Mussorgsky-Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition L'OSR/Ansermet (London BB CS6177). Once again Ansermet turns in a performance that is uniquely refreshing. The wind and string playing is so vividly characterized that I enjoyed the earlier portraits much more than usual. Sample No. 1, the "Gnome:" the string players savor their creepy glissandi as if the effect was just discovered. Normally I don't like a surprise insertion of a big organ in the end, especially without my consent, but it looks like Ansermet borrowed from Stokowski's orchestration and included it in the last bars of the Great Gate. Ansermet is careful to vary the character and pacing of each return of the signature brass choral of the Great Gate as well, as it can easily outwear its welcome and sound redundant. The recording is vivid, but not as wide-ranging as other Ansermet/London-Decca's I've enjoyed. Two Ansermet's I was surprised that I didn't like: Tchaikovsky's Suite No. 3, (CS 6543), and Prokofiev's Selections from Romeo and Juliet, (CS6240 BB). In the Tchaikovsky, the let-down for me was during the 4th mov't variations: the L'OSR strings-sensitive though they may be-just didn't have the weight and/or fullness necessary (for me at least) in the broad, glorious central melody. As a whole I found the whole Suite to be a rather dark affair, lacking in sparkle. The Prokofiev is spectacular from a recording point of view. Sample the absolutely huge soundstage thrown by the (unfortunately sluggish) Montagues and Capulets, or the uncanny delicacy of the light percussion and solo winds of the Minuet. This is what vinyl's all about. What I didn't like-and it's a make-or-break moment for me-is the heavy-handedness of the Balcony Scene. During the hugely erotic central section, the trumpet crowds-out all else with a horribly wide vibrato to boot. Ansermet's Beethoven Symphony No. 7 (CS6183) This is only my second encounter with Beethoven's Symphony 7, the other one being Klieber's on DG, and I couldn't find any reviews at all regarding Ansermet's Beethoven legacy. From a recording point of view, I like the Ansermet better: Beethoven's orchestrations and ideas were much easier to take in, being so logically and spaciously laid out between the speakers. I also never tire of the earnest and piquant playing of the L'OSR winds. What do you Beethoven specialists think? I don't dare give a point of view having so little interaction with the 7th, or. Beethoven's 3rd: Walter/CSO Columbia and Szell/Cleveland: Epic blue label vs. Columbia Great Performances re-release, (MY37222). I don't have much experience with the Eroica either. To acquaint myself with it, I played, mov 't by mov't, Szell's and Walter's. I can see why people are enthusiastic about the Szell, especially in the 1st mov't. While Walter's is lovely enough, his kind of rattles along like an antique car when compared to Szell 's extremely tight, urgent and rhythmically pointed performance. When it comes to those repeated dissonant hammer-blows in the middle of the mov't, I was truly mesmerized by Szell. The only place at which Walter did better-to my ears-was the final mov't, especially the coda: those horns ring out thrillingly. On the Epic blue label vs. Columbia Great Performances, the latter claiming Dolby remixing and remastering, I can say that the Great Performance re-release was markedly better. Don't expect miracles, but the re-release yielded a more spacious and airier acoustic and a more focused sound. Telling moments for comparison include the increased clarity of the bass melody that opens the 2nd mov't, and the embedded melody in the quickly-repeating strings of the opening of the 3rd mov't. Now here is a miracle, in every way: Sibelius Symphony 2 with Barbirolli on Chesky, (CR3). I know quite a few Sibelius 2nds, including the usual suspects, Karajan, Szell, and Davis. This one beats them all. Barbirolli points out some gorgeous passing chords, especially in the slow mov't that I had never noticed. His pacing and his orchestra's command of light and shade is nigh-on perfect. On top of all this, a recording that has the most amazing wing-span!The edges of the orchestra reach so far beyond the outer edges of the speakers that I was drop-jawed. Sample the big lyrical string theme that after the Vivacissimo. I must write Kenneth Wilkinson a fan letter, as this moment has become my reference for soundstaging. Three quick mentions: Not a reference for sounstaging, or much else technically, but who cares: Janacek's Gagmewithit Mass. (Glagolitic Mass) Ancerl/Czech PO (Supraphon 50 519). A classic, the rhythms sound just right, the organ solo makes sense, and is rhymically pointed as well as awe-inspiring, and the tenor that closes the Credo really sounds authoritative. Monteux's Rite of Spring with the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra. (RCA LSC 2085). A "shaded dog," recording that is not quite as timeless as some of the other shaded's are claimed to be, but it's certainly very good. What stood out in this Rite was point after point of textural revelation, especially regarding the woodwinds and rhythmic layering in Stravinsky's score. Monteux clearly adopts often slower tempi based upon the abilities of his orchestra, but I found the performance to be both refreshing and honest, if that makes sense. The challenges to the orchestra, most often won, translate into an exhilarating listen. Finally, a Hungaroton surprise: Vivaldi's Guitar Concerti with Lazlo Szendrey Karper and the Hungarian Chamber Orchestra/Vilmos Tatrai, Conductor. (SLPX 11970) Recorded in '79, this is clearly NOT your grandson's Vivaldi: tempi are slow, ornamentation is sparse and sometimes clumsy, but what a recording. The players are spread out in the room, I kid you not. John Smyth