Customer Reviews

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one recording that lives up to its hype. On the podium, Fritz Reiner brings all of his storied strengths - an extraordinary sense of architecture, an outstanding ear for color, and an unparalleled (did someone say "sadistic"?) degree of discipline - to create the most beautifully conceived "Pictures" recorded in the 20th century.

But that's not all - in fact, that's not the half of it. The Chicago Symphony is superhuman in this recording, from the phenomonal opening solo trumpet passage of Adolph Herseth (in the first of his FIVE decades with the CSO) to the spectacular "Bydlo" of Arnold Jacobs on tuba, to the stupefying wall of sound in the final "Great Gate of Kiev" - well, the fact is that almost every orchestral player I know, on ANY instrument, refers to this recording as the gold standard for their own.

And the SOUND!... This was one of the first of the legendary RCA "Living Stereo" recordings (1957), and modern engineers could and should learn a lot about how to record an orchestra from these geniuses of the Eisenhower era. Another reviewer mentioned his disappointment in the "Catacombs" movement, and it's true - there are more sonically cogent recent performances (the Montreal Symphony under Charles Dutoit in a great recording comes to mind). But I would trade however many of those it would take to keep my SINGLE copy of this true wonder.

And there are additional treasures. "Pictures" was released on its own in LP form - it is joined here by CSO/Reiner recordings from 1959, including the best-played recording ever made of the "Colas Breugnon Overture," a spectacular "Russlan and Ludmilla," a very fine "Night on Bare Mountain" and "Marche Slav," and other "minor" Russian pieces.

All in all, this is one of the great recordings of the stereo era at a bargain price - snap it up and enjoy!

Reiner had the uncanny ability to excel in virtually every orchestral piece he ever committed to any ensemble, either in concert or on a recording. This CD, a combination of two early RCA Living Stereo LPs, had "Pictures" on its own apart from the other pieces that fill it out, under the name of "A Festival of Russian Music." In addition to impeccable playing, the Chicago Symphony sounds as great as it ever has in these pieces. In "Pictures," notable is the powerful orchestral buildup in "Bydlo," and the great woodwind playing in "Ballet of the Chicks in their Shells." The reknown Chicago brass are not to be ignored in "Great Gate of Kiev." The other pieces are notable for a house-shaking bass drum in "Night on Bald Mountain" and "Marche Slave".

In short, another installment in the phenomenal output of Reiner and Chicago.

What a treat for the ears!

The Living Stereo series was wonderful then and it's even better now. There are two releases of this album, this 2 channel CD and a hybrid SACD with both this CD's track and a 3 channel version, which is how it was originally recorded. If you have a player that can handle it, I strongly recommend you get the SACD.

Although this review used the hybrid SACD it applies to both.

This release has fantastic sound quality and, thankfully, is completely true to both music and the original recording. Originally recorded in "3 channel stereo" that's what you get here--no, there's nothing in the rear channels of the surround mix but that's exactly the way it should be. Taken directly from the nearly 50-year old (!) masters, the engineers did nothing at all to the sound except digitize and transfer each track to the SACD/CD master. Nothing added, nothing subtracted. And the quality of those masters is astounding--clear, bright and full. No tape hiss. No loss of highs. Just wonderful music expertly performed.

Dissapointed you're only getting 3 channels and not 5-7? Don't be. You'll hear the musicians arranged across the broad, but shallow, Chicago Symphony Hall just as the engineers heard them in the recording sessions in 1957. And those musicians are superb, particularly to my ears, the brass and woodwinds. This is an excellent orchestra caught at its prime.

In short, get this CD! Even if you don't have a universal player now, the 2 channel transfer is equally good, a faithful recreation of a classic LP. And if you can play the SACD layer so much the better because for the first time you'll hear exactly what was recorded and what the engineers heard in nearly 50 years ago.

The Reiner/CSO recordings are some of the greatest of all time, and this one follows suit. He was a tyrant, but there's no doubt he got every last ounce of playing out of the Chicago Symphony. The rhythmic accuracy and sense of control is uncanny throughout, with impeccable playing from the brass section.

The best orchestra of all time. Period. No Exceptions. The epitome of good taste, boldness, clean playing, and everything else good. Also a conductor with mostly perfect interpretation. well, perfet but with one exception.

This exception is Night on Bald Mountain, which he simply takes about 2x too fast. The orchestra still nails it, but all flavor and savor is gone form the piece (the slow half is still good, however). this is why i took away the fifth star from my rating.

Also, the low brass section in their featured mvmt. of "Pictures" (Catacombs, i think) is a little quiet, and tends to put me to sleep. However, their playing is fantastic; perfect intonation, articulation, and "togetherness". I just wish they were at, say, forte instead of mezzo-piano.

Marche Slav is perfect. Say No More!

Hearing this recording of "Pictures" made it impossible to imagine any other as even moderately acceptable. in fact, listening to another, as i am now (just got it from the library...definitely not worth it, so i won't mention the orch./cond.) proves that no other recording can even touch on the glory of this remarkable work.

I first heard this performance of Pictures on an old LP i borrowed from a horn player friend who worships the CSO and reiner, and I was amazed from the beginning. I had heard the opening fanfare many times, not knowing what it was from. i am definitely partial to this rendition, but in my humble opinion it is the best I've heard, including koussevitzky's with the old BSO, the man who asked ravel to orchestrate it...that recording is also amazing but the sound limitations at the time don't do it justice unfortunately. Get that recording as well since it has historical significance.
On to Reiner's performance...thrilling from beginning to end, while carefully balancing mussorgsky's ideas with ravel's impeccable orchestration (he was one of the best in music). Gnomus is particularly menacing, the old castle looming in veiled distance, cheeky unhatched chickens, an amazingly quixotic "limoges," but what amazes me is baba yaga and the great gate of kiev, featuring the CSO's astounding brass section, led by principal trumpet "bud" herseth, who plays the solo with great aplomb. Imagine how many times he played that opening. All in all, a hair-raising experience that was so typical of Reiner's exacting direction (if sadistic).
I can't say much about the other selections, though they are spectacularly played, esp. russlan and ludmilla which will knock the socks off of any listener worth his salt. \
Do yourself a favor and get an absolutely priceless disc. may this never be deleted from the catalogue!

From the moment the brass open the Promenade, it's instantly apparent just how flawless and precisely this orchestra plays. This is the most perfect intonation I have heard on any recording, ever. I have to agree with other reviewers in saying that even being 50 years old, this recording sounds better than a lot of recent CDs I own. Everything is unbelievably crisp and clear. Congratulations to Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for an amazing job.

I should mention though, the previous reviewer is right, there IS tape hiss throughout the CD. It isn't loud and I for one don't find it irritating, but it is more noticable than on other recordings I have. The liner notes also explain it- "to preserve the quality of the source material during transfer, we rejected any process by which tape hiss or other minor imperfections in the source material could be minimized at the expense of the original musical program's sonic integrity". I am glad at this choice.

All in all, an absolutely fantastic version of one of the great masterpieces of the 19th century. At the absurdly low price of $7.95, I don't see any reason to pass this one up.

The only comparable orchestra to Reiner's late fifties Chicago Leviathan was another Midwestern ensemble a few hundred miles to the east in Cleveland (also commanded by an expatriate Hungarian Jewish maestro).

It's a toss up over which orchestra was better, but this disc features ensemble playing of such overwhelming strength and authority that I can hardly think of a Szell/Cleveland recording that tops it, especially since the RCA Living Stereo sound is far better than the shabby sonics of Columbia/Sony.

Glinka's "Russlan and Ludmilla: Overture" alone is worth the unbelievably low admission price. The orchestra is simply on fire and it was captured in fabulous fifties sound that hasn't aged.

If a little tape hiss puts you into a hissy fit then by all means avoid this disc. (And also avoid those musty old paintings in the Prado and the Metropolitan.) Otherwise just buy it and crank up the volume to something approaching the hundred-plus decibels Reiner heard as the CSO burned onto tape one of the finest recordings in the history of classical music.

Perhaps not fair but I'll mainly comment on the "Pictures at an exhibition"

Frankly, I didn't got blown away with this perfomance of "the Pictures"
Considering all the rave reviews by professional and customer reviewers: "Best Pictures ever", "Never to surpassed" and "Desert Island disc", I was preparing myself for a musical feast.

Most parts are terrific, but some rather disappointing, including two of my favorites: "Il vechio castello" and "Gnomus".

The opening "promenade" is rather tame, correctly played but without any grandeur, but that didn't bother me much, it's only an introduction.

"Gnomus" starts great, but the screechy violins at the end sound very polite, not disturbing at all.
I scratched my head...how can this be?
One of my personal highlights of Mussorsky's Pictures is played that tame...and this on the greatest recording of the pictures ever???

"Il vechio castello".
Nice mood, great alt-saxo solo, but not as "Russian folk" like Kubelik's mono version on Mercury...and then the strings play without any mystery, not veiled at all.
A drop out in the recording or transfer on cd? takes me out of the mood again.
Only at the end of this piece the strings are nicely veiled and have that mysterious sound.

Now the best part:

"Bydlo" is magnificent. Perfectly built to a climax, incredible sound. Wow, this really deserves all the praise possible.

I also like Reiner's "A night on Bald Mountain" very much.
What a speed and power, very exciting.

The other pieces on this disc didn't get my attention that much, I don't care much for marches (or they must be in a symphony by Gustav Mahler) and I generally dislike Tchaikovsky's music.

This compilation of Russian masterpieces draws from RCA Victor "Living Stereo" recordings made in Chicago in 1957 and 1959.

Fritz Reiner's 1957 stereophonic recording of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" has long been considered one of the most spectacular and brilliant performances of this famous work. Orchestrated in 1922 by French master Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) from piano pieces, the music is so much better in its orchestral version. The true musical impressions of Victor Hartmann's drawings can be really appreciated. Throughout the various depictions of the pictures, the Chicago Symphony shines forth. It is a true showcase of the brilliant talents that Reiner worked with in Orchestra Hall. The listener is captivated by the contrasts in each of the movements and the outstanding performances.

Reiner was a true taskmaster, with extremely high standards, who rivaled Toscanini in his temperament and pursuit of excellence. Yet he had formidable musicians and, eventually, he actually gave some of his rare praise to what they achieved during the 10 years he was music director in Chicago (1953-1963). All of recordings in Chicago were recorded in both monaural sound and stereophonic sound.

The "March miniature" from Tchaikovsky's "Suite No. 1 in d minor," Op. 43, is one of several pieces the composer wrote using only high-pitched instruments. Reiner's performance is absolutely brilliant and, once again, the Chicago musicians were equal to the task. We are dazzled by the performance of this charming work.

Yes, Reiner does take Mussorgsky's "A Night on Bald Mountain" TOO FAST. It is so overwhelming as to be nearly exhausting. The amazing thing is that the musicians kept up with him. It is a frightening performance of the orchestration by Rimsky Korsakoff, who often rescued Mussorgsky and other Russian composers when they either failed to orchestrate a piece or were seemingly inadequate in their efforts. This is the version that Leopold Stokowski made famous in his 1940 multi-channel recording with the Philhadelphia Orchestra for Walt Disney's "Fantasia," minus the addition of "Ave Maria."

The "Polvstian March" from Alexander Borodin's opera "Prince Igor" is one of those pieces that we've sometimes heard and wondered who wrote it. In Reiner's hands, the pompous and imposing work is given appropriate grandeur and dignity.

Tchaikovsky's "March Slave" is all too familiar. It was one of the first orchestral works to be electrically recorded by Victor -- in 1925 by Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Stokowski couldn't resist increasing the bass tones by adding additional instruments. Reiner remains faithful to the 1876 score, a spectacular precursor to the "1812 Overture" minus cannons and bells. It is a powerful performance that rivals the 1959 stereo recording by Reiner's former student, Leonard Berstein, and the New York Philharmonic. (That recording was originally made by Columbia and reissued by Sony.)

Finally, there is a very showy, highly syncopated overture to Kabalevsky's "Colas Breugnon." Believe it or not, Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra recorded this in 1942 (also for RCA Victor) and it became a staple of that orchestra's 1950 transcontinental tour. Reiner's performance closely matches Toscanini's for all of its intensity, excitement, and precision.