Artists · Classical
Fritz Reiner. One conductor, one orchestra.
From his first recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in March 1954 to “Scheherazade” in February 1960: 15 albums from Fritz Reiner’s Chicago years, from Strauss and Bartók to Respighi, with soloists such as Arthur Rubinstein and Jascha Heifetz. We carry them in 25 editions – on vinyl at 33⅓ or 45 rpm, five as hybrid SACDs with a three-channel programme and four on reel-to-reel tape.
Tap a cover – you jump straight to the album.
01 / By composer
One conductor, one orchestra
Fritz Reiner led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1953, and on every album here he conducts this orchestra. Tap a composer or a soloist – the row shows you the matching albums.
“A lot of us agree when I say that the Living Stereo releases are top-notch – they are the gold standard in the classical music realm, I’d say.”
“Respighi, again with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Pines of Rome and Fountains of Rome – a masterpiece musically and, of course, a reissue masterpiece. Highly, highly recommended.”
02 / Four ways
Four ways to Reiner
Vinyl at 33⅓ or at 45 rpm, hybrid SACD or tape: tap an album and you jump to its card with every edition.
6albums
Vinyl · 33⅓
One record for the whole programme – with Respighi, each tone poem has a side of its own.
10albums
Vinyl · 45 RPM
Two records, four sides: at 45 rpm the same music spreads over more record sides.
5albums
Hybrid SACD
With a three-channel programme for a multichannel-capable SACD player; the CD layer plays on any CD player.
4albums
Tape · Ultra Tape
Quarter-inch tape at 15 ips, two-track stereo with IEC equalisation – for your tape machine.
Available in three ways:
- 45 RPM · 33⅓ · Tape
- 45 RPM · SACD · Tape
- 33⅓ · SACD · Tape
03 / All albums
All 15 albums
In order of recording. Prices and availability come live from the shop.
The orchestra in focus · 1954–1960
Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra – from “Also sprach Zarathustra” to “Scheherazade”.
recorded 1954
Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra
Fritz Reiner · Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Solos: Bud Herseth, trumpet · John Weicher, violin
Reiner’s first recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, made on 8 March 1954 in his first season as music director – added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2011.
“Richard Strauss, Also sprach Zarathustra, with Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra – luckily at 45 rpm, because the dynamic range is not of this world. It blew me out of my living room. Breathtaking … Highly, highly recommended for everybody who is even a little bit into classical music.”
Vinyl · 45 RPM2 LPs · 180 g
Vinyl · 33⅓ RPM1 LP · 180 g
recorded 1955
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra
Fritz Reiner · Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Reiner helped bring this work into being: with Joseph Szigeti he encouraged Koussevitzky to commission it from Bartók. Twelve years later, on 22 October 1955, he recorded it in Chicago.
Vinyl · 45 RPM2 LPs · 180 g
Vinyl · 33⅓ RPM1 LP · 200 g
Reel-to-reel tape
recorded 1955–1957
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture
Fritz Reiner · Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Four works from three recording dates between December 1955 and December 1957: Tchaikovsky’s “1812”, Mendelssohn’s “Hebrides”, Liszt’s first Mephisto Waltz and Brahms’ Tragic Overture.
“You don’t get the real cannons on this release – but you get a brass section that works overtime and gives you such a strong, amazing bass, especially at the end of the overture. Brilliant. The dynamics of this recording are nothing short of breathtaking.”
Vinyl · 45 RPM2 LPs · 180 g
recorded 1956–1957
Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kijé / Stravinsky: Song of the Nightingale
Fritz Reiner · Chicago Symphony Orchestra
An officer who never existed and a nightingale no clockwork can replace: Stravinsky recorded in November 1956, Prokofiev in March 1957.
Vinyl · 45 RPM2 LPs · 180 g
SACD
Reel-to-reel tape
recorded 1957
Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition
Fritz Reiner · Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Mussorgsky’s gallery in Ravel’s orchestration, recorded at Orchestra Hall in 1957: the returning “Promenade” connects the pictures.
Vinyl · 45 RPM2 LPs
SACD
recorded 1958
Spain
Fritz Reiner · Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Recorded in 1958: Granados, Falla and Albéniz – two pieces from Albéniz’s piano cycle “Iberia” in orchestral versions by Enrique Fernández Arbós.
Vinyl · 45 RPM2 LPs · 180 g
SACD
recorded 1958
Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta / Hungarian Sketches
Fritz Reiner · Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Recorded on 28 and 29 December 1958 – this performance earned the Chicago Symphony Orchestra its first Grammy in 1961.
Vinyl · 45 RPM2 LPs · 180 g
recorded 1959
Festival
Fritz Reiner · Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Six compact orchestral showpieces from 1959: from Kabalevsky’s “Colas Breugnon” overture to Glinka’s “Ruslan and Ludmila”.
Vinyl · 33⅓ RPM1 LP · 180 g
SACD
recorded 1959
Respighi: Pines of Rome & Fountains of Rome
Fritz Reiner · Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Both tone poems in a single day, 24 October 1959 – and in the Janiculum movement Respighi calls for a nightingale’s song played from a gramophone record.
Vinyl · 33⅓ RPM
SACD
Reel-to-reel tape
recorded 1960
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Fritz Reiner · Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Solo violin: Sidney Harth
Recorded on 8 February 1960: the solo violin of concertmaster Sidney Harth connects the four movements.
Reel-to-reel tapeUltra Tape
With soloists · 1954–1960
Arthur Rubinstein, Jascha Heifetz and Lisa Della Casa with Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
recorded 1954
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1
Fritz Reiner · Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Piano: Arthur Rubinstein
On 17 April 1954, still in Reiner’s first season: Arthur Rubinstein, then 67, in a concerto where the orchestra is far more than accompaniment.
Vinyl · 45 RPM2 LPs · 180 g
recorded 1955
Brahms: Violin Concerto
Fritz Reiner · Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Violin: Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz, recorded at Orchestra Hall on 21 and 22 February 1955. In the Adagio the oboe has the first word before the violin takes up the thought.
Vinyl · 45 RPM2 LPs · 180 g
recorded 1956
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2
Fritz Reiner · Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Piano: Arthur Rubinstein
On 9 January 1956 with Arthur Rubinstein – exactly one week before the Paganini Rhapsody with the same partners.
Vinyl · 33⅓ RPM1 LP · 180 g
recorded 1956–1957
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini / Falla: Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Fritz Reiner · Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Piano: Arthur Rubinstein · Falla with Enrique Jordá and the San Francisco Symphony
One pianist, two orchestras: Rubinstein plays the Paganini Rhapsody with Reiner in Chicago on 16 January 1956, Falla’s “Nights in the Gardens of Spain” with Enrique Jordá in San Francisco in 1957.
Vinyl · 45 RPM2 LPs · 180 g
released 1960
Mahler: Symphony No. 4
Fritz Reiner · Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Soprano: Lisa Della Casa
Released in 1960: for three movements only the orchestra speaks; in the finale Lisa Della Casa sings of heavenly life.
Vinyl · 33⅓ RPM1 LP · 180 g
No album matches these filters.
04 / Guide
Where do you start?
The 15 albums gathered here come from Fritz Reiner’s years with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra: from “Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra”, his first recording with the orchestra in March 1954, to “Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade” in February 1960. Strauss, Bartók, Brahms and Rachmaninoff stand beside Respighi, Mussorgsky and Spanish music, joined by soloists such as Arthur Rubinstein and Jascha Heifetz. We carry the albums in 25 editions – on vinyl, as hybrid SACD and on reel-to-reel tape. Where you start depends on what you want to hear.
You want to hear where it all began
Then start with “Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra”. On 8 March 1954 Reiner recorded the work at Orchestra Hall, in his first season as music director – it was his first recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and in 2011 it entered the Library of Congress National Recording Registry. Listen beyond the famous opening: Bud Herseth plays the trumpet solo, concertmaster John Weicher the violin solos, and at the end Strauss leaves his tensions unresolved.
You want to hear an orchestra become the soloist
Then “Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra” is your album. Reiner was Bartók’s pupil and, with Joseph Szigeti, encouraged Serge Koussevitzky to commission the work; he recorded it in Chicago in 1955. In the second movement the winds appear in pairs, each pair with its own character. Next, listen to “Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta / Hungarian Sketches”: Bartók’s score divides the strings into two groups meant to sit facing each other, and this recording earned the orchestra its first Grammy in 1961.
You want to hear great soloists with Reiner
Arthur Rubinstein plays on three albums: Brahms’ First Piano Concerto in April 1954, then in January 1956, exactly one week apart, Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto and the Paganini Rhapsody – “Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1”, “Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2” and “Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini / Falla: Nights in the Gardens of Spain”. Jascha Heifetz arrives in February 1955 for the Brahms Violin Concerto: “Brahms: Violin Concerto”. And in “Mahler: Symphony No. 4” the voice waits until the finale, when Lisa Della Casa sings of heavenly life.
You want stories and colours
Reiner’s orchestra can tell stories too: “Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade” with Sidney Harth’s solo violin as the thread, “Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kijé / Stravinsky: Song of the Nightingale” with an officer who never existed, “Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition” as a walk through a gallery and “Respighi: Pines of Rome & Fountains of Rome” with a nightingale from a gramophone record. Plus “Spain”, “Festival” and “Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture” with Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Liszt and Brahms on one album.
Which edition suits you?
The record at 33⅓ rpm puts the whole programme on one disc – on “Respighi: Pines of Rome & Fountains of Rome” each tone poem has a side of its own. At 45 rpm the music spreads over two records and four sides; on “Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra”, for instance, without splitting a movement in the middle. The hybrid SACDs carry a three-channel programme for a multichannel-capable SACD player, and the CD layer plays on any CD player. And the Ultra Tape is for your tape machine: quarter-inch tape, 15 ips, two-track stereo with IEC equalisation.
Frequently asked
Quick answers
What is special about the SACDs?
All five are hybrid SACDs with a three-channel programme: with a multichannel-capable SACD player and a matching setup you hear three channels, and the CD layer plays on any CD player. We carry “Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kijé / Stravinsky: Song of the Nightingale”, “Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition”, “Spain”, “Festival” and “Respighi: Pines of Rome & Fountains of Rome” on SACD.
What do I need for the tapes?
A tape machine for quarter-inch tape at 15 ips (38 cm/s) in two-track stereo with IEC equalisation. We have “Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra”, “Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kijé / Stravinsky: Song of the Nightingale”, “Respighi: Pines of Rome & Fountains of Rome” and “Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade” as Ultra Tape.
33⅓ or 45 – what is the difference?
At 33⅓ rpm the whole programme fits on one record, for example Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto. At 45 rpm the same music spreads over two records and four sides; with the Brahms Violin Concerto the first movement therefore runs across both sides of the first record. Both speeds are available for “Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra” and “Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra”.
When were the recordings made?
Between March 1954 (“Also sprach Zarathustra”) and February 1960 (“Scheherazade”), during Reiner’s years as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which he led from 1953. Mahler’s Fourth Symphony was released in 1960; its recording date is not reliably documented.
Which soloists play with Reiner?
Arthur Rubinstein (Brahms in 1954, Rachmaninoff twice in 1956), Jascha Heifetz (the Brahms Violin Concerto in 1955) and Lisa Della Casa (Mahler’s Fourth Symphony). In “Scheherazade” concertmaster Sidney Harth plays the solo violin, in “Also sprach Zarathustra” Bud Herseth the trumpet solo.
What connects Reiner with Bartók?
Reiner studied piano with Bartók in Budapest and, together with Joseph Szigeti, encouraged Serge Koussevitzky to commission the Concerto for Orchestra. Bartók wrote it in 1943; Reiner recorded it in Chicago in 1955 – and in 1958 the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta.
Details from our product texts, years = year of recording, for Mahler’s Fourth Symphony the year of release (as of 19 Sept 2026). Price and availability live from the shop.
