Record Reviews

Beethoven: Bagatelles (complete)

Denis Matthews, piano; Vanguard VSD20/8 (stereo) and VRS-1033 In “big" Beethoven Mr. Matthews sometimes seems to me a little restrained, but in the bagatelles, Op. 33, 119, and 126, he is in his element: these are irresistible Beethoven, if not dramatic. The sound is clean, rather conservative in the stereo, which is good — the hall’s resonance joins and mellows that of the piano — and solid.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”

Bruno Walter conducting Columbia Symphony Orchestra; Columbia MS-6036 (stereo) and ML-5320

How does one go about criticizing a master conductor who, at eightythree, commences to remake his major classical repertoire on records? This is not quite the Bruno Walter of the 1939 “Eroica”; he has been gentled a little by age. Still — perhaps from much experimenting in Mahler — he also has acquired a livelier awareness of sound per se. Unfortunately, the Los Angeles orchestra (and hall?) featured here negate this in some degree. You can hear Walter’s intent, but it is not always realized in the grooves. Some of the instruments protrude a little rudely, especially in the stereo version, and the sound is slightly rough when loud. Just the same, this is one of today’s great “Eroicas,” and we will not forever be able to hear Bruno Walter playing Beethoven.

Haydn: Piano Music

Wilhelm Backhaus, piano; London CS 6060 (stereo)

Apparently this is issued in stereo only. The works are the sonatas Nos. 34, 48, and 52, the Fantasia in C, and the Andante con Variazioni in F Minor. Backhaus plays them delightfully, and they are delightful. However, the recording is spotty. The Fantasia, for instance, is harshly close-microphoned, while the E-flat Major Sonata is a real proof of what stereo can do for a solo instrument: the piano is absolutely right, you could imagine it in the room with you.

Schubert: Symphony No. 9

Josef Klips conducting London Symphony Orchestra; London CS-6061 (stereo)

Krips’s performance of the great C Major with the Concertgebouw on old LL-619 (now withdrawn) was long my favorite, being challenged only lately by Szell’s version for Epic. This new effort by Krips seems interpretively even better than his old one, and the recording is exemplary. Choice between this and the Szell is simplified now by the fact that the latter exists only on monophonic, the Krips only on stereo. When this changes, the criterion may be that while Szell has the better orchestra, his record also contains some strange extraneous sounds. I’ll bet on a tie, which will be for you to break.

The Art of Kirsten Flagstad

Kirsten Flagstad, soprano; Eugene Ormandy conducting Philadelphia Orchestra; Hans Lange conducting unidentified orchestra; RCA Camden CAL-462

The works on this reprint recital, made originally in two sessions in 1935 and 1937, are as follows: Beethoven’s Ah! Perfido and Abscheulicher (Fidelto); Weber’s Ozean, du Ungeheuer (Oheron); and Wagner’s Du bist der Lenz and Brünnhilde’s battle cry (Walküre), Elsa’s dream and Each Lüfien die mein Klagen (Lohengrin), and Elisabeth’s prayer and Dich teure Halle (Tannhäuser). These selections probably comprise the best 78-rpm records Flagstad ever made, and the LP reprint is better than the originals were. Her tremendous virtue (at forty or thereabouts) was that she could make these great dramatic utterances so effortlessly that she could also devote attention to tone. The combination is still electrifying, and you can hear it on these records.

Operatic Arias

Leonie Rysanek, soprano; orchestra directed by Arturo Basile; RCA Victor LM-2262

An endless amateur sport is the detection of who will be the dramatic soprano of the coming era. The public at large can now discover Leonie Rysanek, as the cognoscenti have been doing for three years. In this display disc, however, we hear the handsome young Austrian show more technical proficiency titan dramatic fire, though she is indeed impressive. Maybe she should have got off the beaten track. The arias are real war horses — Pace, pace; Vissi d’arte; Ritorna vincitor, and the like — and the delivery is more than a little cautious.

Carroll: Alice in Wonderland

Jane Asher, Afargaretta Scott, other actors, directed by Douglas Cleverdon; London OSA-1206 (stereo): two records By coincidence, this recording was issued shortly after the excellent monophonic Caedmon set featuring Joan Greenwood and Stanley Holloway. The latter got both books of Alice on two discs, well but heavily edited, and was produced with a whimsical touch clearly aimed at adults. The London stereo set, on the other hand, offers only the first book with fewer cuts and a more literal approach, and perhaps is fitter for children. The Alice is Jane Asher (who sounds like a little girl and may be one), the narrator is Margaretta Scott, and I suspect the other actors of being BBC people. Indeed, the whole thing may have originated as a BBC children’s program, which would account for its faultless taste and general excellence. Its special merit is in its use of stereo. The actors speak from all over the end of your room, and the sound men have had much fun with their trickery; when the pool of tears begins splashing around you, there is a strong impulse to climb a chair. Whether there will be a monophonic version I do not know; London seems to be offering no new monophonics these days.

The following are stereo disc versions of recordings issued earlier in monophonic edition.

Bizet: Suites from Carmen and L’Arlesienne

Paul Par ay conducting Detroit Symphony Orchestra ; . Mercury SR-90001 A fine, brisk, French performance, in sound far smoother and more spacious than that of its monophonic predecessor. There is another good new Carmen-L’Arlesienne out, too: Ansermet and the Suisse Romantic on London GS-6062, but it offers only portions of the two L’Arlesienne suites and in other respects no more than matches the Mercury. I think the latter is just slightly the better recording. Monophonic: 50135.

Delibes: Coppélia (complete)

Ernest Ansermet conducting Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; London CSA-2201: tivo records

The same lovely performance I praised in monophonic guise now comes in big, intimate stereophony, evoking the impulse to dance ! Monophonic: LL-1717/8.

Falla: El Retablo de Maese Pedro; Concerto for Harpsichord

Ataulfo Argenta conducting singers, National Orchestra of Spain; Robert Veyr on-Lacroix, harpsichord; London CS-6028

The adventure of Don Quixote with Master Peter’s puppet show, in this exquisite performance, comes to life in stereo, and your living room is magicked into an old Spanish inn. The recording is faultless, as is that of the vibrant concerto on the other side. Monophonic: LL-1739.

Grieg: Symphonic Dances; Two Elegiac Melodies

Edouard van Remoortel conducting Vienna Pro Musica Orchestra; Vox ST-PL10330

The monophonic predecessor of this, with tighter groove spacing, offered Sigurd Jorsalfar as well as the two selections set forth here. In compensation, the stereo disc yields sound even more real than that of its illustrious precursor. The performances are strong and tasteful. Monophonic: 10330.

Haydn: Symphonies No. 100, “Military,” and No. 101, “Clock”

Mogens Wöldike conducting Vienna State Opera Orchestra; Vanguard SRV-109SD

Described as a stereo demonstration disc, this comes at a special price: $2.98. At any price it would be a bargain, since in either stereo or monophonic version it offers the best recorded “Military” and probably the best “Clock” as well. Only Beecham and Scherchen are Wöidike’s peers at Haydn, and I think Wöldike is first among them at the “Military.” The sound here is exciting without being at all exaggerated. Monophonic: 492.