These two richly-filled CDs provide a perfect introduction to the joys of ballet music. The set is intended to appeal specifically to young girls who are interested in ballet, but will also be enjoyed by all grown ups who are young at heart. It contains the best loved and most familiar items from many of the popular ballets that are frequently performed by all the great dance companies around the world. Here are some of the major ballets represented in the programme: * Tchaikovsky"s three undying masterpieces: Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker * Prokofiev"s brilliant settings of the fairy tale Cinderella and Shakespeare"s powerful tragedy Romeo and Juliet * Adam"s Giselle, probably the greatest romantic ballet of all time, and the beautiful abstract work Les Sylphides that uses music by Frédéric Chopin * Two of the most enduring French ballets: the delightful story of the mechanical doll Coppélia and the pastoral tale of the nymph Sylvia, both with music by Léo Delibes * Three wonderful English ballets that specially appeal to children: La Fille mal gardée, Tales of Beatrix Potter and Pineapple Poll Other novelties in the album include the rousing `Sabre Dance" from Gayaneh by Khachaturian, `Popular Song" from William Walton"s Façade, the lively can-can overture to Gaîté Parisienne using the music of Offenbach, the complete `Dance of the Hours" from the opera La Gioconda (made famous in Disney"s original Fantasia), and The Dying Swan, created by the legendary Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova to music by Saint-Saëns from Carnival of the Animals. The works are performed by some of the world"s finest orchestras under an impressive line-up of conductors, including Herbert von Karajan, John Lanchbery, Sir Charles Mackerras, André Previn, Sir Malcolm Sargent and Barry Wordsworth