Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique/Roméo Et Juliette (excerpts)
It was simply a matter of time before Munch's feverish, go-for-broke 1954 recording of theSymphonie fantastiqueshowed up on RCA'sLiving Stereoreissue series. The stereo that lives on this disc is primitive to be sure, with noticeable tape hiss and some weird resonances from the timpani, but for character, panache, and sheer abandon the interpretation is hard to beat. The filler, 13 beautiful minutes fromRomeo et Juliette, was recorded in 1961 and shows the BSO with a good deal more polish, still glowingly expressive.--Ted Libbey