With their abundance of melodic invention, colour, lyricism and drama, Tchaikovsky’s symphonies trace the composer’s progress as both an artist and as a man, reaching their final, shattering climax in the magnificent, but doom-laden ‘Pathétique’. “Muti's Tchaikovsky cycle with the Philharmonia is one of the most consistent ever,” wrote Gramophone, “with the conductor's high voltage tempered by expressive warmth and keen fantasy.”