Chris Thile joined the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, led by conductor Jeffrey Kahane, for the California premiere of his Mandolin Concerto this past weekend, in concerts at the Alex Theatre in Glendale on Saturday and at Royce Hall in Los Angeles on Sunday. Also on the program were two works by Copland and a piece by Nico Muhly.

The Los Angeles Times, in its review of Saturday night's premiere, says that even at the young age of 28, and even before the unveiling of the concerto, Thile had already "shocked or changed the world in which he operates several times," through his work with Nickel Creek and on his Nonesuch debut with Punch Brothers.

Reviewer Richard S. Ginell compares Thile to the likes of Duke Ellington and Astor Piazzolla for his ability to expand the musical languages in which he works beyond the confines they had previously known.

The Mandolin Concerto proved to be a "surprising and often amazing" piece, says Ginell, "a serious, total immersion into 20th century classical music." He describes Thile as "an astonishing exponent of his instrument; every note is charged with musical feeling way beyond that of a mere technician."

Before the concert was through, Thile went on to reveal "more sides of his protean talent" in an eclectic pairing of additional pieces.

Read the complete concert review at latimes.com.

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Chris Thile's next performance of the Mandolin Concerto is scheduled to take place at the Stevens Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on March 13, with the Winston-Salem Symphony. For more on upcoming performances of the piece, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour/chris-thile. The Punch Brothers are on tour again in February, beginning with a benefit event with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Kahane, and the conductor's son, composer Gabriel Kahane, at the California Market Center in Los Angeles on February 6. For the group's tour schedule, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour/punch-brothers.