Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique & other works

'Fischer is a fine Berliozian …the Ball is the real highlight…the rest of the disc is imaginatively programmed. In the concertante Rêverie et caprice for violin and orchestra, Berlioz employs a discarded aria for Teresa from his opera Benvenuto Cellini. Philippe Quint's gorgeous, feminine tone is perfect casting, deliciously played and drawing out the cantabile lines of this gem' (Gramophone)

'For the past ten years, the conductor Thierry Fischer has been for the Utah Symphony Orchestra what Mariss Jansons did for the Oslo Philharmonic and Simon Rattle for the City of Birmingham orchestra: he lifted a decent and well-regarded local orchestra up to an altogether higher level … one of the first things I noticed in the opening Rêveries - Passions was how exactly Fischer was following the many precise indications which Berlioz had put into his score: the phrasing, the balance between the instruments and the numerous slight quickenings and slowings that he asks for. Next came the excellence of the woodwinds, notably the first flute in the first statement of the idèe fixe … [the couplings] are exceptionally interesting … the recording is rich and full … a worthwhile issue' (MusicWeb International)

'Since Thierry Fischer took over the reins as its music director in 2009, the Utah Symphony has not only thrived but blossomed, as its recent Mahler First Symphony and Saint-Saëns recordings bear out. The musicians certainly give their conductor everything he asks for in this generously filled all-Berlioz disc … Berlioz's deft deployment of three choral groups in Sara la baigneuse provides an ideal showcase for Fischer's supple and vividly characterized vocal forces … full texts and translations are included, along with superb annotations by Berlioz scholar David Cairns' (Classics Today)