“Robin O’Neill conducted the brilliant Philharmonia Orchestra in faultless up-tempo style... All praise to O’Neill’s Philharmonia players.” Financial Times

“Robin O’Neill conducted them (London Philharmonic) in sleek, suave performances where phrases were ideally shaped and balance nigh perfect.” Matthew Rye, Daily Telegraph

“The concert opened and closed with the conductor Robin O'Neill drawing warm and fluid performances of Strauss's early Serenade in E flat and Suite in B flat ...” John Allison, Sunday Telegraph

"the excellent conductor Robin O'Neill" The Guardian (London)

“Robin O'Neill (who clearly has an affinity with this period of classical/early Romantic music) seized on the vitality of the Haydn Symphony No 88 in G, propelling the music towards the energetic opera buffa finale via an elegant Largo (beautiful oboe playing) and a splendidly vigorous Minuet, the "country-dance" drone in the Trio section catching exactly Haydn's subtle humour. The Spohr 1st Clarinet Concerto was a revelation. O'Neill gave full weight to the dramatic gestures of this friend and champion of Beethoven, starting with a splendid account of the opening C minor build-up to Michael Collins’ first entry. The Beethoven Symphony No 2 was perfect. In a performance of complete conviction, the Scherzo stood out for some splendid woodwind playing, and I shall not soon forget the blazing first trumpet at the end of the first movement Allegro.” Oxford Times

"The concert's best part was Robin O'Neill's exemplary conducting of the Schubert Symphony, it was very, very well played. This conductor has the ability to balance between control and intensity. It was really a convincing interpretation of this beautiful symphony… Robin O´Neill showed to be an exemplary interpreter of this music (Mozart). He especially emphasised the humour and momentum in the shorter movements. The outer movements achieved a stunning lightness and spring with outstanding playing from the woodwinds. The Andantino was beautifully played with wonderful phrasing." Sundsvall Morning Post

“ The collective tone was deeply sonorous, with particularly emotive oboe playing, while the tempo transitions were confidently handled, with O’Neill masterfully negotiating the lengthy work’s long-term structure. Melodic plateaus were tenderly reached for and sensitively attained, with climaxes of almost symphonic weight. This was playing in which Strauss’s grand, towering gestures were allowed the space to tower grandly, but where the multitude of finely crafted and magical details were intuitively treasured and permitted to contribute to a whole that, to the credit of the ensemble, was greater than the sum of its very substantial parts.” Classicalsource.com

“The first thing to say is that the concert was a resounding success. The orchestra’s response was assured and musical...
Nevertheless, after the triumphal conclusion of the first movement – made explicit in this Salomon performance – there is a real need to ‘arrive’ in the ethereal realms that the Andante provides and then be brought down to earth, again, by the scherzo and then proceed attacca into the epic finale. That this trajectory wasn’t followed here is really quite incidental as the account that O’Neill conducted had its own, very convincing logic. Even in the first movement. The most persuasive accounts of this tend to favour Mahler’s ma non troppo tempo qualification and, in doing so, conjure the image of a weary traveller loaded down with a heavy backpack battling against the elements. Not so here. O’Neill went with Allegro energico. Yet, if no faster than Bernstein and Karajan (in their recordings), and allowing that the energico aspect could be more about determination than speed, O’Neill was more convincing than either conductor was. This first movement had fire and direct communication; in addition balance was excellent and detail was vivid. The large orchestra, filling into some of the space normally occupied by an audience (St John’s was brimful of musicians and listeners!), filled the acoustic space with finely honed sound...
In both the scherzo and slow movement, O’Neill found the tempo giusto. If some of the sinister moments in the former overly suggested ‘look out behind you’ (engaging music-making nonetheless), then the Andante was beautifully done, genuinely heartfelt and emotionally outpouring...
The finale, too, was unerringly charted; again, something more implacable can be especially telling (such as Horenstein’s approach, for example), but O’Neill and his committed players modulated the movement with great skill. The (two) hammer-blows were from large mallet and wood (the sound Mahler prescribes) but could have been more stomach-churning in impact and the (orchestral) waves generated more ‘shocked’. The closing bars, with some very sensitive brass-playing, was suitably doom-laden and ‘final’ – until O’Neill (a fine conductor with a clear beat and, here, a convinced and convincing viewpoint of the music) coiled himself like a spring and unleashed a devastatingly unanimous trump card in the form of a crushing fortissimo that seemed to be the symphony’s direction all along. The silence that ensued was also compelling. A memorable performance.” Colin Anderson, Classical Source

Reviews of the Iraq/Soldier’s Tale.
Old Vic Theatre, Jan 2006:

Comment from Sir Charles Mackerras:“I wanted to express my warmest congratulations on the whole performance. I think the idea of mixing two such widely differing cultures into one fascinating whole was a really splendid idea and of course the mixture of the two types of music was expertly done. I thought all the players were absolutely first class and I would like to congratulate Robin O’Neill on his marvellous conducting of the whole ensemble, whether European or Iraqi. I particularly admired the fact that a great deal of the Stravinsky seemed to be played from memory. This in itself is a tremendous feat!”

Comment from Vladimir Ashkenazy: “The eternal confrontation between naivety and cynicism, innocence and experience is the underlying substance of this unique tale. In today's Iraq, torn by tragedy and despair, the process of collaboration and creation embarked upon by Andrew Steggall, Robin O’Neill and The Motion Group, bringing European and Iraqi practitioners together, must surely play a part in urging the world of the critical role that art and music can have in bringing understanding and tolerance to its people.”

“...What undoubtedly does work is the music. Stravinsky’s score is splendidly angular and astringent, with sudden beautiful passages of yearning folk melody. And the Iraqi contributions, composed by Ahmed Mukhtar, prove both exotic and hypnotic.” Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph

“...The music is lovely. The Iraqi additions to Stravinsky deftly woven together.” Robert Hanks, The Independent

“Robin O’Neill and his seven players caught the Stravinsky mode exactly – lightly pointing towards Kurt Weill as a likely inheritor. Stravinsky’s diamond-like edge, sparkle and colour merged effortlessly and inevitably into the softer Arabic muse, whose thrumming was immediate and present yet enduringly close to the knowledge of eternity. Transition from West to East was less a contrast than an extension of the work’s scope and reach, moving into further realms of human experience – through folk tunes, timeless percussive rhythms and even the marching song that Sadam’s loudspeakers blared out over Baghdad. I can’t help supposing how much this great human adventure and small masterpiece would have thrilled Luciano Berio.” Classicalsource.com

“There is also a poignant sense of call and response between Robin O’Neill’s rich Western orchestration and Ahmed Mukhtar’s simple, melancholic Iraqi arrangements.” Metro Magazine

Reviews of Spohr Clarinet Concertos;
Michael Collins/Robin O’Neill/Swedish CO:

“An outstanding disc, excellently recorded.” Ivan March, The Gramophone

“The Swedish Chamber Orchestra is a well-drilled ensemble. Here they play smartly in an aural environment that favors concert-hall realism and allows the sound to blossom. Robin O’Neill’s accompaniments are well paced but never rushed, and the energy and lyricism displayed are enviable on all accounts. With advocacy this potent, I’d like to think that some clarinetists will restructure their repertoire and include at least one of these concertos.” Fanfare Magazine USA

“Michael Collins gives a stirring, brilliant performance of these concertos. The orchestra is excellent, with Mr O'Neill providing sympathetic support. Hyperion's sound is some of the best I've heard, rich and deep.” American Record Guide