This CD reissue is most welcome, for it is a collection of Berlioz overtures under our leading Berlioz conductor and especially so because three of the five are comparatively little known. Perhaps their sheer length has denied them the popularity of The Roman carnival and The corsair, for they are tremendously weighty pieces; yet like those two very popular overtures they have plenty of dash and brio. Sir Colin brings them off admirably and the orchestra tears into the allegro assai of Les francs-juges with exhilarating zest—while the pp playing is also exceptionally fine.
The recording is mostly good, though somewhat variable. In King Lear the oboe solo is a little distant after all the hurly-burly; and if you turn the volume up to accommodate him better, the full tutti, with brass unleashed, is likely to be too loud for comfort. Full passages could also be in clearer focus (but as soon as I had noted that, the texture became very well defined). Notes are provided by another Berlioz expert, David Cairns, and have the virtue of being clear, succinct and eminently readable.'