Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony - Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade (2014) [SACD]

"Anyone who says Reiner is a rigid and chilly conductor or the Chicago Symphony Orchestra just blasts away should listen to the suppleness of this finely nuanced performance. ... On the Analogue Productions SACD, the brasses have similar sizzle (as the RCA SACD) but are properly focused toward the rear of the orchestra. The solo violin is not edgy and the instrument is quite normal in size; you can almost visualize Sidney Harth playing it. The detail of the light percussion (triangle, snare drum, cymbals, tambourine) in the fourth movement is exquisite. The bass drum has plenty of punch, but it is tight and never muddies Rimsky-Korsakoff's transparent soundscape." — Arthur Lintgen, The Absolute Sound, January 2015

"My initial impressions are pretty clear: the new Analogue Productions RCA Living Stereo SACDs are definitely an improvement over the older BMG/RCA SACDs. In fact, there's no doubt about it in my listening sessions. ... there is a better sense of space, more detail and deeper, richer lower frequencies. ... The dynamics on the APO SACD are better, of a certainty, to my ears. ... This is a remarkable accomplishment." — David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief, Positive Feedback Online. Read Robinson's full review here: http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue72/Scheherazade.htm

"…The second movement is just ravishing in the beauty of the Chicago's playing and Reiner's romantic approach; there is some staccato triple-tonguing done by trumpeter Adolph Herseth in the fourth movement that should leave you, if not him, breathless. But let is just be said that, after you hear this, no other Scheherazade will ever replace it in your affections." HP's The Golden Dozen LPs – Harry Pearson, The Absolute Sound, June/July 2007

The jewel in the Living Stereo crown. Enchantment awaits within! Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony convey the listener on a magic carpet of Living Stereo sound to mythic Arabia and China, guided by two of Russia's greatest orchestral masters.

This, like the Respighi, is considered one of the very best recordngs by Reiner, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and RCA's crew. A disc of supple and sensuous performances, the sound alternately shimmers and stuns with the clarity of its definition and intensity of its climaxes.