In the week of the 25th anniversary of his death, Juanjo Mena and the BBC Philharmonic celebrated Leonard Bernstein with a concert drawing on repertoire from his final performance.

Read the full Bachtrack review here.

The public were treated to “playing of abundant finesse and color throughout” in Juanjo Mena’s return to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, with a programme of Prokofiev, Glazunov and Beethoven.

You can read the full reviews here:

Tim Smith, The Baltimore Sun

Robert Battey, The Washington Post

Juanjo Mena’s busy 2014-15 season came to a close last week with Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony at the BBC Proms, which was “exhuberantly performed” by the BBC Philharmonic. You can listen to John Foulds’ “Three Mantras” here, and Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony here.

You can read the full online reviews here:

Frances Wilson, Bachtrack

Bernard Hughes, The Arts Desk

Juanjo Mena led the BBC Philharmonic in a high-voltage performance of Beethoven’s only opera at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, and the concert was greeted with highly favourable reviews.  You can listen to the performance on BBC Radio 3 at 14:00 UK time on Thursday 21st May, and it will be available here until 21st June.

You can read the full reviews here:

The Guardian, Tim Ashley

Manchester Evening News, Robert Beale

Bachtrack, Andrew King

In May 2016 Juanjo Mena will make his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic, in a programme featuring Debussy’s ‘Iberia’, Ginastera’s Harp Concerto with Marie-Pierre Langlamet and Falla’s ballet ‘The Three-Cornered Hat’.  You can read more information here.

“Something happened at the Maison Symphonique on Thursday evening…. the musicians [of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra] were in the hands of the Basque conductor Juanjo Mena, who commanded a dionysian vision of Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony that everyone seemed to be waiting for.”

“I can honestly say that I’m unable to remember a comparable performance by the OSM at the Maison Symphonique.”

(Christophe Huss, Le Devoir)

You can read the full review in French here.

“Mena led an intense and balanced performance, allowing each facet of Sibelius’ argument to present itself as if it were a naturally occurring phenomenon, and maintaining good control without overdriving the music. The orchestra played with commitment and an ample measure of warmth and sonic richness that made this concert opener especially satisfying.”

“Mena rose to the occasion, holding it all together without sacrificing the organic unfolding of the tone poem’s narrative.”

“The result was a first-rate performance that deserved more than the polite applause that a somewhat restless audience gave it.”

(Mark Satola, www.cleveland.com)

“Juanjo Mena and Alina Ibragimova make exhilharating debuts with The Cleveland Orchestra”

“There were three big works on the program and conductor, soloist and orchestra were a good match for all of them.”

(Timothy Robson, Bachtrack)

“Juanjo Mena led The Cleveland Orchestra in a lustrous and well-paced excursion through Schoenberg’s score, terracing its climaxes and relaxing its pace to let dozens of lyrical solos shine through.”

(Daniel Hathaway, clevelandclassical.com)

You can read the full reviews here:

Mark Satola, cleveland.com

Timothy Robson, Bachtrack

Daniel Hathaway, Cleveland Classical

You can read Juanjo Mena’s interview with Mike Telin from ‘Cleveland Classical’ here