Hovhaness: Symphony No. 2 - Mysterious Mountain / Prokofiev: Lt. Kije suite / Stravinsky: The Fairy's Kiss divertimento

Alan Hovhaness (Composer), Igor Stravinsky (Composer), Sergey Prokofiev (Composer), Fritz Reiner (Conductor), Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Fritz Reiner
• Composer: Alan Hovhaness, Igor Stravinsky, Sergey Prokofiev
• Audio CD (March 14, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003FMX
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,609 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Mysterious Mountain, February 26, 2000

By 

Mr. F. E. Perry (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hovhaness: Symphony No. 2 - Mysterious Mountain / Prokofiev: Lt. Kije suite / Stravinsky: The Fairy's Kiss divertimento (Audio CD)

I first heard the music of Alan Hovhaness in 1971 and the piece which introduced me to his music was 'Fra Angelico'. I was an instant convert! I eagerly sought out Symphony No.2 as it was listed to be one of his most popular pieces. This recording is transcendent. I have the version on Delos by Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony - but they romp through it as if it were a trip up a small mountain - rucksacks on our backs an all! Every other version that I have heard, via the Radio, treats it similarly. But the title of the piece is MYSTERIOUS Mountain and on this recording that is precisely what we get. Tremendous sensitivity pervades this performance whereby it is even possible to experience an Internal mountain through which we can leave all the troubles of the world behind. Hovhaness speaks of his being inspired by mountains as sources of spiritual sustenance and all of that is here too. If you're looking for a recording of this Symphony by one of the world's most uplifting composers - then look no further. This is IT!

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm honored to write the first review for this masterpiece., December 3, 1999

By 

Doc Sarvis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hovhaness: Symphony No. 2 - Mysterious Mountain / Prokofiev: Lt. Kije suite / Stravinsky: The Fairy's Kiss divertimento (Audio CD)

This album serves up a marvelous sampling of twentieth-century classical music. The first piece, "Mysterious Mountain" is a work of such aching beauty that once heard, it will be held in reverence forever. If you have any feeling for the wonders of nature, this piece will go straight to your heart.

The Stravinsky and Prokofiev works are also magnificent and provide a welcome counterpoint to the Hovhaness piece, but it is "Mysterious Mountain" that will live on in your memory.

The LP version of this album became a legendary collector's item prior to the CD release. One listen and you'll see why.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Glorious Recording Gloriously Re-Mastered, November 29, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hovhaness: Symphony No. 2 - Mysterious Mountain / Prokofiev: Lt. Kije suite / Stravinsky: The Fairy's Kiss divertimento (Audio CD)

This is arguably one of the finest symphonic recordings made of any piece by anyone, anywhere. Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's rendition of Hovhaness's Symphony No. 2 is a worthy companion to their recordings of Strauss and Bartok - recordings that belong in the library of anyone who loves great music.

What's equally worth noting is the care that RCA took in transferring it to compact disk. They recruited John Pfeiffer, the engineer who made the original recordings, to do the re-mastering. Further, they rebuilt the original analogue recording equipment to transfer the tape master to digital format. Then, they made the brave decision to avoid all noise reduction post-processing, in order to preserve as much of the original performance as possible. As a result, you do hear tape hiss on this disk, as well as other extremely slight noise; but you also hear a beautifully detailed recording. For example, on one of the pianissimo trumpet passages, you can hear a very slight blurring of the trumpet tone, as Bud Herseth tightens his emboucher - a sound that contributes to the performance, but would have been scrubbed out by most noise-reduction systems.

If you love great music, buy this disk. And play it loud!