Fritz Reiner - Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade

TAS Super LP List! Special Merit: Classical

2015 Stereophile Magazine Record to Die For!

Michael Fremer Rated 10/11 Music, 10/11 Sound in his December 2013 reviews on www.analogplanet.com!

RCA Living Stereo 200 Gram Vinyl!
Remastered and Cut at 33 1/3 rpm by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound!
Pressed at Quality Record Pressings & Plated by Gary Salstrom!

RCA Living Stereo classical LPs - the gold standard for top quality orchestral performance and sound!

"Reiner's reading of Scheherazade is the pinnacle of grace, precision, delicacy, and drama, and it's no wonder it commands the highest prices in the market for used shaded dogs. The late Harry Pearson once told me that he could learn anything he needed to know about an audio component by playing the final movement of this recording... When I spun them [Analogue Productions RCA Living Stereo 200g LP reissues], I was floored. After comparing them to early shaded-dog pressings of the same recordings, I felt the only area in which the originals were still superior was the subtle, additional layer of air and sparkle in the highs (master-tape age, perhaps?). But the reissues' quality and extension of bass and high-level dynamic contrasts were superior. And the surfaces of the new pressings are so quiet they let each subtle midrange detail emerge from a "black" background. At times, the background is so silent I have to do a double take to verify that the needle is still in the groove and the platter is still turning." - Robert J. Reina, 2015 Stereophile Magazine Record to Die For!

"...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 it 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. This, like the Respighi, is considered one of the very best LPs by Reiner, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and RCA's crew. Another Mohr and Layton classic.

"This ravishing beauty, originally released in 1960 or fifty three years ago, has been a long-time audiophile classic. It's also considering to be among the finest if not the finest performance on record or any other format... Both the music and the sound are transportive, making this easy to recommend even if you think you don't like 'classical' music. If you're looking for a way 'in' here it is!" - Michael Fremer, analogplanet.com, Music 10/11, Sound 10/11!

"...I'd have to say that the usual stumbling blocks have been sidestepped. Great care has been taken to do the right things, starting with the way the decision to remaster these RCAs was made." - Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound.com, June 11, 2013

Features:
• 200g Vinyl 33 1/3rpm
• Pressed at Quality Record Pressings
• Plated by Gary Salstrom
• Mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound

Musicians:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Fritz Reiner, conductor
Sidney Harth, violin solo

Selections:
Rimsky-Korsakov
Scheherazade
1. The Sea And Sinbads Ship
2. The Story Of The Kalender Prince
3. The Young Prince And The Young Princess
4. Festival In Bagdad; The Sea; The Ship Goes To Pieces On A Rock Surmounted By A Bronze Warrior

"(Analogue Productions) has been updating LP pressings of some classic RCA recordings, using today's state-of-the-art technology found at (Quality Record Pressings)... None of (the) resurrections is more gorgeous than (the) revivication of the classic Fritz Reiner / Chicago Scheherazade, itself a knockout of a recording in its Living Stereo issue. (Except, maybe Analogue Productions new version of the Reiner, Pines of Rome.)"

"We compared this new 200-gram, 33-rpm LP from Analogue Productions with the original RCA Living Stereo issue, and Classic Records 33rpm version, and were surprised at the outcome. Why? Because to these ears, the new Analogue Productions version was the more relaxed and natural sounding of the bunch. The sound is as it should be, inviting the listener into the music and entirely consonant with Reiner's readings. This transfer bespeaks a confidence in the sound on the master tape, without the artificial touch-ups (a brightness) later found in the original Living Stereo pressing and the more pronounced jiggering in the version from Classic Records.

"RCA graced this recording with some of their best engineering. Rimsky's orchestration seems tailor-made for a sonic showcase and this is exactly what the RCA engineers gave Reiner's well-nigh perfect reading.  It is a reading of great subtlety and romanticism, which brings this too-often played piece to a newfound life.  And so worth getting to know again if you've drifted away from it.

"If ever there were a must-have LP in the recent wave of audiophile vinyl reincarnations, this is it. Treat yourself..." - Review of RCA Reissue LSC-2446, Harry Pearson, HP Soundings