Clarion Seven Muses - Nicolae Moldoveanu

DAILY EXPRESS, NOVEMBER 2009

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London

The RPO had a field day last week in Sloane Square, cavorting through an Italian themed evening. In Capriccio Italien the power-driven physicality of Romanian born conductor, Moldoveanu, small, square and inspirational, perfectly set the tone.

GRAMOPHONE, FEBRUARY 2009

A Song more Silent/London Mozart Players/Portsmouth Grammar School Choir

Works for Remembrance juxtaposing innocent youth with the horrors of war . . . estimable new disc . . . excellent performances throughout.

EAST ANGLIAN DAILY TIMES, OCTOBER 2008

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ipswich

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's first concert in Ipswich for over ten years won them a well-earned standing ovation from the capacity audience on Saturday night. The 80-strong orchestra responded splendidly to the theatrical and energetic direction of Romanian-born conductor Nicolae Moldoveanu.

RUCH MUZYCZNY MAGAZINE, APRIL 2008

National Philharmonic Orchestra Warsaw

From the very first strains of de Falla's Dance, the man of the day was the Romanian conductor Nicolae Moldoveanu, with whom Warsaw audiences are already familiar. Moldoveanu's fiery temperament is unsparing of wide gestures. He crouches down when signalling the orchestra to quieten down suddenly and gradually fade the music. If only the National Philharmonic Orchestra could play like that if he remained there under the podium. The mezzo piano and mezzo forte melodies played by the strings sounded celestial and all were enchanted by the beauty and depth of timbre. Even the fortissimo tutti was exquisitely magnificent and natural-sounding with no hint of clamour. Despite his exaltation, his art as a conductor is far from posture and displays of bravura . . . what a fine conductor Nicolae Moldoveanu is.

IRISH TIMES, OCTOBER 2007

RTE Concert Orchestra

A concert performance of Carmen . . . was extremely well performed. Conductor Nicolae Moldoveanu directed with a sure understanding of Bizet’s opéra-comique style. He alternated dramatic thrust with romantic expansiveness judiciously, supported the singers enthusiastically and inspired the RTECO to produce some sumptuous sounds.

BRISTOL EVENING POST, OCTOBER 2006

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

This performance (Sorceror’s Apprentice) evoked the fun and terror of the original story, with conductor Nicolae Moldoveanu shaping the work skillfully from order to chaos and back to order again. It was his evening . . . Moldoveanu drew from the orchestra disciplined and lustrous playing.

SOUTHERN DAILY ECHO OCTOBER 2006

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Moldoveanu touched the score with the gift of a master musician.

SWEDISH OBSERVER MARCH 2004

Jenufa - Norrlands Opera

Moldoveanu elicits the intensity, the dynamics and – not least – the emotions of the music. The conductor and orchestra have set high standards and they took the piece to new, staggering heights

STAR TELEGRAM , 11 JANUARY 2004
La vida breve & El amor brujo - Dallas Opera

One could go on and on about the inherent flaws and unstageability of Falla's score -- or one could simply fall under the spell of this imperfect but gorgeous music, beautifully played by the Dallas Opera Orchestra and conductor Nicolae Moldoveanu, magnificently danced by Benitez and splendidly sung by Graves .

DALLAS NEWS , 10 JANUARY 2004
La vida breve & El amor brujo - Dallas Opera

Conductor Nicolae Moldoveanu has a sure feeling for the scores and the Dallas Opera Orchestra played as if to the manner born.

ADRESSEAVISEN , 31 OCTOBER 2003
Trondheim Symfoniorkester

Moldoveanu’s choice of tempo for Mendelssohn’s Fourth Symphony seemed formidable. The entries of the instrumental groups in the fugal sections were brilliantly emphasized both with dynamics and phrasing… Moldoveanu proved a conductor with a strong will to shape the music in an emotional, yet musically logical way using an alla-breve pulse. Definitely one of the more interesting interpretations of this symphony.

THE HERALD, 27 OCTOBER 2003
RSNO

Moldoveanu was on firm ground ( Brahms's Fourth Symphony) . Hefty in tone, it was a performance filled with vibrantly old-fashioned virtues, which drove the music to its conclusion.

BELFAST TELEGRAPH, 11 OCTOBER 2003
Ulster Orchestra

Nicolae Moldoveanu brought to life the highly charged and immensely enjoyable Symphony Nº 2 by Nielson (The Four Temperaments). His broad and colourful leadership inspired the Ulster Orchestra to revel in a journey through vivid characterisation and there was some fine ensemble playing.

MUSICAL LIFE, MAY 2003
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra

Moldoveanu proved to be the right medium for Mahler’s music. He is a superb architect, enthusiastically giving outward shape to the music.

THE TIMES, 17 APRIL 2003
City of London Sinfonia/Barbican Centre

Romanian Nicolae Moldoveanu was so full of energy and fun that the music – Ravel, Mendelssohn, Mozart – was a joy. Ravel’s Tombeau de Couperin was beautifully done . . . warm, wistful and ravishing Moldoveanu had the right touch.

NORDJYSKE, 6 JANUARY 2003
Aalborg Symphony

The Aalborg Symphony Orchestra blossomed under the Romanian conductor Nicolae Moldoveanu’s emphatic and precise management of a multi-faceted, lustrous, vitally colourful concert presented in the charming, captivating and apparently effortless spirit of popular music – something which requires its own brand of expertise.

BASINGSTOKE GAZETTE, 13 DECEMBER 2002
London Mozart Players

Finally the orchestra played Symphony No. 9, Schubert’s longest, most demanding and eloquent symphony. The conductor Nicolae Moldoveanu used his whole being to bring out the dramatic elements of the music and the brilliant playing of the London Mozart Players . . . an exhilarating evening.

CROYDON ADVERTISER, 13 DECEMBER 2002
London Mozart Players

Nicolae Moldoveanu’s reading (Schubert 9^th Symphony) was impressive enough to leave one gasping in amazement. Without loss of depth, Moldoveanu kept a sense of excitement constantly on the boil, whatever the dynamic of the moment. The orchestra quite simply surpassed itself and sustained a quality of brilliance.

FLENSBERG AVIS, 28 OCTOBER 2002
Sonderjyllands Symphony Orchestra

The Romanian-born conductor was eminently successful in emphasising the character of the works, inspiring the Danish musicians and creating excellent music with them in both cases.

GLASGOW HERALD, 20 JUNE 2002
Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Perhaps the most interesting element in the success of last night’s opening night was the debut with the RSNO of Nicolae Moldoveanu: to judge from his performance last night he is someone to whom a return invitation should immediately be issued . . . clearly he has tons of personality, a good helping of style and panache, a big personality and a wide, winning grin.

CROYDON ADVERTISER, 29 MARCH 2002
London Mozart Players

If you haven’t yet encountered Nicolae Moldoveanu, make a point of doing so. His flamboyant, vividly expressive style is irrepressible.