It was as if Mahler himself was resurrected in the persona of the Athens Philharmonic under the fluid and hypnotic baton of Yiannis Hadjiloizou.
– The Millbrook Independent
It was as if Mahler himself was resurrected in the persona of the Athens Philharmonic under the fluid and hypnotic baton of Yiannis Hadjiloizou, illustrating that Greek classical music has undergone a magnificent resurrection. Exalted music remains the most eminent immortality that humankind may achieve. And that was what conductor Yiannis Hadjiloizou achieved at Carnegie Hall.
– The Millbrook Independent
He is a magisterial figure, holds his long baton with authority, knows his orchestra well, and has the experience to hold them in check.
– ConcertoNet
The Athens Phil performance had quite a few assets, first their conductor, Mr. Hadjiloizou. He is a magisterial figure, holds his long baton with authority, knows his orchestra well, and has the experience to hold them in check. Yiannis Hadjiloizou is in the tradition of Dimitri Mitropoulos, Iannis Xenakis, and Mikis Theodorakis. As a composer, he and his father, Michael Hadjiloizou, had two of their works performed at Carnegie Hall before the Mahler Symphony No. 2, and they were stunning.
– ConcertoNet
Most probably the greatest debut in the history of Carnegie Hall.
– Gary Graffman
Yiannis Hadjiloizou is pure art and extraordinary.
– Cyprus Mail
Born in a family of musicians in Nicosia, Cyprus, the only divided capital in the world, Yiannis followed his star around the continents... His father, Michael, the national composer of Cyprus with six operas in his portfolio, knew well how a genius should be raised... Surely among the best conductor-pianists in the world today, Yiannis Hadjiloizou is pure art and extraordinary. He is equally comfortable conducting a Mahler symphony or a Wagner opera, playing jazz standards at the piano or singing his original songs, composing and acting for theatre and cinema... Yiannis Hadjiloizou’s story is nothing short of a fairytale. His Carnegie Hall triumph was only a natural step toward global stardom for this modern-day Greek Titan Atlas.
– Cyprus Mail
Yiannis Hadjiloizou possesses something unique: the absolute combination of simplicity and majesty at the highest level.
– Cosmopoliti
He has been compared to Solti, Bernstein, and Mitropoulos... He emits the severity of Furtwängler, yet also the finesse of Abbado. He conducts with the same rare ease and austerity as Barenboim, both from the conductor’s podium and from the piano. He is distinguished by the refinement of a Hollywood star and the personality of a fairytale prince. But beyond comparisons, Yiannis Hadjiloizou possesses something unique: the absolute combination of simplicity and majesty at the highest level. And that makes him timeless.
– Cosmopoliti
[He] has the passion of Solti, the finesse of Abbado, the austerity of Barenboim, the star quality of Bernstein, the charm of a prince, plus himself.
– Culture Point
A conductor so authoritative, elegant, and impassioned, never seen before.
– El País (Spain)
An ecstatic Mahler Second introduces the Athens Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall.
– The New York Classical Review
An ecstatic Mahler Second introduces the Athens Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall... Tall and erect, Hadjiloizou cut a Solti-like figure on the podium, though his gestural style was both more fluid and contained than the late Hungarian maestro’s hyperactive style.
– The New York Classical Review
The new orchestra’s performance far exceeded all expectations... The sold-out house announced clearly that Yiannis Hadjiloizou is no longer a stranger to New York.
– Broadway World
One can usually expect to hear a Carnegie Hall debut with Mozart or Beethoven, or something like Sibelius’s First or Dvořák’s Ninth. In other words, something safe. Apparently, Yiannis Hadjiloizou and the Athens Philharmonic didn’t get the memo. For their auspicious Carnegie Hall debut, they made the extraordinarily bold choice of the mammoth Mahler Second Symphony, ‘Resurrection’ - a supremely challenging work for any orchestra - let alone one that is less than a year old! The Herculean task of marshalling together the forces of 126 musicians, a 200-piece chorus and two soloists fell upon the shoulders of Maestro Yiannis Hadjiloizou and he was more than up to the challenge. The new orchestra’s performance far exceeded all expectations... The sold-out house announced clearly that Yiannis Hadjiloizou is no longer a stranger to New York.
– Broadway World
