The final few minutes of this live rendition of Franz Schmidt's Second Symphony, with Neeme Järvi and the Chicago Symphony, offer some of the most goosebump-inducing brass playing you are ever likely to hear. In a comment on Michael Hovnanian's CSO Bass Blog, a CSO musician recalled the circumstances of the recording, which took place at performances in April 1989. The orchestra had just come back from tour, and few of the players had had a chance to look at Schmidt's very demanding score. The first run-through was a catastrophic mess. Järvi, with the wry, avuncular manner that has made him beloved among orchestra musicians, smiled and said, "Now once more — with nuance!" The electrifying atmosphere during the coda might have something to do with a collective exhilaration at having made it through intact.