Performance Reviews

"[John Williams' Trumpet Concerto] is tailor-made for the magisterial gifts of the ensemble's principal trumpeter, who last night had a superlative grasp of the score's intricacies . . . Sachs played with exceptional clarity and shine. He negotiated the devilish demands in vibrant fashion, whether the music called for piercing rhetoric or lyrical finesse."

The Cleveland Plain Dealer

"With his new trumpet concerto, [John Williams] has achieved a different success: showing off a stellar performer's spectacular chops. Sachs has a radiant tone that flowed freely, regardless of technical hurdles in this 20-minute work. Truly, there was nothing in this idiomatic writing, from fast double-tongued passages to leaping intervals to sleek lyricism, that this player couldn't rattle off with marvelous security."

The Akron Beacon-Journal

"The Cleveland Orchestra gave one of the finest performances of Mahler's Symphony No.1 that I can ever hope to hear. It was, of course, magnificently played by every section of this great and profoundly musical orchestra - the principal trumpet should be engaged here and now for the Day of Judgment."

The London Sunday Telegraph

"Mahler's 5th Symphony triggered instant amazement: You can't hear such trumpet playing anywhere in the world with equal intensive virtuosity."

Abendzeitung – Munich

"…….the Cleveland Orchestra sports some superlative players - a first trumpeter, for example, who could so fill the Albert Hall with glorious sound that single-handedly he raised the impact of the last heroic bars of Mahler's First Symphony."

The Spectator – London

“A terrific appearance by the orchestra’s principal trumpet, Michael Sachs, as soloist in the Hummel Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major went a long way to carry the program. Sachs played with his usual combination of panache and spot-on accuracy, giving a brightly polished, crisp performance of this popular piece.”

The Akron Beacon-Journal

“The Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, which opened the program, also had some breathtaking playing from Michael Sachs on piccolo trumpet. It's just more spectacular when you hear this brilliant writing for very high trumpet in person. Sachs sounded terrific…..”

The Akron Beacon-Journal

"Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto welcomed one of the orchestra’s principal players, Michael Sachs, to the front of the stage. As always Sachs played with clarion brilliance and sensitivity, enjoying the playful writing and expressive gestures. He also commanded attention in several charismatic cadenzas."

The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Michael Sachs, the orchestra's principal trumpet since 1988, was featured in the Estonian composer Eino Tamberg's Trumpet Concerto No. 1. Sachs has a gorgeous tone that's firm enough to support an army of musical soldiers, and he fired off the staccato writing with rock solid steadiness. It's always good to hear one of the orchestra's own players featured, and Sachs is one of its best.”

The Akron Beacon-Journal

“The Tamberg concerto, written in 1972, is a delight. Full of fanfarish statements and lyrical sighs, the work speaks in tonal language spiced with colorful harmonies and sardonic gestures. The trumpet shows virtually every facet of its personality, from skittish and heroic to poetic, and Tamberg's orchestration is alive with incident. In the finale, whirlwind activity leads to major-key tranquility.
 

Michael Sachs, the orchestra's principal trumpet was the charismatic and sensitive soloist. He sent golden sound smoothly into the hall and traversed the concerto's challenges with suave assurance. With Ilan Volkov and the orchestra as crisp allies, Sachs made a persuasive case for Tamberg as a composer whose music we should hear more often” 

The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“[performing Mahler's Fifth Symphony]…. a listener couldn't ask for more than the magnificent solo work by principal trumpet Michael Sachs…..”

The Akron Beacon-Journal

“[performing von Suppe’s Light Cavalry Overture in Carnegie Hall]… the Cleveland Orchestra is the military band one wants to hear in this piece, especially with Michael Sachs’ dazzling solo trumpet leading the charge.”

Seen and Heard International Concert Review

“[performing Mahler's Third Symphony in Royal Albert Hall] ….[Michael Sachs] in the third movement seemed to make a more wondrously delicate sound each time his nostalgic, old-gold melody came round.”

The Telegraph- London

“[performing Mahler's Third Symphony in Royal Albert Hall] ….The third movement's long post horn solo, redolent of a hazy summer afternoon in the country, was delivered immaculately, from what sounded like a remote mountain top, by the orchestra's principal trumpet, Michael Sachs.

Evening Standard- London

"[Performing as soloist in Hans Werner Henze’s Requiem] Michael Sachs, the principal trumpeter, played brilliantly.”

The New York Times

“[In Charles Ives’ The Unanswered Question] the lonely protagonist, the splendid trumpet of Michael Sachs from the top of the balcony……… seemed to be not as much playing in the hall as inhabiting it elementally, emanating from haunted walls, floor and ceiling.”

The New York Times

"[In Alan Hohaness' The Holy City]the solo trumpet lines where arrestingly played on the golden instrument of America’s Michael Sachs, who stayed on the platform for a finely polished solo performance in Hummel’s E-flat Trumpet Concerto.”

Auckland, New Zealand

“[in Telemann’s Concerto in D major] The music blazed with baroque virtuosity, thanks in large part to soloist Michael Sachs, who probably never met a high note he couldn’t master.

The San Diego Union Tribune

“The program included a spectacular performance by Michael Sachs, the orchestra’s principal trumpet. Collaborating with the Amici Quartet in two works by Giuseppe Torelli, he sent crystalline lines through the vast space, caressing phrases and demonstrating how brass playing can be at once heroic and lyrical.”

The Cleveland Plain Dealer