Reviews
The Los Angeles Times
"Samuels proved a highly captivating musical presence...achieving fine introspective and lyric intensity."
Fanfare
"first rate.....performs skillfully and stylishly with verve and impressive musicianship.....totally enjoyable."
American Record Guide
"superb.....rare beauty of both repertory and performance."
The Toledo Blade
"...beautifully drawn lines, the softest of pianos, and superb phrasing."
"Samuels played from inside the music, and in so doing, pulled the listeners into that space. It was virtuoso playing ."
"...charming, eminently tasteful, and well prepared...graceful elegance...as mercurial and luminescent as morning dew dripping from a tree."
"..Samuels played with a combination of finesse and flair that was extremely convincing. Samuels created moments of almost perfect stillness..."
The Wisconsin State Journal
"Samuels played with assurance, with a smooth and bright tone, and with singing phrases."
Isthmus - The Daily Page (Madison, WI)
"The high point of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra's concert was the appearance of soloist Ron Samuels in Finzi's Clarinet Concerto. It afforded Samuels a means of plumbing the lyrical depths with remarkable soft playing, often barely above a whisper, while shaping its sinuous long arches."
The Capital Times (Madison, WI)
"Samuels undertook Finzi's more difficult passages with ease and dexterity...providing polish to an instrumental voice filled with foreboding, moodiness and, ultimately, joy. Samuels offered what probably will be one of the best performances of the season."
The Clarinet – Journal of the International Clarinet Association
(May-June, 1995)
"...his playing is ideal - expressive, playful and delicate.....elegant and fluid."
The Santa Barbara News-Press
"The remarkable clarinetist Ronald Samuels deserves the highest commendation."
Door County Advocate
".....sculpted with transcendent imagination.....Samuels was relaxed and confident.....he played the bright outer movements with lightness and athleticism. His style is fresh and unmannered. In the touching second movement, his tonal shading was exquisite..... graceful, refined and expressive. In the final movement, Samuels played with amazing clarity."
San Antonio Express-News
"Samuels made his mark.....with clean, warm tone and a nice way of shaping phrases and sentences to give them a clear sense of direction."