Search - Beethoven, Schubert, Gibault :: Symphony 5 / Symphony 8

This disc, part of a super-bargain series featuring one of London's best orchestras, is led by a young French conductor best known in opera. She seems a strange choice for such basic repertoire, but she does her work quite well, leading committed performances of both works that make excellent sense. She also takes the right repeats. If there weren't such heavy competition, even at this price level, the disc might be a sensible choice. Its major handicap, though, is the recorded sound, very much in what used to be the English taste--distant and mellow, as though heard from a remote balcony seat. You can tell that the players and conductor are trying to give us the important details, but they don't register as they should. --Leslie Gerber