Janigro: Don Quixote (with Dali prints) - RCA Soria LD-2384 (1S/1S)

Box EX / Book EX / LP NM (US pressing - shaded dog label - mono)

This beautiful Soria deluxe issue LP set from RCA (LD-2384*, US pressing, shaded dog label, 1S/1S stampers, stereo, cloth box with slipcase, full-size booklet and original inner sleeve included) features one of the great accounts of Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote Op. 35, with cellist Antonio Janigro and the inimitable hero, violist Milton Preves as Sancho Panzo and Fritz Reiner – among the composer’s supreme exponents – conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

The exact discographic details are as follows:

Richard Strauss: Don Quixote Op. 35

Antonio Janigro, cello

Milton Preves, viola

Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

(recorded at Orchestra Hall, Chicago, on 11 April 1959)

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Wrote the erudite critic Eric Levi for BBC Music Magazine:

“Throughout his career Fritz Reiner showed a particular affinity for the music of Richard Strauss. Here he delivers an exceptionally vivid account of Don Quixote – each bizarre episode from the eccentric knight’s adventures is portrayed with razor-sharp insight. One notices, in particular, Reiner’s miraculous attention to detail, his unfailing grip on the structural direction of the work and the superb response from both soloist and orchestra. With its flashes of sardonic wit, the earlier Burleske makes for an excellent coupling, and illustrates Reiner’s formidable prowess as a concerto accompanist. By any standards, a self-recommending issue.  Performance: 5 (out of 5); Sound: 5 (out of 5)”

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This remarkable recording was produced by Richard Mohr and engineered by Lewis Layton.

The cover art for the cloth box reproduces a detail from Salvador Dalí’s “Don Quixote” while the booklet shows a detail from Pablo Picasso’s “Don Quixote and Sancho Panza”.

The productions standards for this set were in a class of their own, as were all Soria issues.

In addition to the heavy cloth box with slipcase, the set includes a full-size, 24-page booklet printed on heavy art paper by Skira Color Studios, Lausanne, Switzerland. The booklet includes:

> Numerous black/white and color illustrations of Don Quixote by the likes of Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Gustave Doré, and Robert Osborn; and of Cervantes by Francisco Goya

> Erudite and eloquent notes and essays on the music by Walter Starkie, an expert on Cervantes and Don Quixote.

> A striking black/white photo of Reiner and Janigro together during the recording sessions.

CONDITION:

The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

The condition of the outer cloth box is EXCELLENT. There is very minor wear at corners and slight discoloration. However, there are no corner breaks, seamsplits, bends, owners’ markings, or other defects, and the whole remains solid and highly attractive – overall, an excellent collector's copy.

The condition of the inner slipcase is EXCELLENT – a fine copy.

The condition of the booklet is near-MINT – a superb copy.

The condition of the LP itself is near-MINT. Although surfaces are not absolutely silent (and thus I have rated it NM vs. MINT) this is a fine copy and playback is superb. If you must have perfect surfaces, then please do not buy this LP. Overall, this rates as a NM collector's copy.