THE GAZETTE (Jacob Siskind)
"...The major work on the program was Schumann's familiar Symphony No. 4. Of all of the Schumann symphonies this has the greatest immediate appeal and the largest number of yawning pitfalls. Hauser not only evaded all of the latter successfully, but he also managed to make his very individual performance sound thoroughly convincing.
More important, he kept the orchestra glued to him through some of the wildest changes of tempo I have ever heard in this work - no small feat at a debut concert.
Most important, Hauser never lets the musicians merely play notes. The phrases are always clearly shaped, and they always end properly. Unlike so many young conductors, Hauser never throws the end of a phrase away. This made his reading of the Schumann more than usually interesting and made me want to hear him again in coming seasons in more demanding repertoire(...)"
"...The major work on the program was Schumann's familiar Symphony No. 4. Of all of the Schumann symphonies this has the greatest immediate appeal and the largest number of yawning pitfalls. Hauser not only evaded all of the latter successfully, but he also managed to make his very individual performance sound thoroughly convincing.
More important, he kept the orchestra glued to him through some of the wildest changes of tempo I have ever heard in this work - no small feat at a debut concert.
Most important, Hauser never lets the musicians merely play notes. The phrases are always clearly shaped, and they always end properly. Unlike so many young conductors, Hauser never throws the end of a phrase away. This made his reading of the Schumann more than usually interesting and made me want to hear him again in coming seasons in more demanding repertoire(...)"