This IS a surprise; I've never heard of the label or conductor, and the orchestra is not reputedly among the elite, but these bargain-priced performances are excellent. The recordings were made in a reverberant hall, but not at very much cost to the orchestral detail. The slow movements are especially beautiful. Thereare tons of recordings of these symphonies, but this one and the Antonio Pappanorecordings with his Italian orchestra have a freshness which set them apart from the legions of "good" recordings of these works.