Concert Schedule 2013 / 2014

Paul Driver, The Sunday Times, 16th February 2014
“[Michael Francis’] easily authoritative readings of Dvorak’s Violin Concerto…and New World Symphony provided a frame of familiarity for seldom-heard works by the somewhat neglected Polish composer…Andrzej Panufnik, whose centenary year this is.His Sinfonia Sacra (1966) gave the concert a spectacular beginning. The first of its tightly written movements — three of them “Visions”, the last a “Hymn”) — is launched by a shattering exchange of fanfares between four trumpeters ranged round the hall, or, on this occasion, at the corners of the orchestra. They return for the still more arresting end, and the incisive arguments in between made me feel that Panufnik is a kind of missing stylistic link between Bartok, Janacek or Nielsen and the Polish and Estonian schools following him. Certainly the account of his brief, fetching and technically daring Lullaby (1947), for 29 strings (each with its own part) and two harps, pointed us towards the avant-garderie of Penderecki; while Panufnik’s modal poignancies and meditative lingerings seemed to adumbrate the later manners of both Gorecki and Pärt.”

Neil Fisher, The Times, 7th February 2014
★★★★
“Hearing two of his most skilfully constructed works, vividly performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Michael Francis, afresh was something of a revelation. Sinfonia Sacra, from 1966, is a hymnlike vision to Poland’s Catholic faith, but its ecstatic song only arrives after three fragmentary movements, the work’s lean skin and bones (Poland’s neverending suffering?) preceding harmonic and melodic resolution. Panufnik’s Lullaby, from 1947, is an extraordinary work for string orchestra: divided into 29 individual parts, its mournful tune flickers through a cluster of eerie sonorities, the effect as much nocturnal horror as sleepy bedtime song.”

Penny Homer, Bachtrack, 7th February 2014
★★★
“The pairing of Dvořák and Panufnik is perhaps explained by their nationalism, although both composers framed it in different ways. Dvorak’s Ninth Symphony is subtitled “From the New World”, as if looking across to his Czech homeland from New York. It is only really in the second movement that one gets a feeling of the American countryside.

Francis and the orchestra seemed more at home here, with more attention paid to the subtleties within the piece. The ensemble tripped slightly in the opening movement, but the expansive drama was thoroughly realised. The cor anglais solo in the second movement felt like a warm bath, and the pared down sextet restating the theme towards the end was exquisite, although some of the tempo changes were a little clumsy. There was a lively, folkish quality to the third movement, while the march of the fourth movement was wonderfully bombastic. A little Americana was brought out in the smooth clarinet solo, which had shades of Gershwin in it, before returning us squarely to Europe as a myriad of themes exhausted themselves into one final chord.

The highlight of the evening was <em>Lullaby</em>, an extraordinary beautiful string piece that was decades ahead of its time…The orchestra is divided so that each instrument has an entirely individual part, including different tunings and use of microtones underneath a Polish peasant song, which passes from section to section. It is deceptively simple in its construction, and yet fiendishly difficult to bring to life.

The LSO captured the piece’s haunting, broken-music-box quality, sounding at once totally contemporary and like a child’s lullaby. Aside from a few slightly heavy moments in the solo melody instruments, the deft performance was utterly entrancing.”

Richard Fairman, Financial Times, 6th February 2014
★★★★
“The Sinfonia Sacra, probably his best-known work, is typically clear-headed and direct. Four solo trumpets at the corners of the stage announce the start with a volley of fanfares. A medieval Polish chant inspires music of hallowed simplicity, interrupted by a short, sharp movement of violent rhythmic energy, and then the final hymn builds to a glowing climax, crowned again by the four trumpets. In the mid-1960s it is easy to imagine how this seemed too obvious, too easy on the ear. But we have lived through the minimalists since then, including the Polish Górecki, and perhaps it is time to revisit Panufnik.

His Lullaby (1947, revised 1955) now seems a decade or two ahead of its time. The piece asks 29 solo string players to commune softly at different speeds, some of them with quarter-tones. The result is like an angel on some wheezy old accordion, softly breathing its ragged notes in and out – numinous Górecki blended with Ligeti-like clouds of sound, wistful and charming.

The Dvořák – his Symphony No.9 and Violin Concerto, in that order thanks to Mutter’s delayed arrival – could have felt quite hearty by comparison. But the conductor, Michael Francis, led a brisk, no-nonsense performance of the symphony and Mutter, as always, found marvels of expression in the concerto.”

Tim Ashley, The Guardian, 6th February 2014
★★★★
“Sinfonia Sacra, with its ricocheting percussion, assertive brass and ritual string chants, seethed with tension…

Among the most remarkable and original of Panufnik’s scores, [Lullaby] was exquisitely done – a perfect performance.”

Geoffrey Newman, Seen and Heard International, 14th March 2014
“Janacek’s six Lachian Dances (1890) are in many ways just a Moravian variant of Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances, balancing brisk, rustic rhythms with quieter, more pastoral moods. Michael Francis immediately showed a strong feel for the structural lines of these pieces, often coaxing the violins into an authentic Czech ‘bite’ that kept the texture sparkling.”

Derek Ho, ResMusica, 20th March 2014
“From the opening timpani strikes it was immediately clear that this music is Francis’ passion. There were many highlights, from the clumsy woodwinds in the Britten to the hushed strings and ominous trumpets in the Vaughan Williams. This concert was a model of intelligent programming, although some might find the Britten and Vaughan Williams to be deeply unsettling. This was possibly the best concert of the current Helsinki PO season, and further Helsinki performances of British music with Francis are eagerly awaited.”

Hannu-Ilari Lamila, Helsingin Sanomat, 16th March 2014
“Young, skilled and sympathetic British conductor Michael Francis ensured that the atmosphere was authentically English. It is often down to small detail whether, for example, Walton and Vaughan Williams’ works reveal their best qualities…

Britten composed his work Sinfonia da Requiem in 1940 in memory of his parents. It is based on the very few themes and ostinato repeats. In Francis’ mesmerizing grip, the deep dark grief surged quietly, tore agonizingly, built into an excruciating outburst and brightened.

In Vaughan Williams’ neo-classical sixth symphony (1947/1950) one can but hear the destructive and fierce rhythms of war – and kinship with Shostakovich. The performance impressed with its relentlessly throbbing intensity, which only subdued with the final movement’s eerie quietness.”

Pat O’Kelly, Irish Independent, 7th April 2014
“Following several weeks’ lull, the latest in the RTÉ NSO’s ‘Subscription Season’ finds the ensemble in top form under re-visiting English conductor Michael Francis.Increasingly well respected on both sides of the Atlantic, his programme spotlights Dvořák’s 7th Symphony. The Brahms-like majesty of its opening Allegro is lightened by some delicious woodwind writing and, through its inherent Bohemian flavour, this is music that smiles.Dvořák’s ‘poco adagio’ slow movement has chorale-like fragments in its dignified expressiveness with a sentient oboe sighing a disturbingly poignant interlude.The constant dynamic shifts of the heroic Scherzo are played with tremendous verve while Michael Francis’ spirited approach to the rousing Finale propels music and musicians, particularly the emblazoned horns, to a thrilling conclusion.”

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 a high price.The guest conductor’s attentiveness to detail and enthusiasm for variances in articulation and dynamics were particularly fruitful in the third movement, “Mercury, The Winged Messenger.” The violins and woodwinds exuded excitement…In “Uranus, The Magician” Francis’ chemistry with the orchestra was most evident, especially in the way he drew a thick, march­-like quality from the basses and trombones and an especially mischievous agility from the violins.”

David Raymond, Rochester City Newspaper, 30th May 2014
But the most memorable portions of [Walton’s ‘Suite from Henry V’]…were delicately paced by Michael Francis and exquisitely played by the RPO strings, but the full orchestra also gave Walton’s festive moments the snazziness they require — the ‘Agincourt Song’ pealing out in the brass near the end of the work almost made me feel British…

Familiar it is, but if performed with energy, virtuosity, and a sense of adventure, ‘The Planets’ can still be thrilling. And Thursday night’s RPO performance was indeed pretty thrilling. Michael Francis brought out every one of the myriad moods and orchestral colors in this suite, and had some interesting interpretive ideas of his own, starting with a ferocious ‘Mars, The Bringer of War.’…

The orchestra sounded sensational at each planetary stop: whether in the rapid-fire gossamer woodwind writing of “Mercury” (definitely a ‘winged messenger’ in this performance), the hearty string and brass writing of the ‘great tune’ in “Jupiter,” or the rackety, deliberately noisy scoring of ‘Uranus’ — which was as intriguingly unsettling and impersonal as ‘Mars’.”

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 a single instrument.He was equally impressive in Haydn’s rarely performed Symphony No. 60, ‘Il Distratto.’ As this six movement work is less a symphony and more incidental music to a play, the usual conventions that generally make the symphonic form coherent don’t apply. Haydn gives his imagination, and sense of humor, free reign. Francis made order out of this potentially chaotic work, and without inhibiting any of Haydn’s charm.He’s smart, charming with the audience, and his conducting emphasizes the long line and the big picture. With this gifted ensemble, that picture was crystal clear.”

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 and natural environment which were the composer’s inspiration.”

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 performance of Strauss’s Alpine Symphony under the impressive direction of Michael Francis…

The brass were in fine fettle as, starting from the very deepest registers, they evoked the darkness of the night before intoning a sequence depicting the mountain and its shadow. The first light of light of dawn heralded a glorious sunrise with a particularly warm sound emanating from the horns, after which the strings (now unmuted) displayed vigour and anticipation as the ascent commenced. Hunting calls from brass players positioned offstage created a forest scene full of atmosphere, and after a scintillating evocation of a waterfall the orchestra made it to the Alpine pastures complete with cowbells. The young musicians seemed to reflect their triumph at reaching the summit of the mountain in the expansiveness and confidence of their playing, as if they were unaware of the drama soon to unfold. After an evocative oboe solo, the storm broke to thrilling effect, with all sections of the orchestra fully engaged and a thunder machine and wind machine adding to the turbulence – all carefully controlled by Michael Francis. The sunset was just as glorious as the sunrise, but more expansive and relaxed as the main themes were recalled until twilight set in and night fell to the accompaniment of the whispering brass.”