Madeleine Schickedanz-KinderKrebs-Stiftung | Hessischer Rundfunk | Neu-Ulmer Zeitung | Frankfurter Neue Presse Online | Waldeckische Landeszeitung – Frankenberger Zeitung | Butzbacher Zeitung | Rheinpfalz | Hersfelder Zeitung | Frankfurter Rundschau | Waldeckische Landeszeitung | Rheinpfalz (2000) | Rheinpfalz (1999)
	Madeleine Schickedanz-KinderKrebs-Stiftung Dear Mr Gräf, the fundraising concert in the Theatre Fürth was a wonderful event and the success for our foundation was overwhelming. […] During the performance the professionalism and excellence of the orchestra were obvious and the audience could feel the musicians work and play together harmoniously. Please pass on my gratitude to the members of the orchestra. My sincere thanks for all your support and co-operation. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening. [...]
	Madeleine Schickedanz, letter from April 2nd 2008 after the fundraising gala in favour of the Madeleine Schickedanz-KinderKrebs-Stiftung on April 1st 2008 in the Theatre Fürth
	HESSISCHER RUNDFUNK Dear Mr. Gräf, an audience of approximately 5000 experienced this year’s “Great hr4 Christmas Concerts” in Marburg , Kassel and Frankfurt . Due to a program full of variety and atmosphere, outstanding artists and a new stage set we performed a thoroughly successful production which was highly appreciated by the public. We presented hr4 in an ideal way. With your artistic performance you contributed immensely to this success as your presentation was highly professional and gave great pleasure. With sincere thanks and appreciation for your contribution. […]
	Rainer Götze (head of programme hr4) / Tobias Hagen (manager of wavelength hr4), letter dated 18th December 2007
	SENDEN. [...] Everything was light, joyful and laid back. It started off with the formal attire - white dinner jackets for the men, the women royal in their colourful ball gowns. It may only be appearance, but it added greatly to the overall picture. The impression of effortlessness that exuded from the orchestra was no accident, built upon a basis of extreme precision and enthusiasm. The conductor, Günter Gräf, superbly led the orchestra, playing the violin in the true Strauss tradition and moderated with charm and wit. [...]
	Neu-Ulmer Zeitung, 30.01.2007
	LIMBURG. [...] The orchestra’s outward appearance already reflected merriment: the men in white dinner jackets, the ladies in colourful ball gowns and all in good humour. One had the impression, that at year’s end the musicians enjoyed playing their easy listening music, although it is not at all easy to play. The music was fresh and uplifting, as they threw themselves into the entrancing passages. [...]
	Frankfurter Neue Presse Online, 31.12.2006
	FRANKENBERG. [...] The club should definitely reengage the ensemble for next year’s New Year’s concert. [...] Why should the Kiwanis plan another concert with the Johann Strauss Orchestra Frankfurt? Because the orchestra was in top form and from the first note on soloists and conductor won the hearts of the 450 audience members. In the first number, the overture to “The Beautiful Galathee” by Franz von Suppé, the orchestra presented its musical prowess, the dazzling music enriched by the beautiful dark call of the horns; captivating woodwind passages, the warm tones of the strings and ultimately the entrance of the well-known waltz melody … The orchestra performed with a rich repertoire of emotions: fiery and aggressive, light and sweet as well as sad and moving … [...]
	Waldeckische Landeszeitung – Frankenberger Zeitung, 18.01.2006
	BUTZBACH (fö) Abundant applause after each number, bravos, standing ovations and calls for encores: During the New Year’s matinee the audience in the sold-out community centre in Butzbach was simply enchanted with the performance by the Johann Strauss Orchestra under the skilled baton of Günther Gräf ...[...] an exceptionally disposed orchestra and an exorbitantly good singer set off a virtual fireworks display of melodies from operettas, Viennese waltzes and film music ...[...] In the course of the matinee it gave the appearance of a well-made instrument whose breadth of repertoire has long outgrown the name "Johann Strauss". Classical symphony orchestra, then coffee-house musicians or Big Band, the musical adaptability of these musicians ... appears to be boundless. [...]
	Butzbacher Zeitung, 11.01.2005
	KUSEL. [...] This orchestra, founded in 1986, certainly doesn't take the so-called "Light Classics" lightly. Instead its members are concentrated and take great care to deliver precise musical interpretations demonstrating their highly skilled playing and cultured tone. [...] The concert was a convincing argument to have them back soon. The musicians, who are also engaged by the RSO Frankfurt, the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra and the orchestras of the Mainz and Wiesbaden State Theaters, were obviously enthusiastic.
	Rheinpfalz, 07.01.2004
	BAD HERSFELD. [...] The musicians understand how to bring out the lightness of line. Phrasing in a Vienna Waltz obeys its own special rules, loosened from the precise rhythmical structure of a symphony - flexible, swinging, dynamic - and may not be taken for granted in today's musical world where the metronome rules supreme. What a pleasant surprise to hear the true Viennese "lilt" from this orchestra from Frankfurt. Yet it never lost its rhythmical and technical precision. [...]
	Hersfelder Zeitung, 20.01.2003
	OBERURSEL. [...] The magic of music with an Italian flair was in the air on this evening in Oberursel when Deborah Lynn Cole (Soprano) und Romana Vaccaro (Mezzosoprano) sang arias from "Don Pasquale", "The Elixer of Love", "The Barber of Seville" and "La Boheme". [...] The orchestra ... provided a careful and attentive accompaniment for the soloists, no easy task in an Open-Air concert, but mastered by the orchestra with élan and joy. [...]
	Frankfurter Rundschau, 17.08.2002
	BAD WILDUNGEN (szl). [...] After the opening piece, "Christmas Festival Overture", the audience heard melodies from Johann Strauss and Verdi, as the orchestra showed its high quality. The skilled musicians were obviously having real fun playing for the attentive audience. [...]
	Waldeckische Landeszeitung, 29.12.2001
	[...] ... the Frankfurt Symphony under the direction of Günther Gräf presented an opera and operetta program of highest quality; including a real jewel among the three vocal soloists - 31-year old Jonas Kaufmann, an internationally known rising star in the world of tenors. ... Gräf knows his business and was able to add new musical dimensions to familiar favorites. [...]
	Rheinpfalz, 12.09.2000 (charity concert in Germersheim)
	What a fantastic musical beginning for the new year ... First the Johann Strauss Orchestra Frankfurt luxuriated in the bliss of the lilting of the Viennese waltz, then came the extremes of melancholy and fire found in Gypsy music, followed by the excitement of Broadway melodies. [...] One could not help noticing that all the musicians seemed to be having the time of their lives. It became clear that the orchestra was so well-versed in the interpretation that it hardly needed the small, but precise gestures of the conductor. Indeed, Gräf was able to play the violin solo of "The Blue Danube Waltz" while handling the orchestra with bravura. [...]
	Rheinpfalz, 06.01.1999
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