Though the string sound was luscious, the playing overall was somewhat hard-driven, and too blaring in climactic passages.

Then the CD player automatically adjusts the tape recorder to the exact level of the volume peak so the copy won't distort at the climactic passage.

The climactic passages have a kind of hallucinatory clarity, and they stick in the mind.

If the music is played at low or medium volume settings throughout, even the more climactic passages might not exceed the competence of a relatively low-powered model.

A second climactic passage follows, after which this section ends.

The intensity in certain climactic passages of the "Waldstein" is surely meant to be achieved by keeping the buildup of fortissimo chords absolutely steady.

This is music of such strength and vision that you just can't not be moved by the time they swing into the final climactic passage of 'Switch', the closing track.

Ensemble between strings and piano was tentative at first, but climactic passages of the third and fourth movements barreled along with symphonic force.

Particularly interesting was the piano tone, which Mr. Ostrovsky kept dry and sharply articulated much of the time, saving the instrument's full power and resonance for climactic passages that demanded those qualities.

When he was at his best and most engaged, he brought the solo line to life with touches of rubato in his phrasing or a tightly focused vibrato applied to climactic passages.