Artist: Fritz Reiner
Title: Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition & Other Russian Showpieces
Year Of Release: 1957 [2004]
Label: RCA Living Stereo
Genre: Classical
Quality: DSD64 (*tracks)
Total Time: 01:10:50
Total Size: 2.86 GB


Comparing RCA's new Reiner Mussorgsky Pictures SACD to its previous Living Stereo CD incarnation is similar to the experience of viewing a TV screen after wiping away accumulated dust. Everything appears clearer, with enhanced detail & impact. The noticeably improved stereo separation creates a solid, 3-dimensional effect--even though this is the 2-channel version. [Editor's Note: The 3-channel remastering is equally successful, & even more vibrant overall.] Listen to The Old Castle & hear the precise placement of instrumental groups in the sound picture, especially the percussion, with its crisp cymbals & powerful, punchy bass drum. This is even more the case in The Hut On Fowls Legs, where the strings take on a newly detailed articulation. In the Great Gate Of Kiev you can now hear the fabled Chicago brass sound in its full, unrestrained splendor. The remaining selections are just as impressive sonically. But of course, marveling at the sound quality of these 40-year-old recordings is only a secondary consideration. Reiner's magnificent & still-unequalled performances remain the real reason for acquiring this disc. For newcomers, these new SACD transfers should remove any hesitations regarding sound quality, while veterans will feel an old romance rekindled.
~Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

Tracks:

1. Pictures at an exhibition (orch. Maurice Ravel) by Modest Mussorgsky
2. Suite for Orchestra no 1 in D major, Op. 43: Marche miniature by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
3. A Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky
4. Prince Igor: Polovtsian March by Alexander Borodin
5. Marche slave, Op. 31 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
6. Colas Breugnon, Op. 24 - Overture by Dmitri Kabalevsky
7. Russlan and Ludmilla - Overture by Mikhail Glinka

Personnel:

Conductor: Fritz Reiner
Ensemble: Chicago Symphony Orchestra