And still they come! No doubt spurred into action by Naxos’s phenomenal success‚ the majors‚ it seems‚ are falling over themselves to create a niche in the bargain market­place. Warner Classics are the latest to take up the gauntlet (by the time you read this‚ EMI will also have launched Encore)‚ and‚ as the first 50 titles in their new Apex series demonstrate‚ Matthew Cosgrove (the man behind those admirable Matrix reissues from EMI) has shown considerable expertise and imagination in plundering the Warner back­catalogues. From the present clutch of orchestral offerings‚ Sir Andrew Davis’s 1993 Holst’s The Planets is well worth snapping up as a demonstration disc par excellence; indeed‚ the spectacular range and tangible realism of the sound are breathtaking. Davis’s interpretation has its plus points‚ too‚ rising to revelatory heights in ‘Saturn’ (its central climax unerringly ‘placed’) and ‘Neptune’‚ but just a little too straitlaced in ‘Mercury’‚ ‘Uranus’ and ‘Jupiter’ (whose big tune is a bit heavy­footed here). Elsewhere‚ ‘Mars’ lacks latent menace‚ but it’s a thoughtful‚ sensitive reading overall. An impressive Egdon Heath‚ too‚ if ultimately not as perceptive or compelling as David Lloyd­Jones’s RSNO version on Naxos (6/98). Alas‚ I found a lot less to admire in Davis’s depressingly literal account of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra from 1996: a lacklustre‚ hard­hearted display‚ too piecemeal by half and indifferently played by the Royal Stockholm PO. Whatever happened to the twinkling good humour of the ‘Giuoco delle coppie’ (dispatched in extraordinarily deadpan fashion here) or the homesick anguish of the ‘Elegia’? Beside‚ say‚ Iván Fischer’s electrically fresh and irresistibly tangy performance (Philips‚ 1/99)‚ this is a complete non­starter‚ and the dry‚ unexpansive sound does no one any favours. Technical standards aren’t much better in the coupling‚ a Music for Strings‚ Percussion and Celesta from the Toronto Symphony under Jukka­Pekka Saraste from 1997. Sad to report‚ the Finnish maestro presides over a bloodless‚ under­motivated conception‚ slightly too ragged around the edges for comfort. Go for Reiner on RCA Living Stereo instead (3/94). Happily‚ Saraste and his Toronto band make amends in a 1996 all­Mussorgsky programme. After a trim‚ almost balletic Night on the Bare Mountain (in Rimsky’s scoring)‚ we get a Pictures with a difference‚ a colourful conflation of orchestrations by Leo Funtek and Sergei Gortschakov. Some numbers come off better than others‚ but the whole makes for intriguing and thoroughly diverting listening. With superior production­values to boot‚ this is a most attractive proposition. Saraste features again‚ this time at the helm of the Finnish RSO in a pairing of Sibelius’s Second and Fifth Symphonies. This partnership’s Sibelius symphony cycle for RCA was full of stimulating ideas‚ but I don’t sense a kindred freshness‚ grip or re­creative spark in these live 1993 performances from St Petersburg’s Philharmonic Hall. The Fifth is expertly paced and has some imaginative touches‚ but the Second’s scherzo has an aggressive‚ impatient fluster about it‚ and the closing pages of both fail to storm the heavens. Maybe the recording’s to blame‚ too: bloom and atmosphere are in singularly short supply. I hugely enjoyed Kurt Masur’s 1991 concert relay with the NYPO of Dvo·ák’s New World Symphony – an articulate‚ routine­free interpretation that has all the tingling concentration‚ affectionate warmth and free­wheeling spontaneity Saraste’s live Sibelius lacks. High drama is the keynote in both outer movements‚ yet there’s some rapt string playing in the Largo‚ while the trio beams with innocent wonder (marvellous‚ cooing clarinets). As digital New Worlds go‚ Masur’s is one of the very best‚ and the three Slavonic Dances make a toothsome postscript. I was particularly pleased to see the recent restoration (on an Ultima twofer) of Armin Jordan’s treasurable 1984 Erato recording of Dukas’s Symphony in C (6/85). However‚ Jordan’s bright­eyed Mahler Fourth is not in the same exalted class‚ being chipper and uncomplicated to a fault. Edith Wiens sings charmingly in the finale‚ but the finished article does not represent this underrated‚ wonderfully musical conductor at his best. Next‚ a frustrating mismatch. Shostakovich’s two piano concertos find steely­fingered advocacy in Elisabeth Leonskaja‚ but her fun­free‚ unyielding manner is not for me. What makes this doubly irritating is that Hugh Wolff’s accompaniments with the Saint Paul CO are an absolute treat (trumpeter Gary Bordner admirable in the First Concerto). Leonskaja partly redeems herself with a probing acount of the brooding Second Piano Sonata. Last‚ but not least‚ a showcase for the formidable gifts of Jean Martinon. His exciting and authoritative Saint­Saëns Organ Symphony with the French Radio National Orchestra easily triumphs over the somewhat harsh‚ hissy 1966 sound (and‚ at 1'54" into track 2‚ what I presume to be an editing blunder deprives us of two bars). Marie­Claire Alain’s is a distinguished presence both here and in the thrilling account of Poulenc’s Organ Concerto which closes proceedings. Sandwiched between are characterful readings of Saint­Saëns’s Danse macabre and Le rouet d’Omphale. Last available on an Erato Bonsai CD bereft of liner­notes (an oversight rectified here‚ I’m glad to report)‚ this vintage compilation is well worth anyone’s fiver.