BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
It would be a stony heart that wasn't charmed, at least a drop, by the zippy, genial sweep of Andrew Litton's conducting. ... He gamely punched the air at climaxes and pointed to the brass section for more; a brave move, or a reckless one, in the dazzlingly bright acoustic of City Halls. BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Simpson: Israfel; MacMillan: Piano Concerto No. 2; Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2
— Kate Molleson, The Guardian
His Rachmaninov Second Symphony after the interval came as a bit of a relief - a warm, vivid, energetic account. Litton's scherzo was driven and his lush slow movement gloriously opulent - but it topped what felt like an evening of excess with something more thoughtful, and no less roof-raising. BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2
— David Kettle, The Telegraph
(Litton) is a musician of real depth, character and calibre. And the evidence for that was all over his work with the SSO on Thursday. He captured exactly the stillness that, it seems to me, lies at the core of Wagner's Parsifal Prelude, allowing the strings to glow softly and the brass to gleam, with an astonishing purity of playing at the peak of the music from trumpeter Mark O'Keeffe. BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Wagner: Prelude to Parsifal, Elgar: Cello Concerto, Sibelius: Symphony No. 1
— Michael Tumelty, The Herald Scotland
Dynamite. Sheer dynamite from beginning to end . . . There was a riveting duality to Litton's Tchaikovsky Four, which, on the surface, was urbane, unhurried, polished and controlled, but which seethed and heaved like emotional magma underneath, bursting its confines only in the final coda when Litton slammed his foot hard on the gas. A stunning event.
— Michael Tumelty, The Herald
This concerto (Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2) is a winner, full of hijinks and youthful exuberance in the outer movements, where Hamelin and Litton present a wonderfully exciting performance with much colorful playing. The second movement andante is one of the most beautiful and affecting movements written in the twentieth century, and I cannot conceive of a more perfect realization.
— Philip Gold, Enjoy the Music.com
But the writing (of Shchedrin's Piano Concerto No. 2) is bold, and boldly rendered by the BBC Scottish SO under Andrew Litton. A brilliant disc, ludicly recorded.
— Arthur Kaptainis, The Gazette
These are not, after all, [Shostakovich's] most profound works, or his most flamboyant, but Hamelin (aided in no small degree by Litton's shapely, neat-as-a-pin accompaniments) makes them sound substantial, and there's no higher praise than that. The orchestral part, more fully scored than either Shostakovich work, allows Litton and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra a chance to strut their considerable stuff as well. Excellently balanced sonics complete an ideal marriage of soloist, conductor, orchestra, and repertoire. Certainly this is the new reference recording for the Shostakovich [piano] concertos. Bravo!
— David Hurwitz, Classics Today.com
Suffice it to say, in their final concert on Friday with Andrew Litton, Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra as guest conductor, saw the orchestra soar to even greater heights of excellence.
— Alan Cooper, The Glasgow Herald
Peter Donohoe and Andrew Litton have a field day with this charming piece. Here, as in the rather weightier opening movement of [Litolff's] Concerto Symphonique No. 5, their light touch and buoyant rhythmic foundation prevent this sometimes foursquare music from bogging down. They imbue both slow movements with an appealingly operatic lyricism and project the music of the scherzos with a real sense of fun. Excellent sound completes a mightily attractive picture.
— David Hurwitz, Classics Today.com