Tchaikovsky's first ballet score, Swan Lake, is quite simply a masterpiece which revolutionized ballet music. Prior to Swan Lake the emphasis in ballet had been largely on the dancing, and most ballet scores had only been expected to be rythmic dance accompaniments that were, if possible, also fairly tuneful. True, Adam's Giselle and Delibe's Coppelia rose considerably above such modest expectations. But with his score for Swan Lake Tchaikovsky made the music fully as important as the dancing. In fact, he went further and created essentially a four act symphonic poem to accompany a spectacular ballet which could also be listened to and enjoyed on its own merits even by people uninterested in the dancing. This performance by Richard Bonynge is the greatest I've ever heard, fully worthy of Tchaikovsky's beautiful music. If you love great music, please get this oustanding CD set whether you are a ballet fan or not.