(Photo: Cordula Groth)
Tom Service [Guardian, 2 September 2006]

From the very first chord, there is something special about this Magic Flute. Conductor Claudio Abbado achieves a performance of such radiance and refinement from the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, it is as if you are hearing Mozart's score for the first time. Every note and every phrase has a clarity and directness of expression that makes you gasp at the virtuosity of the players and the brilliance of Abbado's music-making.