Record Reviews

BY HERBERT KUPFERBERG

Brahms: Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Orchestra in A Minor, Opus 102 Mendelssohn: Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano No. 1 in D Minor, Opus 49

Jacques Thibaud, violinist; Pablo Casals, cellist; Alfred Cortot, pianist; Pablo Casals Orchestra of Barcelona conducted by Alfred Cortot; Angel COLH-75 (monaural)

Those who treasure the memory of the Thibaud-Casals Brahms Double Concerto as one of the glories of the 78-rpm recording era will be overjoyed that it is restored to circulation in Angel’s “Great Recordings of the Century” series. Can it really have been recorded thirty-four years ago? It seems much too lifelike, supple, and sinewy a performance to have originated as far back as 1929; even its sound has faded less than one would have anticipated. Together with the Mendelssohn Trio on the reverse, the Brahms concerto offers an eloquent memento of an incomparable ensemble now scattered forever — Thibaud killed in a plane crash in 1953; Cortot dead in 1962, with his last years clouded over by charges of Nazi collaboration; and Casals still playing, but in exile from his beloved Spain.

Copland: Sonata for Piano; Sonata for Violin and Piano; Trio for Piano, Violin, and Cello, “Vitebsk”

Hilde Somer, pianist; Carroll Glenn, violinist; Charles McCracken, cellist; Composers Recordings, Inc., CRI-171 (monaural)

Although these works span a considerable distance in time, the Vitebsk trio dating from 1929 and the two sonatas from the early 1940s, they share a sense of controlled intensity and economy of expression. The Vitebsk trio, a study on a Jewish theme, comes closest to the open romanticism that pervades some of Copland’s subsequent works, but it also displays an almost classical restraint. Musicians particularly will relish the compositorial skills involved, as well as the sensitivity of the three excellent performers.

Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat for Violin and Viola, K. 364; Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat for Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, and Strings, K. Anhang 9

Victor Desarzens conducting Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne, with Stephan Romascano, violin; Marie-Rose Guiet, viola: Eduard Meylan. oboe; Robert Kemblinsky, clarinet; Jozsef Molnar, horn: Bozidar Turnpej, bassoon; Westminster WST-17036 (stereo) and XWN19036

One of the two pieces Mozart called “sinfonia concertante” is an almost romantic double concerto for violin and viola, the other a semibaroque showpiece for four solo winds. Despite their disparity in style, they make a fine combination on a record that shows off the virtuosity and musicianship of the Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne. Although the violin-viola work is the more popular and admired of the two, it is the sinfonia concertante for winds which comes off more glowingly. As a matter of fact, it is difficult to imagine it being played with more grace, life, and buoyancy than it is here — almost as if the performers, no less than the composer, were discovering the sheer joy to be found in blending and alternating four wind instruments in various combinations and sequences. The clear, bright recorded sound makes the performance seem all the more sparkling.

Poulenc: Concert Champêtre for Harpsichord and Orchestra; Concerto in D Minor for Two Pianos and Orchestra

Aimée van de Wiele, harpsichordist; Francis Poulenc and Jacques Février, pianists; with Conservatoire Orchestra conducted by George Prêtre; Angel S-35993 (stereo) and 35993

The death this year of Francis Poulenc closed a career which produced little music that is powerful, but much that is debonair and delightful. Two excellent examples are provided here, the Concert Champêtre being particularly lively and engaging. Poulenc wrote it for the late Wanda Landowska in 1929, brilliantly combining harpsichord and orchestra and artfully accommodating twentieth-century musical ideas in an eighteenth-century framework. The two-piano concerto has more surface than depth, but it is a surface that sparkles with light and with life. Poulenc may rate only modest mention in future musical histories, but he was an individualist whose music could be brave, gay, and ironic, and in many ways caught the spirit of his country and even his era admirably. Not least among the attractions of this record is the fact that it presents a sample of his talents as a performer, too.

Songs in Spanish for Children

Martita, Jesus de Jerez, and Juan Rojas, singers, with Fred Mendez conducting an orchestra and children’s chorus; Columbia CS-8697 (stereo) and CL-1897

Observe that the title of this cheerful record is “Songs in Spanish for Children” and not “Spanish Songs for Children.” The distinction is significant because Elena Paz Travesi has had the bright idea of writing Spanish-language versions of such popular non-Hispanic favorites as “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush,” “Old MacDonald Had a Farm,” and “Ten Little Indians.” These are alternated with “El Barco Chiquitito,” “Los Pichones,” “El Zapatero,” and other authentic ditties. All are sung zestfully and winningly by three folk singers, in bright arrangements by Fred Mendez, who also conducts. Spanish lyrics and an English vocabulary are included in the accompanying brochure. The educative benefits of the record may be modest, but at least one listener who does not speak Spanish can attest that hearing the songs is a fresh and delightful experience.

The Rooftop Singers: “Walk Right In!”

Erik Darling, Lynne Taylor, and Bill Svanoe, folk singers; Wendell Marshall, bass; Bobby Donaldson, drums; Vanguard VSD-2136 (stereo)

Of the formation and re-formation of folk-singing troupes there is no end. Erik Darling, formerly of the Weavers, has surrounded himself with two accomplished partners to make up a trio with a good sense of rhythm, well-blended voices, and a fresh repertoire. Their prize song here is a Western ballad entitled “Cool Water,” a haunting evocation of a desert landscape. The Rooftoppers provide their own guitar and banjo accompaniment, and have some expert drum and bass support as well.