Such a triptych would have been unlikely before the advent of CD, where Tchaikovsky's powerful climaxes do not demand extra groove space. The juxtaposition of his three major Shakespearean tone-poems seems a first-rate idea. Romeo and Juliet an incredibly successful early work remains the masterpiece, of course; Hamlet is not quite its match (although Stokowski, through sheer inspirational conducting, made it seem so on one of his finest records—reissued on dell'Arte). Francesca da Rimini can also be made to sound marvellous, as both Stokowski and Beecham showed, while Russian performances can bring out its agonized fervour and brilliance in a special way. The present disc is given a spectacular recording, full, wide ranging, with plenty of bloom and weight; the LPO play all three works with commitment and generate a fair degree of excitement. John Farrer shapes each piece impressively: the introduction of the love theme in Romeo and Juliet, a key interpretative moment, is smoothly handled and the sword fight sequences have plenty of impetus. The brass and horns make an impressive contribution to the central climax.
Hamlet, too, is well structured, the opening and closing sections very telling, but the march sequence with side-drum isn't exactly electrifying (as it is with Stokowski) and the lyrical secondary theme could have more romantic flair. The middle section of Francesca da Rimini brings much fine playing from the LPO woodwind, but the scenes from Dante's Inferno lack the extra surge of adrenalin which can be so riveting. The passionate climax on the strings before the recapitulation of the ''Inferno music'' is impressively spacious, but the coda needs more of a feeling of ferocious despair. In the last resort, I must say that these are enjoyable performances, but without that spontaneous emotional grip that could have made them really memorable.'