Giulini’s Los Angeles La Mer has had a spotty history on disc yet it remains his finest account of the score, a bit measured in pace and perhaps not as “splashy” at the climaxes in the outer movements as some others, but beautifully played and recorded all the same. It’s a personal view that had not yet ossified to the extent revealed by his excessively slow remake with the Concertgebouw for Sony. Michael Tilson Thomas’ Images has appeared regularly in various other incarnations prior to this, and it’s still one of the very best available–not least for the supremely idiomatic playing of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (the same observations remain true of the Afternoon of a Faun as well). Ansermet’s En Bateau shows its age sonically, and the orchestra leaves something to be desired in comparison with the general level of world-class excellence otherwise on offer. Still, this is a very distinguished disc and a bargain by any measure.
