Samuel Barber: Symphony No. 1, Op. 9
Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 105
Alexander Scriabin: Le poème de l'extase (The Poem of Ecstasy), Op. 54, "Symphony No. 4"

The audio engineers over at the Reference Recordings label, and Keith O. Johnson in particular, one of the label's founders, have always prided themselves on the high definition, "realistic" quality of their music recordings. You know, that just like being there type of sonic experience. And this one, like many others, is a case in point and here's why.

Were you ever cognizant of the fact that there is a pipe organ as part of the orchestration of Alexander Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy? I was but I will be a monkey's uncle if I've ever heard it before now. For example, if you read this previous review of the same work with the Russian National Orchestra conducted by Mikhail Pletnev and watch the included video clip, you will see starting at the 18:15 mark the organist playing big chords on the organ's keyboard but unless you have the ears of a bat, you can't distinguish the instrument's sound. Now mind you the orchestration at that point of the score is so lush and profuse that it may just be that the organ wasn't loud enough, or the recording equipment wasn't set up properly to capture it. Now in this new recording with the Kansas City Symphony conducted by Michael Stern, not only can you discern a pipe organ's distinctively unique sonic signature within this ocean of sound, but you also clearly hear, or maybe I should say "feel", the instrument's very low pedal bass notes, which makes for an incredible sonic tidal wave within this ocean of sound. I even notice it when listening on my crappy little computer speakers. Mind you it doesn't hurt when the pipe organ that resides inside the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City where this recording took place, is a monster of an instrument. The impressive Casavant pipe organ which has 4 keyboards, 79 stops, 102 ranks, tracker action, and 5,548 pipes, the biggest of which weighs 960 pounds, certainly produces a hair-raising sound.

And throughout the Jean Sibelius Symphony No. 7 as well, the woodwinds, which have always been a key element of this composer's orchestration skills, are very well captured and naturally projected by the audio equipment, which best of all accurately reproduces the depth and scope of a large orchestra. My one and only quibble with this recording project, is that I find Michael Stern's interpretation of the wonderful Poem of Ecstasy to be a little on the fast side. The crux of this work is its palpable sense of anticipation and final rapture, where one needs to wallow and luxuriate in its exuberant sound. But as far as sound quality itself is concerned, this recording scores an eleven. Had Stern allowed for an extra two minutes or so, I would have awarded it a twelve on a scale of ten.