Solti’s 1956 recordings of Tchaikovsky’s Second and Fifth symphonies included on this collection are his only recordings of them. He never recorded a complete cycle, although, in the 1970s he recorded the Fifth and Sixth. Both symphonies were recorded with the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra.

The story behind his recording of Russian orchestral favourites is an interesting one. In 1959 he recorded this programme with the Berliner Philharmoniker. In 1966 he recorded a near-identical programme with the London Symphony Orchestra. The Berlin recording was not issued on LP until July 1973, held back to make room for the LSO programme. The ‘Dance of the Persian slaves’ was issued on CD by Decca in 1998, but this is the first integral release internationally on Decca CD.

This release forms part of a mini-series on Eloquence of, in the main, Solti’s early recordings.

‘Solti’s hurricane-like Tchaikovsky Serenade has to be heard to be believed – the finale almost flies off with the gale’ - Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and DVDs

‘Solti directs a most exciting performance … [he brings off the waltz] completely successfully by very clean and precise string-playing in the staccato semiquaver passages – these have a beautifully effective bite, where so often they merely sound busy. And in the uncut finale there is a great build-up of excitement. […] The successful performance is matched by a successful recording. The virtues include good balance throughout, both richness and brilliance of tone, with highly effective catching of the brass’ - Gramophone, October 1956 (Symphony No. 5)

‘This performance [of Night on a Bare Mountain] with every player sitting on the edge of his seat in terror of the speed, is just as it should be … desperate excitement… Likewise Ruslan and Lyudmila, a full-blooded virtuoso performance of a virtuoso piece […] virtuoso playing and lively recording’ - Gramophone, July 1973 (Glinka, Mussorgsky, Borodin)