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Indianapolis Star, 9 May 2012
Kenneth Woods continues Gal/Schumann symphony series
…The “Hans-and-Bobby” project of Woods and the Orchestra of the Swan is worth every music-lover’s attention… read more
International Record Review, May 2012
Hans Gal Vol 2 CD with Kenneth Woods and Orchestra of the Swan
…quite on a par with those of Muti, Marriner or Solti (whom I find especially impressive in this work), it‘s a very fine one, and the playing of the Orchestra of the Swan is absolutely top-notch… read more
Northampton Chronicle, 8 May 2012
Julian Lloyd Webber at Northampton High School By Anna Brosnan
…a selection of extraordinarily courageous and talented school pupils played alongside the renowned cellist Julian Lloyd Webber and the professional Orchestra of the Swan…and held their own… read more
Audiophile Audition, 16 April 2012
Hans Gal Vol 2 CD with Kenneth Woods and Orchestra of the Swan ***** by Zan Furtwangler
…Woods has seized on the essence of this Schumann Symphony. His reading is smooth, grand and exciting and well worth the purchase of this disc …read more
Daily Telegraph, 7 April 2012
Hans Gal Vol 1 CD with Kenneth Woods and Orchestra of the Swan ****
…well-made music and the Swan does it proud …read more
Seen and Heard International, 24 February 2012
Orchestra of the Swan, at Cheltenham Town Hall by Roger Jones
…This is a chamber orchestra which sets high musical standards and is clearly going places …read more
Birmingham Post, February 2012
Orchestra of the Swan, at Birmingham Town Hall ***** by Christopher Morley
…now sparkling, now seductive, and rising to the demands of the finale’s amazing counterpoint with brilliant success …read more
Music web international.com, January 2012
Mahler Das Lied von der Erde CD – Somm Records ***** by Dan Morgan
…she sings with quiet authority, shadowed by orchestral playing of equal poise. Even in this trembling air of dissolution and decay, pulse is all important, and Woods doesn’t let it falter …read more
Birmingham Post, 01 December 2011
The Lark Ascending with Tamsin Waley-Cohen – Town Hall, Birmingham ***** by Christopher Morley
…the two masterpieces Elgar penned for the medium, the Serenade for Strings lithe and beautifully-defined, the Introduction and Allegro fizzing in its attack and softly-shaded …read more
News Guardian, 11 November 2011
Jarrow and Hebburn Gazette, 15 November 2011
Orchestral manoeuvres leave some in the dark
Bands tend to respond to the presence of an orchestra in one of two ways. They either just carry on doing what they usually do, largely oblivious to the presence of lots of people with violins, harps and other unfamiliar instruments…or they go back to the drawing board and rearrange and reinvent to accommodate the different sounds at their disposal… James, as you’d expect, opted for the latter approach and it paid off, often spectacularly …read more
Manchester Confidential .com
31 October 2011
James Reviewed by Stephanie Preston
Booth is the flamboyant frontman of James and lived up to his reputation from the start. To open the evening he came on dressed in a conductor’s tail coat equipped with a baton and began to tune up the orchestra …read more
Nottingham Post
29 October 2011
James: Drama and the unpredictable by Ben McVay
Indeed, tears may not have been far away for even the toughest of folk as Booth was joined at the front of the stage by two young backing singers for a version of Say Something with powerful violin strokes during the chorus…read more
The Scotsman
27 October 2011
An Evening with James – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall **** by Fiona Shepherd
audacious accompaniment from Orchestra of the Swan and the Manchester Consort Choir, whose transformative contribution seduced by stealth in the early stages before sweeping the crowd along on a tidal wave of euphoria…read more
All Music
25 October 2011
Mahler: Symphony No. 4; Berlioz: Nuits d’Été **** by Blair Sanderson
These performances feature Heather Shipp as the vocal soloist, who has an agile voice and a light tone that work well with the Orchestra of the Swan…read more
Leicester Mercury
19 October 2011
Arrivals and Departures Loughborough Town Hall : A superb evening to remember by Qyan Arnachellum
Vivaldi’s Concerto for two cellos in three sections was dynamic and exciting, at times deeply moving and passionate, the communication between them intense and involving …read more
Nottingham Post
19 October 2011
James, Royal Concert Hall by Phil Viles
they needed something transcendental, something outside the box, beyond conventional, and thus, a masterplan was drawn out…read more
The Birmingham Post
19 October 2011
Orchestra of the Swan, at Birmingham Town Hall **** by Christopher Morley
David Curtis drew warm, lush, flowing accounts… the orchestra was truly on song, spirited and generous with Diane Clark’s flute so expressively phrased…read more
The Gramaphone
1 October 2011
Mahler Das Lied by Ken Smith
Last word though goes to Orchestra of the Swan, baritone, David Stout’s richly balanced performance easily stands out as the best thing on the disk…read more
Classical Recordings Quarterly
30 September 2011
Mahler (arr. Schoenberg) Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellena; Das Lied von der Erde by David Patmore
the new disc is likely to create considerable interest and to give much pleasure…read more
The Arts Desk - Classical CDs Weekly
17 September 2011
Hans Gál, Symphony no 3, Schumann, Symphony no 3 **** by Graham Rickson
there’s a lot to enjoy here, nicely played by Stratford-upon-Avon’s Orchestra of the Swan under Kenneth Woods, who are up against stiffer, famous-name competition in Schumann’s Rhenish Symphony and Wood’s trombones in the stark contrapuntal fourth movement are faultless…read more
Classic FM
August 2011
Avie AV2230**** by Andrew Mellor
an obvious yet inspired decision to combine these two on disc, the players have you hooked thereafter – blossoming as an ensemble and as individuals. Woods’s recording project for Avie has intrigued and delighted me and I’m only left wanting more. If you like late Romantic orchestral music with a Viennese accent, don’t hesitate…read more
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