Directing the orchestra while playing the oboe used to feel like a party piece, and it’s still marvellous to watch, but it’s impossible to deny the dep

Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Edinburgh January 2023 Read more

"French oboist and conductor François Leleux brought a winning mixture of virtuosity, theatricality and wit to this thoroughly refreshing concert"

BBC SSO concert in Glasgow October 2021 Read more

"A suitably exuberant and boisterous performance"

Reviews for the Bizet and Gounod album April 2020 Read more

Francois Leleux was the conductor, musicianship oozing genially out of every gesture, a collaborator with his colleagues rather than a chef d’orchestre. His account of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture began with impeccably tuned and balanced woodwind (Leleux also wears an oboist’s hat)

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra December 2019 Read more

Something quite special takes over when a set of musicians like this play without a conductor: overt direction is replaced by collective telepathy and, when it goes right, a little dusting of magic.

Scottish Chamber Orchestra February 2019 Read more

Als Zugabe verwandelte Leleux Mozarts „Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen“ aus der „Zauberflöte“ mit rasanten Auszierungen in ein Virtuosenstück.

HR-Sinfonieorchester November 2018 Read more