Gramophone Records
(RECORDING COMPANIES: A, Argo; B, Bruns- wick; C, Capitol; Col, Columbia; D, Decca; DT, Ducretet-Thomson; F, Felsted; LI, Lon- don International; OL, Oiseau Lyre; T, Tele- funken; V, Vox.)
MODERN MUSIC
AN outstanding issue is Berta's Violin Con- certo played by Gitlis (V), a masterly solo per- formance with a superbly clear recording of all the very beautiful orchestral detail. Thrown in is Berta's Sonata for solo violin, in a per- formance as bad as the other is good, rhythmi- cally distorted almost beyond recognition, for which the splendid Tworek version cannot be exchanged. But for the sake of the concerto, this record should not be missed. Gitlis also plays Berg's Violin Concerto (V), with the Chamber Concerto on the other side. This is a good buy for admirers of either work, more economical than the Leibowitz version of the Chamber Concerto alone (F), and one that may win over some of those already converted to the Violin Concerto to the earlier and much more difficult work. A still earlier Berg, of the romantic Piano Sonata Op. 1 (DT), backed by Webern's Variations and Schoenberg's Waltz from Op. 23—his very first twelve-note piece —makes a curious study in the development of these three so closely associated composers. Another historical landmark in that develop- ment, Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire (A), has long been overdue, and gives the opportunity for the close study that this fascinating work demands. His Das Buch der Hangenden Giirten (OL) is less interesting, • lacking character. The third great master of this
generation, Stravinsky, is best represented by an excellent version of the wry Soldier's Tale (V), welcome in its completeness, though for a record the Suite would be sufficient and perhaps more suitable. Prettier but less com- pelling are his two ballet-pastiches, Pulcinella, after Pergolesi, and The Fairy's Kiss, after Tchaikovsky (Col). There is a more rewarding coupling of Pulcinella with the serenely lyrical Apollott Musagete (V).
Of the slightly younger generation of inter- national masters, Milhaud stands out with Scaramouche and Le Hal Martiniquais, for two pianos (DT), and the terse, exhilarating and beautiful Concerto for percussion and small orchestra (C), a masterpiece of the late Twenties, coupled with a Toccata for per- cussion by Chavez, and the excellent Byrns version of Bartak's Music for strings and per- cussion, already available separately. From Hindemith there is the witty Wind Quintet, with the Spielmusik-like Oboe Sonata (OL), and the Organ Sonata No. 1, one of the few serious modern works for this instrument, part of a series of Organ Music from Sweelinck to Hindemith (T). Prokofiev's very attractive yet serious Fifth Symphony is given a first-rate performance by Horenstein (V), with the little Classical Symphony, and there is a group of his songs, with a group by Grechaninov, to make a light coupling for Mussorgsky's Sunless cycle (C).
From international to national masters. Britten's place is in the higher category, but the St. Nicolas Cantata (D) is one of his few weak works, and the Simple Symphony (D) and the Soirees and Matinees Musicales, after Rossini (LI) show only the lighter, witty Britten. There are several other issues of slighter English works, all on Decca medium-play, including Hoist's Perfect Fool ballet suite, with Butter- worth's Shropshire Lad, Malcolm Arnold's English Dances, Vaughan Williams's Old King Cole ballet suite, Warlock's Capriol Suite and Serenade for Delius, with a Minuet by Ireland, all mildly pleasing. More substantial and stimulating are Walton's two brilliant over- tures Portsmouth Point and Scapino, with his Siesta. Lambert's Concerto for nine instru- ments, and the group of his songs with which it is coupled (A), date badly. France is repre- sented mainly by her older composers on the fringe of modern music—Faur6 with the two late Cello Sonatas (DT) and the two earlier Piano Quartets (A), all finely played; the Debussy of Children's Corner, lightly played by Spagnolo (D), and of Images, in a fine per- formance by Ferber (DT); and the Ravel of Daphnis and Chloe, complete, played with great clarity under Inghelbrecht (DT), and of Sheherazade, the Mallarme Songs, and the Two Jewish Songs, beautifully sung by Danco (D). The Mallarme Songs again, sung with even more warmth and beauty by Kolassi (DT) arc less well coupled with his Introduction and Allegro, and his Tombeau de Couperin (T), very stiffly played by Wallenborn, is a great disappointment, for he plays the original Couperin pieces on the other side enchantingly. Finally from France there is Roussel's very original and personal Petite Suite for orchestra ' (D), coupled with The Spider's Banquet, which is ideal for ballet but less satisfying as a concert suite.
Also from the fringe of modern music come Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel, Don Juan and Death and Transfiguration (V), brilliantly played under Horenstein, and Sibelius's Fifth and Sixth Symphonies (both D), two magnifi- cent records revealing Anthony Collins again
as a conductor in the front rank. Sibelius's slightly eccentric Danish counterpart Nielsen is represented by his undistinguished String Quartet No. 2 (D), backed by a more interest- ing quartet by the younger Dane, Holmboe, which, however, like the record of Swedish orchestral music, by Larsson, Blomdahl and Fernstrom (LI), shows seriousness and com- petence rather than any great originality or personality. So does a Decca record of Swiss chamber music, by Moeschinger, Regamy and Honegger—whose Pacific 231 also reappears and still amuses (D). More interesting are their compatriots Frank Martin, heard at his best in his effective Harpsichord Concerto, beauti- fully played by Isabelle Nef (OL), and the conservative but likeable Paul Muller, whose Sinfonia No. 2 not unworthily backs Bartok's Divertimento (D). The partly Swiss Bloch enjoys a spate of recordings for his seventy- fifth birthday all four String Quartets on three records (Nos. 3 and 4 together), played by the Grillers (D), all violent emotion and melancholy; and the popular Schelomo, with the symphonic poem Voice in the Wilderness, also for cello and orchestra, so alike that they can hardly be distinguished from each other (D).
From the more exotic corners of Europe there arc Falla's Seven Popular Songs, part of a Spanish song recital by Nan Merriman (Col). which even for those who are bored with Spanish musical idiosyncrasies will claim a place beside her recent French recital, for the perfection of her voice and singing; the Third Quartet of Dohnanyi, Bart6k's conservative and minor compatriot, which is surprisingly good, and worthily backs Dvorak's Nigger Quartet (C); and the Yugoslav Slavenski's Sinfonia Orienta (D), less primitive than naive. From outside Europe there is very little. America offers two romantic instrumental pieces, both with flute. solo, by Foote and Griffes (B), Copland's Quiet City and Barber's Adagio, which help to get a hearing for some pieces by Diamond and Creston (C), and Creston's String Quartet Op. 8 (C), which has the advantage of Wolf's Italian Serenade to back it. These arse all deserving pieces, but Gershwin's Piano 'Concerto and Rhapsody in Blue (D) make them all sound very pale. though Katchen's performance does not quite equal Pennario's.. A Brazilian Piano Concerto by Tavares (D) is very feeble, some piano pieces by Villa Lobos (D) dull, and some Mexican orchestral pieces by Chavez and Moncayo freakish. Native idioms of this sod. like the Spanish, still wait for somebody to apply them satisfactorily to 'serious' music. Where they can be enjoyed is in such a (one as Edric Connor's Calypsos and Songs from Trinidad (both A), which like his earlier record of Songs from Jamaica are wonderfully lively and exhilarating.
For Christmas shoppers, an attractive alter- native to a record is a new edition of The Record Guide, a comprehensive but selective critical catalogue well worth its price. (Collins.
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