{"id":4118,"date":"2012-05-25T14:04:45","date_gmt":"2012-05-25T13:04:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/?page_id=4118"},"modified":"2014-06-13T19:23:13","modified_gmt":"2014-06-13T19:23:13","slug":"bobby-and-hans-news-and-reviews","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/a-view-from-the-podium\/bobby-and-hans\/bobby-and-hans-news-and-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Bobby and Hans- News and Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Bobby and Hans<\/h1>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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NEW AND REVIEWS<\/h3>\n

June 2014- Classical Ear\/Andrew Achenbach on Bobby and Hans vol. 4<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0“Hats off to the indefatigable Kenneth Woods and the Orchestra of the Swan for rounding off their revelatory G\u00e1l symphony cycle for Avie in such commensurate, urgently communicative fashion and bringing to Schumann\u2019s comparably sparkling and life-enhancing \u2018Spring\u2019 Symphony such boundless vitality, scrupulous fidelity to the printed score, delicious wit and (above all) entrancing freshness of new discovery. This stylish and consistently invigorating coupling represents both an exemplary rescue act and genuine tonic to boot. Investigate without delay!”<\/span><\/p>\n

May 2014- MusicWeb\/Byzantion on Bobby and Hans vol. 4<\/a>–<\/strong> “The Swans could avail themselves of no better conductor for G\u00e1l than Woods.<\/span><\/p>\n

May 2014- artistxite on Schumann and G\u00e1l First Symphonies<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>“The final result may be the most compelling reawakening of Schumann in the last decades \u2013 and simultaneously a long-overdue vindication of Hans G\u00e1l.”<\/p>\n

May 2014- Gramophone Magazine, Guy Rickards on Schumann and G\u00e1l First Symphonies<\/a><\/strong>–\u00a0\u201cThis account is a joy from start to exuberant finish, perfectly paced and superbly played\u2026Very strongly recommended\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

March 2014- Rick Jones, Words and Music on Schumann- Symphony no. 1 <\/a><\/strong>“<\/em>Not one but two Schumann Spring Symphonies hove into earshot. Kenneth Woods and the Orchestra of the Swan versus Yannick Nezet-Seguin and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Woods wins it. One needs express no surprise when the committed outfit with its own conductor beats the prestige youngsters under the rising star jet-setter.\u00a0 The Woods performance is tighter, rhythmically crisper, richer in contrasts, more characterful and always closer to the composer’s wishes.”<\/p>\n

March 2014- Colin Anderson, Classical Source on Bobby and Hans vol. 3<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>“anyone… who generally welcomes song, dance, deepness of human feeling and clarity in their music will find much to entrance and enlighten here. It is certainly good to have a choice of recordings for G\u00e1l 2, to compare and contrast, but Woods\u2019s version is the place to start…this thoughtfully considered account belongs in the Schumann 4 collection alongside Boult, Celibidache, Sawallisch (Dresden) and Szell”<\/span><\/p>\n

March 2014- John Puccio, Classical Candor on Bobby and Hans volume 4<\/a><\/strong>– ”\u00a0I would find it hard to imagine anyone handling it any better than Woods, nor any orchestra playing it with more accuracy and enthusiasm.”<\/p>\n

December 2013- Iowa Public Radio “Best Classical Music of 2013”<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>“In the performance of Schumann’s most adventurous symphony, you can feel the musicians’ inspiration (these people do not do “routine”); and the Gal is personal, special, and heartfelt, and could hardly receive more persuasive advocacy.”<\/p>\n

November 2013- Fanfare Magazine on Bobby and Hans vol. 3-<\/a><\/strong> ”\u00a0Woods\u2019s album is a valuable addition to our understanding of the 20th-century symphony.<\/p>\n

November 2013- Positive Feedback Magazine on Bobby and Hans vol. 3<\/a><\/strong> “The conductor, Kenneth Woods, proves a persuasive advocate for the score, balancing an ear for detail with a sense of the music’s long line; his performance is appropriately varied in mood, color, and texture. If the picture in the booklet is any indication, the Orchestra of the Swan is not overly large, but they produce polished, full-bodied sounds and phrase expressively.<\/p>\n

September 2013- Classical Ear\/Andrew Aschenbach on Bobby and Hans vol. 3- <\/a><\/strong>”\u00a0Kenneth Woods and the Orchestra of the Swan..lend this radiant and substantial score the most eloquent and affecting advocacy, and go on to give a comparably accomplished and invigorating account of Schumann\u2019s masterly Fourth Symphony \u2013 a strikingly fresh-faced, spontaneous-sounding display, full of illuminating touches, personable warmth and genuine freshness of new discovery. Do investigate this bold, enormously rewarding coupling.”<\/p>\n

August 2013- MusicWeb International on Bobby and Hans vol. 3-<\/a><\/strong> “This condemns the \u2018music world\u2019 of the late 20th<\/sup>\u00a0century while creating a huge debt of gratitude for the steadfast resolve of Kenneth Woods. To hear the symphonies now and then to try to imagine not being able to is almost inconceivable. Woods has done the \u2018music world\u2019 of the 21st<\/sup>century a huge favour in making these wonderful works known to us. Both the G\u00e1l and the Schumann symphonies are played as wonderfully here as they could possibly be. The Orchestra of the Swan is a band of superlative players whose commitment to the music matches that of its leader and it shows in every note. This is a fantastic release and the series as a whole will, I hope, exert some pressure upon the programmers to include G\u00e1l\u2019s symphonies in concerts so that an even wider public can get to know them.\u00a0”<\/p>\n

July 2013- Gramophone Magazine\/ Edward Greenfield on Bobby and Hans vol 3- <\/a><\/strong>“Kenneth Woods draws crisply alert playing from the splendid Orchestra of the Swan…He is particularly good at controlling tempo changes precisely…highly recommendable”<\/p>\n

July 2013-\u00a0International Record Review on Bobby and Hans vol 3<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>“Under Woods, the Orchestra of the Swan plays with magnetic conviction and unwavering technical assurance.”<\/p>\n

May 2013-\u00a0Audiophile Audition on Bobby and Hans vol 3<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>“I\u2019m as pleased with the performance of the Schumann as I am with the G\u00e1l, and given the real quality of G\u00e1l\u2019s symphony, I don\u2019t mind that this makes about the tenth Schumann\u00a0Fourth<\/i>\u00a0in my collection!”<\/p>\n

April 2013– MusicWeb International on Bobby and Hans vol 3-<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>“This band plays with admirable finesse and concentration, and the recording is clean and well focused.”<\/p>\n

April 2013-\u00a0CD Review- Classical CD Reviews, Gavin Dixon on<\/a>\u00a0Bobby and Hans vol. 3\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>“Technically, the orchestra is on top form; there\u2019s nothing \u201cregional\u201d about their playing. They are also able to combine passion and energy with that technical precision, and the results are always dynamic and engaging.”<\/p>\n

April 2013- Classical Candor on Bobby and Hans vol. 3\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>“This is probably as close as we get in the music to Gal\u2019s private adversities, but Woods does not overdramatize or over sentimentalize it. By the time the finale draws to a close, we recognize, at least in hands of Woods, a memorable and perhaps unfairly underappreciated work.”<\/p>\n

September 2012- The Guardian Weekly on Bobby and Hans vol. 2<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0A reprint of the Washington Post article by Anne Midgette<\/p>\n

September 2012- <\/strong>Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk on Bobby and Hans vol. 2<\/strong> <\/a>“The restraint of the G\u00e1l is intelligently coupled with Schumann\u2019s Symphony No 2. There are no reservations at all about the playing of the Orchestra of the Swan under Kenneth Woods. Good chamber orchestras can make Schumann sound lighter, fresher, leaner \u2013 there\u2019s plenty of definition and lightness here. Woods manages to make the first movement\u2019s obsessive triple time rhythm sound like music instead of a stuck record, and the Scherzo has the requisite bounce. There\u2019s plenty of stoic melancholy in the Adagio, but not enough to derail the symphony\u2019s emotional trajectory. Excellent, in other words.”<\/p>\n

August 2012- <\/strong>Byzantion, MusicWeb International on Bobby and Hans vol. 2<\/strong> <\/a>“As in the Third, there are echoes of Mahler and Brahms and Strauss, but overall it is significantly less Germanic, due in part to its very well-ventilated orchestration, but also to its concertante nature. The latter contributes strongly to the wistful-pastoral, broadly optimistic character of a supremely lyrical work…The four semi-spotlit soloists turn in terrific performances in this least symphonic of G\u00e1l’s four Symphonies, but then again so do their fellow OS-members under Woods’ immaculate direction. He and the OS are even better in Schumann’s Second Symphony, which finds the composer in Beethovenian vein at his most luxurious and radiant, despite his ongoing battle with depression… \u00a0The smaller ensemble of the OS works perfectly for Schumann, and Woods’ attention to the details of this intellectual but emotionally gripping score and phrasing is second to none – this is the Second Symphony as Schumann wrote it to sound, and as the early-Romantic masterpiece it truly is!<\/p>\n

August 2012- MusicWeb International on Bobby and Hans vol. 1<\/a><\/strong> “Woods and the Orchestra of the Swan are having no truck with the faintly ludicrous assertion that Schumann was an awkward or even incompetent orchestrator. Woods lets it be known, with this expertly delineated, clarified account that any claimed textural ‘thickness’ is the fault of the conductor, not the composer. There is some particularly infectious horn playing to note, reminding the listener of Schumann’s debt to Mendelssohn and Schubert.”<\/p>\n

August 2012- <\/strong>Anne Midgette, Washingonton Post follow-up blog on Hans Gal and Orchestra of the Swan<\/strong> <\/a>“I was struck by how many of the composers I wrote about were active in around the same period \u2014 born in the last couple of decades of the 19th century, active until the mid-20th (Alfredo Cassella, Albert Roussel, Hans Gal, George Templeton Strong, Alexander Zemlinsky, and the list goes on). This illustrates, I think, just how far World War II shattered a whole tradition, even for some composers who weren\u2019t direct victims of it.”<\/p>\n

August 2012- Anne Midgette, Washington Post Sunday feature on Hans Gal and lost composers<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>“Gal was a widely respected and performed composer in the 1920s, but the Nazis drove him out of Germany, and though he continued writing, teaching and composing in Scotland until his death in 1987, his reputation never quite recovered. Elegant, adeptly constructed, and unashamedly tonal, even beautiful, his music hearkens back to a bygone tradition of Viennese late romanticism that wasn\u2019t what the music world thought composers should be writing in the late 20th century.”<\/p>\n

July 2012- Jerome Crossley, WCLV on Bobby and Hans vol 2<\/a><\/strong> “This is music of incredible richness, and Kenneth Woods and the Orchestra of the Swan successfully elicit both its charm and its sense of melancholy. It’s paired with a consistently engaging account of Schumann’s Second Symphony.<\/p>\n

July 2012- Norman Stinchcombe, Birmingham Post on Bobby and Hans vol. 1.<\/a><\/strong>“<\/a>\u00a0His third symphony, splendidly played by the Orchestra of the Swan under the American conductor Kenneth Woods certainly merits a hearing, or several. It\u2019s paired with Schumann\u2019s third symphony \u2026 a neat and energetic performance..”<\/p>\n

June 2012- Robert R. Reilly, Crisis Magazine on Schumann and Gal Third Symphonies<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>“How can anything this lovely \u2013 try to resist the gorgeous andante \u2013 not have been performed in 55 years, until this superb recording by Kenneth Woods and the Orchestra of the Swan? They… do equally well with the Schumann\u00a0\u2026.\u00a0<\/em>This is music for those who thought the world had ended, and who can now discover that it didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

June 2012- CD Review, Gramophone Magazine, Guy Rickards “Gramophone Choice” for Bobby and Hans vol. 2<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>“<\/em>Woods\u2019s finely wrought interpretation confirms his credentials \u2013 if confirmation were needed \u2013 as a symphonic conductor of stature\u2026 Strongly recommended.”<\/p>\n

June 2012- CD Review, New York Times, James Oestreich on Bobby and Hans, vol. 2<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>“\u2026consummate craft in a mostly consonant, mellifluous style seemingly little touched by the great tragedies of the 20th century or his personal troubles\u2026…Woods and the orchestra do a fine job of revealing the qualities of this peculiar master”<\/p>\n

May 2012- CD Review, Classical Source, Colin Anderson on Gal\/Schumann Symphonies vol. 2<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>“Kenneth Woods and his willing band of Swans give a superb performance, lithe, neat, nimble, poetic (the glorious slow movement really touches the heart) and passionate.”<\/p>\n

May 2012-\u00a0Performance Today, May 24, 2012: Orchestra of the Swan plays Gal Symphony no. 4 in concert<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0Tune in live or listen online to hear the first concert performance of Gal\u2019s Fourth Symphony since the 1970\u2032s, recorded in December 11, 2011 in Stratford-upon-Avon. Ken chats about Gal with the PT team.<\/p>\n

May 2012-\u00a0CD Review- International Record Review, Calum MacDonald on Gal\/Schumann Symphonies vol. 2<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThroughout his career, G\u00e1l felt himself to be in the Brahmsian tradition, though his music seldom sounds particularly Brahmsian. Yet Brahms himself\u2013 usually so niggardly of praise for the efforts of the younger generation\u2014would surely have found warm words of admiration for G\u00e1l\u2019s Symphony no. 4\u2026Schumann\u2019s C major Symphony.. receives a first-rate performance.. with a wonderful sense of expansiveness and profound and delicate feeling in the slow movement\u201d<\/p>\n

May 2012- Gavin Dixon,\u00a0Classical CD Reviews on Bobby and Hans vol. 2<\/a>–<\/strong>\u201cWhat an exquisitely crafted piece Hans G\u00e1l\u2019s Fourth Symphony is\u2026\u00a0a work that succeeds splendidly on its own terms\u2026Another triumph then for Kenneth Woods and the Orchestra of the Swan.\u201d<\/p>\n

May 2012-\u00a0Bobby and Hans vol 2 on BBC Radio 3\u2032s CD Review<\/a>–\u00a0<\/strong>Chris de Souza-\u201dI can\u2019t imagine anyone playing it any better.\u201d\u00a0Click to listen.<\/a><\/p>\n

April 2012-\u00a0CD Review- Musical Pointers on Bobby and Hans vol. 2<\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cAll in all, this is a worthy endeavour, which should keep the name and music of holocaust survivor Hans G\u00e1l (1890-1987) before the public as long as CDs continue to be bought\u201d<\/p>\n

April 2012-\u00a0CD Review- Bernard D Sherman on Bobby and Hans vol. 2<\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cBut let me harp again on the divine madness \u2013 the insane glee, the visceral delight\u2026 that Fricsay\/ Naida Cole demonic possession by Pan. Other examples:\u00a0Lipatti\u00a0playing\u00a0Ravel\u2019s\u00a0Alborado<\/em>;\u00a0Glenn Gould\u2019s\u00a0first\u00a0Goldbergs<\/em>; any number of recordings of\u00a0Bernstein\u00a0or\u00a0Furtwangler\u2026Divine madness, like this, must be experienced.\u201d<\/p>\n

April 2012- \u00a0CD Review- Audiophile Audition on Bobby and Hans vol. 2 (five stars)<\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cWoods proves in this recording to be a front rank conductor, capturing the feeling of sorrow and compassion of the symphony. ..Woods has seized on the essence of this Schumann\u00a0Symphony<\/em>. His reading is smooth, grand and exciting and well worth the purchase of this disc. The G\u00e1l may take a few hearings to sink in, but the Schumann is right there from the start and one of the best recordings available.\u201d<\/p>\n

April 2012-\u00a0Saturday Telegraph critic Geoffrey Norris 4-star review<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cGal is worth getting to know\u2026 it is well-made music and Orchestra of the Swan do it proud, giving also a spruce and eloquent performance of Schumann\u2019s Second.\u201d<\/p>\n

March 2012-\u00a0Former London Evening Standard chief critic Rick Jones on Bobby and Hans vo. 2<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cA defiant spirit courses through this [Gal\u2019s} Brahmsian fourth symphony, composed in 1975\u2026 Played here by the excellent Orchestra of the Swan under Kenneth Woods (see left) it casts the twentieth century in a new light, one of obstinate cheerfulness and determined optimism, a refusal to be bowed by contemporary events, which may in the end be more useful to mankind than the pain of defeat.\u201d<\/p>\n

January 2012-\u00a0Everything but the music \u201cBest Recording of 2011.\u201d-\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201c\u2026a sparkling pairing of the first recording of Gal\u2019s Symphony no. 3 and Schumann\u2019s\u00a0Rhenish<\/em>. There\u2019s no escaping the fact that Woods is the go-to Gal guy, and this recording is a good reason why: it\u2019s a performance that completely convinces you that there\u2019s no good reason we don\u2019t hear it all the time. The commitment to the Gal is no more or less than the commitment to the Schumann, itself one of my very favorite takes on the popular work\u201d<\/p>\n

December 2011-\u00a0Bernard D. Sherman \u201cTop Ten Classical CD\u2019s of 2011-<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThe Gal is a real find, especially the slow movement; and the Schumann is a joy after the many punched-up but four-square performances I\u2019ve suffered through\u2026 It\u2019s an awesome CD, folks.\u201d<\/p>\n

December 2011-\u00a0WFMT Chicago \u201cBest Classical Recordings of 2011\u2033<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

November 2011-\u00a0American Record Guide on Bobby and Hans vol. 1<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThe musical flow is untroubled and un- forced\u2014\u201dorganic\u201d, in a word\u2026especially in this dulcet performance (by the Stratford-on-Avon-based Orchestra of the Swan) and clear, richly glowing sonics from Avie.\u201d<\/p>\n

October 2011-\u00a0MusicWeb International review by Rob Barnett:<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cWoods draws out a rhythmically taut performance. The shivering excitement is notable and the undulant poetic movement of the Rhine no less so.\u201d<\/p>\n

September 2011-\u00a0The Arts Desk review by Graham Rickson:\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cG\u00e1l\u2019s impassioned, well-crafted late romanticism is readily accessible and quietly moving \u2013 there\u2019s a lot to enjoy here. He\u2019s good at subtle transitions \u2013 the way that the delicious opening melody segues into the first movement\u2019s more agitated fast section, and its brilliant, ghostly close.\u201d<\/p>\n

August 2011-\u00a0Gramophone Magazine review by Guy Rickards and interview by Andrew Mellor:\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cstructural genius\u2026 contrapuntal mastery\u2026committed performance\u2026splendid sound, warmly recommended.\u201d<\/p>\n

August 2011-\u00a0Indianapolis Star review from Jay Harvey<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201dWoods shows his luminous interpretive vision in the Schumann, which blasts away the cobwebs of\u00a0 the composer\u2019s reputation as a dull, borderline inept, orchestrator. As Schumann\u2019s final of four works in the symphonic idiom, Op. 97 is\u00a0 full of energy and inspiration. Never has the outline of Schumann\u2019s composition been clearer. Woods shapes exemplary phrasing from Orchestra of the Swan; the clarity does not amount to some kind of antiseptic dissection, but something more at the opposite extreme: a new lease on life for a familiar masterwork.\u201d<\/p>\n

July 2011-\u00a0Audio Review from NPR\u2019s All Things Considered:<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>\u201cThe Austrian-born composer Hans Gal has been way off the radar screen until just recently. His Symphony No. 3 languished unplayed for 55 years. Like so many European composers, Gal had to flee the Nazis, eventually landing in Scotland. So hats off to conductor Kenneth Woods and his Orchestra of the Swan who have been making a case for Gal\u2019s elegantly built orchestral pieces which look back fondly to the German romantic era of Schumann, Brahms and Richard Strauss. Here\u2019s hoping this is the beginning of a substantial Gal revival.\u201d<\/p>\n

July 2011-\u00a0WETA FM Washington D.C. selects Bobby and Hans as CD Pick of the Week.<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0\u201c\u2026.a clear, individualistic voice early in the century, and remained unique amidst the explorations of the Second Viennese School and twelve-tone techniques. \u201d<\/p>\n

July 2011-\u00a0Dallas Morning News review by Scott Cantrell<\/a><\/strong>\u201cStraussian lyricism, harmonic succulence and occasional playfulness are spelled by contrapuntal patches\u2026\u00a0Kenneth Woods leads performances both authoritative and generously expressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

July 2011-\u00a0Classic FM Magazine review by Andrew Mellor.<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>\u201cG\u00e1l\u2019s own Third Symphony of 1952 is a real discovery: confident, rich music in the late Romantic idiom that has bags of souls and the residue of a genuine expressive thirst\u2026G\u00e1l is truly worth rediscovering ; Woods\u2019s recording project for Avie has intrigued and delighted me and I\u2019m only left wanting more. \u201d<\/p>\n

July 2011-International Record Review\/Calum MacDonald on Bobby and Hans.<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201can\u00a0excellent disc\u2026a substantial work, deeply felt and deeply thought\u2026obvious empathy and understanding..with admirable clarity of texture and finely honed musicianship\u2026\u00a0could hardly be bettered,\u201d<\/p>\n

July 2011-\u00a0Entartete Musik reviews Bobby and Hans<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cThis world premiere recording of his Symphony No. 3, composed while in exile in Edinburgh, offers a valuable insight into 20th century Austrian music. Somewhat nostalgic, his music also professes what tonal music could still offer post-Schoenberg. Coupled with Schumann\u2019s third symphony, the Orchestra of the Swan and Kenneth Woods give us a compelling encounter with this shifting symphonic landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n

July 2011-\u00a0Classical Music Magazine interview with KW on Bobby and Hans\u2026 and Gus<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cFew people would list Hans Gal and Schumann among music\u2019s humourists, but Kenneth Woods does.\u201d<\/p>\n

June 2011- Collin Anderson at The Classical Source.<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cSchumann\u2019s \u2018Rhenish\u2019 Symphony is given a superb outing, gloriously joyous in the outer movements, exuberant without being pushed, and also generously lyrical when needed, not least in the triptych of middle movements, beautifully phrased and sounded, breathing and shapely, sensitively addressed and lovingly detailed\u2026As for alternative recordings of the \u2018Rhenish\u2019, Woods holds his own against such wonders as Sawallisch (Dresden rather than Philadelphia), Celibidache (Munich), Giulini (Chicago) and immediately becomes a favourite for this delectable work.\u201d<\/p>\n

June 2011- Martin Anderson on Bobby and Hans vol 1 at The Classical Review.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>\u201cA first recording shouldn\u2019t be a swan-song, but Orchestra of the Swan really does sing for Woods, in long, arching melodic lines, G\u00e1l\u2019s writing favouring the woodwinds especially.\u201d<\/p>\n

May 2011- Gavin Dixon at Classical CD Reviews on Bobby and Hans vol 1:<\/a><\/strong>\u201cHere we find some really sensitive ensemble playing and a wonderful elegance of tone from every section. I was particularly impressed by the trombones at the start of the fourth movement. The astronomical register of the alto part here daunts most players, who are happy to be able to get the notes out at all. So to hear it played with this apparent ease and, most importantly, serene elegance is a real pleasure\u2026. \u201cAnd Hans:\u00a0Woods knows that his woodwind soloists can give him all the emotion the music needs, without him having to pull the tempos around, and they more than repay his trust\u2026..I\u2019m thinking of the oboe, flute, clarinet and horn soloists in particular, seem to be playing exposed lines almost throughout, and all rise to the challenge magnificently.\u201d<\/p>\n

May 2011- Everything But the Music<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>makes Woods\/Orchestra of the Swan a Library Choice for Schumann\u2019s Third Symphony,<\/p>\n

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