CONDUCTING REVIEWS
ANDREW PORTER,
THE NEW YORKER
"A powerful and affecting dramatic adventure... this spirited, ambitious Hippolyte was musically more rewarding than anything I've heard at the Met this season." (Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie)
OPERA NEWS
"The search for a stylish and satisfying Baroque opera was fulfilled by this Pygmalion."
TIME MAGAZINE
"A celebration of Rameau's subtle delights, this glowing production shows that the 18th century aesthetic is still valid today. Richman and Turocy are unearthing the riches of the past for the benefit of the future." (Rameau's Les Fêtes d'Hébé)
TIM PAGE,
THE NEW YORK TIMES
"One of the most satisfying evenings of musical theater it has ever been my pleasure to attend. (Handel's Terpsicore & Rameau's Pygmalion)
USA TODAY
"Conducted by James Richman, the orchestra and singers gave the music a transparency and vitality that made this opera an immediately communicative experience." (Handel's Ariodante)
PETER G. DAVIS,
NEW YORK MAGAZINE
“Rameau’s opera-ballet came to life with striking musical and theatrical immediacy... James Richman conducted a band of period instruments that were played expertly and sweetly, animating every dance, ariette, and lilting dialogue with a buoyant rhythmic lift.”
EARLY MUSIC MAGAZINE,
LONDON
"A new standard in the production of baroque opera and ballet" (Rameau's Les Fêtes d'Hébé)
LOS ANGELES TIMES
"Best of all - the Concert Royal ensemble led by James Richman, which played with warmth, tact and authority."
RICHARD DYER,
THE BOSTON GLOBE
“Concert Royal's chamber orchestra was first rate and elegant; James Richman was an admirable, spirited and stylish conductor.“
JAMES OESTREICH,
THE NEW YORK TIMES
"James Richman provided typically fine musical leadership from the harpsichord." (Lully's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme)
MANUELA HOLTERHOFF,
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
"This production by the Concert Royal Baroque Orchestra and the New York Baroque Dance Company dazzled in all ways... wittily staged and choreographed and gorgeously sung by a handsome young cast." (Handel's Ariodante)
WASHINGTON POST
“There have been few such bright, inventive productions as this.” (Handel's Ariodante)
USA TODAY
“A charming wedding of music, singers and instruments.” (Gluck's Orfeo)
LA PRESSE,
MONTREAL
"Une soiree d'un cachet exceptionelle."
PETER G. DAVIS, NEW YORK MAGAZINE
“James Richman conducted a lively and stylish account of the score...whatever they really think of Rousseau as a composer, Concert Royal and the New York Baroque Dance Company lavished as much scholarship, affection, and musicianly care on his opera as if it actually were by Rameau.”
NEW YORK NEWSDAY
"A production of such grace, energy, physical beauty and musical excellence that it may be warmly recommended...a first-class orchestra - grace, energy and musical excellence." (Rousseau's Le Devin du Village)
RAYMOND ERICSON,
THE NEW YORK TIMES
“Everything the ensemble performed emerged as regally rich and elegant. FIT FOR A KING.”
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
“Pleasure piled upon pleasure Sunday afternoon at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, where the Dallas Bach Society under James Richman’s direction premiered a glorious new staging of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. If most of the audience walked, strode or rushed into the Meyerson shortly before 2:00, 90 minutes later most of us surely floated out, transported by the music, staging and ineffably sublime dancing.”
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
“Most importantly, Mr. Richman can convey emotion. In the opening cantata, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, the famous chorale accompanied by massed violins sounded pure and poignant enough to bring tears to the eyes.”
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
“The Dallas Bach Society engineered a singular feat of magic Saturday night. With the aid of some distinguished soloists and the New York Baroque Dance Company, it whisked the audience at the Mesquite Arts Center back to 18th-century London for Handel’s Terpsicore, a charming ballet written by a German, sung in Italian, danced in French, and clearly worthy of the gods. The Dallas Bach Society, under the direction of James Richman and armed with strings, reeds, and pale blue harpsichord, rendered his music with great authority and vivacity.”
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
“The human voice has an inherent richness, especially with a group of fine musicians such as the Dallas Bach Society’s choristers. The choir is the real protagonist of Handel’s Messiah, and it was a forceful one in this case. The soloists were an asset as well. Mr. Richman is a strong leader due much of the credit for how short this three-hour afternoon seemed.”
HARPSICHORD & FORTEPIANO REVIEWS
NICHOLAS KENYON,
THE NEW YORKER
“He displayed an ideal combination of qualities: he was careful yet communicative, stylish yet sparkling. The Scarlatti made the most of the music’s surprises; the Rameau was deeply responsive as well as brilliantly confident.”
MICHAEL STEINBERG,
THE BOSTON GLOBE
“Rameau’s Pieces de clavecin en concerts were exquisitely played by harpsichordist James Richman, violinist Jaap Schroeder and flutist John Solum.”
RAYMOND ERICSON,
THE NEW YORK TIMES
“The evening gave a great deal of satisfaction through a combination of masterly music, splendid-sounding instruments and Mr. Richman’s well-controlled fingers with their skillful articulation. The harpsichordist’s stylistic niceties were seldom in question, and in the variations which ended the Handel and Rameau suites, he played up a veritable storm, which was wonderfully exhilarating.”
PETER G. DAVIS,
THE NEW YORK TIMES
“An accomplished soloist with considerable flair.”
BERNARD HOLLAND,
THE NEW YORK TIMES
On the Harpsichord, a Night of High Drama...“Mr. Richman is a first-class performer and musician. He finds the life in all these pieces. His choice of tempos accommodates their rhythmic shape and gives coherence to the layers of different voices.”
THE BOSTON GLOBE
“Everything about his performance was a pleasure in itself and an augury of further pleasures to come.”
NICHOLAS KENYON,
THE NEW YORKER
“Why use an old fortepiano when a modern Steinway pianoforte is readily available? The are plenty of theoretical answers to that question, but a most convincing practical answer was given by Concert Royal in a program at Merkin Hall. The result was a delight.”
JOHN ROCKWELL,
THE NEW YORK TIMES
“The Eb Piano Quartet of Mozart was revelatory in the way Aston Magna clearly hopes all its performances will be...performed by Jaap Schroder, violin; David Miller, viola; Fortunato Arico, cello; and James Richman, fortepiano, the instruments found a delicate balance that projected passion without ever sounding overbearing, and the playing rose to real heights of musical intensity. It was a performance that justified original instruments not just because it provided the sound the composer heard, but because it proved such instrumnets can be played just as musically as their modern counterparts.