Press:

Raphel wound it up with a flourish and the audience cheered and cheered.

The Buffalo News | Read Full Review (PDF)

Raphel’s approach was to accentuate the passions inherent in the music and the many contrasts in the score.

Bachtrack | Read Full Review (PDF)

An agile, demonstrative conductor who is physically drawn into the music, but who doesn’t get so carried away as to forget to give cues.

The New York Times

What the Moravian Philharmonic offered under the baton of the American conductor André Raphel at the Theater an der Ilmenau will not easily be topped by anything in the Elbphilharmonie. The man at the conductor’s stand proved that he knows how to lead the orchestra in austere concentration and discipline.

Allgemeine Zeitung Uelzen | Read Full Review (PDF)

Conductor André Raphel returned to Powell Hall to lead members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in a well-designed program of music informed by an American aesthetic, played for a sold-out house. (His) conducting is clear and precise, exact and energetic, his ideas are well formed.

Saint Louis Post–Dispatch | Read Full Review (PDF)

It’s what André Raphel  did with the orchestra in that concerto, as well as the other two pieces on the program that made for a nearly unforgettable concert experience. The orchestra sounded clean, crisp and bright throughout. (He) focused on dramatic dynamics, a clear distinction between notes and also between instruments.

Arkansas Democrat Gazette

(His) conducting gave an excellent sense of Mahler’s kaleidoscopically shifting moods and the work’s deep roots in folk song and dance as well as the composer’s own songs.

The Washington Post

Under his leadership, the orchestra was transparent, energized and full of shadings that propelled the music. The orchestra’s weight, balanced that of the pianos, and the effect was like chamber music.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Immediately (he) showed himself to be an intelligent and disciplined conductor, given to a precise beat and cues. It suitably showed why this group (Wheeling Symphony Orchestra) is dominant among the region’s second tier orchestras.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Read Full Review (PDF)

Maestro Raphel was in clear command. This concert played to a sold-out house.

Classical Voice of North Carolina

In Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8, his interpretation was robust, but he was never afraid to calm moods and quiet dynamics to impressively subdued levels.

Houston Chronicle

Under the baton of André Raphel the music’s rhythm had an irresistible momentum and the brilliant sound of the brass easily cut through. (He) made the right choice emphasizing strongly accented themes, and the orchestra responded well to his well communicated wishes with conviction.

The Washington Post

Uri Caine
The Passion of Octavius Catto

Held together with admirably crisp direction from conductor André Raphel, this is a soul-stirring recording of a bold and timely work.

A playful iconoclast, Uri Caine is renowned for his jazz-infused reimaginings of classical works from the Goldberg Variations to Mahler symphonies. Caine’s concert oratorio The Passion of Octavius Catto (2014) is by contrast a powerful piece of musical storytelling that goes to the heart of the civil rights struggle, but the score is nonetheless packed with Caine’s signature vibrancy and panache.

Octavius Catto, a civil rights activist and schoolteacher, was murdered during brutal election day riots in Philadelphia in 1871. Caine’s dynamic score for chamber orchestra, jazz trio, chorus and solo gospel singer recounts the events of that terrible day while also commemorating the legacy of Catto’s campaigning. Two instrument-only movements depict the day of Catto’s murder, Caine’s score here mixing snarling brass with chaotic fragments of jazz harmony to create a vivid and frightening sense of violence and unrest. The vocal numbers meanwhile traverse everything from musical theatre, gospel to jazz, and singer Barbara Walker delivers a remarkable performance, her soaring voice lending tremendous intensity to the score across both its lamentation and celebration. Held together with admirably crisp direction from conductor André Raphel, this is a soul-stirring recording of a bold and timely work.

BBC Music Magazine
https://www.classical-music.com/reviews/choral-song/uri-caine-the-passion-of-octavius-catto/

Classical CD Review: Uri Caine’s “The Passion of Octavius Catto”
DECEMBER 11, 2020
By Jonathan Blumhofer

Conductor André Raphel presides over it all, energetically leading the Catto Freedom Orchestra. The group acquits itself particularly well in the slashing “Prologue” and dissonant, chaotic “Murder” scene
.Classical CD Reviews: Uri Caine’s “The Passion of Octavius Catto,” Bernard Hoffer Chamber Music, and Igor Levit’s “Encounter”

André Raphel conducts Coleridge-Taylor, Still, and Caine featuring the Uri Caine Trio Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall – Boston, MA
André Raphel makes his subscription series debut in a program featuring jazz pianist and composer Uri Caine’s The Passion of Octavius Catto, an oratorio about the Reconstruction-era civil rights leader who was murdered in Philadelphia in 1871. Caine’s jazz trio and the BSO are joined by multifaceted vocalist Barbara Walker and the newly formed Catto Chorus for this moving piece. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a British composer of African descent, wrote his entertaining, colorful four-movement Petite Suite de Concert in 1910. In 1931, William Grant Still’s Symphony No. 1, Afro-American, was the first symphony by an African-American to be performed by a significant American orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic. Arthur Fiedler led performances with the Boston Pops in 1937.

André Raphel To Conduct The Detroit Symphony Orchestra In 41st Annual Classical Roots Concert

André Raphel conducts the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on March 8 and 9, 2019 in its annual Classical Roots Concert taking place in Orchestra Hall. The Saturday, March 9 performance will be a gala concert and a live webcast. This year’s tribute honors George Walker, the esteemed composer, pianist and educator who was the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1996 for Lilacs, and who passed away this past August at age 96. Composer Robert A. Harris will be a special Classical Roots Honoree. It will be the 41st year that the DSO has presented Classical Roots, honoring the achievements of African American composers. These concerts mark a return to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for André Raphel, who first appeared with the DSO in 2012. André Raphel states, “Collaborating with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for its annual Classical Roots concerts is a joy. Given the deep commitment by the DSO to celebrate the contributions of African American composers, it will be special to conduct this program focusing on less frequently performed works. From composers such as William Grant Still to George Walker the works span various time periods, outlining a distinctly American musical fabric. Thus providing an important link to history through very inspiring music.”

Andre Raphel’s engagement with the San Antonio Symphony

Composer John Williams’ hit “Star Wars” score has stood so well on its own that countless “Star Wars” concerts — sometimes featuring pyrotechnics — have been performed since 1977 by orchestras around the world.   The only thing that could be better happened Friday night at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts: the San Antonio Symphony performed Williams’ score live to a screening of the entire movie on stage.   An audience of more than 1,300 people arrived with a high sense of anticipation.

The movie screen was positioned along the back of the stage, keeping the orchestra in front, a difference from the movie concerts in the past at the Majestic Theatre. That gave the orchestra a stronger presence in movie action, the coordinated bowing of the string sections seemingly powering the battle scenes.

The Tobin Center’s superior acoustics was evident, too. The oomph of the brass and the percussion could be felt as well as heard.

The original 1977 “Star Wars” version was screened, although the titling of “A New Hope” was not added until after more movies in the series were made. Captions were added to the screening.

The audience cheered for the opening 20th Century Fox theme and leapt to their feet with whoops and applause after the final, majestic processional theme ended the film.

Technology was the trick to synchronize the live orchestra to the movie. For “Star Wars,” guest conductor André Raphel used an in-ear click track system that guided him and the musicians with the start and stop points and the correct tempos.

BPO and Guests Deliver an Unanticipated Treasure

This weekend’s Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra concert turned out to be one of those sleeper hits.

On the program are three of classical music’s known quantities – Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin,” Mendelssohn’s much-played Violin Concerto, and Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, the “Jupiter.” The guest soloist is French violinist Arnaud Sussman, and the guest conductor is Andre Raphel, music director of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra in West Virginia. There was nothing, on the surface, to set the town abuzz. Still a big crowd, all ages, turned out. And wisely so.

I would have hated to have missed this concert.

Raphel was clearly in charge from the word go. You sensed it. And it wasn’t just that he sported the traditional tails. He and the orchestra treated that Ravel with panache and technical precision. The dance rhythms sparkled and every note was right where it should be. From the balcony it was a delight to see the musicians echoing each other. It was a little like watching a dance.

And speaking of dancing, Raphel was a bit of a dancer himself. His movements are very expressive and as a listener, you respond along with the orchestra.
Sussman, when he appeared for the Mendelssohn, complemented the conductor perfectly. The Mendelssohn sang.

Raphel and the orchestra ran a tight ship, and against that backdrop, Sussman played with accuracy and lightning-quick virtuosity.

Mozart’s “Jupiter” followed intermission. It was too bad that the orchestra was pared back, even when done in the name of authenticity. No one would dream of cutting back an orchestra for Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, and the “Jupiter” isn’t far from that, chronologically or in spirit.

And after hearing Raphel conducting the work, I would like to see what he would do with this symphony given larger forces. As it was, he and the cut-back orchestra played the daylights out of the “Jupiter.” They gave it drive and precision and might.
Raphel chose good tempos. The slow movement wasn’t too fast. It was heartfelt. And the last movement wasn’t too slow. The conductor’s feeling showed overtly in his wide, evocative gestures. I imagine that people hearing this symphony for the first time would be able to keep their bearings just by watching him. I envy those people.

As in the Mendelssohn, Raphel could kick things up a notch when the music demanded. When the finale got around to that final fugue, you felt the excitement. It’s like a fireworks display – one theme, then another, then another.
It must be a challenge for the musicians – it was sweet to hear them, before the concert, practicing the various themes. But it’s an equal challenge for the audience. How do you get your mind around this? Raphel wound it up with a flourish and the audience cheered and cheered.

I have to say, I loved this audience. Like the musicians, the listeners were in the zone. There was tremendous silence and concentration throughout the concert, everyone in the hall breathing together, absorbing the music. It was a wonderful evening.

Author: Mary Kunz Goldman- Buffalo News