The main attraction here is Michael Tilson Thomas"s 1991 account of the Fifth Symphony with the LSO. Of all the available versions, none matches it for idiomatic feeling, spot-on accuracy of playing, and sonic excellence. One is struck by the extraordinary detail in Thomas"s reading of the piece--it"s all there in the score, but for once, one actually hears it in performance. Even more impressive is the magnificence of the overall conception. The cinematic sweep of this music, and the powerful emotions it evokes, emerge unmistakably. Thomas also captures the lightness and acerbic wit that make the Classical Symphony so remarkable. The breadth of the programming on this 2-CD set, which includes the popular Lt. Kijé Suite as well as a suite drawn from Prokofiev"s wartime ballet Cinderella, makes it a particularly worthwhile offering. --Ted Libbey