Neither Muti nor Giulini (DG) was able to secure the services of a leading tenor at the time of recording; so neither set has the kind of quartet Rossinians dream about. When the performances first appeared on LP, I was inclined to favour what I took to be a certain naturalness and ease of utterance in the Muti which the more imposing, at times chillier, Giulini performance sometimes lacked. But there is no doubting the general superiority of Giulini's choral and orchestral forces; and where DG's recording sounds even finer on CD than on LP, the EMI is shown up for what it is: rather fuzzy and unfocused.'