GRAMOPHONE RECORDS

(RECORDING COMPANIES: B, Brunswick; C, Columbia; Cap, Capitol; D, Decca;

H, HMV; OL, Oiseau-Lyre; P, Parlophone; S, Suprrphon; T, Telefunkcn; V, Vox.)

SHEER quantity of recordings as much as

chronolog:cal priority demands first place for Beethoven in this review of romantic music on records. Of the symphonies the most important are two new versions of

No. 6 by Karajan (C.33CX 1124) and

Toscanni (H.ALP1129). Karajan's is the more affectionate, and the recording is better than the Toscanini, on which, as also on his

No. 7 (H.ALP1 119) the orchestral tone is not

always id-al. There are attractive readings

of No. 4 by Krips on D.LXT2874, and of No. 1 by Andre on T.LGM65020. The recent Violin Concerto by Kulcnkampff on Telefunken is poor, but the complete Violin Sonatas are finely done on five Brunswick

records by Joseph Fuchs and Artur Balsam.

Their splendd partnership, heard at its best in the most hackneyed, the Kreutvr, can be recommc ndcd for them all, although there are serious rivals for some of the series— Nos. 5 & 10 by Menuhin and Kentner on H.ALP1105, Nos. 5 & 7 by Czech artists on S.LPM128/129, and Nos. 7 & 10 by Ricci and Gu:da on D.LXT2942. Fuchs also takes part in a perfect performance of the String Trio Op. 9 No. 3 and th3 Serenade Op. 25 on B.AX11,1033. The Italian Quartet play the first of the Rasumovsky Fee with characteristic loveliness of tone and licence of interpreta- tion on D.LXT2856. Dacca are issuing the Piano Sonatas done by Backhaus who at his best, as in the first movement of Op. 22, is superlative. Others so far received may seem rather dry, but a comparision with Gulda's pelf(); mance of No. 3 on D.LXT2938, fine as that is as piano-playing, quickly reveals the maturity and imagination of Backhaus:s readings. Finally there is Fidelio (H.ALP 1130/1/2). As so often happens, the two main roles, by MIMI and Windgassen, sound as difficult and unvocal as they are, and Jurinac and Frick provide more beautiful singing. But the general level is very high, the ensemble is exceptionally well balanced and coherent, and the whole conception under Furtwangler is magnificently dramatic.

There is a spate of other romantic opera, though none so true to the adjective as this. Rossini's gay Cenerentola is recorded on H.ALP1147/8/9 in the Glyndebourne per- formance, brilliantly sung all round, and in some ways even more enjoyable than in the theatre, since the wonderfully smooth, rich coloratura singing of Marina de Gabarain, which did not always come across there, can be fully heard. Equally enchanting and even more dazzling coloratura is offered in some excerpts from Gounod's Mireille on D.LXT2898, sung by Mado Robin, so sweetly and so high that one might wonder if the turntable were not revolving at 78 instead of 33. On the reverse side is the Mad Scene from Lucia, which suits her less well but claims attention, if for nothing else, for the astonishing and truly musical B flat in alt at the end. Although she cannot compete with this, Renee Doria in Act I of Tales of, Hoffntan (C.33CX1I50/1/2) also gives pleas- ure, but thereafter the performance, like the work, declines in interest, in spite of the pretty-voiced Antonia of Geori Bente. The Dacca Cavalleria with Monaco is slightly better than his recent Pagliacci, but does not challenge the recent Bjiirling version.

Vox offer more familiar Schubert on

PL6690, where Frugoni, with a rather heavy hand, plays the Wanderer Fantasia and the Op. 90 set of Impromptus. Schnabel's fine performance of the Op. 142 set is available complete on H.BLP1030, very closely rivalled by Curzon's of Nos. 3 & 4 from them on D.LW5108. Toscanini's otherwise first-rate version of the C major Symphony (H.ALP1120) is robbed of some of the expected delight by a hint of pedantry in the tempi, some of which would have been more welcome in the Italian Quartet's playing of, the A minor and B flat Quartets on D.LXT 2854/5. In its place they offer an unsur- passed sweetness of tone that is too much to resist. For a more authentic style there is the D minor, played by the Vienna Philharmonic Quartet, on T.LGX66016. Telefunken also offer the Arpeggione Sonata (LGX66045).

This is backed by several short pieces by Schumann, who is as abundantly recorded as Beethoven. There are three versions of the Cello Concerto, with so little to choose among them that they are best recommended by their reverse sides—two less familiar Schumann concertante pieces on V.PL76I 0, a Cello Concerto by J. C. Bach on Cap.CTL 7041, and the Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations on D.LXT2895. The two great song-cycles, Dichterliebe and Frauenliebe and Lebo:, both ideally sung, by Souzay and Ferrier, ; re offered on D.LXT2869 and D.LW50 9. Cantelli's new version of the Fourth Sy ?I' phony (H.BLP1044) is slightly less sympa- thetic than Krips's on D.LXT2887, which is well paired with Mend•Assohn's Italian, Curzon's superb p:r formancc of the Fantasia in C (D.LXT2933) is much preferable to Scherzer's (P.PMD. I 010), which is below her standa; d. Of the two very equally matched new versions of the Etudes Symphottighes, Schumann-lovers may prefer Cortot's (H.AL P1142) for its pairing with Carnaval, to Katchen's (D.LXT2869), which is backed by Franck's Prelude, Chorale and Fugue. There is more Franck on D.LXT2905, where the Symphony is much commended by Fcrt- wangler's imaginative interpretation. The Piano Quintet is excellently done on Cap.CTI, 7045, and on C.33CX1118 Casadcsus gives a 'lyrical performance of the Symphonic Varia- tions, admirably backed by D'Indy's sinf lady conciivcd Symphony on a French Mountain Song, which he persuades .us could be equally popular.

Another rare concertante piece with piano appears on D.LXT2932 in Liszt's Totentenz, excitingly prophetic of Bartok and a welcome change ll'om the two pianos concertos. For the less adventurous the first of these may be had on T.LGX66022, well played by Poldi Mildnor, with the Weber Konzertstirk

or the two handsomely united, by Frugoni, on V.PL8390. More magnificently demonic Liszt can he heard in the astonishingly

'modern' Dante Symphony on B.AXTL1034.

To the same world, in several senses, belongs Berlioz's Lelio, a sequel to the Fantastic Symphony, and very much more fantastic (V.PL8250). Finally two similarly eccentric later romantics—Mahler, whose First Sym- phony, a stimulating but immature work, is

recorded with equal excellence on V.PL8050 and Cap.CTL7042; and Wolf, recitals of whose songs are given by Hotter (C33CX 1162) and Boyce (OL.50026). Boyce's voice is the lesser and he is apt to be too playful,