„On the concert of 20 May of the Händel–Mendelssohn series The Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra has played the part of the Händel: Concerto grossi Op. 3, the 1-3. movements that we could not listen to last time. Probably, this was the more existing part of the series because the musical kaleidoscope has turned around much more suggestively, dazzling with new and new colours than last time and as if the the sounding of the orchestra were more noble, more brief than previously. The initial violin concerto movement of the Concerto No 1. was strong-illustrated, with noble solos of János Rolla and the wind instrument solo players also have given their best, first the oboes (Fruzsina Káli-Fonyódi and Márton Belej), then in the final movement the bassoons (István Hartenstein and László Hunyadi). In the Concerto No. 3 in G Major –in which beside the violin and the organ (Soma Dinyés) the flute is the primary solo instrument, Sebők Erika played with a beautiful and correct, soft and non-over vibrated sound, with a live and so to say naughty musicality. In the Concerto No. 2 in B flat Major the more illustrated sound of the cembalo and the oboes came back; in the five-movement, suite-like piece two violoncellos separate from the excellent and firm bass part and receive a grandiose solistic job. ”

 25-5-2009                                                                        Revisor, János Malina 

„For that very reason the whole Händel-opus is a benefit performance for the Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra and for its excellent solo players. They know this world as well as does the string quartet in that of the Haydn-quartets– they know all secrets and make it public with great pleasure. The orchestra sounded together nobly and powerfully, its dynamic and manner of playing was yielding and various at the same time. The outstanding personality of János Rolla, his strong play and control is more suggestive than ever; – and his short but virtuosic solo in the Concerto in F Major is also an experience. The soli – Ottó Rácz and Eszter Horváth played the oboe, Dániel Tallián played the bassoon – sensually, in a nice tone of voice, at the same time they played with an incomparable accuracy and conformity. The cembalo was controlled by Levente Gyöngyösi, while Márton Levente Horváth in the II. (final at the same time) movement of the Concerto in D Major in D Minormode performed a complete organ – brilliantly, after that the play of the orchestra „full of fire” in the I. movement made the biggest experience of the first part of the concert.

The rearranged string quartet in Minor of the 18-year-old Mendelssohn that was performed in the second part of the concert provided a nice programme that can be experienced in the case of the stringed pieces of chamber works performed in the orchestral version only the most frequently. The apart sounding of the parts did not destroy the illusion and mainly: János Rolla called the fascinating and magic world of the young Mendelssohn with a high-level poetry. The richness of the initial movement and the ’I want everything’ of youth, the happy-sad idyll and brisk, playful episode of the second movement that can be hardly put into words. The third movement with its softly fluttering piccikatos– that was played as an encore more heart-smotheringly – and as the middle part with one most beautiful fairy dance of Mendelssohn provided a special magic and the full of questions final movement that was played as a mysterious violin solo, broken by recitatives (they were played as violin solos) was a worthy closing. It was a really wonderful evening.” 

26-4-2009                                                                           Revisor, János Malina

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Vaduz – The Swiss flutist Emmanuel Pahud aroused the enthusiasm of the audience on Wednesday at Vaduzer Saal, thanks to his technical brilliance and sensitivity. 

On Wednesday, the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra from Hungary, under the direction of János Rolla and known for its richly diversified repertoire, presented itself at the almost sold-out Vaduzer Saal, with masterpieces of North German composers from the 18^th and 19^th centuries. The ensemble once again managed to impress through impeccable sound culture and exemplary interplay. The programme started with the Brandenburg Concertos Nr. 3 and 6 by Johann Sebastian Bach. The two pieces may be anything but seldom heard, but the highly sensitive and at the same time extremely precise interpretation by the Hungarian chamber musicians turned the performance into a thorough pleasure: the Brandenburg Concertos surely do not sound threadbare this way. 

The Swiss flutist Emmanuel Pahud values musical versatility above all. Together with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, the disciple of Aurèle Nicolet performed two wholly different pieces before and after the break: the Flute Concerto in D Minor, Wq 22, by Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and the Concerto for Flute and Orchestra in D Major, probably by Leopold Hoffmann, but maybe by Joseph Haydn, who knows. The internationally acclaimed flutist is part of a series of great soloists who have played music in the past 46 years with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra. Technical brilliance and fine musical sensibility unite in the person of this artist. The sound of the strings and the solo woodwind coalesced in ideal coordination to a fine but solid web, of brisk tempo, but not overly fast, dynamic and exemplary in its expressivity. Whoever manages to arouse such enthusiasm must anticipate spontaneous reactions: after the first movement of the Bach concerto, applause sounded from the audience every now and then, for a short while but quite audibly. Pahud, cheered for his performance, delighted his listeners, with help from the chamber orchestra, with an encore by J. S. Bach: a virtuosic jewel artfully enriched with embellishments. 

To finish the concert evening, the ensemble played the Octet in S Major op. 20 by Felix Mendelssohn: dry, lively and laden with energy, especially in the piano passages, and with a keen sense of the tension, inherent to the piece, between melancholy and refreshing sensuality. With a short encore, the Hungarian string players also said goodbye to a very much impressed audience. 

12-3-2009                                                                       Liechtensteiner Volksblatt

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Airiness, elegance and mastery 

Applause for the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra 

By Armin Kansteiner

Bielefeld (WB) – Following the strings ensemble of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, it was the turn of the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra from Budapest, also in a purely strings cast, to be guests at the Pro Musica series of concerts. The audience had the opportunity, for the second time within a short while, to experience first-hand with how different a manner of interpretation the artists got down to business – and that on a high or even very high level. 

The Hungarian guests pleased their listeners with a performance that excelled as airy, elegant and effortlessly fresh. They stepped back behind the work and left it to unfold, without the urge to profile themselves. What else can be done with Bach? The audience was ever so grateful not to be at the mercy of the “masses of sound crashing onto each other” in the first movement of the Brandenburg Concerto Nr. 3, as the booklet would threaten. Instead, we relished in the witty conversation of the three groups of instruments, which, forming three groups in their turn, would pass the motives to each other.

The second movement, which actually consists of a one-measure cadence only, was used by the harpsichordist, in accordance with baroque performance practice, for a broad improvisation. This was also a transition to a dynamically performed allegro. The rendition of the Brandenburg Concerto Nr. 6 turned out to be equally vivacious, but always keen on presenting the subtle structure of the composition through nothing but the discreet phrasing. The Concertos 3 and 6 both tie in with the Venetian canzone form, and support well the cheerful tone.

With the flute concertos of Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach and Leopold Hoffmann, an element of virtuosity was added, without giving up on the intimate basic character. The soloist, Emmanuel Pahud, never pushed himself into the foreground with his breathtaking technique. Rather, he used it to let his instrument sound in all situations with warmth and absolute purity. He performed the slow movements in such a dreamy manner that it seemed as if he wanted to translate Brentano’s lines directly: “Hark, the flute laments again and the cool springs murmur; golden, the sounds waft down - be still, be still, let us listen.” (Translation by Emily Ezust)

The fast movements, in their turn, were served with astonishing ease, even in their most difficult parts. The Badinerie from Bach’s Suite in B Minor, performed as an encore, turned into a masterstroke as he decorated it with breakneck embellishments – as if the piece itself were not difficult enough.

The Octet for strings in E flat major by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, in choral instrumentation, became the intoxicating culmination of the evening. The Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra were entirely in their element here, though the andante of the second movement and the presto of the finale could have been played with even more tension. Nevertheless, the capricious scherzo, allegro leggerissimo was exquisite entertainment for the audience. 

Westfalen-Blatt, 16^th February 2009

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A captivating virtuoso 

The star flutist Emmanuel Pahud at Pro Musica 

Bielefeld. With his exceptional prowess and musical charm, star flutist Emmanuel Pahud once again aroused the enthusiasm of the audience of Pro Musica at the Oetkerhalle. However, the sound of the strings of the renowned Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra from Budapest lent an air of delicacy and highest-level technical competence to the evening.

At present there is hardly anybody who would serve more brilliant flute tones than the Swiss in his late thirties, with a solo position at the Berlin Philharmonic. The “sound” of his golden flute is of overwhelming purity, rotundity and warmth. At the same time he radiates a musical spirit without airs and graces, which is obvious as he mingles with his colleagues and communicates with them in an animated and animating manner. He brings a disarming amiability into his virtuosic play.

Such is the case with the concerto in D Minor by Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, the original genius of sensitivity: gallantly stylish, just like an aria singer of that time, Pahud intones the andante, and he enchants with caressing intimacy. He takes the stormily flashing finale really “di molto”, with breathtaking aplomb, but this does not keep each and every tone from being selective and brilliant. Subjective, expressive music in a league of its own, as far as the quality of the rendering is concerned.

More classically set, a concerto in D Major, once imputed to Haydn but in reality by Leopold Hoffmann, a court musician highly appreciated in his time. With the accompanying orchestra, here again on a par, the celebrated soloist entered a high-contrast, multi-faceted dialogue in three movements. The audience was enthralled, and even more so after the individually pointed Badinerie by Bach as an encore.

In the face of so much solo bravura, the strings ensemble with the chronological programme may have become a bit pale in our memory. But in truth the Hungarian guests played their music nothing short of perfectly. The cast of the musicians was exquisite.

Their performance of Bach in two of the Brandenburg Concertos need not dress up as “historically” trained. The rhythmic force of impulse and the continuous, buoyant momentum with which the motives were passed on in the three-group concerto Nr. 3 was carried by a baroque awareness of form and an impressive sense of sound. The sixth concerto, embossed by the dark viola da gamba, certainly sounded here in a modern recast, full of deep dimension in the ecksatz concertato, scintillating with precision, and a contrapuntal whiff in the adagio.

The same self-evident, selfless virtuosity in the co-operation of similarly minded artists was granted at the end of the concert to Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, whose 200^th anniversary is commemorated this year, and to his early masterpiece, the Octet for strings in E flat major, op. 20. The 17 string players from Budapest mastered the artfully light-hearted musicality of this four-movement work with fleet-footed prowess and clairaudient transparency, more committed to the overflowing melodic elegance than to the unruly passion for the accent in the first movement, scuttling and fleeting in the elfish music of the scherzo and simply gorgeous in its entirety. 

Michael Beughold,Neue Westfälische, 16^th February 2009

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As tasteful as weightless 

The Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra and Emmanuel Pahud perform at the Ladeshalle 

Works by Bach the Elder and Younger, by the unknown Leopold Hoffmann and by the young Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, whose 200^th birth anniversary is commemorated around the world this year, were part of the programme presented at the GVE concert at the Ladeshalle by a renowned ensemble and an extraordinary soloist.

The famous Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra played first the 3^rd, then the 6^th Brandenburg Concerto for strings by Johann Sebastian Bach, with much verve, tempo and clear accentuation. In the three-movement concertos, whose form is oriented to the Italian “concerto grosso”, the musicians, who struck up in a dedicated and extremely disciplined manner, demonstrated their level of technical accomplishment and the exuberant passion with which they are capable of presenting the popular orchestral works of the great Bach. Already by their line-up, the members of the orchestra made it clear how the individual instruments relate to one another. The audience could hear and see their perfect interplay. 

With charm and temperament 

The star of the evening was without doubt Emmanuel Pahud, solo flutist of the Berlin Philharmonic. The musician, active on the international concert stages with his charm and temperament, disposes of that certain “je ne sais quoi”. In Erlangen too, he managed to arouse tempestuous enthusiasm with his excellent, highly differentiated performance. This extraordinary virtuoso was brilliant in Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach’s Concerto for flute and orchestra in D Minor. He celebrated with his instrument, tastefully and discreetly, the stormy allegro passages in the first and third movement with their mighty leaps of interval as well as the atmospheric “Adagio ma non troppo”.

It was a pleasure listening to his wonderfully soft, full and round flute sound, above all in the flute concerto of Leopold Hoffmann – this concerto has been wrongfully imputed to the famous Haydn. Here again, Emmanuel Pahud managed to perform these technically complicated, difficult passages with such confidence and weightlessness that the listeners acknowledged his virtuosic and musically excellent play with enormous applause.

The encore was a movement from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Ouverture II in B Minor – with the same confidence as everything else from Pahud’s flute. The audience thoroughly enjoyed the mature, dense orchestral sound of the Hungarian ensemble as the musicians ended the pleasurable concert evening with the Octet for strings in E flat major, op. 20 by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.

In the three movements of the work composed for strings, all musicians demonstrated their musical prowess in a convincing way and with much appeal to the audience (with an excellent double-bass player!). Their temperamental, but above all precise and homogeneous interplay showed particularly in the scherzo and presto of the final movement, in which the young Mendelssohn seems to have made a reference to his great model Bach with fugue reminiscences. 

Full of joy of playing 

And so the circle closed: it was a self-contained concert with thoughtfully chosen works from baroque to romanticism, played with much dedication and joy by all musicians, so that the ovation of the audience seemed to be perfectly well earned. 
 

Diethard Henning, Erlanger Nachrichten, 13^th February 2009

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GOG: Collins, extraordinary, in the footsteps of Mozart and Liszt 

If well begun is indeed half done, then an excellent season is in the offing for Gog. The inaugural concert succeeded in arousing the enthusiasm of the public. The protagonists were an extraordinary clarinettist, Michael Collins, and an impeccable group of musicians, the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, led by first violin János Rolla. Solid technique, an absolute control of the sound, even where there is almost impalpable dynamics: Collins delivered a precious rendering of Mozart’s “Concerto K 622 for clarinet and orchestra”. A heavenly work, rendered with elegance and an admirable sweetness of the phrasing: suffice it to recall the encore of the Adagio, resolved with a disarming simplicity of exposition. Rolla and the Orchestra supported the soloist unfailingly, to offer a stirring execution of Bartók’s “Divertimento” (here again, one has to note the ever so varied dynamics and the perfect intonation), and also a stirring interpretation of Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody Nr. 2”. 

Roberto Iovino, La Repubblica, 17^th October 2008

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Collins and the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra: encore and applause 

Continuous, roaring, long, intense and emotional applause from the stalls bursting at their seams: Michael Collins, the little, sly Englishman seems to be having an excellent time whenever he enters or exits the scene, takes a bow or smiles. Then he stops, his face turns serious, and silence falls: Collins and the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra repeat the extraordinary Adagio of the “Concert in Major K622 for clarinet and orchestra” by Mozart. This encore, so intimately desired by the audience, this magic that repeats itself miraculously – “even more moving than the first time” as it is whispered in the audience – represents perhaps the highest and most sincere moment of the success that, on Monday, crowned the inaugural concert of the season of the Giovine Orchestra Genovese.

The protagonists of the evening were the English clarinettist, who has been on the international scene for exactly thirty years, with collaborations on the highest level, and the Hungarian orchestra, directed by János Rolla and heir as well as fruit of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. The programme was evenly divided between a Mozartian first half and an exquisitely Magyar second half, from Bartók to Liszt.

The concert was opened by the “Symphony in Major K 134” which the Austrian compositor wrote – it is always amusing to astound oneself with such personal data – at only sixteen. An elegant and mannered work, on Monday it only figured as little more than an introduction: the “Concert for clarinet” which followed is indeed among the pinnacles of the Mozartian oeuvre. Composed at the other end of this short life, it is a rare synthesis of Mozart’s attitude towards the world: subtle flashes of light and somewhat bitter irony, an indulgent but by now detached look at Humanity, the sweet and melancholic wallowing of the Adagio in abstract and distant thoughts. Michael Collins is almost moving as he resolves the arduous task of giving shape to that which has no shape, to give voice to the immortal and the supernatural. His basset clarinet – the instrument originally foreseen by the Mozartian score – is capable of becoming an ultra-thin thread, the virtuosity can be impalpable embroidery, and the sound is extremely delicate velvet. At the end of the piece, the long, well-deserved applause and the pleasant hors-programme follow.

After the break, it is the turn of Rolla and his ensemble to occupy the whole scene and to guide us into the musical traditions of their country. First the sharp modernity of “Divertimento for strings” by Bartók: echoes of peasant melodies, unexpected dramatic accents, syncopated and combined rhythms mix in a polyphonic scripture of quartetistic ascendance. In between, we hear the tight, encompassing obscurity of the Molto adagio. The orchestra is precise and refined without being affected; in the background, even a certain harshness can be perceived, a Magyar bluntness that suits well the incisiveness of Bartók.

The programme was closed by the “Hungarian Rhapsody Nr. 2” by Liszt – performed here in the transposition into orchestra by Peter Wolf – picturesque, close to the dancing romanticism of Gypsy folklore, stirring in its more scintillating moments, as well as in the more lyric ones.

Long applause again and two encores: a “Hungarian Dance” by Brahms, played with Gypsy indolence, and, to finish, Elgar. 
 

Antonio Lavarello, Corriere Mercantile, 15^th October 2008

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„The evening was worthy of the old good reputation of the ensemble.”

„This material that was assembled with a fine taste-Leó Weiner:Pastorale, fantasy and fugue-has performed the orchestra with the conduct of János Rolla in an excellent form, with perfect sounding dimensions, in a wonderful tone, interpreting the Hungarian idiom on the level of a native speaker. The last one is massive set phrase, however, it has any sense to emphasize in a period when the internationality and globality destroys the national schools even in the performing art slowly but surely. „
„While listening to the d Minor string quartet of Franz Schubert („The death and the little girl”) we did not have to be restless and it is owing to the perfect taste and performance culture of the Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra first of all. Sometimes, as if only four people were playing only but the bigger, common explosions have not impressed as strange either; the sounding of the second, the famous variational movement was psychedelic, in the Scherzowe we despaired, in the closing Presto we became purified in the appropriate manner. „There is no morality either where there are no intense emotions and affects”, said Johann Matheson, the contemporary of aesthetician C. Ph. E. Bach. He would acknowledge with satisfaction while listening the play of the ensemble that there are still living good, soul enobling morals even in the today performing art. ”

17-2-2008                                                                        Revisor, András Csont

„In the second part of the evening it came to a very rare occurrence, even in the life of the music friends who visit the concert halls very often. During the tacts of the string quartet of Schubert that is arranged for a chamber orchestra the air stopped. The performance affected me very much; it just fixed me to the chair. The sounding of the ensemble for itself has already fascinated me; I cannot even understand how they were able to play so homogeneously. Often, the string quartets even with the quarter of members, cannot breathe, think, feel together like them. János Rolla and his orchestra made a miracle this evening, I think so, nobody calls in question from the lucky audience. I was meditating for a long time how I can draw up so that people who could not listen to, were not present at the concert can understand it to some extent. Later I realised that in no way. I would analyse the small details of the performance in vain and I do not feel suitable to burst in enthusiasm, I would rather recommend to go to the Great Hall of the Academy of Music and listen to the two concerts of the birthday season ticket that are left.”
 

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„The Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra performed very well. With the conduction of Primarius János Rolla all musicians have played as best they could....”

„...in the more orchestral, robust scherzo and in the final movement marching into death with dance steps we could listen to an excellent production: the excellent strings were playing excellently, with an expertise that one can really hear from the best players only.”
(Schubert:C Major string quintet)
 

 17-11-2007                                            Népszava (Hungarian Daily), István Szász

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 „The common concert of the FERENC LISZT CHAMBER ORCHESTRA AND DEZSŐ RÁNKI was an extraordinary brilliant amusement. Right at the beginning, the first item of the concert, Beethoven Prometheus-overture promised a grand evening programme: as a result of the team-work of János Rolla and his ensemble, who have been playing together for a long time, the audience could listen to the famous piece of music calling the philanthropist ancient Titan and the liver-damaged culture hero that was performed by the orchestra perfectly and broken up sharply. The performance of the Beethoven's Piano Concerto G major could also be characterised by a clear common play; however, at that time we could admire the play of Dezső Ránki first of all. The reserved shyness of the wonderful solist seemed to be optimal to the performance of this grandiose concerto and while listening to the rapid passages but at the same time with short quick steps of the third movement-the latter as encore repeated- we could admire the witch-like, constant intact technique of Ránki.

In the second part the well-deserved ovation of applause was only for the Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra again. In the orchestral version of the C Major string quintet No. 1828 of Schubert all regular members of the orchestra did their utmost and the late composition that is originally imitating rather a chamber orchestra construction was operating as a pure rewarding piece of virtuosity. The dance-Slavic final movement succeeded masterly and the encore that was forced by the audience enthusiastically and closed the phenomenal concert could not be failed this time either. The rightly satisfied concert audience could set out to the windy winter night and some has even forgotten the obliged cough too.”

 9-11-2007                                 Magyar Narancs (Hungarian weekly), Ferenc László

"Performances were uniformly splendid. The Hungarians have everything needed for good string playing: weight and beauty of tone, unanimity of intonation and phrasing, and a sure sense of style." 

21-9-2007                                                                        San Francisco Examiner

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„Good, of course good. But not the way a big concert is good, it was comfortable. People were just sitting under the tree on a plastic seat and were not meditating about the way of the world, they were just happy about the evening and the orchestra. They came in, sat down and started the work of Ferenc Farkas Old Hungarian Dances that was obviously composed on the influence of Respighi and the audience understood what they had to and we have left it at that the whole evening. The orchestra seemed to be rested, they were playing in a good shape, they were loose and thoroughly rehearsed at the same time, they enjoyed the play but they were disciplined and the Pizzicato polka that was played as an encore sounded as it has to. The way to the encore was not uneven either, the evening was consisting of short pieces that usually work well, the Weiner Fox Dance, Bartók Rumanian Folk Dance were played but they also played Csajkovszkij, Dohnányi, Puccini and Hofstetter.

The orchestra is the same and still something different, the members are exchanging, from the big staff of the golden age there are only playing five today but one can immediately recognize the old sounding of the Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra. Rolla with his curved back as the leader of the orchestra is there and opposite to him there is sitting Ottó Kertész, cello player, weightily and reassuringly, the two firm pillars of the bridge hold everybody, the severe György Kiss and Bence Horváth who always begins dancing with the contrabass. The sounding is often completed with new ideas and new inspirations, I do not remember that they were playing the Hofstetter-Serenade so gently and fragilely, elegantly beforehand but the work of Bartók was as it used to be.

In the second part of the programme the young members of the violin part were playing solo, the Kreisler works that were arranged for the chamber orchestra could be listened to and there was no emergency not even for a moment, although, there was some light, almost restaurant feeling in the whole but it is not unknown in the case of the big Kreisler, the four young people were stroking the bow fairly. The flightiness increased and became life-danger at the same time in the chamber orchestra version of the Overture from "The Bat" that is, of course, a mission impossible, one can not play the oboe, ring the bell on the violins but in spite of this something came out from the whole, cheerful piece of bravado that is also the main point of the piece and amusement of the musicians: let’s show us something that we cannot play. We do not show. ” 

(The concert of the Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra - 4 August, Kiscelli Museum)

10-8-2007                                                                                      Miklós Fáy

„freshness and enthusiasm, the devotion for the music were shining on them. That was just increasing when the leader of the orchestra, János Rolla, went on the stage.”

„The performance of the Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra−Benjamin Britten:Simple Symphony −was full of joy according to the easiness of the music and enthusiastic in accordance with the piece of the young adulthood. The passion of the Bourrée-movement, the playful tone of the Finale came across excellently, the composer probably would not mind the emotional Sarabande that overflew sometimes and the orchestra sounded with extraordinary virtuosity in the playful movement namely Pizzicato as if it was one music instrument probably.”
„All of the virtues of the Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra could glittered during the performance: the clear forming, the perfect playing-together, the homogeneous string orchestra sounding also without any smaller dirts in which the single tiny solos glittered with a fine pomp.”

 27-5-2007                                  Új Zenei Újság(radio programme), Gergely Fazekas

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„Those who want to make sure, desire a world standard music playing these days, choose the Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchester!”

„In the performance of the Britten works the positive facts about the orchestra that could be experienced in the past period could be greeted again, happiness playing, clear sounding, colourful but not yet loud dynamic, reliable interpretation that does not become to a uniformed-interpretation. They were well shaped and balanced in the whole. The solists have formed with a soloist profile, individualized and extroverted but not risking the homogenity of the orchestral sounding even for a moment. The agogics of the rhythm sometimes seemed to be hazardous but the stable pulsing of the beat provided the cohesion of each movement. The possible forms of the chamber orchestras (from the duet to the quartet) became enlightened strongly in all cases and it also draw the attention of the audience to the structure points of the forms besides the colours of the different instrumentations: it made the follow of the Frank Bridge-variations especially easy.  (The latter work became easy and playful also in respect of the tone, I did not mind it) The Simple Symphony of 1934 (its music themes originate from the works for children before 1925) caused a sensation with its cheerfulness and genius of Mendelssohn. In the variation movement I appreciated the polyphony of the style of play, the tension of the concentration and the discharges that were timed to good moments. The last one seems to be nonsense because the discharges are unpredictable, only born artists can time. ”

23-5-2007                                                                                           Fidelio

„The Superstars of chamber music”

„In the world of classical music the fame of Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra shines as bright as the fame of the Hungarian national water polo team in the world of sport.
Two little things to prove this: the orchestra has played in more than 260 cities in the US, and their leader, János Rolla, is the knight of the French legion of honour! Any of the CDs of the string band can be found on the shelf of every music-lover.”

12-2-2007                                                                                    Dunántúli Napló

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„You really had to pay attention to Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra in their last concert. And who did could realize that this old orchestra is still a benchmark. Stating that we heard the band lead by János Rolla playing in an old-fashioned way is a huge compliment in this case: it seems this kind of musicality, professionalism, the surprising cleanness of their sonority, the artlessness, seamlessness and smoothness of their performance is a strategy for interpretation independent from any waves of fashion. Or rather on the contrary, this is why this orchestra is fantastic: they pretend not to have a strategy for interpretation. Today, when everybody tends to have nothing else but strategies. Though somebody who is wasting his precious time on Grieg, Mozart or Schubert should sometimes be mindless of today’s curiosities. The reason why we really had to pay attention to Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra was that they did not saw the air with sweeping gestures on stage, there was just gentle playing going on with discreet amplitude, and this had its result in the first piece of the night: the Holberg suite by Grieg stood as a witty, in some places cheekily modern composition, their sonority was so clear that it might have been the first time when this concert hall with marvelous acoustics could experience such beauty. Just to give an example, the plucking of the sole contrabass ensured a fundament which equaled with tons of ferroconcrete. The last piece, a Schubert symphony was simply brilliant. The minuet was real Mozart, but as soon as I could have said it, they already started playing the incriminated minuet of the great G minor symphony as an encore. To us, who paid attention.”

Bartók Béla National Concert Hall,25-1-2007                                      Magyar Narancs

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„how the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra played bore witness to the highest musical qualities. Technical perfection, diverse characters accompanied with soft, spherical sounds”

„the perfectly playing Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra performed brilliant pieces of Mozart and Mendelsson hand over fist, breezily, with solid, expressive and graceful charm.”

12-12-2006                                                                           Erlanger Nachrichten

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„It surely was an extraordinary night, since the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra apart from accompanying Danjulo Ishizaka very sensitively, reacting to the slightest vibration of the soloist, strengthened their musical message in every way.”

„Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra played on the highest technical level with solid sonority transmitting powerful, creative energy. Mozart F major Divertimento was performed with sweet Italian charm, yet with tightly wrought phrasing.
In Grieg’s Holberg suite the various characters perfectly united together, in the case of Mendelsson symphony the orchestra grabbed the attention by their intensive and expressing tone.”


7-12-2006                                                                                  Fuldauer Zeitung

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"....In the Queen Elizabeth Hall the orchestra's best qualities were on display. Each section had an unusual homogenity of tone, with every part equally matched. The ensemble was nearly faultless and leader János Rolla had encouraged a wide range of bowing and tone production. Overall, the performance had an easy grace that was entirely apt..."

Financial Times, Richard Joseph

"Exceeding expectations"

Manhattan Mercury

"An aroma of goulash"

The Jerusalem Post

"....The string group boasts the rhythmic flexibility of the smallest of ensembles, as well as the synchronized bowing and lushness associated with the larger orchestras. They seemed almost to breathe together with the music, a furtive glance from director János Rolla being as effective as a conductor's baton. And most importantly, they looked as if they were having a ball..."

The Washington Post, Octavio Roca

"Hungarian concert astonishes"

The Irish Press

"Airy and light, like a souffle"

The Greensboro Record

"Musical triumph"

The Royal Gazette Hamilton

"Unbändige Spielfreude"

Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung

"Mozart mit ungarischem Feuer"

Willi Leinenger, Augsburger Allgemeine

"Franz Liszt group' stunning"

The News Virginian

"L'orchestra Franz Liszt de Budapest: la perfection humaine..."

Nice Matin

"Música de qualidade, com a Franz Liszt"

Journal de Trade, Sao Paulo