Neil Fisher, The Times, 6th July 2017
★★★
“[Burgess’s Symphony in C] has some juicy orchestration and, conducting, Michael Francis brought glitter and bombast in equal measure to its swelling climaxes and whimsical interludes.”
Christian Hertzog, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23rd June 2017
“Fully sounded, cleanly articulated, Mendelssohn’s splendor was captured with aplomb by the musicians…
Elsewhere, they evinced enviable lightness or gorgeous lyricism.”
Ron Bierman, Broadway World San Diego, 20th June 2017
“‘Mozart in a party mood,’ conductor Michael Francis announced as he introduced the composer’s Contra Dances to begin the concert. And the same party mood prevailed throughout much of the evening. The first and third movements of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 owe a lot to […]
Garrett Harris, San Diego Reader, 20th June 2017
“Pianist Jorge Federico Osorio all but disappeared while playing the Beethoven. The level of his technique and musicianship removed all barriers between us and the ambitious young Beethoven. Nay, his abilities removed all barriers between us and the divine muse which whispered into Beethoven’s ear and compelled […]
Marcus Overton, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11th June 2017
“…And the performances were as marvelous as the music.
Francis and his ensemble of concertmasters and first chair players from all over the country — and Canada, too — have reached a collaborative level that has everything: a warm shimmering blend with a spinning string sound that never […]
Martina Schimitschek, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27th May 2017
When Laura Morefield, daughter of San Diego poet and theater critic Charlene Baldridge, was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer, she wrote poetry reflecting on the tumultuous journey of her battle with the disease. After her death in 2011, composer and family friend Jake Heggie set one of […]
Janelle Gelfand, Cincinnati Enquirer, 27th May 2017
“Edward Elgar’s “The Dream of Gerontius” is regarded as a monument in the United Kingdom, but rarely heard in the United States. On Friday, the Cincinnati May Festival revisited Elgar’s spiritual masterpiece for the first time since 1981. The result was revelatory…
Friday’s performance in the Taft Theatre was […]
Anthony Tommasini, New York Times, 17th May 2017
“The 75-minute program, played without intermission, ended with Ms. Lee, who brought a winning mix of stylish grace and incisive virtuosity to Tchaikovsky’s “Variations on a Rococo Theme,” with Mr. Francis drawing supple and radiant playing from the orchestra.”
Thom Mariner, Movers & Makers Cincinnati, 25th May 2017
Friday, May 26
Elgar: “The Dream of Gerontius”
Michael Francis
The conductor: British-born Michael Francis is currently music director of the Florida Orchestra and San Diego’s Mainly Mozart Festival.
After several years as a tenured double-bass player in the London Symphony Orchestra, he came to prominence as a conductor in […]
Peter Korfmacher, Leipziger Volkszeitung, 10th April 2017
“Under the helm of Francis, by contrast, beauty and truthfulness shine from these movements which show Haydn at the peak of his proficiency. He doesn’t polish, doesn’t impose anything on the MDR sound bodies but lets the meditations unfold their serene perfection all by themselves…
With stylistic confidence […]
