“Warm and enthusiastic ovations”
- Napoli Notte
PARIS: “The assurance, the ardent conviction of the conductor, Serge Fournier, galvanized the orchestra and rapidly converted the audience. Under his insistent baton, Varese's ARCANA unfolded as a sonorous jungle: the METAMORPHOSES by Hindemith triumphed.” (Orchestre National)
- Le Figaro
NEW YORK: “The Orchestra of St. Luke's performed an all Beethoven program of Coriolan overture, Emperor Concerto and Symphony No. 7. The audience was truly impressed by Serge Fournier's performance. His distinctive baton technique was superb, also, the cooperation of the well rehearsed orchestra staff. It was a wonderful performance that gave the audience a deep feeling.”
- Kenju Mochizuki, Ongaku No Tomo
CHICAGO: “Fournier is a vital musician who knows his business and puts it to exhilarating use. Let us hope that he will be invited back.” (Chicago Symphony)
- Roger Detmer
MONTREAL: “Under Mr. Fournier's attentive and moving direction, the orchestra and soloist established a dialogue of great beauty. It is not often also that a conductor so artfully accompanies a soloist. For me the proof is made, Serge Fournier is a conductor we must see again in Montreal, who has earned the confidence of the musicians of our orchestra, and who should from now on be able to present concerts with them which will be immediately extraordinary.”
- La Presse
NEW YORK: “Mr. Fournier undertook the Presto with plenty of fire.” (New York Philharmonic)
- Christian Science Monitor
ST. LOUIS: “Under Mr. Fournier's direction, the orchestra achieved a fineness of sound and ensemble. He seems to know his music thoroughly. The Beethoven Overture was precise and alive. The Berlioz Symphony Fantastique produced brilliance and beauty. Conductor Fournier kept his forces alert and well balanced and the string sections, whose quality largely determines the status of an orchestra, sounded surprisingly good.”
- Post Dispatch
MIAMI: “He has beautiful control, knows exactly what he wants, approaches the music with fire and forcefulness, has no affectations and turns out a musicianly job every time. Fournier unleashed and damped down the orchestral forces with fine control. He showed here a superior sense of balance and an ability to achieve enormous build-up.”
- Miami Herald
INTERLOCHEN: “ Andre Watts, Serge Fournier made evening extraordinary. Fournier, again a master at judicious conducting, was certainly energetic but never took advantage of the baton in boisterous passages nor let the calm ones sleep. Through Brahms’ typical rhythmic complexities, he was always the glue between soloist and ensemble.”
- Traverse City Record Eagle
OAK RIDGE: " It is a rare and precious thing for a city to have the high caliber of musical performances the Oak Ridge Symphony and Chorus provides. Fournier’s energy and sharpness brought out all the fascinating details of Honegger’s King David...a standing ovation was a must...another star in Fournier’s crown."
- Becky Ball, The Oak Ridger
KNOXVILLE: "Carl Orff's Carmina Burana had more orgasmic energy than one normally expects from an audience, chorus, and conductor”... it was the most energized (performance), I have ever heard, with Fournier driving the punctuated rhythms and pounding irresistible orchestrations...”
“Organ, ORSO Unite for Glorious Live Music” (Jongen- Symphonie Concertante, Saints Saëns Third Symphony “Organ”)
“Musical Merriment brings down the house in Oak Ridge”.. on Saturday night the Oak Ridge Symphony and Chorus didn’t just present a concert, they had a celebration” (Offenbach, Strauss, Delibes, Léhar,Verdi,)"
"Fournier and the ORSO gave a memorable performance of Beethoven’s famous “Symphony #5 in C Minor,” Op. 67. It was certainly one of the best symphonic performances I have heard in Oak Ridge. We rarely hear this great work with the emotions that must have welled up in early audiences".
- Harold Duckett, Knoxville News Sentinel
2004 - 2005 Season Programs
