“From the beginning of Beethoven’s overture to his ballet The Creatures of Prometheus, the vital spirit and basis of Wolff’s interpretation could be keenly felt through sharp sonic contrasts. And in Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony – as Wolff interpreted it – strongly nuanced expressions and tempi, between the idyllic and the stormiest of passages, helped paint the programmatic pulse of the music.”

“In The Creatures of Prometheus Overture and the Pastoral 6th Symphony, Wolff confirms his individual approach to Beethoven.”

“Mr. Wolff and his young charges closed the concert with a bang-up performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 6. The Presto finale, with the young players reveling in the thrill of collective virtuosity, was sheer joy.”

“Wolff’s Shostakovich 10 was powerful, three-dimensional and devastating, and the Atlanta Symphony blossomed by his approach. Much of the opening movement builds to an unbearable tension. Wolff paced it tautly and meaningfully, with understated authority. When the music finally crossed that emotional threshold and plummeted into some dark netherworld of a broken psyche, Wolff did not, would not, relent… Credit Wolff with delivering the crucial essence of a harrowing masterpiece of the 20th century.”

“From the first performance of the complete work in 1935… [Walton Symphony No.1] gained a reputation for being devilishly difficult due to its complex rhythms, intricate textures and taut, constantly evolving themes. Hugh Wolff and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra triumphantly surmounted its challenges with a gripping and inspirational interpretation…. Wolff’s textural clarity unravelled the densely interwoven lines to reveal a wealth of detail… shrewdly combined with expressive freedom and spontaneity… Every time he visits Sydney, Wolff gives performances that stimulate and excite in equal measure. I hope we’ll see him again.”

“Wolff stays always at the heart of the music; it was a pleasure to hear music so ably shaped… Wolff kept a brisk but unobtrusive pace, barely pausing between movements yet never leaving any question where in the piece one was; the longest rest came in the moments before the final coda, and so absolute was his control by then that he held the whole auditorium in suspended silence.”