a very enticing 27-CD box set. All the key works are here . . . it makes a near-ideal introduction to the composer . . . [Mravinsky's symphony recordings] are true classics and enshrine a style of performance that draws its strength from the notes rather than from a manipulation of them . . . [Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra] also give us most of the tone-poems and overtures, and they're done with great flair . . . [the Antal Dorati/New Philharmonia recordings of the four Orchestral Suites] stand the test of time very well. Dorati is a fine guide to these neglected works and the New Philharmonia play beautifully . . . Seiji Ozawa conducts the Boston SO in "Swan Lake" and "The Nutcracker" very elegantly and Pletnev gives us "The Sleeping Beauty" with a palpable love for this glorious score . . . The Emerson Quartet give us the First String Quartet -- a lovely performance full of insight and a surprisingly delicate tenderness. The Piano Trio comes from the high-power trio of Gidon Kremer, Maisky and Argerich, and sparks, needless to say, fly. Vladmir Ashkenazy plays "The Seasons" with enormous charm and imagination . . . On the vocal front, Olga Borodina and Larissa Gergieva offer a programme of "Romances and Songs" with a near-ideal mix of intimacy and drama . . . A disc of choral music -- selections from the "Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom" and the "Choral Pieces" -- finds the magnificent St Petersburg Chamber Choir under Nikolai Korniev on top form. They clearly have this music in their blood and from the floorboard-rattling basses up to the perfectly blended woman's voices make an utterly entrancing sound . . . this set will give a huge amount of pleasure and confirm Tchaikovsky's place as one of music's melodists and craftsmen.