This selection contains both ADD and DDD recordings.

Includes minuetto(s) by Giovanni Bolzoni. Ensemble: Boston Pops. Conductor: Arthur Fiedler.

DEBUSSY: LE MARTYR DE SAINT-SE

Guarneri Quartet. RCA Silver Seal 60909-2 [with Ravel: Quartet in F; Debussy: Suite bergamasque (Alexis Weissenberg, piano)].

The Guarneri Quartet’s 1973 recording, sounding a little wooly but nonetheless quite lovely on CD, conveys the music with endearing sweetness and warmth. No group has ever gotten closer to the spirit of Debussy’s slow movement, or more beautifully captured its fragrant atmosphere and attenuated, almost heartbreaking sentiment. First violinist Arnold Steinhardt is exquisite here, and the group’s playing overall is remarkably polished. – Ted Libbey, author of The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection.

Reiner's claims as a Mahler interpreter are rarely appreciated as they should be. His account of the Fourth Symphony— strikingly different from the conventional view in some ways—has always struck me as among the most convincing, and here he directs a superbly clean-edged account of what is for the interpreter the most problematic of Mahler's works.

Like Walter and Klemperer, Reiner was a Mahler pupil and disciple. Thanks to the violent contrasts between Walter and Klemperer we have now readily accepted that there is no one true way with Mahler, and Reiner provides a third 'authentic' way, equally distinct. Those used to the more affectionate treatment of Walter, or for that matter Bernstein, will initially find Reiner's straighter style disconcerting. Deliberately the tone of voice is cooler, but that brings many benefits. One could argue that the Chinese poems of their nature demand a certain detachment. What is more Reiner's comparative coolness allows him to observe Mahler's markings much more meticulously than Walter. The obvious and most striking example comes at the climactic point of the final "Abschied", where Mahler, knowing the fondness of performers to reserve a fruity fortissimo for the big tune at the end, puts "ppp!" (the exclamation mark is Mahler's) over the great passage "Die liebe Erde". Walter and Ferrier ignore it completely and carry one, heart-throbbing, eyes-welling, to the end—a marvellous moment in recording history. But Reiner with exquisite tenderness, persuades Maureen Forrester to attack her high Fs and Gs with a genuine half-tone. The whispered murmurs of "Ewig" at the end have no premonition of death about them as they have with Ferrier: the end brings instead the feeling of sinking back on the eternal feather-bed of ecstasy, and that, I assume, is closer to what the Chinese poet and Mahler intended.

Though precision is his keynote, and phrasing is never mannered, Reiner does secure very beautiful pointing from his Chicago players, whether in the yearning phrases of the slow songs or the chattering opening of "Von der Jugend" which is more beautifully 'sprung' than I ever remember before. In the fifth song, "Der Trunkene im Frithling", too, the sharp brightness of the opening gives way to the drowsiness of "Ein Vogel singt im Baum" with superb control of mood—matched by very understanding singing from Richard Lewis; a lovely moment achieved here more effectively even than in the Walter.

My direct comparisons tended to a surprising degree to favour the new Reiner against the Walter, but returning to a complete performance of the Reiner I saw more clearly what reservations will almost certainly strike Mahlerians. However free Walter is with some of the markings, his performance gets inside the music, wrings one's emotions, makes one feel the performance, recorded or not, as a great occasion. I shall not say that Reiner's is not a great performance, but in the last resort one remains detached to a degree that I do not experience with any of the other three versions in their different ways—Klemperer and Bernstein as well as Walter. As I say, there is a clear argument for suggesting that that is apt for the work. At one point I felt tempted to place this version, with its remarkably good stereo and bargain price, ahead of all three of its rivals, but the chances of disappointment are too high. The sound is a little harder than in the very latest recordings from Chicago, but unless the last degree of high fidelity is essential, it will be very acceptable—better than some recent issues. The clarity of texture and vividness of atmosphere are most impressive, and both the voices are very well caught. Maureen Forrester has rarely if ever sung more expressively on record, and though Richard Lewis's tone is not always as sweet as one would like, his musical precision and imagination are always most satisfying. Neither singer is immaculate in German, but one has rather less to put up with on that score than with, say, Ferrier, who for all her glorious projection of feeling was not always comfortable with the words. Another marvellous addition to the Reiner discography: I hope the RCA Victrola label will be providing still more.

-- Gramophone [10/1969]

"The emotional fabric of this music draws a warm response from Ormandy and the Philadelphia to produce fine accounts of both the Sixth Symphony and Romeo and Juliet. The introduction to the Sixth is suitably full of expectation, and the third movement full of vitality. Both the playing and sound quallty are superb." Performance: 5 (out of 5), Sound: 5 (out of 5) -- Nicholas Rast, BBC Music Magazine

REVIEWS:
Fanfare (7-8/98, p.100) - "...The performances all seem good, as does the sound quality. There are other CDs that are more vital Berio, although this one certainly makes you think, which can't be bad these days."

MOZART: SYMPHONIES NOS 38, 39,

One of the more disingenuous lines of ad copy attached to RCA's Kapell Edition has got to be that "[Kapell] was able to attract the finest artists to him." Well, sure, but it probably didn't hurt that the artists Kapell "attracted" were also under contract to RCA. And while no one would argue with a description of violinist Jascha Heifetz or violist William Primrose as being among the finest artists, cellist Edmund Kurtz might not rank among everybody's short list.

Be that as it may, the Kapell-Primrose collaboration on the Brahms Viola Sonata in F minor is beyond all argument, superb. Primrose plays the piece with a warm-hearted tone and open-hearted interpretation, and Kapell doesn't so much follow Primrose as wrap himself around him like a comfortable sweater. Less convincing is the Kapell-Heifetz performance of the Brahms Violin Sonata in D minor, especially if you have an antipathy toward Heifetz's playing in general and his Brahms playing in particular. Heifetz is simply too hard-hearted and unyielding for Brahms. And Kapell himself seems uncomfortable with Heifetz's interpretation: rather than a comfortable sweater, Kapell sounds like a too-tight straitjacket.

The surprise of this volume of the Kapell Edition is Edmund Kurtz. While not in the same league as RCA's house cellist Piatgorsky, Kurtz turns in a driven yet expansive performance of the Rachmaninov Cello Sonata. Together with Kapell's vigorous piano playing, Kurtz turns in nearly as fine a performance of the Rachmaninov as is imaginable. One of the more interesting volumes in the Kapell Edition.

-- James Leonard, AllMusic.com

Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E Major, WAB 107 (Modified 1885

One of the more fascinating issues in RCA/BMG's Catalyst series is a disc devoted to Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara (b. 1928). After studies with leading native composers, Rautavaara was selected by 90-year old Sibelius as the winner of a scholarhip from the Koussevitzky Foundation to study in the U.S. Listening to Rautavaara's music one would never suspect that he studied with Vincent Persichetti and Roger Sessions at Juilliard, and with Aaron Copland at Tanglewood. He has written several operas, chamber music, seven symphonies, and many works for solo voices and chorus.

The featured music on this CD is Cantus Arcticus, written in 1972. This strange 17-minute work is called "Concerto for Birds and Orchestra," combining the recorded sounds of wild birds with the sound of a symphony orchestra. It is an oddly haunting work of quiet, evocative power, with a dark mystic quality that suggests the bleak Nordic climate. There are three sections: The Bog, Melancholy, and Swans Migrating. It is a fascinating score; the pre-recorded sounds of birds are compelling listening, which cannot be said of the other two works on this CD, the String Quartet No. 4, composed in 1975, a three-movement, meditative 22-minute work in which Rautavaara on purpose has limited the scope of the music. Not much happens here to stimulate the listener in spite of the fine performance by the Sirius Quartet, but a lot happens in the other work, Symphony No. 5, written in 1986, a 31-minute, one-movement symphony with enormous percussive, dissonant climaxes disturbing the over-all bleak aural picture. For this listener, it lacks an overall focus that would merit repeated listening. The two orchestral works are beautifully played by the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra directed by Max Pommer. The recordings were licensed from the Finnish label, Ondine, and sound just as good on RCA/BMG. The prime interest here is Cantus Articus; the CD is worth having just for that strange, mystic work.

-- Robert Benson, Classicalcdreview.com

Rubinstein Collection, Vol 22: Brahms: Concerto No. 2; Grieg

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

PIERRE MONTEUX EDITION VOL 5 -

It is difficult to think of a more agreeable sound than that of flute and guitar; or so it seems immediately after listening to this record. Of course, the basic sound also needs quality in its execution: that it most certainly has, in high degree, on this occasion, the Galway vibrato seeming altogether less obtrusive when accompanied by guitar only.

The programme is splendidly chosen; although looking mostly like major works calling for serious listening, those major works, when considered by movements, separate into the lightest of summer-evening-on-the-river trifles. One major work is more familiar than I thought from its title it was, and perhaps than you think it is: in the Cimarosa Serenade the editing and arranging team of Galway and Yamashita have by coincidence chosen exactly the same movements, in the same order, as Arthur Benjamin chose in arranging from the same source (Cimarosa's keyboard sonatas) for the Cimarosa/Benjamin Oboe Concerto. The lay-out is of course different; and the element of familiarity involved may lend an extra pleasure on a first hearing. Pleasure, here, is also helped along by a first-class quality of recording, whether in the LP or CD version.'

-- Gramophone [4/1987]

"One of the recurring pleasures of the introduction of the Compact Disc is the unexpected appearance of rare repertoire—here for instance some virtually unknown music of Tchaikovsky—when not all the symphonies are yet available in that format. I praised the original LP set from all points of view—enterprise, first-rate performances (Geoffrey Simon is a splendid Tchaikovskian) and superb recording. The LPs (and tapes) were so good that one could not expect the CDs to be so much better. Yet they are very impressive...
It is the Hamlet incidental music that resonates in the memory most strongly—there is some really lovely music here—especially the two entr'actes for strings, which show the composer at his most inspired and they are beautifully played. The recording gives the most natural and delicate effect, enhanced by the background silence, while the wide dynamic range is most effective in the more histrionic passages included here.
This is a set not to be missed by any dedicated Tchaikovsky-lover..."

From the GRAMOPHONE review of the original CD release (Chandos 8310/1)

RCA's classical film score series with Chuck Gerhardt never should have gone out of print, so it's particularly good to see Arkivmusic.com bringing the whole series back "on demand". These days the rage is to record the complete scores, and even though Korngold's music is more continuous than most, I can very readily imagine many listeners preferring these shorter selections of suites and individual scenes. You get nothing but the best tunes--indeed, Another Dawn and The Prince and the Pauper became the first movement and finale, respectively, of the Violin Concerto--and an even greater range of mood and contrast than any one work can possibly display.

More to the point, the performances in this series are all splendid, the engineering wonderfully sumptuous, and the selections unfailingly intelligent. For example, we get to hear Korngold's entire Cello Concerto (all 12 minutes of it, reworked from the music originally in Deception) rather than the single film cue that's only about half as long. Furthermore, as programs designed for continuous listening, this series was unbeatable. Playing times on these pre-digital-era LP releases aren't as long as we have come to expect today, but when the quality of the product is this high it would be churlish to complain. Great stuff!

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

MOZART: COMPLETE STRING QUINTE

HOLST: THE PLANETS ORMANDY

KAZUHITO YAMASHITA - MUSIC OF

MOZART: COMPLETE VIOLA QUINTET

FANFARE FOR THE MILLENIUM

Includes work(s) by Engelbert Humperdinck, Alexander Borodin, Franz Schubert. Ensemble: Boston Pops.

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 76: Schubert Piano Trio No. 1 -

Few things are as much fun as big orchestral favorites performed by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of the legendary Arthur Fiedler. This program, part of the RCA Living Stereo series, features splashy orchestral showpieces by Prokofiev, Liszt and Chopin.
Prokofiev's suite from his opera 'Love for Three Oranges' gets things off to a rousing start. Fiedler and his orchestra revel in the color and grotesque wit of Prokofiev's colorful score. Special note should be paid to the orchestra's sensitive playing in "Le prince et la princesse." Chopin's 'Les sylphides' is one of the most popular scores in the classical dance repertoire. On this recording, the delicate orchestrations of Leroy Anderson and Peter Bodge give the orchestra an opportunity to shine. Each dance is skillfully rendered and Fiedler gives the music ample room to breath. Two grand tone poems by Franz Liszt, 'Les préludes' and 'Mazeppa' round out the program. Fiedler and company are brilliant in 'Les préludes,' grasping the work's heroic soul without resorting to bombast. The RCA engineers provide startlingly vivid sound that is still of audiophile quality nearly forty years later.