''Straight into the top flight of Rachmaninov Thirds goes Arcadi Volodos’s recording, made live at the Berlin Philharmonie. So many things about it are distinguished and thrilling. Volodos’s phrasing is consummately tasteful, all the way through to the cadenza. There his textures are superbly graded, his tone never glaring, even under the pressure of torrents of notes. All’s well, in fact, until midway in the first-movement cadenza, where he inserts a hiatus before the Allegro molto. It sounds terribly calculated, as does the way he steers the cadenza towards its main climax. Just a whiff of self-consciousness can be enough to cancel out a host of poetic or virtuoso touches. 
Though this isn’t a world-beater, it’s certainly one to assess at the highest level. Nothing but praise can be showered upon the BPO for their wonderfully cushioned accompaniment, and upon Levine for his avoidance of all the usual pitfalls. The piano is quite forwardly balanced, so that every tiniest note emerges bright as a new pin; and, given how wonderfully Volodos shapes everything, it’s fine, although you do occasionally feel that you aren’t hearing the orchestra in its full glory. 
As for the solo pieces, the Cello Sonata arrange­ment is a marvel. It floats ecstatically, with air seemingly blowing through the textures as if through a Chekhovian country house on a cool summer evening. It’s heavenly, and the other solos are little short of that.'' Gramophone