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It is good that the gramophone companies are again turning their attention to Nielsen. After the complete survey of the symphonies from Ole Schmidt and the LSO on Unicorn, we are promised an eight-record set of the concertos and symphonies with miscellaneous orchestral works from the Danish Radio...

This disc originally appeared as part of a three-record set of all the Rachmaninov symphonies 'plus the Vocalise, offered for /J4'49! Superbly played though it is, it is less competitive than either Nos. 1 or 3 on two grounds: first, it is cut and secondly, the recording is not the equal of its...

Ma mire l'Oye is here performed in the extended version, with interludes and two entirely new movements, that Ravel made for a ballet to a scenario devised by himself. Monteux catches the fragile, fairy-tale atmosphere beautifully, with affectionate characterization of the individual scenes and a...

Hans Vonk, thirty-three this year and Principal Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra since 1973, made his Festival Hall debut just over a year ago conducting this very symphony. It was a confident, enjoyable reading, and the record generally reflects the fresh qualities I...

One wonders why Philips kept the stereo version of these performances in cold storage for a full ten years. If they were not considered good enough sonically in 1965, they are scarcely likely to be much approved of now, even though offered at a favourable price. And that is the trouble. The sound...

I was slightly surprised to discover no records of Humphrey Searle's music in the March 1975 edition of the Gramophone Classical Catalogue. This one comes in good time for Searle's sixtieth birthday in August of this year. By now he has completed five symphonies and the first two no longer...