Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 - Van Cliburn - Fritz Reiner

Brahms's monumental Second Piano Concerto receives a landmark interpretation from Van Cliburn and Fritz Reiner with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, captured at Orchestra Hall in Chicago in May 1961 by producer Richard Mohr and engineer Lewis Layton, the celebrated RCA Living Stereo team at the height of their powers. Cliburn, fresh from his triumphant 1958 Tchaikovsky Competition victory in Moscow, brings a singing tone and Romantic depth ideally suited to this most symphonic of concertos, while Reiner's characteristic precision and architectural command provide the perfect counterweight. The result is a performance of rare unanimity, with a particularly memorable Andante featuring a luminous cello solo by Robert La Marchina. Artist(s): Piano: Van Cliburn Conductor: Fritz Reiner Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra (andante cello solo by Robert La Marchina) Recording Info: Recorded in Chicago at Orchestra Hall in May 1961 Producer: Richard Mohr Recording Engineer: Lewis Layton Sourced from a 4-track tape Components used for Transfer: This transfer leverages precision analog playback and mastering-grade digital conversion. The signal path begins with a modified Nagra 4SJ with Flux Heads, fed through a Merrill Audio Master MX Tape Head Preamp. The analog signal converts via a Merging Hapi converter, synchronized to an Antelope Audio 10MX atomic clock for temporal accuracy. All components receive isolated power conditioning through a Shunyata Research Everest 8000 with Shunyata Sigma-X power cords, while grounding infrastructure utilizes Shunyata ALTAIRA hubs to minimize noise floor and preserve sonic detail throughout the transfer chain. 1 Allegro Non Troppo 17:47 2 Allegro Appassionato 8:32 3 Andante 12:35 (cello solo by Robert La Marchina) 4 Allegretto Grazioso 9:05 Please Note: This release was edited in DXD PCM from a DSD256 Master then the DXD edited master was used to generate the final DSD files using Merging Technologies Album Publishing. DXD (352.8KHz 24/32 bit PCM) is one of the best and least destructive formats for post-processing DSD originated digital recordings Copyright © & ℗ High Definition Tape Transfers 2026, including all compilation, transfer, remastering, and restoration aspects Play Sample Tracks