Fritz Reiner - Rimsky-Korsakoff: Scheherazade

RCA Living Stereo classical LPs — the gold standard for top quality orchestral performance and sound!

Remastered from the original master tape and cut at 33 1/3 RPM by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound

Lacquers plated by Gary Salstrom and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings!

More praise from reviewer Michael Fremer in the March 2014 Stereophile

Musicians:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Fritz Reiner, conductor
Sidney Harth, violin solo

Named a 2015 Record To Die For by Stereophile magazine. http://www.stereophile.com/content/2015-records-die-page-6.

"All collectors of RCA Living Stereo LPs have their favorites, and these are mine. ... I've been disappointed by all the reissues released over the last 20 years that have promised better sound than the originals but have fallen far short of that. I had much higher expectations of these new reissues, from Chad Kassem's Quality Record Pressings, having been very impressed by some of QRP's rock and jazz reissues. When I spun them, I was floored. After comparing them to early shaded-dog pressings of the same recordings, I felt the only area in which the originals were still superior was the subtle, additional layer of air and sparkle in the highs (master-tape age, perhaps?). But the reissues' quality and extension of bass and high-level dynamic contrasts were superior. And the surfaces of the new pressings are so quiet they let each subtle midrange detail emerge from a "black" background. At times, the background is so silent I have to do a double take to verify that the needle is still in the groove and the platter is still turning." — Robert J. Reina, Stereophile, February 2015

"I've been listening to test pressings of Analogue Productions' first reissues of RCA Living Stereo releases and comparing them to original pressings as well as vinyl reissues of the same titles by Classic Records and Chesky Records. ... The discs themselves, stamped at Quality Record Pressings — which, like Analogue Productions, is owned by Chad Kassem — surpass in most ways the original shaded dog, Chesky, and Classic editions. ... none can match the new version's black backgrounds and overall instrumental focus. More important, the AP pressing has a transparency, a delicacy and purity of string tone, and dynamic punch that surpass the others — including the original (my copy is a 6S pressing), which though still spectacular, sounds less immediate, as if the orchestra has taken one step back. Even at the climaxes of the most complex crescendos, the AP resissue unmasks low-level details, while brass, woodwinds and massed strings have a delicacy and freedom from congestion that rival what's hear in concert. The original does those things too, but with less transparency, and with diminished dynamics." — Michael Fremer, for Stereophile, March 2014

Michael Fremer of Analog Planet gives our Scheherazade The Thumbs Up!

"...As for the sound, well I get into arguments all too often with people who insist originals are always better. If after comparing this reissue to the original they still think so, they are hopelessly prejudiced. This reissue easily beats the original I have in every category. Of course the original can't begin to approach the 180g QRP pressing quality, especially in terms of velvet-black backgrounds and perfect surfaces. The reissue is far more dynamic, the low frequency extension complete, and most importantly the instrumental textures and tonalities are rich, full and spectacularly transparent. All of the delicacy, three-dimensionality and transparency promised but only partly delivered by the original is fully communicated on this Analogue Productions reissue." Music = 10/11; Sound = 10/11 — Michael Fremer, editor, AnalogPlanet.com
To read Fremer's full review, click here: http://www.analogplanet.com/content/scheherazade-living-stereo-reissue-sounds-best-analogue-productions-goes-dogs

Winner of a Gruvy Award, chosen by AnalogPlanet's editor, Michael Fremer, for vinyl records that are musically and sonically outstanding and are also well mastered and pressed. http://www.analogplanet.com/content/gruvy-awards

And Acoustic Sounds customer Alan Hendler has this to say about the first three RCA reissues:
"Just received your new vinyl of Scheherazade, Pictures and Pines and Fountains of Rome. After listening I have never heard anything that comes close to the glorious sound of these records. I have original vinyl, CD's, SACD's, XRCD's, Chesky and Classic Records remasters and nothing comes close to how good these sound. The overall balance of all the sections of the orchestra is superb. Wood winds are gorgeous. I will be buying more."

"These are the best vinyl releases of RCA LPs I've yet heard." — Jonathan Valin, executive editor, The Absolute Sound

"Grade A+. Another one of HP's favorites, this LP (at least in its earliest pressings) is famously wonderful sounding, and the Analogue Productions version certainly lives up to the hype. Once again string tone — and this disc is celebrated for its string tone — is ravishingly beautiful. The bass is astonishingly deep and authoritative. And the dynamics are tremendous. In sum, I highly recommend all of these celebrated RCAs in their Analogue Productions reissues. They will cost you $30 a disc, which is a more-than-fair price considering that they are, IMO, uniformly superb (yes, better than the Classic Record versions)." — Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound.com, June 11, 2013. To read the full review click here: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/sneak-preview-acoustic-sounds-rca-reissues/

"We compared this new 180-gram, 33 RPM LP from Analogue Productions with the original RCA Living Stereo issue and Classic Records' 33 RPM version, and were surprised at the outcome. Why? Because to these ears, the new Analogue Productions version was the more relaxed and natural sounding of the bunch. The sound is as it should be, inviting the listener into the music and entirely constant with Reiner's readings. ... If ever there were a must-have LP in the recent wave of audiophile vinyl reincarnations, this is it. Treat yourself and thank (Analogue Productions' Chad) Kassem for doing it the justice it deserves." — Harry Pearson, HP Soundings, May 2013. Read the whole review here: http://www.hpsoundings.com/2013/05/analog-productions-sheherazade-rca-lsc-2446-reissue/

"Without a doubt, the AP pressing sounds much more natural than the Classic Records reissue; the sound is simply less forced, as if the notes and rhythms have more air to explore, more ambient Hall to reverberate, and more of the acoustic envelope to reveal. ... the vinyl is so damn quiet, you can turn it up without any hesitation ... The solo violin is the heart of this recording and it's supposed to sound seductive, and on this reissue, it does. One thing if for certain, there is a lot more information coming through than on the original. The AP pressing takes the simplistic approach of the Chesky, but with a more developed sound, making the Chesky appear a bit more subdued by comparison. ... If you are interested in hearing this classic RCA in all of its natural glory, you needn't look any further than Chad Kassem's latest offering. If this is any indication of Analogue Production's current batch of RCA reissues (approximately 24 more on the way), it just may be a new golden age for the modern vinyl listener." — Joey Weiss, HP Soundings, May 2013

"…The second movement is just ravishing in the beauty of the Chicago's playing and Reiner's romantic approach; there is some staccato triple-tonguing done by trumpeter Adolph Herseth in the fourth movement that should leave you, if not him, breathless. But let it just be said that, after you hear this, no other Scheherazade will ever replace it in your affections." HP's The Golden Dozen LPs – Harry Pearson, The Absolute Sound, June/July 2007

The jewel in the Living Stereo crown. Enchantment awaits within! Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony convey the listener on a magic carpet of Living Stereo sound to mythic Arabia and China, guided by two of Russia's greatest orchestral masters. 

This, like the Respighi, is considered one of the very best recordngs by Reiner, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and RCA's crew. A disc of supple and sensuous performances, the sound alternately shimmers and stuns with the clarity of its definition and intensity of its climaxes.