I read very good critics about this recording and I bought it expecting god performances.  It didn't turn out like that.

1812 is the best work of the present recording, the coral part works extremely well and the performance in general has great distinction.  In fact, this performance stands out among many others.  It won't surpass Dorati's famous account, but it will do better than Gergiev, Abbado, Karajan, Solti, Maazel, Stokowski, Bernstein just to mention a few that I am familiar with.

Marche Slave:  This is a very standard reading, in this case, if you really want a fine performance of this work, I strongly recommend you to go for Stokowski's one on Decca (by far the best I've heard) or Abbado's with the Berlin Philharmonic on DG (surprisingly).

In the Steppes of Central Asia, again, very standard, I don't mean it's a bad version, but you can find better ones like Gergiev's with the Kirov Orchestra.

The Polovtsian dances lack strength, there are plenty of versions better than this one.  As I said about the "Steppes" this is not a bad account, but if you listen to Mackerras, Dorati, Gergiev or Stokowski, you will see what I mean.

The Russian Easter Overture is the biggest disappointment on this disc. Jrvi has made great recordings of Rimsky-Korsakov's music for Chandos, so I don't know what happened here.  So, if you are buying this CD because of this piece, don't waste you money.  The sound quality is poor, and the performance itself is not very exciting.  So far, the best Russian Easter Overture I've heard is Markevitch's on Phillips, and Stokowski's on RCA.

On the other hand, the Capriccio Espaol is an excellent performance, very energetic, very well played from beginning to end and even though I wouldn't say it's the best, it cernainly ranks high among its many competitors.  Dorati's and Mackerras's, both with the LSO in Mercury Living Presence and TELARC respectively are very recommendable too.
I read very good critics about this recording and I bought it expecting god performances. It didn't turn out like that. 1812 is the best work of the present recording, the coral part works extremely well and the performance in general has great distinction. In fact, this performance stands out among many others. It won't surpass Dorati's famous account, but it will do better than Gergiev, Abbado, Karajan, Solti, Maazel, Stokowski, Bernstein just to mention a few that I am familiar with. Marche Slave:  This is a very standard reading, in this case, if you really want a fine performance of this work, I strongly recommend you to go for Stokowski's one on Decca (by far the best I've heard) or Abbado's with the Berlin Philharmonic on DG (surprisingly). In the Steppes of Central Asia, again, very standard, I don't mean it's a bad version, but you can find better ones like Gergiev's with the Kirov Orchestra. The Polovtsian dances lack strength, there are plenty of versions better than this one. As I said about the "Steppes" this is not a bad account, but if you listen to Mackerras, Dorati, Gergiev or Stokowski, you will see what I mean. The Russian Easter Overture is the biggest disappointment on this disc. Jrvi has made great recordings of Rimsky-Korsakov's music for Chandos, so I don't know what happened here. So, if you are buying this CD because of this piece, don't waste you money. The sound quality is poor, and the performance itself is not very exciting. So far, the best Russian Easter Overture I've heard is Markevitch's on Phillips, and Stokowski's on RCA. On the other hand, the Capriccio Espaol is an excellent performance, very energetic, very well played from beginning to end and even though I wouldn't say it's the best, it cernainly ranks high among its many competitors. Dorati's and Mackerras's, both with the LSO in Mercury Living Presence and TELARC respectively are very recommendable too.