Moussorgsky Pictures At An Exhibition - Rimsky-Korsakov Capriccio Espagnol Leonard Bernstein
Two of the most beloved showpieces of the Russian orchestral repertoire share a single digital release, with Leonard Bernstein at the helm of the New York Philharmonic. Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition - a memorial to his friend, the artist Viktor Hartmann - becomes, in Ravel's glittering orchestration, a walk through a haunted gallery, each picture a vignette of drama, tenderness, and terror, bound together by the recurring "Promenade" of a solitary walker. It is paired with Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol, a sun-drenched fantasy on Spanish folk themes that lets every section of the orchestra step into the spotlight, from the violin's opening flourish to the castanets and tambourine of its thrilling closing fandango. Bernstein, the most theatrical conductor of his era, treats both scores with the full force of his storytelling genius: the gallery walk unfolds with cinematic tension, while the Spanish dances erupt with irresistible heat and swagger.
For audiophiles, this is far more than a matter of musical repertoire. It stands among the best-sounding titles Columbia produced during that golden period of engineering - and at the controls was Fred Plaut, one of the era's most celebrated engineers, whose work across classical and jazz alike defined the golden age of stereo. This digital edition preserves that legacy in a transfer of exceptional clarity, warmth, and dynamic range, doing full justice to the orchestra's rich textures and Bernstein's dramatic extremes. Whether you come for the walk through the Great Gate of Kiev or the blazing Andalusian fiesta, this has long been regarded as one of the label's ultimate sonic achievements. A definitive document of one of the great conductor-orchestra partnerships of the century, now available in pristine digital form.
Artist(s): Conductor - Leonard Bernstein
Orchestra -The New York Philharmonic
Recording Info: Recorded in Brooklyn, New York, at the St. George Hotel on October 14, 1958
Producer: John McClure
Recording Engineer: Fred Plaut
Sourced from a 15ips tape
Components used for Transfer:
This transfer leverages precision analog playback and mastering-grade digital conversion. The signal path begins with an extensively modified Studer A810 Reel to Reel with Flux Heads, fed through a Merrill Audio Master MX Tape Head Preamp. The analog signal is converted via a Merging Hapi converter, synchronized to an Antelope Audio 10MX atomic clock for temporal accuracy. 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.
1 Promenade 1:52
2 The Gnomes 2:47
3 Promenade 1:01
4 The Old Castle 4:04
5 Promenade 0:37
6 Tuileries (Children Quarreling At Play) 1:10
7 Promenade 2:25
8 Bydlo (Polish Oxcart) 0:51
9 Promenade 1:13
10 Ballet Of The Chicks In Their Shells 2:34
11 Samuel Goldenberg And Schmuyle 1:32
12 The Market Place At Limoges 1:53
13 Catacombs (Con Mortuis Lingua Mortua) 1:59
14 The Hut Of Baba Yaga (Witches' Revelry) 3:18
15 The Great Gate Of Kiev 6:06
Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34
16 Alborada 1:22
17 Variazioni 4:50
18 Alborada 1:18
19 Scene E Canto Gitano 4:34
20 Frandango Asturiano 3:06
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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