Pacific Symphony
...Litton, something of a Rachmaninoff specialist, led the orchestra in an easygoing, flowing reading (of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2). He didn't try to limit the sprawl or clarify the textures or overanalyze but just went with it, gave the thing its due on its own terms. His pacing was sure and he seems to have mastered the requisite style of phrasing for this music, a kind of surge and stall in which a phrase is warmed and pushed forward a bit, then held back ever so slightly and softened. A kind of swoon. In the gushing, headlong climaxes, Litton exercised his knees and toes and at times became airborne. The orchestra seemed to take his garrulous leadership in stride, and played easily, comfortably, athletically, luxuriously. It made a grand noise. The audience roared.
— Timothy Mangan, OC Register
Litton has what it takes to organize the piece, to scale its climaxes with just the right amount of momentum, to sustain the long melodic lines and make them sing, to let the rambunctious episodes rip. He did all that and more, conveying a deeper, more soulful understanding of certain phrases, making all kinds of little adjustments in tempo that indicated a real intimacy with this score. Under Litton's control, the Rachmaninoff Second was not one note too long.
— Richard S. Ginell, Los Angeles Times