Paul Dukas--an unfairly overlooked composer because he left for posterity a total of only 12 works--makes a significant reappearance with this sumptuous recording by Leonard Slatkin and the Orchestre National de France. The first piece on this CD, the composer's only symphony, is a bustling work that calls to mind the music of Franck with just a hint of the propulsive dynamism of Beethoven. The "Fanfare," a grand flourish of orchestral brass, precedes the composer's last work, the ballet 'La Peri.' A work of sublime beauty, 'La Peri' combines the composer's formal, classicist tendencies with the ravishing impressionism of his contemporaries, Debussy and Ravel. 'L'Apprenti sorcier,' "a symphonic poem after a ballad of Goethe" is Dukas' most popular work. Full of wandering key signatures, swirling string sections and an array of colorful and humorous effects, this mischievous work has understandably proven itself to be the most endearing of Dukas' unfortunately scant output.