This is the Japanese RCA Munch Edition reissue of these superb performances, now available "on-demand" from Arkivmusic.com. Although the sound is mono, it's very good mono, and a touch more vivid than the domestic RCA productions--the Honegger symphonies in this case originally came coupled with works by Milhaud. The only technical issue stems from the fact that, perhaps in an effort to cut down on ambient noise, the opening notes of the music are very slightly clipped (most noticeable at the start of the Fifth Symphony). I checked this against the original Japanese release and it's not a function of the disc's on-demand provenance. The performances themselves are legendary: there is no better version of the two Honegger works (though Karajan's Symphony No. 2 is just as good, albeit in a very different way), and Munch's Roussel ranks with the best. A classic, and self-recommending.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com