Review

Michael Francis and Mainly Mozart Orchestra Illuminate Superb Mendelssohn Fifth Symphony

Ken Herman, San Diego Story, 9th June 2019

“Francis conducted a compelling and impressively insightful interpretation of [Mendenlssohn’s] “Reformation” Symphony, elegantly delineating its many deftly scored contrapuntal sections—even in the opening movement’s bustling Allegro con fuoco—with refreshing clarity. He danced through the ebullient second movement, and empathetically shaped the cantabile themes of the Andante…

Francis and […]

Review: Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra

Christian Hertzog, U-T San Diego, 9th June 2019

“The orchestra was precise, responsive to Francis’ conducting, with an effortless beauty of tone.

The concert began with a spirited performance of Handel’s “Music for the Royal Fireworks.” It’s always a treat to hear orchestral music by Handel that is not “The Messiah.” Francis and the musicians captured […]

Review: Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz

Stephan Hoffman, Mannheimer Morgen, 12th March 2019

“At the concert at Mannheimer Rosengarten, it was immediately obvious: The two are a match made in heaven. The orchestra played Beethoven’s Second Symphony with more speed and verve, more fire and precision than ever before. The musicians went to a number of extremes: extremely quiet, extremely pointed, […]

Review: Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz

Karl Georg Berg, Die Rheinpfalz, 9th March 2019

“Symphony No. 2 in D major (Op. 36) by Beethoven was charged with explosive energy by the British maestro Michael Francis from the very first bar. Quick time measures (quite true to Beethoven’s metronome specifications), a dry sound, sharp contrasts with effectively utilized moments of surprise—these were […]

Michael Franics conducts the San Diego Symphony in a Program of the Young Romantics at The Jacobs Music Center

Ron Bierman, Broadway World, 22nd January 2019

“British conductor Michael Francis is known to San Diego concert goers as the music director of the city’s Mainly Mozart Festival. Since taking the job four years ago he has embarked on an ambitious chronological survey of the music of the composer who inspired the festival’s name. On […]

Guest Conductor Michael Francis Brings His Panache to the San Diego Symphony

Ken Herman, San Diego Story, 19th January 2019

“[Michael Francis] did successfully refreshed Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique for his listeners’ ears. Maintaining sparkling, transparent textures, choosing exquisitely calibrated tempos, and keeping the drama alive without ever overplaying his hand brought these familiar musical episodes into sharp, arresting focus. It was like viewing for the first […]

The art of conductivity: Maestro Michael Francis of the Florida Orchestra

Bill DeYoung, St. Pete Cataylst, 15th January 2019

Suave, erudite and comfortable in a tuxedo, native Londoner Michael Francis could very well be Tampa Bay’s James Bond – if, that is, 007 had wavy red hair, a baby face and an overwhelming obsession with symphonic music.

Michael Francis prefers listeners be stirred, not […]

Ludwigshafen: Francis presented as the new chief conductor of the Staatsphilharmonie

Palatinate Ticker, Die Rheinpfalz, 6th December 2018

Born in 1976, British conductor Michael Francis was introduced on Thursday at the Ludwigshafen Philharmonic as the new chief conductor of the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz. He succeeds Karl-Heinz Steffens and from September 2019 will take over the musical responsibility of the most important Rhineland-Palatinate orchestra – in time […]

Review: A vivid evocation of London highlights a mostly British program by the SLSO

Chuck Lavazzi, KDHX, 25th November 2018

“It has been a few years since my wife and I have been to London, but I feel like we took another visit there Friday night (November 23) with that wonderfully evocative performance of Vaughan Williams’s “A London Symphony” by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under the baton […]

Concert review

Sarah Bryan Miller, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 24th November 2018

“Francis made a masterful case for [Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 2, “A London Symphony,”], aided by the orchestra.”