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Conductor,
John Curro, shaped an opening movement of turmoil and drama, with
all sections of the QYS responding brilliantly to demands made
of them . . . This demanding program concluded in a blaze of glory
with the QYS giving its all in Respighi's tone poem Pines of Rome,
a work it loves to play and plays brilliantly... The Pines of
Rome became very real and alive in Curro's musical creation of
such great spectacle. The QYS gets better and better...
Music Critic Barbara Hebden on Pines & Prokofiev
2 June 2007
They
may be young in years but the musical maturing of the members
of the Queensland Youth Symphony Orchestra is quite amazing.
Music Critic Barbara Hebden after Mozart & Mahler, 31
March 2007
The
expressive magnitude of the Holst collection gave opportunity
to display the blazing musical colours for which the QYS is renowned.
Music Critic Patricia Kelly on
the 40th Anniversary
Spectacular Concert 23 December 2006
Collectively,
they created the largest orchestral ensemble experienced in Brisbane
in recent memory and the most memorable music-making since QYO
mustered a similar orchestra to celebrate John Curro’s 70th
birthday in December 2002 . . . In more ways than one, the Queensland
Youth Orchestra movement has set the bar for orchestral playing
in this state.
Music Critic Vincent Plush
on the 40th Anniversary
Spectacular Concert 23 December 2006
What
moves me most of all . . . is the incredible care that you and
all of the players have taken with the music. The accuracy that
you have brought to every tempo, every ensemble balance, every
melodic gesture and every tone colour is uniformly excellent.
Carl Vine on the September 9 QYS performance
of his
Symphony No.2 ,7 November 2006
Youthful
triumph - The two major Russian works performed at the Queensland
Youth Symphony concert were apt choices to mark the opening of
the 2005 Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition honouring this Russian
Piano virtuoso. QYS finished in triumph at the Great Gate
of Kiev, Professor Vlassenko would have been thrilled.
The Courier Mail, 8 August 2005
Tim
Freedman of rock band The Whitlams says the Queensland Youth Orchestra
is 'the best youth orchestra in Australia'. 'They're brilliant
and handle anything that the symphony orchestras can' he said.
The Courier Mail, 5 September 2004
QYS
is in the top handful of youth orchestras in the world....they
are world class.
Conductor Sean O'Boyle, The Courier Mail 5 September 2004
From
the moment the Queensland Youth Symphony entered the Keilberth
Hall, the public was sure to remember the event with pleasure.
It was due to the impressive performance that would not easily
be forgotten, both because of the beautiful repertoire and the
arresting interpretation.
Under
the experienced leadership of John Curro, who has directed the
orchestra for the last 37 years, the talented young players inspired
the audience members. The youth orchestra played these [works]
professionally in so many respects: dynamic and precise, homogeneous
and colourful.
For
the musical performance, which could be described with complete
justification as "first class", there was even a standing
ovation at the end.
Frankischer Tag, Forcheim, Germany 8
July 2004
Conductor
John Curro set an ambitious program to open Queensland Youth Symphony's
2004 season... Respighi has always been a strong suit for QYS
and this performance of his Fountains of Rome was no exception.
Powerful images drew an exciting response before the music ebbed
to its pensive close.
The Courier Mail, 22 March 2004
For
the best orchestral playing in town, go hear your local youth
orchestra. For consistently good playing, enthusiasm and exhilarating
edge-of-the-seat music-making, these youngsters often outclass
their jaded professional colleagues. This is certainly the case
in Brisbane...
The Australian, 22 March 2004
Radiating
superb tonal quality, all players accentuated the jagged rhythms
and the reiteration of the opening material. An electrifying performance.
The
Courier Mail, 12 August 2003
The
QYO's performance of The Firebird was dazzling. The interpretation
scaled a diverse emotional range but the intensity and the momentum
never wavered. Brimming with character and vitality the instrumental
solos throughout the orchestra were impressive.
The
Courier Mail, 9 June 2003
John
Curro's Queensland Youth Symphony never ceases to amaze with its
mature, polished playing of the big symphonic repertoire.
The
Sunday Mail, 29 Dec 2002
Close
your eyes and you could be hearing some of the great orchestras
of our time.
The
Courier-Mail, review of QYS concert on 24 Mar 2002
The
crowning glory of the afternoon was a performance of Ralph Vaughan
Williams "Job, a Masque for Dancing" by the Queensland Youth Symphony
conducted by John Curro.
Hobart
Mercury, 15 Dec 2001, New World Festival of Australian State Youth
Orchestras
If
there is a better youth orchestra in Australia than the Queensland
Youth Symphony, I would like to hear it playing Carl Vine's Celebrare
Celeberrime, Symphony No. 6 by Prokofiev, Bassoon Concerto in
F major (Weber) and Respighi's Pines of Rome. In this program
for its first subscription concert for 2001, the QYS was in vigorous
form under conductor John Curro's strong exacting direction.
The
Courier-Mail, review of concert on 9 April 2001
It
is as good a youth orchestra, if not better, than I have ever
played with.
Lord
Yehudi Menuhin, World Expo 1988, after a performance of the Beethoven
Violin Concerto with QYS
If
the first concert in the Masterpiece Series for 2000 was any indication,
this year is shaping up to be one of the best, if not the best,
for QYS.
The
Courier-Mail, review of concert on 25 March 2000
An
electric performance of Prokofiev's delightful and graphic Romeo
& Juliet Suite completed an exhilarating programme.
The
Courier-Mail, review of concert on 20 March 1999
...Queensland's
musical youth did a magnificent job.
The
Australian, review of concert on 28 March 1998
QYS'
playing of Symphony No. 11 by Shostakovich was one of the best
if not THE best symphonic performance in Brisbane so far this
year - and it is unlikely to be topped.
The
Courier-Mail, review of concert on 16 August 1997
The
decision to hold back the Queensland Youth Orchestra until all
the orchestras had been heard is likely to have been taken in
the expectation or knowledge that this Australian orchestra would
prove to be the best of those participating in Aberdeen's Festival.
The best it most certainly is.
International
Festival of Youth Orchestras, Aberdeen, Friday August 15 1980
...the
best youth orchestra in Australia and one of the leading youth
orchestras in the world. This is surely the reward of the permanent
conductor, John Curro, who has taken charge of the orchestra since
its foundation. His achievement cannot be valued highly enough.
Hamelin,
Germany, August 26 1980
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