"A near-perfect combo of works spanning the length and breadth of Carl Nielsen's life's work. The tone poem 'Pan and Syrinx' should rightly come between the two big works but it makes for an impressionable curtain-raiser in this dramatic and atmospheric performance from Edward Gardner and his marvellous Bergen Philharmonic ... Gardner's Third has a great deal going for it and you might say that his objectivity gives the piece free rein to sing its pantheistic hymn to the great outdoors ... So if the programme appeals - and these works do sit so well together - then there is much to enjoy"

"This is Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic's second album of the music of Nielsen ... This time the Flute Concerto takes centre stage alongside the symphonic poem 'Pan og Syrinx' and the Third Symphony ... Gardner and the Bergen Phil colour Nielsen's thrilling bursts of drama with a visceral sense ... Walker is a superbly lucid and agile protagonist ... In his 'Sinfonia espansive', his Third ... the Bergen swing thrillingly through it all ... A fine addition to any Nielsen collection"

"Recording of the month: An involuntary "whoa" escaped my lips when I heard the initial cannon volley that opens this new recording of Carl Nielsen's Symphony No. 3. Each successive shot came more powerful and faster than I had expected. OK, clearly this is an experience worth sitting up for! ... However, it is the "Sinfonia espansiva" here that makes this disc worth running out to buy ... Gardner leads the Bergen Philharmonic in a rendition that peals with faith in the composer's vision, resulting in vigor that is truly "espansiva". So persuasive, so brimming with Eroica-like power is the recording inscribed on this disc that it may be my very favorite yet in digital sound"

"All in all, this disc is a valuable addition to the Nielsen discography. I am not aware of this exact programme elsewhere on disc"

"I do not feel that Gardner has anything distinctive to say about these great works. There are many perfectly musical conductors on today's scene, but all-purpose musicianship is not enough. Nielsen deserves better"