Rana glitters away at the piano as the observer of inner turmoil in Anxiety; Josephine Barstow makes an excellent first of Bernstein’s often embarrassing Kaddish narration…but the lynchpin remains Pappano, who enhances, whatever is genuinely lyrical, tones down the bombast, and tries to ignore the bathos. Some balance issues in Anxiety aside, these must be the symphonies’ most accomplished recordings.

Let me say straight away that these performances come at us with a theatricality that puts them firmly ‘on stage’ where they belong...[Barstow] is tremendous and far and away the most exciting, the most affecting, the most probing narrator of any on disc...Pappano’s knowledge of, and seeming instinct for, Bernstein’s sound world, rhythms and references, is hugely engaging – an excellent modern way of marking the composer’s centenary.

Bernstein would surely have applauded the extrovert theatricality which Rana and Pappano’s Roman orchestra bring to what Pappano calls the ‘real American frolic’ of The Masque, as well as the impassioned contribution of Canadian mezzo Marie-Nicole Lemieux in the Jeremiah Symphony...Pappano’s other trump card is the veteran dramatic soprano Josephine Barstow as narrator in the Kaddish, hurling out imprecations with the same venom which made her such a celebrated Lady Macbeth in the 1970s and 80s.

The conductor and his forces relish the stylistic eclecticism of the “Mahlerian” works: none of them conventional structurally, which has been the principal cause of their neglect...These brilliantly executed performances bring his once despised symphonic output into the mainstream.

Still not well known, these works are widely contrasting in style and far from the Bernstein of West Side Story...[Kaddish is] where Pappano and his top-notch orchestra are particularly successful. With Josephine Barstow as narrator and a crisp, committed performance from the musicians, the work loses that old tendency to embarrass, and gains a natural dignity and joy. This is an invaluable set for anyone wanting to know more of Bernstein’s concert works.

[No. 1] Pappano’s Proms performance with this orchestra of the Jeremiah Symphony felt swiftand direct. His reading here, recorded several months earlier, leaves a similar impression. [No. 2] Rana takes Pappano’s performance to a higher level, always incredibly sensitive, though her ‘jazz’ is a bit careful. Pappano conducts well if not radiantly. [No. 3] The Kaddish, heard here in its original version, is the most emotionally powerful performance,

Pappano, various soloists and his Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia show that Bernstein’s symphonies are now classics of the 20th century. The performances are excellent, lively, dynamic and sensitive as well.