"Summing up Svetlanov's Tchaikovsky is fairly easy in that everything is played either from the gut or from the heart, brilliance is a given, subtle observation less consistent but the sum effect is compelling." "The playing of the USSR State Academic Symphony Orchestra is often quite brilliant, the characterisation imaginative … listening to the set made me realise just how much Svetlanov is missed. He certainly didn’t hold anything back" (Gramophone)