Bachtrack wrote:
“Conductor Gemma New captured impressively the music’s sweep, conducting with plenty of rubato when needed so as to allow the audience revel in those emotional climaxes.”
“New shaped its great waves of sound with masterful skill, be it the energetic syncopations of the first half or the downy soft atmosphere of the slow section, and she painted each theme with distinctive colour and stirring confidence, allowing the music’s architecture to work its own magic.”
The Herald wrote:
“A lot happens in its 20 minutes and New and the SSO players communicated it exquisitely, from a timpani part of many hues, through cross-stage dialogue between horns and brass to the building tension in the repeated bass-line of the finale.”
Edinburgh Music Review wrote:
“...Gemma New’s balletic conducting style consistently delivers... drawing both orchestra and audience into a rewarding shared artistic experience. Very clear and precise hand and baton movements communicate the nuts-and-bolts of tempo, dynamics and phrasing, while fluid sinuous whole-body movements of her petite frame manifest the more subtle nuances of expression. The orchestra responds warmly and generously; the audience’s ears listen to hear what they see; their attention captured and richly rewarded.”
VoxCarnyx wrote:
“...its [Barber Symphony No. 1] repeated bass-line building the tension superbly under New’s baton before being passed to the brass for the explosive finale.”
“A plangent solo from guest first oboe Emily Pailthorpe... was a highlight of the Andante tranquillo section.”
