RCA Victor were early
starters in the field of stereo recording.
In late 1953 and early 1954 some two-channel
tests recordings were made. Even though
domestic stereo equipment didn’t exist
at that time they went on to record
some of their leading orchestras and
artists, confident that one day the
market would catch up. This it did in
1955 with the advent of stereo tape
players and, finally, in 1958 when the
stereo LP was launched. RCA Victor were
in the front-line and presented their
"Living Stereo" series which
was state-of-the-art recording technology
in those days. It is from that heritage
that they are now releasing these recordings
on SACD. The results are often stunning,
considering that the originals were
made 50 years ago. I have had some "Living
Stereo" discs for review lately
and been greatly impressed by the clarity,
the dynamic range, the exact positioning
of each instrument, the presence. The
Fritz Reiner disc with excerpts from
Salome and Elektra (review)
is probably the most remarkable when
it comes to lifelike reproduction. The
present disc, with the somewhat cheap
title "Pops Caviar", also
has pinpoint clarity, enhanced no doubt
by the original three-channel recording.
Even the tiniest detail is audible.
Both orchestra and technical staff had
some field days when setting this down.
The choice of repertoire was designed
to show off the technique and the virtuoso
orchestra. The percussion department
must have had a ball. In the early days
of home stereo listening, triangles,
xylophones, snare-drums were favourites
for showing off the new equipment. Let’s
not forget either all those records
with sound-effects: ping-pong playing,
trains passing through the living-room
etc. Later, in the sixties, the multi-microphone
technique was introduced where, in extreme
cases, literally every instrument was
individually miked. Marques such as
Phase 4 had the listener sitting in
the middle of the orchestra with, in
many cases, a distorted, highly unrealistic
orchestral balance as an obvious consequence.
It does RCA Victor credit that they
never descended to gimmicks of that
kind. What they produced was honest,
although spectacular, recordings, intended
to recreate the sound of an actual performance
heard from a good seat in the recording
venue. This seat was fairly close to
the rostrum and a fortissimo could,
and still can, hit you with tremendous
power in the pit of the stomach.
Before the pianissimo
start of Borodin’s atmospheric painting
of Central Asia there is some rumble
from the hall, probably not heard on
the LPs with their inherent mechanical
rumble. It doesn’t detract much though,
and the wind instruments, entering one
by one, are realistically caught and
blend well in ensemble. However when
the full orchestra play a certain hardness
develops. The strings on their own have
warmth and the woodwind is delicious,
so it seems that the brass is the weak
link here, not individually. The playing
can’t be faulted per se but the
full brass can and does become a mite
overwhelming. This of course has to
do with personal taste and also the
listening equipment. When listening
through headphones I got a much more
positive impression.
Playing through the
programme it was a pleasure to hear
the Russian Easter Festival Overture
again. It is a marvellous score, full
of contrasts and colours and the recording
captures every nuance. Fiedler plays
it for all it’s worth: noble but thrilling.
Back to Borodin again and Prince
Igor. The overture is bold and the
main theme sings, while the dances are
alert. Nowadays one would have liked
to have a chorus joining in to give
the extra frisson. The five movements
from Gayane are played with enormous
gusto and the Sabre Dance is
appropriately frightening. I am less
enthusiastic about the Tchaikovsky pieces.
The polonaise from Eugene Onegin
has all the grandeur needed but it feels
chilly and warmth is also ultimately
missing from The Sleeping Beauty
Waltz, although the strings sing
well enough. Against that the reading,
or the recording, is unnecessary aggressive.
The concluding gallop from Masquerade
is also cheeky and aggressive, but that
is as it should be. The central clarinet
solo comes as a balmy oasis but after
this it is full throttle again.
In spite of some reservations
this is a recommendable issue. What
else is to be expected from this source?
The presentation is up to RCA’s normal
standards with notes on the music from
the original LP documentation. There’s
also a note about Arthur Fiedler, reminding
us that his recording of Gade’s Jalousie
was RCA’s first classical recording
to sell more than one million copies.
The documentation is completed by some
technical notes. If the programme appeals
to you, why not give it a chance? Be
warned though that if you start with
some of the heftier numbers it is wise
to turn the volume down a bit, otherwise
you may be blown out of your chair.
Göran Forsling
Boston Pops Orchestra/Arthur Fiedler 
BMG-RCA
Red Seal 82876716182 SACD [69:40] 
