Among the notable exceptions one Italian cast and which has in Serafin a Her interpretation is straightforward and thinks immediately of Horowitz's record- conductor who can be idiomatic and not yet especially individual -that is, ing of the Seventh Sonata and of Sam- warns without getting sloppy. The Cetra one likes her, but does not find anything son François's earlier disc version of the set (Carteri, Tagliavini. Taddei, Siepi) much in the way of phrasing or projec- Third Concerto with Cluytens conduct- also possesses these virtues, but is not tion to separate her from other good mu- ing). Both provide outstanding exam- quite so glamorous or up to date in sical Italian lyric sopranos. But far bet- ples of the lyrical method. Now we have sound. ter this, which is never less than accept- François once again, and with the same The strengths of the new set are good able. than u manneristic, externalized at- approach, this time in stereo. On the sound and good orchestral execution, tempt to plumb new depths. Freni is whole, his playing sounds more appro- plus the happy contributions of Mirella unaffected, direct, and vocally impres- priate in the Third Concerto than in the Freni and Ferruccio Mazzoli and a solid sive, and that is enough to place her lesser -known Fifth. There is brilliant col- one from . Nearly every- near the top of the field. laboration by Rowicki and the Philhar- thing else must he counted on the nega- Mazzoli reveals an exceptionally beau- monia, and Angel's reproduction offers tive side. Freni, who has already contrib- tiful basso cantadte, effortlessly handled a wealth of ravishing color and detail, uted nicely to the London A /cina and and the sensitivity for a touching "Coat plus very live, wide -open acoustics. For the Victor and Carmen, makes Song." Whether or not he is up to the a soft -focus interpretation of the Third an excellent impression. Her voice is a challenges of the great basso roles is of Concerto, this one is unbeatable. My lovely, full , very lightly and course impossible to say on the basis own choice, however, is the Janis -Kon- evenly produced, never shrill or heavy. of his work here, but he is a splendid drashin (Mercury), which offers a per- fect synthesis of the François color and the Browning- Leinsdorf (Capitol) pa- nache. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN RECORD HISTORY In the Fifth Concerto, François has NOW ONE PRICE- the misfortune of competing with a super- 9(gyp8 lative Richter -DGG performance (also FOR MONO AND STEREO! conducted by Rowicki). The Soviet art- ist is incomparably subtler in this wry, EVERYMAN whimsical work. François tries too hard, CLASSICS and paradoxically comes off far less and all Vanguard Demonstration Discs successfully than the seemingly "dead- Distinguished recordings meeting the highest stancards of engineering excellence. pan" Richter. The heavily accented tem- Wide- ranging repertory of masterpieces from the Baroque to the 20th century. pos and extreme contrasts favored by the French pianist lend an aura of grossness to his otherwise very competent work. "Everyman Classics ... stereo recordings that are low- priced and superb." Cleveland Plain Dealer Three of the first five Everyman Classics releases were cited as the best available recordings of the ,c Furthermore, while the Angel -François works at any price, by Martin Bookspan in HiFi /Stereo, June, 1964. sound is good. DGG -Richter is better "Looking for bargains, Vanguard's Demonstration Disc series has it all over everything else in the still, especially in terms of balance. book, The engineering is the highest of high fidelity...The performances and the sourd make them worth even the most jaded listener's attention." San Francisco (tvuniele H.G. EVeRYMAN CLASSICS Vanguard PUCCINI: La Bohème New Releases Demonstration Discs SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 5 & Pohjola's Daughter RIMSKY- KORSAKOV: Scheher- Barbirolli cond.) SRV -137 & *SRV -137 SD azade (Rossi cond.) Mirella Freni (s), Mimi; Mariella Adani BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor" SRV -103 & *SRV -103 SD (s), Musetta; Nicolai Gedda (t), Ro- (Mindru Katz, piano; Barbirolli, cond.) LISZT: Hungarian Rhapsodies Vittorio SRV -128 & *SRV-128 SD Nos. 1-4 (Fistoulari cond.) dolfo; Pandano (t), Parpignol; TCHAIKOWSKY: Symphony No. 5 & Marche Slave SRV -108 & SRV -108 SD Mario Sereni (h). Marcello; Mario Ba- (Barbirolli cond.) SRV -139 & *SRV -139 SD LISZT: Hungarian Rhapsodies MOZART: Piano Concertos No. 20 in D minor, K. Nos. 5, 6 & ENESCO: Rumanian - 466 siola, Jr. (h), Schaunard; Paolo Montar & No. 24 in C minor, K. 491 (Denis Matthews, piano; Rhapsodies Nos. 1, 2 Fistoulari solo (b), Alcindoro; Carlo Badioli lbs), Swarowsky, cond.) SRV -142 & *SRV -142 SD & Golschmann cond.) Benoit; Ferruccio Mazzoli hs), Colline; VIVALDI: L'Estro Armonico, Op. 3- Complete (To- SRV -119 & SRV-1l9 SD masow & Boskowsky, violins; Rossi, cond.) 3 discs HAYDN : Symphony No. 100, Chorus and Orchestra of the Rome Op- boxed. SRV -143/5 & *SRV-143;'5 SD "Military" & No. 101, "Clock" era, Thomas Schippers, cond. (Wöldike cond.) SRV -109 & SRV-109 SD ANGEL 3643 B /L. Two L.P. $9.96. Recent Releases HAYDN: Symphony No. 103, ANGEL S 3643 B /L. Two SD. $11.96. HAYDN: Symphonies Nos. 99 in E flat & No. 102 in "Drum Roll" & No. 1.4, "Lon- B flat (Wöldike cond.) SRV -129 & SRV -129 SD don" (Wöldike cond.) HAYDN: The Creation (Wöldike cond.) 2 discs SRV -126 & SRV-126 SD Though this set gives us a close look at SRV- 1311 '1 KHACHATURIAN: Gryne Suite SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 1 (Barbirolli cond.) & KABALEVSKY: The Comedi- a couple of young Italian singers who SRV -132 & *SRV -132 SD ans .(Golschmann cond.) obviously are going to be among their DVORAK : Symphony No. 4 & Scherzo Capriccioso SRV-113 & SRV-113 SD (Barbirolli cond.) SRV -133 & *SRV-133 SD MUSSORGSKY: Pictues at an generation's important operatic artists, VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: London Symphony (Barbi- Exhibition (Ravel orchestration) it is as a whole disappointing, failing in rolli cond.) SRV -134 & *SRV-134 SD and A Night On Bald Mountain TCHAIKOWSKY: Symphony No. 4 (Barbirolli cond.) (Golschmann cond.) its promise to offer us something really SRV -135 & 'SRV -135 SD SRV -117 & SRV -117 SD fresh and empathetic in an overcrowded BRAHMS: Double Concerto & Academic Festival Over- BERLIOZ: Symphonie Fantas- field. There ture (Campoli, violin; Navarra, cello; Barbirolli, cond.) tique, Golschmann cond.) are far too many Bohèmes SRV-136 & *SRV-136 SD SRV -120 & *SRV -120 SD on the market. but there are not too MENDELSSOHN: Italian Sym- many good ones. High- powered phony & Midsummer Nights interna- Forthcoming soon Dream Music ( Golschmann cond.) tional casts capable of providing great BACH: Cantata No. 4, "Christ lag in Todesbanden" & SRV-122 & *SRV -122 SD vocal sheen can still miss the essence No. 140, "Wachet auf" (Prohaska cond.) SRV -152 DVORAK: Slavonic Dances Op. HAYDN: Mass in Time of War (Wöldike cond.) 46 & 72 (Rossi cond.) of this , and conductors of unde- SRV -153 & *SRV -153 SD SRV -121 & *SRV -121 SD niable authority and taste can let it slip BACH Easter Oratorio (Prohaska cond.) SRV -156 TCHAIKOWSKY: Nutcracker A BOUQUET OF TARTINI AND NARDINI CON- Ballet - Complete (Abravanel right through their fingers. On the one CERTOS (Tomasow, violin) SRV -154 & *SRV-154 SD cond.) 2 discs. hand there is the stodgy Italian medi- PURCELL: Four Suites- Abdelazer, The Gordian Knot SRV-123/4 & *SRV -_23/4 SD Untied, The Married Beau, The Virtuous Wife (Mahler THE SOUND OF FOLK MUSIC ocrity and phony "tradition" that infects cond.) SRV -155 & *SRV -155 SD SRV -125 the DGG set, and on the other there is VIVALDI: Four Violin Concertos from "La Cetra" BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3, (Makanowitzky, violin; Golschmann, cond.) ,,,, "Eroica" (Boult cond.) the glossy. "tasteful" perfection that out- SRV -159 & *SRV -159 SD SRV-127 & *SRV -127 SD smarts itself (as on the Beecham set, MADRIGALS OF MORLEY AND WILBYE (Deter BACH: Great Choruses and Ar- Consort) SRV -157 & *SRV -157 SD ias from the "St. Matthew Pas- beautifully sung and played, but simply ALBUM OF BELOVED SONGS (Defier Consort) sion" (Wöldike cond.) SRV -128 & not very moving). I have always liked *Stereo SRV -I41 & *SRV -14I SD *SRS: -128 SD the second London /Tebaldi version, EVERYMAN which is extremely well sung by an CLASSICS A Division of Vanguard Recording Sor;ei' ln.. Ncw York CIRCLE 86 ON READER -SERVICE CARD OCTOBER 1964 4

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