I enjoyed this disc very much in its stereo incarnation, and I like it even more in multi-channel sound. This is one of the finest such productions to come from Naxos, a recording of great impact and liveliness that perfectly suits the music. Without excessive rear-channel emphasis the performances gain in both depth and clarity (listen to those coco shells in “On the Trail” from the Grand Canyon Suite), and this also leads me to revise my estimation of them slightly upward: they have just that much more energy and bite. If I have any reservations at all, it’s that the prominent center channel may tend to collapse the stereo spread on some systems, but this is adjustable. Don’t miss the vivid rush of the water in the Niagara Falls Suite (a sound that moved Mahler to exclaim, “At last, a real fortissimo!”). I can only agree. Great fun. [9/20/2004]
