"Ernest Ansermet described Roussel as “a true Frenchman [who] conveyed musical dynamism through orchestral colouring. His melodies pass from one instrument to another, crossing a variety of orchestral textures, where they risk being lost.” Ensuring adequate projection of important features and lines in a Roussel score must be quite a challenge, less perhaps when he was in his early impressionist mode (the First Symphony), but definitely in the later concise and incisive neo-classical works (Third and Fourth Symphonies). Janowski is better at profiling the slower lines than he is at projecting faster-moving melody and busy details, but then who am I to say whether the inconsistent projection of the latter in the more breezy and cheery parts of the last two symphonies (especially their scherzos) is his fault or the result of the way the orchestra is recorded (relatively distantly in a fairly spacious acoustic)? In particular, the percussion are very discreet unless playing loudly, which, under Janowski, is not as often as you may feel you have a right to expect. However, it could be argued that here what Janowski offers is a fair show of spirit – tempered with discretion, a general refinement of tone and a delicacy of touch – that is more French in, say, the Third Symphony’s last two movements than Bernstein’s ‘fun at the fair’.

Turn exclusively to Roussel’s slower inspirations and much is outstanding, especially the wind-strings balance. Unlike Dutoit, such things as the first horn doubling the top line cellos at the start of the Third Symphony’s Adagio, and the violin solo with clarinet in the meditative central section of that symphony’s finale are caught to perfection. And more generally in the slow music, it is Janowski’s exquisite nuancing of melody (timing as well as shaping) that catches the ear as often as the correctly achieved balances, the purity of tone and the general limpidity of the sound."

-- John Steane, Gramophone [6/1996]