Duo Mantar

About

Duo Mantar is comprised of Jacob Reuven and American classical guitarist, Adam Levin. They are described as “viscerally and imaginative” and “transcendental and exuberant,” respectively. This novel pairing is rare in the chamber music world, however, the two plucked instruments are complimentary and are natural extensions of one another. The mix of gentle guitar strings and the more metallic sound of the mandolin has turned out to be an interesting, luring experience for the listener.

Levin and Reuven began playing together in Fall 2017 and share a passion for Israeli Music, Hebrew and Jewish songs. Both of them are committed to expanding the repertoire available for mandolin and guitar by actively commissioning most sought after contemporary Israeli composers. They have already commissioned four renowned Israeli composers, including Josef Bardanashvili, Ittai Rosenbaum, Oren Lok, and Jan Freidlin. Additionally, they are performing works originally written for mandolin and guitar by Yehezkel Braun and fresh arrangements of traditional Hebrew songs by Marc Lavry and Maurice Ravel.  They gave their debut in April 2018 at the University of Rhode Island Guitar Festival. Their 2018/19 concert plans include tours in the United States, Israel and Spain. They will be recording their debut album on Naxos Records in Summer 2019 and subsequently will be premiering a new double concerto in Spring 2020.