In my original review of this heavily Romantic version of Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony, I complained of a lack of inner definition compared with rival versions. With extra clarification brought on CD few will find that a serious fault any longer, though with weighty bass it is not an ideally luminous sound. The weight of bass—still more oppressive on CD—tends to underline the over-expressive style adopted by Bernstein. Where in the Shostakovich Fifth (reviewed on page 1261) Bernstein's warmth seems totally apt, here it diminishes the refreshing pointedness of Prokofiev's writing, even when he is at his most openly lyrical. The finale is Bernstein's most convincing movement, but even there his humour is rough rather than sharply ironic.'