BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

“Donald Runnicles, der Chefdirigent des schottischen Klangkörpers, nimmt Dynamikanweisungen sehr ernst, fährt den gewaltigen Orchesterapparat auf Sparflamme zurück, oder forciert genau dort, wo es die klangliche Dichte erfordert. Dieses Werk [Sibelius-Konzert] mit seiner sinfonischen Dimension, quasi ein Geschichtenbuch mit nordischen Legenden und Mythen, weiß Runnicles sehr deutlich zu übersetzen und verständlich zu machen.”

“Donald Runnicles, the chief conductor of the Scottish orchestra, takes dynamics very seriously. He can put the powerful orchestra on the back burner, or push them to produce exactly what is required from the musical poetry. This work [Sibelius Violin Concerto], with its symphonic dimension, is almost like a story book with Nordic legends and myths, which Runnicles knows exactly how to translate and convey clearly to the audience.” (Berliner Tageblatt, October 2010)

“Ganz in ihrem Element schienen die Schotten dann in der monumentalen, hierzulande eigentlich zu Unrecht kaum zu hörenden ersten Symphonie von Edward Elgar. Dieses üppige und ausladende Werk der englischen Spätromantik erklang in einer klangverliebten und wiederum dynamisch differenzierten Interpretation, die in ihrer Geschlossenheit ein überzeugendes Plädoyer für die vernachlässigte Symphonie darstellte.”

“The Scottish orchestra appeared to be completely in their element for the monumental, yet rarely-heard First Symphony of Edward Elgar. This sumptuous and expansive work, by the English Late Romantic, was a dynamically different interpretation which, in its unity, was a convincing plea for this neglected work.” (Krone, October 2010)

“What so impressed about Runnicles's mastery throughout was that he projected his orchestra so definitely into this impossibly resonant, soft-edged venue. Top international bands have fared much less well. And that Adagio which grows out of the near silence that connects the central movements - oh, that Adagio! If there is a more bittersweet, introspective, haunted slow movement in symphonic history, I don't know it. With oaky horn choruses, woodwind that smiled with a sigh and above all a cushion of strings playing quietly but a level of intensity that again I can only compare with the pianissimos of another great Russian master, Mravinsky - well, this was a private heaven. Even in the Albert Hall.” (The Arts Desk, August 2010)

“What a quintessential Prom: a quartet of works by English composers which aspire to international status, and in three cases wholly succeed, performed by the BBC's Scottish orchestra at world-class level under its homegrown but deservedly globetrotting chief conductor Donald Runnicles.” (The Arts Desk, August 2010)

“Runnicles, gripping its rhythmic life tight, and gleeful in its momentum, conducted the piece with wit, capriciousness and authority…this performance revealed the character of the orchestra’s woodwind soloists and the quick responsiveness of its strings.” (The Times, August 2009)