GRAMOPHONE NOTES
ORCHESTRAL.—Columbia issues two of the great classical con- certos. Szigeti plays Beethoven's violin concerto, with the Symphony Orchestra of New York under Bruno Walter, and Serkin Brahms's second piano concerto, with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Ormandy. Judged by the very highest standards, neither of these is wholly successful. There is an uneasiness and hesitancy in-Szigeti's playing, and Serkin's rhythm seems mechanical and often hurried—certainly not worthy to be compared with Solomon's recording of the same concerto. The Philharmonia Orchestra under Paul Kletzki has recorded the Siegfried Idyll creditably, but not superlatively, and Columbia's best orchestral issue is the Bach cantata, Ich babe genug, played by the same orchestra under Antony Bernard, with Hans Hotter H.M.V. give us a new Hebrides Overture, played by the Vienna Philharmonic under Furtwangler, always poetic but sometimes extravagant in tempi. The same orchestra under Bohm have recorded Johann Strauss's Ninette Polka, a " light " classic so perfectly played that no connoisseur should miss it. The Phil- harmonia under Issay Dobrowen play the Prince Igor overture with considerable zest and finish, and the same might be said of the recording of Haydn's La Poule symphony by the Royal Phil- harmonic under Sir Thomas Beecham. Decca issue another Haydn symphony, the Drum Roll, well played by the L.P.O. under Georg Solti. The Chasse Royale from Berlioz's Les Troyens is quite exceptionally well played by the Conservatoire Orchestra under Munch, and Britten's Frank Bridge Variations are beautifully recorded, as well as played, by the Boyd Nee Orchestra.
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