Symphonic Spectacular

Album Review

This double-CD set represents the classical cream of Arthur Fiedler's final decade of recording with the Boston Pops, for Decca and Deutsche Grammophon. Although the Pops by then were just as likely to be doing orchestral arrangements of music from Broadway shows, movies, or contemporary popular songwriters (from Melanie to the Bee Gees), they didn't neglect the classical side of their repertoire, and the state-of-the-art recording facilities of the two labels (long since merged) made these especially rewarding as listening experiences. What may prove surprising to some listeners is the sheer range of Fiedler's repertoire, which extends up from the expected Baroque (Bach), romantic (Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Dvorák, et al.), and post-romantic (Vaughan Williams) to the modern era, encompassing Shostakovich (Festive Overture) and Ginastera (Danza Final). The playing is excellent, and if the interpretations aren't exactly daring or challenging, they're at least spot-on as representations of the pieces at hand, crowd-pleasers all. The tapes have also held up very well and, as with other releases in this series, the reissues are of audiophile quality.