Having made his rep­utation as the lively conductor of the Brooklyn Philharmonic since 1996‚ Robert Spano has now taken over as music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Here’s his first recording in that new post‚ following many earlier Telarc discs from this orchestra under Robert Shaw and Yoel Levi. Scheherazade and the Russian Easter Festival Overture make an ideal coupling‚ occupying adjacent opus numbers (35 and 36)‚ so it is surprising that they are not coupled on disc more often‚ making this issue the more welcome. The opening violin solo of ScheherazadeÊ–Êthe unidentified player is presumably the Atlanta concertmaster – sets the pattern for the whole performance. Far more than usual that solo is played a tempo without the improvisatory freedom which the writing implies. Some may prefer this‚ but almost inevitably there is a feeling of inhibition‚ which also emerges in other aspects of this account. Though the playing is excellent‚ as one would expect from this orchestra‚ and the recording full and unobtrusively brilliant in Telarc style‚ with fine weight of brass‚ there is just a hint of caution. That is so even when‚ as in the headlong course of the last movement‚ Spano winds the music up to a very fast speed. By comparison both Ozawa (one of Spano’s mentors) in his live recording with the Vienna Philharmonic and Temirkanov with the New York Philharmonic make the music sound wilder‚ aptly so. In the third movement’s love scene Ozawa is markedly more sensuous‚ helped by Viennese strings. On the other hand Temirkanov goes to an opposite extreme from Spano‚ with rhythms and phrases exaggeratedly pulled about. Generally in his speeds Spano stands nicely between OzawaÊ(on the fast side)Êand TemirkanovÊ(much slower)‚ which is to his credit. The Overture‚ too‚ has its element of caution‚ where above all it should sound uninhibited. Yet I am confident that as he grows used to recording in Atlanta‚ Spano’s readings will become more warmly spontaneous‚ less restricted by studio conditions.