I confess to being only a moderate Tchaikovsky fan. I am deeply moved by his violin concerto, as I've tried to play it and I am not one percent of the violinist that it takes to do so. What motivates this review is that here, in this recording of the Snow Maiden, we are offered so many wonderful tunes, choral, solo voice, and orchestral, that you literally cannot miss. It is as spirited as only Russian folk music brilliantly set to symphony could be. The recording itself is clear as a bell, and the performances are terrific, even inspiring. I think this work may be more of a toe-tapper than even the ubiquitous Tchaikovsky war-horses such as the 1812 Overture. Listen to some samples and make up your own mind.

I had been looking for a popular-priced, single-CD recording of Tchaikovsky's version of this fantasy performed by Russian singers, a Russian orchestra and a Russian conductor and finally found it all in this disc. An authentic, world-class performance by all artists. Although less familiar than some of his other works, this music further confirms that Tchaikovsky was the master of melody in everything he wrote. And the recorded sound is state-of-the-art too.

Everyone should own this CD