Search - Richard [1] Strauss, Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra :: Strauss: Don Quixote; Don Juan [Hybrid SACD]

Good Reiner, but not Great

T. Schmalz | New Jersey | 07/12/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have long been an admirer of the music-making between Fritz Reiner and his Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Most of his performances stand second to none in the classical music world, especially his interpretations of Strauss; a close personal friend. Having that said; I believe I have found the exception in this RCA Living Stereo Hybrid-SACD.



By no means is this a bad performance, it just isn't the same caliber music-making and recording that Reiner fans associate with his recordings. As mentioned in the previous review, the percussion, higher ranges of the strings and the trumpets in "Don Juan" remind the listner that this performance is fifty years old! I know that several of his other recordings were much more successful in their remastering and can give the modern state-of-the-art technology a run for its money!



I must say that I was not fully familiar with "Don Quixoite" when I purchaes this Hybrid-SACD and cannot compare it with other performances, nor was I familiar with the cellist; he seems to hold his own. However, I am very familiar with "Don Juan" and have a digital recording on the Deutsche Grammophon label with Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. On the premise of sound, the much older RCA recording just can't compete with the digital sound. But, on the level of interpretation, I find Reiner's recording much more enjoyable and somewhat humorous. I must remind you that Reiner knew Strauss and conducted the premieres of several of the composer's compositions.



Again, not the best in the RCA Living Stereo Hybrid-SACD catalouge, but not a terrible recording. I suggest, especially if you're a Fritz Reiner fan, pick this copy up, it's well worth it."

Badly aged Reiner

Marc Haegeman | Gent, Belgium | 07/02/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This Living Stereo SACD re-release won't go down as the most successful of the series. Fritz Reiner's straightforward and unyielding account of "Don Quixote" doesn't do the piece any favours, asking for more imagination and less restraint. Antonio Janigro is a fine soloist, in that he blends ideally with Reiner's approach of the work.



The booklet explains in many words how Fritz Reiner's orchestral setup for his 1954 "Don Juan", among others with violins divided left and right, differed from the 1959 "Don Quixote", while in fact there is no difference to be heard. They erroneously included the 1960 version instead of the 1954 recording. That said, "Don Juan" is undoubtedly the better part of this disc, at least if you like your hero to strike like a thunderbolt, but the recording is even in the DSD remastering sounding its age with shrill strings and saturation in tutti.



Reiner enthusiasts will of course already own these recordings from earlier releases, but I don't think this SACD reissue will add much to what they already have."