Franck Symphony In D Minor - Monteux Chicago Symphony
The 1961 RCA Victor recording of César Franck’s Symphony in D Minor, featuring Pierre Monteux and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, stands as a cornerstone of the "Living Stereo" era. This specific performance is often cited by critics and audiophiles alike as the definitive interpretation of the work, blending French stylistic sensitivity with American orchestral precision. The recording captures a unique historical moment where a legendary conductor, then in his eighties, returned to a piece he had known since its infancy to create a lasting legacy. This essay explores how the combined authority of Monteux, the virtuosity of the Chicago Symphony, and the high-fidelity engineering of the period resulted in a gold standard for the Romantic repertoire.
Artist(s): Conductor – Pierre Monteux
Orchestra – Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Recording Info: Recorded 1/7/1961, Orchestra Hall, Chicago
Engineer – Lewis Layton
Producer – Richard Mohr
Sourced from a 4-track tape
Components used for Transfer:
This transfer leverages precision analog playback and mastering-grade digital conversion. The signal path begins with a Nagra 4SJ modified with Flux Heads, fed through a Custom Tape Pre-amp designed by Victor Khomenko of Balanced Audio Technology for accurate NAB equalization. The analog signal converts via a Merging Hapi converter, synchronized to an Antelope Audio 10MX atomic clock for temporal accuracy. Software: Merging Pyramix v15. All components receive isolated power conditioning through a Shunyata Research Everest 8000 with Shunyata Sigma-X power cords, while grounding infrastructure utilizes Shunyata ALTAIRA hubs to minimize noise floor and preserve sonic detail throughout the transfer chain.
I - Lento - Allegro Non Troppo 18:00
II - Allegretto 10:35
III - Allegro Non Troppo 10:26
Please Note: This release was edited in DXD PCM from a DSD256 Master
then the DXD edited master was used to generate the final DSD files using
Merging Technologies Album Publishing.
DXD (352.8KHz 24/32 bit PCM) is one of the best and least destructive formats for post-processing DSD originated digital recordings
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