McGegan Creates "Musical Grandeur" with Germany's NDR Orchestra

Performing Handel's Deborah with the NDR Orchestra, McGegan received a rapturous welcome back to Göttingen: "He fulfilled the task of bringing the festival motto "Kaleidoscope" to life, discovering Handel as a catalyst for the great questions of the time....McGegan shapes the sound of the orchestra and choir without a baton, using only his arms, hands, and occasionally his index finger to create musical grandeur and accents. He magnificently brings out the timbres of the strings and wind instruments of the reduced Radiophilharmonie to life. The precisely singing choir shines in its delivery....As the work concludes after more than two hours with an overwhelming "Alleluia!", loud cheers erupt from the audience. The visitors celebrate McGegan, the soloists, the orchestra, and the choir enthusiastically with shouts of bravo and long standing ovations. An overwhelming opening of this year's Handel Festival that touches the listener deeply." - Göttinger Tageblatt