Complete Columbia Collection

My first encounter with a Fritz Reiner recording was his Brahms 4 on Readers Digest LP (later on Chesky CD), which I first heard while in high school. I thought it was fabulous, an opinion I hold to this day, some 40-plus years later.Over the decades, I have not been similarly enamored of his other recordings. Try as I have, I have never understood the overboard Reiner worship among record collectors. Why was that? Let me give some general impressions:1. Many of these vaunted RCA Living Stereo recordings just aren't that great sound-wise compared to what has evolved over the decades since they were set down. They can lack depth. They can lack sparkle. Yet many of the discs are just fine to spectacular. My experience is that with Reiner's Chicago recordings, it's hit and miss.2. The Chicago Symphony under Reiner isn't always the technical powerhouse of received opinion. Yes, they're good, very good. But they're not consistently exceptional, at least to my ears. I don't see them on the same level as, say, Szell's Clevelanders, Ormandy's Philadelphians or Karajan's BPO. But when they're good, they're hard to beat.3. Reiner's interpretations: they can tend towards being one dimensional. Sometimes, they're curt and in your face. Not always, but often enough. At other times, they're surprisingly wayward. If that's your cup of tea, have at it, but it's not my cup of tea.Against my opinion stands an apparent universe of received opinion that Reiner is the tops. That the recordings contained in this box are unparalleled. That every record collector needs these recordings in their collection. So every couple of years, I make a concerted effort to reevaluate Reiner, an opportunity I couldn't pass up when Amazon offered this box set for $118 in December, 2014.And I have to report that at this late stage of the game (I'm 60), and after 40+ years of concerted listening - and after immersing myself in this box set - I have been largely won over to the Reiner way.A few specifics: I started with CD 1 in the set, the famous 1954 "good" version of "Also sprach Zarathustra." What can I say? I have never understood the adulation for this recording and I still don't get it. Karajan does it much better (and consistently better), as do Kempe and a host of others. The sound is fairly harsh and in your face. I then listened to Reiner's 1962 remake of AsZ. Surprise! I liked it much better than the 50s version. How could that be? Well, the recorded sound is more blended and more lifelike, smoother and less edgy, and the orchestral execution is stronger. I found Reiner's early "Dance of the 7 Veils" to be excellent, a real keeper. His "Heldenleben?" Well played and recorded, but I can't think of a less-sensual version. More Richard Strauss? Others do it better. More sensual. More heroic. More textured and colorful than Reiner. I'm starting to realize that my lack of appreciation for Reiner over the years has been based largely on people claiming that his Richard Strauss is the tops, when my ears were and are telling me something else.The fabled Bartok Concerto recording again failed to impress me. I honestly can't place it in my top 10, and heaven knows I've tried. And yet I find his recording of the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta to be exceptional. His take on Stravinky's "Fairy Kiss" Divertimento is a delight, even if I can't take the coupled recording seriously as a piece of music (Hovhannes "Mysterious Mountain").The Rach 2 with Rubinstein is a gem. Ditto that for the Paganini Rhapsody, in spite of the recorded sound, which is subpar. His "Pictures" is exceptional - one of the best available, and in stunning sound, to boot. His "Pines" and "Fountains" sound like they were recorded yesterday. Fabulous! His disc of Rossini overtures is desert island fare.I'm also realizing that other Reiner recordings that have been held up to me as good examples of why he is so adored really aren't very good examples after all. Take the mono Eroica - what a disappointment! The first movement is overly aggressive and monochromatic to boot. Clipped phrasing masquerades as precise execution. Reiner has the violins add a very provincial-sounding crescendo to their ascending passages (bar 630, etc) as they go over the top of their phrases, a crescendo that appears nowhere in Beethoven's score and that needs no more emphasis than is supplied by the range and speed on the notes on their face. I don't have any problem with a few interpretive choices here and there that show up as small ritardandi, or certain instruments begin brought to the fore. But overall, the first movement is pretty much the definition of cut-and-dried. The slow movement lacks depth, the Scherzo is too fast - with a pretty mediocre rendition of the horn calls in the trio - while the Finale is as monochromatic as was the opening.The Beethoven 5 - another supposed Reiner gem - features very good recorded sound, one of the more-realistic sounding CDs in the set. The performance itself is another story. Anyone looking for Szell-like clarity in articulation will be disappointed. The first movement is a study in tempo manipulation that works if you like that kind of thing. A less-charitable view would be to note an inability to maintain a steady tempo throughout and to give the orchestra a long leash, allowing them to speed up at the obvious places where one would normally rein them in. The second movement is played quite beautifully, and I would have enjoyed it even more had there been a bit more of a tenuto feel to much of the sustained playing. The third movement is well textured and quite enjoyable, even with all of the small censurae in the licks for the double basses. The French horn sound here and in the first movement is a bit boxy for my taste. The Finale fairly erupts in a surge of brass-led bravura, with the movement despatched in very fine form (sans repeat), though - again - I would prefer a steadier tempo throughout. The CD closes with an energetic performance of Corliolan Overture. The whole thing is enjoyable, but not what I'd consider to be essential.Worst is Reiner's Beethoven 9th. I am really surprised at the rave reviews this recording has received elsewhere on amazon. Moments of surprising imprecision mix with whole sections of musical stagnation. Reiner pulls tempi around in a way that would be highly criticized were the name Maazel or Mehta emblazoned across the CD cover. The vocal soloists are weak and the choir is mic-ed in a way that only the sopranos are heard clearly. I must say that I was totally unprepared for the disappointment I felt in hearing this recording. The 9th is coupled with the 1st in this set - I can't recall a less-stylish or formless version of the First than is presented here. I was starting to think that Reiner simply missed the boat when it came to Beethoven...but then his version of the 6th is the exception that proves the rule - a middle-of-the-road version that is played and recorded quite well.Reiner's Johann Strauss is a different story. While not as echt-Viennese as one gets from the typical Vienna Phil rendition, it IS stylish, rather than indulgent. The highly colorful recorded sound on the 1960 recordings (CD 49) is demonstration quality as well, at least for the era. Ditto the earlier "Vienna" disc (LSC 2112, CD 16) from 1957. These discs are winning me over, but I can't say that they're what I normally expect from Reiner. Maybe that's why they're winning me over!His Haydn is fearlessly big band and Romantic. Too bad he didn't record more. His Schubert 5 & 8 are quite enjoyable, even shorn of their first-movement repeats, though other conductors present more-stylish accounts. His Brahms Third is better than I remember from the old Dynagroove-era LP issue I owned back in the day.And I must say that the recordings featuring both Heifetz and Cliburn are absolutely top-drawer. One would be hard pressed to find more obvious examples of prodigious musical talent combining into a sum that is much greater than its already exceptional parts.So, my opinion of Reiner has been changed by the experience. I'll continue to work my way through this beautifully produced set, if slowly. Quite honestly, the earliest recordings in this set can be aurally tiring to listen to. But then along comes a CD like the 1960 Johann Strauss or the "Pictures" mentioned above, and I begin to "get" what Reiner is all about. I can see myself returning to these Johann Strauss recordings in the future. I can't say that about his Beethoven or the 1954 "Also sprach."This set has had the effect of raising my appreciation of Fritz Reiner, even as I'm a bit surprised at which particular recordings in the set are responsible for said increase in appreciation.Four stars.

I am quite happy with this new box of Fritz Reiner’s early recordings for Columbia Masterworks, but I’d be happier still if Sony hadn’t deleted their box of Reiner’s late, mostly stereo recordings for RCA (Sony owns both Columbia and RCA).Maybe we can hope for a reissue.Approximately half of these mono recordings with the Pittsburgh Symphony were remade ten years later in stereo with the Chicago Symphony.The interpretations are basically unchanged, but the later recordings are better played and better recorded (RCA Living Stereo).This still leaves quite a few works that are unique to Reiner’s discography: Bach Brandenburg Concerti, Beethoven Symphony 2, Mozart Symphony 35, Shostakovich Symphony 6.Plus some Broadway music from Gershwin and Richard Rogers that I would never associate with Fritz Reiner.Fourteen CDs in “original jackets” with original program notes + 64 page booklet.New 24-bit transfers from Sony’s engineering team (see photo).There is a serious error in the booklet.The writer claims that Reiner’s 1946 Pittsburgh recording of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra (the first ever) uses the rarely heard original ending from 1944.But Reiner clearly uses the standard revised ending that Bartók composed shortly before his death (September 26, 1945).The revision adds about 15 seconds to the end of the fifth movement.You can hear the original finale on a 1944 aircheck of Koussevitzky/Boston Symphony (on Guild or Naxos CD or YouTube).Leon Botstein/London Philharmonic recorded both finales on a Telarc CD.Most of the Pittsburgh recordings were made in the Syria Mosque (no connection to Islam), a 3700 seat auditorium built by Shriners.The Shriners were founded by Freemasons in 1870.They operate children’s hospitals, send out adorable Love to the Rescue blankets, and drive tiny cars while wearing red fezzes.The booklet calls Shriners a “sect”.The Syria Mosque was demolished in 1991.Shriners also built the 4200 seat Medinah Temple in Chicago (I went to the circus there as a child).It still stands, but has been converted to retail space.MONO RECORDINGS WITH THE PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY unless otherwise indicated.Recordings with an asterisk were re-recorded in stereo with the Chicago Symphony or Vienna Philharmonic (exception: the Mozart Symphony 40 remake was mono).BACH:--- Brandenburg ConcertI (6) with Columbia String Ensemble - soloists are mostly from the New York Philharmonic (1949)--- Suite for Orchestra no 2 BWV 1067 (1946)--- Fugue in G minor BWV 578 "Little” orch. Cailliet (1946)BARTOK:--- Concerto for Orchestra (1946) * (revised version in both recordings)--- Hungarian Sketches No. 2, 4 (1947) * (Reiner recorded all five sketches in Chicago)BEETHOVEN:--- Symphony No.2 (1945)BERLIOZ:--- La damnation de Faust: Rákóczy March (1947)BRAHMS:--- Concerto for Piano No.1 with Rudolf Serkin (1946) * (re-recorded with Arthur Rubinstein in Chicago)--- Hungarian Dances No.1, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 19, 21 (1946) * (re-recorded for Decca with Vienna Philharmonic)DEBUSSY:--- Ibéria from Images (1947) *--- Danse (Tarentelle styrienne) (1947)FALLA:--- El amor brujo with Carol Brice mezzo-soprano (1946) * (re-recorded with Leontyne Price in Chicago)GERSHWIN:--- "Porgy and Bess" Symphonic Picture arr. Robert Russell Bennett (1945)GLINKA:--- Kamarinskaya (1946)HONEGGER:--- Concertino for Piano with Oscar Levant, Columbia SymphonyKABALEVSKY:--- Colas Breugnon Overture (1945) *KODALY:--- Dances of Galánta (1945)MAHLER:--- Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with Carol Brice mezzo-soprano (1946)MOZART:--- Symphony no 35 "Haffner" (1946)--- Symphony no 40 (1947) * (Chicago remake also mono)--- Don Giovanni:-------- “Don Ottavio, son morta! - Or sai chi l'onore” with Ljuba Welitsch soprano, Alessio De Paolis tenor, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (1950)-------- “Crudele? - Non mi dir, bell' idol mio” with Ljuba Welitsch soprano, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (1950)MUSSORGSKY:--- Night on Bare Mountain (1945) *RAVEL:--- La valse (1947)RICHARD ROGERS:--- Carousel: Waltz (1941)ROSSINI:--- Il Signor Bruschino: Overture (1946) *SHOSTAKOVICH:--- Symphony No.6 (1945)J. STRAUSS II:--- Schatz-Walzer Op.418 (1941) *--- Wiener Blut Op.354 (1941) *--- Rosen aus dem Süden Waltzes Op.388 (1941) *R.STRAUSS:--- Le Bourgeois gentilhomme Suite (1946) * (the Chicago remake omitted two movements)--- Don Juan (1941) *--- Don Quixote with Gregor Piatigorsky cello (1941) * (re-recorded with Antonio Janigro in Chicago)--- Ein Heldenleben (1947) *--- Salome: Final Scene with Ljuba Welitsch soprano, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (1949) * (re-recorded with Inge Borkh in Chicago)TCHAIKOVSKY:--- Suite for Orchestra no 1 in D major, Op. 43: Marche (1945) *WAGNER:--- Tannhäuser: Overture & Venusberg Music (1941)--- Lohengrin: Preludes to Acts 1, 3 (1941)--- Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg:-------- Preludes to Acts 1,3 (1941) *-------- Dance of the Apprentices (1941) *-------- Entry of the Mastersingers(1941) *--- Siegfried: Forest Murmurs (1941)--- Die Walküre: Ride of the Valkyries(1940)LEO WEINER:--- Divertimento Op.20 "Old Hungarian Dances" (1945)* re-recorded in stereo with Chicago Symphony or Vienna Philharmonic (exception: Mozart Symphony 40 remake was mono).RECORDINGS NOT CONDUCTED BY REINER:BACH sung by Carol Brice soprano, with Daniel Saidenberg, Columbia Broadcasting Concert Orchestra (1948):--- Magnificat in D major BWV 243:-------- Ex exultavit-------- Esurientes implevit bonis--- Mass in B minor BWV 232:-------- Qui sedes-------- Agnus DeiSONGS sung by Ljuba Welitsch soprano, with Paul Ulanowsky piano (1950):--- DARGOMIZHSKY: ”I am sad”, “The Miller”--- JOSEPH MARX: “Hat dich die Liebe berüht”, Valse de Chopin (text from Pierrot Lunaire)--- MUSSORGSKY: “Where are you, little star?”--- R.STRAUSS: “Cäcilie”, “Die Nacht”

Most people contemplating the purchase of this handsomely packaged boxed set will have some or many of the works in their collections already, courtesy of the plethora of fine recordings from other conductors and orchestras.So why purchase this box? Simply because many of these recordings sound amazing: the conducting by the Reiner is always totally assured; the playing of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra confirms it as one of the top orchestras of the world; and last but not least the recording engineers were clearly masters of their art.A fairly nice touch is the faithful reproductions of the original LP sleeves on the CD jackets, even if they don't scale well to the smaller area. More significantly, the one-to-one rmapping of LPs to CDs does mean, as noted by other reviewers, that some of the CDs are very short and so could have been fewer in number with more squeezed on to each. Hence one star deducted.Even if you already have some of these Reiner recordings in your collection, this is a great way to get more. And if you do not have any of the recordings included here, buying this boxed set is an easy decision. Buy while still in production and available at this modest price.

Fritz Reiner was a martinet, ruthless, a brilliant orchestral technician, who demanded the absolute best from his orchestra. ALL recordings in this box are magnificent - the Respighi, Mahler, R.Strauss, Bartok recordings remain in the top flight. This box is proof positive that standards have fallen, in my opinion. This level of excellence is no longer possible in today's concert halls/recording studios. Reiner terrified his players, but they produced some of the finest music ever committed to disc.

Amazing sound quality with orchestral balances that put many modern recordings to shame. Superlative orchestral playing. Many performances are outstanding, especially the Strauss tone poems. Lovely packaging simulating the original sleeves. It's a shame that on some of the piano concerto discs the piano is very out of tune, especially noticeable on the Gilels Brahms 2. I can't imaging how Gilels put up with such an out of tune instrument.

Der ungarische Ausnahmedirigent jüdischer Herkunft hat zu späterer Zeit (1954-63) eine Menge maßstabsetzender Stereo-Aufnahmen mit dem Chicago SO hinterlassen, die vor Jahren in einer 63-CD-Box erschienen sind. Hier ist er in gutem Mono zu erleben (1940-1950). Fast die Hälfte dieser Aufnahmen mit der Pittsburgh SO wurden Jahre später in Stereo mit der Chicago SO neu aufgenommen. Die Interpretationen gehen dabei meist grundsätzlich in dieselbe Richtung, werden aber im Ganzen - bis auf Bartok - in den 40'ern schneller gespielt. Jedoch haben die späteren Aufnahmen bessere Klangqualität.Hier gibt es einige Werke, die in Reiners Diskografie einzigartig sind: so Bachs Brandenburgische Konzerte, Beethovens Sinfonie 2, Mozarts Sinfonie 35, Schostakowitschs Sinfonie 6, Kodaly, Mahlers Lieder, Ravels La Valse. Sowie Broadway-Musik von Gershwin und Richard Rogers. Es sind 14 CDs in Originalcovern mit Rückseiten und 64 Seiten Booklet, mit neuen 24-Bit-Transfers. 2 CD's mit Mozart/Beethoven bzw. Schostakowitsch/Kodaly... gab es schon 1996 mal. Die R. Strauss-Aufnahmen mit dem RCA Victor SO gab es bereits auf  Fritz Reiner Conducts Strauss-Complete Recordings . Auf  Great Conductors of the 20th Century  war schon das 'El Amor Brujo' de Fallas zu hören.Bachs Brandenburgische Konzerte sind in den 40'ern eigentlich noch Breitwand-Sound, erklingen hier aber schon recht transparent (mit ausgesuchten Solisten 1949 in New York aufgenommen) und deutlich frischer als mit Karajan in den 60'ern, was auch für die 2. Suite gilt. Schön ist die orchestrierte Fuge. Die Arien sind nicht von Reiner dirigiert, fallen aber nicht ab. - Beethovens Sinfonie Nr. 2 ist ebenso hervorragend wie Mozarts Sinfonien Nr. 35 + 40. Schostakowitschs Sinfonie Nr. 6 liegt auf höchstem Niveau vor. Kodalys von heimatlicher Folklore inspirierte Tänze sind beim Ungarn Reiner in besten Händen. Dass Reiners Aufnahmen von R. Strauss Spitzenklasse waren, dürfte bekannt sein. Die Le Bourgeois gentilhomme-Suite hat hier zwei Sätze mehr als bei der Stereo-Aufnahme. Brahms ist schmissiger als mit den Wiener Philharmonikern (durchweg schneller), aber auch weniger gediegen. Auch die Strauss-Walzer werden schneller gespielt, jedoch sehr gut. Bartoks Konzert wird etwas langsamer, aber gut interpretiert - doch nicht ganz mein Geschmack. De Fallas 'El Amor Brujo' mit Carol Brice ist besonders überzeugend, noch besser als in Stereo. Und Mahlers Lieder klingen mit dieser Sängerin sehr schön - mit leichten Störgeräuschen beim 3., mehr noch beim 4. Lied. Das Brahms-Konzert - so gut es gespielt ist - schneidet klanglich noch am schlechtesten ab. Mussorgsky ist auch hier sehr überzeugend. Ein herausragender Wagner. Auch Ravel und Debussy werden in der gewohnten Qualität dargeboten. Die orchestrale Gershwin-Synthese ist ein Gewinn. Rogers: ganz nett. Honegger: schön gespielt, Stück nicht sehr bedeutend. Die CD mit Ljuba Welitsch mag ich gar nicht, weil ich mit ihrem Sopran nichts anfangen kann - Geschmackssache. - Insgesamt aber sehr überzeugend.MONO-AUFNAHMEN MIT REINER/PITTSBURGH SO:sofern nicht anders angegeben -Aufnahmen mit einem Sternchen wurden mit dem Chicago SO oder den Wiener Philharmonikern in Stereo aufgenommen (Ausnahme: das Remake Mozart - Sinf. 40 war mono).BACH:— 6 Brandenburgische Konzerte mit Columbia Streichensemble - Solisten sind größtenteils aus der New York Philharmonic (1949)— Suite für Orchester Nr. 2 BWV 1067 (1946)— Kl. Fuge g-Moll BWV 578 orch. Cailliet (1946)BARTOK:— Konzert für Orchester (1946) * (überarbeitete Fassung in beiden Aufnahmen)— Ungarische Skizzen Nr. 2, 4 (1947) * (Reiner nahm alle fünf Skizzen in Chicago auf)BEETHOVEN:— Sinf. Nr. 2 (1945)BERLIOZ:— La damnation de Faust: Rákóczy March (1947)BRAHMS:— Konzert für Klavier Nr. 1 mit Rudolf Serkin (1946) * (wiederaufgenommen mit Arthur Rubinstein in Chicago)— Ungarische Tänze Nr. 1, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 19, 21 (1946) * (wiederaufgenommen für Decca mit Wiener Philharmonikern)DEBUSSY:— Ibéria aus Images (1947) *— Danse (Tarentelle styrienne) (1947)FALLA:— El amor brujo mit Carol Brice Mezzosopran (1946) * (wiederaufgenommen mit Leontyne Price in Chicago)GERSHWIN:— „Porgy and Bess“ Symphonisches Bild arr. Robert Russell Bennett (1945)GLINKA:— Kamarinskaya (1946)HONEGGER:— Concertino für Klavier mit Oscar Levant, Columbia SymphonyKABALEVSKY:— Colas Breugnon Ouvertüre (1945) *KODALY:— Tänze aus Galánta (1945)MAHLER:— Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen mit Carol Brice Mezzosopran (1946)MOZART:— Sinfonie Nr. 35 „Haffner“ (1946)— Sinfonie Nr. 40 (1947) * (Chicago-Remake auch mono)— Don Giovanni:— „Don Ottavio, son morta! - Oder sai chi l'onore“ mit Ljuba Welitsch Sopran, Alessio De Paolis Tenor, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (1950)— „Crudele? - Non mi dir, bell' idol mio“ mit Ljuba Welitsch Sopran, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (1950)MUSSORGSKY:— Nacht auf dem kahlen Berge (1945) *RAVEL:— La valse (1947)RICHARD ROGERS:— Karussell: Walzer (1941)ROSSINI:— Il Signor Bruschino: Ouvertüre (1946) *Schostakowitsch:— Sinfonie Nr. 6 (1945)J.STRAUSS II:— Schatz-Walzer Op.418 (1941) *— Wiener Blut Op.354 (1941) *— Rosen aus dem Süden Walzer Op.388 (1941) *R.STRAUSS:— Le Bourgeois gentilhomme Suite (1946) * (das Chicagoer Remake verzichtet auf zwei Sätze)— Don Juan (1941) *— Don Quixote mit Gregor Piatigorsky Cello (1941) * (wiederaufgenommen mit Antonio Janigro in Chicago)— Ein Heldenleben (1947) *— Salome: Finalszene mit Ljuba Welitsch Sopran, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (1949) * (wiederaufgenommen mit Inge Borkh in Chicago)TCHAIKOVSKY:— Suite für Orchester Nr. 1 D-Dur op. 43: Marsch (1945) *WAGNER:— Tannhäuser: Ouvertüre & Venusberg Music (1941)— Lohengrin: Vorspiel zu Aufzügen 1 + 3 (1941)— Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg:— Vorspiele zu Aufzügen 1 + 3 (1941) *— Tanz der Lehrlinge (1941) *— Eintritt der Meistersänger (1941) *— Siegfried: Waldweben (1941)— Die Walküre: Walküre (1940)LEO WEINER:— Divertimento Op.20 „Alte ungarische Tänze“ (1945)* in Stereo mit Chicago Symphony oder Wiener Philharmoniker (Ausnahme: Mozart Sinf. 40 remake war mono).AUFNAHMEN NICHT dirigiert von REINER:BACH gesungen von Carol Brice Sopran, mit Daniel Saidenberg, Columbia Rundfunk Konzertorchester (1948):— Magnificat D-Dur BWV 243:— Ex exultavit— Esurientes implevit bonis— Messe in b-Moll BWV 232:— Qui sedes— Agnus DeiSONGS gesungen von Ljuba Welitsch, Sopran, mit Paul Ulanowsky, Klavier (1950):— DARGOMIZHSKY: “Ich bin traurig“, „Der Müller“— JOSEPH MARX: „Hat dich die Liebe berüht“, Valse de Chopin (Text aus Pierrot Lunaire)— MUSSORGSKY: „Wo bist du, kleines Sternlein?“— R. STRAUSS: „Cäcilie“, „Die Nacht“Leider ist die Chicago-Box schon wieder gestrichen. Was leider auch fehlt, sind die Mono-Aufnahmen mit dem RCA Victor SO aus den mittleren Jahren (1950-54'):-Bach: 4 Suites for Orchestra (October 1952)-Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 (Vladimir Horowitz, piano, April 1952)-Bizet: Carmen (May + June 1951)-Brahms: Alto Rhapsody (October 1950)-Gluck: Orfeo et Euridice - Act 2, Minuet and Dance of the Blessed Spirits (June 1953); Act 2 "Che Faro Senza Euridice?", Act 3 "Che puro ciel" (March 1951)-Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel, Act 2: Dream Pantomime (October 1950)-Liszt: Totentanz (Alexander Brailowsky, piano, March 1951)-Mozart: Le Nozze de Figaro, Act 1: "Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio", Act 2: "Voi che sapete" (March 1951)-Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 (Vladimir Horowitz, piano, May + June 1951)-Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 (Gregor Piatigorsky, cello, December 1950)-Strauss, Johann Jr.: Die Fledermaus, Highlights" (sung in English, September 1950)-Strauss, Richard: Der Rosenkavalier, Presentation of the Silver Rose from Act 2, Closing Scene from Act 3 (April 1951); Till Eulenspiegel + Tod und Verklärung (September 1950)Tchaikovsky: Waltzes from Eugene Onegin, The Nutcracker [Waltz of the Flowers], The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake & Sinf. No. 5 [movement 3] (September 1950)-Wagner: Lohengrin, Prelude to Act 3 + Tannhäuser, Act 2, Festival March (October 1950)Vom Robin Hood Dell Orch. = Philadelphia Orchestra:-Brahms: Double Concerto (N. Milstein violin & G. Piatigorsky cello, June 1951)-Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream - Overture, Scherzo, Intermezzo, Nocturne, Wedding March (June 1951)-Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (William Kapell, June 1951)Vom NBC Symphony:-Mozart: Divertimento No. 11 + Ein Musikalischer Spaß (September 1954)-Ravel: Le tombeau de Couperin (January 1952)(nach der Reiner-Diskographie der Stokowski Society). Fritz Reiner Conducts Strauss-Complete RecordingsGreat Conductors of the 20th Century

Great set but staggeringly HUGE!