Customer Reviews

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, A Night on Bald Mountain, and Other Russian Showpieces [Hybrid SACD]

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is quite simply a beautful mastering of what was always a masterful recording. One of the best, of the ones I have heard so far, of the new SACD incarnations of the Living Stereo collection.
This is perhaps my favourite recording of Pictures at an Exhibition - each of the pieces is perfectly characterized with stunning technique from the Chicago Symphony and Reiner. The recording brings this out brilliantly - THIS is the way this recording should be heard. If you have a multichannel system, you will get an extra treat - this recording was originally made with three channels to get a better centre image and this has been preserved in this issue (as is the case with all the LS SACD releases that were done this way). If your three speakers have sufficient distance between each other, you will hear a detailed sound stage the likes of which is rare, and truly belies the recording's age.
All the other pieces on the disc are brilliantly handled as well. Tchaikovsky's Marche Slav is notable for the warmth and unashamed romanticism the CSO and Reiner bring to it.

Highly recommended.

Just how hard can it be, in this age of digi-techno miracle machinery, to make a recording of a major symphony orchestra that sounds natural? They could do it at RCA Living Stereo (and Mercury Living Presence) in the 1950's with only two or three microphones and analog tube equipment. Today, with all the gizmos, most orchestral recordings are over-processed, over-equalized, over-mixed and blended, pasturized and homogenized into grating sterility.

This recording is wonderful. The performance is magic. The SACD layer is even more natural sounding than the CD layer. Keep your 5.1 multi-channel surround sound, I'm hooked on Living Stereo.

I am a H U G E fan of the RCA Living Stereo Series. I had all the CD's (I wish I had the LP's) of the series, beginning with the 1993 discs through the releases remastered with the 20 bit UV22 Super CD encoding and the Weiss 24/96 technologies. I also have had the JVC XRCD's that have been released featuring RCA Living Stereo recordings. I mention this merely to establish credibility.

The clarity on this Reiner "Pictures at an Exhibition" is staggering (and I am just talking about the CD layer of this hybrid for now! I'll get into the SACD layer a bit later.) I did A/B comparisons with the JVC XRCD2 and the CD layer of this recording and was surprised at what I did not hear on the JVC, which costs a cool $30 per disc. The JVC XRCD2 is more veiled and does not give you the spaciousness that the CD Layer gives you. As a weird example of the new clarity afforded by this new remastering, on Track 7 - Bydlo, the tenor tuba player playing the theme takes breaths between each phrase; sometimes it's a long breath, at other times it's a short gasp. On the JVC XRCD, you can barely hear it.

The bass drum used liberally throughout the recording is revealed like it has never been on any of the aforementioned recordings. This drum has real weight and impact; its reverberations in the hall are evident and the drum head itself has tone, texture and flex. I was truly shocked that this much sound information had been missing from this recording on CD until now. It's no wonder the LP version is so highly sought after and prized.

Throughout the entire disc, reasons to purchase this Hybrid SACD emerge: the wondrous sheen of the strings, the fantastic accuracy of the woodwind tones, the brashness of the brass instruments, the indescribable majesty of the final "The Great Gate at Kiev", etc. I can't list them all here but I can assure you that there is no other digital recording of Reiner's "Pictures at an Exhibition" that more completely reveals his genius, the beauty of this work, the virtuosity of the players of the 1957 Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the exquisite acoustics of the Hall in which they played.

With regard to the SACD layer, I don't know how a recording can sound more real in the digital domain, unless you were there in the Hall and, of course, at that point it's all analog. Some key SACD points: Wide and deep, accurately rendered soundstage. Stable, pinpoint placement of the players of the orchestra. Excellent timbre and dynamics. Without a hint of the digital etch that plagues CD's. This recording is truly brought to life using DSD. SACD is as close to reality as you're going to get using a 5 inch piece of plastic and this recording proves it!

The engineers at Soundmirror, the Boston studio that remastered this SACD from the original master tape to DSD, have done a SUPERB job with Reiner's "Pictures at an Exhibition." This new RCA Living Stereo Hybrid SACD is superior in every way to the cr'me-de-la-cr'me JVC XRCD2 which, except for the analog version on LP, was the be all and end all for the digital rendition of this recording.

What a treat for the ears!

The Living Stereo series was wonderful then and it's even better now. This hybrid SACD 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.

I love this record. I've always loved "Pictures" but never owned a copy. When I found it was available on SACD, I had to get it since it's the best consumer distribution format I've ever heard. The recording was great in its day and still holds well over many more "technologically advanced" recordings. Really, the most of the best classical recordings are done with 2 or 3 microphones and a stereo or 3-track tape recorder. My one peve with this album is that they used some pretty heavy digital noise reduction which saps some of the life out of the string section. The horns are still clean and clear though and the percussion is as it should be. The recording really didn't need much (if any) noise reduction really as it was so clean in the first place but for some reason the engineers felt obligated to push down the noise even further. In light of that, I can see why people try to get the original LPs whenever possible. But it's still a great performance with lots of realism (like musician's breath or turning pages) reminding you there's people making this music. Many new recordings are artificially forced to be so steryl and clean they sound fake. This sounds like an orchestra in my room. A worthy buy for any SACD enthusiast.

This sacd is positively stunning. I am young. I was raised on gizmos, gadgets and hi-tech this and that...and for the life of me I can't understand how these engineers back in the 50's and 60's produced such astoundingly detailed recordings. With two or three mics for the hall and some tube equipment and wham...there you have it...a recording of impressively powerful pieces of music with enough separation and detail within the mix to keep the listener busy for hours and hours on end. That and the emotional wallop packed by this recording is second to none. Even if you have copies aplenty of Pictures, or Night on..., such as I do myself, please do not hesitate to pick up this recording as it is worth every dime. If you are looking for an interesting counterpoint to Reiner's reading of Pictures or Night pick of Jose Serebrier's recording on Naxos.

How can something older than me sound so good? The recording is top notch. Dont be fooled into thinking it is "just stereo", the ambience of symphony hall comes thru as though it were recorded in surround. Exquisite detail and perfect tempo. Timpani has realistic impact. And all the other music with Pictures makes this a real bargain!

What a golden era this record dates from and yet it wares its age well! Reiner's interpretations are quite inspirational and the Chicago Orchestra plays exceptionally well - as ever - for the maestro. What performances! The recorded sound is fantastic - especially the SACD layer. There really is little to fault here and this can be considered highly recommendable.

Performance: 5/5
There really is little to fault here. Every bar, every musical line and every piece on this record is full of a life and energy that is so fresh and warm. The orchestra plays very well and clearly enjoys this music. The playing is incisive and reasonably plush. They balance very nicely and articulate their parts with an easy precision that feels neither comatose nor insistent. Its just right. Listen to those brasses "Pictures'" Promenade or the Great Gate of Kiev - from this exceptional quality it is understandable why this orchestra's brass section has always been rated so highly. Listen to the difficult passages of the second movement, the ensemble is cohesive and precise but with a slight hint of difficulties and lapses in togetherness - nothing major but there are small hints. Generally, the playing is well together and the quibbles aren't worth deducting anything from the record's score. There is a stark and dark quality to Night on Bald Mountain which also brings playing of great intensity. The commitment in the playing of the various overtures and marches cannot be faulted either. Superb!

Sound: 5/5
Considering the age of this record the sound quality is phenomenal! The SACD layer has warm, full, balanced and natural sound. Even the strings of this orchestra - oft-berated for lacking in even tone and body - shine through pleasantly. It really is very lifelike. At times, particularly in the overtures, there emerges some rawness which betrays the age though none of this impacts upon the main event - Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Considering the age of this record, there is no reason for deducting any marks at all. It is difficult not to be impressed by such sound.

Interpretation: 5/5
Reiner's view of Pictures is jovial and easy going though it has maximum fire and energy when necessary. Reiner clearly had a good sense of orchestral colour and these performances show this. He balances the orchestra superbly and extracts a bright and beautiful sound from his orchestra. He portrays the images well and, at times, the interpretation is quite evocative of the images' programmatic descriptions. His commitment is unquestionable. Some may take issue with a slightly swift reading of the Great Gate of Kiev but it fits so convincingly after the energetic and intensely exciting penultimate movement that it remains a pleasure all-round. Yes, the coda is indeed maestoso enough to please anyone, surely. The reading of Night on Bald Mountain is dark, exciting and, again, colourful culminating in a deeply felt perception of the closing moments. The other pieces are all commanded with élan and verve with nothing to fault here either.

These are fantastic performances in an all-round fantastic record which any collection should have room for. If you are looking for a revealing and felt performance of Mussorgsky's two popular works, you need look no further. Of course the competition is fierce but rivals won't better this by much. If you want alternatives, however, either of Karajan's recordings on DG are worth seeking out while DG have another gem in Sinopoli's account which, unfortunately, as of writing, is unavailable. This record, though, shouldn't disappoint!

Great value. Great performances. On my krell sacd player, I found small differences between the SACD layer and the regular. The recordings are outstanding. Consider the price and that this is a 2 lp set, this is a deal.

I want to consider two aspects of this recording, the music and the engineering.

First the music
I have never heard better sounding recordings of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra than the ones on this disc; the orchestra performs the music with fresh drama that brings it to life. If you have any notion that these performances are just more of the same, put that thought out of your mind; they bring a life and sparkle to the music that is sadly absent on most other recordings I've heard.

Although I had heard of Fritz Reiner for almost all of my adult life I had no idea what a gifted interpreter of music he really was and how much he truly deserved his reputation. His conducting of these performances presents the music in a way that opens up new horizons; I felt as if I'd not really heard them before, this was the way they were meant to be played.

I already have most of these works by several different conductors and orchestras and had a few reservations about getting yet another rendition; fortunately I overcame those reservations and am delighted that I did.

There is a dramatic presence to these recordings that places the listener right on stage with the conductor; I do not know how the microphones were placed but the results makes one feel right on stage there with the orchestra. The sound is sumptuous with sparkling cymbals, resonate bass drums and a smooth string sound that is free of any harshness.

Reiner believes in keeping things moving so none of the works drag; the tempi are brisk and bright.

Now the engineering
My hat is off to the RCA engineers that had the vision to record these so beautifully in three-channel sound; the results in SACD are fantastic. The sound stage is wide and very smooth. It's easy to locate the instruments positions in the orchestra. The dynamic range leaves nothing to be desired. The truth is I cannot find fault with any aspect of this recording concerning music performance, interpretation, or engineering! It is saddening to consider that some of the newest DTS-HD Master Audio recordings don't measure up to the musicality and beauty of this recording.

My hat is also off to the engineers and producers who remastered these recordings and transferred them to the SACD format. It is interesting that the full implementation of the early vision had to wait for technology to catch up.

I've been ordering a bunch of these "Living Stereo" recordings and the more I hear the more I go back and order the ones I don't have yet. They have become addictive!