Mar 2, 2015

Rossini: Overtures (HQCD review)

Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra. HDTT HQCD420.

This one takes me back well over fifty years. Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony recorded these Rossini overtures for RCA in 1958, and I remember buying it in high school, probably a couple of years after its release. It was my first record of Rossini overtures, and I still value it among the best available.

The trouble was, when the CD era began in the early Eighties, I figured RCA would reissue the set in even better sound than on the LP, but it didn't happen. Their CD sonics didn't live up to the old LP's. I waited, and when RCA started re-releasing things in their "Living Stereo" line, I had high hopes for the Rossini. That didn't happen, either; it never showed up. So, I tried several European imports, including the one I finally wound up with, a Sony DSD-remastered disc, with which I still wasn't entirely happy. Now, HDTT (High Definition Tape Transfers) have remastered it, and for the first time since the old vinyl days, I'm happy with the sound again.

More about the audio in a minute. Right now, let me say a few words about the performances. The six overtures on Reiner's album are The Barber of Seville, La Gazza Ladra, La Cenerentola, William Tell, La Scala di Seta, and Il Signor Brushino.

The first thing you'll want to know about Reiner's Rossini is that it's big. Really big. Full-scale big. When Neville Marriner released his streamlined performances of the overtures years later, they seemed like a genuine revelation, presented in something closer to Rossini's intentions. Then any number of further recordings followed by various chamber orchestras, my favorites being those from the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra as well as Marriner on modern instruments and Roger Norrington and his band on period instruments, among others. But these releases never diminished my appreciation for Reiner's work. His full orchestral versions come in the lushest possible sound and still sound magnificent. Whether the historical-accuracy crowd like them or not is beside the point. You have to listen to them and decide for yourself.

For me, Reiner represents everything that's good about Rossini. His interpretations of the Rossini overtures are as exciting, as lyrical, and as charming as any you'll find on record. Reiner may have coaxed (or forced) an extremely plush, opulent, luxurious sound from the magnificent Chicago Symphony Orchestra, but it is always at the service of the music. Nothing ever sags or slouches for a moment, the music continually moving forward in perfectly judged tempos, contrasts, pauses, and other nuances. If Reiner's Rossini doesn't have your fingers and toes tapping, nothing will.

Fritz Reiner
The opening Barber of Seville overture is a good example. Once you've heard Reiner's version, you won't be able to imagine it done any other way. It's glorious. The precision of so large an ensemble as the CSO is remarkable, and the ability of Reiner to obtain such detail from the group is nothing short of amazing.

Needless to say, the acoustics of Chicago Symphony Hall and RCA's recording geniuses only reinforced the best in Reiner's performances, and few record companies have equalled the sound they obtained even to this day.

RCA's celebrated team of producer Richard Mohr and engineer Lewis Layton originally recorded the overtures at Chicago Symphony Hall in November 1958, and HDTT remastered the recording from an RCA 4-track tape in 2015. I did my listening in two sessions: First, just to the music; then, in comparison to the Sony DSD-remastered import I had on hand. The Sony, as I already mentioned, was the best version of the recording I could previously find. Now, the HDTT is king of the hill. Of course, I can't tell you which version is more faithful to the master tape; I don't have access to the master tape for making that judgment. I can only tell you which version I liked best, and by comparison to Sony's remaster, the HQCD remaster sounds richer, fuller, quieter, more effortless, and more natural to me. Yes, by any standard it's really good. The Sony remaster is slightly brighter, thinner, edgier, and a bit more hissy at the top end. HDTT's noise reduction has perhaps dimmed the top end the tiniest bit, but it's only in direct comparison that a listener would notice any difference at all.

The HDTT-remastered sonics are velvety smooth and very broad across the sound stage, with a dynamic range that is almost off the charts. Be prepared for some really big crescendos, followed by some very low-output sections that might drive you a little nutso for a while trying to find a good compromise gain setting. Still, the ear and mind adjust fairly quickly, and then the disc will treat you not only to wide dynamics but to very strong impact, very quick transient response, and very good orchestral depth. It makes for a lively, lifelike presentation that surely matches the sound of the orchestra live.

For further information on HDTT's various configurations, formats (CD, HQCD, FLAC, DSD, DVD-24, DVD-24, etc.), and prices, you can visit their Web site at http://www.highdeftapetransfers.com.

JJP

To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click here:
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1 comment:

  1. UnknownApril 30, 2021 at 12:02 PM

    Hi there, I have just come across your review, and as it happens I am listening to this very same album from HDTT. Iam listening to digital files, I have both 352/24 and 128 dad. These are obviously played through a modern day but via a pair of fully refurbished quad 11 amps and original quad original ESL 57's. The sound is truly wonderful. I haven't heard any of the other versions you have mentioned, but I am well pleased with what I have from HDTT. A very nice review bye the way

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Meet the Staff

Meet the Staff
John J. Puccio, Founder and Contributor

Understand, I'm just an everyday guy reacting to something I love. And I've been doing it for a very long time, my appreciation for classical music starting with the musical excerpts on the Big Jon and Sparkie radio show in the early Fifties and the purchase of my first recording, The 101 Strings Play the Classics, around 1956. In the late Sixties I began teaching high school English and Film Studies as well as becoming interested in hi-fi, my audio ambitions graduating me from a pair of AR-3 speakers to the Fulton J's recommended by The Stereophile's J. Gordon Holt. In the early Seventies, I began writing for a number of audio magazines, including Audio Excellence, Audio Forum, The Boston Audio Society Speaker, The American Record Guide, and from 1976 until 2008, The $ensible Sound, for which I served as Classical Music Editor.

Today, I'm retired from teaching and use a pair of bi-amped VMPS RM40s loudspeakers for my listening. In addition to writing for the Classical Candor blog, I served as the Movie Review Editor for the Web site Movie Metropolis (formerly DVDTown) from 1997-2013. Music and movies. Life couldn't be better.

Karl Nehring, Editor and Contributor

For nearly 30 years I was the editor of The $ensible Sound magazine and a regular contributor to both its equipment and recordings review pages. I would not presume to present myself as some sort of expert on music, but I have a deep love for and appreciation of many types of music, "classical" especially, and have listened to thousands of recordings over the years, many of which still line the walls of my listening room (and occasionally spill onto the furniture and floor, much to the chagrin of my long-suffering wife). I have always taken the approach as a reviewer that what I am trying to do is simply to point out to readers that I have come across a recording that I have found of interest, a recording that I think they might appreciate my having pointed out to them. I suppose that sounds a bit simple-minded, but I know I appreciate reading reviews by others that do the same for me — point out recordings that they think I might enjoy.

For readers who might be wondering about what kind of system I am using to do my listening, I should probably point out that I do a LOT of music listening and employ a variety of means to do so in a variety of environments, as I would imagine many music lovers also do. Starting at the more grandiose end of the scale, the system in which I do my most serious listening comprises Marantz CD 6007 and Onkyo CD 7030 CD players, NAD C 658 streaming preamp/DAC, Legacy Audio PowerBloc2 amplifier, and a pair of Legacy Audio Focus SE loudspeakers. I occasionally do some listening through pair of Sennheiser 560S headphones. I miss the excellent ELS Studio sound system in our 2016 Acura RDX (now my wife's daily driver) on which I had ripped more than a hundred favorite CDs to the hard drive, so now when driving my 2024 Honda CRV Sport L Hybrid, I stream music from my phone through its adequate but hardly outstanding factory system. For more casual listening at home when I am not in my listening room, I often stream music through a Roku Streambar Pro system (soundbar plus four surround speakers and a 10" sealed subwoofer) that has surprisingly nice sound for such a diminutive physical presence and reasonable price. Finally, at the least grandiose end of the scale, I have an Ultimate Ears Wonderboom II Bluetooth speaker and a pair of Google Pro Earbuds for those occasions where I am somewhere by myself without a sound system but in desperate need of a musical fix. I just can’t imagine life without music and I am humbly grateful for the technologies that enable us to enjoy it in so many wonderful ways.

William (Bill) Heck, Webmaster and Contributor

Among my early childhood memories are those of listening to my mother playing records (some even 78 rpm ones!) of both classical music and jazz tunes. I suppose that her love of music was transmitted genetically, and my interest was sustained by years of playing in rock bands – until I realized that this was no way to make a living. The interest in classical music was rekindled in grad school when the university FM station serving as background music for studying happened to play the Brahms First Symphony. As the work came to an end, it struck me forcibly that this was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard, and from that point on, I never looked back. This revelation was to the detriment of my studies, as I subsequently spent way too much time simply listening, but music has remained a significant part of my life. These days, although I still can tell a trumpet from a bassoon and a quarter note from a treble clef, I have to admit that I remain a nonexpert. But I do love music in general and classical music in particular, and I enjoy sharing both information and opinions about it.

The audiophile bug bit about the same time that I returned to classical music. I’ve gone through plenty of equipment, brands from Audio Research to Yamaha, and the best of it has opened new audio insights. Along the way, I reviewed components, and occasionally recordings, for The $ensible Sound magazine. Most recently I’ve moved to my “ultimate system” consisting of a BlueSound Node streamer, an ancient Toshiba multi-format disk player serving as a CD transport, Legacy Wavelet II DAC/preamp/crossover, dual Legacy PowerBloc2 amps, and Legacy Signature SE speakers (biamped), all connected with decently made, no-frills cables. With the arrival of CD and higher resolution streaming, that is now the source for most of my listening.

Ryan Ross, Contributor

I started listening to and studying classical music in earnest nearly three decades ago. This interest grew naturally out of my training as a pianist. I am now a musicologist by profession, specializing in British and other symphonic music of the 19th and 20th centuries. My scholarly work has been published in major music journals, as well as in other outlets. Current research focuses include twentieth-century symphonic historiography, and the music of Jean Sibelius, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Malcolm Arnold.

I am honored to contribute writings to Classical Candor. In an age where the classical recording industry is being subjected to such profound pressures and changes, it is more important than ever for those of us steeped in this cultural tradition to continue to foster its love and exposure. I hope that my readers can find value, no matter how modest, in what I offer here.


Bryan Geyer, Technical Analyst

I initially embraced classical music in 1954 when I mistuned my car radio and heard the Heifetz recording of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. That inspired me to board the new "hi-fi" DIY bandwagon. In 1957 I joined one of the pioneer semiconductor makers and spent the next 32 years marketing transistors and microcircuits to military contractors. Home audio DIY projects remained a personal passion until 1989 when we created our own new photography equipment company. I later (2012) revived my interest in two channel audio when we "downsized" our life and determined that mini-monitors + paired subwoofers were a great way to mate fine music with the space constraints of condo living.

Visitors that view my technical papers on this site may wonder why they appear here, rather than on a site that features audio equipment reviews. My reason is that I tried the latter, and prefer to publish for people who actually want to listen to music; not to equipment. My focus is in describing what's technically beneficial to assure that the sound of the system will accurately replicate the source input signal (i. e. exhibit high accuracy) without inordinate cost and complexity. Conversely, most of the audiophiles of today strive to achieve sound that's euphonic, i.e. be personally satisfying. In essence, audiophiles seek sound that's consistent with their desire; the music is simply a test signal.

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It is the goal of Classical Candor to promote the enjoyment of classical music. Other forms of music come and go--minuets, waltzes, ragtime, blues, jazz, bebop, country-western, rock-'n'-roll, heavy metal, rap, and the rest--but classical music has been around for hundreds of years and will continue to be around for hundreds more. It's no accident that every major city in the world has one or more symphony orchestras.

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"Their Master's Voice" by Michael Sowa

"Their Master's Voice" by Michael Sowa