Respighi: Pines of Rome; Fountains of Rome & Debussy: La mer Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Fritz Reiner

• Claude Debussy (1862-1918): La Mer:
• 1 I. From Dawn to Midday on the Sea 10:22
• 2 II. Play of the Waves 06:31
• 3 III. Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea 08:14
• Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936): Fountain of Rome:
• 4 The Fountain of Valle Giulia at Dawn 04:40
• 5 The Triton Fountain at Morning 02:25
• 6 The Fountain of Trevi at Midday 03:19
• 7 The Villa Medici Fountain at Sunset 05:26
• Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936): Pines of Rome:
• 8 The Pines of the Villa Borghese 02:43
• 9 Pines Near a Catacomb 06:46
• 10 The Pines of the Janiculum 06:28
• 11 The Pines of the Appian Way 05:12
• Total Runtime 01:02:06

Info for Respighi: Pines of Rome; Fountains of Rome & Debussy: La mer

„Listening to these exquisite remasterings of half-century-old classic Living Presence recordings recalled a story told by a pupil of Philip Farkas (the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's principal hornist when these tapings were made). During rehearsal, conductor Fritz Reiner angrily signaled for a stop, glared at the horns, and demanded: 'Horns! Forte!' They repeated the passage, louder, and were stopped again. 'Horns! Forte!' Two more times produced the same result, after which Reiner slammed down his baton. One of the horn players pleaded, 'But, Maestro, we're playing as loud as we can.' 'I know!' snapped Reiner, 'you started at fortissimo.'

This anecdote illustrates how important it was to Reiner to get the exact loudness--or quietness--he wanted. Truly pianissimo playing is a hard thing for an orchestra to achieve, and among the things this excellent SACD remastering discloses as never before is the utterly ravishing playing of this orchestra at pianissimo, and its constant attention to dynamic level. This pays off in the final movement of Pines of Rome, where Reiner achieves a steady increase in loudness from the first tread of the Caesars' ghostly legions to the very last chord. The effect is breathtaking.

The remastering does this without at all yielding to the temptation to 'improve' the original master's dynamics by ramping up the loud parts. The result: a faithful recreation of the legendary 1959 and 1960 sonics, minus surface noise or hiss. The string sound regains its original sweetness, eliminating the slight graininess and upper-register hardness that many can hear in standard-resolution CDs. Inclusion of the third channel in the multi-track layer of the SACD helps nail down the placement of the solo winds and spreads the strings out to sections, rather than points.

The virtues of Reiner's performances are well known. In La Mer Reiner remembers that a movement called 'From Dawn Till Noon...' should begin in profound darkness. Rhythms are never rigid in this unmatched depiction of fluidity. All the delicate shadings of what is called musical Impressionism are there, but the climaxes arrive with plenty of guts. In Respighi's Fountains you can feel the dawn mists at the beginning and the magical quietness of the air at the end of the day. And the Gregorian chant evoked by the Catacombs in Pines never has made the remembered Christian martyrs sound so noble and brave.

If you know these recordings, be assured that they truly improve the sound. If you've ever wondered why old-timers rave about 1950s stereo labels like RCA Living Stereo and 'shaded dogs' (a description of the art style used for the RCA terrier on the LP label), this will answer all your questions.“ (Joseph Stevenson, ClassicsToday.com)

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Fritz Reiner, conductor

Recorded at Orchestra Hall, Chichago February 27, 1960 (Debussy), October 24, (Respighi)

Digitally remastered

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Booklet for Respighi: Pines of Rome; Fountains of Rome & Debussy: La mer