The cover photo's resemblance to Bela Lugosi as Dracula aside, the fact that Fritz Reiner was a great conductor is evident from the first notes of the Beethoven Coriolan Overture that opens this set. The unanimity of attack, the energy and precision of his Chicago Orchestra, and Reiner's smooth transit from the portentous opening measures to the warm singing violin line help make this a performance to remember. The highlight of the set, new to CD, is a 1954 Chicago mono recording (a great one, you won't miss stereo here) of Mozart's "Linz" Symphony, a version that could have been made yesterday--lean, lithe execution, crackling tempos, and a brilliantly played whirlwind finale. It's preceded by the conductor's 1958 partnership with Emil Gilels in Brahms' Second Piano Concerto, a strong contrast to Gilels' more relaxed, better-known DG remake with Eugen Jochum. Here, he's right in Reiner's groove with brisk tempos and a rhythmic snap that's softened in his later version. Reiner also shows himself a top-notch Brahmsian (Disc 2 includes a fine Tragic Overture), a master of the composer's transitions, which often are difficult for conductors to make convincing but seem to be child's play for him.

Aside from a darkly dramatic Chicago reading of Wagner's popular Dawn and Siegfried's Rhine Journey, the rest of the set documents a slightly earlier phase of Reiner's long career. Too bad EMI's compilers didn't offer more than just one item from his Pittsburgh Symphony years, but it's a beaut--Falla's El amor brujo. Except for dated 1946 sonics (ameliorated by a fine transfer) it's fully competitive with his later stereo version from Chicago with Leontyne Price. Carol Brice is thrilling in the songs embedded in Falla's ballet; her strong chest voice captures the peasant nature of the material, and the orchestra's in top form. A sardonic 1950 Till Eulenspiegel with the RCA Victor Symphony plays to Reiner's Straussian strengths, but a 1952 NBC Symphony version of Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin is short on the work's elegance. Fillers include Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream Scherzo and a brief dance from Bartók's Hungarian Sketches.

The transfer quality is very high: the classic Chicago recordings sound as good as the current crop and the earlier monos possess presence and detail. EMI's Great Conductors series usually offers at least one live concert item, and the absence of some of Reiner's many Chicago broadcasts is both inexplicable and regrettable. But despite whatever is not here, what is gives a fine overview of one of the century's great conductors and constitutes one of the best volumes in an engrossing series. [8/4/2004]

--Dan Davis