He was certainly militaristic in the way he treated his musicians (Szell was worse), but for me, there are several indispensable recordings:
Bartok Concerto for Orchestra
Brahms Violin Concerto with Heifetz
Pictures at an Exhibition
Prokofiev Alexander Nevsky
Prokofiev Lieutenant Kije
Pines of Rome
Scherazade
Zarathustra
Have them all on the original Soundmirror SACDs which are quite good with the bonus of longer playing times (fillers), and Analogue Productions SACDs which sound even better.
Analogue Production releases are also available on LP. I havenât heard them, but by all accounts, vinyl lovers love them. All SACDâs currently available at 1/2 price with exception of the Brahms.
Thanks! I forgot to say I also have several of the AP DSD and the Bartok you mentioned is the one I kept on vinyl (I like it). Some of the others you mentioned I still have as DSD but still donât like them. For me Reiner works with those spectacular pieces because he always does spectacular (imo unfortunately also when it doesnât fit) and the cymbal sound and implementation he uses always sounds like an army orchestra to me. Iâm probably just not made for enjoying most of his work. And I donât like the digital versions compared to vinyl (just checked the Bartok on both), but thatâs not special with pure analog recordings.
But I again recognized that I indeed like the BartokâŠat least one
One personal experience. The 1st time I attended a performance of Tchaikovskyâs 4th Symphony was Ormandy & the Philadelphia Orchestra. Forty plus years on I still remember how surprised I was of the sound & visceral impact of the cymbals in the last movement. Every recording I had heard, and have heard since, pales in comparison.
Yes, itâs certainly not the live impact of cymbals I donât like, itâs the combination of the vintage sound of those recordings with the musical style of Reiner which reminds me of oompah music.
I Always prefer Bernstein i am not fan of Karajan;
byt i wait for a master not a remastering, also i prefer to chose the symfonies i like of Beethoven, not all them are my favorites even when they are very Good.
Agree with jazznut; Reference Recordings sound terrific. The good news is that there are so many first class interpretations, beautifully conducted & played. The 10 SACDs in my collection; all 9 Honeck/Pittsburgh Symphony releases & the Kansas City Symphony Saint-SaĂ«ns Symphony No. 3 âOrganâ, are worth considering if the music is of interest. More good news, thereâs a Honeck/PSO Tchaikovsky 4th coming, for which I have high expectations.