Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra; Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3, "Organ." Jorge Mester, Pasadena Symphony Orchestra. Newport Classic Auricle NCAU-10001. Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances. Jorge Mester, Pasadena Symphony Orchestra. Newport Classic Auricle NCAU-10002.

Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra; Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3, "Organ." Jorge Mester, Pasadena Symphony Orchestra. Newport Classic Auricle NCAU-10001. Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances. Jorge Mester, Pasadena Symphony Orchestra. Newport Classic Auricle NCAU-10002.

No one is going to mistake the sonorities of the Pasadena Symphony for those of the Berlin or Vienna Philharmonic or the Chicago or Concertgebouw Orchestra. But with sound so spectacularly good as this, I doubt most listeners will notice or care. Both recordings were done in binaural, a process I have reviewed favorably in the past, wherein a simple, two-microphone setup is placed inside a dummy head about 20 feet in front of the orchestra. The results are astonishing, especially listening through headphones. But even sitting in my normal living room listening position, the imaging is the equal of any good stereo, and the sound retains a reasonable degree of transparency. And then, by sticking one's head forward a few feet into the music, the sonics open up almost magically, improving depth, clarity, and stereo spread. Of course, I wasn't about to move my couch and coffee table forward just to accommodate a few binaural recordings, but you get the idea; it's there if you want it. In addition to the excellent imaging properties of binaural, the process picks up good, firm, and very deep bass, essential to all four of the works included on these two discs. But without using a lot of highlight mikes around the orchestra, some sounds from the back of the ensemble tend to be somewhat remote and muted, unless one remembers to poke one's head deep into the sound field, and then the cymbals and triangles and other distant instruments come to life.

The performances in all four works are very good, but one must remember that Maestro Mester has considerable competition in these pieces. His Zarathustra tends to plod a little compared to Karajan (DG), Haitink (Philips), or the 40-year-old Reiner recording (RCA). However, the "Organ" Symphony is as good as they come, with ravishing waves of bass washing over the listener in the second movement and plenty of excitement and pizzazz in the finale. On the second album, the Rite is not so wild or barbarous as it is under Muti's baton (EMI), but the sound more than makes up for it. And the Symphonic Dances have great dynamic impact, especially prevalent in the first movement. These are premium discs stamped out in gold, the Strauss/Saint-Saens a numbered collector's edition, but they should be worth every penny to the audiophile who appreciates the best possible sound.