Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22

“One would now be surprised to find such a first-half sequence as Bax’s London Pageant, Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No 2, a Handel aria and Beethoven’s Fifth, though former approaches to programming are being revisited this season. The bittiness is compounded by the fact that only two Saint-Saëns movements survive, and one Beethoven (the Bax not at all). There is a pitch sag early in the concerto, but Moura Lympany’s account is enjoyable. Heddle Nash is the delightfully “period” tenor.” Sunday Times, 20th July 2008 ***

“A young Moura Lympany gives a vivacious account of Saint-Saëns's Second Piano Concerto (although the central scherzo is missing from this off-air recording, and the pitch drops in the first movement); and the prized tenor Heddle Nash sings Handel. Dukas, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and an oddity in the shape of Lamar Stringfield's A Negro Parade complete an intriguing glimpse into a piece of Proms history.” The Telegraph, 19th July 2008

‘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)

"brilliant, heartless, Parisian, and Thibaudet rode it like a powerful horse, getting into a sure-footed rhythm, leaping every fence..." The Independent on Thibaudet's playing of the Saint Saens Piano Concerto No.2

“Saint-Saëns's… piano concertos are fascinating works on many fronts, but not least for the balance they seem to hold between the wild Romantic and the contained Classical composer. Thibaudet subscribes rather to the latter view.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2007 *****

“Arthur Rubinstein never failed to please. And so it is with these superb performances of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 and Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No. 2, recorded in the 50s and 60s in the Royal Festival Hall. Well worthwhile.” Gavin Engelbrecht, Northern Echo