Press
Ystads/Trelleborgs Allehanda, 11 February 2008
The orchestra, under Joseph Swensen, performs flawlessly and paints effectively with colours that are neither too strong nor too weak, in beautiful synthesis with the singers. (Salome at Malmö Opera / Première 9 February 2008)
Politiken (Denmark), 12 September 2007
Jan Jacoby
It is worth the trip and trouble to visit the Malmö Opera House for this perfromance. Not least because of Joseph Swensen who, against challenging odds, delivered one of the best performances I have heard. … [he demonstrated] sensitivity and loving flexibility, with a big lyrical warmth and an ability to get the very best out of this score.
(La Fanciulla del West at Malmö Opera / Première: 8 September 2007)
Dagens Nyheter (Sweden), 13 September 2007
Thomas Anderberg
Joseph Swensen’s work with the orchestra has produced golden, shining results. All opera lovers should see this performance.
(La Fanciulla del West at Malmö Opera / Première: 8 September 2007)
Skånska Dagbladet (Sweden), 10 September 2007
Lars-Erik Larsson
Joseph Swensen has built an orchestra with sound and power that it has rarely before shown, with great sensitivity toward the singers and great feeling for pacing and tempo.....outstanding.
(La Fanciulla del West at Malmö Opera / Première: 8 September 2007)
Aftonbladet (Sweden), 27 March 2007
He makes the orchestra and chorus act with the utmost clarity and precision, there is elasticity and intensity in the rhythms, and every phrase in the orchestra seems to reveal an emotional abyss on stage. What a coup Malmö Opera made when they managed to secure Joseph Swensen as chief conductor!
(Macbeth at Malmö Opera / Première: 24 March 2007)
The Scotsman, 17 March 2007
Susan Nickalls
Sinfonia in B, his orchestration of the early Brahms B major Piano Trio Opus 8, was a thrilling journey of rediscovery. ….Swenson's arrangement was meticulous in terms of capturing Brahms's spirit and intention but also full of bravura and panache in terms of the kaleidoscopic colours and textures he fused - the writing for the clarinet and bassoon duo for example was exquisite. The orchestra played magnificently producing a lush symphonic sound that bristled with energy and excitement.
(Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh)
La Dépêche du Midi, 4 November 2006
Anne-Marie Chouchan
Sous la baguette de Joseph Swensen, la première [John Adams: Fearful Symmetries] est d’une precision rythmique irresistible. La seconde [Mahler: Symphony No5], au climat sombre et pessimiste, s’ouvre par une marche funèbre. Optant pour un tempo très retenu, Joseph Swensen en souligne le climat tragique. Avec habileté, il assume ensuite les multiples facettes de cette musique constamment en ébullition, rendant justice à son lyrisme comme à la subtilité de son instrumentation… Très inspiré par le fameux Adagietto, Joseph Swensen phrasera ce moment avec delicatesse admirable.
(Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse)
[Under the baton of Joseph Swensen, the first piece had such rhythmic precision that it was utterly irrestible. The second piece, which has a somber and pessimistic feeling, opens with a funeral march. Swensen decided to hold the tempo back and really brought this tragic feeling to life. With skill, he kept the many different layers o this music constantly at boiling point, doing justice to the music’s lyricism and subtle instrumentation… Obviously hugely inspired by the famous Adagietto, Joseph Swensen phrased it with admirable delicacy.]
Granada Hoy, 29 October 2006
Gonzalo Roldan Herencia
Joseph Swensen…se mostró como uno de los directores de major escuela y más impactante concepción estética de los que han visitado nuestra orquestra en los ùltimos años. Su gesto es resuelto, y su vision del repertorio denota un profuno studio del mismo a la vez que cierta independencia ante los modismos y cánones preestablecidos. Pese a enfrentarse a tres obras habituales en las salas de conciertos, es seguro de que todos los asistentes pudieron descubrir en ellas nuevos matices interpretativos. …Swensen y la Orquesta Ciudad de Granada demostraron de Nuevo su alta calidad interpretativa [Schumann Symphony No3], dando una version redonda de la partitura; el director dotó en todo momento a la Orquesta del balance oportuno y la coherencia necesaria, sin que nada sobrase ni faltase.
(Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Sibelius-Mendelssohn-Schumann)
[Joseph Swensen proved himself to be a conductor from the very best school and made one of the biggest aesthetic impacts that any guest conductor has made on the orchestra in the last few years. His gestures are resolute and his interpretations reveal profound study of the repertoire but, at the same time, a certain freedom and independence from pre-established ideas and conventions. Everyone in the audience heard new things in his interpretations. …Swensen and the orchestra gave a very high quality of the performance in Schumann’s Third Symphony, giving a fully-rounded and satisfying rendition. At every moment, the conductor created a perfect balance and cohesion in the orchestra.]
The Scotsman, 23 October 2006
Conrad Wilson
Joseph Swensen's conducting of the SCO possesses a vitality so palpable that his appearances with his old orchestra continue to be events.
(Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh)
Evening Standard, 20 March 2006
Barry Millington
Joseph Swensen’s performance with BBCSO unleashed what sounded like unstoppable natural forces.
(Barbican Hall, London, Neilsen Symphony No4)
The Independent, 29 July 2004
Robert Maycock
...the Scottish Chamber Orchestra matched the soloist for dash and ardour, and in a programme notable for the quantity of high-adrenalin fast music, showed itself adept in ensemble and balance. Swensen made the depths of the slow movement both spacious and restless, acknowledging details, yet always keeping sight of the big picture.
(BBC Proms, London, Dvorak/Saint-Säens/Schumann)
Star Tribune, 2 May 2004
Larry Fuchsberg
…he kindles playing that dances with brio. He has a fine ear for balance, a keen nose for harmonic direction (and misdirection). He knows a chamber orchestra isn’t a stunted symphony, but a different beast altogether. And he’s no control freak – he lets his colleagues play.
(St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Sibelius/Beethoven/Haydn)
La Dépêche du Midi, 11 January 2004
Anne-Marie Chouchan
Swensen porte l’oeuvre avec un sens aigu de son architecture, en souligne les audaces, les subtils jeux de timbres, le drame et le lyrisme sans jamais briser l’unité du discours. On est captive, ému, emporté aussi par l’énergie finale de ce chef-d’oeuvre vibrant de passion
(Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Mahler Symphony No1)
[Swensen has an acute sense of the architecture of the piece; opening its doors and underlining its idiosyncracies, subtle play with timbres, and drama and lyricism, without ever breaking up its sense of wholeness. The listener is captivated, moved and transported by the energy of the finale, so full of passion]
The Telegraph, 16 December 2003
James Allen
The SCO’s playing under Joseph Swensen had all the grace and rhythm of fine verse. There were effortless shifts of focus between soloist and orchestra in the beautifully balanced outer movements and the adagio was succinct and sonorous.
(Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Beethoven)
The Guardian, 8 April 2003
Rian Evans
Certainly in this performance by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under its principal guest conductor, Joseph Swensen, there was an awesome inevitability about the outcome of this work, with its final hammer blows of fate. Swensen is the complete musician: a virtuoso violinist and composer as well as conductor, ostensibly well suited to Mahler.
(BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Sibelius/Mozart/Beethoven)
