Ticciati has [the Serenade's] measure, finding more light and shade in the work than some other conductors..The Haydn Variations is beautifully done, most of the variations nicely characterised, with a really majestic build-up in the finale; but I did feel Ticciati was too well-mannered in some of the faster variations...Ticciati has plenty of time to find himself as a first-rate Brahmsian; he's already well on the way there.

The pleasure this disc affords rests in part in the programme it provides...[the Variations] is the perfect work for a young conductor to record. Robin Ticciati, who is roughly the same age as Brahms when he completed the Serenade, barely puts a foot wrong. The opening movement is realised with elan and expressive beauty, the movement with two minuets is deliciously pointed and sprung, and the Adagio non troppo is exactly that

This is a most successful and enjoyable performance of the Serenade. It’s interesting to note that Ticciati, who was born in 1983, was 27 at the time these recordings were made; that’s the same age that Brahms was when he completed the Serenade. I can’t help feeling that it’s not just a coincidence that Ticciati has so convincingly interpreted the music of a man of exactly the same age.

A charming recording from the Bamberger Symphoniker under Robin Ticciati of Brahms's set of variations on a theme formerly attributed to Haydn. There's some nicely elegant playing from the Bamberg winds, and the disc also includes delightful recordings of the Serenade No. 1 and three of the Hungarian Dances.

Though the serenade may not sound like the familiar Brahms, it’s a pleasure to listen to...Ticciati and his splendidly responsive Bamberg players also give a fine account of the St Anthony Variations, rhythmically vital, beautifully shaped and crystal clear, doing full justice to Brahms’s often maligned scoring.