Walking to Classics: Classical Music for Fitness Walking

I enjoy fitness walking as part of my exercise program; and I am always looking for "original" (i.e., not sped-up or arranged) versions of classical music appropriate for walking (I am comfortable at a 4 - 4.5 mph pace). So I thought I had found something exciting when I found the one-hour cassettes, "Walking to Classics: Classical Music for Fitness Walking." Each cassette (Beginner - which I did *not* try; Intermediate - ~ 4 mph; and Advanced - ~4.5 mph) contains an hour of music beginning and ending w/a warmup and cooldown.

The music is nice and varied enough - different musical styles to keep things interesting. However, the beat is frequently difficult to follow, probably because classical music is not played to a metronome's beat and there are constant changes in tempo. For instance, in the advanced tape, while the closing melody is a lovely harp piece, the beat is vague.

On the other hand, there is something quite special about being able to spend an hour walking at a sweat-producing clip while listening to some of the most beautiful music ever written.

On the whole, I'd rate this series a B.