Charles Dutoit made some of his first recordings with the Royal Philharmonic for Deutsche Grammophon, so this disc represents a reunion of sorts. It’s not bad, but also not necessary. The performance of Scheherazade is colorful enough, a touch casual rhythmically, and not as exciting in the finale as it should be. The Russian Easter Festival Overture is just dull. Recessed timpani and percussion at the end (except for the glockenspiel) deprive the final climax of the necessary weight, as does that curse of so many English orchestras: a lack of body and presence in the lower strings. There’s a stunning coupling of these pieces on Philips featuring Kondrashin in Scheherazade and Markevitch in the overture, both with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, which is basically unbeatable. If you have that, you certainly don’t need to hear this new release.
