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  05 Jan 19 RICK DIOR, JOHN ADAMS & SIBELIUS
  Barbican, London

  with the National Youth Orchestra Great Britain.

  “Teeming with talent and working for the first time with one of this country’s finest music directors, Kirill Karabits of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the 164 musicians of the NYO displayed their full potential.
  Through the ebb and flow, Karabits sculpted everything carefully and built tension across what proved a very mature interpretation [of Sibelius’ Second Symphony].”

  **** Ivan Hewitt & John Allison, The Telegraph, 6 January 2019

   

  “Sibelius’s Symphony No 2 found Kirill Karabits pushing his 164 players as hard as any of his professional orchestras, drawing out string playing of depth and warmth and some beautiful woodwind work. The third movement … hurtled into a finale whose closing moments positively glowed.”

  **** Erica Jeal, The Guardian, 6 January 2019

   

  “The biggest success of the evening came in the one standard piece from the repertoire, Sibelius’s Symphony No.2. Energised by conductor Kirill Karabits, the symphony hurtled along at speeds that might have made a professional orchestra hang on to their music stands. Nothing daunted, the NYO responded with tremendous verve and an all-for-one unanimity that made for a gripping performance. This was a concert that put the young musicians through their paces, and probably its listeners, too.”

  **** Richard Fairman, The Financial Times, 7 January 2019

   

  “You can’t beat Karabits’s band for excitement, passion or rude force — they are, after all, the world’s greatest orchestra of teenagers …
  If you want to start with some slap, bang, wallop, you can’t do better than Rick Dior’s Science Fiction: 12 minutes of pastiche horror and sci-fi movie cues squished into a crazy collage, decorated with the theremin’s disembodied electronic wail and a video mash-up of movie clips, mostly lifted from trailers. Originally written for percussion ensemble, Dior added winds, brass and harps for this performance, tossed off with exhilarating precision by Kirill Karabits’s forces.”

  **** Geoff Brown, The Times, 7 January 2019

   

  “Trust the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain to throw down a musical gauntlet to its professional peers like a New Year Resolution writ large. In this intriguingly programmed and invigoratingly performed concert, with Kirill Karabits, the 164 players gave the best possible musical start to 2019: a blast of orchestral excellence…
  [In John Adam’s Doctor Atomic Symphony] ‘The Laboratory’: a mechanistic soundscape that quickly settles into surging string figures of ‘Panic’, notable for its stand-out (in that principal Lawrence Schofield stood up for it) trombone solo – replicating the vocal part for General Leslie Groves – before finally quietening for trumpeter Holly Clark’s adoption of Oppenheimer’s aria, from John Donne’s ‘Batter my heart, three-person’d God’. It was good to hear this music again – especially as convincingly masterminded by Karabits – after better acquaintance with the opera itself.
  Following the interval, Sibelius’s Second Symphony sounded noble and organic. Karabits kept things moving, particularly in the slow movement. The Scherzo was notably fleet-of-foot and the Trio – with its aching oboe opening – never cloying. The transition to the Finale was effortlessly natural and the repeated scalic surges, for once, didn’t outstay their welcome. As a foil to the industrial rackets of the first half, this worked a treat.”

  Nick Breckenfield, Classical Source, 5 January 2019

   

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  24 Nov 18 GLIERE, PROKOFIEV & TCHAIKOVSKY
  Cincinnati Music Hall

  with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra & Alexander Gavrylyuk.

   

  “On the podium, Kirill Karabits, 41, a native of Ukraine, made an impressive debut in the all-Russian program …

  For the evening’s opener, Karabits chose Glière’s symphonic poem, “Les Syrènes” (The Sirens), last played here by the CSO 100 years ago. The piece evokes the sirens of Greek mythology and their power to lure sailors to their death.

  It was a wonderful find, with lush orchestration and moods evoking the sea that were almost Impressionistic in style. High points included rhapsodic episodes for two harps and distant horn calls. The conductor led a nuanced reading.

  Karabits has a clear technique and his leadership is musical and charismatic without any showiness. Tchaikovsky’s Fourth was a rewarding conclusion to the evening. The brass section was superb in the “Fate” motif that opens the work and in the brilliant conclusion that never fails to inspire cheers. Karabits built with momentum through impassioned climaxes, and Tchaikovsky’s lyrical themes unfolded with natural expressiveness.”

  Janelle Gelfand, Cincinnati Business Courier, 25 November 2018

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  03 Oct 18 LIGETI & MAHLER
  Poole Lighthouse

  with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Nadine Weissmann and Lise Lindstrom.

  “Served up in the Lighthouse acoustic, renowned for calling a spade a spade, the symphony’s effect was overwhelming. Yet if this were only a triumph of brute force, it wouldn’t be worth five stars. The real glory came from the BSO’s lustrous tone, apparent across all sections, but particularly on show from the brass — Mahler’s heavy artillery in this drama of struggles transcended. Karabits spent equal care polishing the lighter textures or nostalgic byways; the folksy second movement went with an irresistible lilt.
  He also proved to be a genius at tension control. Never before have I felt such relief when the resurrection chorus finally arrived, bringing stability at last.”

  ***** Geoff Brown, The Times, 5 October 2018

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  26 Feb 18 WAGNER, BEETHOVEN, & STRAUSS
  Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota, US

  with the Weimar Staatskapelle & Vadym Kholodenko.

   

  “The concert by Staatskapelle Weimar, the Weimar State Orchestra, presented Monday night by the Sarasota Concert Association at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall was one of the most challenging and thrilling experiences of my career … Beginning with a heroic rendition of Richard Wagner’s overture to “The Flying Dutchman” with massive sound and notable energy, beautifully balanced by the conductor, Kirill Karabits.”

  Richard Storm, Herald Tribune, 27 February 2018

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  01 Nov 17 CHANDOS Karayev Recording Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
  

  ” … Kirill Karabits leads vital and symphathetic Bournemouth performances, vivdly recorded.”

  **** Colin Anderson, Classical Source, November 2017

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  07 Aug 17 BBC PROM 30 Beethoven, Strauss, Prokofiev & Walton
  Royal Albert Hall, London

  with the National Youth Choir & Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

   

  “In a brisk, rhythmically emphatic performance, Karabits highlighted the dynamic contrasts, and the piquant wind with period timpani and valveless trumpets gave astringency to the orchestral textures … Karabits’ command of dramatic pacing, transitions and the multi-layered textures makes one eager to hear him conduct the complete staged work [of Die Frau ohne Schatten].”
  **** John Johnston, Bachtrack, 9 August 2017

   

  “A fine, eclectic Prom included a vital account of Walton’s tumultuous Belshazzar’s Feast, as well as Prokofiev and Strauss … delights in Kirill Karabits’s vital account with his Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the National Youth Choir of Great Britain were rhythmic precision and the voices’ fresh bloom.”
  **** Geoff Brown, The Times, 9 August 2017

   

  “Kirill Karabits coaxed a deal of sparkle and excitement from the Bournemouth Symphony orchestra, such that the slow movement [of Beethoven’s First Symphony] was nicely mannered and there was plenty of energy and blustery brass in the other three.”
  **** Barry Creasy, musicOMH, 9 August 2017

   

  “Beethoven rubbed shoulders with Richard Strauss in the first half of this Prom. The former’s First Symphony found Kirill Karabits stressing the lyrical nature of the slow introduction and the crisp elegance of the Allegro, keenly articulated by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. This was unforced music-making, the double basses pared down to four (left-positioned), but it filled the Royal Albert Hall, and was enlivened by exuberant horns and (long-bore) trumpets and hard-stick smaller timpani.”
  Colin Anderson, Classical Source, 7 August 2017

   

   

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  18 Jun 17 MUSSORGSKY Boris Godunov
  Deutsche Oper Berlin

  “Die beste Figur macht wohl Kirill Karabits, sonst am Nationaltheater Weimar. Er dirigiert einen erstaunlich elastischen, klangschönen, flexiblen Mussorgsky. Mit dem Orchester der Deutschen Oper scheint er sich gut verstanden zu haben, auch wenn ich nicht verhehle, dass wegen der leichten Gangart die sieben Bilder vorbei tändeln, ohne mich irgendwie reinzuziehen.”
  Kai Luehrs-Kaiser, kulturradio, 19 June 2017

   

  “Davon konnte bei der Premiere am Samstag keine Rede mehr sein, der Chor klang flexibel, ausdrucksstark und differenziert, er setzte genaue Höhepunkte und agierte überaus präzise. Zu diesem beglückenden Gesamteindruck trägt auch der Dirigent Kirill Karabits bei, der das Orchester der Deutschen Oper zu einer klanglich klar definierten und intensiven Spielweise veranlasst, in die der Chor souverän integriert ist.”
  Peter Uehling, Berliner Zeitung, 18 June 2017

   

  “Mit dem sauber intonierenden Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin stellt Kirill Karabits die orchestrale Kraft und bewusst herbe Farbigkeit der Urfassung unter Beweis, – jenseits jener Vorlieben anderer Dirigenten für die später wiederholt, orchestral besonders raffiniert von Nikolai Rimskij-Korsakov, bearbeitete Partitur.”
  Peter P. Pachl, Neue Musikzeitung (nmz.de), 18 June 2017 

   

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  07 May 17 BRITTEN Death in Venice
  Stuttgart Staatsoper

  „Der Dirigent Kirill Karabits und das Staatsorchester Stuttgart sorgen im Orchestergraben mit ihrer präzisen Interpretation von Brittens häufig kühler, aber auch gleißender Musik für die gleiche Energie und Klarheit.“
  „In Aschenbachs Kopf“ von Mirko Weber
  Badische Zeitung, 11 May 2017

   

  „Unter der Leitung von Kirill Karabits ist die Musik auf diesem Weg unbedingt dabei, farbenreiche Abgründe tun sich auf und lassen in Innenwelten blicken und hören, in denen von Untätigkeit keine Rede sein kann.“
  Frankfurter Rundschau, 9 May 2017

   

  „Musikalisch ist die Stuttgarter Aufführung, dirigiert von Kirill Karabits, zumindest ebenso ein Leckerbissen wie inszenatorisch.“
  „Spiel mir die Oper vom Tod“ von Jürgen Kanold
  Faust Kultur, 9 May 2017

   

  „Wie Kirill Karabits mit dem Staatsorchester Brittens filigrane, an entscheidenden Stellen sich zu großem Pathos steigernde Partitur realisiert, und wie Matthias Klink das ungeheure Drama der Leidenschaften in der Figur Aschenbachs spiegelt, ergibt einen höchst beeindruckenden Opernabend.“
  „Ironischer Schlenker in Venedig“ von Nikolaus Schmidt
  Ludwigsburger Kreiszeitung, 9 May 2017

   

  „Beide Sänger sind Idealbesetzungen […]. Und sie dürfen sich getragen fühlen von einem kammermusikalisch besetzten Orchester, das unter der Leitung von Kirill Karabits und mit einem klangfarblich extrem differenziert agierenden Rezitativ-Klavier (Stefan Schreiber) in höchster Konzentration und immer mit Blick auf die Bühne agiert.“
  „Schonungsloses Kopftheater“ von Vesna Mlakar
  Stuttgarter Nachrichten, 8 May 2017

   

  „Oft wird ihm in dem kammerspielartigen Künstlerdrama nur das Klavier zur Seite gestellt, das im blendend aufgelegten Staatsorchester Stuttgart unter der schönheitstrunkenen Leitung von Kirill Karabits neben den markanten Bläsern, dem üppigen Schlagwerk, den Glocken und der Harfe eine Art Leitinstrument ist.“
  „Apollon ist tot – es lebe Dionysos!“ von Susanne Benda
  BR-KLASSIK “Leporello”, 8 May 2017

   

  „Es gibt keinen Stillstand, keinen unmotivierten Gang und erst recht keine Pose. Sehr flexibel im Zeitmaß, dabei ungeheuer präzise, offeriert der Dirigent Kirill Karabits Ensemble, Staatsopernchor und dem höchst transparenten Staatsorchester dabei unentwegt alle Möglichkeiten.“
  „Es geht um den Eros im Wort“ von Lotte Thaler
  Stuttgarter Zeitung, 8 May 2017

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  13 Mar 17 SAINT-SAËNS & RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Concert: 13 March 2017
  Congress Centrum Neue Weimarhalle

  with the Weimar Staatskapelle.

  “… der Chef des harmonischen Ganzen, Dirigent Kirill Karabits, bewies für dieses rhapsodisch anmutende Terrain sowie für die Zierlichkeit der orientalischen Klänge ein überaus glückliches Händchen. Die reizende Prinzessin aus dem Morgenland beflügelte den en détail präzise Dirigierenden, der das Werk am Schluss aber doch werkgetreu und im Forte “an einer Klippe unter einem bronzenen Reiter” zerschellen lassen musste.”
  Ursula Mielke, Thüringer Allgemeine, 14 March 2017

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  15 Feb 17 BARTOK, BARBER & LUTOSLAWSKI Concert: 15 February 2017
  Lighthouse Poole

  “Conductor Kirill Karabits once again proved what an adept accompanist he is of concerto soloists, discreetly urging the tempo on whenever the violinist’s flights of fancy threatened to rob the music of momentum.”
  **** Ivan Hewett, John Allison & Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph, 23 February 2017

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  25 Jan 17 PROKOFIEV & SHOSTAKOVICH Concert: 25 January 2017
  Lighthouse Poole

  with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Valeriy Sokolov.

  “In the eight years that Kirill Karabits has been the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s chief conductor he has shown an ever-widening range of musical sympathies, from the baroque to the present day. But Russian music has always brought the best out of the Ukrainian-born Karabits, and his latest programme was an all-Soviet affair, pairing Prokofiev and Shostakovich.
  Shostakovich’s hour-long Eighth symphony – the massive centrepiece of his wartime symphonic trilogy – loomed over the programme, and Karabits and his orchestra spared none of its unblinking, tragic power.”
  **** Andrew Clements, The Guardian, 26 January 2017

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  27 Apr 16 Dutilleux/Tchaikovsky Concert: 20 January 2016
  Lighthouse Poole

  with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

  “The bold colours of Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony seemed the broadest of brush strokes. The score is no pushover for any orchestra, and it’s a measure of what Karabits has achieved in Bournemouth that he should have programmed it, and then carried it off so convincingly. The fine detail and the depth of tone were consistently impressive – a glassiness in some of the string sonorities was down to the harshness of the Lighthouse acoustic more than anything else – while after a deceptively languid start Karabits’ performance gained steadily in power and presence.”
  **** Andrew Clements, The Guardian, 21 January 2016

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  07 Mar 16 Prokofiev Concert: 07 March 2016
  Kravis Center West Palm Beach.

  with the Russian National Orchestra & Stefan Jackiw.

  “[Karabits] commanded whipcrack, turn on a dime response from the ensemble with seamless changes of meter. There was balletic lightness in the Firebird’s Dance and the pantomime was full of Russian languor. Karabits sharply pointed up the percussion effects in the Infernal Dance and gave the final processional clarion impact. The terrific performance brought the usually sedate Kravis audience to its feet with cheers and bravos.”
  Lawrence Budman, South Florida Classical Review, March 2016

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  26 Jul 15 Prokofiev Symphonies Nos 4 & 5
  

  with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

  “This first-rate recording of Prokofiev’s most famous and least performed symphonies is a testament to Kirill Karabit’s understanding of the composer.”
  ***** Geoffrey Norris, The Telegraph, 26 July 2015

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  04 May 16 Brahms/Mahler Concert: 04 May 2016
  The Lighthouse, Poole

  with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra & Guy Braunstein.

  “[Karabits] has acquired a taste for English symphonic music, and has led the orchestra in some remarkable projects, such as the revival of a long-lost passion by C.P.E Bach. And the audience have taken him to their hearts, turning out in droves even for Karabits’s most daring ideas.
  At this concert, the last of the season, he rewarded them for their loyalty by returning to the dead centre of classical music, with two giant 19th-century masterworks. In the first of them, Brahms’s Violin Concerto, he showed that blend of urgency and yielding tenderness that makes his performances of romantic repertoire so winning.”
  **** Ivan Hewett, The Telegraph, 05 May 2016

  “The test in this symphony … is how the conductor paces those outer movements, which continually simmer and subside and simmer again before erupting. This was where Karabits particularly impressed.”
  Richard Morrison, The Times, 06 May 2016

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  20 Aug 16 MUSSORGSKY, MOZART & TCHAIKOVSKY Edinburgh International Festival; 20 August 2016
  Usher Hall, Edinburgh

  with the Russian National Orchestra & Paul Lewis.

  “Chances to hear a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony, the so-called “Little Russian”, are relatively rare at all, so the opportunity to hear it played by the Russian National Orchestra under the baton of rising Ukrainian star conductor Kirill Karabits, chief conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and one of Nicola Benedetti’s favourite collaborators, was one to savour… All of the players in the large version of the orchestra had a great deal to do, but all that gainful employment was under the very firm control of Karabits, particularly in the rousing finale, which seems to do climactic finale-type things for its entire duration.”
  Keith Bruce, Herald Scotland, 21 August 2016

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  28 Aug 16 GRIEG & BEETHOVEN CONCERT: 28 August 2016
  Kurhaus Wiesbaden

  with the Staatskapelle Weimar & Yulianna Avdeeva.

  “Karabits leitete nun ein burghofspieltypisches, klassisch-romantisches Standardprogramm, in dem er Edvard Griegs zweite „Peer-Gynt“-Suite und dessen einziges Klavierkonzert Ludwig van Beethovens dritter Sinfonie, der „Eroica“, gegenüberstellte. Unbedingt spannend zu erleben war, wie er das tat: Griegs zweite Suite aus der Schauspielmusik zu Henrik Ibsens Drama stand hier über aller Tendenz zur anschmiegsamen Häppchenklassik, war vielmehr als Seelenmusik des Anti-Helden plastisch bis drastisch durchgestaltet. Der „Arabische Tanz“ ein perkussiv irrlichterndes Szenario, „Solvejgs Lied“ eine innig-sehnige Klage von tiefer Einsamkeit.”
  Axel Zibulski, Wiesbadener Kurier, 30 August 2016

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  05 Nov 16 WAGNER Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg: 05 November 2016
  Grosses Haus Weimar

  with the DNT Weimar.

  “Einem Dirigenten verlangt gerade dieses Finale äußerste Umsicht ab, da Bühne, Graben und Saal samt Fernorchester punktgenau koordiniert werden müssen. Für einen Karabits, der an diesem Abend das erste Mal im Weimarer Theater arbeitete, war das überhaupt kein Problem.
  Dieser junge Ukrainer könnte sich – man vermeide vorschnellen Überschwang! – als wahrhafter Glücksgriff erweisen. Dank tiefen Musikverstands, schlagtechnischer Präzision und einer durchaus sympathisch-charismatischen Führungskraft besitzt er das Zeug dazu, weit über hiesige Provinzen hinaus Ruhm zu erwerben. Wie stringent sinfonisch seine Wagner-Interpretation konzipiert ist! Wie sinnlich er gleich im ersten Vorspiel satte Mischklänge anbietet und dann mit der vorzüglich aufgelegten Staatskapelle im Graben das solide musikalische Fundament fürs Bühnengeschehen bereitet! Wie farbmächtig, motivreich, durchhörbar er das Wagnersche Klanggespinst präsentiert!
  Hörbar hat dieser Kerl Spaß an der eisern durchgehaltenen Prügelfuge, und das Vorspiel zum dritten Akt mit seiner tief elegischen Dünung formt er zu dem berührendsten Moment an diesem langen, an Eindrücken so reichen Abend. Aber kein Pathos, keine Sentimentalitäten oder billigen Effekte. Stets hält Karabits Kontakt zu den Chören, und selbstverständlich verlangt er den Sängersolisten in­ter­nationale Standards ab… Gut möglich, dass wir hier ei­nen Rising Star erleben.”
  Wolfgang Hirsch, Thüringer Allgemeine, 7 November 2016

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  28 Nov 16 BORODIN, STRAUSS & RACHMANINOV Concert: 28 November 2016
  Staatskapelle Weimar/Alena Baeva, Congress Centrum Neue Weimarhalle

  with the Staatskapelle Weimar & Alena Baeva.

  “Wunderbar aber ist, wenn Orchester und Dirigent strukturelle Defizite in freudvolle Wahrnehmung verwandeln. Unter ihrem neuen Chefdirigenten Kirill Karabits ging die Weimarer Staatskapelle wahrlich in die vom Komponisten geforderten Vollen. Mit dem sprichwörtlich langen Atem sowie mit sattem Streichersound und herrlichen Solostimmen wurde das Werk geadelt.”
  Ursula Mielke, Thüringer Allgemeine Weimar, 29 November 2016

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  26 Jan 17 SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 8: 25 January 2017
  Poole Lighthouse

  with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

  “… Karabits’s sense of the first movement’s epic architecture proved faultless, and the grinding central climax, as well as the bereft cor anglais solo that follows it, were beautifully engineered. In all three of the central movements too there was the sense that something was being held back – the passacaglia, fourth in the sequence, was icily controlled – and even the hints of warmth and optimism that tinge the opening of the finale proved fleeting, and the last few pages seemed more than usually enigmatic and provisional.”
  **** Andrew Clements, The Guardian, 26 January 2017

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  05 Feb 17 Concert: 04 February 2017
  Philharmonie am Gasteig

  with the Münchner Philharmoniker & Augustin Hadelich.

  “Umso beachtlicher, wie absolut professionell der gebürtige Ukrainer es mit den Münchner Philharmonikern realisiert. Besonders in Édouard Lalos „Symphonie espagnole“ geht es darum, dem Orchester zu seinem eigenen Recht zu verhelfen, ohne den Solisten einzuschränken. Nicht, dass sich Augustin Hadelich nicht selbst behaupten könnte. Doch er agiert auch in einem solchen blendenden Virtuosenstück mit einer Diskretion und einer anmutigen Ernsthaftigkeit, die unmittelbar für ihn einnimmt, ihn aber auch etwas schutzbedürftig erscheinen lässt …
  Mit überlegen klaren Gesten spannt Karabits hingegen den Horizont der beiden Suiten aus Maurice Ravels Ballett „Daphnis & Chloé“ auf zwischen üppiger, doch differenziert vorgestellter Breitwandigkeit und rhythmischer Prägnanz in den Tanzepisoden; die drei philharmonischen Flöten treten auf wie eine einzige – Chapeau! Den französischen Zungenschlag dieses Programms hätten die Münchner Philharmoniker nicht besser treffen können als unter dem polyglotten Karabits.”
  ***** Michael Bastian Weiß, Abendzeitung Muenchen, 5 February 2017