SOON-TO-BE RARE RECORDINGS


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Posted by Richard on November 12, 2000 at 12:59:06:

Followers of this bbs are no doubt aware of the retrenchment in the classical record business. This pertains not merely to new projects with current artists, but the continuation of core catalog (i.e. vintage recordings) as well. RCA, for some time owned by the Bertelsmann consortium, is the label of the Reiner/Chicago legacy, and in the last ten years has reissued most of those recordings in excellent remasterings on CD.

A considerable amount of you-know-what hit the fan at BMG some months ago, and its classical labels have been given over to accountants in the pop division. One regrettable consequence is the discontinuation of slow selling catalog items which may be steady sellers, but if they are too slow, they get the axe.

Recently, my store has received BMG's suspended titles (those destined for the axe) through December 31. Here's a list of some of these recordings. Some or most of you may have them many times over, but if any of you have missed out, start looking now. Check whatever websites you like, Tower or any others.

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto #1; Excerpts from Nutcracker; Emil Gilels, piano; Reiner/CSO - Cat#68530. More than the Nutcracker Suite, this is a nutload. The soloist in the Concerto, made his American debut with the CSO on this piece, and the recording was made the following day. Don't miss any of it.

Reiner Conducts Richard Strauss - Cat # 68635. A five CD set containing all of the Reiner Strauss recordings with the CSO. Each is available separately except as noted.

R. Strauss: Symphonia Domestica; Suite from Bourgeois GentilhommeReiner/CSO - Cat#68637. Symphonia is one the all-time great CSO recordings. "Original cast" trumpet section Herseth, Nashan, Babcock. Not a huge tuba part but Mr. Jacobs made every passage count. Bourgeois is one of those small orchestra non-tuba pieces that are good to know just 'cause they are.

R.Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra; Burleske; Byron Janis, Reiner/CSO - Cat#68638
This is the second of two Zarathustra recordings by Reiner/CSO, made in 1962. Not as spacious sounding or grand as the famous first one from 1954, but more tense and dramatic. This is the "alter-ego" Zarathustra. 2nd tuba was Charles Guse, then of the Chicago Lyric Opera. Burleske with Byron Janis and the CSO will blow you away too.

Reiner Conducts Wagner and Strauss Cat#63301. Would you ****ing believe it? They're cutting out Jake's Meistersinger!! The Strauss is the earlier (1955) of two Don Juans, not included in the box set.

Spain - Cat#62586. Leontyne Price; Reiner/CSO. Price does the vocals in Falla's El Amor Brujo. The rest of the CD is devoted to orchestral pieces by Falla, Albeniz, and Granados. This is a spectacular piece of work. Jacobs did his pieces on an Alexander F that he had had customized by Carl Geyer.

Get them while you can still find them.



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