Reviewed by Dave Massey

Best known for his 'Carnival Of The Animals', Saint-Saens is one of those composers who never really achieved great success despite his very romantic and accessible style. His music does tend to ramble a bit, but of his better known works this is probably the best choice. The Slovak Philharmonic seem much more at home with this composer than they did with Tchaikovsky, which is rather strange, I would have expected it to be the other way around. Ivar Sokoll exploits the orchestral abilities of the organ to the full with some very accomplished and sensitive playing. As an introduction to the world of classical music the piece is a little too rambling and protracted and I wouldn't recommend this as a first disc.

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