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2001 comments
"Hickox and Chandos have pulled off a unique feat, a sumptuous recording of a Vaughan Williams symphony that can never be repeated…Over everything Richard Hickox presides with superb control and a feeling for the idiom that has made his unfolding Vaughan Williams symphony cycle for Chandos such a joy"
Gramophone Record of the Year 2001 and Best Orchestral Recording of 2001
Vaughan Williams Symphony no.2 (original version)/London Symphony Orchestra/Chandos
"As of now, this issue is for me the symphonic recording of the year. It is glorious in all respects… Hickox’s interpretation is as great as any I have ever heard, and it is played magnificently by the London Symphony."
Vaughan Williams 2/LSO/Chandos/ - American Record Guide, Oct 01
" Hickox immaculately judged its ebb and flow, its breathtaking orchestral ingenuity. The playing, all ethereal, hovering strings and silky woodwind, revealed an orchestra at the peak of its powers, while the casting was well-nigh matchless…The whole was as near to definitive as I can imagine. You emerged from it on a tremendous high, convinced that the world had been transformed by magic into an infinitely better place".
Hansel & Gretel/London Symphony Orchestra – Guardian, December 2001
"As he has consistently shown, and continues to do so on this disc, Richard Hickox has a very special empathy with English music of the first half of the 20th century…This is a fascinating start to a series that promises great rewards"
Bridge Vol. I/BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Chandos – Guardian, Oct 2001
"Hickox inspired a most cogent and persuasive performance of a symphony that really needs to be heard more often"
Rubbra no.10/City of London Sinfonia/Barbican - Independent, Oct 2001-12-19
"A marvellous concert performance..Hickox sensitively judging the poise, balance and energy of the performance…"
Gluck Orpheo/Royal Opera House – Evening Standard, June 01
"tempi were on the brisk side, but they allowed the drama to breathe and not become marmoreally statuesque, and the responsive playing brought Gluck’s deceptively simple music vividly to life…a wonderful evening."
Gluck Orpheo/Royal Opera House - Sunday Telegraph, June 01
"Readings of great sophistication and alertness, full of enthusiasm and rhythmic power, but not overbearing..this is a series well worth collecting. "
Haydn symphonies/Collegium Musicum 90/Chandos – American Record Guide, May 01
"The effect was sublime and indescribably moving…Hickox’s unerring understanding of the massive work’s complex architecture resulted in a climax of breathtaking inexorability. A stunned silence followed by vigorous applause set the seal on a life-affirming experience."
Delius Mass of Life/Philharmonia Orchestra, 3 Choirs Festival – Independent, Aug 01
" The rise and fall of tension, resulting in massive climaxes, was skilfully plotted…Hickox effectively caught the note of poignant lament…the sense triumph is palpable here, though, and Hickox and his players captured that spirit in a climactic, exhilarating surge".
Shostakovich 10/BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Barbican – Times, May 01
"Strongly focused and impassioned performances"
Britten, Walton/Seattle Symphony – Seattle Times, April 01
Pre-2001
"Hickox’s conducting is as big-boned and passionate as the orchesttral playing. "
Billy Budd/Royal Opera House Covent Garden – The Times, Sept 2000
"Hickox’s reading of that masterpiece for Chandos has the incandescence and rapt intensity that marked his Barbican performance.. (His) unerring control of the great emotional climaxes of the visionary first and third movements is overwhelming…
Vaughan Williams Symphony no.5/London Symphony - Guardian, 1999
" Chandos has given us many valuable series , but Hickox’ exemplary Rubbra cycle with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales really does stand out… Hickox’s rivetingly powerful conception of Rubbra’s Eighth must take the palm.."
Rubbra cycle/BBC National Orchestra of Wales – Gramophone, 1999
"He is everywhere in contact with the expressive flow of the music…great technical assurance and spirit…magnificent".
Rubbra cycle/BBC National Orchestra of Wales - American Record Guide, 1999
"Hickox is a Wagnerian through and through. In his utterly convincing performance of the Siegfried Idyll he elicited precise ensemble playing and tonal warmth."
Camerata Academica/Vienna Musikverein - Wiener Zeitung, 1998
"Hickox’s achievements in the past few years have been amazing – founded on an ability to pull off grand events spectacularly well…With that inspirational ability to make musicians perfom better than they should – something Hickox definitely shares with Simon Rattle – it was unforgettable. A show to ponder and to cherish."
Prokofiev War & Peace/Spoleto Festival - Independent on Sunday, 1999
"He understands Elgar comprehensively. Under his control, the music flows naturally, breathes where it should and moves on at just the right intensity."
Guardian, 1999
" Hickox lead the huge orchestra with an ear for orchestral power and rhythmic intensity, finding plenty of the riches in Strauss’ powerful and emotionally persuasive score"
"Strauss’ opera sounds as marvelously savage and intoxicatingly nebulous as ever with Hickox at the podium"
"Hickox and the LA Opera Orchestra gave one its best performances in recent memory"
Salome/Los Angeles Opera – various press, 1998
Hickox maintained a marvelous balance of expressive poise and forward momentum. Fine dynamic gradations and an exquisite sense of line underscored Faurés long-breathed melodies…Even in full cry, textures remained translucent"
Detroit Symphony, 1998
"Radiantly beautiful – Hickox sets the tone and the pace perfectly. . very strongly recommended."
V. Williams: Pilgrim’s Progress/Royal Opera House/Chandos - Fanfare, 1999
" Paul Bunyan is a wow. Take the kids, take your parents, take anyone.. The standard of performance can scarcely be higher… his interpretation of this score was exemplary: warm, lyrical, light in touch and clearly detailed."
Britten: Paul Bunyan/Royal Opera House - The Telegraph, 1999
" Hickox comes up trumps again…characteristically fresh, inspiriting work.. it captures both the symphonic impetus and the spiritual and physical exhilaration of this gloriously life-affirming music. Hickox is ever responsive to the drama and colour of Haydn’s orchestral writing.. This is how Haydn’s masses should be done".
Haydn Masses/Collegium Musicum 90/Chandos- Gramophone, 2000
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Richard Hickox conductor
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