Artur Rodzinski’s RPO legacy (or at least the small part of it for which EMI were responsible) has a striking personality. Best by far are the Spanish items, the “Ritual fire dance” being one of the most dramatically incisive accounts ever recorded. Beecham’s orchestra is on top form for sultry Granados, sun-drenched Albeniz and a particularly memorable Three-cornered hat. If you require evidence as to just how seductive this so-called martinet could be on occasion, then try 0'22'' into the ballet’s “Introduction”, and note the ensuing woodwind solos (I can remember an equally alluring Rapsodie espagnole that Rodzinski recorded in Cleveland years before). The Russian Easter Festival Overture is suitably regal (the closing pages are swathed in aural glitter) while Romeo and Juliet combines passion and finesse. Rodzinski’s ear for texture and dynamics is particularly apparent near the start of Tod und Verklarung; Strauss’s tinselly Couperin Dance Suite is hugely entertaining (the busy “Tourbillon” especially) and the shorter Russian items confirm an impression of discipline allied to a vivid musical imagination.

-- Gramophone [9/1996]