War requiem

"The emotional tension instead slackens, vitiating the power of the final expression of eternal rest. This alone makes the performance unsuccessful, but it is also undone by weak orchestral and choral forces. The chorus (itself lacking a really full-throated sound) overbalances the orchestra even when the brass should be at full bray. So the big moments (Dies Irae, Sanctus, and Libera Me) fail to overwhelm".

"Tilbage i oktober søgte dirigent Gianandrea Noseda klart at frigøre de mere dramatiske, teatralske elementer i stykket, som han så ofte gør med anden musik med storartede resultater ... Det endelige resultat, kombineret med den indeklemte akustik i Barbican Hall, er en optagelse, der mangler enhver form for følelse af ekspansion og omfavnende humanisme ... Dette tørre og detaljerede tilbud fra Noseda mangler de grundlæggende kvaliteter".

" Shatteringly moving, superbly sung by Anna Netrebko, Ian Bostridge and Thomas Hampson, this piece is for life, not just for Remembrance Sunday".

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"Maltman seems to me to have that ideal mix of authority and poetry in his approach to the songs ... [McCreesh's] New College choristers have the ideal mix if celestial glow and nimble impatience; his orchestra is wonderfully articulate. And the sound picture has the greatest depth of range and recording ... The profundity and coherence of McCreesh's reading sets a new standard for this work".

"Chor und Orchester machen dagegen einen tadellosen Eindruck und verleihen Janson's gewichtigem Britten in jedem Takt fesselnde Präsenz".

"Rilling er bedst kendt for sine glimrende udgaver af barokmusikken ... men her folder han sig ud på en helt ny og voldsom måde ... det er tydeligt, at han brænder for denne musik ... De tre solister er suveræne og stilsikre, koret er formidabel tydeligt i intonation, klang og tekst, og orkestret er eksemplarisk. Mere kan man ikke forlange, men mindre kan heller ikke gøre det, når en verdenskrig skal sones i musik".

"A taut, riveting version by the formidable Gianandrea Noseda ... Delivers it afresh as a scintillating achievement, which draws together the best in Britten's musical armoury to searing effect ... Sabina Cvilak's soprano has the focus, though not always the required gravitas, while tenor Ian Bostridge brings a piercing sincerity to all his solos ... This is an important issue: Noseda's judgement og pace is unerring, and the orchestra and chorus simply superb".

"Bostridge has that liquid, Pears-ian shimmer in his voice ... Pappano's secret weapon is Anna Netrebko, whose thrilling steel-cored soprano is a match for Galina Vishnevskaya's ... Pappano ignites the drama, his opening is truly hushed ... his chorus in the Dies Irae snarls".

"Kurt Masur dirigiert mit beeindruckendem Weitblick auf die Grossform des Werks; Anthony Dean Griffey singt seinen Part ganz im Stil von Peter Pears, und Gerald Finley setzt seine Samtweiche Prachtstimme mit wohltuender Vollmundigkeit ein. Umso mehr verstört das dramatische Gekeife von Christine Brewer, und das trübt den Gesamteindruck denn doch entsceidend".

"Kurt Masur is intellectually in control right from the start, but it is only really in the Agnus Dei and Libera me that I felt that he had won the battle for hearts as well as minds ... feels like eavesdropping on an experience that only partly came off".