This splendidly produced collection will surprise and, I believe, delight. Lehar’s mastery of the orchestra has never been in doubt; and here is further evidence of his technical accomplishment. Such touches of the operetta composer as are here are of the more ambitious operetta scores such as Zigeunerliebe. More often it is Wagner, Richard Strauss and Korngold who come to mind. Throughout, the music is tastefully and evocatively written, and with a supreme confidence in the handling of a large orchestra. Tatjana was an early operatic attempt of which Lehar was especially fond, and its preludes and dances capture the starkness of its Siberian setting. Il guado (“The ford”) and the concert overture Eine Vision are works from the Lustige Witwe years, when Lehar was still seeking to determine in which direction his future lay. The former is a symphonic poem with some attractively rippling writing for the piano, the latter a recollection of the Bohemian countryside of his youth. The elegant Concertino for violin and orchestra, which has been recorded previously, is a student work that demonstrates his affection for his own instrument. Fieber is the starkest piece in the collection – a bitter First World War portrayal of a soldier in the throes of a deadly fever. Donaulegenden gives glimpses of the familiar waltz-time Lehar, but a Lehar looking back sadly at a bygone age. What other operetta or waltz composer could have written music as powerful, gripping and spine-tingling as this? Do try it!'