“An excellent concert! We were enchanted once again!”

“Fantastic and captivating!”

“What a wonderful, refined elderly gentleman!”

“Janowski has always been one of my favorites. He did not disappoint this time either; it was a truly beautiful evening. And I was amazed that, at the age of 87, he could conduct a Bruckner symphony without a score. An enviably sharp mind — I really do envy him.”

“It was a wonderful experience; both the orchestra and the conductor were magnificent.”

“It was an uplifting experience for me to hear this masterpiece live again after more than 10 years. It was an inspired and, in the best sense of the word, expertly polished performance, worthy of the Maestro, leading us step by step up to Parnassus, culminating in the second-greatest finale of Bruckner’s oeuvre. The music of all music. As a humble concertgoer, I must disagree with the Music Director: I regret that while the BFO took part in various marathons, it never held a Bruckner Day. It is never too late for that, and in the spirit of the Mahler celebrations, there could certainly be a Bruckner Festival as well. The presumably large majority of the audience at these three concerts, many of whom may not have known Bruckner before, could be convinced that the old master belongs somewhere alongside Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Brahms, and Mahler.”

“It was fantastic. I arrived feeling very tired, but it turned into a truly great experience.”

“I was amazed by the musicians’ fantastic playing, and by the conductor’s stamina and memory. Thank you for the experience.”

“The audience was treated to another truly memorable experience. Conductor Marek Janowski, the rarely performed Bruckner symphony, and the orchestra’s consistently outstanding performance held the audience’s attention throughout.”

“It was a concert of overwhelming momentum in this series of classical symphonies of an unusual style, with delightful details and a refined, playful sound. We bid farewell to Maestro Janowski with great affection.”

“We knew relatively little about Bruckner; we have an old vinyl record of his music, but we have not put it on the turntable for a long time. I will look for it this week, and we will listen to it. This work evokes a great Gothic cathedral, while the 3rd movement also conjures up a colorful, dancing crowd before the listener. Beautiful passages appeared throughout the symphony. It was a pleasure to hear how Janowski often slowed down the orchestra when it seemed eager to move into a faster tempo. His was an enormous conducting achievement, not only because of his 86 years, but because one could feel that he lived through the work from within. This is also why he was able to conduct this unusually long piece without a score. Once again, the BFO and the Maestro gave us a beautiful evening.”