Fritz Reiner - Rarities, Volume 2 (1950-54) [2010]

More excellent 1950s recordings from Fritz Reiner


Like the earlier release in this series (PASC 235), this volume of Reiner Rarities features works which are rare in more than one sense. First, these are Fritz Reiner's only commercial recordings of the works presented. In addition, none of them have ever received an "official" commercial CD reissue from RCA.

The Mozart was originally coupled with his Divertimento No. 11, K.251. While the latter has been reissued on CD by Testament, filling out a Reiner/Chicago Mozart program, the Musical Joke has remained "orphaned" until now. Of Marian Anderson's three recordings of the Alto Rhapsody, RCA only released the second (1945) recording with Pierre Monteux on CD, rather than this sonically superior final version from five years later. The Debussy originally shared an LP side with Reiner's NBC studio recording of Ravel's Tombeau de Couperin. While this was reissued in the Reiner volume of the IMG Artists/EMI series "Great Conductors of the 20th Century", its discmate has remained unavailable for over half a century (although the broadcast performances of both works which preceded the recording session have appeared on CD several times).

Finally, the Liebermann work, though originally recorded in stereo, was not issued in that form on LP until 1981. However, it had previously been released as a two-track open reel tape in 1955, and it was from this that the present transfer was made. Oddly, this recording has never been commercially reissued on CD by RCA or its successor, Sony. It is easy to imagine Leonard Bernstein, a former Reiner conducting pupil at the Curtis Institute, being inspired by Liebermann's score (a set of dance variations on a twelve-note row) when he sat down to compose West Side Story shortly after this recording first appeared.


Tracks:

MOZART A Musical Joke
BRAHMS Alto Rhapsody
DEBUSSY (orch. Henri Busser) Petite Suite
LIEBERMANN Concerto for Jazz Band and Symphony Orchestra

Personnel:

Marian Anderson contralto
Robert Shaw Chorale of Men's Voices Robert Shaw
RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra
Sauter-Finegan Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
NBC Symphony Orchestra
conductor Fritz Reiner