Petrouchka

"At first sight, Petrouchka might seem to be a strange bedfellow on disc with the Debussy pieces but the link is Serge Diaghilev. Petrouchka, of course, was composed for the Ballets russes company, as was Jeux ... This is an excellent account of Stravinsky's ballet. Interpretatively, I think Klaus Mäkelä gets everything right and he's supported by excellent playing by the Orchestre de Paris ... Jeux as a ballet score ..., too, is a score which one should hear, without visual distractions. The present performance is a very good one, distinguished by playing of great finesse and subtlety. Mäkelä and his colleagues keep the music agile at all time ... I admired this performance very much".

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"With this performance of Pictures Jansons and his Bavarian players rub shoulders with the magnificently colourful 1995 Philharmonie, Berlin account ... The sound is satisfying: clear with a good balance, leaving the audience applause to following each work ... If the repertoire of Stravinsky and Mussorgsky appeals there is no reason to hesitate".

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"I "Petrusjka" kunne man godt ønske sig lidt mere kant ... til gengæld bliver Rachmaninovs svanesang som komponist her et rent bravournummer både klangligt og kunstnerisk".

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"This is an altogether impressive, accomplished and rewarding release, a delight to listen to from both the sound and performance points of view ... Hill and Frith have been playing as a duo since 1986. Such complete lending of tone, touch, dynamics and phrasing quite conceals any division of labour: a clear case of two right hands knowing exactly what the two left ones are doing".

"In this live recording the Concertgebouw is on fine form, with stunning playing from all quarters - at many moments setting new standards".

"Editor's choice: The headline feature of this terrific Petrushka is characterisation. It's a performance full of animation and incident and from the Orchestre de Paris and their impressive line-up of wind soloists a dancer's sensibility ... Mäkelä opts for the 1947 revision and take full advantage of its marginally leaner, more streamlined, orchestra in making the inner detail pop ... A most satisfying aural banquet for sure".

"Klaus Mäkelä er nok det hotteste dirigenttalent på planeten lige nu. Efter en komplet cyklus af Sibelius' symfonier ... har Mäkelä fortsat indspilningerne i Paris og giver os nu den tredje af Stravinskijs 'Ballet Russes', Petrushka ... sammen med landets bedste orkester".

"It goes almost without saying that the Bavarian make a glorious noise, perfectly integrated from top to bottom with a delightfully rounded lower-middle, well captured live in two local venues".