“Gilbert Varga is not only a universally cultured conductor, but also a unique animator. He cultivates an artistically ingenious repertoire of interpretation and conducting technique.”
Kölnische Stadt-Anzeiger
Seattle Symphony Orchestra / Enescu, Beethoven, Stravinsky
“Conductor Gilbert Varga cuts quite an elegant figure on the podium, with his leonine head of silver hair. He is frugal with his motion … Sometimes, all he does is stand still, raise a hand and close his fingers.
… And, Prospero-like, he releases a storm of magic.
In lesser hands, the orchestra might have overwhelmed the piano. Varga kept the symphony reined back just so… The symphony players, Varga and Gutiérrez richly deserved the ecstatic applause that showered down.
The sounds that emanated from the stage felt almost three-dimensional; I half-expected strobe-lights and streamers to pour forth from the stage as the twinkly winds and spangled strings evoked a vivid town fair. The orchestra under Varga's baton was limber and agile as it transformed tinsel into a lightning storm that then splintered apart into shimmers and crashing timpani.
…the rapturous ovation filled the house to the rafters.”
The Seattle Times, April 2010
Utah Symphony Orchestra / Crawford Seeger, Mozart, Dvorak
"So this is how you take a work that most of the audience has heard at least a dozen times and make it sound fresh.
Gilbert Varga… led the Utah Symphony in an invigorating performance of Dvorák's Symphony No. 9 ('From the New World'). Conducting from memory, he made every moment of the ultra-familiar work feel alive and -- perhaps even more impressive -- unearthed numerous delightful details that even the most seasoned listener might not have noticed before.
Varga's Bernsteinian conducting style, far from being off-putting, seemed to energize the orchestra… the string chorale in the slow movement was sheer magic."
The Salt Lake City Tribune, February 2010
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra / Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schumann
“Guest conductor Gilbert Varga got dynamically sensitive playing from the musicians in Mendelssohn's Overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Schumann's Symphony No. 3 in E-flat.
…the ISO … pulled together … to match the conductor's vision, mounting to a finale that was especially lively. What a treat to hear accents that breathed animatedly.
…the Mendelssohn overture was laced with the fairyland magic Varga spoke of enthusiastically at the preconcert "Words on Music.""
Indystar, February 2010
Frankfurter Museumgesellschaft / Boulez, Ravel, Saint-Saens
“Pierre Boulez only needed 6 instruments to create a beautiful mixture of tonal colours in his 'Derive 1'. And the Museum Orchestra under Gilbert Varga managed it with ease. This was a thoroughly sumptuous opening concert for the new season.
FNP, September 2009
“Guest conductor Gilbert Varga … revealed every colour in the score, set a swift tempo and created magnificent crescendi; yet left no doubt that Ravel's score has the character of a piece of chamber music, which was most evident in the Adagio so reminiscent of Mozart.”
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, September 2009
“Varga proved himself a master of nuance and of delicate French lyricism.”
Maintal Tagesanzeiger, September 2009
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra / Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and Mussorgsky
“It was a vivid evening, one in which sound was transformed into image. After the two-hour concert, Gilbert Varga and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra left the audience crushed and delighted. In the Konzerthaus, Rachmaninov's tone poem "The island of the dead", inspired by the painting by Böcklin, became an examination of Art. The audience had the painting in front of them, printed in their programmes, and still Varga and the RSB did not simply copy it, but added their own brushstrokes to the work. After the subtlest handling of the melody in the first movement, the central movements alternated a glimmering veil of strings with powerful tutti explosions.“
Daniel Wixforth, Tagesspiegel, April 2009
Minnesota Orchestra / Gorecki, Szymanowski, Dukas, Strauss
“…conductor Gilbert Varga … splendidly sympathetic … realizes every shiver of delight in Szymanowski's piquant score.
Paul Dukas' "The Sorcerer's Apprentice,"… is treated by Varga and the orchestra as the minor masterpiece it is. No pops-concert languor here, but athletic rigor and pictorial immediacy. Richard Strauss' "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks," … is similarly vivid, accorded a reading of suavity and bite.”
Larry Fuchsberg, Star Tribune, March 09
Dallas Symphony Orchestra / Brahms, Liszt, Bartók
“Thursday's opening performance, at the Meyerson Symphony Center, was flavorful and splendidly presented.
Gilbert Varga is a flamboyant conductor, even an acrobatic one. But every motion has a meaning, and the orchestra gave back in kind.
From almost breathless exhilaration to playful piquancy, Varga certainly explored the dances' varieties of tempo, texture and mood. The orchestra played as if having the time of its life.
Varga and the orchestra made a gripping case for all of it [Bartok’s Miraculous Mandarin]: sinister dithers and grunts, come-hither beckonings, ferocious onslaughts of brass.”
Scott Cantrell, The Dallas Morning News, January 09
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra / Haydn, Mozart, Ravel
“Essential Elegance.
Gilbert Varga, guest conductor of last weekend's Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concerts, is an impressive presence on the podium. He leads with supreme musicianship, care, insight, taste and style.
Varga led Haydn's Symphony No. 73 ("La Chasse") with understanding of the composer's wit and playfulness. It was a thoughtful, tight, spontaneous performance. Varga's versatility was on display later in the program in two pieces by Ravel.”
The jovial good humor of these pieces came through.”
Rick Walters, Shepherd Express, January 2009
Gürzenich Orchestra / Kodaly, Ravel, Chausson & Scriabin
“Gilbert Varga is not only a universally cultured conductor, but also a unique animator. He cultivates an artistically ingenious repertoire of interpretation and conducting technique, which is never over-exaggerated, comical or disruptive; and is not superimposed on the music, but is gained from the music and inspires, invigorates and implores it.”
Kölnische Stadt-Anzeiger, December 2008
“Gilbert Varga has been a very welcome guest with the Gürzenich Orchestra for a long time. It was once again clear for all to see and hear at yesterday’s subscription concert that the chemistry just works.
The way… Varga lovingly shaped the inner structure of the music and plumbed the depths as if it were chamber music, was especially attractive.”
Kölnische Rundschau, December 2008
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Spohr, Beethoven & Tchaikovsky
“Gilbert Varga conducted as if handling a fencing foil. Bouncing, choreographed, his gestures skipped about with an almost feminine mischievousness. In Beethoven’s 8th Symphony, sparks flew; he lightened the virtuosic passages, and overflowed with rhythmic creativity, at the helm of a most luminous and precise OSR. A beautiful triumph.”
Le Temps, September 2008
“The OSR has had a good summer holiday. Their first concert of the new season at the Victoria Hall showed the orchestra in olympic form. Dynamic, united, supple and with a sparkling clarity of sound, the orchestra accompanied soloist Hilary Hahn with brio in the two violin concerti which she played in the Credit Suisse concert series. And in Beethoven’s 8th Symphony, the orchestra didn’t skimp on seemingly effortless pirouettes and flights of fancy, led by their conductor. Under Gilbert Varga, the orchestra performed the piece with pastoral lightness and a joyful energy.”
Tribune de Geneve, September 2008
French Reviews
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Spohr, Beethoven & Tchaikovsky
"Le chef Gilbert Varga, lui, manie le fleuret. Rebondissante, chorégraphiée, sa gestique sautille avec une malice presque féminine. Dans la Symphonie n°8 de Beethoven, il fait des étincelles, allège le trait, déborde d'invention rythmique, aux commandes d'un OSR lumineux et précis. Une belle réussite."
Le Temps, September 2008
"Les vacances vont bien à I'OSR. La reprise de l'orchestre pour son premier concert de la saison au Victoria Hall l'a révélé dans une forme olympique. Dynamique, soudé, souple et d'une clarté sonore étincelante, le Romand a accompagné avec brio Hilary Hahn dans les deux concertos pour violon qu'elle est venue donner pour la série du Credit Suisse. Et dans la 8e Symphonie de Beethoven, les musiciens n'ont pas lésiné sur les élans virevoltants, un rien désinvoltes, que leur imprimait le chef. Gilbert Varga, dansant plus avec luimême qu'il ne répondait aux violences de contrastes de la partition, a poussé l'œuvre vers une légèreté toute champêtre, à l'énergie joyeuse."
Tribune de Geneve, September 2008
German Reviews
Frankfurter Museumgesellschaft / Boulez, Ravel, Saint-Saens
„Nur sechs Instrumente braucht Pierre Boulez für sein 'Dérive 1' um eine schöne Mischung der Klangfarben zu erreichen. Das Museumsorchester unter Gilbert Varga hat das bestens bewältigt. Das war durchaus ein opulentes Eröffnungskonzert der neuen Saison.“
FNP, September 2009
„Gastdirigent Gilbert Varga ... blieb der Partitur keine Klangfarbe schuldig, sorgte für ein temporeiches Spiel und grandiose Crescendi, ließ aber dennochkeinen Zweifel daran, dass Ravels Werk prinzipiell einen kammermusikalischen Charakter aufweist, der nicht nur im Mozart nachempfundenen Adagio Tragen kommt.“
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, September 2009
[Varga hat sich] „als ein Meister der Zwischentöne und der feinen französischen Lyrismen vergestellt.“
Maintal Tagesanzeiger, September 2009
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra / Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and Mussorgsky
"Es ist ein plastischer Abend, eine Metamorphose vom Klang zum Bild. Gilbert Varga und das Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester Berlin entlassen den Zuhörer nach zwei Stunden irgendwo zwischen erdrückt und beglückt. Rachmaninows Tondichtung „Die Toteninsel“, inspiriert vom Gemälde Böcklins, ist im Konzerthaus Auseinandersetzung mit der Kunst: Jeder hat das Bild im Programmheft vor sich, und doch pausen Varga und das RSB nicht ab, sie zeichnen weiter. Nach subtilster Melodiebehandlung im ersten Satz wechseln sich in den Mittelsätzen flimmernde Streicherteppiche mit gewaltsam herausgearbeiteten Tutti-Explosionen ab."
Daniel Wixforth, Tagesspiegel, April 2009
Gürzenich Orchestra / Kodaly, Ravel, Chausson & Scriabin
"Der Dirigent Gilbert Varga ist beim Gürzenich-Orchester seit langem ein gern gesehener Gast. Dass hier die Chemie stimmt war nun wieder im Abo-Konzert zu sehen und zu hören.
Wie... Varga die innere Struktur der Musik liebevoll ausformt, sie kammermusikalisch auslotet, das ist schon von besonderem Reiz."
Kölnische Rundschau, December 2008
"Gilbert Varga ist nicht nur ein universell gebildeter Dirigent, sodern auch ein Animator ganz eigener Art. Er pflegt ein artistisch ausgeklügeltes Gestaltungs- und Schlagrepertoire, das aber nie übertrieben, lächerlich oder störend wirkt – das aber auch der Musik nicht aufgepfropft, sondern aus der Musik gewonnen wird, das sie beflügelt, belebt und beschwört."
Kölnische Stadt-Anzeiger, December 2008
Past Seasons
Berliner Sinfonie-Orchester / Rachmaninov, Prokofiev & Mussorgsky
“Varga proved himself an excellent conductor throughout the whole evening.“
Berliner Morgenpost, May 2008
Berliner Sinfonie-Orchester / Bartók Four Orchestral Pieces & Barber Medea’s Dance of Vengeance
“The richness of colour and variety with which Gilbert Varga approached the slightly unusual programming in the second half was a joy... Varga clearly unlocked for us various layers of time and orchestration in Barber’s composition, which was far more subtle than its title suggested.”
Berliner Zeitung, May 2008
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
“Although Varga was a guest conductor, a listener might find it difficult to detect that he had not worked with the orchestra on an ongoing basis. He seemed to understand the ensemble as neatly as his own hand.”
KDHX Radio, April 2008
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra / Schumann Symphony No.3
“Varga looks the part of the great maestro, with his lithe, meaningful movements and handsome head of beautiful silver hair. More importantly, he explored the symphony’s themes and moods. The final movement was a delightful blend of the regal and the rollicking; the conclusion was big and exciting, but not overstated.”
Post Dispatch, April 2008
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
“If conductor Gilbert Varga isn't exactly a household name in America, to judge from his appearance Friday morning with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra it's about time we got to know him better.
Varga led the DSO in a performance that mixed liquid sensuality with electric urgency…
Varga also showed his finesse as an accompanist, or more accurately as a chamber musician, in a flavourful account of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G with soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet. “
The Detroit News, February 2008
Detroit Symphony Orchestra / Bartók Miraculous Mandarin
“Varga leaned hard into the score to illustrate every detail, and the orchestra dug deep, producing shockingly vivid images and graphic intensity. Brass and percussion created jagged edges, but the strings cut a savage path, too.”
The Detroit Free Press, February 2008
Minnesota Orchestra / Mendelssohn ‘Italian’ Symphony
“It was given an electrifying and utterly enjoyable interpretation by guest conductor Gilbert Varga and the orchestra, one that seemed like an act of exultant liberation.
After obeying concerto conducting’s strictures during the concert’s first half, Varga broke his bonds with a confident, charismatic and extremely entertaining interpretation of the Mendelssohn. Bouncing, weaving and leaping on a spirited opening movement, the flamboyant conductor seemed a student of the Bernstein school. He then found peace in the andante, and echo of longing in the third movement and darting, shadowy glimpses of unease and anxiety in the finale.”
Pioneer Press, November 2007
Minnesota Orchestra
“The conductor is Gilbert Varga, an adroit accompanist and elegant podium presence”
Star Tribune, November 2007
Dallas Symphony Orchestra / Beethoven
“Guided by Varga's fleet tempos and clear textures, the DSO played with a lean sound that allowed the impish character of the works to shine through.”
Star Telegram, October 2007
Frankfurt Museum with Antti Siirala
“Gilbert Varga's performances of these very different works were as authentic as possible, communicating in careful but energetic and demanding gestures.”
Stuttgarter Nachrichten, November 2006
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester / Veress, Bartók, Janacek, Scriabin
„Mit Eleganz und Präzision und reichlich Csárdás in der Schuhsohle, so that Gilbert Varga vor das Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. Fast spielte er die gute Baiba Skride an die Wand, obwohl er gar nicht spielte, sondern eben nur dirigierte oder, wie man früher gesagt hätte, "begleitete". Außerdem braucht so viel ekstatische Pracht ein prächtiges Orchester - beide Bedingungen wurden ohne Abstriche erfüllt."
“Varga stood in front of the Berlin Radio Orchestra with elegance and precision, and with a Csárdás on the soles of his shoes. Scriabin’s Poème de l'extase is more of a symphonic curiosity than a stroke of genius, and only unfolds its many facets under the right conductor. Such ecstatic splendour also requires a splendid orchestra: both requirements were unquestionably fulfilled.”
Berliner Morgenpost, March 2006
“Für die sorgt an diesem Abend vor allem Gilbert Varga am Pult des Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchesters: In Sandor Veress’ Threnos und in Skriabins „Poème de l’extase“. Vom ersten Takt an dringt Varga in Veress’ 1945 uraufgeführtem Bartók-Gedenkstück in das schwarze Herz des Streicherklangs vor - dorthin, wo die echten Gefühle wohnen. Krönender Abschluss ist jedoch Skriabins orgiastisches Orchestergedicht: Nicht im Salonlicht hysterisch-fiebriger Sinnesüberfeinerung, sondern als kraftvoll positivistische Vision einer befreiten Menschheit entfaltet Varga das Stück und entlockt dem grandios aufspielenden RSB einen verschwenderischen Reichtum an Farbnuancen. Ein Rausch, der nie süßlich klingt, sondern mit hymnischer Kraft gesättigt ist. Aber Skriabin war ja auch nicht verliebt.
Gilbert Varga coaxed the Radio Symphony Orchestra into expressing big emotions in Sandor Veress’ Threnos and in Scriabin’s Poème de l’extase. From the first bar of Veress’ piece in honour of Bartok, first performed in 1945, Varga dug deep into the darkest heart of the string sound – where real feelings lie. The crowning glory was Scriabin’s orgiastic orchestral poem. Varga unfolded the piece not in the hysterical, feverish half-light of the salon and its over-sensuality; but as a powerful, positive vision of a free humanity, and elicited a generously rich range of colour nuances from the grandiose RSB. An intoxicating piece, which did not sound overly sweet, but was saturated with a hymn-like strength.”
Der Tagesspiegel, March 2006
„Gilbert Varga tat da das einzig Sinnvolle: Er nahm beide Musiken (Veress und Skrjabin) eher ruhig und entspannt, fast schon sachlich. Veress Threnos ließ er in der Mischung aus gespenstischer Ruhe, krachender Eruption und reiner Atmosphäre vorüberziehen und verleugnete auch nicht die Filmmusiktauglichkeit mancher Stellen der Komposition: Man durfte da gerne an einen Sonnenuntergang mit Menschen, die sich tränenreich in den Armen liegen, denken. Ein solches Stück kann man nicht interpretieren, aber es wirkt in seiner Unmittelbarkeit; bereits hier gab es Bravo-Rufe.
In Alexander Skrjabins Poème de l’extase versuchte Varga erfolgreich, gegen die etwas überinstrumentierte Partitur zu arbeiten. Er holte viele Einzelstimmen heraus, nahm den Klangschwall immer wieder zurück und ließ die Musik bisweilen herrlich knapp und pointiert wirken, manchmal fast zärtlich und – wo es ging – geradezu tänzerisch. Er setzte gewissermaßen dem Egomanen und Mystiker Skrjabin ein heiteres Augenzwinkern entgegen. Die Schwüle wurde durch eine erfrischende Brise erträglich. Er spielte mit den Orchesterfarben..."
“Gilbert Varga did the only meaningful thing possible with this programme of Veress and Scriabin: he performed both pieces quite calmly and with ease, in a matter-of-fact manner. In Veress’ Threnos, he made space for the mixture of ghostly quiet, crashing eruption and pure atmosphere, and did not deny the film music quality of many sections of the composition: you could all too easily see the sunset, with people lying in each others arms, eyes full of tears. Such a piece cannot be interpreted, but it works in its straightforwardness: it earned Varga many shouts of ‘bravo’.
In Alexander Skriabin’s Poème de l’extase, Varga was successful in working against the over-instrumentated score. He brought out many individual parts, brought each wave of sound back down again, and occasionally let the music sound wonderfully concise and pointed, at other times nearly tender, and – where it allowed – dancing. He more or less winked cheerfully at the egomaniac and mystic Scriabin. The sultriness was made bearable by a refreshing breeze. Varga played expertly with the orchestral colours.”
Kulturradio am Morgen, March 2006
„Varga dirigierte das gigantisch besetzte Werk so (Skrjabins "Poème de l'extase"), dass man ohne Kenntnis des Textes präzise erfasste (und das keineswegs nur intellektuell), worum es ging. Varga tat es auswendig und sehr kundig. Disziplin und Kenntnis können den Spaß eben auch steigern. Das Publikum raste. Bei einem Konzert mit Musik ausschließlich des 20. Jahrhunderts ist das selten.“
“Varga conducted Scriabin’s Poème de l'extase, with its gigantic orchestration, such that even if you did not know the words of the poem, you immediately grasped what it was about (and not just intellectually). Varga conducted the piece off by heart, and with authority. Discipline and knowledge can at times such as this increase the fun. The audience raved, which is rare for a concert of exclusively 20th century music.“
Berliner Zeitung, March 2006
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