Record Reviews

By John M. Conly

by JOHN M. CONLY

Bach: Violin Concertos No. 1 and No. 2 with Vivaldi Concerto for Two Violins in A Minor (David Oistrakh and Isaac Stern, violins, Eugene Ormandy conducting Philadelphia Orchestra; Columbia ML5087: 12”). Stern plays the Bach No. 1, Oistrakh the No. 2; together they perform the Vivaldi. Interpretatively, in the Bach concertos, I think they fall just a minim short of the achievement of Heifetz and Wallen– stein, on RCA victor LM-1818, but their recorded sound is incomparably richer. Further, they offer the mellifluous Vivaldi as a bonus, and it is a bonus worth having. If you don’t own the Heifetz, buy the , Stern-Oistrakh.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 with Schubert: Symphony No. 8, “Unfinished” (George Szell conducting Cleveland Orchestra; Epic LC-3195: 12 These two symphonies have been committed to microgroove at least twenty-two times apiece. The Schubert has fared better than the Beethoven; it is realized in at least three versions that should satisfy anyone — those by Leinsdorf (Entré), Prohaska (Vanguard), and Munch (RCA Victor), of which the last is my favorite. Strangely (to put it mildly), none of the attempts at the Beethoven Fifth has been wholly successful. These Szell performances, launching the Cleveland Orchestra on the Epic label, belong in the top half-dozen representations of each symphony. It’s a fine, singing orchestra, and the engineers do it justice.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, “Choral” and Symphony No. 8 (Herbert von Karajan conducting Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Marga Höffgen, Ernst Häfliger, Otto Edelmann; Gesellschaft dor Musikfreunde Chorus; Philharmonia Orchestra; Angel 3544-B: two 12”). Here in gorgeous sound is the most beautiful Ninth ever recorded, and one estimable in other ways, too. It is finely crafted, large-scale, well hung together, devoid of any eccentricity. It will be the favorite of many people — and might be mine, had I never heard the Toscanini or ancient Weingartner interpretations. Karajan‘s has neither the air of immensity of the latter nor the blazing excitement of the former, and I need one or the other in this symphony, especially in the first and last movements. Karajan’s middle movements are fine. There are rumors that this recording will be available, before too long, as a stereophonic tape, in which guise it ought to make marvelous listening. The accompanying Eighth Symphony is matched, for my money, only by the superb ScherchenWestminster version.

Berlioz: Overtures: The Roman Carnival; King Lear; The Corsair; Les Franc-Juges; Waverley (Sir Thomas Beecham conducting Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Columbia ML-5064: 12”). There is a certain necessary tedium about Beecham reviews this year. Once again I must say: I cannot really believe these performances are as good as they are except when I am actually listening to them. They are literally thrilling; if you like Berlioz, you cannot be without them.

Brahms: Double Concerto;

Haydn Variations; Tragic Overture (Isaac Stern, violin; Leonard Rose, cello; Bruno Walter conducting New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra; Columbia ML5076: 12”). It’s been a long wait, but worth it. I think I am safe in calling this the best Double Concerto since the prehistoric Thibaud-CasalsCortot collaboration on 78s. It’s a performance both rousing and romantic, with Walter, Stern, and Rose interacting beautifully. The Tragic Overture and Haydn Variations are the same performances found in Columbia’s four-disk Brahms Orchestral Music album, SL-200. Both are excellent, though the Variations were recorded some time ago.

Handel: Six Concerti Grossi, Op. 3 (Boyd Neel conducting Boyd Neel Orchestra; Thurston Dart, harpsichord and organ; London LL-1130: 12”). Less well known, more richly scored than the dozen Opus 6 concerti grossi, these are equally fetching and, here, lovely in both performance and recording. Try the endearing second movement of the second concerto.

Mozart: Concerto No. 27; Sonata No. 11 (Wilhelm Backhaus, piano; Karl Böhm conducting Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; London LL1282: 12”). Mozart’s greatest concerto and most popular sonata (it includes the “Rondo alla Turca”) in an absolutely safe buy, even in a Mozart Year that is not yet finished. Lively, loving playing; impeccable sound.

Mozart: Songs (Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano; Walter Gieseking, piano; Angel 35270: 12”). Restraint and finesse are the distinguishing characteristics of both these fine artists. The result is a cool, clear beauty, enthralling so long as one does not risk an overdose. There isn’t much variety, which is partly Mozart’s fault.

Prokofieff: Sonata No. 1 with Leclair: Sonata No. 3 and Locatelli-Ysaÿe: Sonata in F Minor (David Oistrakh, violin; Vladimir Yampolsky, piano; RCA Motor LM1987: 12”). His first sonata strikes me as one of Prokofieff’s most perfect works, and Oistrakh, to whom it was dedicated, knows it better than anyone else in the world. The combination cannot fail, and doesn‘t. The sound is good, and the companion showpieces are worth hearing, too.

Verdi: Rigoletto (Tullio Serafin conducting Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, other soloists; chorus and orchestra of Teatro alla Scala; Angel 3537-5S: three 12” with libretto). The veteran Serafin does just enough urging and reining-in to make this the most vital Rigoletto available. The performance has only one liability: di Stefano is a slightly colorless Duke, though credible all the same. Surprisingly, Callas is a good Gilda.

Caruso — An Anthology of His Art on Records (Enrico Caruso, tenor, with various other singers and assorted accompaniment; RCA Victor LM-6127: three 12” in album). This is a capital-P Production, in a gleaming white album with an illustrated introduction by Francis Robinson. The disks contain forty-six selections — opera arias, other excerpts, songs — and cover the great man’s whole recording career, irom 1902 (Denza’s Luna Fedel) to 1920 (Crucifixus from the Rossini Messe Solennelle). You can trace his growth and feel the work behind it, which is engrossing. But mostly you can feel, and even share, the enormous joy this man took in his own art. Many thanks to RCA Victor.