Blu-Ray Video, Staatskapelle Berlin (orchestra)

The performance is grand without being portentous, impassioned but never febrile, and is distinguished by a poised musicianship in the finest classical tradition. The DVD filming, like the playing,... — Financial Times, 18th April 2015, 4 out of 5 stars More…

a reading entirely without frills or artificial drama: as well as its innate Romanticism Barenboim allows the underlying elemental nature of the music to emerge, and at times seems almost to... — BBC Music Magazine, May 2013, 5 out of 5 stars More…

The work, the conductor, the orchestra are all shown in the best light. It is the kind of experience that has you sitting afterwards, for a long time, wondering at the greatness of what you... — BBC Music Magazine, April 2015, 5 out of 5 stars More…

What really gives these performances weight, in the best sense, is Barenboim’s marvellous sense of the long line – the kind of incredible long-breathed phrasing that, in his hands, can make... — BBC Music Magazine, January 2023, 3 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 4 out of 5 stars (Recording) More…

An impulsive first movement with forensic attention to the grim reapers of the wind section…and a series of scarifying climaxes, the last and biggest of which is truly a ride to the abyss…[this]... — Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2016 More…

Barenboim brings a real sense of direction to the musical argument. The narrative can be seen moving inexorably towards a thrilling and purposeful coda...the Berlin Staatskapelle plays superbly... — BBC Music Magazine, May 2014, 4 out of 5 stars More…

the Berlin Staatskapelle rises to the challenge magnificently. Quite simply the playing is awesome, not just in terms of its technical excellence, but also in the great subtlety of nuance and... — BBC Music Magazine, Christmas Issue 2013, 5 out of 5 stars More…