Double double.(symphony orchestras compared)

In this installment, Tom Lyle and I have decided to compare two recordings of a 20th-century composition that has found a place in the collections of most music lovers and audiophiles, Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra. For many, the touchstone recording remains the one released 50(!) years ago this month (it is April as I write this), the RCA recording featuring the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Fritz Reiner. Recently, Telarc released a version performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Paavo Jarvi (Telarc CD-80618), and we thought it would be interesting to compare these two versions. Actually, Tom and I have different versions of the Reiner performance, mien being the JVC XRCD version and Tom's being one of the RCA re-releases.

Following our usual practice, Tom and I have refrained from discussing these two recordings with each other and have done our listening and writing completely independently. Because this is an odd-numbered issue, I will lead off with my findings and then Tom will close with his perspective on these two recordings.

KWN: One of the most serendipitous decisions of my life was to take a music class my first semester back in college after my discharge from the Army in 1975. The late Professor Don Earl was one of the most inspirational teachers I have ever encountered; to him I owe much of my love for classical music. After class one day he listened to some of my questions about classical music and urged me to give a listen to Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, which I had never heard before. I can still remember my excitement as I donned a set of headphones in the BYU library and heard the quiet opening notes emerge out of the background noise of the well-worn LP, which was probably Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra. As those mysterious opening notes entered my consciousness, I was utterly transfixed. Many readers have probably shared a similar experienced a similar sense of transfixion with this composition, which remains a favorite of classical music fans worldwide.

For a long, long time, the Reiner recording in one format or another has been included in many an audiophile's library. In my own collection, several LP and CD versions have made an appearance over the years, and when I want to hear the piece, the Reiner is usually the version I fire up. It has withstood many challengers over the years.

The new Telarc recording, however, is truly excellent. In comparing both versions back and forth, I was repeatedly struck at how much more natural and unstrained the sound was on the Telarc compared to the RCA. In particular, the orchestral spread on the Telarc just seemed more natural, with a fine sense of side-to-side and front-to-back imaging (my listening was done in stereo mode). On the Reiner, the louder passages could sound strained and occasionally edgy, but the Jarvi never lost its cool. Make no mistake about it--the Reiner version sounds really good, and it is amazing to contemplate that it is now 50 years old. Indeed, I suspect many audiophiles will prefer it, because the very edge that drives me crazy seems to be ...