The Complete EMI Recordings (2009)

Mstislav Rostropovich, last century's cello idol — who died in 2007 — gets his fine career retrospective on The Complete EMI Recordings, but it's surprising how often the rebellious Soviet émigré endured cruddy sound engineering. From puzzling thuds in Respighi's ''Adagio con Variazioni'' to brittle piano accompaniment in Popper's ''Dance of the Elves,'' several tracks are long past a remasterer's care. But with two performance DVDs and 26 CDs of music spanning some 50 composers over five decades, slaves to ''Slava'' will find this $4-per-disc set indispensable. A–

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