"Koehler is keeping that faith [in the uplifting power of music] alive, is bringing that faith to China…
Thank you...for lifting us out of ourselves for one memorable evening. From now on, I will always think of you whenever I hear Bizet, or Dvorak. The last three encores were stunning."
Shanghai Daily (China)
“Vivid, determined in his work during the rehearsal; he evokes trust when he is on the stand. He has this…examining look in his eyes, so penetrating and confident.
[In the Hindemith Mathis der Maler], he was carving it, modeling phrase by phrase, he was choosing even one-bar-long sensitive places which then had to be put together to form a whole.
[In the slow movement of the Shostakovich Fifth Symphony], for a full quarter-hour he was building an extraordinary tension; the culminations he reached seemed to penetrate us…it was definitely of the top quality.”
Polish Radio 1
“He knew his scores thoroughly and rarely took his eyes off of his musicians. He was not overly demonstrative, keeping his focus on the music rather than himself. His musical concepts of form and tempo seemed appropriate to each of the five movements in the [Dvorak String] serenade. He kept the rhythms bouncy in the ‘Tempo di Valse’ movement and showed uncanny ability to sustain the melody in the slow ‘Larghetto’ movement.”
Kalamazoo Gazette (USA)
“He is not only a talented and refined musician, but…one who commands the stage with artistic conviction.”
Kyiv Day (Ukraine)
“Koehler is an excellent conductor with splendid technique, clear conducting gestures and great intensity.”
Kalamazoo Gazette (USA)
“In Schubert’s Symphony, Koehler showed and drew from the orchestra a heightened sense of rhythmic and dynamic proportions. He was careful with the nuanced textures of both solo instruments and whole orchestra groups…In Brahms’s music, apart from his innate artistic skills, Koehler also demonstrated an enviable amount of maturity.”
Ruse ArenaMedia (Bulgaria)
"The program began with a passionate performance of Overture for Orchestra by Czech computer Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959). The passion came from the musicians and the guest conductor Andrew Koehler.
Martinů's piece was a brilliant choice to start the evening. It was well performed with the string section particularly crisp and the brass section considerably fiery."
Muskegon Chronicle (USA)
"There was passion [and] commitment in the powerful performance led by Andrew Koehler. The young conductor, an American of Ukrainian heritage, clearly feels strongly about this music and he drew an incisive well-balanced performance from the large forces."
Chicago Classical Review (USA)
