Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade Op 35 (rec 1954) / Le Coq d'Or [The Golden Cockerel] Suite

While Ansermet's stereo Suisse Romande recording of Scheherazade is well-known and has been frequently reissued, his early (1954) Paris Conservatoire Orchestra recording of this piece is a relative rarity and here receives its first CD outing on Decca. It has, perhaps, that extra bit of fantasy over his later recording of the work and was beautifully recorded by the Producer/Engineer team of Victor Olof and James Brown at the Maison de la Mutualité in Paris. Its coupling receives its first release on CD - the Coq d'Or Suite, recorded two years earlier (in mono) and which tells the tale of the ill-advised King Dodon who meets his end by being pecked to death by a golden cockerel!