Carol Main, The Scotsman, 2nd August 2014
★★★★★
“With considerable stamina required all round to sustain the continuous 50 minutes of lavish scoring – Wagner tubas, two sets of timpani, cowbells and all – conductor Michael Francis placed and paced his huge orchestral forces to ascend and descend in dramatic reflection of the Bavarian mountain views […]
Rodger Jones, Seen and Heard International, 2nd August 2014
“For some reason I have missed out on live performances of Richard Strauss in this his 150th anniversary year. I have not undertaken any mountaineering expeditions either, but that is beside the point. But I have now made up for these omissions thanks to the NYOS’s magnificent […]
Herald Scotland, 21st July 2014
“Michael Francis conducts the Usher Hall Gala, when the programme includes the huge Alpine Symphony of Richard Strauss and a reprise of the Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra by Sally Beamish, commissioned by NYOS in 2003 and again featuring star trumpeter Hakan Hardenberger as soloist…”
Janos Gereben, San Francisco Classical Voice, 8th July 2014
“The global search went on for three years, but in the end it took just two key performances for Florida Orchestra leaders to know they had their conductor.
On Tuesday, they named British musician Michael Francis as the orchestra’s new music director…”
Bay News 9, 26th June 2014
Local news team interviews Michael Francis regarding his new appointment as the Music Director for The Florida Orchestra.
James Chute, U-T San Diego, 25th June 2014
“Michael Francis, who recently made an impressive showing guest conducting the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra at the Balboa Theatre and must be considered one of the top music director candidates, has just been named music director of the Florida Orchestra…”
Stephanie Hayes, Tampa Bay Times, 24th June 2014
“The global search went on for three years, but in the end it took just two key performances for Florida Orchestra leaders to know they had their conductor.
On Tuesday, they named British musician Michael Francis as the orchestra’s new music director…”
Tampa Tribune, 24th June 2014
“After a season of conductors playing musical chairs, so to speak, the Florida Orchestra announced Tuesday that British musician Michael Francis, Chief Conductor of Sweden’s Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, will be the orchestra’s next music director…”
James Chute, U-T San Diego, 14th June 2014
“…Francis knew every nuance of this difficult score and he and the orchestra offered a compelling, convincing interpretation. He found exactly the right tone for both the satire, even sarcasm, inherent in the score, and the work’s seriousness of purpose as he and the orchestra sounded as […]
Daniel J. Kushner, Democrat & Chronicle, 1st June 2014
“Guest conductor Michael Francis’ blend of control and effusiveness sustained the magisterial momentum of the prologue…
Under Francis’ direction, “Venus, The Bringer of Peace” was strikingly lyrical. The string section added elegiac beauty to its honeyed melodies, implying that the peace that was won had come at […]
