Captured in full-blooded Mercury sound (as ever) amazingly belying its 30-year plus vintage Paray's New World is an enjoyable athletic affair. Its formidable propulsion makes for a reading less outwardly affectionate than those memorable accounts from such master-Dvorakians as Kubelik (DG Privilege), Rowicki (Philips—part of a six-disc set) or Barbirolli (EMI Phoenixa). Nor for that matter, does it possess the over-whelming cogency of say, Karel Ancerl's superb 1961 performance with the Czech Philharmonic (Supraphon Great Artists Series ((CD) 11 1242-2). But it's a profoundly invigorating, healthy-sounding account for all that, and I'm certainly glad to have made its acquaintance.
The Sibelius coupling sounds scarcely less vivid but here Paray's no-nonsense approach pays fewer dividends. Although there's no denying the great French conductor's affection for this glorious score (rather endearingly, to my mind, you can often hear him adding his own vocal contributions to Sibelius's arching melodies), some consistently brisk tempos and over-tense phrasing contribute to an impression of curiously short-winded fervour. Despite a big-hearted, enthusiastic response from the Detroit orchestra (witness their stirring string tone in the 'big tune' of the finale, for example), the overall effect is more excitable than exciting, far-sighted symphonic rigour too often undermined by unhelpful impetuosity. '