‘Readings of a true keyboard aristocrat … exceptional finesse … mirrored in beautifully natural and refined sound’ (BBC Record Review)

‘These masterly performances can, I think, lay claim to being the finest, certainly the most individual, that we have yet heard on disc’ (Hi-Fi News)

‘A compellingly individual interpreter … an essential recommendation’ (The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs)

'How beautifully blended and responsive [the LSO] are under Gergiev's direction … there is much to enjoy here, not least an orchestra that is at the very top of its game under its charismatic conductor' (International Record Review)

'Valery Gergiev is one of the most exciting conductors recording today. His previous Rachmaninoff Second Symphony for LSO Live was a knockout, and both of these symphonic works will likely take first place [of multichannel options]' (Audiophile Audition, USA)

'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 and the LSO responds as though its life depended upon it' (Gramophone)

'Breathtakingly beautiful string playing. I greedily anticipate the release of the other symphonies in due course' (International Record Review)

'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' (The Scotsman)

'[Concert review] For the Third Symphony to make its true impact, it needs a reading of great penetration and depth, which is precisely what it obtained on this occasion. This was Gergiev and the LSO at their finest' (Classical Source)

'Valery Gergiev’s view is dark and stormy … some will admire the passionate Mahlerian outburst at the heart of his first movement, relishing the extreme contrasts of tempo and mood in the tripartite second' (Gramophone)

‘A fine achievement from Howard Shelley and Hyperion alike. These superbly recorded, idiomatic readings demonstrate Shelley's virtuoso pianism and affinity for this music in performances of the highest calibre’ (BBC Music Magazine Top 1000 CDs Guide)

‘A significant testimony to Howard Shelley's artistry. Pianistically impeccable, he understands what Rachmaninov was about’ (Gramophone)