Affectionate, vibrant performances, one and all. Svetlanov's reading of the hugely engaging Third Symphony in particular is a joy: tempos are judged to idiomatic perfection and the Russian Maestro encourages some meltingly expressive phrasing from the admirable USSR SO in the glorious trio section. Of course, wind and brass sonorities have that irresistible Russian tang about them, making for an especially evocative In the steppes of Central Asia, whilst it's also a pleasure to report that both the Prince Igor Overture and agreeably garrulous Petite Suite (the latter a touch over-dressed in Glazunov's orchestration, I feel) receive exemplary, dashingly committed treatment.
There's still a slight tendency to glare on these otherwise expertly-transferred Melodiya tapes (and it's a pity about the clumsy edit at 2A03B into the symphony's first movement), though considering the wide range of recording dates—from 1963 for the Prince Igor Overture to as recently as 1985 for the Petite Suite—the quality is most commendably consistent; certainly, from a purely technical point of view, Svetlanov's 1966 account of The steppes puts the early 1960s Philadelphia/Ormandy version on mid-price Sony to shame.
In other words, this CD can be strongly recommended. (If you're still a mite concerned by the technical reservations I've voiced, then there's always Neeme Jarvi's recent two-disc Gothenburg set on DG covering identical repertoire— a most attractive, altogether healthier-sounding alternative.)'