Buried Treasure!

Hans Swarowsky was more famous as a conducting teacher than as an orchestra leader. (Zubin Mehta and Claudio Abbado were two of his many star proteges.) But he and his Viennese orchestra -- probably the Vienna Symphony working under a pseudonym -- deliver a very satisfying performance of the Saint Saens symphony. Lps of this recording back in the '60s sounded dreadful, but the master must have been very good because HDTT's CD (transferred from a Urania tape) sounds marvelous, full and warm and still with plenty of detail. The Haydn items are a nice bonus ... interpretations might be a bit 'old fashioned' but boasting lots of 'good old fashioned' bounce!