“An extraordinary conductor”
John Nelson, Directeur Musicale Honoraire, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris
“I consider Mark Laycock to be a friend and very talented colleague with a great future, and I warmly recommend him to you.”
Charles Dutoit 
“The technique of conducting appeared to be his completely”
Daily Telegraph, London
“The young conductor showed his own gifts with every nuance. Here, indeed, is a serious musical talent. With each gesture Laycock is dynamic, subtle, elegant and precise in shaping and inspiring the exact orchestral sound.”
La Presse (Montréal)
Mark Laycock is a musician and conductor of the highest order. Since making his conducting debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra at age 21, Maestro Laycock has established a reputation without peer for artistic excellence and critical acclaim while building a vast repertoire through the conducting of nearly 1,900 works. His unique experience has been confirmed overwhelmingly on all levels, from his appearances with major orchestras in the United States and Europe to his ability to communicate and connect with young musicians. Affable and secure, Maestro Mark Laycock possesses a rare blend of old-world knowledge and charm combined with new-world realism and understanding. Maestro Laycock brings to the podium an integrity and ease of confidence without airs, fostering a rehearsal environment that allows musicians to produce music of the finest quality in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere, while maintaining the highest of artistic standards that remain true to the composer’s intent.
“An indefinable quality among great conductors is that rare ability, not related to any interpretive style, to somehow fuse all elements of a performance into a greater entity with a palpable energy of its own existence. This is a quality that is strikingly evident both intellectually and emotionally in each of Mark Laycock’s performances that I have ever witnessed. When Mark Laycock conducts, everything becomes one: the conductor, the orchestra, the music and the listening public all become part of the music, all become a unified part of something greater than themselves.
Mark Laycock brings out of the musicians exactly what he wants the audience to hear through precise and incisive conducting that never loses musical expression. The result is often a revelation even for the most seasoned and knowledgeable concert listener. He seems to find in the score things that other conductors have not, and he does this in a way that never sounds contrived. The most notable example to me is a remarkable Beethoven Eroica that I heard him conduct with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. I thought I knew the Eroica inside out, upside down, and backwards, and yet Mark Laycock found and brought out details that I had never heard before; that performance stands out in my mind as one of the best I have ever heard, live or on recordings, of any Beethoven symphony.
No matter what work Mark Laycock is conducting, as a listener I get the sense in his concerts that I am hearing exactly what that composer wanted me to hear and experience. His interpretations reflect a particular perceptiveness when it comes to the analysis and communication of scores, and it is clear from the facial expressions and the body language of the musicians that Mark is not a martinet and that all of them truly enjoy making music with him. No matter what work Mark Laycock is conducting, as a listener I get the sense in his concerts that I am hearing exactly what that composer wanted me to hear and experience.
I have found that many modern conductors are not intensely involved in what they conduct. Toscanini always conducted with intensity, as did Klemperer, for example. Mark Laycock has always been committed completely to every work I have ever heard him conduct, and it is thrilling to hear every one of his performances. They are white hot with passion. In that regard, he reminds me so much of Pablo Casals, for whom music was a necessity of life to be embraced and celebrated with complete joy and conviction. Mark Laycock’s performances are intense, passionate, and charismatic.”
Teri Noel Towe, Classical Music Radio Host, WPRB103.3 FM
