1.01 - 1.04 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 5 in E minor, op.64 [46'00]
1.05 - 1.08 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Serenade for Strings in C major, op.48 [30'41]
2.09 - 2.12 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade. Symphonic Suite, op.35 [44'29]
2.13 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Russian Easter Festival Overture, op.36 [13'55]
3.14 - 3.21 Sergei Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet. Ballet Suite [39'08]
3.22 Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet. Fantasy Overture [21'37]
4.23 - 4.26 Sergei Rachmaninov - Symphony No.2 in E minor, op.27 [59'31]
4.27 Sergei Rachmaninov - Vocalise, op.34 no.14 [5'52]
5.28 - 5.32 Igor Stravinsky - The Firebird. Suite (1910 version) [23'28]
5.33 - 5.44 Igor Stravinsky - Le Sacre du printemps [35'24]
6.45 - 6.48 Igor Stravinsky - Petrouchka. Ballet (1911 version) [37'04]
6.49 - 6.51 Igor Stravinsky - Symphony in Three Movements [22'53]
7.52 - 7.55 Dmitri Shostakovich - Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, op.35 [21'12]
7.56 - 7.58 Dmitri Shostakovich - Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, op.102 [18'53]
7.59 - 7.63 Dmitri Shostakovich (arr. Rudolf Barshai): Chamber Symphony, op.110a [21'43]
London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos (Disc 1 - Tchaikovsky Symphony 5)
London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky (Discs 5 & 6 - Stravinsky)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Tadaaki Otaka (Discs 3 & 4 - Prokofiev & Rachmaninov)
English String Orchestra (Disc 1 - Tchaikovsky Serenade); Philharmonia Orchestra (Disc 2 - Rimsky-Korsakov) and Martin Jones- piano, Graham Ashton- trumpet, English Symphony Orchestra (Disc 7 - Shostakovich) conducted by William Boughton.
Nimbus NI 1749 (recorded 1984 - 1994; this compilation issued 2000)
(digital downloads; flacs, cover, inlay and booklet scans)
Recording venues: Walthamstow Town Hall, London (Disc 1 - Symphony 5), Watford Town Hall (Discs 5 & 6), Brangwyn Hall, Swansea (Discs 3 & 4), Royal Albert Hall, London (Disc 2), Great Hall, Birmingham University (Disc 1 - Serenade & Disc 7)
Recording engineers and Producers: not stated.
This compilation from Nimbus includes familiar issues and some almost forgotten. The Fruhbeck de Burgos Tchaikovsky Fifth Symphony, for instance, which is given a fine, if straightforward, performance. It was originally issued coupled with Kodaly's Hary Janos Suite which seems to have disappeared without trace - unmentioned in their online catalogue.
Rozhdestvensky's Stravinsky set is also a find - excellent performances, although the Petrouchka isn't quite at the same level as a broadcast performance given when he was the BBC Symphony's chief conductor.
And I had never come across Martin Jones and William Boughton (Nimbus''house' pianist and conductor) recordings of the Shostakovich Piano Concertos before. Again, although very straight forward in concept, I found them enthralling and very youthful sounding. Graham Ashton's trumpet is outstanding in the First Concerto. I see that these recordings were dismissed out of hand by David Hurwitz - so they can't be all bad.
Tadaaki Otaka proves himself to be equally at home in Rachmaninov's symphonies as he is in the piano concertos with John Lill.
Recording quality is generally fine and natural sounding with only the Birmingham recordings displaying much of Nimbus' legendary over-reverberant quality. The sound of the Philharmonia Orchestra captured in the Royal Albert Hall for Boughton's Rimsky-Korsakov is particularly spectacular.
Download from MEGA.