Chant du menestrel (The Minstrel's Song, Orlotsky Ivan Rebroff ("ms") in the scoring: the mock-ominous pizzi- 1900), had been played as an encore at Allred Rene Kollo (t) Dr Blind Ferry Gruber (t) catos of the lower strings under Adele's la- Tanglewood in what turned out to be a Etsenstein Hermann Prey (b) ment in the first two numbers, the yawning Dr Falke Shostakovich memorial concert. R.S.B. Bernd Weed (b) melodies in the at the end of Frank's Frank Benno Kusche (be-b) (plus speaking roles) melodrama. He sets tempos incisively and Bavarian State Opera Chorus, Bavarian State inflects them subtly. The orchestra plays STakurz, J.: Concerto for Clarinet and Or- Orchestra, Carlos Kleiber, cond. [Hans very well (barring the traditional Germanic chestra, in B flat.° Symphonies: in G; in D, Hirsch and Hans Weber, prod.] DEUTSCHE oboe tone) and summons gracious, stylist- Op. 3, No. 2; in D, op. 4, No. 2. Alan Hacker, ically apt portamentos in the music of sen- GRAMMOPHON 2707 088. $15.96 (two discs, clarinet*; Academy of Ancient Music, Chris- manual sequence). Tape: 01) 3370 009, timent and humor. The chorus sings well. topher Hogwood, harpsichord and cond. $15.96. With one exception (Ferry Gruber as Dr. [Peter Wadland and Raymond Ware, prod.] Blind), none of these singers has recorded OisEAu-LyRE DSLO 505, $6.98. This recording starts off so promisingly, any role in the work before. One had begun with a well-judged, stylishly played over- to think that, in all of Europe, nobody but Though recent research no longer upholds ture, that one hopes very much to like it— Renate Holm was singing Adele (she has its primacy in the formation of the classical and important parts of it are very likable. been in the last three recordings)—but of style, the Mannheim School and its chef Carlos Kleiber conducts with energy, wit, course that isn't so. and Lucia Popp, though d'ecole, Johann Stamitz (1717-57), remain a and affection, pointing up apposite details no longer as imposingly accurate as when distinguished chapter in the history of mu- sic. Of the works recorded here, the early G major Symphony is negligible, but the Sym- phony in D, Op. 4, No. 2, is genuine sym- phonic writing—original, with good ideas. The new and with a nascent sense for thematic de- velopment. The Symphony in D. Op. 3, No. 2, gives us the full Mannheim treatment: the rolling crescendos, the "rockets," and that rising excitement so typical of the classic symphonic allegro. In both of these sym- ha fora Destinodel phonies, the sonata idea is present in prac- tically all movements except the minuets, which are not the French dances from the old suite, but typical Austro-Bohemian or- chestral pieces. A dream cast come true. The B flat Clarinet Concerto takes us close to the world of Christian Bach and the young Mozart, but it is short-winded when A dream cast: , Placido Domingo, compared to the works of those two. Curi- , , Gabriel Baquier and ously, Stamitz makes no attempt to exploit the magnificent low register of the clarinet: Bonaldo Giaiotti, under the superb direction of James Vivaldi's clarinet concertos, which ante- Levine. A must for Verdi collectors everywhere. date Stamitz's (pace Christopher Hog- Only on RCA Red Seal. wood, this is not "the earliest known con- certo for the clarinet"), require far more from the soloist. Alan Hacker plays nicely on an old clarinet—his jerky trills and grace notes may result from the instrument's lack of keys. The performances by the Academy of Ancient Music, using "authentic" instru- ments exclusively, are anything but deadly "historical." Though the players observe all the strictures of the new cult, they play not only with precision, but with feeling, verve, and expression. The tiny orchestra of four- teen strings and the usual number of winds sounds fine, though the authentic flutes and oboes are mostly covered even by this small body of strings. One may ask, of course, how this miniature band is reconciled with Daniel Schubart's famous description of the Mannheim orchestra: "Its forte is like thunder, its crescendo a cataract." Never- theless, since these symphonies were played all over Europe by similar small or- chestras, our academicians are perfectly justified in giving us distant thunder and Also New This Month: small cataracts. ARLI-2083 Emanuel Ax/Beethoven: "Waldstein" Sonata: "Eroica" Var. & Fugue A large bag of the best sunflower seed to ARLI-2044 Reiner/Rubinstein/Brahms: Concerto #1 in D Minor/Chicago Sym. the Lyre Bird for the intelligent and infor- ARLI-1882 Tashi/Schubert: "Trout" Quintet mative little pamphlet written by Hogwood FRL1-5468 Paillard/Andre/Pachelbel: Canon; Fasch: Concerto & that accompanies this well-engineered Sinfonia/Paillard Chamber Orch. recording. P.H.L. ARLI-1959 Ormandy Conducts Bach/Philadelphia Orch.

STRAUSS. J.: Die Fledermaus. R C A RED SEAL Julia Yarady (s) Luca Popp (s) Where artists become legends. J CIRCLE 35 ON READER-SERVICE CARD FEBRUARY 1977 103