Press
REVIEW EXCERPTS
"Did justice to the smallest harmonic and melodic details of this contrasting music,
played with a surprisingly subtle feeling for timing, phrasing and dynamics.....a
remarkable performance, very well balanced and of outstanding quality.....He
impressed us in a gratifying way...which resulted in three standing ovations."
NRC-HANDELSBALD, Amsterdam
Concertgebouw Performance
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"Received great applause and recognition for an exciting performance."
IL MESSAGGERO, Rome, Italy
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"That was one of the most beautiful moments in the entire Villa-Lobos Festival.
Without doubt, Brooks-Bruzzese proved to be a Maestro of true quality."
O'GLOBO, Rio de Janiero, Brazil
Antonio Hernandez
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"Electrifying....Captivating...Dynamic....
Downright Exciting."
FT. LAUDERDALE NEWS, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Tim Smith
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"As a conductor, he knows his business."
MIAMI HERALD, Miami, Florida
James Roos
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"Electrifying....Captivating...Dynamic....
Downright Exciting."
FT. LAUDERDALE NEWS, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Tim Smith
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"As a conductor, he knows his business."
MIAMI HERALD, Miami, Florida
James Roos
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"Deeply Sensitive...Solid Musicianship...Vigor...Disciplined Orchestra."
MIAMI HERALD, Miami, Fla.
James Roos
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"International conductor who knew how to reproduce in Mozart's symphony the
main line.....dramatic character, complicated polyphony of contrasting
images.....This concert presented both talent and creative inspiration."
SOVIET SIBERIA NEWSPAPER, Novosibirsk, Russia
I. Fine
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"In just four days, James Brooks-Bruzzese, a man of cheer, charm and boundless
vitality, has stamped his hallmark of quality on an orchestra badly in need of real
leadership. What a pity Dr. Brooks is a guest on a mere three-week visit....Natal and
the NPO are fortunate to have the benefit of his infectious zeal".
THE NATAL MERCURY, Durban, South Africa
David Lloyd
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"Brooks left the stage under long applause which he merited."
REPUBLIC PRESS, Istanbul, Turkey
Ustun Durvel
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"Symphony shines....Jackson Symphony.....superior sound, conjured by the blistering
baton of guest conductor.
CLARION LEDGER, Jackson, Mississippi
Leslie Myers
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"The solidity of Brook's musicianship was immediately evident in Wagner's Prelude to
Act I of Die Meistersinger with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Florida."
MIAMI HERALD, Miami, Florida
James Roos
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"The Philharmonic has never played better".
PALM BEACH POST, Palm Beach, Florida
Kevin Petrich
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"There has been a solid conductor all along right here in the community."
NEWS AND SUN SENTINEL, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Tim Smith
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"Brooks conducted Beethoven's 5th Symphony without score, and obviously knew
every entrance, every note and every rest. Unencumbered by page turning, he
was set free to express himself physically in the grand style."
BOCA RATON NEWS, Boca Raton, Fl.
William Beers
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"The many climaxes were rousing....There was an overall lift and resonance to the
orchestra's tone...."
WTMI RADIO 93.1, Miami, Fl.
Steve Brown
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"The best conductor currently working in South Florida."
NEWS AND SUN SENTINEL, Ft. Lauderdale, Fl.
Tim Smith
"What did triumph....was Howard Hanson's stunning Symphony No. 2 magnificently
played and interpreted by the ensemble and conductor."
THE TRIBUNE, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Robert Freund
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"Brooks-Bruzzese encouraged a splendid sense of rapport between the members of
the NPO and the soloist which was duly acknowledged at the end...he has given us
notice of a fine series of concerts under his baton."
THE DAILY NEWS, Durban, South Africa
George Nisbet
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"Opera performance is superior. A five minute standing ovation to a job so well
done.'
AUGUSTA HERALD, Augusta, Ga.
Robbie T. Barkley
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"The Augusta Opera, a performance of extremely high standards."
PITTSBURGH POST, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Robert Croan
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"Brooks treated Puccini's youthful drama, La Boheme, as living theatre...."
OPERA NEWS MAGAZINE
Robert Croan
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"Conductor Brooks had a very delicate interpretation of the Haydn work and the
Piccolo Sinfonia of Gounod was well conducted."
IL TEMPO
Rome, Italy
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"In my opinion and the unanimous opinion of the press, public and orchestra, the
North American James Brooks was the most outstanding conductor of the Villa-
Lobos Festival."
O'GLOBO, Rio de Janiero, Brazil
Antonio Hernndez
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"With applause that lasted between three to five minutes after every selection."
LA PRENZA, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Maria Ordonez
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"James Brooks is an intense and dynamic director whose communication and labor
with the orchestra was positively high. This concert will certainly be talked about for
a long time." LA PRENZA, Lima, Peru
Luis Guzman
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"Brooks called upon the orchestra's thorough capacity for incendiary playing and
elicited a performance filled with light and fire."
SPRINGFIELD NEWS, Springfield Ohio
Jim Hays
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"Demonstrated a talent for making the Alabama Symphony play with precision and
energy.
BIRMINGHAM POST HERALD, Birmingham, Alabama
Mitch Mendelson
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"Valuable concert given by the State Philharmonic....gave an exceptionally good
performance.” HUDOBNY MIVET
Bratislava, Czeckoslovakia
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"The public all rose on their feet screaming for more."
LEVANTE PRESS, Valencia, Spain
Jose Mandin
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"When all was over, I sat, near to tears. We had enjoyed the
privilege of hearing the work of a magnificent master musician.....JAMES BROOKSBRUZZESE.....
and now he has left us."
NATAL MERCURY, Durban, South Africa
David Lloyd
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"But the real experience of the evening was the inspiring conducting by the worldfamous
Florida conductor, James Brooks-Bruzzese, under whose baton the orchestra
performed." VASARNAPI HIROK
Budapest, Hungaria
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"Concert of the year....phrasing perfected to finesse, minute balance and wellconsidered
dynamic nuances. All this in a warm satisfied tone of the strings....what
else do you want?" THE AMIGOE, Curacao,N.A.
Iman Landheer
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"The Bach was one of the most sublime moments of the evening.....It was so
beautiful, so heavenly,....Brook's baton was precise, brilliant, and showed
security....which created magic and fantasy."
THE PRENSA, Panama, Rep. de Pamana
Daniel Dominguez Z.
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"James Brooks-Bruzzese, the American conductor who came all the way to Berlin
for this concert with the Berlin Symphony, gave an all-encompassing performance
high in intensity and with complete control. The vitality and brilliance of the
Hungarian Fantasy left one wishing for more."
DIE WELT
Berlin, Germany
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"Conductor James Brooks-Bruzzese came especially from the USA for this concert
and his was music making of great sensitivity and intensity. These interpretations
were highly inspired, ingenious, and powerful. Each and every one of the
compositions were brilliant and wildly beautiful."
DER NORD-BERLINER
Berlin, Germany
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"Conductor Brooks-Bruzzese coaxed expressive, mostly poised playing in the
Hebrides. He took a broadly paced approach to the score, but not at the expense
of tension. The conductor captured the solemnity and drama in the score of the
Reformation Symphony, and his propulsive tempos in the scherzo and finale were
especially telling." SUN-SENTINEL, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Tim Smith
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"Leading the Cappella Istropolitana with his usual flair, a constant intensity of
expression and concern for subtlety was achieved. The freshness in these scores
emerged tellingly under Brooks-Bruzzese’s gentle guidance"
SUN-SENTINEL, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Tim Smith
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"Classical summer ends on high note. Brooks-Bruzzese, long noted in South Florida as
a thoughtful conductor of broad tastes, coaxed out this intensely idiomatic
performance with the Cappella Istropolitana".
MIAMI HERALD, Miami Florida
James Roos
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" A solid ensemble of 55 players that can handle the diverse challenges of such
musical opposites as Joseph Haydn, Heitor Villa-Lobos and Howard Hanson. Brooks-
Bruzzese’s highly-charged revival of the Hanson Second Symphony was a welcome
one”. MIAMI HERALD, Miami, Florida
James Roos
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" A lovely evening of fine music masterfully conducted by Maestro James Brooks-
Bruzzese. Hanson's Second Symphony was absolutely marvelous and had a great
effect on me. I obviously was not the only one feeling this way---it's wonderful to
witness a standing ovation lasting at least three minutes. BRAVO MAESTRO."
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS & VIEWS, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Howard Salus
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"Symphony of the Americas reaffirmed the good impression they made last
November by playing another refreshingly different program of music in a fluent,
closely knit style---- The orchestra and Brooks-Bruzzese handled the entire program
with a touch of incandescence".
MIAMI HERALD, Miami, Florida
James Roos
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"Conductor Brooks-Bruzzese was an attentive partner, with Paula Robison, neatly
molding the orchestral contributions in the Florida Premier of Robert Beaser's "Song
of the Bells". He made a strong case for the Saint-Saens Second Symphony, which
was something of much buoyancy and melodic sweetness."
SUN-SENTINEL, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Tim Smith
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“Brooks-Bruzzese is sometimes taken for granted by the musical powers that be. Yet
his Symphony of the Americas, now in its 14th year, has become a popular and
firmly entrenched part of the South Florida musical landscape. It was the superb
Haydn performance that made the evening memorable. Brooks-Bruzzese was an
inspired advocate, producing dedicated rhythmically alert play.”
SUN-SENTINEL, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Lawrence A. Johnson
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“Bruzzese had the Hellenic Camerata under firm yet flexible control, making serene
silk of the opening Vivaldi Sinfonia in G major.”
MIAMI HERALD, Miami, FLorida
James Roos
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