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I like Mr. Hurwitz's video commentaries and reviews.  I challenge anyone else to do a superior job with such an approach.  And yes, I noticed that he does not mention the March Albrecht recording on the Pentatone label, but I do not think that these video presentations are designed to be all-encompassing.  He is testing the waters for this sort of review and commentary, and I think his speaking and presentation skills more or less match his writing skills -- for most commentators, this is a difficult little feat to achieve directly facing a camera, let alone just in an audio format.  His overall breezy and relaxed approach on camera is balanced with pointed little barbs of slash-and-burn critiques.

While I personally prefer reviews in writing, Mr. Hurwitz has more than enough experience with that to fully justify his forays into this new approach -- and I believe he will continue presenting them because, if nothing else, they generate a reasonable number of views on YouTube given the niche subject matter, as well as written responses beneath every video he has posted -- and he even responds to many of the comments.  He obviously enjoys the repartee, and I must admit, I enjoy reading the comments.  Whatever his oversights, Mr. Hurwitz's knowledge is extensive and impressive, even though he thoroughly disliked my local orchestra's performance of Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky cantata on the Reference Recordings label.  He gave that performance a 6/9, with which I disagree, but I understand his overall perspective on the performance and interpretation under our music director Thierry Fischer. 

And I do love Mr. Hurwitz's contrarian takes on many laudatory reviews in Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, and MusicWeb International; he supports his critiques with relevant information in the vast majority of cases.  As I always say, if you read enough reviews, most often someone will thoroughly dislike the performances and interpretations under review, and someone will argue that the release in question is the best recording of that particular composition ever released.  While one can legitimately say that there is some sort of positive critical consensus around the John Wilson recording of Korngold's Symphony with the Sinfonia of London, I find Mr. Hurwitz's comment that that ensemble is a thoroughly professional "pick up ensemble" that is "sight-reading" and can sight-read anything to be most interesting and provocative.

Mjmosca is incorrect:  Donald Vroon gave the first volume of this series, which includes La foi, what I would consider an almost neutral review, which is a rare perspective to encounter, especially from him.  He neither smothered it with accolades, nor dismissed it as irrelevant and inconsequential.
  
On the other hand, Gil French, another editor and reviewer at American Record Guide, reviewed the second release in the series, which includes the Symphony No. 2.  His review is extremely negative, but, having heard all of the concert performances from which most of the recordings in this series were made, and having listened many times to each of the first two releases, I find his comments to be some of the most dispiriting and even vindictive I have ever encountered in a review.  Naturally, as commentators here will understand, almost any release will eventually have a reviewer who finds the release superficial, irrelevant, or worse.  But when a reviewer begins to imply that they know how to conduct and interpret the compositions better than an experienced conductor like Thierry Fischer, whatever his merits or weaknesses, one begins to question the bonafides of a reviewer -- it can all be so arbitrary.

I also find Mr. Howe's latest comment a bit perplexing.  Just how many commercial recordings of the Urbs Roma Symphony have ever been made and commercially released?  I count Martinon, Kantorow, Soustrot, and now Thierry Fischer.  And for La foi I know of just three:  Plasson, Zollman, and Thierry Fischer.  And for the Symphony in A major:  Joeres, Kantorow, Martinon, Soustrot, and Thierry Fischer.   Yes, those others are "perfectly good alternatives," but that is a bit of a bizarre statement about a discography that is comparatively so limited.  Strange times indeed.

The Utah Symphony under Music Director Thierry Fischer will record live (with "patch" sessions) all five Saint-Saens symphonies during the 2017-2018 season, with other assorted more popular orchestral compositions of the composer to fill out the three CDs.  Trois tableaux symphoniques d'après La Foi will also be recorded.  As far as I can tell with somewhat limited access to all relevant discographic histories, the latter piece is a real rarity on recordings -- Amazon only shows a 2000 CD release on the Pan Classics label with the Basler Sinfonie-Orchester under Ronald Zollman.  I would expect the first recording to be released in late 2018, although I have not been able to discern any official dates.   Saint-Saens in not exactly an unsung composer, but his four symphonies beyond the "Organ" certainly are unsung compositions.

Fischer has been Music Director here in Salt Lake City since the 2009 season, and has helped to dramatically increase the passion, polish and color of the orchestra after somewhat of a hiatus after legendary music director Maurice Abravanel ended his decades-long tenure in the late 1970s.  Fischer has just renewed his contract through the 2021-2022 season.  From personal contact with key members of the Symphony's artistic administration, I know that Fischer has attempted to get Hyperion to agree to proposals for recordings for a number of years.   Here is a link to the relevant webpage of the Utah Symphony:

http://www.utahsymphony.org/17-18press#

Recent commercially released recordings by the Utah Symphony have not been of unsung composers or compositions.  Fischer and the Utah Symphony have released two recordings/CDs on the Reference Recordings label in the last few years, just to provide a little discographic update for these upcoming Hyperion recordings.  These released recordings include Mahler 1 and an Andrew Norman, Augusta Read Thomas, Nico Muhly disc -- all living composers.  Alexander Nevsky was recorded last November and should be released by the end of the year, while a Mahler 8 recording made in February 2016, which was to be released soon, appears to have been moved to a 2018 release.

Although Naxos has ventured in recent years into the Saint-Saens complete symphonies with the Malmo Symphony and Marc Soustrot, the number of recorded cycles beyond that one in discographic history is still rather limited -- Martinon, I believe, to be exact -- but I still could be incorrect.

I have followed this online forum for a number of years and appreciate its level of detail, debate, and knowledge.  Thank you.