Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 5 & Russian Orchestral Works

Solti's 1956 recordings of the Tchaikovsky 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 program with the Berliner Philharmoniker. In 1966 he recorded a near-identical program with the London Symphony Orchestra. The Berlin recording was not issued on LP until July 1973, held back to make room for the LSO program. 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.