Niezwykła nowość w katalogu firmy TESTAMENT - nagranie Fritza Reinera z Chicago Symphony Orchestra, z która to orkiestrą zaprezentował wiele niedoścignionych i wzorcowych interpretacji, także pod względem walorów audiofilskich. Let's be blunt: Fritz Reiner was a brilliant conductor who took the Chicago Symphony to unprecedented heights, but he did it through fear. In his nine-year reign of terror as the music director of the Chicago Symphony, Reiner polished the Chicago until its performances were models of power and precision, but its playing was completely without warmth and humanity. Even in these recordings from Reiner's tenure with the Chicago, the players' fear is palpable. In the 1954 Eine kleine Nachtmusik, the phrasing is marvelously articulated and the rhythm is wonderfully poised, but the tone is cool and the content is cold. In the 1955 Divertimento, K. 334, the playing is close to ideal, but it expresses next to nothing. And the 1955 Divertimento, K. 251, with Reiner conducting the NBC Symphony, would be perfect except that the players are as manifestly afraid of Reiner as they were of their previous conductor, Toscanini, and it shows in their playing. Why, after defeating the fascists in Europe and Asia, the United States continued to permit fascists to run orchestras in America is anybody's guess, but that the results were technically admirable but musically despicable is painfully obvious. Testament's remastering of RCA's monaural original recordings is likewise a model of technical precision: clean, clear, and honest. (James Leonard, allmusic.com)