COMPOSERS: Dvorak/Smetana/Weinberger
LABELS: RCA Living Stereo
WORKS: Symphony No. 9 (From the New World); Carnival Overture; The Bartered Bride Overture
PERFORMER: Chicago SO/Fritz Reiner
CATALOGUE NO: 09026 62587 2 ADD (1955-57)
Reiner gives an eminently respectable performance of the world’s best-loved symphony. He does not fiddle unnecessarily with tempo in the first movement, and the big tune in the Largo is unaffected and, as a result, rich in emotion. The Poco sostenuto in the Scherzo is leaden, but this is the only routine moment in a rendition which, unusually, lets the work speak for itself. The other lollipops on the CD are delivered with comparably straightforward enthusiasm. These recordings made in the mid-Fifties with pioneering Stereo Orthophonic tapes are commendably clear – the downside comprises a perceptible hiss, a lack of ambience and some rather acid string sound. Jan Smaczny
Dvorak/Smetana/Weinberger
Reiner gives an eminently respectable performance of the world’s best-loved symphony. He does not fiddle unnecessarily with tempo in the first movement, and the big tune in the Largo is unaffected and, as a result, rich in emotion. The Poco sostenuto in the Scherzo is leaden, but this is the only routine moment in a rendition which, unusually, lets the work speak for itself. The other lollipops on the CD are delivered with comparably straightforward enthusiasm.
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:16 pm