Legendary RCA's "The Reiner Sound" on Hybrid SACD
This issue of "Analogue Productions, RCA Living Stereo" is a superb SACD presentation that fortunately offers finally the right EQ among the many options. Ryan K. Smith (Sterling Sound) is responsible for the jaw-dropping remastering of the original master tapes recorded between 1956-1957 by RCA's legendary team of technicians (in this case headed by Richard Mohr as producer and Lewis W. Layton as sound engineer). The interpretations of the 3 works offered on this disc by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Fritz Reiner are among the best in the discography with incredible clarity of orchestral textures and a feeling for Spanish rhythms that make other renditions of these pale. Undoubtedly the jewel of the disc is Rachmaninoff's “Island of the dead” which offers excellent sound especially in the 3-Channel option of the SACD. On the contrary, Ravel's “Rapsodie espagnole” lets you feel some congestion of the sound in the loudest passages of the piece. Ravel’s “Pavane pour une infante défunte” also sounds wonderful in the multichannel version that exhibits the warm character of the RCA’s “Living Stereo” recordings. In short, an album that should not be missed.
