Considering how thrilling
Khachaturian's ballet music is, this is a pretty dull disc. From the opening "Sabre Dance" from Gayane through the "Dance with Crotalums" from Spartacus to the closing Waltz from Masquerade,
Khachaturian's music demands maximal bing, bang, boom, but all
Yuri Simonov and the
Royal Philharmonic can give it is soggy snap, crackle, and pop.
Simonov is an able enough conductor, but his performances here are less slash and burn then slap and tickle. The
Royal Philharmonic of 1994 was one of the more colorful and muscular of the London orchestras, but its playing here is merely professional and perfunctory. Regis' reissue of ASV's gray and dim original recording is just as gray and just as dim. For a fabulous digital recording of brilliant performances of the suites from Gayane and Spartacus, try
Yuri Temirkanov's on EMI with the
Royal Philharmonic at the top of the game. For a fabulous stereo recording of Gayane, try
Antal Dorati's on Mercury with the
London Symphony Orchestra at the peak of its game. Either is vastly preferable to this dull disc.