PRESS COMMENTS

STUART MALINA, conductor



Harrisburg Symphony, September 25, 2005
Symphonie fantastique
“Beautifully conducted by HSO Music Director Stuart Malina, the musicians worked through Berlioz’s complex work with aplomb.”
 Pennlive.com, David Dunkle, September 25, 2005

Opera Delaware, May 7, 2005
Porgy and Bess
“Stuart Malina conducted a reduced, but engaged and sharply articulating orchestra”
Opera News, David Shengold, May 12, 2005

Opera Delaware, May 7, 2005
Porgy and Bess
“Conductor Stuart Malina, who won a Tony in 2003, leads the strong orchestra in a beautiful reading of Gershwin’s familiar but still exciting score.”
 The News Journal, Tom Butler, May 10, 2005

Greensboro Symphony, February 19, 2004
Concert feature flutist, guest conductor
“Under the baton of conductor Stuart Malina, the players responded with warmth and skill in an evening testing all facets of the ensemble. The concert opened with a stylish performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s magical overture to “The Magic Flute.”. . . Malina brought in the contrasting orchestral sections ably and their responses were neatly keyed to the notes of the flute. The violins in particular gave strong pizzicato support to the soloist.”
www.goTriad.com , Abe D. Jones Jr., February 20, 2004

Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, September 28, 2002
“Malina and the orchestra gave us an inspired Beethoven Ninth that was all anyone could ask for. All the required elements were there, in heaping doses: majesty, drama, urgency. . . . And amid the familiar, dependably stirring music, Malina offered numerous surprises. In his interpretation, the slow third movement came off as an extended prayer. Repeatedly, one was absorbed so as to nearly forget what was coming.
The Patriot News, Zachary Lewis, September 29, 2002

Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, April 14, 2002
“The Saint -Saens’ Third is a veritable symphonic world unto itself. Malina’s overall interpretation pointed to the many turbulent layers that come together to give this symphony its familiar and overwhelming stateliness.”
The Patriot News, Zachary Lewis, April 14, 2002

Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, October 14, 2001
“... take the Seventh as a statement of human nobility, as Malina did last night. The orchestra endowed the opening movement with due space and grandeur. The lilting figures in the fourth movement were given sharp, clean phrasing. Even the stately second movement, marked to be a relatively quick Allegretto but which Malina took at an unusually ponderous tempo, walked with its head held high. ... [Also Sprach Zarathustra] Where the score calls for luster and sweep or for ominous trembling, for example, Malina and the orchestra made sure they were there.”
The Patriot-News, Zachary Lewis, October 14, 2001

Eastern Music Festival - Greensboro, N.C.

“Matching the pianist’s [Andre-Michel Schub] verve every step of the way was Maestro who urged great playing from the orchestra as well. Especially impressive was the negotiation of the abrupt changes in tempo that characterize the work [Prokofiev Third Piano Concerto]. It seemed as though the pianist and conductor were reading each other's minds as each change took place without a hitch."
News & Record, Tim Lindeman, June 26, 2000

Hartford Symphony Orchestra, February 16, 2000
Malina Shows Clarity, Precision, Confidence
"Together with his pre-concert talk, the evening amounted to a pentathlon for 36-year-old Stuart
the latest candidate in the HSO's long search for a new music director. Malina responded with an amicable and confident night of music and talk. What we particularly got from Malina was clarity, precision, a sense of collegiality with the players and an overall feeling of purposefulness. Sibelius' Pahjola's Daughter ... Malina nicely called attention to the shimmering orchestrations and the shifting colors in the piece ... Howard Hanson's Second Symphony ... Malina luxuriated in these juicy seventh chords and heaving sentimental tunes, and the result was not only charming, but at times genuinely moving.”
Hartford Courant, Steve Metcalf, February 16, 2000

Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, May 8,1999
Orchestra adds weight, takes on Strauss
"The playing of the work [Strauss: Ein Heldenleben] was well-coordinated, and Maestro Malina did a superb job of keeping the impressive forces together, in what is, arguably, the most complex work the GSO has undertaken with Malina. If you haven't had a chance to hear the GSO recently in all its glory, you should definitely plan to attend Monday night's concert and draw your own conclusions."
News & Record, Tim Lindeman, May 10, 1999

Richmond Symphony Orchestra, January 23,1999
A meticulous and measured concert
Most delicate pianissimos, best integrated brass and wind choruses and clearest rendering of inner voices in a complex orchestration may not score Stuart Malina many points in this season's conductor sweepstakes at the Richmond Symphony. But Saturday's performances of Prokofiev's "Fifth Symphony" and Beethoven's "Leonore" Overture No. 3 were some of the best thought-through and put-together I've heard from the orchestra since the height of George Manahan's tenure as music director. Malina's reading of the Prokofiev Fifth was, in some ways, a welcome change from the heavy-handed often given this symphony. Instead of sounding like the tonal equivalent of a squadron of Soviet tanks breaking through the German lines, the score came across as an intricate classical construct in Malina's hands -- one with a massive foundation, but also a wealth of delicate fines and subtle balances."
Richmond Times-D by Clarke Bustard, Jan. 25, 1999

The Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, December 12, 1998
“Included were two light and breezy scores from the era of Les Six, and a light and breezy symphony from the creator of Carmen. In contract to the Russian and Viennese block busters on the CCO's previous concert, this was music of quiet elegance, humor, and small gestures, all of which qualities were reflected in the conducting style of Malina."
Ithaca Times, by Mark G. Simon, Dec. 17, 1998

Misc.

"As he said [before the concert], The Symphony No. 4 of Johannes Brahms is one of the great pieces
of orchestra composition and a work of enormous musical and emotional power. There was no doubt who
was in control. ... the orchestra ... gave a great performance of this major work."
News & Record, David B. Sheppard, March 29, 1998

"[Milhaud - Le Boeuf sur le Toit] The GSO's playing caught the zest and fervor of this colorful score, with fine trumpet playing here (and throughout the evening) by Anita Cirba.
[Debussy - La Mer] This is also a perilous score, a truly virtuosic orchestral piece ... Stuart Malina's rather brisk tempos; the music was forward moving and the conductor led the ensemble to brilliant climaxes.
[George Gershwin - Piano Concerto] and the GSO matched Goodyear's tempo and style and ensemble between the pianist and orchestra was good throughout.
Kudos should go to Malina for such an engaging program. Three works written within 20 years of each other, all in the 20th century, and all three extremely different in style and content. We look forward to more of this adventurous and rewarding programming."
News & Record, Tim Lindeman, February 28, 1998

“Maestro Stuart Malina conducted the work [Fantasy on a Theme of Thomas Tallis] with precision and considerable stylistic insight. ... The performance provided a worthy beginning to an interesting and varied program.
[Brahms' Double Concerto] Malina and the orchestra provided sensitive support throughout with good ensemble in each of the three movements.
The evening closed with the Sibelius Symphony No.2 in D Major. Here, the orchestra gave a passionate and heart-felt reading that capture the deeply expressive nature of Sibelius' temperament. This highly expressive symphony shows the composer's original approach to orchestration, and in each of the four movements, Malina balanced the forces of the orchestra with great success. Stuart Malina is a fine musician and a suitable spokesman for Greensboro's excellent orchestra, both in words and on the podium"
News & Record, Henry Black Ingram, 11/12/97

"Saturday night's concert by the Greensboro Orchestra featured a program of Russian music from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The concert opened with the overture from the opera "Russlan and Ludmila" by Mikhail Glinka. ... It was immediately clear that the Greensboro Orchestra was at its best. The strings lit up the opening theme with a sparkling energy that seemed to infuse the whole orchestra. ... The orchestra was joined next by guest soloist Jeffrey Biegel for the “Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor" by Sergei Rachmaninoff. ... Biegel was "a brilliant performer." The orchestra was brilliant as well. The concert ended with music from the ballet "Romeo and Juliet” by Sergei Prokofiev. ... The orchestra maintained the extremely high level of performance for the rest of the concert with the winds, brass and percussion playing especially well."
News & Record, David D. Sheppard, 10/21/97

“The Greensboro Symphony Orchestra concert last night was its strongest showing of this season. [John
Adams’ “The Chairman Dances," (from "Nixon in China”), Lalo's “Cello Concerto in D Minor”, Berlioz’ “Symphonie Fantastique”]. Wild fluctuations between tender sentiment and outlandish outbursts are found back to back, but Maestro Malina was able to forge the huge orchestra into a single unit. The sprawling work featured individual solos that were finely played, but it was the ensemble work that was particularly impressive. Full-bodied string unisons, wind sections that were distinct yet somehow homogenous and powerfully articulated brass passages were the order of the day. ... Kudos to Maestro Malina and the GSO for the ability to pull it off.”
News & Record, Tim Lindeman, 4/20/97

"For the next piece, George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", Stuart Malina took on the schizophrenic task of being both conductor and soloist. ... Stuart Malina's performance ... had a great feel of swing and spontaneity that was matched by the orchestra.
It seemed with this concert that the orchestra and named music director this past May, are getting more comfortable with each other. The result was one of the best concerts I've heard from this orchestra in a long time."
News & Record, David B. Sheppard, 2/23/97

"Saturday night's performance by the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra marked a watershed in its current season, with the ensemble rising to the considerable demands of an extremely varied program. Brilliance, virtuosity and commitment marked the evening's three works. The orchestra, admirably led by Stuart matched the soloist's fervor and turned in a performance that was every bit as exciting. [Shostakovich's First Violin Concerto]
Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony provided some juicy meat and potatoes - something that conductor and orchestra could sink their teeth into. This is where the orchestra showed itself to be a first-class romantic ensemble. The passages were well marked and thrilling while the tender moments were absolutely gorgeous."
News & Record, Tim Lindeman, 11/17/96

“Malina was both conductor and piano soloist for George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." ... the performance sounded downright heroic."
Courier-Journal, Rick Mattingly, Louisville Orchestra, 11/3/96

"RIVETING: Greensboro Symphony injects richness into foreboding piece"
“The first hints of the kind of musical and technical authority ... came with a brisk, rhythmically astute reading of Berlioz's “Roman Carnival” Overture. ... the orchestra played with a kind of attention I don't remember from the days of ..., its previous conductor. But it was not until after intermission that Malina really surprised us.
What Malina and the orchestra delivered, however, went beyond all expectations. (Shostakovich's 12th Symphony) Here was playing rich in dynamic detail and rhythmic solidity. What seemed at first a too-fast tempo for the first-movement Allegro, for instance, turned out to be just what this intricate and tightly woven music needed.
The absolutely unhurried pace and delicately spaced utterances of the slow movement; the sinister and subtly graded volume balances in the short third movement; the restrained tension of the finale's great gonging ending these and many other of Malina's musical choices, not to mention the obvious authority with which he carried them out, worked to recapture a distracted audience's attention and rivet it back where it should be always: on the music itself."
Winston-Salem Journal, Gordon Sparber, September 16, 1996

“The entire Greensboro music community was watching last night as Stuart Malina began his tenure as Music Director of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra. It was an auspicious beginning.
Berlioz's Roman Carnival, which opened the program, begins with a swirling opening, and that mood was caught nicely by the orchestra. ... Malina led the ensemble skillfully through the tempo changes.
... Tzimon Barto for the Prokofiev Third Piano Concerto ... Maestro Malina and the GSO did a superb job of accompanying the pianist. The many tricky tempo changes occurred without a hitch, and the pianist and conductor seemed to have a common vision of this war horse. Up to this point the GSO had played well, but carefully. The performance of Shostakovich's Twelfth Symphony, however, was reminiscent of the GSO that former Music Director Paul Anthony McRae had developed to such a high degree. There was focus and brilliance that typified his style, but there was also a depth of presentation. Maestro Malina brought his own brand of discipline and emotional depth to the score, and the orchestra responded in kind.
The GSO gave the Twelfth a good run for its money, and the effect was often thrilling, even though the
score is at times predictable."
News & Record, Tim Lindeman, September 1996

'Orchestra delights audience'
"Under Malina's baton each section of the orchestra sparkled with clarity, balance, and fine tone."
The Post and Courier, Claire McPhaiL Jan 29, 1993

'Malina's debut with CSO delights'
“The symphony's new Assistant conductor Stuart Malina made his debut in the Masterworks series concert ... ; violinist Daniel Heifetz was soloist; and a packed house gave director and soloist a standing ovation at the conclusion of their performance. It was a night of beautiful and powerful music.
Malina opened his program with Schubert's delightful "Rosamunde Overture" ... and drew excellent precision and clarity from each section of the orchestra. Even in the most forte passages of the work, each section was clearly delineated. It was a joy throughout.
[Mendelssohn, violin concert] Throughout the concerto, Malina's control of the orchestra maintained a fine balance, never overshadowing the violin, yet each section came through clearly. In the spirited finale, the crisp, clean tone of the orchestra and Heifetz's dazzling cadenza on violin brought it all to a triumphant conclusion.
The three movements of the work under Malina's direction moved with power and beauty that earned fine applause.”
The Post and Courier, Claire McPhail, Jan. 12, 1992

*****
POPS CONCERTS


“... the jazz was hot, thanks to ... and Stuart Malina and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra.
The Pops Concert was billed as “Big Band Night,”... music by Duke Ellington and songs made popular
by Nat “King” Cole, ... Under Malina's direction, the Symphony created a properly lush sound from the
strings and swing sound from the brass as they played a number of famous tunes: ...”
The Post and Courier, J.L.L. Johnson, March 14, 1993

'Pops opening a Malina triumph'
"Stuart Malina assistant conductor of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, had another triumph this weekend with the opening pops concerts of the 1992-93 season.
Overall, it was a bang-up performance by the orchestra, Malina and the guests. The mood in the Palace was bouncy, toe-tapping and hum-along - just perfect for a pops concert."
The Post and Courier, Frank P. Jarrell, Oct. 11, 1992

'Pops finale a rousing taste of Americana'
Stuart Malina, the orchestra's assistant music director, was on the podium and kept the program moving at a brisk and lively pace. His continents between works were just enough to be informative - and appreciated. ... Altogether is was nearly a perfect Pops program Malina here only eight months, is definitely making his mark on Charleston's music scene. It's obvious he's having fun. This affects the orchestra - and the audience can't help but notice."
The Post and Courier, Frank P. Jarrell, April 26, 1992

“The orchestra, an alert, energetic and polished group, was conducted with vigor by Stuart Malina. He is as authoritative in his directing as he is animated in his between-numbers comments. He obviously enjoys himself on the podium, and the viewers fully reciprocate."
The Item, Mike Karvelas, 3-8-92


STUART MALINA -- ACTOR!

Terrence McNally’s “MASTER CLASS” in its pre-Broadway run at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theatre, starring Zoe Caldwell as Maria Callas also features Stuart Malina pianist/actor.

"The night is funny, tragic and bigger than life and I think "Master Class" could be one of the greatest nights of theater in our town in years."
Arch Campbell, Entertainment Critic - WRC-TV (NBC), Channel 4, D.C.

"The piano accompanist, Stuart Malina, is marvelous
Opera, Martin Mayer, December 1995
"Leonard Foglia directs with an excellent mixture of verve and subtlety, and his cast responds. He even gets an effective performance from Stuart Malina, the non-actor (he's an associate conductor with the Charleston Symphony) who plays the pianist Manny, and either creates or is a sweet, modest, likable fellow."
The Washington Post, Lloyd Rose, Sept. 22, 1995

"Stuart Malina is comically deferential as the class accompanist..."
The Washington Times, Nelson Pressley, Sept. 22, 1995

“... and stalwart accompanist Stuart Malina comes away largely unscathed."

The Sun, J. Wynn Roubuck, Sept