The solo playing is nothing short of fantastic offering shadings that lend matters an almost romantic character. In fact, it is so good that I decided to list all the soloists. The opening piece is exciting and dramatic. The notes also offer insights to performance practice of the time that I found interesting. I hear variety in each piece and within each piece.
Nothing ever becomes aural wallpaper.
I know that this will be one of the finest discs I have heard in the year 2000. Another matter to discuss is how this disc affects what might be a prejudice of mine and perhaps yours, too. It is not really a prejudice since I have listened to many such recordings and feel certain that Stokowski would have been in favor of such performances. On the other hand, my experiences have been generally negative. As a result I almost didn t bother to listen to this disc.