This is an excellent recordings at any time, but there are some passages in Robert Russell Bennett's Porgy and Bess arrangement that sound overwhelming on CD, this being as much as anything due to the vitality of the playing. It is, of course, a piece which goes strongly for immediate effectiveness, and, while less sensitive than Gershwin's own Catfish Row suite from this Opera, it boasts virtuoso orchestration that can be appreciated to the full here. Previn is one of the best interpreters of this composer, and his complete understanding is demonstrated by countless points of balance, emphasis, nuance. It is the more surprising, therefore, that he omits the long, beautiful slow introduction and the storm passage which should come between ''I've got plenty of nothing'' and ''Bess, you is my woman now''.
Much less familiar is Rhapsody No. 2. When reviewing the LP I wrote that the above was the best performance I have ever heard of this rather abrasive piece, and I can scarcely strengthen that recommendation. The Overture receives another admirable performance, and it is pleasing to note that the Latin-American percussion instruments are recorded at exactly the right strength in relation to the orchestra.'