CARLO PONTI JR.
Press Acclaim
"[In Mahler’s Fourth Symphony] conductor Carlo Ponti Jr. put [the San Bernardino Symphony] through its paces in admirable fashion… Ponti had excellent control of his ensemble, negotiating the tricky changes of tempo and the abrupt stops and starts with aplomb."
"... thanks to the musical sculpting talents of conductor Carlo Ponti Jr., Monday’s concert might best be described as a magical experience... Credit must be given to Maestro Ponti for the Russian National Orchestra’s Technicolor sound on the Russian works. The orchestral accompaniment on the Prokofiev Third Piano Concerto was as brilliant as the efforts of the soloist. This was a romantic interpretation, devoid of the bombast that often winds up in live performances of the Prokofiev Third. The reading was emotionally charged, to be sure, but Ponti held the reins, integrating all the parts... Ponti and the Russian National Orchestra offered an electrically charged reading of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition… rife with vivid strokes of orchestral color... Ponti let the work unfold naturally, eschewing virtuosity for the music’s pictorialism and atmosphere. "
"Ponti's innate musical talent and aplomb in presenting Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Sergey Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2, featuring the prodigy Eugene Ugorsky, and Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Major, op. 38, once again showed his world-class music skills and proves how lucky we are to have him as our local conductor and musical director."
"From the beautifully played opening flute solo to the very last notes, Maestro Carlo Ponti Jr. and the orchestra bathed our ears in lush colorful sounds. [They] continue to show us why we don't have to go to Los Angeles to hear a fine symphony orchestra."
"The superior quality of the [Napa Valley’s 2006] Festival del Sole continued undiminished this past Wednesday with splendid performances by bass Samuel Ramey, mezzo-soprano Frederica Von Stade and the Russian National Orchestra under the baton of Carlo Ponti Jr…. The second half of the program was dedicated to Tchaikovsky’s challenging Fourth Symphony. … This was not a casual strumming of the instruments, but an incredible series of staccati in great dynamic range from the very soft and delicate to the bright and forceful. It was interesting to observe maestro Ponti… The musicians were taut with attention… sitting on the edge of their chairs, responding to every given command, and deeply respectful. The results have been repeatedly thrilling. (Ponti, incidentally, conducted the Tchaikovsky without a score, a musical tour-de-force for such a complex piece)."
"Ponti conducted without score, drawing a lively and fresh performance from the musicians… As guest conductor with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, he had given his all, seeming to feel every note, every phrase, while maintaining a high level of involvement from first note to last."
"It was the test of fire of his career, his Italian conducting debut with one of the best Italian orchestras [the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino]... Ponti rose to the challenge with dignity... His demeanor is controlled and he abides to the musical text... Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony – the evening's most significant work and a test for the young conductor's abilities – offered effective musical phrasing punctuated by sudden chromatic shifts. The strings performed thematic passages with transparency, the brass [played] with a powerful sound and all instrumentalists outlined with clarity the genial musical inventions of the third movement."
"The Teatro Comunale's [Florence] symphonic season opened with the Italian debut of Carlo Ponti Jr.... The public was particularly numerous, well disposed and didn't skimp on the applause. Rossini’s Barber of Seville Overture unfolded itself with neat elegance... The thunderous performance [of Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony] earned Ponti an intense and prolonged ovation from the audience."
"Audience members could readily identify an unprecedented charge of adrenaline with which Ponti effortlessly imbued the music. This Scheherazade turned out to be a mercurial reading that exuded assurance and commitment... this blend of compelling melodies and orchestration was one of the best... ever heard… Ponti managed to be narrative in his conception of [Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet] with clear, well-defined orchestral textures... The maestro fired up the Russian [National] orchestra to a fevered pitch of inspiration, summoning a luxurious sound and color that ranged from brass chorales as rousing as Judgment Day to imaginatively sprung wind solos... one of the finest performances of the year, to be sure."
"Under the direction of maestro Carlo Ponti Jr. [the San Bernardino Symphony in Schubert’s Fourth Symphony] aptly delivered the requisite range of attitudes, from ambitious and determined in the first movement, exquisitely light and intense in the third movement, and full and rich in the final movement.... [In Mozart’s Symphony no. 38], Maestro Ponti played with creative, Bernsteinian direction... the concert challenged the audience to appreciate the finer things in music."
"Ponti's meticulous direction guided the orchestra through distinct textures with precise, yet smooth shifts – from driving full orchestra to a smooth, warm cello to fine violin work, changing density without intensity."
"Ponti projected an excellent rapport and spirit of collaboration with his [Russian National Orchestra] musicians and his audience, and both responded in kind with great enthusiasm. There is no contrived aestheticism in his leadership. His conducting is clear, precise and expressive. Every gesture was geared to anticipate character changes in the music and to give the players what they needed."
"Conductor Carlo Ponti Jr. displayed some understated star power on the podium... [The RNO] rose to excellence in Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, where passages ... where rendered with razor-sharp accuracy, and the brass section turned brass into gold."