In a tenure of less than a decade, Duffus — by his own account admittedly, but it tallies with what one remembers from the time — set the Philharmonic on a trajectory toward excellence. Good management seems, as it often is, to have been made up of common sense, standing up for quality, a good Rolodex, and knowing when to compromise. ... Backstage in Hong Kong is a very human book: although Duffus settles some scores, he is also quick to recognize ability, good intentions and the constraints people were working under.

– Peter Gordon, Asian Review Of Books

John Duffus left the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in 1986 to become one of the city’s most successful impresarios, in which role he brought an impressive, “who’s who” line-up of performers from both classical music and pop music to the region. He also witnessed plenty of backstage drama involving some of the biggest names in the business. Jumping out from his list of achievements is helping to arrange a concert by The Three Tenors (Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras) in Beijing’s Forbidden City in 2001 to help with China’s bid to host the Olympic Games in 2008, which it won. Most of China watched the gala on television, with about 20,000 attending in person. On a sadder note, Duffus says he also arranged for the final ticketed concert that Pavarotti gave before he died in 2007. “That was before 20,000 fans in Taichung in Taiwan on December 14, 2005.”

– Kylie Knott, South China Morning Post