GRAMOPHONE NOTES
THERE is a long list, ranging from the Brahms violin concerto to songs in " Ukrainian " and Welsh. The concerto is magnificently recorded by Menuhin and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, under Furtwangler, for H.M.V., who also offer a Mozart oboe concerto (K.314) wholly delightfully played by Evelyn Rothwell and the Halle Orchestra, under Barbirolli ; and a most neatly turned Rouet d'Omphale by the R.P.O., under Beecham. Their Don Juan, by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, under Kussevitzky, I found dis- appointing, perhaps killed by too much brio. Among Columbia's orchestral records is a fine set of the Franck symphony, by the Philharmonia Orchestra, under Galliera, and two choral passages from Meistersinger, by the chorus of the Vienna Opera, whose sopranos are unexpectedly weak. Decca has some of the very best French music played by the very best French artists—part of Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet, by the Conservatoire Orchestra, under Munch. Grace Williams's Fantasy on Welsh Nursery Tunes bears a delightful resemblance to Dvorak in his lighter moments, and is well played by the L.S.O. Francis Williams's Christmas Miniature, played by the Boyd Neel, is very slight but altogether pleasing. The L.P.O., under van Beinum, give a very good account of Beethoven's Leonora No. 1 and a finely detailed Cockaigne.
Two early and comparatively rarely performed works of Chopin, both issued by Columbia, are among the most interesting new piano recordings. Louis Kentner plays the Bolero with charm and fluency, and Claudio Arrau gives a superlative performance of the Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise, the most liquid bel canto followed by a juvenile dash which is breath-taking. Halina Stefanska's two mazurkas (H.M.V.) are also wholly admirable. The only other piano music of interest is Bartok's For Children, played by Gerald Moore, an extraordinary study in non-condescension by a great man, and Colin Horsley's excellent recording of Lennox Berkeley's
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