Visions Nocturnes won the 1st prize in the international composition competition “Emotion” (organized in 2019 by the Friends of the Archive of Women and Music and the Center for Military Music of the Bundeswehr). The Belgian woodwind quintet Ensemble timber trade (Houthandel) has rehearsed the work and discovered ” beautiful composition that is definitely worth including in the professional wind quintet repertoire.”
“Visions Nocturnes shows a rich palette of timbres in which the uniqueness of the different woodwinds comes into its own. The piece is a very well composed composition. Ensemble Hauthandel felt immediately invited to deepen the piece – even more than intended in the score: more rubato, more dynamism, more development. It takes some work, but the score reads rather briefly in indications of tempi and dynamic notation. After all, nocturnal visions can have all sorts of faces: from calm and peaceful to ecstatic and disturbing.
In any case, Valerie Knabe (* 1988) from Luxembourg shows herself to be a promising young composer with Visionen Nocturnes, and we can look forward to the further development of her oeuvre.” Ensemble Houthandel in: de Klarinet 2021, Nr. 133, S. 28