Neeme Järvi always has had a habit of adopting swift tempos, but lately he seems to be taking this to the point of mania…He generally benefits from quick, enlivening speeds, especially in such places as the frenetic Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila, where the virtuoso timpanist urges his colleagues on to a smoking finish…Phaëton also is very exciting, with Zeus’ thunderbolt captured to visceral effect by the Chandos engineers. In short, wherever the music calls for excitement or volume, as in the two marches, you can count on Järvi to deliver the goods.

…with 77 minutes of music including several rare items (the Coronation March, the berceuse Une nuit à Lisbonne, the overture to La Princesse jaune), this is a very generous collection that earns a solid, if not quite ecstatic, recommendation. © 2012 ClassicsToday.com Read complete review