[The ACO] plays everything with raw, high-spirited, rhythmically propulsive energy… Early music doesn’t get much hipper than this. Los Angeles Times
For vitality, elegance, playfulness and technical prowess… it would be hard to top the ACO. San Francisco Chronicle
Tognetti and his 21-piece group can apparently play anything, and they play it all with tremendous verve. San Francisco Classical Voice
The energy and vibe of a rock band with the ability of a crack classical chamber group. Washington Post
What a pleasure and yet what a shock it is to be reminded of just how remarkable a performance can be. The Scotsman
Listening to the ACO is like taking a swig of a vitamin drink. Suddenly: pow! The music certainly feels stronger, muscled, hot from the gym… If that’s what Australia does for you, I’m also emigrating. The Times
A visit from the ACO always raises questions. Does violinist Richard Tognetti, its leader for 19 years, have a slowly mouldering portrait in the attic? Can ugly players even audition? More pertinently, let's ask about what we settle for from music-making in the UK - why do so few of our ensembles present their music with this kind of ear-grabbing vigour? The Guardian
The Australian Chamber Orchestra is a ticket to musical bliss. The Times, UK
The Australian Chamber Orchestra… took the breath away. Such supple phrasing and dynamics! Such a gorgeous tone… Such freshness, passion, and commitment!… This group must be the best chamber orchestra on earth. The Times, UK
A brilliant, stimulating evening…..played with gusto and briskly focused vitality. San Francisco Chronicle
There was only one thing wrong with the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s April 12 Santa Fe Concert Association performance: nothing…It was one of the best concerts I’ve ever heard. The Santa Fe New Mexican, USA
Astonishingly warm, fullbodied and tightly focused: the sound radiating from the crammed Wigmore Hall stage could only have come from the marvellous Australian Chamber Orchestra….Such panache, such confidence! Eighteen minds thinking and breathing as one. Heavenly playing, but that was expected: you’d have to scour the universe hard to find another band like the ACO. The Times, UK
The lean, sleek ensemble from Down Under is well enough established now to dare a little with its selection of tour repertoire. In a refreshing change from the standard chamber music blockbusters, the group offered a diverse collection of works spanning three centuries, cleverly united by the theme of a descending minor scale, symbol of intense melancholy. Financial Times, UK
It probably did not come as a surprise to those who knew it through its recordings, but the Australian Chamber Orchestra had those who were listening for the first time riveted to their seats. El País, Spain
Tognetti's beaming violin set the pace, driving the others to follow and injecting a catch-me-if-you-can spontaneity. Clear, too, was the commitment to make each aspect of the score audible, and the sound-sculpting was top-notch. Washington Post, USA
This concert was that rare thing, a beautifully shaped whole in which all the parts were absolutely in tune with each other and with the space…. The orchestra played like angels throughout, with springing rhythmic grace and impeccable style... (Richard Tognetti) is one of the most characterful, incisive and impassioned violinists to be heard today. The Telegraph, UK
Unified, polished and energetic.. (the Corelli) was delivered with virtuoso ensemble playing and an invigorating spontaneity that seemed to flow from Mr. Tognetti’s charismatic leadership....these spirited Australians seemed reluctant to start the long trip home. Encores came by way of Boccherini and Vivaldi. The New York Times
Tognetti's sound - and his orchestra's sound - has rough edges, and those rough edges are a kind of glory. Theirs is the aggressive give-and-take approach of musicians playing for themselves - the take, sometimes, as in take no prisoners. This is obviously just the kind of music-making on which Anderszewski and Upshaw thrive. But it also made Corelli's Concerto Grosso Opus 6, No. 4 overwhelming fun… and the Szymanowski quartet arresting. Los Angeles Times