***** Coup de cœur

“… The recording is from a concert performance, but audience noise is non-existent. The recorded sound has the right resonance for so sonorous a work.”

Shortlisted for the Gramophone Orchestral Award

“…The Berlin Philharmonic’s playing is beyond praise …” ***½

Classical Album of the Week

“… The conductor and the Berlin Phil revel in the clamour and sweep of the Dane’s high-Romantic score, its Wagnerian and Straussian grandeur igniting spectacularly in this live recording from last year… Charting the ascent of a mountain, the symphony is the opposite of delayed gratification; rather, it offers near constant climax and, in this persuasive performance, proves as enthralling as it is exhausting.” ***

“… The final sections, 'Mountain ascent' and 'Courage', show Oramo at his best, the orchestra responding to his demands with alacrity and precision. The prospect of reaching the summit seems to galvanise Oramo and his orchestra into action, the playing more focused, more animated than before. But it's Dausgaard's consistency of vision - and execution - that makes his reading of the symphony so rewarding…  Oramo and his Berliners deliver a superb finale, where Langgaard out-Strausses Strauss, Dacapo's Studio Master ++ coping effortlessly with those mighty perorations. The applause has been edited out. Very good …”