Glowing Reviews for Reif and Benedetti's RSNO Concerts

Glowing reviews are pouring in for our conductor Christian Reif and our violinist Nicola Benedetti‘s December 13th and 14th performances with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra!

Keith Bruce from The Herald gave a 5-star review: “Young German conductor Christian Reif has already built a formidable reputation on the west coast of America as well as across Europe, and from the way he handled the Shostakovich Festive Overture that opened the programme it was immediately clear why. He took the work at a very brisk pace, but it was a model of clarity both in his direction and the playing of the musicians, from the crisp brass at the beginning. Reif is a big chap, who conducts with the flair of a fencing instructor, and his expressive hands and quick baton were in every corner of the orchestra.

Come the Sibelius Violin Concerto, it was just as apparent that the conductor and soloist had a good rapport, but there was also something new and special in the forged precision of Benedetti’s performance. From the carefully measured opening, through the early cadenza to her dialogue with first viola Tom Dunn in the lengthy first movement, each note was particularly distinct even in the fastest virtuoso passages.”

David Smythe of Bachtrack wrote: “Making an impressive debut with the orchestra, young German conductor Christian Reif brought added excitement to a memorable concert to end the year, and indeed, decade for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.”

Ken Walton of The Scotsman wrote: “… it was in the closing work, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, brilliantly animated in Ravel’s polychromatic orchestration, that this partnership shone brightest. Character and virtuosity erupted emphatically within Reif’s disciplined framework.”

The Times Scotland wrote: “We already know that Benedetti is good, but her violin line [in the Sibelius Violin Concerto] breathed a warmth that this concerto seldom gets. She treated the opening solo like an extended arioso, revelling in its theatre as much as in its melody… A similar lyricism characterised the orchestra’s playing, too, meeting Benedetti as equals rather than as mere accompaniment. The conductor Christian Reif, making his RSNO debut, balanced the score’s wintry span from the Arctic chill of the opening through to the finale, described by the Edinburgh critic Sir Donald Tovey as ‘a polonaise for polar bears’.”

In 2020, Reif will conduct many international orchestras including the Orchestre National de Lyon, RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Orchestre National de Belgique, Santa Barbara Symphony, Colorado Springs Philharmonic and Orquestra Sinfonica Portuguese. For more concerts and information, check out his Season Announcement.