Ken Herman, San Diego Story, 6th June 2016 "[Regarding Mozart's Gallimathias musicum] Francis’ violins sported a mellifluous shimmer, and the entire orchestra’s tight rhythmic ensemble maintained its fresh, buoyant air…
Julian Sykes, Le Temps, 25th May 2016 "Michael Francis had chosen two English composers of the 20th century to compliment the programme – a happy combination. Combining elegance and ardour…
Michael Tumelty, Hearld Scotland, 24th April 2016 ★★★★★ "NO holds barred here, ladies and gentlemen. Five stars all round. The BBC SSO on Thursday night, playing as though there was…
Ken Walton, The Scotsman, 22nd April 2016 "The spatial dimensions of the Ives [The Unanswered Question] – the distant but increasingly insistent solo trumpet in the audience gallery, the increasingly…
Andrew Meacham, Tampa Bay Times, 23rd January 2016 "With Mozart & More, which opened Friday at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, Francis and the orchestra…
Garrett Harris, San Diego Reader, 31st December 2015 "If there were a concert that was full of the most great moments, it would have been the Mainly Mozart Festival's concert…
Sharon Kennedy Wynne, Tampa Bay Times, 31st December 2015 "I love how fancy it makes me sound to say that my favorite concert of the year was the debut of…
Tom Aldridge, Nuvo, 19th October 2015 "[Michael] Francis, with crisp, exacting baton work, got corresponding playing from his orchestra: perfect phrasing, excellent dynamic shaping, continuous precision. After experiencing that opener…
Jay Harvey, Jay Harvey Upstage, 17th October 2015 "Francis and the ISO caught the becalmed mood of the first part of "Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage" perfectly, which made the…
Gil French, American Record Guide, September/October 2015 "Francis conducted a truly triumphant concert...What an entertainment Mozart's Serenata Notturna was! The orchestra had bite, the Viennese string quartet (violin, viola, cello,…
