TURN-ONS AND TURN-OFFS IN CURRENT HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASES : Excellent Good Fair Poor : COMPACT DISCS

Mussorgsky-Ravel: “Pictures at an Exhibition”; Ravel: “La Valse.” Andre Previn conducts the Vienna Philharmonic. Philips. DDD. With all respect to Previn, the real star here is the Vienna Philharmonic, which, remarkably, had never recorded these two orchestral staples (“La Valse” is set in Vienna, for heaven’s sake). In these exciting concert performances, the players make the most of every virtuosic turn, led by a conductor more than willing to permit them a bit of showing off. The recording is almost too detailed, with every voice brought artificially forward--a boon, however, to fans of Ravel’s vivid orchestrations. 1/2