RCA's golden age from 1958 to 1963 in the beginning of the stereo era, was a time when pure vacuum tube amplification helped produce recordings demonstrating unparalleled fidelity with lifelike presence and midband illumination. The jewel in the Living Stereo crown, this recording of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's symphonic suite Scheherazade is considered one of the very best LPs by Fritz Reiner.

Rated 10/11 Music and 10/11 Sound by Michael Fremer (Analog Planet)

Featured in Vinyl Gourmet Audiophile TOP 100

• Limited Edition
• 33rpm 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl
• Cut from Original Analog Master Tapes
• Pressed at Quality Record Pressings QRP USA
• Lacquers plated by Gary Salstrom
• Mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound
• Deluxe Cover

Remastered from the Original 2 and 3 Track Master Tapes & Recut by Engineer Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound in New York. Pressed at Quality Record Pressings and plated by Gary Salstrom. Packaged in the original tip-on jacket facsimiles that precisely duplicate the original cover art, including the "Living Stereo" logo, LSC numbers and "Shaded Dog" label. These reissues are designed from the mastering, to the cutting, to the pressing and packaging to be the finest RCA Living Stereo LPs ever reissued. These new versions are clearer than the originals and warmer and richer than past reissues!

"All collectors of RCA Living Stereo LPs have their favorites, and these are mine. ... I've been disappointed by all the reissues released over the last 20 years that have promised better sound than the originals but have fallen far short of that. I had much higher expectations of these new reissues, from Chad Kassem's Quality Record Pressings, having been very impressed by some of QRP's rock and jazz reissues. When I spun them, I was floored. After comparing them to early shaded-dog pressings of the same recordings, I felt the only area in which the originals were still superior was the subtle, additional layer of air and sparkle in the highs (master-tape age, perhaps?). But the reissues' quality and extension of bass and high-level dynamic contrasts were superior. And the surfaces of the new pressings are so quiet they let each subtle midrange detail emerge from a "black" background. At times, the background is so silent I have to do a double take to verify that the needle is still in the groove and the platter is still turning." — Robert J. Reina, Stereophile, February 2015

"I've been listening to test pressings of Analogue Productions' first reissues of RCA Living Stereo releases and comparing them to original pressings as well as vinyl reissues of the same titles by Classic Records and Chesky Records. ... The discs themselves, stamped at Quality Record Pressings — which, like Analogue Productions, is owned by Chad Kassem — surpass in most ways the original shaded dog, Chesky, and Classic editions. ... none can match the new version's black backgrounds and overall instrumental focus. More important, the AP pressing has a transparency, a delicacy and purity of string tone, and dynamic punch that surpass the others — including the original (my copy is a 6S pressing), which though still spectacular, sounds less immediate, as if the orchestra has taken one step back. Even at the climaxes of the most complex crescendos, the AP resissue unmasks low-level details, while brass, woodwinds and massed strings have a delicacy and freedom from congestion that rival what's hear in concert. The original does those things too, but with less transparency, and with diminished dynamics." — Michael Fremer, for Stereophile, March 2014

"...As for the sound, well I get into arguments all too often with people who insist originals are always better. If after comparing this reissue to the original they still think so, they are hopelessly prejudiced. This reissue easily beats the original I have in every category. Of course the original can't begin to approach the 200g QRP pressing quality, especially in terms of velvet-black backgrounds and perfect surfaces. The reissue is far more dynamic, the low frequency extension complete, and most importantly the instrumental textures and tonalities are rich, full and spectacularly transparent. All of the delicacy, three-dimensionality and transparency promised but only partly delivered by the original is fully communicated on this Analogue Productions reissue." Music = 10/11; Sound = 10/11 — Michael Fremer, Analog Planet

Musicians:

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Fritz Reiner, conductor
Sidney Harth, violin solo

Track Listing:

Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade

1. The Sea And Sinbads Ship
2. The Story Of The Kalender Prince
3. The Young Prince And The Young Princess
4. Festival In Bagdad; The Sea; The Ship Goes To Pieces On A Rock Surmounted By A Bronze Warrior

Click here to listen to samples on AllMusic.com ♫