This is a very important record for collectors of great orchestral interpretations, in that it reveals aspects of the great Hungarian-born but naturalised American conductor Fritz Reiner which have rarely been made available on disc before. There are two major highlights on this CD – Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’ with the magnificent tenor Lauritz Melchior adopting a new role on disc as narrator, and an early war-time performance of Shostakovich’s epic Sixth Symphony with the Phlharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York. This very well-filled CD is completed by a brilliant performance of Mozart’s ‘Impresario’ Overture, and masterly accounts of the March from Tchaikovsky’s First Orchestral Suite, Debussy’s Fetes from his three Nocturnes and a beautifully transcription by Lucien Caillet of Bach’s ‘Little’ Fugue in G minor – the last three with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Excellent sound.
"This latest release from Guild’s excellent historical series focuses on the art of Fritz Reiner, one of the last century’s finest conductors who has the reputation of being somewhat of a martinet. The musical results available here are however a testament to the superb virtuosity and generally high level of excellence which Reiner managed to attain from his orchestras, mainly all American. Mozart is not a name which readily springs to mind when talking about Reiner but this taut and precise account of the overture to “L’Impresario” is quite accomplished and extremely vivid. Prokofiev’s delightful “Peter and the Wolf” has the ubiquitous Lauritz Melchior as narrator and the work comes across quite jovially notwithstanding Reiner’s reputation as a dour sod. Shostakovich was certainly a composer close to Reiner’s heart and here we can revel in a quite brilliant recording of the Sixth which matches such illustrious contemporaries as Kondrashin, Mravinsky and Rostropovich. The rest of the disc is given over to shorter pieces such as Tchaikovsky’s “Marche Miniature”, “Fetes” from Debussy’s Nocturnes and finally the giant Fugue in G minor by Bach in a fine arrangement by Lucien Caillet. Surely this new issue is a must for historical recording lovers and a moving tribute to the greatness of Fritz Reiner."
Gerald Fenech
