Reviews.

"...a concert that ignited even before it began..."
“...excellently conducted by Andrew Gourlay...”

—THE TIMES, UK: CRITICS’ CHOICE

“...non-stop jamboree at the highest level..."
"...string playing of such sensuous beauty under the excellent Andrew Gourlay..."
"Gourlay's blend of sinuous, flexible movements and tight rhythmic control resulted in a performance of very balletic idealism."
"That great finale never fails. This one brought me to tears, and I wonder whether Gourlay, quoted in the programme as citing last year's NYO Prom as his most memorable music experience, would now add this one as joint first. I always think of the film in which the 82-year old Stravinsky conducts his youthful masterwork (in that case one of the suites) on the same podium as Gourlay. The master would have loved this, and the spontaneous standing ovation that immediately erupted.”

—THEARTSDESK.COM

"As for The Firebird, with 170 young people on stage and conductor Andrew Gourlay's gift for musical storytelling, it was a dramatic tour de force. The string sound was rock-solid, and there were distinguished solos from clarinet, flute and especially horn leading into the earth-shattering finale. The arrival of the demonic Koschei and the white-knuckle Infernal Dance were dazzlingly coloured. And how refreshing to watch regular kids, passionate about classical music, entertaining a crowd that included everyone from a reasonably behaved baby to the master of the King's music.”

—THE GUARDIAN, UK

“The stars of the show were in the pit, conducted with real flair by Andrew Gourlay, producing the most intensely lyrical sweeps of sound, relishing the Wagnerian surge of the phrases and replicating both the delicacy and occasional brutality on the stage.”

—MUSICOMH.COM

“Gourlay's London Philharmonic play like gods, bringing out the score's very distinct character. This is Wagner dripping with soul, without a hint of bluster. The "Prelude" unwinds like a Bruckner adagio and there's some sublime string playing at the start of the Act 3 transformation music. Lower brass roar in the Act 2 prelude, and Gourlay's digitally created church bells are highly effective in the second section. It flows beautifully. Gourlay's score is available for perusal on the publisher Schott's website. Do investigate - this is a beautiful disc.”

—THEARTSDESK.COM

“Andrew Gourlay, conducting, was particularly good at finding the right gear for the motor rhythms, then suddenly drenching the whole scene in sunset warmth.”

—THE SPECTATOR, UK

"This was true Gourlay, clear in his gestures and evidently committed to the excellent score. He turned his youthful figure with which we’re so familiar into an image of a wise and seasoned veteran.”

—SCHERZO, SPAIN

"...admirably conducted by Andrew Gourlay..."

— THE TIMES, UK

"The virtuosity and fine detailing of Liebeck’s playing are pretty jaw-dropping but so too are the jewelled precision and sheer lucidity of what Andrew Gourlay and the BBC Symphony Orchestra achieve with the multi-layered orchestral writing. I love the distilled moments that suddenly open up amid all the shimmer and agitation."

— GRAMOPHONE, UK

“The Gourlay/FWSO Firebird cast a magic spell from start to finish. Quieter music was exquisitely shaped and detailed, even pianissimos at the threshold of audibility charged with electricity. By contrast, the “Infernal Dance” burst on the scene with savage intensity. It was some of the finest playing I can remember from this orchestra.”

— DALLAS NEWS, USA

“It was a good showpiece, too, for Andrew Gourlay, whose conducting - as much a theatrical spectacle in its own right as it is a means to an end - clearly encouraged the players of the Britten Sinfonia to cast inhibitions aside. 
Elsewhere in the evening, Gourlay brought zest to Tippett’s Divertimento on “Sellinger’s Round”, real poignancy to Oliver Knussen’s Songs Without Voices… And in Nocturne, which once again showcased Clayton’s vocal agility, Gourlay managed to push past the most austere aspects of Britten’s music and fully inhabit that hazy area between sleep and wakefulness. 
Still in his thirties, and steadily chalking up guest conductorships, Gourlay is one to watch.”

— FINANCIAL TIMES

“The musicians, who played wonderfully all evening, were conducted by Andrew Gourlay in his American debut. He brought an economy of motion to the podium, but produced dazzling results.”

— THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, USA

“The work of Gourlay and the OSCyL was immeasurable: the fine-tuning to which the conductor submitted each phrase, each piano, each pause or each ritardando seemed astonishing to me. The interpretation flashed like a Bernini sculpture, exhaustively polished, almost obsessive, from everything to do with the sound balance to the most subtle of dynamics, full of drama conceived entirely by design.”

— MUNDOCLASICO.COM

“Colours and harmonic tensions were played out brilliantly and with seismographic sensitivity... an enormously compelling performance. The climaxes of the first movement were powerful, the interplay between winds and strings rhythmically precise, the melodic arcs of the second movement contemplative and mystical, and the third and fourth movements simply magnificent.”

— WESER KURIER, GERMANY

“Andrew Gourlay is a star in the ascendant.  He scraped off the crust of over-familiarity from Tchaikovsky's score with the briskness of a man brushing frost from his car windscreen.   Gourlay conducted with the lightest of touches that paradoxically revealed Nutcracker's kernel of darkness.”

— THE GUARDIAN, UK: TOP 10 LIVE EVENTS OF THE YEAR

“The great formal arc of the long, lamenting first movement was expertly realised, the splenetic terseness of the tiny scherzo all one would hope for, and the encrypted narrative structure offered itself vividly to the imagination.”

— THE SUNDAY TIMES, UK

“Gourlay offered us a masterful Mahler... There was everything: the most radiant joy, the deepest pain.”

— TRIBUNA DE VALLADOLID, SPAIN

“The CBSO under Andrew Gourlay played their socks off in what will probably be their most artistically significant performance this year.”

— BIRMINGHAM POST, UK

“Musically the show was a revelation.... this challenging score was superbly played by the CBSO under Andrew Gourlay.”

— THE SUNDAY TIMES, UK

“This conductor alternates sweetness and tension; ebbing and flowing whilst maintaining a beautiful precision within the musical line... what an amazing roller-coaster ride! Let’s rejoice: Andrew Gourlay will be returning in January.”

— SUD OUEST, FRANCE

“It is quite some time since we heard a concert of such quality… A performance that will be remembered as extraordinary.”

— VISIONES CRITICAS, CHILE

“This was an overwhelming performance with the Hallé musicians performing with remarkable commitment and energy. I wonder if we should be hailing Andrew Gourlay as the new Barbirolli.”

— SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

“Gourlay and the BBC Symphony Orchestra are quite outstanding partners.”

— THE WHOLENOTE, CANADA