Axel Zibulski, FAZ, 27th November 2023 (The Pirates of Penzance, Staatstheater Mainz)
The Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz under Samuel Hogarth unfurled everything from debauched romanticism to modern-sounding song accompaniments in two and a half hours of finely honed playing. No chestnuts, no clichés, but lots of absurd British humour… A well-deserved success for the house (and for the operetta genre).
Michael Kaminski, concerti.de, 27th November 2023 (The Pirates of Penzance, Staatstheater Mainz)
Samuel Hogarth goes all in for his British comrades in arms Gilbert and Sullivan. The Mainz Staatsorchester follows him with exuberance. The orchestra conveys the dripping irony of the score with flair, but skirts the line between parody and seriousness so deliciously that one is constantly left wondering.
Angela Reinhardt, Musicals, February 2023 (Sweeney Todd, Staatstheater Mainz)
The stars of the impressive evening are the Philharmonisches Orchester Mainz and conductor Samuel Hogarth – they get Sondheim’s score, in Jonathan Tunick’s orchestration, to bloom in the most beautiful colours… the supple, transparent sound invites comparison with Debussy, Mahler or Wagner.
Winnie Geipert, Strandgut, November 2022 (Sweeney Todd, Staatstheater Mainz)
With the irresistible playing of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester (conductor: Samuel Hogarth), the tremendous choir and strong voices from the ensemble – the thunderous applause of the public was well earned.
Winnie Geipert, Strandgut, 1st April 2022 (Fish Forward, Staatstheater Mainz)
A nice effect of the music theatre piece “Fish Forward” is the playful way in to “serious” music it offers the young spectators… galvanising, grotesque, enlightening, witty and just great: the first eco-Kinderoper where the scales fall from your eyes.
Axel Zibulski, FAZ, 21st October 2020 (Pimpinone, Staatstheater Mainz)
The light and agile strings of the Mainz State Philharmonic orchestra, conducted by Samuel Hogarth, provide a pleasingly sensitive counterpoint to the scene.
Markus Gründig, kulturfreak.com, 20th October 2020 (Pimpinone, Staatstheater Mainz)
Thirteen members of the Mainz State Philharmonic orchestra play at the rear of the stage under the baton of Kapellmeister Samuel Hogarth. That means they are close to the action (Pimpinone locks horns often with Hogarth, who not only improvises at the piano, but also accompanies the recitatives from the harpsichord). The synthesis between Telemann’s colourful music and the jazz improvisations is very successful and adds a lot to the work.
Werner Häußner, Online Merker, 4th December 2018 (Märchen im Grand-Hotel, Staatstheater Mainz)
From the podium of the Mainz State Philharmonic orchestra, and as onstage bar pianist, Samuel Hogarth ensures a stylistically assured approach to Paul Abraham’s irresistible music… The way Hogarth balances the colours of the instruments, and the way he draws out details – such as the amplification of the clarinets with home-made megaphones, just as in Abraham’s recording – and the way he phrases the melodies and pointedly shapes the rhythm, shows infallible taste.
Bettina Boyens, Frankfurter Neue Presse, 29th January 2018 (La Clemenza di Tito, Staatstheater Mainz)
From the pit comes an elastic and impassioned Mozart, masterfully drawn out by Samuel Hogarth right through to the clarinet and basset horn solos.
Andreas Hauff, Der Neue Merker, 1st December 2017 (Concert for Young People, Staatstheater Mainz)
Straight away… Hogarth finds the right register – humorous, professional, a little self-deprecating, but also assured and sometimes demanding. […]
One can see [the scenario of the ballet] vividly before one’s eyes – and enjoy the care with which the orchestra and their Kapellmeister gorgeously unfurl the interwoven musical lines. The Mainz State Philharmonic Orchestra plays in this Concert for Young People, as ever, with absolute professionalism. And the young concert-goers, who feel they are being catered to and taken seriously, are accordingly attentive.
C. Fisher, Das Opernglas, April 2017 (Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern)
Samuel Hogarth got an orchestra more accustomed to shining in the late romantic German repertoire to commit fully to Bizet’s thoroughly French musical world. He slackened and tightened the reins, sometimes in surprising ways, but always assuredly stirring up an orchestral melting-pot overflowing with melody and colour.
neue musikzeitung, 14th February 2017 (Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern)
Under the guest conductor Samuel Hogarth, the orchestra and chorus of the Pfalztheater bring out the variability, colour and expressieness of Bizet’s score so impressively and convincingly, that it is worth a visit just for that.
Uwe Friedrich, Fazit (Deutschlandfunk), 5th February 2017 (Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern)
But Samuel Hogarth, the young conductor this evening, a Kapellmeister from Mainz, kept it so taut, so unsentimental and so un-whiny, that the qualities of the music were shown in a different light.
I would absolutely recommend seeing it, because this piece almost never gets produced, and here it has been staged very decently – and musically it works wonderfully, as I have said, not least because of Samuel Hogarth.
Jochen Rüth, Der Opernfreund, 5. Dezember 2016 (Dialogues des Carmélites, Staatstheater Mainz)
Kapellmeister Samuel Hogarth makes the music sound richly colourful, with the seemingly baroque intermezzi and the barnstorming finale particularly standing out… Flawless conducting of this formidable score.
Ludwig Steinbach, Der Opernfreund, 14th March 2016 (Rigoletto, Staatstheater Mainz)
…On the podium was Samuel Hogarth. Together with the accomplished sounding Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz, he produced a sound that was in great part robust and dramatic, stamped with an attractively italianate character and never in danger of covering the singers.
Overall this was an excellent evening at the opera and very much to be recommended.
Dagmar Penzlin, NDR Kultur, 3rd February 2014 (Zwerg Nase, Hamburg Staatsoper)
Samuel Hogarth’s music is cheerfully operatic, without losing its playful lightness and rhythmic esprit. The singers and orchestra, drawn from Hamburg schools, impress with their precision and expressiveness.
Tom Sutcliffe, Opera Now, April 2014 (Zwerg Nase, Hamburg Staatsoper)
[With] Hogarth’s excellent sense of pacing and melodic interest… [he] has created a very carefully planned number opera with episodes that never flag, and retain their musical chracter and interest unerringly.
Hamburger Morgenpost, 4th February 2014 (Zwerg Nase, Hamburg Staatsoper)
…a through-composed work that wins you over with its musical imaginativeness. The applause after the premiere seemed to go on forever.
Robert Thicknesse, Opera Now, 18th March 2013 (Falstaff, Château de Berbiguières)
I admired conductor Samuel Hogarth’s sensitive pacing of a score that needs to balance momentum and musical indulgence. This was easily my favourite Falstaff of last year.