this Bells may be unsurpassable...The three soloists are superb, even if Dmytro Popov is a more heroic tenor than usual and Luba Orgonasova plays firm matriarch at the wedding rather than young bride. Mikhail Petrenko's bass is another quality voice, prefaced and mirrored by the most human cor anglais solo I've ever heard....a remarkable achievement.

Lucid detail, refined shaping, polished instrumental solos and a shrewd way with texture and rhythmic ebb and flow contribute to an interpretation as astutely conceived as it is vital in execution.

Rattle’s account of The Bells is very impressive: he has three excellent soloists and the choral and orchestral contributions are first class...I’m equally taken with his reading of the Symphonic Dances...the Berlin playing is simply fabulous...These are two of Rachmaninov’s greatest works and Simon Rattle has done them proud with this exciting disc.

I always think Rattle is at his interpretative best when he's conducting music that is full of interesting orchestral colours, and this is certainly the case here...What I like about Rattle's interpretation is the amount of space he allows...this is easily one of my favourite recordings of the year so far.

[The Bells] was an astonishing first for the orchestra, which is perhaps why it sounds so fresh-minted here...The Symphonic Dances get sonic luxury from the Berliners. It’s hard to imagine the slow movement’s famous alto-sax solo more hauntingly played.

[The Bells'] vivid palette of orchestral colours suits him and the Berlin Philharmonic, while careful engineering eases the problems of balance...Rattle doesn't always give the music its head in a way that a Russian conductor might, but the performance is carefully calibrated and full of brilliantly focussed detail.

Rattle keeps luxuriating, basking in the long-legged melodies, idling lovingly over phrases, wrapped in a full and warm recording. The more brittle elements in rhythm, gesture and orchestration have a hard time getting heard. This isn’t a problem with the later recording of the companion work, the choral symphony The Bells

the choral singing [in The Bells] combines agility and heft – the third movement terrifies. Good soloists too – notably bass Mikhail Petrenko. Rattle’s characteristic ear for detail rarely derails the forward momentum...Rattle’s new Symphonic Dances take a while to work their magic...But you’re slowly won over