a unique balance of American earnestness and worldly style. Flippin and Mallett are musicians of the older, better, sense: the pair actively compose and arrange, as well as perform, bringing a creative artist’s vitality to all the music they play, from new premiers to classic repertoire, as if the music were being written before your very eyes." -Raymond J. Lustig, Juilliard Composition Professor