Khachaturian: Masquerade Suite; Kabalevsky: The Comedians; Tchaikovsky: Capriccio Italien; Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol / Kondrashin

Kondrashin came to the U.S. in 1958 to conduct concerts for Van Cliburn. While he was recording the Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto with Cliburn, RCA also had him make these recordings (originally two LPs) with pickup musicians in New York's Manhattan Center. The nucleus of the orchestra was composed of members of the old NBC Symphony, and the ensemble plays splendidly, with violinist Oscar Shumsky earning his solo credit. Kondrashin leads spirited performances of these warhorses, mostly music so vulgar we should be ashamed of enjoying it as much as we do. RCA's famous "Living Stereo" sound has transferred splendidly to this CD, making it an exquisite, guilty pleasure. --Leslie Gerber