Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 / Francesca da Rimini (Royal Edition No. 91)
Bernstein directs exciting performances of both the symphony and the tone poem, even if he does add a few extra cymbal crashes to the finale of the former (they actually make a lot sense). The problem, if there is one, is the recorded sound in the symphony, which is very dry and unpleasant, even though it's more recent than the other performances in this Tchaikovsky cycle. Given the large number of fine performances of this symphony by other conductors (Markevitch, Mravinsky, and Jansons, for example), this factor may well disqualify the recording from consideration.--David Hurwitz