R E V I E W S

(...) a Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony that blazes its way right to the top of the pile. Ondine provides a recording of weight and immediacy, capturing the distinctly expressive sound of the massed Philadelphia strings - substantive, meaty, a living tissue - across a soundstage that is wide and coherent, and that puts organ and orchestra in the same space.
Ted Libbey, The Absolute Sound, August 2007, Golden Ear Music Awards, Editor's Choice Award

I have never heard an organ sound so good from top to bottom in a thoroughly natural concert hall setting.
Arthur Lintgen, Fanfare Magazine, July/August 2007

The inauguration of Verizon Hall's new organ has been preserved for all of us in one of the most outstanding SACDs yet. Somehow, producer Martha de Francisco and her team (assisted by Polyhymnia) have captured the detail, sweetness, and power of the orchestra, as well as the organ’s pipes and pedals, in a recording that is more than a sound spectacular.
Kalman Rubinson, Stereophile Magazine, May 2007

The playing is jaw-droppingly beautiful (those Philadelphia strings!), and the organ so well-integrated into the sound (...) The recording itself is a stunner (...) demonstration-quality result. (...) The balance is utterly realistic, and the bass is staggeringly good if your system can reproduce it; os is the surround sound from the SACD layer. (...) As a record of a great occasion it's a winner.
Andrew McGregor, BBC Radio 3, April 30, 2007, Disc of the Week

Another winner of a SACD from the new collaboration of The Philadelphia Orchestra and the enterprising Finnish classical label Ondine. (...) This new recording (of Poulenc's Organ Concerto) stands out as the best yet in my opinion. A highly recommended hi-res surround release, and packed with nearly the limit of music one disc can hold, plus provided in a slipcase with a larger note booklet.
John Sunier, Audiophile Audtion, April 2007, Multichannel Disc of the Month

The orchestra is in glorious form, with rich strings and a ringing brass section (...). The Barber and Saint-Saëns are played in a celebratory mood, with organist, orchestra, and conductor syncing up perfectly.
Marc Geelhoed, Time Out Chicago, March 1-7, 2007, ******