Scheherazade is a guilty pleasure of mine--so long as it is played by a great orchestra with a conductor who keeps the schmaltz to a minimum. Muti moves the piece along beatifully, with rhythms that are pliable but not distended. The playing of the soloists is heavenly. Norman Carol's violin solos are wonderful, but to me the real highlight is the playing of the wind principals, especially the oboe (Richard Woodhams?). 　　The EMI recording is also marvelous--but then again, EMI records from the 70s and early 80s consistently sound wonderful. For less than seven bucks, this is hard to beat.