Chailly here repeats the success of his earlier collection of Rossini overtures (Decca SXDL7534, 10/81), losing nothing of the geniality and exuberance of the first set of performances but now offering cleaner ensemble and more polished detail. There are many moments to give special pleasure; the witty interchanges between strings and wind in the crescendo passages of Torvaldo e Dorliska (a captivating piece); the elegant wind solos in Semiramide; the brio combined with a nicely light touch in the allegro of Le siege de Corinthe. Otello, too, is another lesser-known overture where Chailly attractively brings out both the humour and the dash of Rossini's inspiration.
The digital recording, as before, has remarkable definition and realism at piano and pianissimo levels, but although tuttis are brilliantly vivid I have to enter the reservation that there is a touch of aggressiveness on the fortissimo strings which the DG engineers avoided in their recording of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in similar repertoire (415 363-1GH; CD 415 363-2GH, 10/85). Even so, the Decca collection is difficult to resist when the performances are so infectious. As usual, CD offers marginally greater tangibility for both the woodwind solos—helped by the background silence, although the LP surfaces are immaculate—and the violins are beautifully focused at lower dynamic level. But the bright lighting in the upper range tends to over characterize in the climaxes.'