Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade/Capriccio Espagnol
Charles Mackerras is an unassuming guy who just makes great music. He's  never made a bad record, and his enthusiasms range from Handel to Janácek to  Sullivan (he's one of the world's leading authorities on all three). Because  he's had no long-term relationship with any specific label, his career hasn't  been pushed the way, say, Herbert von Karajan's was, but that doesn't make his  recordings any less good. In fact, as this brilliant and exciting performance of  two Rimsky-Korsakov classics shows, Mackerras is as completely at home in these  lush, Romantic orchestral soundscapes as he is in his chosen fields of  expertise. Add Telarc's knockout sound to the equation, and what more could you  ask for?--David Hurwitz