David Jones - conductor
'Guest conductor David Jones and the four soloists took their places and the whispered yet portentous opening of the Requiem promised an electrifying performance. Searingly powerful choral singing marked the Dies Irae and the
ferocious attack of the Orchestra was made all the more effective by the precision of the playing. It was a performance marked by wonderful contrasts of choral and orchestral sound.' (Verdi Requiem, Haddo House Choral and Operatic Society) Glasgow Herald October 2006
'Both works were given performances of tremendous grace and power. Jones steered the music away from connotations of English parochialism towards the European mainstream. The Serenade pulsed with a ravishing post-Wagnerian sensuousness.' (Serenade to Music/Donna Nobis Pacem at the Edinburgh Festival) The Guardian, August 2006
'[Kurtág's] music is immensely difficult to perform, but surely also immensely rewarding and David Jones conducted two magnificent performances.'
The Observer of the premičre of Kurtág's Songs of Despair and Sorrow
'Musically, the performance was excellent. The RTE Concert Orchestra played with great skill and involvement, while the men's chorus sang magnificently.'
Opera Now of The Silver Tassie with Opera Ireland
'David Jones conducted a performance which was glowing with hushed intensity.'
The Scotsman of Feldman Rothko Chapel
'David Jones showed himself to be a true, genuine and profound conductor who was a secure guide for all instrumentalists and singers. The Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra played flawlessly and excelled with perfect continuo playing and highly musical solo interjections.'
Wuppertaler Zeitung of Matthew Passion
'His pacing and choice of speeds were always convincing and even his sometimes dangerously slow tempos never relaxed the tension. And he elicited marvellous playing from the orchestra.''
The Irish Times of Madama Butterfly with Lyric Opera
'David Jones and the BBC Singers soared through a recital exciting enough to get the neck hairs twitching. No matter what words the Hungarian or Russian language threw up, the Singers had fervour and precision to spare.'
The Times of Kurtág, Kodály, Bartók, Ligeti programme with BBC Singers and Endymion Ensemble
'David Jones led a spirited, deft performance.'
Opera of Moniuszko's The Haunted Manor with Wexford Festival Opera
'The Limburgs Symphonie Orkest conducted by David Jones played with great élan and dynamic power.'
Trouw of Carmen with Opera Zuid
'Mr Jones's conducting is always alive and beautifully paced, with a sure grasp of the ensembles.'
The Scotsman of The Marriage of Figaro with British Youth Opera
'This left the most obviously compelling performance of the evening to the baton of David Jones in Bartok's Miraculous Mandarin Suite. The raw, primitive energy of the work came across undiluted.'
The Guardian of BBC European Conductors' Seminar with BBC Philharmonic
'An immensely talented conductor with an exemplary technique and an intelligent grasp of big musical structures.'
The Irish Times of Haydn The Creation
'But apart from Bach himself, the real triumph was David Jones's.'
The Irish Times of Bach St John Passion with Irish Chamber Orchestra
'Both works were conducted by David Jones, for whom last night was something of a personal triumph. His guidance was never less than commanding, while his reading of both works was full of verve and vigour, and all were immaculately stylish.'
The Irish Times of Vivaldi Gloria and Haydn Mass in D minor