The selling-point of this record will presumably be the glamour of the Labeque sisters. But for me the highlight (in terms of composition as well as performance) is not Rhapsody in Blue but An American in Paris. I played this alongside the 1971 LSO/Previn LP recording (EMI EG290849-1, 7/86), a long-established favourite. In their controlled extroversion Previn and Chailly are broadly comparable, but the Clevelanders have a trump card in their gloriously ripe trumpet solo. The percussion, too, are a fraction more stylish and the brightly-lit recording captures their contributions with startling clarity.
The swing of the Cleveland Orchestra's rhythm is as idiomatic as the constraints of synchronization allow. It certainly feels more natural than the Labeques' in Rhapsody in Blue. Admittedly their rubato has become slightly less blatant than it was in their two-piano 'solo' recording (Philips 9500 917, 6/81; CD 400 022-2PH, 3/86); but it still misses the languour and loose-jointed ease of the real thing. Like the mechanical nightingale in Hans Christian Andersen, the attraction of the synthetic substitute is short-lived.
Taking their cue from the composer's recording, the Labeque sisters have added various ''additional decorations.... that would no doubt have delighted the composer''. I prefer to think that the performances of the comparatively unfamiliar Lullaby (which really cries out for lyrics), the Cuban Overture (full of panache) and An American in Paris, would have delighted him more. The recording gives as thrilling an impression of an orchestra as I recall hearing through my speakers.'