GRAMOPHONE RECORDS
(RECORDING COMPANIES: B, Brunswick; C, Columbia; D, Decca; F, Felstel; H, HMV; L, London; OL, Oiseau-Lyre; P. Parlophone; S, Supraphon; T, Telefunken; V, Vox.) Music before Beethoven—I Fapst the pile of eighty-odd records of eighteenth century and earlier music com- peting for attention, first place must go to Isabelle Nef's superb harpsichord issues on Oiseau-Lyre. Purcell's Suites (50011), French Masters (50028), Bach's F minor and D major Concertos (50042), Haydn's D major Concerto, backed by two symphonies by J. C. Bach, one of them with a ravishing slow movement (50007)—all are ideal, as full of colour and imagination as they are pure in style and brilliant in technique, and flawless both in the playing and the record- ing. In Couperin's Troisieme Concert Royal on 50031 she collaborates with another fine player, Ruggero Gerlin, who also plays Italian and German Masters on 50043, gives admirable performances in concertos by Pergolesi, Paisiello and lesser contempor- aries on 50009/10, and is announced as doing the complete keyboard works of Couperin on nine discs (50052/60). Equally excellent is George Malcolm's beautifully chosen, played and recorded recital of Scarlatti sonatas on D.LXT2918. Malcolm also joins Campoli in a first-rate perfor- mance of two Handel sonatas on D.LW5077. Landowska's Goldberg Variations on H.ALP1139 is disappointing, and does not hold a candle to any of these for fidelity of style, technical perfection, or tone-quality and brightness of recording.
The piano has a thin time by comparison, and after these perhaps nobody will much want to hear it again in early keyboard music, although Gieseking in two Scarlatti sonatas on C.LB144 (78) and Anda in Bach's C minor Partita on T.TM68011 (but not in Mozart and Haydn sonatas on T.TM68023) plead persuasively for it. It comes into its own in the Mozart concertos, of which there are many issues. Out- standing is Kempff in K.271 and K.450 on D.LXT2861, closely rivalled in K.271 by Novaes on V.PL8430, with K.466 on the paired with K.456. Curzon's K.488 and back, and in K.450 by Haebler on V.PL8300, K.491 on D.LXT2867, and the Casadesus K.595 on C.33C1028 are of fairly high average quality. K.449 has two very evenly matched performances, by Matthews on C.33SX1031, with K.4I4, and by Scherzer on P.PMA1012, Scherzer's the more ania mated and stylish in the finale, and slightly clearer, though rougher, in the accompani- ment throughout, but less good in the recording and less rewardingly, if enter. prisingly, backed by a Violin and Harps!.
chord Concerto by Haydn. Bachauer'l K.537 on H.DLP1006 is not well played, and poorly recorded, and the glorious K.461 done with some style on F.L89001, IS technically not ideal and is backed by a very indifferent performance of the Flute Conk certo K.313. Mozart flute concertos are almost as numerous as piano concertoS• and this one is better done on V.PL8130, gether with K.314, and perhaps better still on T.LGX66019, with the Concerto for Flute and Harp K.299. This too is duplicated on V.PL8550, with the Adagio and Ronda for Glass Harmonica K.617, a pretty bull boring jingle. Another of Mozart's toy pieces, the magnificent Fantasia in F minor K.608, for mechanical organ, is wonderfully played and recorded by Germani on H.DLP1043, with Franck's Chorale No. flit E. Last and perhaps best of all the Mozart discs is C.33CX1140, on which the foul Horn Concertos are played by Brain, with Karajan conducting--a perfect record. Early flute music in general seems very popular. Besides the Mozart concerto! there are two by Stamitz on OL.50035 beautifully played by Redel, six by Vivaldi promised on F.L89003, various sonatas bY C. P. E. Bach on OL.50017, more like J. S. Bach than might be expected, fowl sonatas by Handel announced on OL.50040• and eight by Leclair on OL.50050/1. These are a small part of a flood of instrumental music by less-known masters of the seven" teenth and eighteenth centuries—concerto by Bonporti, Cambini, Mareello and Rossini (B.AXTL1042), by Geminiani (V.PL8290). sonatas by Loeillet (OL.50018), by Straddle (V.PL8380), and much else. We are todaY less sensitive to differences of talent in the music of this period than in that nearer 1,1 us, and the reviewer, his discrimination still more blunted by the sheer quantity, is I danger of finding himself saying 'charmingr or 'pleasing' to it nearly all—not withoti truth, but uselessly. What makes any out standing impression is generally by one Of the better-known of these secondary cons.' posers—Vivaldi, with his endlessly inventisl concertos, recorded in justifiable abundano0 on C.33CX 1170, B.AXTL 10611 L.TWV91052, and (with other composers, works) on C.33CX1163; Alessandro Scarlatti with a splendid symphony and concerto oil C.33CX1171; Boccherini, with some of hit delightful quintets, on H.ALP1144 and D.LXT2841, the latter particularly goodl and finally a rather later and almost unto known Czech, Vorlsek, whose SymphortY In D on S.LPM33 is a masterpiece, in parts truly worthy, as the cover claims, of earlY Beethoven.
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