Living Stereo - The Remastered

I agree with the other reviewer who writes that the 7 discs by the great Juilliard Quartet of the early 1960s alone make this 60 CD set a worthwhile purchase, in fact, a 'must have' for lovers of great instrumental and instrumental ensemble playing. I bought this Living Stereo third collection because of my admiration for so many of the artists and also because some other reviewers have virtually written off the set as some sort of 'weakling' addition to the other two. I guess I can see their point if they really want every collection to provide the same warhorses as recorded for the second or third time around by household names (if that phrase has any meaning anymore, outside the domains of popular culture). Or if they think there are one, two, three or four 'best' performances of a masterpiece so that it isn't per se valid to hear what a superbly equipped performer thought about it when he or she entered an RCA studio in the 1950s/1960s to make a recording included in this set.More's the pity for them, because in many respects this third Living Stereo collection is the most impressive of the three. It offers -- in most cases -- first rate if less familiar artists interpreting basic and not-so-basic repertory, as well as kinds of repertory (chamber music and solo recitals) that weren't as regularly investigated during the heyday of Living Stereo as they are today. But don't get me wrong: with very few exceptions we are talking about performers with international reputations and well-known composers.One of the major reasons we have this set at all is that, back in the day, RCA was blessed with probably the most impressive stable of classical artists under contract of any record company. So in this set you have performances by the likes of cellists Gregor Piatigorsky and Antonio Janigro, as well as the great Soviet cellist Daniil Shafran in a recording made during his debut US tour; star violinists Henryk Szeryng, Jaime Laredo, and Heifetz protege Erick Friedman; and pianists Alexander Brailowsky, Jean Casadesus (son of Robert, performing Book I of Debussy's Preludes), and the famed piano duo team of Vronsky & Babin (performing Rachmaninoff's two suites and other miscellaneous programs). We also find distinguished vocal recitals -- most of them debut recitals -- by Maureen Forrester, Roberta Peters, Galina Vishnevskaya (a/k/a Mrs. Mstislav Rostropovich) and Cesare Valetti, Italian opera arias sung by the legendary Zinka Milanov, and choral performances -- including two of the most famous Bach cantatas -- directed by Robert Shaw.On the orchestral side of things, Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops appear with a classic Lp title, 'Slaughter on Tenth Avenue' and the humorously titled 'Music for People Who Hate Classical Music, volume 2' (both provide typically zesty Fiedler performances of light classical 'chestnuts'). US composer Morton Gould conducts his own 'Fall River Legend' and other works, plus a very fine Sibelius disc featuring shorter compositions by the Finnish master (including a marvelously textured 'Swan of Tuonela'), and a disc featuring grand performances of (yes) the '1812 Overture' (recorded without vocal chorus) and Ravel's 'Bolero'. I've always enjoyed Gould's underrated work as a conductor and fellow admirers also should check out Sony's recent box set reissue of his complete recordings with the Chicago Symphony ... stunningly good work there on major symphonic compositions.So unless you're averse to solo instrumental recitals and chamber music, it's complete silliness to dismiss this collection as a minor set or an also-ran. In fact, it presents some of the very best classical artists of the last 60 years in their early prime, playing or singing some of the greatest music ever written. (For example, Maureen Forrester's song recital includes a completely lovely performance of Schumann's great song cycle 'Frauenliebe und Leben'; ditto, Cesare Valetti less idiomatic and more than a bit 'operatic' performance of Schumann's 'Dichterliebe'. Roberta Peters provides surprisingly fine performances of Bach and Schumann -- composers who were not exactly her usual repertory -- as well as Debussy and Ravel. Vishnevskaya is in awesome voice for her recital of songs by Russian masters. And the great Birgit Nilsson is predictably in complete command in her recital of songs by German and Scandinavian Romantic composers.)Duplications with other Sony/RCA collections are few and pretty much limited to three discs by Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony: his stereo recording of the Chausson symphony and Franck 'Chausseur Maudit'; a coupling of 20th century symphonies by Americans Easley Blackwood and Alex Haieff; and a coupling of Poulenc's Organ Concerto with Stravinsky's ballet, 'Jeu de Cartes'. And yes there are recordings by some less well-known artists like pianists Ania Dorfmann (a highly respected and influential piano pedagogue and a favorite collaborator with Toscanini in the 1940s) and Andre Tchaikowsky (who died in his 40s and whose career was mostly made in Europe); Canadian violinist Liliane Garnier; organist Robert Owen; and 'The Choir of the Abbey of Mount Angel' (performing a requiem mass by Spanish Renaissance master Tomas Luis de Victoria).I suppose hardly anyone today remembers the conductor Howard Mitchell who makes an appearance on two CDs in this set. Mitchell led the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, DC, with some distinction from the late 1940s to 1970. Although Mitchell wasn't a famous or 'front line' conductor for RCA (and earlier for Westminster Records), he had a real talent for the music of Shostakovich and he and his orchestra turn in a first-rate, red hot performance of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony (very well recorded in 'Living Stereo' sound), as well as fine accompaniments in Jaime Laredo's recording of Bruch and Mozart violin concertos.In sum, all of these artists had solid enough reputations to attract the interest of a major record company. And their performances are worth hearing today; many times over, IMHO.That said, I hope no one who is serious about classical music needs to be introduced to the members of the 'Festival Quartet' who deliver outstanding performances of Schubert's 'Trout' quintet, the three Brahms piano quartets, as well as the piano quartets of Beethoven and Schumann. (They are/were Victor Babin -- of Vronsky & Babin -- on piano; Szymon Goldberg, violin; William Primrose, viola; Nikolai Graudan, cello) Or to that great musical polymath Alexander Schneider (off and on again second violin of the legendary Budapest Quartet; leader of the Schneider Quartet; mentor to countless string players and string ensembles; and, finally, conductor of distinction) who leads a hand-picked chamber orchestra (the distinguished members of which are all named) in superbly passionate -- if slightly old-fashioned -- performances of Handel's 12 masterful concerti grossi, Op. 6. (I have hoped against hope for a reissue of that great recording for more than 30 years now!) Or to cellist Antonio Janigro and his brilliant chamber orchestra 'I Solisti di Zagreb' who offer lovely performances of Bach, Vivaldi and other music written for chamber ensemble. Janigro & Co. also recorded for New York-based Vanguard Records where they produced marvelous discs of Bach, Haydn, and many, many others. Stravinsky called their Vanguard recording of Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons' the greatest performance he'd ever heard of that music. This Living Stereo set includes a marvelous performance of Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons' by an Italian chamber group calling itself 'Societa Corelli' ... and although recorded (very beautifully) as far back as 1959/1960, their work features astonishingly lithe and vibrant string playing that seems to anticipate more modern baroque performance practice, but without any of the annoying astringency that often afflicts HIP performances of Italian baroque music. A superb disc and a major surprise -- and delight -- of this set!Production pluses: Absolutely first-rate, state of the art digital transfers from the original master tapes and pristine, full color reproductions of the original Lp jackets on each CD sleeve -- including the original liner notes which are printed on the reverse side of the sleeves (and also reproduced in more readable font size in the handsome hardcover book that accompanies this magnificent set).Having released three large Living Stereo box sets I hope that Sony/BMG/RCA will now move on to issue a similarly formatted box set with first quality CD transfers of post-Living Stereo recordings from the 1960s and 1970s, including all the Leinsdorf/Boston Symphony recordings made during his 1962-1969 tenure as Music Director, perhaps coupling these with contemporary recordings made by the Boston Symphony Chamber Players (which was formed at Leinsdorf's urging during his tenure). And while were at it, a boxed set reissue of all the recordings made by Eugene Ormandy and the great Philadelphia Orchestra after their 1968 return to RCA from CBS/Columbia. Once again: fingers crossed!But back to the Living Stereo collection under review here: if you truly love a wide variety of classical music -- and first-rate performances of it -- by all means buy this set while it's still available at such a reasonable price!

This is a very strong collection. Minimum overlap with other RCA Victor mega sets. Great value. Beautifully packaged. Many of these are relatively hard to find in their LP form even in mono versions. I like that it is heavy on chamber works and unlike many mega sets you aren't going to be beat over the head with more symphonies you already have a stack of.It's is a shame they included the politically correct Gould 1812 with no cannons and no church bells which they were well aware of when they did it but why not have just left it out in favor of something else such as Gould's "Jungle Drums" (even though that is a little light on Jungle and even more devoid of drums). Also, there are some Munch discs which many of us already have in the Munch box. Again would seem to have been an opportunity to include something else like Fiedler's "Boston Tea Party" or Breams "Evening of Elizabethian Music" But at 60 discs everyone is going to find a bone to pick with 5-10 of the choices no matter what they include but for me the cup is way way more than half full and am enjoying many of these works, and and artists for the first time. The Julliard Quartet discs alone are worth the price of admission.To the powers that be at Sony we know you have more than enough RCA Victor stuff still to give us at least one more Living Stereo collection (even discounting many of those remaining you may not be able to due to being Decca owned). So that would be very nice for the holidays next year.

Utterly fantastic set! "The Living Stereo - Remastered Collector's Edition" contains a myriad of very hard to find titles from RCA's "Living Stereo" era, the majority of which are appearing on CD for the first time and probably the first time all are appearing with their original jackets except for perhaps the odd (and impossible to find) special Japanese release.The music and artistry here speaks for itself and there is nothing I can really add to that so I will focus on the quality and layout of the physical item itself: The discs come housed in a well made box (Made in the EU) with a small hard cover booklet. Unlike the other two Living Stereo box set collections where the discs come in the thin, older style mini LP sleeves that make CD removal difficult, these are the much superior newer style that allow the discs to slide in and out of the jackets with ease and they have the catalog number/title on the spines, like a REAL mini-LP sleeve.The booklet is especially impressive as it contains the original notes and recording info as well as track listings for every disc in the set, including a color photo of the jacket cover. It also has an index in the back of selections organized by composer in alphabetical order. I sincerely wish that all booklets in these sets were like this."The Living Stereo - Remastered Collector's Edition" is a reference example of how all such sets should be made and presented. As always, get it while you can.