Thierry Fischer's recent concert as Guest Conductor of the Utah Symphony received highly enthusiastic reviews:
"...his no-holds-barred reading of Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique left the audience shouting its approval and the orchestra giving hearty bow taps and foot stamps.
The opening movement, describing the reveries of the drug-addled protagonist, gave a hint of what was to come: Fischer built an increasingly feverish sound before unleashing a barrage of trumpets. ...
The concert opened with Ravel's Alborada del gracioso, which showed Fischer's technique to be just as his program bio promised: light, transparent and vividly characterized. "
Catherine Reese Newton, Salt Lake Tribune, 27 October 2007
"Fischer's approach to the score was no less impressive. He elicited a nuanced performance from the orchestra that matched the soloist's playing. Both he and Barrueco brought subtlety and eloquence to the score.
Particularly striking for the beautiful playing of both the soloist and the orchestra was the second movement. A hauntingly evocative melody, first played by the English horn (exquisitely performed by Holly Gornik), permeates the movement, and both the soloist and orchestra played it with feeling.
The concert ended with another famous work-Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. And although it's been played many times over the years by the Utah Symphony, it hasn't been played like this in a long time.
Fischer brought vitality, vibrancy, drive and electricity to his reading. It was insightful and penetrating, and he explored the music in depth bringing it to life dramatically."
Edward Reichel, Deseret Morning News, 27 October 2007