Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra together can do no wrong in the music of Tchaikovsky. Ormandy could have taken the horribly fast tempi used by some of today's conductors to elicit excitement, and the orchestra could have played those tempi. But Ormandy usually allows the music to breathe. He can choose headlong tempi, but how wonderful it is to hear music with flow and melodic strands allowed to breathe.
Manfred Symphony was not in Ormandy's repertoire nearly as often as the last three numbered symphonies. For that reason his interpretation is straight-forward and not overtly dramatic. For that kind of reading I'd suggest Muti or Maazel (with Cleveland in an interpretation that is live and lively). But I understood the music more with Ormandy than with either of those conductors. Ormandy is sometimes described as dull. Compared to Columbia/Sony's other powerhouse conductor - Bernstein - that might be true. Ormandy always makes me listen to details, not by spotlighting the detail but by making sure it emerges from the whole.
Manfred is a difficult listen compared to the numbered symphonies or the ballet music. (Ormandy excels in those, too.) I think you will have great joy listening to this orchestra and this conductor in this work. The sound (late analog) is warm and vibrant and the Philadelphia Orchestra plays as one would expect them to: brilliantly in all aspects.
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