Jules Massenet is famous for his series of 27 operas that include Manon and Werther, but he also wrote a significant portfolio of orchestral music which include ballets, orchestral suites and incidental music. The works presented here show his versatility and lyricism and include the one-act ballet Espada, saturated in Iberian colour and beguiling rhythms, as well as Les Érinnyes (‘The Furies’) with a vivid sequence of contrasting themes. Modelled after Liszt, Visions is a poème-symphonique of both ethereal and dramatic power.

Jean-Luc Tingaud’s recordings for Naxos have always done very well, with Poulenc’s Les Biches (8573739) given a 10/10 score by ClassicsToday.com, along with comments such as ‘Tingaud’s precise, clear-eyed direction is just what this music needs’. Vincent d’Indy’s Second Symphony (8573522), also with the RSNO, was given a rave review by Fanfare: ‘This recording [by] Tingaud and his Scottish orchestra should absolutely fire up new interest in a composer who has been unjustly neglected. Very strongly, if not urgently, recommended.’

Their most recent recording of Franck’s symphonic poem Psyché (8573955) also received a 10/10 score from ClassicsToday.com and the ‘Supersonic’ award from Pizzicato: ‘we are dealing with top-class performances here… Repertoire value and interpretation justify our top rating.’

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra has a worldwide reputation for the quality of its recordings, receiving two Diapason d’or de l’année awards for Symphonic Music and eight GRAMMY Award nominations over the last decade. The RSNO’s numerous Naxos recordings include Roussel’s Symphony no.2 (8570529) which gained the Gramophone ‘Editor’s Choice’.