Santu De Silva wrote about Robert King: >this i sthe King Consort fellow, I believe. Wasn't he the one who did the >epic recording (Hyperion) of the Royal Fireworks with the half a million >oboes? I've always wanted this recording, and now that I can actually >afford it I don't know where to look... Look here for full details: http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/details/66350.html 'This recording recreates the scale of [the] original outdoor performance with 24 oboes, nine each of horns and trumpets, a dozen bassoons, and a mighty percussion of four pairs of timpani including a unique pair of extra-large 'double drums' and four side-drummers. The effect is shattering, the clearest justification for 'authenticity' in performance' (BBC Music Magazine Top 1000 CDs Guide) My assessment matches Bill Hong's: >I'm not all that sure that King's versionof the Fireworks Music has any >real revelations in it, but the disk has a VERY nice "filler"--all four of >the Coronation Anthems. The fireworks instruments en masse sound cautious and a little coarse. I prefer the livelier sparks of Trevor Pinnock's (DG) and Bohdan Warchal's (Naxos) recordings. La Rejouissance from Bohdan Warchal and the Capella Istropolitana is a real sparkler. James Kearney [log in to unmask]