Petrenko’s preference for slow tempos over flexible drama might make for fidgety audiences in the concert hall…It just about works on CD, and then all hell’s let loose in perfectly-balanced uproar. The brass at their most outlandish ricochet off the walls of Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall, go glissando-crazy as in no other recording I know, and help to make the Infernal Dance as thrilling as it can be.

The best moments in this Firebird aren’t the raucous ones. Petrenko homes in on the fine details, like a craftsman working with gold leaf and the finest of brushes…the Khorovod and Berceuse are incredibly beautiful, handled like porcelain, the conductor happy to linger over tender moments... From its opening pinpoint trumpet cock-crow, Petrenko’s Rimsky is just as exquisite…This is a most attractive release.

The sound-worlds of the two pieces are as strikingly similar as the stories which inspired them, with shimmering strings and glittering brass and high percussion conjuring an atmosphere of exoticism and enchantment, and Petrenko’s acute ear for balance ensures that every magical detail registers…The clean, spare textures reminded me more than ever of the kinship between The Firebird and Petrushka or even The Rake’s Progress.