“Nicholas Cleobury conducts with elan and precision.”
FINANCIAL TIMES

HANDEL: MESSIAH/Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra
"The clarity of singing was captivating and the balance of the choir - so often with choirs over-endowed with sopranos - was superb. Much credit must go to Nicholas Cleobury, whose appreciation of detail, particularly in choral performance, showed brilliantly.

STEPHEN MCNEFF: TARKA THE OTTER (Premiere)/Two Moors Festival
“Well conducted by Nicholas Cleobury, to expose the dark undertones of Henry Williamson’s 1927 nature story…the overall feel is of feisty originality….I hope Tarka the Otter will soon surface somewhere else”.
THE TIMES (Richard Morrison)

MOZART: Wind Collection/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
“Throughout the RPO plays eloquently and with neat balance, and Nicholas Cleobury sees to it that each of the wind soloists gets an appropriately stylish, well-paced accompaniment.”
INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW

RUSHTON:  Harley (World premiere 2005)/Zurich Opera
“The evening was also musically a success. Under Nicholas Cleobury the Opera House Orchestra played cleanly and was brilliantly colourful.”
NEUE LUZERNER ZEITUNG

TIPPETT: Concerto for Double String Orchestra/Orchestra of the Swan
“...Cleobury elicited a vibrant sound and a real spring to the rhythm.”
THE GUARDIAN

HANDEL: Acis and Galatea/Chicago Opera Theater
“Given Nicholas Cleobury’s stylish and attentive conducting of an ensemble of period instruments, there’s never a danger of the pit overbalancing the voices.”
CHICAGO TRIBUNE

BERLIOZ: Symphonie Fantastique/Czech Philharmonic
“with impeccable ensemble playing the conductor convincingly presented his sense of form, skillfully shaping long sections and conveying his immersion in the music to the orchestra.”
IVAN ZACEK

BRITTEN: Nocturne/Britten Sinfonia/BBC Proms
“He (Ian Bostridge) returned for Britten’s strangely dreamy, sometimes nightmarish Nocturne, a performance which Cleobury conducted sensitively.”
THE TIMES

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BEETHOVEN: Symphony 8/Britten Sinfonia/Queen Elizabeth Hall
“This was music of iron and sinew, in Cleobury’s hands, fearsomely strong but nimble.”
THE TIMES

MARTIN: Le Vin Herbe/Zurich Opera
“The innate musicality of the Zurich production was the result of Nicholas Cleobury’s conducting, which welded both singers and orchestra into a gripping whole.”
BASLER ZEITUNG

“…the orchestra was led with sovereign authority by Nicholas Cleobury.”
DER  BUND                                                                                                       

HOLLOWAY: 2nd Concerto for Orchestra/Royal Scottish National Orchestra
“Nicholas Cleobury conducted so intelligently and the Orchestra played with such virtuoso skill that few members of the audience can have failed to be intrigued or dazzled….”
THE GUARDIAN

DE FALLA: El amor brujo/El Corregidor ya la molinera
“Nicholas Cleobury paced and shaped the scores with that hard-edged bite and clarity which lets Falla’s expressiveness emerge.”
THE OBSERVER

TIPPETT: The Knot Garden/Royal Academy of Music Orchestra
“..for it was the pit that claimed attention time and time again…with orchestral playing which, under the baton of Nicholas Cleobury, was as tense and terse as the score itself.” 
THE TIMES

BRIDGE: There is a Willow Aslant a Bank/Britten Sinfonia
“Cleobury brings out the human anguish in this extraordinary essay.  Indeed there is a refinement of texture and suppleness about this dedicated music-making that I find deeply moving.”
GRAMOPHONE

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MOZART: Concertos/Britten Sinfonia
“Nicholas Cleobury certainly has his ear finely attuned to the balance and weight of these works so nothing is over-stated, the music being allowed to express its own beauty and simplicity."
CLASSIC CD

CARTER: Variations for Orchestra/Royal Academy of Music Orchestra
“…the towering variations concluded the concert to magnificent effect.   The skill and unyielding dramatic intensity Cleobury and his players brought to them was worthy of a far more seasoned band…this was a seriously exciting performance.”
FINANCIAL TIMES

BRITTEN: Gloriana/Camden Festival/Chelsea Opera Group
“The conductor Cleobury lavished infinite care on the vocal and instrument realization of the score.”
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

VERDI: Four Sacred Pieces/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Oxford Bach Choir
“Under the inspired conducting of Nicholas Cleobury, Choir and Orchestra combined to give a truly memorable performance.”
OXFORD TIMES

STRAUSS: Ariadne auf Naxos/Britten Sinfonia
“The Britten Sinfonia under Cleobury, shone in an account of this score worthy of Glyndebourne or Covent Garden.”
SUNDAY TIMES

ELGAR: Enigma Variations
“I loved Cleobury's reading of the work - he perfectly captured its English essence and conveyed it to the listener.”
KWANA NEWSPAPER DURBAN

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