Franz Lehár was known as "the last waltz king", so it's not surprising that his works in the medium bear similarities to those of the Strausses, qualities most readily heard in the suave, luxuriously appointed Wild Roses (or "Valse Boston"). However, Lehár also was a strongly original voice whose harmonic and textural experiments resulted in the striking Debussyian whole-tone scales toward the end of Altwiener Liebeswalzer ("Old Vienna Love Waltz"), or the Wagnerian snarling horns at the start of the Grützner Waltz.

Strangely, the waltz from The Merry Widow, undoubtedly Lehár's most well-known composition, is omitted from this collection. Instead the disc begins with the Merry Widow Overture, which Lehár composed for the occasion of his 70th birthday in 1940. The overture contains the operetta's main tunes (including the popular "Lippen schweigen" melody) subjected to rather sophisticated motivic development, while the more conventional Clo-Clo and Der Göttergatte overtures function strictly as preludes. All pieces receive expert and enthusiastic performances by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under Michail Jurowski, and CPO's warm, vibrant, and fully-present sound enhances a thoroughly enjoyable program.

--Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com