It’s good to see these stylish, eminently musical performances reissued at mid-price. Charles Mackerras doesn’t put a foot wrong anywhere. The “Military” Symphony features sprightly tempos in its outer movements, with percussion that’s exciting but never vulgar in the famous Allegretto. In addition to one of the best-ever accounts of its slow movement, the “Drumroll” offers Haydn’s original thoughts on the finale, with its surprising modulations in the closing pages. Fabulous playing, informative booklet notes, and superb sound cap a release that deserves far more acclaim that it has received to date. There’s no point in enumerating the disc’s virtues any further: listen and enjoy them for yourself. You can do “different”, but you can’t do better.
