Artist(s): Conductor – Fritz Reiner
Orchestra – Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Recording Info: Engineer – Lewis Layton
Producer – Richard Mohr
Symphony No. 5: Recorded April 27, 1960
Symphony No. 8: Recorded March 26, 1960
Sourced from an RCA Living Stereo Shaded Dog LP original pressing
Symphony No. 8 In B Minor ("Unfinished")
1 Allegro Moderato 11:25
2 Andante Con Moto 12:26
Symphony No. 5 In B-Flat
3 Allegro 4:33
4 Andante Con Moto 9:53
5 Menuetto: Allegro Molto 5:18
6 Allegro Vivace 4:53
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I don't understand the technology but....
This is a superb performance with sound as good as anything I've heard. There must be something to it. As one who abandoned vinyl a long time ago, I'm amazed the shortcomings can be overcome to produce a result like this.

Unfinished Symphony Reiner Chicago SO
Nice transfer but I agree with another reviewer that it's not as transparent as other Chicago SO Reiner releases, not quite the sound stage front to back depth and not quite the impact from from the tympani and percussion that you normally would expect from Reiner Chicago recordings.

Excellent Transfer
I am very impressed with this first vinyl to DSD offering. This is my first exposure to these Schubert symphonies. I find the music itself to be exciting with respect to transitions from lows to highs. I'll be enjoying this recording for a long time to come.

An excellent transfer of outstanding performances
Reiner turns in outstanding performances, with fabulous playing by the CSO. The sound of the full orchestra with brass, winds and strings is rich and full. The strings alone at times have hints of scratchiness, but these are small--and all of it is amazingly good for its 1960 vintage. Reiner plays the fifth symphony briskly in the outer movements--in line with a favorite performance by van Beinum on Dutton--but here the sound is better. These are wonderful recordings that will be getting repeated listenings.

Approachable, tuneful, second to none in quality of composition
As classical record collectors might expect, two great symphonies (one, possibly amongst the greatest ever anywhere, even though it wasn’t completed) from the great early Viennese Romantic melodist Schubert - played by one of America’s great orchestras better known for its work in much larger scale repertoire. Reiner approaches both works with reverence and respect, as would his Hungarian emigré colleagues Ormandy and Szell have done, demanding the highest standards in what his players I think would have found relatively easy to play on a technical level. The opening of the 2nd movement of the 5th Symphony demonstrates this. It was tempting to compare this release with RCA’s own which - in its latest transfer - appears to have a little more glow and bloom, although at the same time, less texture and detail. My own preference is for the present version, although it must be admitted that overall, there’s little in it. If this is a good example of what we’re going to be expecting from HDTT’s from-vinyl series, more please! There are other great recordings of these works of course, but this should not disappoint. Approachable, tuneful, lightweight in part but second to none in quality of composition and gravitas elsewhere.
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