MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos 8 & 9

Vaughan Williams's Eight and Ninth Symphonies carry on the composer's enchantment with unusual instruments that first appeared in the Seventh Symphony, the famous Sinfonia Antartica. In the Eighth, there's a terrific "bell" finale with its three tuned gongs and "all the phones and spiels known to the composer," as well as inner movements written exclusively for winds and strings. The Ninth has its share of exotic percussion too, but also a flugelhorn and a trio of saxophones. It's all great listening, and it has never been better performed and recorded than in these two outstanding performances. --David Hurwitz

Note: Cover may have a very slight damage