The Cook (1918)

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) was not only a brilliant conductor – having served with the New York Philharmonic for several decades beginning in 1943 – but was also recognized as one of the 20th century's most lauded composers. In that respect, few if any have contributed as significantly to classical music in the context of the American experience. It could likewise be contended that his contributions to the Broadway stage solidified the formerly intransigent chasm existing between symphonic and popular music. In honor of what would have been Bernstein's 85th birthday, Sony Music created a pair of mid-priced sets celebrating the maestro's accomplishments. A Total Embrace: The Composer (2003) offers more than three and a half hours of highlights spanning nearly a quarter-century.

Parry (1848-1918), along with Stanford, made the first stage of a three- stage rocket that got British music into the orbit of the 20th century. Between them, they taught practically every major British composer of the coming generations. Both were excellent symphonists. Parry's Symphony 1 (1891) is itself strongly influenced by Brahms and Schumann in both structure and tone, but it also has a dab of British pomp (you can hear Elgar coming over the horizon). His Concertstuck of 1877 has clear Wagnerian traits, but it is more morose than Wagner. A fine performance and recording.

Chandos's brave and important Parry series, conducted with sterling musicianship and remarkable insights by Matthias Bamert, adds another choral disc to the four out of the five symphonies so far issued. Recently The Soul's Ransom and The Lotos Eaters were released (1/92) and now comes the large-scale, nearly hour-long cantata Invocation to Music, a ten-movement setting of a poem by Parry's friend Robert Bridges and composed ''in honour of Henry Purcell'' for the bicentenary, in 1895, of his death. The first performance was at the Leeds Festival that year. How many have there been since then?