Let me say immediately that this new complete Swan Lake is thoroughly recommendable, and most enjoyable, both as a performance and recording. Like the earlier Decca Dutoit set, it includes the ‘Russian Dance’ in Act 3, plus the ‘Pas de deux’ for Siegfried and Odile, while the other ‘Pas de deux’ (No 5) has been restored to its right place in Act 1.

The Russian State Symphony Orchestra is obviously thoroughly at home in this glorious music. So is their excellent conductor, Dmitry Yablonsky, whose tempi can hardly be faulted (although I did feel that the ‘Flight of the Swans’ at the end of Act 1 was a little too swift). Dutoit’s tempo is more graceful here. But throughout the four acts, Tchaikovksy’s magnificent score is presented spontaneously and excitingly, vividly underlining the coherence of this masterpiece.

The Russian solo playing is consistently impressive: Act 2’s ‘Dances of the Swans’ (with fine solo violin and cello contributions) are as vivid as the national dances of Act 4. The orchestra is set back realistically and the effect is always convincing, suitably brilliant with good range and atmosphere and arresting climaxes (the Russian trumpets are especially striking).

But when one turns to the magnificent Decca recording, within the superb acoustics of Montreal’s St Eustache church, one enters an entirely different sound world, and this is immediately, overwhelmingly, apparent. The Montreal orchestra plays with superb finesse and great warmth. Strings are sumptuous, woodwind glowingly coloured, and the resonant bloom over the whole orchestra places the recording very much in the demonstration bracket, especially so in the spectacular closing scene, where the splashing tam-tams add a frisson to Tchaikovsky’s great apotheosis, one of the most thrilling orchestral climaxes he ever wrote.

In short, while the Naxos set is more than worth its modest cost, the Decca full-price recording is in a class of its own. However, the Naxos set has one great advantage: every item is separately cued, whereas often the Decca set cues sections rather than individual numbers.