Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30

“Both musicians are bursting with fire and seem joined at the hip in these accounts of Rachmaninov’s second and third piano concertos. Rhythmic momentum, glittering flourishes and plaintive musings: all the right boxes are ticked.” The Times, 6th March 2010 ***

“There is nothing overstated in these performances, and yet there is nothing that goes unnoticed either: the interpretative balance is precise and inspired, the thrill of experiencing the concertos played in this way immeasurable. Trpceski was born to perform this music, and Petrenko to conduct it.” The Telegraph, 5th March 2010 *****

“Both performances show an exemplary clarity and taste, a recreation, as it were, of musical utterances rather than virtuoso warhorses...The Second Concerto's opening is naturally paced, neither perversely fast nor affectedly slow” Gramophone Magazine, April 2010

“Andsnes's Third Concerto is the only disappointment among the classics presented here, though EMI might have gone for Previn's account of the Second Symphony rather than Jansons's.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2009 ***

“Douglas's immaculate, cool playing is wonderfully contrasted with Svetlanov's passionate urgings and the very Russian sound of the orchestra; it is sometimes hard to believe, when listening to the soupy brass and the unfathomable depth of the string tone, that these recordings are only 15 years old.” The Guardian, 4th July 2008 ****

“The sound of the piano comes across as perhaps a little pallid, but what Douglas does with the instrument more than makes up for it: his performance is full of virtuosity and sensitivity in equal measure. As for Svetlanov and his team, Douglas could not have received more experienced support in this music. The conductor follows every subtle inflection of the soloist’s rubato, while the orchestral playing brings a nostalgic reminder of a lost world.” The Telegraph, 16th August 2008

“Barry Douglas's performance of the First Concerto provides an arresting alternative to a more conventional approach. His brilliance has an acidulous edge that brings an unusual degree of verve and clarity to even the most thickly textured passages.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2008

“This coupling is a mismatch. Pletnev demonstrates affinity for Rachmaninov's style in the First Concerto, but Ousset's technically proficient playing of the Third seems solid and sadly deficient in spontaneity and imagination.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2009 ***

‘Gilels was a true king of pianists and these recordings only confirm his legendary status. Here is his superlative musicianship, magisterial technique and, above all, unforgettable sonority. His Rachmaninov is among the few truly great performances of this work on disc.’ (The Gramophone)

“… a pianist of absorbing sensibility who puts the music, rather than himself, first.” (The Daily Telegraph )