The first impressions from the international press about Britten & Elgar‘s album on Linn Records are staring to arrive and they are enthusiastic.

Andrew McGregor said on BBC Radio 3:

It’s an excellent recording, you don’t miss a detail… it’s a warmer Sunday morning than some but the storm still has vicious teeth.

Ralph Moore wrote on Music Web International:

The depth, clarity and balance achieved here are impeccable and the conclusion is wonderfully released and cacophonous. […] the homogeneity of the string sections and the sonority of the brass are especially impressive but every section of the orchestra is flawless. […] I cannot imagine it better played.

Sven Kerkhoff wrote on Musik an sich:

The violin and the orchestra offer a noble sound and a tendency towards symbiotic fusion […] in a sympathetically unagitated and orchestrally transparent manner, until Crudele knows how to let the pack off the leash at the right moment in the finale.

Colin Clarke wrote on Classical Explorer:

The “Moonlight” third movement is very beautiful, and notable for its delicacy.

Crudele’s flinking movements are his finest. The fragility of “Dawn” balanced the robust “Storm”. And listen to how, in the latter, Crudele highlights Britten’s many, many felicities of scoring.

Crudele again finds a multitude of touches in the score that so often go under the radar.

Malcom Hayes of BBC Music Magazine rated the album 4 out of 5 stars and wrote:

The alternating poetry and drama of ‘Dawn’ are memorably captured […]

MusicWeb International wrote:

The violence of the outer sections of Storm is underlined by the impact of the percussion section and the brilliance of sound produced by the Linn production team further enhances its appeal; the depth, clarity and balance achieved here are impeccable […] I cannot imagine it better played; the homogeneity of the string sections and the sonority of the brass are especially impressive but every section of the orchestra is flawless.