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Title: Great Wagner, wish there were more!
Review: 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.
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