Critical Acclaim

New York Philharmonic - Handel Messiah
“The Philharmonic strings produced the broad silken tone that is one of the orchestra’s best traits. The brass and the percussion, in the later sections of the work, were as hefty and assertive as ever. Mr. McGegan’s stamp had more to do with tempos, which in the choruses were uncommonly brisk and with coaxing his singers and players to produce the kind of articulation that gives every moment of the work both a crystalline texture and the right emotional weight . . . when everything is right – as it was in much of the performance on Thursday – the results are both moving and viscerally powerful.” –The New York Times

Philadelphia Orchestra - JC Bach-JS Bach-Handel-Rameau
“With guest conductor Nicholas McGegan . . . the way the so-called cholesterol orchestra fits into smaller tighter sound worlds changed with every piece . . . The program . . . went into some welcomely arcane terrains . . . In Fireworks, McGegan and the orchestra maintained remarkably transparent balances (it was written with a Philadelphia-size orchestra in mind) with raucous trumpet- and percussion-dominated energy that befits music performed out of doors. Everything was shaped and delineated so knowingly: Moments that conveyed royal pomp never had the self-consciousness of a backward glance at history. The performance spoke Handel as a first language . . . In his way, he's as subjective with this repertoire as Christoph Eschenbach is with Mahler . . . He's a great candidate for principal guest conductor. His programs are a stimulating break from standard symphonic repertoire.” –The Philadelphia Inquirer

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam - Rameau Naïs
“Willem Mengelberg once conducted Rameau’s ‘tragedie en musique’ Castor et Polux at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. After that, Bernhard Haitink conducted the Concertgebouw Orchestra in a number of Rameau arias. But after ‘authentic’ performance practice had become a hype during the seventies, the orchestra no longer risked getting its fingers burnt by playing Rameau’s ‘musique savante’ . . .  it is therefore a very special event that the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is playing only 18th-century repertoire this week, under the direction of the English baroque conductor Nicholas McGegan. The program includes a suite from Rameau’s Nais (1749) arranged by Mr. McGegan himself. . . . McGegan, with his gracious arm movements, elegant little jumps, stamping feet and vivaciously gesticulating hands, was the ideal master of ceremonies and so Rameau came nobly to life.” –Donderdag

“He has a total understanding of baroque rhetoric, of the difference between affect and effect. The fragrance, the subtle sounds of the little trills and other ornaments which make French baroque music so French, were all the more remarkable because the Concertgebouw Orchestra had no prior knowledge of this repertoire.” –De Telegraaf

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra - Haydn The Seasons
“It came as no surprise on Friday night in the St. Louis Symphony Chorus and Orchestra's first-ever performance of "The Seasons" that conductor Nicholas McGegan's version of musical country life was a joyful and appealing one. At every turn, McGegan effortlessly communicates his delight in the music he leads.” –St. Louis Post Dispatch

Detroit Symphony Orchestra - Bach B Minor Mass
“The Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s performances of Bach’s B Minor Mass were landmarks. The concerts represented the first time the DSO had presented this masterpiece on its subscription series and the first time the orchestra had tackled it under any circumstances since Robert Shaw conducted performances at the Meadow Brook Music Festival in 1966. Why should the DSO have so long ignored one of the glories of the canon? Part of the answer is surely that the DSO’s key music directors in recent decades, from Sixten Ehrling through Neeme Jarvi, have never showed much affinity for early music. Moreover, as the authenticity movement turned the baroque period into an ideologically governed fiefdom, a lot of mainstream orchestras simply retreated from the arena. . . . Nicholas McGegan returned to lead the B Minor Mass, with impressive results. The performance struck a mostly satisfying balance between emotional gravitas and stylistic fidelity. McGegan used a larger orchestra (37) and chorus (60) than authenticity purists might have expected, but the middleweight sound was just full enough to fill Orchestra Hall with the necessary grandeur without betraying a muscular tonal conception." –Detroit Free Press

Milwaukee Symphony - Hummel-Mendelssohn-Schubert-Weber
“So rich is the symphonic tradition that the Milwaukee Symphony is still finding cool, old stuff that it has never played before . . . courtesy of Nicholas McGegan.” –Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl - CPE Bach-Handel-Haydn
“Three cheers for the giant video screens at the Hollywood Bowl. Those of us who had long admired San Francisco-based Baroque orchestra conductor Nicholas McGegan for his infectious, enthusiastic music-making got a chance Thursday to see him from the orchestra's point of view. We had no idea what we were missing. His impish smiles, broad-faced delight in the music and the Los Angeles Philharmonic musicians, wide-eyed ‘wait till you see what's coming’ looks, rugged punches on syncopated beats — all quickly locked the Bowl audience into something often missing in concerts there and at other venues. Music is a pleasure. It lightens the spirit. It is supreme fun.” –Los Angeles Times