'This Rachmaninov finds the London Symphony Orchestra warm and irresistibly propulsive ... Gergiev has a feel for the romantic urgency of the music as well as its lyrical impulse.'

***** 'The sweep of emotion that runs through all four movements is as polished as it is inexorable. The opening movement unfolds like an inbound tide, the waves of voluptuous sound building with a potency that is rich and sonorous. Contrast that with the heightened energy of the second movement, the familiar glow of the Adagio, and the fiery control of the finale, and you have a performance with Gergiev's fingerprint all over it.'

‘Gergiev brings a brooding intensity to the first movement, a heartfelt, light-pierced inwardness, that speaks of a profound understanding of the score… There’s a rapport between conductor and orchestra that makes for a spellbinding experience.’