 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
2010 press/reviews | 2009 press/reviews | 2008 press/reviews | 2007 reviews | 2006 reviews | 2004-2005 reviews | miscellaneous quotes
December 2011
'A Breath of Enlightenment'
Director & flute/recorder Alexis Kossenko
Concertmaster Zefira Valova
”Rarely have I seen so much smiling communication and listening between musicians on a concert stage. As a result, this concert was a delicate, joyous gem. Talent oozed from the stage. The adagio second movement of the Telemann concerto, for example, saw Kossenko share a duet with the orchestra’s concertmaster – the serene, supreme Zefira Valova – against an unexpected pizzicato accompaniment before she took over the solo spotlight. The encore was a rarity, the ethereally beautiful “Consolazione” from Graupner’s suite, exquisitely performed. Wonderful, uplifting stuff.”
Hugo Shirley
The Daily Telegraph (to read full article click here)
"Alexis Kossenko swapped his baton for a recorder for Sammartini’s Concerto in F, th occasionally slithery harmonic structure of its opening leading to a finale where the recorder twiddled its way around various cycles of fifths. Graupner’s Ouverture in E preceded Telemann’s Concert in Eminor for flute, violin and strings, a contrast of beauty of tone with beauty of expression. The concert finished with Bach’s Suite No 2. Alexis Kossenko was clearly an inspirational director, his expansive and almost balletic gestures driving the instrumentalists to musical hights."
Andrew Benson-Wilson
Early Music Review (to read full article click here)
”The present players showed an immaculate sense of style and fluid phrasing as they workes through no fewer than seven baroque composers under the direction of Alexis Kossenko. Bach’s Suite No 2 – here given a rather idiosyncratic interpretation with Kossenko’s flute solos reticent at first, then blossoming forth with exuberant ornamentation.”
Giles Woodforde
The Oxford Times (to read full article click here)
"This was the most inspiring of the several concerts by the EUBO which we have been priviledged to review over ten years For me this one with Alexis Kossenko was the best baroque concert of the year. The programme was brilliantly conceived to explore fine baroque composers who have only recently become appreciated for their true worth. It all looked and sounded magnificent in Shoreditch’s fine Church."
Peter Grahame Woolf
Musicalpointers.co.uk (to read full article click here)
********************************************************************************************
October 2011
‘Archi in Battaglia’
Director & violin Enrico Onofri
Concertmaster Johannes Pramsohler
"Il pubblico ha accolto con un attonito e stupito silenzio un pianissimo ai limiti dell'udibilità, eppure perfetto nell'intonazione e colore strumentale, raramente ascoltabile in esecuzioni dal vivo. Al termine del concerto la versione di Geminiani dello straconosciuto all'epoca tema della “Follia”.
In questo caso veramente straordinari tutti gli esecutori nell'esposizione del tema e variazioni, esaltando di volta in volta la veemenza ritmica,
lo scambio di frasi, i virtuosismi degli archi contrapposti al continuo."
Piero Barbareschi
Gothicnetwork.org (to read full article click here )
“Ognuno degli artisti ha garantito un’esecuzione dell’intero programma assolutamente lodevole: una freschezza e una leggerezza da lasciare estrefatti se si considera che l’età media degli strumentisti si aggira ai 25 anni. Tutti meritano di essere nominate uno ad uno per il merito della loro bravura nell’esecuzione strumentale. È in particolare doveroso nominare il primo violino Johannes Pramsohler che con il suo P.G. Rogeri del 1713 ha dato motivo di incanto in virtuosismo o lirismo spesso in un rapporto di “botta e risposta” con il solista Enrico Onofri.”
GBOPERA Opera Magazine (to read full article click here)
"Enrico Onofri, als leitender Geiger im wahrsten Sinne tonangebend, ihm gegenüber (vermutlich) Johannes Pramsohler, beide eingruppiert in das Ensemble. Von ihnen hörte man echte Concerti grossi, zwei Geigen und das Cello wetteiferten mit dem Orchester. Alle musizierten mit höchster Gleichwertigkeit, was in den ruhigen Sätzen ein Schwelgen in süßen Tönen zuließ, aber besonders auch in den schnellen Sätzen zu einem außerordentlich exakten Spiel führte. Mit einem Cembalo und einem Orgelpositiv als Generalbassinstrument war jederzeit ein sattes Klangbild gegeben, zusätzlich verstärkt durch den kernigen Bass der Theorbe."
Allgemeine Zeitung Coesfeld (to read full article click here)
********************************************************************************************
September 2011
Bach and Sons
Director & harpsichord Lars Ulrik Mortensen
Concertmaster Huw Daniel
"EUBO’s vivid performance of this stringsand harpsichord masterpiece showed the authenticity of proper Baroque playing as we know it: The characteristic split-second lift before final notes, the use of vibrato solely as ornament and the emphasis on specific architectural points, rather than serious attention to each note. Their collective body language is fun to watch because everyone is completely in sync with each other, and together they build tremendously exciting crescendos."
Today's Zaman (to read full article click here)
August 2011
"The Sinfonia by Carl Philipp Emanuel [Bach], with its flying leaps, rapid fluctuations of mood, and fondness for apparent non-sequiturs was delivered with real pzazz."
The Irish Times (to read full article click here)
“The evening started (appropriately, as it was the anniversary of his death) with a punchy and vigorous performance of Father Bach’s third Brandenburg Concerto, immediately exposing both the excellent consort playing ability and the individual talent of members of the group, all of whom had their moments of glory.”
Andrew Benson-Wilson
Early Music Review (to read full article click here)