Siam Philharmonic Orchestra: Press

... But the biggest bravo goes to the Siam Philharmonic and Somtow. The hearts of the characters may have come through their voices, but it was the orchestra that delivered its soul. The playing was clean, taut, and full of detail.

The famous “Triumphal March” fuelled by high-octane brass sounds was astonishing, made the more so by the use of offstage brass choirs (conducted by Trisdee na Patalung), bringing trumpets here, there, and everywhere. Strings were sharply disciplined to evoke a thousand feelings, while sensitive to exploring the depths of those emotions, once exposed. And the winds: just a single flute could enslave the whole Thailand Cultural Centre to the belief that Verdi’s extraordinary fiction was in fact true to life.

This was music of a greatness surely more splendid than anything Bangkok has ever heard before. Bravo!

Instrumental performances from the Siam Philharmonic were on a depth rarely heard anywhere. The opening strains of music, with their doleful, deep wind sounds were arresting and reflective.