Any performance of the Requiem that begins as slowly (about twice as slow as Verdi wants it to go) and soporifically as this one really rules itself out of the reckoning. Throughout Reiner's conducting is decidedly erratic, often stodgy—the ''Salva me'' is distinctly stiff-limbed (strange for a conductor who was noted for his dynamic performances)—and too intent on making points rather than viewing the work as a dramatic whole. The Vienna Philharmonic play up to their reputation, but there is better choral singing, more realistically recorded, on other versions available.
What makes the reading worth investigating is the contribution by three of the solo quartet. Price has always performed particularly well in this work and in 1960 she was at the peak of her powers. Everything she does here is not only assured technically but also sincerely felt. Her very personal utterance and finely shaded dynamics are a consistent source of pleasure. Rosalind Elias, an underrated singer, is almost the soprano's equal, using her even mezzo to appreciable effect. Her tone is lighter than Price's, which sometimes produces an odd effect in ensemble. Bjorling, in his last commercial recording, sings with impeccable style and plangent tone, the voice almost, though not quite, as imposing as in the deleted 1940 performance with Toscanini. Tozzi isn't quite in his colleagues' class—the voice isn't rotund enough for this music—but his approach is always correct.
The Pezzi sacri receive a more spacious recording, but Mehta is also inclined sometimes to linger longer than the composer indicates. He commands fine playing and singing from his Los Angeles forces. In both works Giulini on EMI is to be preferred.'