Giulini's ear for orchestral color illuminates the delicate textures of Ravel's Mother Goose Suite--an interesting choice for a concert pairing. However, the low-level recording places the listener in a center balcony seat, requiring a significant volume boost for the woodwinds to register properly. No such problem affects the double basses, which resonate throughout the hall. Nor the strings, which sing sweetly in the graduated build-up to the magical conclusion, a passage that Giulini takes with exceptional deliberateness (reminding of his contemporaneous Mahler Ninth recording). In sum, while not the first choice for either work, the disc nonetheless should prove a treat for Giulini fans.

--Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com