Customer Reviews

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade / Stravinsky: Song of the Nightingale

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is *the* classic recording of Rimski-Korsakov's masterpiece. This magnificent work requires a first rate virtuoso orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony Orchesta at its peak under Fritz Reiner delivers in spades. The playing is nothing short of breathtaking -- the woodwinds are gorgeous, the brass and percussion climaxes are thrilling, and the strings are mellifluous. The recording, although 40 years old, easily holds its own with today's digital recordings. This is truly one of the finest classical music recordings of all time.

Certainly one of reiner's most famous recordings of the many superlative ones he made with the CSO, this remains an absolute favorite, from the time i first heard it, until now, while i currently listen to it while i type.
I love the commanding opening the brass announce, and sidney harth, not john weicher as another reviewer said...it simply gets better, as harth doesn't indulge in the solos as many other violinsts have done, and continue to do. the first movement is a tidal wave of energy, and reiner's rubato has never been approached.
the second movement solos by the principal winds are inimitable as well, proving that this piece is an orchestral showoff one as if reiner were saying, "look how good my orchestra is!" He was absolutely right.
The third movement is wonderfully seductive in the strings, which were much better then than now, and the quirky clarinet and flute solos. Again, Reiner's rubato is unparalled.
What absolutely stuns me is the last movement, played at such a dashing pace that reiner proves only the chicago symphony under his direction could do what they did. Listen to the incredible virtuosity of the strings, winds, percussion, and esp. the brass (how bout those 32nd notes, all you brass players?) any brass player ought to own this recording fo it proved that the brass of the CSO were indeed, the best of their era, and that includes the vienna and berlin philharmonics. sidney harth really does sing his heart out on the violin in the end, smartly opting to play the stratospheric high notes instead of opting for less invigorating and more dull harmonics that one usually hears. whether that was harth's decision or reiner's i don't know, but it works. oh, by the way, this movement was done in, get this...ONE TAKE! what orchestra today could do that? not many is the correct answer. Or, what conductor could make this cartoony music not sound incredibly cheesy? not many either. Hence why reiner and CSO have the best scherazade there ever will be.
I've heard quite a bit of fritz reiner's recordings, and this, i must say, might be his finest.

The Shererazade was recorded at the peak of both the CSO and Reiner's tenure with that ensemble. The playing is precise and clear. The dynamics are superb. John Weicher's violin solos are virtuoso (Weicher was Concertmaster for many years with the CSO). The recording was made at a time when CSO recordings were coming out on a regular basis from RCA with their then "Living Stereo" technique.

As in other CSO recordings of this period RCA was able to master the excellent accoustics of Orchestra Hall adding to the all ready outstanding playing of this orchestra based in more of a "German" traditional sound dating back to the ensemble's origins.

Reiner was able to keep under control his powerful brass section which was one of the world's best. The musicianship is tops.

The problem is that one almost has to have two recordings as the Beecham/RPO recording is also outstanding. It is similar to Reiner's with the outstanding ensemble that Sir Thomas was able to achieve without sneering down at his members.

For Reiner/CSO fans this is an absolute "must have". For those who enjoy the work either recording will suffice. As to which is better: that is up to the ears of the listener!

What a treat for the ears!

The Living Stereo series was wonderful then and it's even better now. There are two editions of this music: this CD and a hybrid SACD that has both a 3 channel and this, 2 channel, track. Review is of the SACD but applies to this standard CD.

The SACD 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 musicians across the broad but shallow Chicago Symphony Hall just as the engineers heard them in the recording sessions in 1960 and 1956. And those musicians are superb, particularly to my ears, on the Sheherazade portion. This is an excellent orchestra caught at its prime resulting in a truly world-class performance of this well known and well loved music.

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.

In this review, I will mainly be talking about the recording of Scheherazade on the album. While the Song of the Nightengale is a very good piece, and this is an excellent recording of it, but if you are buying this album, it should be for this amazing-dare I say difinitive-recording of Rimsky-Korsakov's greatest piece.

Fritz Reiner and the Chicagoans really outdid themselves here. Every member of the orchestra plays with inspiration, fire, and technical mastery. The solos are all amazing, especially Sidney Harth's beautiful playing of the prominent violin solos.

Some will say the first movement is taken too fast by Reiner. Don't listen to them. Reiner's tempo is almost right on Rimsky-Korsakov's marked tempo, so everyone else plays it too slow. The faster tempo brings the movement to life. You will feel Sinbad's ship braving a massive storm, tossing around in the relentless waves of the sea. With a slower tempo, this feeling is completely lost.

Beecham's recording is NOT better than this one.

The narrative of the piece is based on the stories told to the Sultan by Scheherazade during her captivity. Each movement is loosely based on one of the stories. The violin solos that reappear throughout the piece represent Scheherazade. The theme is not followed closely enough to take away from the form of the music, but enough to really draw you in to the piece. The orchestra changes their style according to the theme well.

The last movement is especially exciting. Legend has it that, after spending all day recording the first three movements, the orchestra nailed this movement on the first take. The climax, where the main theme from the first movement returns, is truly explosive.

Basically, this is one of my personal favorites in my collection. I don't think it would be stretching it too much to say this is one of the greatest recordings ever made, and definitely the greatest recording of Scheherazade.

"Scheherazade may be familiar, but she neither breeds nor deserves contempt." So says the liner notes, obviously responding to the many critical dismissals of the piece as a "warhorse" or as "pops" material. Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony, who also recorded three Bartok masterpieces for Living Stereo at about the same time, demonstrate that Rimsky-Korsakov's biggest hit is truly an outstanding "concerto for orchestra". This recording dates from February 8, 1960 yet sounds like it was made earlier this week. Is digital recording really necessary when we can have such clear, bright sound from a half century ago with no tape hiss?

Listen to the brass leap out of the speakers at the opening measures, followed by soft, gentle flutes. While much is made of Sidney Harth's violin solos over Edward Druzinsky's vibrant harp, the ravishing clarinet of Clark Brody must be heard to be believed. And so it goes throughout the piece, from 2nd movement bassoon, oboe, and piercing piccolo, to the 3rd movement's opening string melody and snare drum flourishes, to the 4th movement's rhythmic Baghdad festival, with chattering trumpets and bass drum explosions. Maybe it has been over-programmed over the years, but only the most cold-hearted academic snob would dismiss such a riveting score as this. If music listeners were given more opportunities to hear Rimsky-Korsakov's Symphony #2 "Antar" (unfortunately never recorded by Reiner and the Chicago SO), they would love it and demand it just as much as the ever-popular Scheherazade.

The other reviewers have ignored this disc's makeweight, Stravinsky's Song of the Nightingale, recorded on November 3, 1956 by the same forces. While not on the same level as the three ballets that made him world famous, this piece is the closest Stravinsky came to writing a flute-and-percussion concerto. Some say it drags, but this is fascinating, other-worldly music. As with Scheherazade, the brass leaps out in the cacophonus opening, and one is amazed yet again at the age of this lively, vivid recording. In this symphonic suite taken from a less-than-successful opera, the flute cadenzas portray the titular nightingale. Add some vigorous percussion, quirky bassoons, tinkling harp and celesta, shrill strings and trumpets, wild oboes, and echoing gongs, and you have one of Stravinsky's most imaginative tributes to the Far East. Perhaps this is not absolutely top-drawer material, but it's still very deserving of airings and performances, and it loses nothing when paired with the much-more famous work of his one-time teacher.

This disc is an outstanding bargain for definitive performances/recordings such as these with a conductor and orchestra that must be mentioned with the all-time greats. Highly, highly recommended!

This is a wonderful account of sherezade. Magnificent performance
that could stay in the top 3 greatest recordings, besides Beecham and
Markevitch. This is an accurate recommendation.

Yes, this is one of the great SCHEHERAZADEs of all time, and it is more precisely played and better recorded than its nearest rival, the 1957 Beecham RPO. It is also true that Reiner had his Chicago players so well disciplined that they "nailed" the final movement in one, unedited take.

But there is more than 'one' way to perform SCHEHERAZADE...Call it initial childhood exposure - or whatever. But I confess a preference for Beecham, in this work - even given the Reinerian advantages I just mentioned. Reiner is perhaps best at conveying the intimidating, terrorizing presence of the Sultan Schariar, and he plays the work as more of a SYMPHONY. This, of course, is perfectly legitimate, because the composer himself designated SCHEHERAZADE a "Symphonic Suite." Still, Beecham conducts it more as a "Suite", Tone Poem or Ballet, and he puts across the appealing qualities of the title character, perhaps a bit more than Reiner could. No doubt, this is partly due to "temperamental differences" between Reiner and Beecham. But more significantly, it is due to the fact that, unlike Reiner, Beecham had conducted this work in the proximity of Diaghalev's Ballet Russe, with dancing by Nijinksy and sets designed by Bakst. (With Beecham, you can almost SMELL it .)

Reiner's SONG OF THE NIGHTENGALE is one of the very great Stravinsky recordings. (Dorati's 1964 LSO version comes in a close second, IMHO.) It is barbarically exotic, rhythmically acerbic, and supremely lyrical at the same time. Reiner once said that "Stravinsky made a god of the eighth note; I don't." This hardly implies an unstylistic "romanticism" on Reiner's part (NO ONE in his/her right mind would accuse Der Fritzl of such a thing), but an uncanny ability to find lyricism where it is less than obvious. In THIS performance, the lyricism is all the more powerful and unexpected for riding the back of this "monster." In any case, the purity and Buddha-like concentration of "Bud" Herseth's final trumpet solo - AND Reiner's hypnotic accompaniment - must be heard to be believed. It even anticipates the lyrical trumpet passage at the end of Aaron Copland's QUIET CITY.

The only other recorded Stravinsky, by Reiner/Chicago, is THE FAIRY'S KISS Divertimento, available in this same, refurbished Living Stereo series, together with Prokofiev's LT. KIJE Suite and Hovhaness's MYSTERIOUS MOUNTAIN. (See my review.) Now, having admittedly made a remark about 'one' way of performing anything, THIS (IMHO) is how Stravinsky should be done. And never mind what a Reiner/Chicago/Living Stereo FIREBIRD, PETROUSHKA, or SYMPHONY OF PSALMS might have been !

The CD arrived in a timely fashion and in excellent condition. THIS is the recording of Scheherazade you want to own. Reiner and the CSO get it right, and as a true Living Stereo, the engineering is still state of the art.

Any shortcomings in sound quality (which are few; one might nit pick that it sounds slightly flat and muddy at times, especially in strings, although brass, winds and percussion are brilliant throughout), they are more than made up for in this spine-tingling performance. I'd give my right arm to be able to time travel back and hear this ensemble and conductor performing this romantic masterpiece live in the late 1950s. Reiner is in any short list of greatest 20th century conductors, and this recording is Exhibit A. An essential addition to any classical music library.