After an eloquent Adagio and a fairly stodgy Scherzo, he reaches his highest level of alertness in the finale....I felt a welling up of affection for Bernard Haitink as I listened to this release.

This registration allows us to experience the afternoon of gratitude.

Bernard Haitink signs for intimate moments that glisten with loving details, while at the same time building powerful cathedrals of sound and expression. A great achievement, especially for the orchestra that really surpasses itself.

It is clear that the recording with the RFO can certainly stand next to the other recordings Haitink made of the piece, or even surpass them, assuming, certainly, that this is a genuine live event and nothing has been edited.