In addition to being a Richard Strauss specialist, Reiner was noted as a conductor of Wagner. His experience with Wagner's works from the 1930's in various opera houses around the world and at the Metropolitan Opera from 1949-53 is evident here. Reiner's command and control in these excerpts makes them sound completely different from other conductors' performances. I only wish that there had been an additional Reiner/Chicago Wagner album or two, as had been done by George Szell in Cleveland. The sound is not the best by the Mohr/Layton team; it seems as if there was tape overloading in the fortissimo passages.

This CD is filled out with Reiner's 1960 Chicago recording of Richard Strauss' "Don Juan." Recommended for the unique Wagner performances, not the sound.

These performances from forty years ago have never been surpassed for clarity and excitement. RCA's early stereo sound in pre-renovation orchestra hall still sounds impressive. Very highly recommended.

In my early musical years I developed an affinity for Reiner and the CSO. Over time, though, I have become a bit more select in my appreciation of their recordings. In this case, a case of wretched excess - although one could attribute this to the technology of the time, it seems more likely that the brass sections' blaring enunciation is more likely reflective of interpretive disinhibition than technical limitations. A flawed performance.