Syraph an 3 L

SPRING ISSUE B. Sleeper Price $1.00 VOL. 1 No. 4 Published by Milton

Syraph an 3 L. van Beethoven, Op.55 (1770 - 1827)

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This month's covet is a reproduction of an original drawing and design by the well - known New York artist, Stanley Bate. We liked his portrait of Beethoven so well that we reproduced it again, minus the THE MAGAZINE FOR AUDIO -PHILES decorations and in smaller scale, on page 37. Volume I Number 4 Spring 1952 When we heard that Albert Kahn, president of Electro- Voice, had bought a house in CHARLES FOWLER, Editor the country for himself and his family, we knew that one of two things would happen: either the loudspeaker system would be one of the finest in captivity, or silence would reign supreme and even the TV set would CONTENTS be mutilated by a laryngectomy. Sound won, and won such an overwhelming victory As the Editor Sees It 4 that a 24 -in. television screen is but a minor obstruction in the throat of the loudspeaker Noted With Interest 7 horn. For details, see page 13. Readers' Forum 9 Ernest Schoedsack, author of the article 13 on tape editing, page 16, is a former mo- Residence Entertainment Center, by Albert Kahn tion picture director -producer who has Sight and sound in the home, the sight being provided by a 24 -in. turned his attention from snippets of sight TV set and the sound by a unique 5- speaker system. to snippets of sound. He discusses editing How to Edit Tape, by Ernest Schoedsack 16 from two important points of view: the practical (how to wield the shears) and the The author tells not only how to edit tape, but what to edit. esthetic (where to wield them). Controls and the Amplifier, by Victor H. Pomper 19 are needed, which controls day not long ago, we asked A complete discussion of why controls One Victor do what, and how they should be used. Pomper, assistant general manager of H. H. Scott, what all the knobs on their 210 -B What about Wire Recording? by C. B. Dale 25 amplifier were for. He answered in nine The pros and cons of wire versus tape recording. words: tone and volume controls, noise suppressor and range control. When we How to Lose Friends, by William J. Murdoch 26 looked blank and said, "So ? ", Vic's ex- This may make you laugh but you may, in sympathy, weep. panded answer took several hundred words. - We continued in our nasty mood, interject- Music in the Home, by Allen Rollie 27 ing a "So ?" every time he thought he was This is how one man installed his equipment. through explaining . . . until we had ex- tracted the 6 -page article which begins on Danger! Worn Needles, by Gerald Shirley 28 page 19. Worn needles are a primary cause of damage to LP records, according to the author. He tells what to do, and how to do it. On page 25 is a short article telling, with MUSIC SECTION 33 -56 exceptional candidness, the pros and cons RECORDS AND of wire versus tape for home recording pur- Beethoven on Records, by C. G. Burke 33 poses. The author, C. B. Dale, is in a In an undertaking never before ventured, the author reviews particularly good position to know the ad- critically all the works of Beethoven currently available on LP vantages of each type of recording medium, records. because his company - Webster- Chicago - in by Carl von Wehrden 47 manufactures both wire and tape equipment. Music Hawaii, Records in Review, by C. G. Burke, John Conly, Alfred by Shirley on page 28 The article Gerald Frankenstein, and J. F. Indcox 48 will prove slightly terrifying and very helpful. Temporarily, the article befits the man. How to Dispose of the Body 57 Shirley is always helpful, but momen- A staff report on what to do with all that audio equipment, in- tarily terrifying. At least, he set up terrify- cluding a tape recorder. ing howls when we sent him the printer's galley of his article for final proofread- WGBH: Station with a Purpose, by Milton B. Sleeper 60 ing. There was nothing wrong with the The complete story of the new FM station in Boston which has created a furore of interest in the broadcasting business. Continued on page 91 Response Curves, by G. A. Briggs 66 Published by: AUDIOCOM, INC. at 264 A non -technical discussion and interpretation of methods for Main Street, Great Barrington, Mass. Tel. analyzing the performance of loudspeaker systems. Great Barrington 500. HIGH -FIDELITY is issued quarterly in April, September, November and February. Professional Directory 78 Single copies $1.00 -- Subscription rate: $6.00 for three years, $3.00 for one year in the U.S.A. Books 85 -Canada, add 50e per year postage- foreign, New add $1.00 per year postage. Editorial contributions will be welcomed by Traders' Marketplace 91 the Editor. Payment for articles accepted will be arranged prior to publication. Contribu- Annual Cumulative Index 93 tions will be neither acknowledged nor returned unless accompanied by adequate postage, Index 95 packing, and directions, nor will HIGH - Advertiser's FIDELITY Magazine be responsible for their safe handling in its office or in transit. The cover design and contents of HIGH - Publisher FIDELITY magazine are fully protected by MILTON B. SLEEPER, U. S. copyrights, and must not be reproduced in any manner or in any form without written 1952 by Audiocom, Inc. permission. Copyright

Entered as second-class matter April 27, 1961 at the Post Office, Great Barrington, Mass., under the Act of March 8, 1879. Additional entry at the Post Office, Pittsfield, Mass. Printed in the U. S. A.

www.americanradiohistory.com AS THE EDITOR SEES IT

THIS morning, our printer sent us proofs of the cover Incidentally, the Beethoven material, had it been printed for this issue of HIGH- FIDELITY. We scrutinized as a book, in book -size type, would have required ap- it carefully, as usual, and then the small imprint proximately I20 pages! up on the left hand edge caught our attention: Volume For the same reason - to enable us to publish as much I, Number 4. information as possible - we use small type for record In what has often seemed the course of only a few reviews and for the run -over material in the back of the weeks, a year had rolled by. Magazine. A short while ago, the Beethoven cover design was We apologize - and hope that readers will not be too but an idea to be discussed, a thought far from realiza- unsympathetic with the reasons behind our decisions. tion. Today, it became reality. A year ago, HIGH -FIDELITY Magazine itself was but an idea to be discussed. When this issue reaches subscrib- WE ALSO want to apologize for our almost total ers, we shall have completed our first year and the idea collapse as a correspondent. We sincerely appreciate every will have borne fruit in the form of 376 pages of maga- letter received, for each is of specific help in preparing zine. Thousands of individuals in every country of the editorial contents of maximum interest to the largest num- world have lent their support to the project. ber of readers. Each letter shall be answered. But when! That we have been able to give many readers what they That is the $64 question for which we have yet to find an hoped for is apparent from the letters which continue answer. This is one of those things left undone about to pour in, and from the surprisingly large number of which we feel the most keen regret. Yet publication of what our circulation department calls advance renewals: the Magazine, approximately on schedule, must come subscriptions extended before their actual expiration dates. first . . and there are still only 24 hours in any one day. The cold, statistical index of satisfaction will be the As we gain :xperience in coping with the myriad prob- renewal percentage. Already, one -year charter subscrip- lems of this particular publication, as others on our staff tions are expiring and many readers will be receiving become trained in handling these problems, there will letters which say, in essence, "Well, what do you think? be more time for the enjoyment of correspondence. Mean- Was it worth what it cost ?" The renewal percentage time, we stand in the corner, shamed, and ask forebearance. will be the incontrovertible indication of how much, or how little, we have achieved. Our own feeling is that we still have a long way to ALL THIS is looking backwards. Casting a brief glance go. We feel that we have done much but there is still a ahead, we can promise expanding horizons, more and great deal more to be accomplished. We are nowhere more accomplishments (and fewer things left undone!). near achievement of our own ideals and hopes for the The industry continues to grow with astonishing rapid- Magazine. We have been able to answer many of the ity. There is an increasing awareness of high fidelity questions most often asked, with articles on the particular on the part of equipment and record manufacturers, re- problem. But, too often, we are obliged to hold over flected by improved products. In our own organization, important material for lack of space in any one issue. the hecticness of the first year is subsiding, and a smoothly operating organization is growing out of what, for a while, was little more than chaos, created by an avalanche of THAT brings us to an apology (one of several!) for the overwork of every kind. small type face which we use for certain material. For On the editorial side, we know more about what read- instance, C. G. Burke's colossus on Beethoven has been ers want. We know better how to secure and prepare set in 8 -point type which, in such a large quantity, is un- material of maximum interest and value. As an example, deniably hard on the eyes. But the dilemma was this: we are building a notable staff of record reviewers, and should we publish it all at one time in small type, or should are thus able to cover a greater proportion of the LP re- we split it into two or three installments? The small type leases. Another example: a trial balloon in the direc- won, partly because of the great significance of the work tion of the Music Between aroused much interest. Hence, as a whole and partly because we are anxious to publish Edward Merritt will be back in the next issue with more such articles on as many of the great composers as pos- data on this subject. sible. For instance, Mr. Burke's next article will be on We can summarize our outlook tor the future by say- Verdi. We want to have this in the Summer issue; if ing, "At last, were really beginning to roll." Beethoven had been split, we would have been obliged to hold the Verdi feature until :lie Clli or Winter issue. Charles Fowler

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www.americanradiohistory.com Noted with Interest: WHY WQXR DEPENDS ON GE We have been having an interesting and fruitful correspondence with E. D. Nunn, President of the Northern Signal Co. in Saukville, Wisconsin, about his hobby: HIGH FIDELITY EQUIPMENT disc recording. He has established such a reputation for the excellence of his work that he has had to make duplicate pressings for friends and associates - which has resulted in still more requests for copies. At the Audio Fair last Fall, we discussed with Mr. Nunn the possibility of telling readers of HIGH- FIDELITY about his work, and duly warned him that such publicity might swamp him. Here is Mr. Nunn's most recent letter. The only comment we have to make is to him: don't tell us we didn't warn you! - Personally, we are putting in our order for the organ record right now. "I do not feel in the least that you are intruding upon my privacy - I get such a big kick out of all this research into high fidelity that I am glad to share my results with others - if others can stand them. The only trouble with all this is that my volume of record business is so small that the pressings are almost ridiculously high in cost. I have run out of my original lot of pressings and have reordered in small quantity. The result is that I must sell a to -in. vinylite pressing (78 rpm.) at $3.00 net, postpaid. This is absurdly steep but I cannot help it. I have three records of a Professionals Rate G -E Audio Equip- good jazz band. The six sides are entitled ment Unsurpassed For Tone Clarity. Wolverine Blues, Chimes Blues, Lasus' Trombone, Tia Juana, Pop Goes the Weasel Home Installations Growing Rapidly and Sophisticated Lady. Of all those sides, I believe that Pop Goes The Weasel is the WQXR, the radio station of The New *FAMOUS TRIPLE PLAY most appealing to 'us crackpots'. It is York Times, backs up its enviable reputa- CARTRIDGE - (RPX -053) plays full of rather steep wave fronts and spec- tion by using the finest audio equipment tacular effects. And above all things, it 33, 45, 78 rpm records with- ( above) , Execu- out changing its position in is not distorted. available. Elliott Sanger tive Vice- President of the station, reports: the arm. Simply depress and I also have an album of three tz -in. 78 turn red button to change rpm. records pressed on vinylite, made of "Our high standard of quality in stylus, which is replaceable. the local Lutheran A Capella Choir. Al- record reproduction is maintained though these records are less spectacular, by Electric Cartridge and the General they are free from distortion for those Diamond `Baton' Stylus." who like A Capella choir music they are and good records. In use at no less than 14 different loca- Both types of records are available but tions at WQXR, these G -E products help judging from my mail this morning, I will to bring you the remarkable fidelity of ì have to re -press some of the jazz sides sound for which this station is famous. again. Incidentally, the album is being sold at $6.00 while they last - I could not re- Did you know that you can have G -E place them for this amount, however. equipment like this in your home phono- I have just completed work recording a graph or sound system? The cost is rea- i beautiful tracker type pipe organ over in G-E 1201 HIGH FIDELITY sonable, the enjoyment almost limitless. SPEAKER -Frequency response but since I have no idea Sandusky, Ohio, Ask your G -E dealer. Meanwhile, fill out of 50 to 13,000 cycles. Large what the market would be, I am a little re- and mail the coupon for free catalog. Alnico 5 permanent magnet, luctant to go ahead with the processing." aluminum base voice coil. This speaker is ideal for high is not Radio fidelity applications. Audio 2311 em - EMMN a 12SL7 tube in a hurry, we stopped r Needing General Electric Company, Section 5422, in at a radio repair shop in Great Barring- ' Electronics Park, Syracuse, N. Y. ton to get one. "Hm. That don't sound your new full line familiar. That a radio tube ?" "Sure! There Please send me, without obligation, I IPhonograph Accessories folder. are two of them in the amplifier we're using." "What I thought. Nope. 'Tisn't a radio NAME tube." And that story reminds us of another, ADDRESS... A a also local, also true. man with fine CITY- .__...... STATE. hi -fi system wanted to add a speaker to operate in another room. He called the best service organization in the nearest large community (population 6o,000). He IIEGENERAL. ELECTRIC) Continued on page 8

www.americanradiohistory.com NOTED WITH INTEREST In the home that is wired for magic Continued from page 7 you II a BROWNING had the system in operation when the repair man arrived. The latter listened atten- find TUNER tively, then said, "Gee, sure sounds squeaky, don't it? Sure your amplifier is O.K. ?" Today, the ether is a treasure house, if you have the key to There followed the process of examining equipment stored in bookshelves. "Yeah, unlock it. Great music, better than ever before, with all the ultra - that's the trouble. Can't expect to get fidelity of microwave relay from concert stage to radio transmitter much of anything out of that amplifier. - and an increasing wealth Tell ya what, I can get a good amplifier of educational programs, lec- over in Springfield. They're not awful ex- tures, forum discussions, and pensive; might even get a good second -hand one for about the finest performances of $35." - What was the amplifier in the bookshelves? A McIntosh. 0 the legitimate stage. Ah me! In the perfect comfort and Audio (not radio) Goes to College convenience of your own living room, you can have all To counteract the discouraged gloom en- this - with the complete gendered by the preceding item, we quickly sense of actual presence bring to your attention the news that New which is the foremost re- York University is so aware of the import- quirement for the feeling of ance of high fidelity that a course of fifteen weekly sessions will be given on "High true participation. If you Fidelity Reproduction of Sound . . . Lec- have a Browning tuner. And tures will include discussion of methods and an amplifier and speaker characteristics, the nature and perception with the required extended of sound, requirements of good reproduction, MODEL RJ -20B FM -AM TUNER frequency response. loudspeakers and loudspeaker baffling . . . and design of a complete high fidelity Armstrong FM circuit: 20 db quieting system." Thanks, NYU, for restoring our with 61/2 microvolts Separate r.f. and faith in the future. i.f. on both bands AFC on FM with ON /OFF switch AM bandwidth selec- FM Station List, Revised tion, 9 kc. and 4 kc. Drift- compensated ± FM audio 15- 15,000 cycles 11/2 db. In the preceding issue of HIGH -FIDELITY, 20 db treble and bass boost self - we published a list of FM stations in the contained power supply. Country. Although our information had been compiled from the most recent data available from the Federal Communications MODEL RJ -12C FM -AM TUNER Commission, there were the customary num- Armstrong FM circuit; 20 db quieting ber of inaccuracies. We are indebted to our with less than 10 microvolts Separate readers for catching the errors, as reported r.f. and i.f. on both bands AFC on FM in the following letters. We hope other with ON /OFF switch Drift-compensated readers will similarly scrutinize the FM FM audio 15- 15,000 cycles ± 11/2 db station list and advise us of changes and AM audio 20 -6600 cycles ± 3 db corrections. Triple -tuned i.f. I am taking the liberty of calling to your attention some errors in the list of FM stations. RV -10B FM TUNER MODEL In Washington, D. C.: Armstrong FM circuit: less than 10 WASH is no longer in the CP stage. It's microvolts for complete limiting AFC operating quite well. on FM with ON /OFF switch 2 -stage WQQW -FM is now WGMS -FM. It cascade limiter Tuned r.f. stage Drift - also is no longer a CP. compensated High impedance output. WOL -FM is on 98.7 mc. WWDC -FM is on IoI.I mc. Learn the full specifications for Browning high -fidelity - write for complete per- In Maryland: formance curves and data on these WMCP is now WWIN -FM. models. WBCC -FM is now WUST -FM. WFMD -FM is now on the air. In Canada, address: Measurements Engineering Ltd. WOOK-FM is on the air and has changed Arnprior, Ontario. to WFAN. WGAY -FM has gone off the air. WCBM -FM has gone off the air. As far as good music programming is concerned, WGMS has a full -time good music policy, from 6:3o A. M. to mid- BROWNING night. WWIN has good music from 6:oo to tt :oo P. M. and all day Sunday. WCFM ENGINEERED has good music most of its schedule from FOR 5:0o to 11:oo P. M. WASH has good ENGINEERS Continued on page 87

www.americanradiohistory.com Readers' Forum

SIR: Tliers tape recording...

I enjoyed very much reading HIGH - FIDELITY and found it quite informative in and therës dealing with things interesting to those of us who are building up good high fidelity equipment. Having formerly been a pro-

fessional musician for about 15 years, 1 find myself with a champagne ear but, unfortunately, only a beer pocketbook. Like many others, I am trying to build up a good FOR YOUR HOME system over a period of time. I have found it quite discouraging to get good fidelity off records despite all of THERE the special turntables, reluctance cartridges, IS ALWAYS ONE THAT'S BEST! diamond stylus pickups, good amplifiers, and fancy speakers. Nothing that I have With a Magnecord Tape Recorder, heard will compare with good FM radio or you can make fine broadcast-quality tape recordings at 15 ips. recorcings, quickly and easily. Used Since the record companies are now using by more engineers than all other pro - tapes for making the original recordings fessior al recorders, before pressing records, and there are many this precision in- places, like New York City, where full strume-it offers over twice the fidelity 15,000-cycle FM broadcasts are made daily and range of most other tape record- with good music such as the Sunday NBC ers on the market. Symphony, surely somebody must have Capable of recording every sound available good tape recorded at 15 ins. at a reasonable price. If they don't, looks like the normal ear can hear, your Magne- somebody is really passing up a bet to get corder will capture voices and music t. in business. with a I the life and realism of the We also understand that all major radio "real -ping " -so "crisp" and clear programs are tape recorded, and possibly you ca i recognize some of the radio broadcast companies every note, every would consider selling good 15,000 cps. word, every inflection. reproductions of the better musical programs FOR SCHOOLS W. H. Adcock AND CHURCHES Atlanta, Ga. '=' MAGNECORDING" SIR: Magneccrders provide a Thank you for your letter of 15th Novem- frequent/ response that is ber and also for the specimen copy of your flat from 50 -1 5,000 cycles per secaid, journal. I have read this with great interest: t 2db, and meet certainly there is no parallel magazine here the most rigid stand- in England. ards of tie National Asso- You asked for comments and suggestions. ciation of Broadcasters. Your assurance of true high FR For some time now (a matter of years) I fidelity. BROADOASTJ/yG have been puzzled by the very great engineer- 1P ing differences between gramophone records made in your country and those made in England, Germany and Czechoslovakia. There are small differences between the products of the various European firms, too, but, by and large, they retain a sufficient degree of similarity to give fairly good average results without much juggling with complicated tone controls and what 1be- lieve you call variable roll -offs. My own equipment consists of 2 Sugden single-speed motors (one for 33 V3 and one for 78), an Enock pickup for 78 and a Leak pickup for 33 t/3 (both with diamond stylus), the latest model Enock amplifier and the latest model Mordaunt duplex speaker system. This stuff is all consistently main- For free catalog write tained at the highest possible standard of THE CHOICE OF RADIO MEN performance and I use it for all reviews. Plfit,E my Always dependable, I N C . DEPT. HF.à It was substantially modified for LP Magnecord Tape Re- 360 N. Michigan Ave. Chicago 1, Illinois about 18 months ago when Decca intro- corders can be used for Please duced these on the English market and I every recording purpose. send free catalog and nome of now get fairly good results from the best Their flexibility for port- Magnecord representative in my area. able, rack, or console use 33 s/3 records; quite listenable in fact, but makes them Nome not really comparable with the finest first choice of modern Radio Engineers. Address 78's which will provide realism that is barely City State Continued on page r r

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Please write for bulletins describing the above equipment. GRAY RESEARCH and Development Co., Inc., 16 Arbor St., Hartford 1, Conn. President

Division of The GRAY MANUFACTURING COMPANY -Originators of the Gray Telephone Pay Station and the Gray Audograph

www.americanradiohistory.com READERS' FORUM Continued from page 9 distinguishable from the live performance. Some slight, but consistent surface "hiss" is the only telltale. Now, no matter what I do, I cannot get equally good results from the records made in the U.S.A.; neither on 33 Vs nor 78 rpm. Admittedly on LP I have only had experience of one set of American discs - the Haydn Society's set of Idomeneo - and I have no idea how these four records com- ...from the flashing sunlight pare with your average standard. Certainly of Mozart to the sto-m of they are not as realistic as the best stuff being issued currently here by Decca. Shostakovich In the matter of 78's: Toscanini's Traviata (there is no other possible description!) has just been issued by His Master's Voice, and I can truthfully say I have no recollec- tion of any other release in recent years that was so poisonously unpleasant to listen to. The orchestral sound is dead, the climaxes (both vocal and orchestral) invariably distort and most of the time the singers are too close to the microphone or sing too loudly or both. Of course, I know that not all your 78's are as bad as this; but are there any which sound as good as the best European examples? If so, can you mention one or two, and can you tell me how my machine should be set in order to get the best result from them? Now this letter is already too long, but perhaps you may find in it the germ of an idea for some sort of clearing of the air regarding European and American record- PERRMOFLUi ing characteristics. Most of us English ROYAL EIGH"i" WITH reviewers would like to be able to say a THE FAMOUS good word for your records when they BLUE CONE reach us, but usually they sound horrible on our machines. Is this our fault or yours, and if it is ours, what are we to do about it?

Geoffrey Sharp Editor, Music Review Takeley, England

SIR:

This is in answer to your letter in regard ro our Masterwork Record Club. We had our first meeting of around six young men on Sept. 29, 1941. Two of the six, myself and Romain Ruhf, are sill in the Club. You might say we are charter members. The other two members, or listeners, still with us are Wilbert Hordendorf ROYAL EIGHT" and Ralph Kroboth. We four are the ones who have been listening to recorded music for two hours one night a week for ten / AUDIOPHILES the country over acclaim the clean, brilliant, lite -Iike years. musical reproduction of the Perrnoflux Royal Eight"... the -3" Speaker Between the four of us we have some 1,500 ,:omparahle tes any 12 "! Combined with the new Permoflux Corner records, and have listened to about 7,000 Baffle, Model CB -8 -M, the Royal Eight' re- creates original programs single Lo and 12 -in. 78's, as well as 15o LP with recordings, plus eleven 45 rpm. records and even superior sensitivity and fidelity.. 5'every instrument ii full - around 2 hours of tape recordings. ange tonal balance. Here's'Big Speaker Performance in a small, Our library is varied in taste. One chap easy -to- install frame at a sensible price. ($22.50 List, less Baffle). likes the three B's: Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. One of the others has a lot of See your Radio Parts Distributor or write to Permoflux today for Russian music. Another one has a large full information about the complete Royal Blue Line of 6" to i 5" for list of vocal recordings. As myself, Speakers and Baffle Combinations. Ask for Permoflux Catalog J 207. piano and organ are on my list. So you see. we get a good coverage of music for listen- " S o .i n d i n Design! . . . Sound in Price!" ing. Also have a number of Quartet recordings of the Chamber Music variety. PERMOFLUX CORPORATION 4916 -AW. GRAND AVE., CHICAGO 3 ?, ILL. 236 S. VERDUGO RD.. GLENDALE 5, CALIF. on 79 Continued page Conoci,on L,, ensee- Camphell Mfg. Compuny, Toronto, Canada II

www.americanradiohistory.com the new PRESTO portable tape recorder*

The new streamlined PT -920 (the designation for the group consisting of the RC -7 mechanism and the A -920 amplifier) will take the place of the famous PT -900, one of the most widely used tape recorders in the world. The tape transport RC -7 has a 3 -motor drive which eliminates the friction take -up clutch and tension adjustments. It also has fast forward and rewind speeds and instant switching to eliminate danger of tape breakage. The A -920 amplifier is a compact unit with single microphone r MAIL THIS COUPON TODAY - - input, and a power output of 10 watts. An A/B switch provides Presto Recording Corporation monitoring either from the recording amplifier or directly Department H from the tape. Connection with the RC -7 is easily made with only two Box 500, Hackensack, N. J. plugs. The original Al -900 amplifier, with three microphone input, is still available, however, for use with the RC -7 if desired. Please send me a free copy of your new illustrated folder on Presto Tape Due to mechanical improvements and streamlining, the Recording Equipment. PT -920 actually costs less than the PT -900. For complete information write direct or contact the PRESTO

NAME distributor in your community today! Model PT -920

ADDR=SS

CITY gnRECORDING CORPORATION PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY ZONE STATE

Export Division: 25 Warren Street, New York 7, N. Y.

Canadian Division: Walter P. Downs Ltd., Dominion Square Bldg., Montreal

www.americanradiohistory.com Design for a

Residence Entertainment Center

By ALBERT KAHN

ARLY last Spring, we bought an old house in the Although we are not rabid TV fans, TV has become a country. The house was one of those rambling part of home entertainment. Therefore, it had to be care- E affairs which has had innumerable additions. The fully integrated into the system. Musical programs pro- original part was at least ioo years old, and the whole duced with technical excellence such as the Fred Waring thing looked like a run -down summer hotel from the show, must be made to live and breathe with complete outside. However, it provided ample room for our family of five, as well as for my personal activities in the fields of amateur radio, photography and high fidelity. It also provided a golden opportunity to make a hi -fi dream come true, for this was one of those rare occasions when designing could be done with virtually no compromise. Even a wife's natural reaction to tearing out a perfectly good wall was averted by a bit of conspiring with our architect, Mr. Roy Worden. With the wall gone, the speaker system could be made big - and bigness is a sine qua non in high fidelity loudspeaker design because, at low frequencies, we must deal with long wave lengths.

Our Requirements

Our requirements of the system were numerous and stringent: optimum realism, fidelity, and enjoyment for the whole family. The last was perhaps the most difficult to meet! Having a wife who likes classical music, a teen -age daughter who prefers popular records and TV, and two younger daughters who love children's radio programs and records, I required a system that would be flexible enough to satisfy all their tastes, yet simple enough so that any member of the family could operate it.

Fig. z. All equipment for residence entertainment center is built into one end of room. Low frequency speaker horn is 6 ft. wide.

www.americanradiohistory.com realism so that the viewer (and listener) can almost lose level of performers, giving an almost perfect illusion. himself as he would at a live performance of a musical An AM -FM tuner was incorporated in one of the sliding comedy. drawers, Fig. 2, and has been a popular source of enter- As Howard Souther, the Manager of our Speaker Divi- tainment for the whole family. Strangely enough, we sion, comes from the motion picture industry, this was have had an FM receiver for years but, without genuine definitely his assignment. He took over the design of high fidelity, it was rarely used. the high fidelity system as soon as the deed to the house A tape recorder, operatable at 15 ips., was mounted was delivered. Fortunately, since we were involved in to the rear of the center drawer. This enables me to use a lot of remodeling, his recommendation that we knock tapes dubbed from fine originals which I am now collect- out a wall and build a structure attached to the house ing. In addition, I have splendid recordings made from for the speaker didn't adversely affect my marital rela- live FM programs. We also use the recorder frequently tions to any great extent! to check the musical progress of our youngsters and to let them hear their mistakes, in the manner of a football coach who uses movies of last week's game for the same purpose. Most amplifiers, today, are good and there were a number which we could have selected. We felt that it was desirable to have good compensation for the specific characteristics of different makes of records and for different functions of the system. Several amplifiers have these features, all selling for about $200. Under normal conditions, modern record changers are excellent from the standpoint of wow and rumble. How- ever, with a system capable of reproducing efficiently in the realm of 3o cycles and below, a transcription turntable becomes a necessity to gain the full effect of clean bass, unmodulated by rumble. Accordingly, both a changer and a transcription turntable were built in and both are in regular use. The children pile up the changer with popular records, attenuate the bass and they're off. For serious listening, my wife and I usually use the transcription table with the bass control in its normal position. Our geographical location - 90 miles from Chicago - brings us into a moderate fringe FM and TV area. The Fig. 2. Three drawers, underneath the television screen, antenna shown in Fig. 3 is one that happens to be in use house record changer, FM -AM tuner, tape recorder, an- at the moment, although a double "V" has also proved tenna and amplifier controls, and transcription turntable. to be excellent. An Electro -Voice TENNA -TOP booster feeds an E -V model 3100 Distribution System. This, in turn, feeds The room in which our system was to be installed was the 24 -in. TV set, the FM -AM receiver and a small -screen right off the living room and is now used for general play TV and FM -AM set in my wife's sewing room. activities. The floor is asphalt tile - for shuffleboard, dancing and children's parties. Acoustically it is live, Planning the Speaker Installation but not too live. As the room is done in light woodwork, blonde framing and light grille cloth were selected for A survey of the speaker system location revealed a pos- the system, Fig. i. sible 74 ins. of width, 5o ins. of height, and any reason- When a few of us sat around a drawing board, planning able depth up to the end of our lot. A depth of 4 ft., how- the system, we found that all the components were of ever, would allow some of the theoretically ideal dimen- the type that were readily available from distributors of sions to be incorporated into the design. These are some high fidelity equipment. This assured simplicity of opera- of the factors considered: tion and installation, moderate cost and ready availa- The normal healthy ear can hear io octaves. The first bility. Nothing would be gained by going to a labora- three bass octaves have frequencies from 16 to 128 cycles tory -type installation. and are the most difficult ones to handle. This is be- We finally decided on a 24 -in. TV screen. It since cause the reproduction of these frequencies requires the has proved a wise choice, when a large group is viewing compression and rarefaction of large volumes of air. For a fight, for example. For smaller groups, a 20 -in. screen instance, the wave length of second- octave frequencies would certainly be very adequate. The center of the averages 25 ft., and a horn to reproduce this should be, screen is 4 ft. from the floor, so the viewer, from a sitting theoretically, 6 ft. across the mouth, or one -quarter of position, looks up slightly. The sound emanates from the wave length. To hear the first octave properly, the around the screen with the super- tweeters at the mouth- mouth size of the horn must be doubled, or 12 ft. across.

www.americanradiohistory.com Even with all our space, these dimensions just weren't front of the speaker proper. This means that we have what possible. Howard Souther, Lou Hoodwin, the creator of the engineers call a broadly resonant system for the first the Hoodwin Horn, and Al Wiggins, the E -V Vice- Presi- two octaves. The air compression and rarefaction is aug- dent in charge of engineering, mented in the room horn, and the lowest bass notes are developed a design which does brought up to normal, ear -pleasing intensity. reproduce the ,first octave in its Low frequency drivers work in the first five octaves entirety. The "room is long and very well. The bass frequencies, because of their longer narrow - 12 by 3o ft. - and by wave length, tend to flow around objects and are non - installing the speaker horn across directional. The mid -range frequencies are assigned to part of the 12-ft. dimension, the an E -V Model T -40 driver, coupled to a horn composed room becomes an extension of of ten cells, each pointing to a different section of the the horn. The beginning, or room. Thus, the mid -range response also is properly dis- throat, of the horn is directly persed throughout the listening area. This E -V horn cluster behind the television chassis, is mounted over the screen and as close as possible to Fig. 4. Two Electro -Voice 18 it, to give the illusion of the voices coming directly from WK 18-in. units are used as the TV screen. This effect is more important, because drivers. To save space, the otherwise the aural -visual discontinuity would be dis- horn then begins to fold on itself turbing. Two small Electro -Voice T- to very- high -fre- until it reaches the face of the quency drivers are mounted approximately two -thirds wall. At this point the mouth screen height, just on a line with the mouth of the artist of the horn is approximately in a closeup. These units are specially designed to operate 31/2 ft. across. This means that in the two upper octaves, and fill in the audible illusion the horn, in free space, will re- of presence and realism. produce only to the beginning of the third octave. Conclusion Fig. 3. High anten- But we said that the horn - na and TV booster is designed as an extension of Paul Klipsch dropped in just at the time the system was make 90-mile recep- one end of the room. The room finished, ready for installation. He listened to one of tion possible. is of such size as to act as the our widest range tapes and said thoughtfully, "My only mouth of the speaker, albeit criticism is that it is over -engineered." This, from Paul with some discontinuity at the point of junction. Thus the Klipsch, is high praise. dimensions and volume of air are correct for the propaga- The Residence Entertainment Center has turned out tion of extreme low frequency sounds. to be a completely satisfying thing to own. Apart from The discontinuity at the junction of the room and pride in having a system that reproduces splendidly, it horn lowers the efficiency of the system unless steps are has given the family a great deal of pleasure and, I think, taken to counteract this mismatch. This is accomplished contributed to their cultural improvement. through utilization of a principle first propounded by Paul Klipsch, of corner horn fame. The cavity back of the cones of the two woofers is sealed tightly. It is of such proportions that the weight of the enclosed air, coupled with the resilience of the cones, approximately matches the weight and elasticity of the air far out in

Fig. 4. For this photograph, the double throat of the low frequency horn has been especially illuminated to show its construction, and the grille covering removed. The woofer horn is driven by two i8-in. speakers. Mid- dle frequencies are carried by the multi -cell horn immediately above the television screen. Two small tweeters add brilliance to the overall sound by extending the range of reproduced frequencies up to the limit of human hearing.

www.americanradiohistory.com For [lie professional touch

rdit your Tapes

B1 ERNEST B. SCHOEDSACK

If you have tape recording equipment, you are missing half the fun if you don't edit your tapes. Editing can be a simple process of repairing a break or hitching two recordings together or, once the elementary mechanics are mastered, it can be a highly refined art with almost unlimited possibilities. This article describes an arrangement of equipment and a method of editing which simplifies and speeds the mechanical operations of cutting and splicing, and it gives suggestions on the art of tape editing. The author is particularly able to give practical suggestions because he has directed and produced many well-known films, including King Kong and, more recently, Mighty Joe Young. No one knows better the value of editing than a motion picture director!

AMPLE information is available to the tape record- for those who regard the tape, just as it comes from the ing enthusiast to help him select his machine and machine, as the finished product and a splice as some- make recordings which are technically excellent. thing to be used only if the tape breaks. While such information is most valuable, it neglects the Most people have had all too much experience with more liberal and equally fascinating art of transforming looking at long, tiresome reels of 16 -mm. amateur film these recordings into finished products, ready for the which, had they been cut, titled, and rearranged -- that permanent library. This is the art of tape editing: the is, edited - might have been entertaining instead of bor- process of selecting, eliminating, supplementing and ar- ing. Like the motion picture film, almost any tape re- ranging recorded material so as to improve its content, cording of speech, as well as many recordings of music, continuity and pace. can be improved by judicious editing. "Half as long and Skill in the art of editing tape is best gained by ex- twice as good" is often as true of tape as of film, for perience, but there is also a technique of editing which shortening or eliminating overlength or unnecessary ma- has to do with the mechanics of the process. This article terial is of equal benefit to both. In any creative medium, is for those who would like to begin a study of the art a reluctance to discard any part for the improvement and need guidance in the mechanical process. It is not of the whole is the mark of the amateur.

www.americanradiohistory.com While there are many similiarities between the editing of tape and film, there is one major difference. The producer of home recordings lacks the excuse of the amateur movie maker for not editing his product: compared to film, the cost of tape is insig- nificant. There is little waste, for the discarded material can be spliced and reused; supplementary commentary, sound effects and music are not difficult to make and there is no waiting for processing to know their results. It may be desirable to add spoken catalogue data to musical records, very much as titles are added to film travelogues. Or, a person with sufficient musical discrimination can condense overlength music recordings. Or, since tape can make an actor of anyone, a lot of fun - and very valuable experience - can be had by producing written or spontaneous plays or skits. In the last case, it is only necessary to record and play back each line separately, as many times as necessary to perfect the reading. Fig. z. Careful layout of equipment in remodeled desk facilitates tape editing Then the line or scene is broken out of the reel and identified, ready to be assembled in its proper The Mechanics of Tape Editing sequence. Timing of dialogue can be bettered by shortening or lengthening spacing, and unwanted breathing sounds, To facilitate editing, a good working layout is neces- phrases, and sometimes even single words can be snipped sary. Basic equipment should include a cutting and out. Of course, proficiency in speech editing requires splicing board, and a tape playback mechanism so that practice, for too close cutting will cause the loss of the the tape can be listened to as many times as necessary overhanging terminal vibrations of certain sounds. to locate the exact spot where the cut or splice is to be The opportunities for comedy are always most tempting. made. Certain other gadgets, described subsequently, will Sequences built up around ad libs and chance remarks, facilitate the job and make it less laborious. substitute voices cut into recordings of radio programs The editing table shown in Fig. r was made from an or commercials, imaginary conversations constructed by old kneehole desk. A hole cut in the top allows the re- intercutting lines picked up at different times - all these corder' to use the space formerly occupied by the upper make for comedy. Furthermore, they can be embellished drawer. The front is left open for the speaker. Ventila- with commentary, music and sound effects. The oppor- tion holes are provided in the bottom and sides of the tunities are a challenge to creative ability, and are limited recorder pit. The recorder is protected by rubber cush- only by imagination, ingenuity and resourcefulness. ions on sides and bottom and, since it is not screwed or bolted in place, it can be lifted out whenever desirable. To the left of the tape recorder are a pair of rewinds Fig. 2. Splicing block is located between two film rewinds for i6-mm. film, such as are familiar to every home movie fan. They are available from retail photographic stores in a variety of styles and prices. They are as essential to editing of tape as they are to the handling of film. With them, tape can be wound back and forth from one reel to another, at a high rate of speed. Also, as the separate cuttings of tape are assembled in their correct sequence, they can be wound onto the final take -up reel. Splicing with scissors is clumsy and inaccurate, and the splicing block, Fig. 2, is the editor's most important tool. It is fastened in the center of the table between the two film rewinds, which hold the tape assembly reels. Splicing blocks are inexpensive and may be purchased from the larger radio jobbers and from some of the photographic supply houses which carry tape recording equip-

!In this case, a Pentron was chosen for its compactness and ease of manipulation.

www.americanradiohistory.com Fig. 3. Here is all the equipment necessary for tape editing: two film rewinds, a splicing block, and a tape recorder. Note reel storage rack at the extreme left, and the laundry clips at the right edge to hold the cuttings of tape.

ment.2 A time saver is a guide, made from two pieces of ing to, rather than guessing at, the exact cutting spot. angle durai or purchased as part of the block, which For this purpose, a small wooden block should be at- directs the razor blade into the angled cutting slot. tached to the left hand side of the splicer at a distance A rack for spare reels, a razor blade holder, and a Scotch from the cutting slot corresponding to the measurement tape dispenser are located in the handy positions shown from the playback head to the left edge of the protec- in Fig. 3. tive shield. In practice, the tape is jockeyed back and For very exact work there should be some provision forth in the recorder until the point at which it is to be for accurately spotting or marking the point at which cut has just passed the playback head. The tape is then the cut is to be made. The method used will vary with marked with grease pencil or paper clip at the left, or the design of the recorder. If the playback head is ex- takeup side of the shield, and removed to the splicer. posed, the cut -point is easily located and marked. In With the mark on the marking block, the point to be the case of the Pentron, and with many other makes cut will be exactly on the cutting slot. A faster, if per- which have protective shields over the pole pieces of haps slightly less accurate method is to grasp it between recording and playback heads, it is not possible to mark the thumb and forefinger of the left hand at the edge of the exact spot where the tape is to be cut. Instead, the the shield, and transfer it to the splicer, holding it against tape is stopped and a mark made at a known distance from the measuring block, using the fingers as a marker until the exact spot. Most often, the mark is made at the edge the tape is locked onto the splicer. As a precaution against of the slot in the recording - playback head through which cutting too close it is sometimes advisable to cut the tail the tape passes. end of the selected piece of tape a little too long on In this connection it should be brought out that the the first cut, and then to Continued on page 81 spot to be cut is located as closely as possible by playing the tape at normal operating speed. The exact location is found by feeding the tape through by hand. When Fig. 4. Easily -built storage case holds 16 to 20 7-in. reels. tape is pulled past the playback head slowly, the words on the tape become unintelligible but the moment of silence between two words can be found - and that is the spot where the cut should be made. With musical selections the moment of silence may be harder to recognize, because the sound of the instruments is so greatly changed by the slow speed with which the tape is moved. Nevertheless, that fraction of second of silence is the proper place to make a cut. Otherwise, the sound (or word, for that matter) will be chopped off in a very unpleasant and unprofessional fashion. Therefore, with machines which do not have removable shields, it is desirable to have some means of measur-

2Strange as it may seem, photographic equipment dealers are often well stocked with tape recorders and accessories. This situation has grown out of the interest in recording on the part of amateur motion picture hobbyists who have wanted sound with their films. Now that tape recording is becoming a hobby per se, radio dealers are stocking equipment and supplies for the home enthusiast. - Editor.

www.americanradiohistory.com This typical high fidelity amplifier has five controls. This article explains how they work and what they accomplish. controls

cl Cl Cl t h E' amplifier BY VICTOR H. POMPER

TO THE astonishment of some, and to the delight of covered high fidelity and made it his own. The spreading many, high fidelity reproduction of music is grow- desire for more music, and better reproduced music, has ing up. In more ways than one, this is a minor fostered the growth of an entire new industry with its miracle. For one thing, what was formerly a hobby re- own critics, its own authors of books and articles, and quiring extensive technical knowledge has become popu- HIGH -FIDELITY, its own magazine. No longer is the larized and simplified to the point where, as in photography, average hi -fi system a product of the tinkerer's work- it can now be said, "You push the button, and the equip- shop. Rather, it is the result of modern industrial re- ment will do the rest." For another thing, high fidelity search, production, and merchandising. unites quite dissimilar fields: the art of musical expression Yet, the non -technical still have a difficult time plan- and the science of audio reproduction. ning hi -fi installations. Where shall they begin? What In such a combination, it is hardly surprising that the components shall they buy? Of course, help is avail- technical should falter occasionally. Indeed, the coming - able, but whom to believe? Friend? Manufacturer? of -age of high fidelity has seen its share of fad and fancy. Dealer? Writer? Critic? Each has his opinion and each In days when high fidelity systems were constructed and and every one is likely to be different. For the layman listened to chiefly by technical hobbyists, that was hardly the problem is to bring some kind of order from this serious. In fact, it provided a fascinating subject for dis- unintentional chaos. The answer, we believe, is the ap- pute long, loud and sometimes bitter. plication of a scientific method of thinking - which is - fact But high fidelity is growing up. Technical hobby - merely a method of organizing data to separate isteria has little place in the present scheme of things, from fancy, and then of interpreting the facts correctly. particularly since the non -technical music lover has dis- For example: First, exactly what is the problem, what

www.americanradiohistory.com are we trying to do? Second, what have we available with its controls, operating the system to compensate for a mul- which to accomplish our purpose? Third, with what titude of input characteristics. Of course, this should we have available, how can we best accomplish this aim? not be necessary, but it is. Thus we must pay very close Let's see how this applies to high fidelity. attention to the equalizing system of an amplifier, the Just what is the purpose of high fidelity anyway? As front end, if we wish to play all of our different types of we see it, the purpose is first, last, and foremost to pro- records with approximately equal success." vide the greatest enjoyment of reproduced music in the If this be so, and if the amplifier is the only common home. The hypothesis is that the more closely the re- unit with inherent control flexibility, we can ask our- produced music approximates the original, the greater selves question No. i, that is, "What sort of control is will be the enjoyment. necessary ? ". Now, what have we available to achieve such perform- For the phonophile, record compensation may well be ance? The equipment is myriad: we have records, record primary. Records of various manufacture are made with changers, pickups, recording equipment, tuners, ampli- different recording characteristics. That is, the shape of fiers and loudspeakers. their frequency response curve varies widely.' Worse The final and most important question is: With these yet, the manufacturer's standard curve may be changed components, how can we best achieve listening enjoy- by the recording engineer. ment through music reproduction which approaches Entirely aside from the recording characteristic, there live concert quality? is the individual human ear, indeed a peculiar and non- scientific device, which differs with each individual. Add Fidelity is Not Enough individual preferences to this and the problem is still more complicated. But this is only the beginning. The To approximate an actual concert performance, our elec- listener does not necessarily enjoy the music as it comes tro- mechanical and acoustical system must, first, repro- out of the loudspeaker; he enjoys it as it reaches his ear. duce the music almost exactly as it is played and without Its character is altered by the room acoustics. Further, introducing extraneous elements. That is to say, our some records have an undue amount of surface noise. system should reproduce all the musical notes with enough This occurs, unfortunately, with LP's as well as with the power and with virtually no hum, distortion, record older shellac records. Once again, we can compensate scratch, or turntable rumble. But, since what we put for such extraneous and disturbing elements. into our system is the electro- mechanical equivalent of The best way to discuss control and fidelity is to the original music, our reproducing system must be examine critically the points in question as they apply sufficiently versatile to compensate for defects in the pro- to amplifiers with which the author is most familiar. These cesses of pickup, recording, and reproduction. In the are the H. H. Scott 210 -B DYNAURAL amplifier and the case of records, the recording characteristics are not stand- Type 214 -A REMOTE CONTROL amplifier. From the standardized. Surface conditions of these records vary. The point of fidelity (which term we are using to cover range, loudspeakers used, the acoustical conditions of the listen- freedom from distortion and hum, high power, and re- ing room, individual preferences, all differ widely. Wide lated features) the two amplifiers are identical. The 210 -B range, undistorted, full -powered music reproduction is not is intended for the connoisseurs of the finest in custom - enough. Control is necessary, and compensation for faults built, high fidelity installations. The 214 -A is slanted is highly desirable. toward the music lover who wants the best in music with Fidelity is a function of each and every component in perhaps greater simplicity of installation and operation, the system.' From the standpoint of fidelity alone, the while maintaining both fidelity and adequate control. old saw holds that a chain is but as strong as its weakest Control features common to both amplifiers are the link. This does not, however, apply with respect to con- three -channel, continuously adjustable treble and bass trol and compensation for, in the chain of reproduc- controls, and an automatic loudness control which op- tion, from record to human ear, the music signals pass erates on the highs as well as the lows. The 210 -B further through but one unit which has the inherent flexibility features a built -in dynamic noise suppressor and a record to allow complete control. This unit is the amplifier,' distortion filter or range switch. The 214 -A contains an with its versatile and readily controllable electrical circuits. extremely versatile record compensator switch which facili- C. G. Burke, noted authority and critic, writing in the tates adjustment for the recording characteristics of almost Saturday Review of Literature, has this to say: "The most any record, both LP and standard. critical phonophiles now realize that the aspect of an amplifier which elevates it to superiority over other am- Tone Controls plifiers of the same basic high quality is the flexibility of The tone controls are the main steering gear in the high 'To avod confusion, let's define the terms we shall be using in this article. is always By high fidelity we mean life -like music reproduction. Rightly or wrongly fidelity installation. Yet their importance not in amplifiers, the word fidelity alone has come to mean wide frequency response, high power, low distortion, and low hum. In this article at least we use recognized fully, since the real value of good tone con- compensation to mean only correction of such defects as result from the me- inadequate ones. chanics of the recording and reproducing processes. By control, we mean trols can be appreciated only after using manual adjustment to meet various conditions encountered in high fidelity are in use today. The music reproduction such as different recording characteristics, personal prefer- Four types of tone controls major ences, room acoustics, etc. ,The term amplifier is used here in its broad sense, to include preamplification required by magnetic pickups. - Editor. 3See HIGH -FIDELITY, Vol. 1, No. 3, page 31.

www.americanradiohistory.com Fig. r. At the left is a simplified chart showing the effect of the simplest form of tone control network on the frequency res- soosr_ can DROOP ponse of an amblifier. Such networks be designed to begin to attenuate at almost any desired point. A combination of CONTROL ZONE these networks are required to control both high and low frequencies.

Fi .1 20 50 100 500 1000 5000 10.000 20,000 FREQUENCY IN CYCLES

0 N +

Fig. 2. The so- called bucking control is more complicated and better than the FULL BOOST f, simple network whose effect is illustrated FLAT /-.FLAT " BOOST above. But, as shown in the sketch at the DROOP right, unless great care is used to match CONTROL CONTROL ZONE ZONE components, the position - FULL ATTENUATION presumed "flat" may not be true. r

Fig.2 20 50 100 500 1000 5000 10,000 20,000 FREQUENCY IN CYCLES

Fig. 3. In the better types of control, separate circuits, requiring additional components, are used so that a positive flat position is assured. In all three types, it is possible to adjust for any amount of boost or droop in the area marked "control zone". Likewise, since the controls are not of the step type, any desired degree of intermediate adjustment can be achieved. 20 50 100 500 1000 5000 10,000 20.000 FREQUENCY IN CYCLES

first is a simple arrangement of two inexpensive compon- The fourth type of tone control, as built into the ents: the single RC network. The effect it produces is amplifiers under discussion, is relatively expensive to shown in Fig. I. In this type of control, a bass boost make but offers wide control range with continuous, pre- circuit operates actually as a treble attenuator circuit, and cise adjustment of both treble and bass. Response curves vice versa. This control, though inadequate, is widely used. are shown in Fig. 3. Each tone control consists of three Another type of RC network, somewhat better, is the separate circuits: a boost circuit, a flat -response circuit bucking control in which the responses of two circuits and an attenuation circuit. By means of a mixer control, are mutually opposed. Exact opposition between two the responses of these three circuits can be blended smooth- bucking circuits is difficult to obtain, and irregularities ly for any desired response. may appear in what should be a flat response curve. Typi- Incidentally, by means of tone controls such as these, cal response obtained with the bucking -type control in the complexity and number of controls can be reduced. its flat position is shown in Fig. 2. By adjusting tone control settings, it is possible to com- A third type of RC control is the so- called step control pensate for the recording characteristics of any record. in which the control range is wide, the control settings In addition, such controls facilitate adjustment for a are exact because fixed instead of variable resistors are wide variety of peculiarities in recording characteristics, used, but there are not enough control settings. Only for variations in acoustics, for individual listening pre- as many degrees of adjustment are possible as there are ferences, and for defects in the response of associated switch steps on the control. equipment such as speakers and pickups.

www.americanradiohistory.com Automatic Loudness Control is turned down, treble and bass are emphasized propor- tionately more and more in order that they remain audible The human ear is indeed a wondrous device. It responds at these low levels. While a simple volume control is to an enormous range, from the merest whisper to sound considerably less expensive to use in an amplifier, increased millions of times louder. However, the ear is relatively listening enjoyment is contributed by the provision of insensitive to treble and bass frequencies at low volume an automatic loudness control. and is increasingly sensitive to the lows and highs as volume level increases. This can be seen by referring The Dynamic Noise Suppressor to Fig. 4. The heavy black line is the threshold of audibility curve. Any point below the line represents a sound At an actual concert, certain extraneous distractions exist inaudible to the human ear. From the shape of the curve which have a disturbing effect on the listener. Particularly it can be seen that, to be audible, the sound must be noticeable are such noises as the rustling of programs louder at the high and low frequencies than at medium and coughing. One distraction not existing at the concert frequencies. is sustained high frequency hiss, such as caused by the Now let us again refer to the purpose of high fidelity, pickup stylus moving in the grooves of the record. Such namely enjoyment by the listener. Why do so many record scratch and hiss, together with turntable rumble, high fidelity listeners turn up the sound output of their can be decidedly disturbing, particularly since these ob- installations until their long- suffering wives are forced in- trusive mechanical sounds are most noticeable and an- to the kitchen? Possibly for this reason alone, but it is noying when the music is soft. For many years, record more likely that were they to play their music at lower scratch was so annoying as to prevent further extension volumes, the fidelity would appear to be lost through of the high frequency range in recording and record re- insensitivity of the ears to treble and bass notes. Ergo, production. The answer to the problem for a long time they turn up the volume to hear full -range music. was to limit frequency response, and thus cut out this Once again, here is where compensation can add to source of annoyance. Of course, all the musical notes listening enjoyment. Soft listening levels are desirable in these ranges were also cut off and high fidelity, as we in the home. The full sound output of a symphony or- know it today, did not exist. chestra could hardly be tolerated in a living room. Now Two developments changed this situation. First was since the ear tends to lose the very high frequencies and the development by H. H. Scott of the dynamic noise the very low frequencies, why not automatically adjust suppressor. Second was the introduction of long -playing response so that these frequencies are accentuated as the records which, for the most part, are considerably quieter volume control is turned down? The treble and bass can than the old shellac records. The new plastic records be pushed up above the threshold of audibility curve so are very quiet and the usefulness of a noise suppressor as not to be lost to the ear. This is exactly the function may well be questioned. For many records a noise sup- performed by automatic loudness control. As the volume pressor is not needed. Unfortunately, all long playing records are not as noise - free as might be expected. First of all, many brand new Fig. 4. One of the most fundamental aspects of human hearing is pressings contain an appreciable amount of surface noise. the phenomenon shown in chart form below. This "threshold of Second, many of them seem to be subject to a characteris- audibility" curve indicates the lowest intensity of sound, at different tic hiss, a disturbing high- frequency noise which sounds frequencies, which can be heard by the average person. The scale at the left, in decibels, indicates the intensity as referred like escaping steam. Third, the new plastic material is to the "softest" sound which can be heard. The sound of a train appreciably softer than shellac composition. Conse- roaring through a tunnel would have an intensity of about 8o deci- quently, with wear, use, and abuse, records can become bels on this scale; the "silence" in an acoustically treated broad- quite noisy. Last, but not least, one big advantage of casting studio would average less than 3o decibels. long playing records is their ability to encompass an extended frequency range. This means that more high 0 m frequency notes and more low frequency notes are actually recorded on the records. Unfortunately, record scratch Fig. 4 and hiss become more pronounced as the reproduction of the higher frequencies is extended, and turntable rumble becomes more pronounced as the reproduction of the lower frequencies is extended. Consequently, what noise there may be on an extended -range recording can be AUDIBLE much more annoying than the same amount of noise on a shellac record with its more limited frequency range. The noise suppressor has always evoked a considerable degree of interest and some slight amazement. Somehow, INAUDIBLE the fact that electronic circuits can suppress the annoying noises while permitting free passage of the musical notes seems sheer legerdemain. Actually, the electrical cir- '20 50 100 500 1000 5000 10p00 20,000 FREQUENCY OF SOUND IN CYCLES cuits utilize the hearing characteristics diagrammed in

www.americanradiohistory.com Fig. 4. Two typical conditions have been added in ate setting at which the upper frequency response is Fig. 5: loud music, shown by the top line, and soft music, limited slightly. represented by the bottom line. The black line is the Fletcher- Munson threshold -of- audibility curve. The Remote Control Suppose now that a soft passage occurs in the music. The upper curve is displaced downward in intensity until it The 210 -B amplifier is an extremely compact, single occupies the position of the lower curve. The new curve in- chassis unit meant for mounting on a book shelf or in tersects the threshold of audibility and the ear can now some similar convenient position. In some cases, a two - hear only the frequencies lying inside the "audible" area chassis amplifier such as the 214 -A is helpful. With such under the soft music curve. However, although the loudness of the music has dropped, record hiss and turntable rumble continue with the same intensity. But most of the scratch exists above g,000 cycles, and most of the turntable rumble exists below too cycles. If, when the music is soft, the frequency response is limited to that range which can be heard, that is the "audible" section of the soft music curve, most of the high frequency hiss and most of the low frequency rumble will be cut off, without losing any musical notes to which the ear responds. On the other hand, at the high loudness levels, the music itself is considerably louder than the noise and therefore drowns out the noise. What the noise suppressor does is to vary the frequency response range of the amplifier so that it corresponds 50 100 500 1000 5000 10000 20,000 closely to that actually audible to the human ear. The FREQUENCY OF SOUND IN CYCLES noise suppressor opens the range when the music is loud and restricts it when the music is soft. Fig. 5. This is the same chart, basically, as in Fig. 4,1 but super- the noise suppressor and the loudness At first glance, imposed on it are two lines representing the intensity of average control might seem to be working against each other. symphonic music at various frequencies. It can be said that the This is not the case, because each operates independently "soft music" line represents the sound which comes through the of the other. The loudness control establishes the over- loudpseaker when the volume control on the amplifier is turned When the volume control is turned up, the all volume level throughout the frequency range of the down to a low level. range of frequencies falling in the "audible" section of the chart it is That is, the degree of bass and amplifier, and static. expands, as shown by the upper line. treble compensation it provides is fixed for any given setting. Contrariwise, the noise suppressor is dynamic (hence its name) and the frequency range which is passed by an amplifier, the heavy heat -generating power amplifier its so- called gate circuits varies with the dynamics of can be mounted entirely out of sight in any convenient the music. (but well ventilated) place. The actual operation and control of the system is accomplished by the remote con- Record Distortion Filter trol unit, or front end. The 214 -A is designed for the music lover who wishes The record distortion filter, or range switch, serves an- finest quality music reproduction but is willing to sacri- other useful function in promoting listener enjoyment. fice a built -in dynamic noise suppressor and a record Records may contain appreciable distortion in the extreme distortion filter for slightly greater ease of installation high frequency range. In some cases, this distortion exists and operation, and who wants a record compensator and in ranges concurrent with the higher musical notes. In selector switch. This switch permits instant change from other cases, audible harmonic distortion is produced at phono, tuner, TV or other input. In addition, compen- frequencies actually higher than that of the recorded music. sation for virtually any recording characteristic is readily The range switch, or record distortion filter, is a means possible. The record compensation portion includes five for limiting the amplifier response at the high- frequency end. separate equalization positions for 78 rpm. records and By means of the range switch on the 210 -B, the over- also three equalization positions for long playing records. all system response can be so adjusted that distortion Although recording characteristics may vary from the and hash above the actual range of recorded music can manufacturer's published characteristic curves for a num- be limited sharply. Some indication of its utility can be ber of reasons, the record compensator switch gives a gained by noting the recommendation that the distortion quick and simple means for rough equalization on both filter be set for wide -range response only with the very bass turnover and treble roll -off. Fine adjustments, if de- newest and best recordings. For average use, the most sired, can be made by means of the tone controls included enjoyable performance can be achieved by an intermedi- on the 214 -A.

www.americanradiohistory.com Frequency Response level stages in the amplifier is a decided advantage. By such means, and by very careful design and development, Much has been made in amplifier specifications of fre- hum pickup in the amplifier can be reduced far below quency response ranges far exceeding the limits of human the level of audibility. hearing. It would appear that the greater the frequency response, the greater the inherent quality of the ampli- Power Output fier, even though most humans cannot hear over i8,000 cycles. In the author's opinion, excessive frequency res- For normal listening levels, approximately two watts of ponse may be a disadvantage from the listening stand- power output is more than ample. Why then are higher point. If the frequency range extends well above the power outputs considered essential? The answer is that, upper limit of hearing, the system is subject to ultrasonic in symphonic music particularly, sudden bursts of peak oscillation, which occurs above the audible range. How- power occur, such as the clash of cymbals, a sudden roll ever, through intermodulation effects, it may introduce of drums, and similar sounds. If the installation has in- serious distortion and noise in the audible region. To sufficient power to meet these conditions, the equipment avoid this form of distortion, high frequency response will overload and serious distortion will result during should be limited to the audible range or, as pointed out sudden, loud, high -power peaks. earlier, to even less than the audible range. Since two watts or less represent the average home Excessive low frequency response can be equally seri- listening level, 20 watts power output from the ampli- ous. With such response, eccentricity in the turntable or fier is necessary for really good results. Less than zo in the location of the record hole can generate appreciable watts is inadequate because distortion is generated each sub -audible signals. These are similar to turntable rumble, time the amplifier overloads on the high power peaks. or wow, but are below the range of hearing. Such signals However, since two watts output is about the maximum can overload the amplifier, with resulting distortion. Fur- average level for home use, more than twenty watts power ther, the existence of appreciable sub -audible signals can handling capacity in the amplifier is unnecessary unless raise the overall signal level in the amplifier to a point the amplifier is to be used in large halls or at very high where sudden transients or bursts of loud sound will volume levels. again overload or block the amplifier. Fletcher has shown that the maximum sound levels over the frequency range of symphonic music differ con- Distortion siderably. This maximum power has a peak at approximately 200 to 30o cycles, and from this peak it slopes Naturally enough, the reproduced music should be as off irregularly toward both the low and high frequency close as possible to the music actually played. Unless portions of the frequency spectrum. Therefore, an ampli- this be so, the music is distorted. The most popular fier with sufficient power output to handle peaks between method of rating distortion is by so- called harmonic dis- zoo and 30o cycles will have more than adequate power tortion. Harmonic distortion is akin to the natural music available at other frequencies. itself, which consists of fundamental notes and their harmonics. By addition of extra harmonics, generated Control and Compensation within the reproducing system, the music character is changed slightly but the effect is barely noticeable below certain It has been indicated that for maximum enjoyment of re- relatively high levels of distortion. produced music good quality of reproduction is necessary, In terms of the effect of distortion on listening enjoy- control of this reproduction is essential, and compensa- ment, the important type of distortion to consider is tion for defects in the reproducing process is highly de- what is known as first -order difference -tone intermodula- sirable. The control and compensation aspects of high tion distortion. Although largely ignored by many as fidelity have long been a poor relation to the sheer mean indication of amplifier performance, this type of dis- chanics of reproducing sound. Yet, actually, lacking tortion measurement is most closely akin to the human adequate control and compensation features, much of the ear in that it measures the distortion found to be most utility of high fidelity reproduction is lost. An analogy annoying. This distortion causes growling, discordant may be a magnificent motor car, sleek, powerful, beauti- noises, and high frequency hash due to overloading. ful; yet unless it has steering and gear shifting mechanisms, its usefulness is decidedly limited. Similarly, unless the Reduction of AC Hum high fidelity installation can be adequately controlled and unless its springs and shock absorbers (compensation) are In any alternating current equipment, magnetic and elec- adequate, the overall results may be poor indeed. trostatic fields exist which generate 6o -cycle alternating In the system consisting of records, turntable, pickup, current hum which is decidedly undesirable and annoy- tape machine, tuner, amplifier, and loudspeakers, the am- ing. Complete elimination of such hum is very difficult plifier is the one and only unit in the system in which indeed. In high fidelity systems, hum pickup is most adequate control and compensation can be achieved. The serious in the preamplifier circuits where the very low amplifier is the control center, the brain in the high fidelity level of the signal is not much above faint hum voltages. system. Without control and compensation features, the For this reason, direct current in the filaments of the low- amplifier is merely a passive link in the audio chain.

www.americanradiohistory.com what about Wire recording?

By C. B. DALE

DURING the past four years, the magnetic recorder Such long -term durability also makes wire preferable to has become a familiar and valuable instrument in any other type for use on dictation machines. music, radio, education and many other fields. In The use of tape recorders by broadcasting stations who fact, in this short time it has become so vital in so many must have the highest quality of reproduction in their ways that it is one of the most important of the postwar recordings is strong evidence that the tape recorder adaptations of a wartime development. offers the best medium of magnetic recording where the Many heated debates have been conducted on whether quality of reproduction is an extremely important factor a wire or a tape recorder is the better magnetic recorder, in the selection of the machine to be used. Furthermore, but all such theoretical discussions seem to ignore one experts can edit tape down to an individual syllable. important factor. The specific use to which the instru- The tape recorder provides low background hiss and ment is to be put will determine which is the better re- higher frequency response than the wire recorder. Full corder in each individual case. advantage can be taken of such contributions when the Each of the two types of magnetic recorders has its machine is being used in a professional fashion with basic advantages. The outstanding advantage of the the best microphone technique and ideal conditions in wire recorder is the durability of the wire. The stainless the recording chamber. steel wire will last indefinitely despite repeated erasures. It can be played over hundreds of thousands of times without The two articles in previous issues of HIGH- FIDELITY on tape recording any loss in the quality of reproduction. have produced a number of inquiries along the lines of, "What about wire The wire will not rust or burn and will recording? What are its advantages and disadvantages? When should it withstand extremes of heat, cold and humidity. Also, wire is a more compact me- be used ?" Here is the answer - from the man who is Vice -President in dium, both in space required for the re- charge of Research for Webster-Chicago. This company has manufactured corder itself and in storage space for a wire recorders for many years and, for the past 12 months, tape re- library of recordings. While tape can be played over thou- corders. Hence the author is in a particularly good position to compare sands of times, it sometimes frays along the advantages and disadvantages of the two recording media. the edges and then is easily torn. Tape is also susceptible to changes in heat and humidity and to chemical vapors in the air. In high tem- Broadcasting stations and musicians, therefore, tend to peratures, the layers of tape will sometimes stick to each prefer the tape recorder. For the average person interested other. Fire is a hazard. Careless handling of a cigarette only in recording music from the radio, which can later in the vicinity of a spool of tape could mean the end be played through a radio or phonograph speaker, or in of the recording. recording voices, wire or tape will serve equally well. For the individual interested in making permanent Ease of editing has often been advanced as one of the records, whether he be a businessman keeping business most significant advantages of the tape recorder. Where records, an attorney keeping case records, or a parent a truly professional job of editing is required, it is true wanting to keep a recording of his child's recitation of that the tape recorder is superior. Tape can be spliced to "The Charge of the Light Brigade ", wire is preferable. eliminate as little as one syllable from the recorded ma-

www.americanradiohistory.com terial. But for the average person interested in a recorder for non -professional purposes, it is easier to edit wire by How to Lose Friends simply cutting and tying the wire. Splicing tape involves Friends shun you ? Neighbors complain exercising care that the gummy matter from the splicing to police ? Have courage! You are not tape does not come in contact with the recording head alone! This sad story will bring many a and in preventing the spliced section from sticking to "Me, too" and "Don't I know!" another layer of the tape. For the person interested in recording material where Ten reasons why I always wait until I am all alone one syllable or one word may have to be carefully edited in my living room before I play my record player out, the tape recorder is the best choice. For the amateur OR magnetic recording enthusiast, the business man recording sales conferences, the minister recording his sermon Sometimes it's very hard to please everyone and most of or the lecturer using the recorder to practice delivery of the time it's impossible to please even anyone his lecture, the wire recorder will serve as well as the tape As told (too often) to WILLIAM J. MURDOCH recorder, since very little careful editing is involved. Where the spool of magnetized material must be re- I. "Swell tone, marvelous. Brings out those piccolos loaded quickly and frequently, the wire recorder has beautifully. Oh, trombones, eh ?" the advantage. 2. "That's right, put on some music, Bill. I love music. the greater ease of handling of the wire, a Because of Ah, that's beautiful. Say, Sam, I meant to tell you on the wire recorder can be reloaded in a few seconds. This is a way over about the doggonedest thing that happened distinct advantage in the recording of very long con- this afternoon ..." ferences, the taking of stock inventories and, certainly, for dictation machine purposes. Because of the greater 3. "Is that Beethoven's Fifth? Why, there's nothing to it. I only took lessons for three years, I care required in the handling of tape, the operation is cornet but more complex. bet I could play that!" From the standpoint of the salesman out on the road, 4. "Oh, now I recognize it. That's Zlobsky's Concerto recording his sales reports for mailing back to the office, in F Sharp Minor. I've got it, but mine's done by Howgs- the wire recorder is the more practical since the wire spools nasser and the Philsymphonic. You'll have to come over are easier and cheaper to handle for mailing. if you want to hear something that's really terrific." From the price standpoint, there is little difference as 5. "You call that music? (a) Fa' cryin' out loud, play far as the tape' and wire machines made by Webster - something that ain't dead. Chicago are concerned. The tape recorder is only slightly (b) It's all right, I guess, more expensive. Where an extremely precise recording but you never hear lovely songs like Beautiful Ohio and job is to be done, there is, of course, an appreciable dif- Dear Old Girl any more. ference since tape recorders for permanent installation (c) Isn't it strange that sell for from $50o to $3,000. people would write this sort of stuff when they could Personally, I use both types of machines. I use the wire have made real money like they do nowadays with tunes recorder to record illustrated travelogues, for sending mes- like Abba -Dabba Honeymoon and Come On -A My House?" sages to my children and friends, for recording speeches, for taking music and speeches off the radio and for the 6. "What kind of needle you using? Oh? Well, it general "horseplay" that has made magnetic recorders so sounds good, of course, but I just put a new acro -sto- popular for parties. On several occasions, I have furnished matic with calibrated crystal in my system, and honestly, many hours of musical entertainment for dances and for it's got anything I ever heard at any price backed off the weddings from recordings made on both wire and tape. map." It is the wire recorder I take with me on vacation trips 7. "Oh, no, don't get me wrong. We all can't like where recording conditions are rarely ideal. My car is the same things, of course. But you take a hobby like equipped with a IIo -volt, 6o -cycle generator with a hand stamp -collecting. Now there's a good way to invest your plug -in. Plugging my wire recorder into this, I have held money and, besides, you don't have to make a lot of interviews on deserts and in mountain passes with Indians, noise to enjoy it." cowboys and forest rangers, when the closest regular supply of electric current was miles away. 8. "I don't care if it is Toscanini, he's playing it too These are the things that make owning a magnetic re- fast. I heard it played in person once down at the high corder a real pleasure, but the type of magnetic recorder school music festival, and I know the kids played it slower." used must always be dictated by the most important use 9. "Records are just like books these days, aren't they? the prospective owner has in mind when he purchases it. They'll turn out just anything if they think it'll sell." And whether he gets a tape or a wire recorder, he is certain to find scores of uses for it that he never thought lo. "Hey look, folks! He's loading up the works with about at the time he purchased it. a whole opera. Are we going to let that swell background music go to waste? Come on, let's get out those card 'Specifications for the Webster -Chicago tape recorder were given in HIGH - FIDELITY Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 2. tables!"

www.americanradiohistory.com Music ... in the Home

From HIGH -FIDELITY reader Allen Rollie of Gallup, New Mexico, come these photographs of his home music listening system. We are always glad to have such photographs and will publish as many as possible because they are helpful to other readers who are planning music systems. Here is what Mr. Rollie has to say about his high fidelity installation: "I am using a Goodell ATB -3 amplifier and a Goodell PRA -i preamplifier. My record changer is a Webster- Chicago with a GE variable reluctance head. The speaker is a 6o4 -B Altec- Lansing in a bass reflex cabinet of approximately to cubic feet, constructed according to Altec- Lansing specifications. I do not have a television tuner, inasmuch as we do not yet have television in this part of the country.

"The installation is finished in combed plywood, in a design which makes records readily accessible and at the same time creates a certain amount of color in the room. "I have only been at this for about a year, but it has certainly become an absorbing hobby."

www.americanradiohistory.com Da ii e

Worn Needles

"Millions of records are ruined each year through the use of worn styli," says the author. He not only explains why, but he tells what to do, and how you can do it yourself.

By GERALD SHIRLEY

AMONG the record -buying public there exists a con - which could be tightened or loosened with thumb and siderable and widespread lack of knowledge - forefinger, correct procedures for removing cartridges in even misinformation - about record wear, needle popular use today, and for replacing the styli, will be wear, and their relation to each other. As a result, millions explained and illustrated in the second part of this article of records are ruined each year through the use of worn beginning on page 31. and inferior styli. This may not be depressing news to those who sell records, but certainly any music lover who Even New Needles Cause Wear buys records should be interested in doing everything possible to ensure the safety and longevity of his collection. When a needle is brand new, and if it is properly shaped There are several factors which influence record and and highly polished, as shown in Fig. i, it causes very needle wear. One is the weight of the pickup itself. An- little, if any, wear. The amount of wear caused by such other is the ease with which the pickup arm follows the a needle depends primarily on one or more of the factors record grooves and moves from side to side. Yet another mentioned in the opening paragraphs. is a whole group of causes which can be lumped under Pressure is one of the first things that comes to mind. the heading of "proper care ". These would include such Time was when needle pressure was nearly a full pound. matters as proper storage, removal from and replacement But particularly since the advent of LP's, increased at- in envelopes, handling, cleanliness, and static elimination. tention has been paid to the importance of reduced weight. Finally, there is the stylus itself. It is this last factor The standard pressure for LP cartridges today is 6 to 8 which will be discussed here, because worn styli are a grams, and a recently- introduced pickup operates with sometimes unsuspected but always predominant cause of only t gram pressure - scarcely i /gooth of a pound! record wear. And, since the days are long since gone The degree of compliance of the moving parts is also when needles were held in place simply by a set screw of importance. The easier it is for the undulating record

www.americanradiohistory.com groove to swing the needle from side to side, the lower the pressure developed between groove walls and needle tip. Also, the greater the compliance, the less the needle pressure required to ensure proper tracking. Another important factor is the degree of polish on the tip. Obviously, the higher the polish, the less friction there will be between tip and groove and, the less the friction, the less wear. With any given substance, there is always a limit to the degree of polish which can be applied to its surface. Hard, dense materials can be given a higher polish than softer, more porous materials. A polished sapphire tip seen under the microscope, Fig. 2, is much smoother than a polished metal or osmium tip, Fig. 3, which often Icoks rough and porous by comparison. Diamond is the hardest material in the world - much harder and denser than sapphire - and it can, therefore, be given a higher polish than sapphire. It is worth noting, too, that practically all sapphire needles sold today are made from synthetic sapphires. Even though synthetic sapphire can be given a good polish, its usefulness is short -lived, since the areas on the sides of the tip where it contacts the groove walls wear away quickly. While metal needles can be tolerated, to a degree, on 78's, most authorities now agree that for LP's they are completely unsuitable except in applications where record life is of no importance. For this reason, our discussion will be confined to sapphires and diamonds.

Why Needles Wear Out

The tip of a phonograph needle works against almost overwhelming odds. The entire weight of the cartridge and tone arm, and the sideward pressures exerted by the record grooves, are all concentrated on microscopically tiny spots on each side of the tip where it comes into contact with the groove walls. Fig. 4 shows this relationship in cross -section. These pressures can and sometimes do exceed several tons per square inch! Any equally small section of the groove walls is also subject to the same pressures, but only for the fraction of a second it takes for the tip to go past it. The two spots on the tip, however, are subjected to these pressures for as long as the phonograph is in use. Some idea of the enormous distance a tip travels can be gained by considering that the groove on one side of a tz -in. LP has a total length of about half a mile! It is not surprising, then, that the two spots of contact on the sides of the tip begin to wear down very quickly and to flatten out, despite the fact that sapphire is much harder than the vinylite used for most LP's. Fig. 5 shows medium -size flats worn on the tip of a sapphire needle which had been used for a relatively short time. The speed with which flats develop on a needle tip depends largely on the hardness of the material used for the tip. It is these flats that do practically all the damage to records. Experience has shown that a record can sometimes be ruined by just one playing with a badly worn needle. It may seem that stylus wear should imply a better fit between tip and grooves. Actually, as flats develop,

www.americanradiohistory.com their outline, or what might be described as their inter- needle tip is ground off by, and deposited in, the record section with the still -round portion of the tip, consists groove. This abrasive dust becomes imbedded in the of edges which grow progressively sharper as the flats groove walls where it not only raises the level of audible increase in size. If a needle is used long enough, the two surface noise, but also increases the wear on the needle. flats eventually meet and the tip takes on a striking re- With sapphires, this vicious circle is highly significant. semblance to a chisel. Fig. 6 shows two needles that With a diamond, however, there is so little material ground have reached this stage. In this condition, a needle not off that the circle never really has a chance to get started. only looks like a chisel but also acts like one. As it is The only disadvantage of the diamond needle is its swung from side to side by the groove, the sharp edges relatively high initial cost. This is only a temporary dis- scrape and cut into the groove walls, leaving a path of advantage since, in the long run, it is the cheapest needle destruction behind them. one can use. There is no sure way of predicting in ad- The amount of damage done by a worn needle varies vance whether any given sapphire needle will last 3 hours in direct proportion to the size of the flats on the tip. or 15 hours. Hence, the only really safe course to follow In other words, the worse the needle is worn, the more is to be pessimistic and to put in a new one every 3 hours. wear and damage it will do. Some authorities maintain Although the original investment required for a high - that a needle should be replaced at the first sign of a flat, quality diamond needle may seem high - between $15 while others believe that such a needle can still be safely and $25 dollars - the cost of the sapphire needles reused for a little while longer. Unfortunately, there is quired during the same 1,000 hours would be much greater. as yet no universally accepted definition of the first sign Most sapphire needles cost at least $1.50 each. If changed of a flat ". In terms of visual examination, flats which are even at ro -hour intervals, one hundred needles would be just visible under a 6o -power microscope will not be de- required: a cost of $150. If they are changed oftener, tected under a hand magnifying glass. As for aural signs, or if a better grade of sapphire needle is used, the cost it can be stated as a fairly certain fact that by the time will be even higher. a needle no longer "sounds right" it has been damaging Many persons who own inexpensive LP players or at- records for some time. It is definitely unsafe to rely on tachments have the mistaken idea that because the dia- one's memory as to how a needle sounded when new, mond needle may cost more than the player or attach- because there is an almost continuous falling -off of re- ment itself, it doesn't pay to get a diamond. The diamond production quality which is so gradual as to be imper- offers the same advantages whether it is used in a $10 ceptible. Human senses being what they are, very slow LP attachment or in the most expensive professional changes escape notice. In fact, the ear seems to adjust equipment. The cost of the phonograph is quite irrele- itself over a long period until finally, when the differ- vant. The cost of a record collection is what counts. The ence is great enough, a realization dawns that it "doesn't important thing is to protect that investment. sound as good as it used to ". By this time it's too late. One point which puzzles many people is the variation in prices between different diamond needles. As a re- The Ideal Needle cently published book' puts it, "It should be pointed out that only high -grade styli should be purchased, as The ideal needle would be one that would always retain there are several diamond styli available which are not its original round, smooth shape and never develop flats. precisely lapped to a perfect polish ". Actually there are The needle that comes closest to this is the professional - more differences than just that of polish. Suffice it to say quality diamond. Under average home conditions, a mini- that, obviously, it costs more to make a top -quality dia- mum of 1,000 hours of playing time can be expected be- mond needle than one which has only a rough polish. fore replacement is necessary. When and if pickups operat- Another question sometimes asked is, "Is a needle in ing at one gram pressure become generally available, it which the tip only is replaced, as good as a completely will probably be impossible to wear out a diamond in a new needle ?" The answer depends on two factors: r) lifetime of listening. whether the diamond tip used in the re-tipping is as good Where phonograph needles are concerned, the important as the tip used in the new needle, and 2) whether it is hardness property is resistance to abrasive wear. In this properly and accurately mounted. It is quite possible respect diamond outlasts sapphire by a ratio of 90 to 1. for a re- tipped needle to be superior to a new needle - This figure, determined in physics laboratories many and vice versa. It depends on who does the re- tipping, years ago, finds confirmation in many tests which have and who is making the new needle. Some companies been made on the relative life expectancies of diamond make new needles only, some do nothing but re- tipping, and sapphire phonograph needles. and there is one company that does both. Though one In one series of tests, the useful lives of eight sapphires might expect otherwise, there is normally no significant were measured. It was found that they varied between difference in the price between a new needle and a re- 3 and 15 hours. A general average for a sapphire would tipping job. The reason is that whatever saving is effected be to hours. If this is contrasted with the i,000 hour by using the original metal shank is offset by the cost of average life of a diamond used under the same conditions, the extra labor required to remove the worn sapphire the ratio of 90 to i is more than confirmed. tip from it. The development of flats on a needle tip is the end -

" "Make Music Live" by Greene, Radcliffe and Scharff. Medill McBride Co. result of an abrasive process wherein material from the 1951.

www.americanradiohistory.com type, simply hold a mirror under the arm to see if it looks like Fig. 7. Fig. 8 shows the arm raised up. Fig. 9 shows the proper position of the thumb and forefinger to squeeze the hinge lock shut. Here's How GENERAL ELECTRIC: Among audiophiles, one of the most widely used cartridges is the GE. There are two basic types: the To Replace Styli and Cartridges: single -stylus models and the triple -play models. With a single -stylus model, the easiest way to remove the needle is to push it out from the top of the cartridge with something like a straightened -out paper clip, as shown in Fig. to. If the cartridge is in IN GENERAL, diamond stylus replace- It not worthwhile to send crystal is mounted in a plug -in head with the ments are available for any cartridge cartridges with b:tilt -in styli for re- tipping terminals soldered, it is possible to get the using replaceable sapphire- tipped needles, because the life of the crystal itself is un- stylus out without having to take the car- or for which sapphire- tipped replacements certain. In all likelihood, the diamond would tridge out of the head, which would require are made, even though the cartridge may outlast the cartridge. Some cartridges look unsoldering. With two small blades, such have originally come equipped with re- as though they have built -in styli, whereas as the tips of two jeweller's screwdrivers, placeable metal -tipped needles. The dia- they are actually removable. An example of placed against the sides of the round hub of monds may be new needles or, as suggested this is the cartridge used in certain Philco the needle, and angled slightly downward so above, needles can be re- tipped. LP attachments. Whenever there is a doubt as to work them under the shoulder of the When buying a diamond needle in a store about a particular cartridge, it is wise to hub, the needle can be pried up by degrees or ordering by mail, it is advisable to take inquire of the service agency handling that until it is far enough out so that it can be along or send a used, sample needle of the make of set, or to send the cartridge for grasped with the fingers. After the new make and model for which a diamond re- examination to one of the manufacturers needle has been pushed into place, the tip placement is desired. There is such an who does re- tipping. should be inspected to see that it is fairly enormous variety of needle shapes and sizes well centered between the two small pole in use today, that it is not enough to say Needle Removal Procedures pieces. If it is not, adjustment of the that one has a Webster changer, or a Colum- position can be made using a pair of tweezers bia LP attachment, or an RCA radio- phono- On most manual phonographs, the tone as shown in Fig. t i. graph model so- and -so. In every case, arm can be lifted high enough to permit To remove and re- install the triple-play time is saved and confusion avoided by access to the cartridge and needle. If a stylus assembly, it is usually necessary to having an actual needle at hand for examina- transcription arm is used, there is usually remove the cartridge from the tone arm or tion and comparison. However, before provision for removing the cartridge easily. plug -in head, even if it means an unsolder- needles can be sent away for replacement, Record changers with plug -in heads, such ing and resoldering operation. Before re- they have to be removed. The suggestions as the Garrard and Webster "27" series, moving the cartridge, the red knob on top, which follow should be helpful. present no problem. Most VM's permit which is used to turn the stylus assembly Some cartridges use tandem needles. raising the arm up straight. On many other around, must be pulled off. Near the top of These have a single shank with two sepa- makes, however, the arm cannot be lifted the needle shaft is a C washer which acts rate tips. Replacements having two dia- high enough to see under it. In such cases, as a retainer for a small spring. The spring mond tips, or with a diamond for LP's and it is necessary to use a small mirror held should be compressed slightly so as to draw a sapphire for 78's, are available fcr certain under the front of the arm to permit exam- it away from the C washer and allow the cartridges. Also, they can bë"' té- tipped. ination of the cartridge and needle. latter to be slipped off the shaft. The spring, Two crystal cartridges .;using tandem It may appear that the arm on the widely - and the thin washer that goes between the needles for which diamond replacements used Webster- Chicago changer cannot be spring and the top of the cartridge, will are not available are the Webster F -t4 series raised. Actually, it is hinged and can be then slide off. Then the needle assembly (turnover-type) and the Magnavox. In the raised if the hinge lock under the arm is can be removed from the cartridge. In- case of the Webster, a new cartridge such pressed open. The Webster -Chicago is stalling the new or re- tipped assembly in the as the Astatic LQD, which uses two separate sold under its own name and also used by a cartridge is just the reverse of the removal needles, can be substituted easily. On the great many manufacturers of name -brand process. Getting and holding the spring in Magnavox, an entire new tone arm and radio -phonograph combinations. This a compressed state preparatory to slipping cartridge are required. These are available hinging feature is found in practically all the C washer on the shaft is somewhat with crystal turnover cartridges. Also, there the two and three -speed models, equipped tricky and sometimes the spring escapes are conversion kits consisting of a new arm with crystal cartridges, which Webster - and goes a- flying. For this reason it is wise using magnetic cartridges such as the GE Chicago has made and is still making. Fig. 7 to perform the operation where the spring or Pickering. Though this costs more shows an underneath view of the arm in its will be easy to find! Before the control knob than a simple crystal replacement, greatly normal (locked) position, and with the is pushed back on, the offset key in the improved fidelity is obtained. thumb and forefinger in the correct position knob must be lined up with the offset slot Magnetic cartridges with built -in styli for releasing the hinge lock. The forefinger in the needle shaft. While pushing the such as Pickering and Fairchild should is pressed against the little metal lip which knob on, the needle should be supported always be sent direct to the manufacturer acts as a catch for the hinge. If in doubt as from below with one finger at the exact for stylus replacement. to whether the changer is a Webster of this center. Lastly, the centering of both tips

Fig. 7. Webster- Chicago hinge mechanism. Fig. 8. IV-C arm raised so cartridge can be removed. Fig. 9. How to hold hinge to lock shut.

www.americanradiohistory.com between the pole pieces must be checked should be used to get a firm grip on it be- and, if necessary, adjustments made as hind the tip. Then it can be pulled forward. described above for the single -tip models. If it has a metal tip, it is permissable to grasp it with the fingers from the front and pull Q AND Q -33 NEEDLES: The Q -33 is probably forward. the most widely used type for LP -type crystal cartridges. It is used on all the RCA (45 RPM) NEEDLES: First, the cartridge Columbia players except the very first should be removed from the tone arm by models, in the turnover cartridges manu- taking out the two holding screws. Cau- factured by Astatic, and for many changers tion: the two screws nearest the needle and three -speed manual players. The Q merely hold the needle guard and should not Fig. ro. Removing G -E stylus from cartridge. needle is for 78's. The only difference be- be disturbed. The shank of the needle tween it and the Q -33 is in the tip radius. passes completely through the cartridge and To remove a Q -type needle, a knife edge is threaded on top. A tiny nut on top holds or the tip of a small screwdriver is slipped it securely to the cartridge. After the nut under the small projecting rear end or heel is removed, the needle can be withdrawn of the needle to pry it up and out, as shown and a new or re- tipped needle inserted. in Fig. 12. To install a new or re- tipped Then the nut should be replaced and needle, the key on the needle shank is tightened, and the cartridge reinstalled in lined up with the corresponding slot in the tone arm. the cartridge opening and the needle pushed into place. With any needle which WEBSTER -CHICAGO TANDEM NEEDLES: This is installed by pushing it into its cartridge, type of needle is held in by a slotted set- pressure should never be applied to the screw facing the front, visible in the photo- Fig. r r. Adjusting alignment of G -E stylus. little arm or arms which carry the tips, graph of Fig. 15. It can be loosened or but only to the shank itself, i.e., the part tightened with a small screwdriver. The that goes into the cartridges. needle should be held firmly with one hand while loosening or tightening the set screw "A" NEEDLES: These are very similar to with the other. Sometimes a tandem needle Q -type needles, but do not have a key on shaped something like a pitchfork is used in the shaft. Instead, the shaft has a flat side this cartridge. However, diamond replace- ground on it, and the opening in the ments are always shaped like the needle cartridge is shaped correspondingly. "A" shown in the photograph. When inserting needles are used in Astatic AC single - a needle, the flat side of the shank should, stylus cartridges and ACD turnover car- of course, face the set screw. tridges. Removal and installation is the same as for Q needles. WEBSTER- ELECTRIC CARTRIDGES: (No con- Fig. 12. Prying out Q -33 with a knife. nection with Webster- Chicago though some- SHURE NEEDLES: These can be recognized times used in their changers). Except for not only by their characteristic shape but their latest turnover cartridge, practically all also by the way they are held in place by a Webster- Electric cartridges use setscrews to small, knurled thumb nut. Both needle hold the needles in place. On the older and thumb nut can be seen clearly in Fig. turnovers, such as Model F -r4, it is necessary 13. The danger of doing damage to the to remove the control lever, which is itself cartridge by applying excessive pressure held in by a very tiny screw, in order to when loosening or tightening the thumb get at the needle -holding set screw. nut can be avoided by holding the front of the needle while turning the thumb nut. PHILCO CARTRIDGES: Both the single - Incidentally, it is not necessary to remove stylus model and the tandem type use push - the nut; just loosening it slightly will per- in needles similar to the Q -type mentioned mit withdrawal of the worn needle and in- Fig. r3. Knurled-nut fastens Shure needles. above. The single -tip needle has no rear sertion of the new one. This type is some- overhang like the Q, so it is necessary to as times referred to "Muted Stylus ". work a knife or razor blade edge under the shoulder of the shank, as shown in Fig. 16. ELECTRO -VOICE NEEDLES: These are also It is even easier if two blades are used, one easily recognized because they are the only on each side. This applies also to the tan- kind installed by sliding the shank into a dem type. The shank has a key on it, like is Fig. tube which part of the cartridge. 14 the Q and Q -33 needles, though it faces shows an E -V cartridge minus the needle. forward instead of to the rear. Most Philco The tube and its opening are visible. The cartridges can be removed from their tone shank tapers at the end which goes into the arms simply by pulling downward on them. tube, and be in firmly so must pushed that With the cartridge out in the open it is it will be held securely. Excessive pressure, much easier to work on the needle. however, should not be used. To remove the Fig. 14. A tube holds stylus for E -V pickup. needle, tweezers or small needlenose pliers Continued on page 76

Fig. z5. A set screw holds W-C tandem styli. Fig. 16. Philco resembles Q -33, Fig. 12. Fig. z7. II and C styli have tapered shanks.

www.americanradiohistory.com L udwi van Beethoven

on records

By C. G. BURKE

LUDWIG van Beethoven was born in Bonn in 1770. His ancestry was undistinguished and his childhood one year after the birth of Napoleone Buonaparte in hard. Like all the greatest, except Gluck and Wagner, in Ajaccio. As republican General and then Emperor of this wicked art wherein so few excel, he was stringently the French, the soldier traversed Europe, carrying with his labored in childhood; and the grim parental or other disci- artillery the ideas, customs, innovations and achievements pline which deprived the great ones of a normal childhood of the French Revolution which had made him, and which did, in that brutal overseership, indubitably intensify the he never forgot maintained the strength of his sword. flight from normalism that made Beethoven, Bach, Mozart Beethoven was the trumpet of the Revolution, and con- and Haydn what they became. sciously, as the original dedication of the Eroica Symphony As composers, Beethoven, and Haydn whom Beethoven to General Buonaparte emphasizes. early imitated, were the least precocious. Their big talents The French is the classic of Revolutions, victorious in were revealed when each was nearing thirty. Beethoven, those expiring years of the Eighteenth Century which however, as a child was a prodigy in performance, wherein killed the prior characteristics of that Age of Enlighten- a large measure of expertise can be imparted by precept, ment, archaized her institutions of art and instituted the example and drill. At twelve he conducted the orchestra free, diffuse and wild ways of Romanticism. As wigs, of the Elector of Cologne. In his early teens he was a sen- swords and kneebreeches were discarded, the minuet sational organist and, on the smaller keyboards, history capitulated to the waltz; the grand formal opera on Grecian records an unapproachable mastery from the beginning themes lost favor to the loosely -constructed extravaganzas until night had descended too far. of Weber, Boieldieu and Meyerbeer; and the taut, pointed We do not now expect a virtuoso to escape from vir- buffa was replaced by the bubbling, melodious and super- tuosity, but it was inconceivable to Beethoven that he ficial comic operas of Auber and Donizetti. should stay imprisoned in other men's ideas. Of all musi- Beethoven had a foot squarely in each century. His cians, he and Wagner were the grand aspirers: they could classic foot maintained the aggressive stride of his romantic not be contained; and if this is apposite to the fiery, ner- foot. Without abandoning the past he embraced the vous, questing, intellectuality of Wagner, it was not im- future. He burst asunder the musical forms he had found plicit in the boisterous, fateful, moody, vain and com- with the huge passion of an outcry they had not been mon humanity of Beethoven. designed to contain. He made the symphony - and his For this was the ordinary man in quintessence, with the symphonies are molded in a nobly classic form - an in- marvelous exception of his limitless gift, the transcendent tense emotional panorama; he made the string quartet, extraordinariness of his statement of the ordinary hopes, which Haydn had brought to exquisite perfection, a ve- despairs and struggles of ordinary man. hicle of concentrated exalted utterance, and later, the His statement is for everyone not gifted. He sets a path most brooding, introspective examinations we have in for triumph, after overcoming woe. He announces the tones. His fifty sonatas are of twenty dimensions and grimness of adversity, by conquering it. He clarifies the thirty contours. His variations, an incredible exploitation dream of all who wish to say they had a right to live. He of a musical seed, become poignant treatises on the nature has himself fought against distress of the most brutal sort of man. The overwhelming aspirational devotion of the that can afflict a composer, but he surmounted this and great Solemn Mass is universal and unconfinableto churches. narrates in music how he did it.

www.americanradiohistory.com Among the truly great men he was one of the least pre- The blight of poverty was not upon this man after his possessing and one of the most demanding. He played youth. He demanded respect from his coevals for the enor- juvenile practical jokes; his person was often unkempt, mous talent he knew he had, and emoluments accompanied his demeanor uncouth; and since his character was always the respect he extorted. He had munificent voluntary overflowing out of stability, he exhibited often a grave patrons who demanded for their perspicacious bounty no and anxious courtesy, and periodically he was able to other return than that he should enrich the world with exult in the elegance of his clothing. He worshipped a his music. Besides those who directly subsidized his un- world outdoors and all that lives and grows in fields and precedented clamor there were others, most often from forests. He lived most of his days in compressed urban the highest class, who contributed to his comfort and tried quarters in perpetual litter. From the beginning he em- to contribute to his contentment. Music has remembered anated an odd and indefinable charm which repelled the with gratitude for 150 years, and will perhaps recall with ordinary man for whom he spoke, and captivated the en- undiminished gratitude forever, the names of Lichnowsky, lightened, tolerant and cultivated aristocracy whom he Lobkowitz, Kinsky, Waldstein, Breuning, Browne, Braun, needed and whom his revolution was disinheriting. Brunswick, Rasoumowsky, Erdödy and the Archduke He had curious, unstable and passionate affections - for Rudolph. his mother, his nephew, for a diversity of women of whom He composed thunder and died during a thunderstorm the most celebrated probably never existed, for certain which he could not hear, in the fifty- seventh year of his instruments and certain trees. He had a great facility, life and the tenth of his black deafness. He had entrusted which he disdained, in writing masterpieces. We believe, his conflicts, his tumult, all his triumphs and every battle from what we have been told, that he improvised like no and his momentary despairs to nine symphonies, seventeen one before, and no one since. Yet he revised, corrected quartets, fifty sonatas, two masses, a dozen trios, seven and re -made in major part and minor detail nearly all his concertos and a multitude of other receptacles. They giant works before he gave them out as finalities. He was are inexhaustible, and an indispensable part of the equip- tortured by a musical conscience exigent of perfection; ment of modern man. No other voice was both so sten- and the great, facile Schubert exclaimed in horror at the torian and so tender. Deaf, he heard everything inwardly evidence of drudgery in Beethoven's sketch -books. and answered for everybody.

SYMPHONIES poraries. The work is a clarifying example Col ML 4o8 30 m $5.45 of the composer's development, spiritually -Brussels Radio Orch.; Erich Kleiber, No. I, IN C, OP. 2r and technically, in his use of a form and cond. Cap P 8xr6 30 m $4.98 Beethoven's first symphony uses an orches- orchestra like Haydn's, and of a musical -Homburg Sym.; Paul Schubert, cond. tra of the same dimensions as that of Haydn's temperament here still very much like Regent ro -in. 5010 $3.00 last. The Haydn form is imitated, and not a Haydn's, but rougher, more boisterous, little of the Haydn temperament. Writers more obvious perhaps, big, more energetic No. 3, IN E- PLAT, "EROICA ", OP. 55 on music used to condescend to this great and more defiant: attributes which were The first six recordings are recommendable; First Symphony, implying that composers soon going to make a Third Symphony to the seventh is unattractive in both recording have no musical origins. In truth it seems justify the anguish of contemporaneous and performance (Koussevitzky). The best impossible not to descry the emergent Bee- reaction. recording values are apparent in the Walter, thoven in the inchoate "evil whims" that The phonograph has four versions, of closely followed by the Toscanini which enliven the melodious grace of the last which one was not heard. Of the others, would have been the best except for a gen- Eighteenth Century symphony. not one is absolutely first -rate although eral lack of tonal rondure. Busch has the Of the three LP versions two are transfers two are rousing statements of the score. best balance but the exuberant treble of his from 78's, and one of these latter must be These are the versions of Monteux and violins cannot be subdued on all appara- regarded as the most desirable. This is Reiner. The lattei s is deft, taut and crisp tuses. The Schuricht recording is good Toscanini's, direct and beautifully propor- in a direction obeyed by a band instantly standard but unremarkable, a little tubby in tioned, tender yet incisive, solid in assembly responsive to his signal and impressively the bass and on a smaller scale than Walter and etched in detail, unrivalled by Walter's retained within the bright outline of a sym- and Toscanini. Mengelberg's disc is a suc- excellent but, comparatively, blunt direc- metrical and dramatic shape. Monteux has cessful transfer from 78's, a little opaque tion. Mengelberg distorts the outline by an easier beat, a more flowing control; his but brilliant here and there. Kleiber is gratuitous distasteful retards in the first hand is benign and gracious, and perhaps damaged by a high frequency ghost on the two movements. Recording laurels are to does not insist enough. No doubt Reiner's violins, and he has played this work better: Columbia and Walter, but barely. The way conforms to the Symphony's pattern here it is hurried and over -energetic, and it early LP has shrill violins and a cumbrous more correctly; no doubt, either, that Mon - lacks contrast. The Mengelberg, Toscanini, bass not evident in the Toscanini- Victor, teux's affectionate way inspires its own affec- Walter and Busch performances are in differ- which, however, betrays some of its dozen tion. The purely sonic considerations, how- ent ways more striking - in a commenda- years in a duller outcry of the whole orches- ever, make the choice fairly easy; Reiner's tory sense - than the others. Toscanini's tra. A feature curiously common to the three old LP has a persistently dry sound, and is direct, hard and inflexible. Walter's is editions is the modesty of horns and trum- violin tone is shrill, in contrast to a full, rougher and looser, at once more casual and pets. suave and heartening delivery permitted the hotter. Mengelberg's phrasing is more -BBC Orch.; Arturo Toscanini, cond. San Francisco orchestra by the engineers. emotional yet less insistent, his dramatic t Brahms: Haydn Variations. RCA Vic Kleiber had one of those dull days which contrasts are more vivid, his contours more LCT 1023 26 m $5.72 afflict him (15 years ago his recording of fluent than those in any other version. -New York Phil -Sym Orch.; Bruno Walter, the Second had some of the élan of the un- Busch's very slightly faster pace carries cond. Col 10 -in. ML 2027 23 m $4.00 paralleled Beecham projection.) His slow the most scrupulous and unindividual expression way which is, -Concertgebouw Orch.; Willem Mengel - first movement is surely at odds with the -a of course, in- berg, cond. Symphony No. 8 Cap holiday spirit of this Symphony, and the dividual in the extreme - and the abso- f this be ad- P 8079 22 m $4.98 extreme grace of the lovely Larghetto quite lute regularity of concept must etudes his stick. mired in an epic of this herculean content - shape. No. 2, IN D, OP. 36 -San Francisco Sym Orch.; Pierre Mon and classic Mengelberg's, in his The brashly cheerful Second Symphony (wit', teux, cond. RCA Vic LM 1024 32 m best moments, is the most winning present- a melting Larghetto) evoked a few cries of $5.72 ment, but he has inserted two or three fright from some of Beethoven's contem- -Pittsburgh Sym Orch.; Fritz Reiner, cond. minute retards to serve as his signature.

www.americanradiohistory.com The ultimate choice should be among his There are five recorded versions. For irritating. Klemperer's straightforward version, Walter's, Toscanini's and Busch's. obscure causes, only two were available for enunciation, nowhere tricky but in places The writer's decision wavers: he is inclined this gloss. Although neither is technically softer, less demanding than Mengelberg and most often to the Toscanini on the basis of as high as the latest engineering standards Wolf, is brightly registered in the second - all- around discal merit, and were it not for produce, both are satisfactory; the Szell best achievement of engineering. The rather the dry tone, the inclination would probably disc, however, to sound its best, needs slow pace contributes an inexorable quality be a conviction. In overall value, Walter's strong reduction of the treble. In general, to the triumphant paean. As usual, Mengel- seems a little behind, followed by Busch the performances are similar and very good, berg has the most sensitive moments and and Mengelberg whose disc lacks the re- with Szell a bit the tenderer and the more injects some retards. His version is at once cording radiance of the first three. This precise in orchestral delineation, Beecham massive and supple, seizing and dramatic. order is certainly alterable for different tastes. more athletic and less limpid (presumably The recording is in transfer from 78 and All versions but the Toscanini and Walter attributable to the recording process rather Capitol is almost invariably reliable in this have been forced to put the turn -over point than to that kind of deficiency in this con- process: brass is splendid here and the in the middle of the Funeral March. ductor). One seems as good as the other. strings phalanxed, but there is some veiling -NBC Orch.; Arturo Toscanini, cond. RCA -London Phil Orch.;, Sir Thomas Beecham, of the wood. The Wolf direction is the Vic LM 1042 46 m $5.72 cond. RCA Vic LM 1026 3o in $5.72 most direct of all. This Symphony, with -New York Phil-Sym Orch.; Bruno Walter, -Cleveland Orch.; Georg Szell, cond. Col all its magnificence, has a very simple plan cond. Col ML 4228 48 m $5.45 ML 4008 31 m $5.45 to which the conductor adheres without -Austrian State Sym Orch.; Fritz Busch, The following were not heard: deviation. This is the way qualified con- cond. Rem RLP 199 -21 44 m $2.19 -London Phil Orch.; George Solti, cond. ductors conduct until an overwhelming -Concertgebouw Orch. Amsterdam; Wil- Lon LLP 316 consciousness of their own réclame in- lem Mengelberg, cond. Cap P 8002 -Berlin Phil Orch.; Wilhelm Furtwängler, spires them to make improvements in mas- 45 m $4.98 cond. VOX PL 7210 terpieces. Wolf's would be the best edition -Berlin Phil Orch.; Carl Schuricht, cond. -Sym Orch.; George Singer, cond. Rem if his orchestra had been closer to unanimity Decca DL 9534 46 m $5.85 RLP 199-51 and the recording, which is solidly satis- -Concertgebouw Orch. Amsterdam; Erich factory, more luminous in differentiation. Kleiber, cond. Lon LLP 239 45 m $5.95 No. 5, IN C MINOR, OP. 67 The remaining versions have enough -Boston Sym Orch.; Serge Koussevitzky, Assuming that everyone knows something faults to establish their claim for the bottom cond. RCA Vic LM 1145 48 m $5.72 of this victorious battle whose iron history of the list. It must be apparent from the -Homburg Sym.; Paul Shubert, Cond. is presumably capable of perpetual retelling, contradictory qualities of the first four that Regent 5007 $5.45 let's try to arrange some satisfactory order no decisive preference can be indicated. of merit among the phonographic editions, The order below states the writer's on the No. 4, INjB -FLAT, OP. 6o not one of which is as good as we should basis of ultimate question, "Which would Played less often than any of the other expect in this work. The Walter disc has you rather hear ?" answered by himself. Symphonies, the justification apparently by far the best engineering, very large and -Vienna Sym Orch.; Otto Klemperer, lying in the fact that the Fourth cannot main- brazen, sometimes coarse but with a splendid cond. Vox PL 7070 35 m $5.95 tain in its latter pair of movements the cul- string-tone and sharp detail. But the con- -Concertgebouw Orch., Amsterdam; Wil- mination achieved during the incredibly ductor's concept permitted some dull doc- lem Mengelberg, cond. Cap P 8110 serene and lofty Adagio. toring which seems aimless and can be 3o m $4.98

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THIS STUDY WAS MADE

Records Covered would not hear these annoyances; in com- discs available for this study. With one There are 230 recorded versions of 119 pensation, the pursuers of high fidelity will exception, every manufacturer cooper- Beethoven works, occupying 329 sides, in hear a timbre the others cannot extort ated when asked. Especial thanks are the following synopsis. With the excep- from their machines. offered to Allegro, Capitol, Columbia, Mer- tion of 24 sides, which were unobtainable In reviewing records, the writer has cury and RCA Victor for their graciousness or so damaged as to be unplayable, this made it a rule not to refer to surface noise in supplying certain discs at the very compendium reviews every Beethoven or spindle -hole eccentricities, since these last moment; also to the Haynes-Griffin work recorded on LP as of mid -January. faults, if publicized, could libel a good re- Music Company of 420 Madison Avenue, Personal Preference cording when a single defective example New York, who were particularly amiable Since the synopsis was conceived as a alone may contain them. But in a compila- in providing a number of records which practical guide for music lovers, the writer tion of this extent, where records of all could be found available nowhere else. has submerged his own prejudices as rigid- labels are played daily for many hours, Abbreviations Used ly as he could. He has tried to indicate the writer noticed perforce a sharper sur- In setting this material to type, it has been the broader, the more universal values of face noise on Remington and London necessary to adopt certain standardized the discs, rather than certain niceties or records than on the others. He made in- abbreviations which are used, however, certain eccentricities pleasing or repellent quiries and was informed that the surface only in the catalogue data at the end of to himself, perhaps exclusively. Thus, difficulty resulted from temporary condi- each review. The names of certain record the prejudices implicit in the following tions, since rectified. It is to be hoped manufacturers were condensed as follows: judgments are not denied or condoned that this is correct, and the information All Allegro by their owner who, in exculpation of is made public with a view to reassuring Bar Bartok them, merely says that he tried to dimin- music lovers apprehensive of the surfaces Cap Capitol ish their impact when he recognized them. of these records, that if some are defec- Col Columbia Quality of Reproduction tive, this is apparently not now the rule Conc Concert Hall All discs were heard in the same quarters for the majority. Discophiles would be Lon London and from the same apparatus. Many prudent in making certain that individual Mer Mercury were frequently checked on other instru- copies are not aberrations. A certain RCA Vic RCA Victor ments to determine the degree of certain number of Allegro records have been en- Rem Remington recorded deficiencies. Every record was, tirely remade, and some of those with an Ren Renaissance of course, played from beginning to end, engineering censored here may now be Van Vanguard and parts of many were repeated in direct available with improved acoustics. West Westminster comparison until a fair conclusion could In the synopsis where there is more In addition, Orchestra has been cut to be reached. than one version, the writer's order of Orch.; Symphony to Sym.; Philharmonic Frequent reference is made to high fre- preference is indicated by the order of to Phil.; Conductor to Cond.; and minutes quency exaggeration and extraneous bass listing. Except where the text may state to a simple m. All records are of the 12 -in. rumble afflicting certain discs. These otherwise, the top is judged best, the size unless otherwise stated. Where selec- observations are of greater moment to bottom, poorest. tions other than the one under discussion enthusiasts with high fidelity equipment Sincere acknowledgements are heartily are coupled, the additional ones are given than to owners of conventional phono- given to the friends, colleagues, manufac- immediately after a dagger (t), in accord- graphs. The latter, in all probability, turers, merchants and others who made ance with the practice used by Schwann.

www.americanradiohistory.com -"Austrian" Sym Orch.; Hans Wolf, cond. and the wood is too forward. The Wöss of poorer sonic quality than the preceding. Rem 10 -in. RLP 149 -9 28 m $1.69 performance has a strong likeness to the Walter: A broader observance of the -New York Phil -Sym Orch.; Bruno Walter, beautiful reading on 78's of Felix Wein- whims and contrasts than is to be found cond. Col ML 4297 32 m $5.45 gartner, but the horns do not sound out in elsewhere makes this version a little less -Paris Conservatory Orch.; Carl Schuricht, the Remington recording. convincing than the others. It is a very cond. Lon LLP 7 32 m $5.95 This leaves Toscanini, whose all- around early LP, but a pretty good one - barring -Boston Sym Orch.; Serge Koussevitzky, performance is admirable, and Scherchen, some intermittent violin harshness and an cond. RCA Vic LM 1021 30 in $5.72 supported by superb engineering. Tos- incomplete treatment of the winds. Very canini's first movement is certainly the most fine pianos. intensely dynamic ever put upon discs, and Muench: Many felicities of recording, No. 6, IN F, "PASTORAL ", OP. 68 his most familiar attribute, passion -cum- big and Three Klemperer, Kleiber bold, but with an excessive bass of the versions - exactitude, is distinctly appropriate to the and some obscurity in and Walter are very beautifully played, wind definition. - giddy lines of this Symphony except in the There is a very hot pace in this one which and one Scherchen is magnificently - - Trio where his rapid pace converts a moment has its own exhilaration, and the disc recorded. What originally appeared to be would of devotion to some threatening gestures. be in a challenging posture vis-a -vis the others an impossible task of selection becomes on The Toscanini recording dates back to if it lacked background rumble. analysis rather easy since Scherchen may be about 1935, and the engineers have spectacu- Francisco Sym - eliminated for suggestions of sun -sodden -San Orch.; Pierre Mon larly succeeded in extracting everything teux, cond. RCA LM lethargy rather well- being, and both Vic Io -in. 43 than possible from the 78's. The bass is a little 25 m $4.67 Walter and Kleiber have some defects of tubby and the treble lacks some brightness, State recording not present in Klemperer. Wöss -Austrian Sym Orch.; Fritz Busch, but within its restricted range this is a good cond. Haydn: Symphony No. zos offers a gracious standard fresco, and would t recording. Nevertheless, Dr. Scherchen's Masterseal MW 39 27 m $6.45 a higher if his did have stood step violins splendid orchestra is reproduced with such -Concertgebouw Orch., Amsterdam; not dominate his orchestra to excess. Be- Wil- a totality of superiority to all the other lem Mengelberg, Symphony No. 1 fore dismissing Kleiber, whose transfer from cond. t editions that the hearing is a much more Cap P 8079 25 m $4.98 78 has created an orchestral artefact, not exciting experience, particularly in the two York Phil -Sym unpleasant but decidedly unreal, we may -New Orch.; Bruno Walter, last movements. Indeed, the wonderful cond. Col 10 -in. ML 2001 24 m $4.00 say that his Storm is the most satisfactorily culmination the finale the Westminster ; ominous and spectacular, and it should be of of -Paris Conservatory Orch. Charles Muench, disc would alone make it preferable since cond. Lon 10-in. LPS I 1 121 m $4.95 said of Walter that each of his five move- here conductor and engineers have been ments is sympathetically expressive and able to realize the ecstatic, irresistible pro- superbly sung. There remains Klemperer. For pulsion of the music far more completely No. 9, IN D MINOR, WITH FINAL CHORUS ON the first three movements, his transfigured than any other combinations. There is SCHILLER'S "ODE TO JOY ", OP. 125 utterance not only eclipses its LP rivals and some basis for objection to the slow pace The dosing paean to Elysian and human version is, any other phonographic but with of the Scherchen first movement, but re- brotherhood has adulterated the repute of a in soft finality, perfection moodal sensi- peated hearings erase an original sense of the Ninth Symphony into ambiguity. There tivity and instinctive oneness with Beetho- is a tendency to think of the Finale as the in injury, which repeated hearings of the ven breathing deep Heiligenstadt. In sober tramp of the Muench finale, for ex- symphony, and since this Finale declaims no other "Pastoral" does so simply sweet a ample, only fortify. most vehemently a quasi -religious senti- devotion respire so naturally and with so National Opera Orch.; Hermann ment, there is a deplorable tendency to effort. It is essence -Vienna little an exudation of the Scherchen, cond. West wL 5089 assess the music according to the degree of of this music, its mingled spiritual and 37 m $5.95 coincidence between its religion and that of physical essence: the intimate communion Phil -Sym Orch.; Arturo Tos- the assessor. Thus one hears quick spoken man with the small immensities which -New York of canini, cond. RCA Vic LCT 1013 reactions to this work almost as if the in preserving and threatening life enrich and 34 m $5.72 speakers were attracted or repelled by a perfume it. The recording properties of York Phil-Sym Orch.; Bruno Walter, slogan. And yet, if one leaves the "Ode to this performance are transparent and in- -New cond. Col ML Joy" entirely out of consideration, there particularly in the wood. The Storm, 4414 35 m $5.45 timate, Kurt Wöss, cond. Rem RLP remain three perfect movements immediate- is here, -Sym Orch.; if not Kleiber's tempest, ominous 199 -8 36 m $2.19 ly apparent as of the most miraculous Bee- following the gentle unfolding of the pre- -Philadelphia Orch.; Eugene Ormandy, thoven. The Scherzo is his greatest; the ceding scenes. Drastic treble reduction is cond. Col ML 4011 34 m $5.45 long contemplative song of the slow move- necessary, but the sound is splendid after Sym Orch.; Charles Muench, ment which makes regret a rapture is in- the reduction. -Boston cond. RCA Vic LM 1034 35 m $5.72 contestably the most beautiful of his eight -Vienna Sym Orch.; Otto Klemperer, -Concertgebouw Orch., Amsterdam; Erich symphonic slow movements, surpassing the cond. Vox PL 6960 41 m $5.95 infinitely Kleiber, cond. Lon LLP 24o 33 m $5.95 placid loveliness of that in the -Philadelphia Orch.; Bruno Walter, cond. Fourth, as Michaelangelo surpasses Ingres; Col ML 4010 38 m $5.45 while the deadly intensity of the opening -Sym Orch.; Kurt Wöss, cond. Rem 199 -7 No. 8, IN F, OP. 93 Allegro is not comparable with anything. 37 m $2.19 Effervescent, sportful and boisterous, the It is plain that none of the three recorded -London Phil Orch.; Erich Kleiber, cond. little Eighth is elastic enough to tolerate versions is definitive, and that the Walter Lon LLP 33 39 m $5.95 directional abuses, but in the five recorded is preferable to the others in the sum of -Vienna National Opera Orch.; Hermann versions only Mengelberg is at all subver- its merits. The Koussevitzky is not likely Scherchen, cond. West WL 5108 39 m sive, and then just with a couple of trifling to be acceptable to people familiar with the $5.95 retards in the first movement to establish mighty score. In public performance this his individuality. Only the first two of the conductor used to offer a good Ninth, but No. 7, IN A, OP. 92 list below indicate a hierarchical significance. his concept changed, or his abilities flagged, Wagner's wonder -stricken epithet "apotheo- They seem to be as a whole more desirable for this one which should have been his sis of the dance" still serves, despite mur- than the following three, and to the writer monument. It is vitiated although violent; mured cavils, as an indispensable quick the Monteux is the most desirable of all. heavy, but weak; in places staggering be- characterization of this cosmic exultation in Here is an epitome of analysis: tween over -broad alternations of vehement rhythmic rapture which it does not seem Monteux: This interpretation has the sforzati and perplexing syncopes. The great possible a man could write. geniality of the conductor's own being: hurt in this is the nullification of the really Of the seven editions, two are of salient plump, ruddy, bon enfant, equable. Probably ravishing sound produced by the Boston worth, three of conflicting values, and two the slight orchestral roughness is the result Symphony Orchestra in the three last move- have defects which permit their disqualifica- of his tolerant personality, but we never ments, perhaps as mellow a synthesis as don from this serious competition. have everything on records and this is, in has appeared on discs, and with a clarity Clearing the field by examining the latter general, one of the most completely realized of wind statement in places where the winds first, we find the Kleiber disc excited rather discs among the Nine Symphonies, with its are inaudible in the other versions. Walter's than exultant, and dogged by small defici- bright winds, clean bite of the strings and work is not beset by any falter; his vigor encies in playing and in the recording; and inclusive trueness of sound. and control are unimpaired; his third move- the Muench - well recorded aside from too Busch: The most reflective and tempered ment is the most stirring and so too, his much echo - silkenly enunciated in a read- perusal of the Eighth - unusual treatment, opening. The Ormandy edition, a very ing of tranquil languor, a novel treatment, not disappealing. Also the most incisive early LP, is surprisingly clear and rich for and happily Mr. Muench's alone. In the direction, the cleanest orchestral response its age, and this conductor has expressed central category, the recording of the Phila- and, after Muench, the greatest impression most vigorously the ferocious good -will of delphians seems tarnished to us now, al- of orchestral weight. The treble on the the Scherzo. Walter's version is the newest though not fatally, and Walter's version is amplifier needs careful adjustment to disci- and the most luxuriant of sound, although either willfully or carelessly eccentric in pline the violins on this disc. that sound is not of the Boston Symphony tempo, while the big, bluff sound, here and Mengelberg: Spry and athletic, and an Orchestra. there very felicitous, is as often rather rough extremely able transfer from 78's but plainly Music lovers familiar with the Felix

www.americanradiohistory.com Weingartner 78's will not find in any of EGMONT, OP. 84 -Munich Phil Orch.; Robert Heger, cond. these editions the wonderful, fluent control The incidental music which Beethoven t Leonora No. 3 and Coriolan Overtures exercised by that grievously missed musi- wrote for Goethé s drama comprised nine Mer ro -in. MG 15002 8 m $3.85 cian. numbers besides the famous Overture. In -New York Phil-Sym Orch. and West- Germany, the music is played as a matter LEONORA, OPP. 72, 72A AND 138 minster Choir; Bruno Walter, cond. of course when the drama is mounted, but For Fidelio, which was originally called Irma Gonzalez (s), Elena Nikolaidi (a), since Egmont does not appear on the Ameri- Leonora, Beethoven for various reasons and Raoul Jobin (t), Mack Harrell (bne). can stage, we seldom have an opportunity in several eras wrote four overtures. One of t Brahms: Schicksalslied, Op. S4 2 Col to hear its passionate, frank and moving these, called Fidelio, was the third written, SL 156 hr5 Ill $10.90 music. The ten pieces have been recorded and is now played as the overture to the -Philadelphia Orch. and Westminster once as a unit, and this recording is not opera. Another, known now as Leonora No. Choir; Eugene Ormandy, cond. Stella generally available although it is a valued 3, was the second written, and is played Roman (s), Enid Szantho (a), Frederick addition to phonographic repertory. Mr. generally as an interlude between the last Jagel (t), Nicola Moscona (bs). t Goehr's direction is by no means inspired, two scenes of the opera. Leonora No. 2 was Leonora Overture No. 3 2 Col SL 150 r hr. but is steady and understanding, and Miss the original version of Leonora No. 3. 3 m $10.90 -Boston Sym Orch. and Berkshire Music Festival Chorus; Serge Koussevitzky, cond. Frances Yeend (s), Eunice Alberts (a), David Lloyd (t), James Pease (bne). t Egmont Overture 2 RCA Vic LM 6001 ihr8In $11.44

UNAUTHENTICATED, IN C, "JSNA" There is both audible and external evidence to support the contention that this is an early Beethoven product which he chose not to publish. It implies some of his mannerisms and recalls many of the mannerisms of Haydn, and was certainly written by a man of caliber. Without profundity, it presents a procession of spirited and melodious ideas in the classic mold with the surety of an experienced or a very gifted hand. It is seldom heard except on the phonograph, where Prof. Heger gives it the gallant, brisk and stimulating performance he would accord a standard masterpiece. The engineering is not notable, but will be found satisfactory if the stridency of the violins can be curbed in the amplifier. -Munich Phil Orch.; Robert Heger, cond. tNamensfeier and WPeihe des Hauses Over- tures Mer MG 10055 25 m $4.85

OVERTURES

WEIHE DES HAUSES, IN C, OP. 124 A noble work seldom played, the Consecra- tion of the House has been victimized by the condescension of those who have not heard it. A proud devotional introduction leads into a jubilant fugue and returns to under- line the solemnity of dedication. This is well outlined by the Bamberg conductor Gotthold Lessing, but his band is rough and the recording is wiry. On the other hand, the Toscanini record is notable for splendid orchestral playing and its sound has been commendably captured in transference from 78's. Unfortunately, the conductor's quick LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN 1770 -1827 pace and curt phrasing in the introduction lessen its stateliness and provide insufficient contrast for the fugue, itself taken so quickly as to suggest fever rather than re- Flury's Clärchen is dramatically stated. The Leonora No. r (called by Beethoven Charac- joicing. The superior sound makes the sonic quality of the disc is like that of Con- teristic Overture in C), receives an occasion- Toscanini version preferable, but miracles cert Hall's Prometheus album. al concert performance and has not yet have happened on LP, and we may soon have -Margit Flury, soprano. Winterthur Orch.; appeared on LP, although there were good a third Weihe des Hauses of adequate per- Walter Goehr, cond. Con E -7 39 m 78's by Toscanini and Mengelberg. The formance and reproduction. Available to subscribers only. overture to Fidelio may be found in the -NBC Orch.; Arturo Toscanini, cond. OVERTURE ONLY: The procedure of Heger, Oceanic album of that opera. t Schumann; Manfred Overture RCA building slowly to a mighty climax after a No. 2. The dramatic design, thematic Vic LM 69m$4.67 subdued opening, seems more rational than material and development are similar to -Bamberg Sym Orch.; Gotthold Lessing, the Koussevitzky method of expending those of the more closely textured No. 3. cond. t "Jena" Symphony and Namens- force en route, but except in this concept of A great overture but less great than the latter, feier Overture Mer MG 10055 12 m $4.85 dramatic outline, every advantage belongs although in the late 20's a strong effort to the latter's direction. The resounding was made to convince us of the contrary. CORIOLAN, OP. 62 splendor of the Boston orchestra and a In the only recording, the limp performance Grim and implacable, contemptuous of finely adjusted and mellifluous feat of en- seems to have been caused by confusion with weakness, a superb work formally perfect, gineering make the totality seem almost as its successor. The engineering is flawed, without one supererogatory note to mar superb as it should be. Unluckily, to own with the "anticipatory echo" particularly its fateful decision. Remarkably, there is this Egmont one must purchase also the obnoxious. only one version, an honest projection with- disappointing Ninth Symphony, which -Munich Phil Orch.; Eugen Pabst, cond. out polish, a little wiry in the recording. makes the cost a little excessive. t Brahms: Tragic Overture Mer to in. -Munich Phil Orch.; Rudolf Albert, cond. -Boston Sym Orch.; Serge Koussevitzky, MG 15038 15 m $3.85 t Egmont Overture and Leonora Overture cond. t Symphony No. 9 RCA Vic No. 3. This is a supreme tone -poem, a No. 3 Mer 10-in. MG 15002 8 m $3.85 LM 600i 8 m $II.44 compact and heroic epitome of the drama

www.americanradiohistory.com of Fidelio. It is apparently deathless and Hans Altmann, cond. Mer ro -in. MG sound of the orchestra lacks clear detail. with the Fifth Symphony occupies an in- 15013 29 m $3.85 -Wilhelm Backhaus. Vienna Phil Orch.; evitable place as utterly indispensable music Clemens Krauss, cond. Lon LLP 417 in the repertory of every symphony orchestra 3, IN No. C MINOR, OP. 37 32 rr1 $5.95 in the world. Because of its vast appeal we Not one of the recorded performances of -Artur Rubinstein. Royal Phil Orch.; Sir need not doubt that the near future will the big and imposing Third Concerto contains Thomas Beecham, cond. RCA Vic bring us some new recordings of consider- all the features we should like. The Rubin- LCT 1032 30 m $5.72 ably higher merit than those listed below, stein- Toscanini disc is a failure, and each of -Robert Casadesus. Philadelphia Orch.; not one of which is recommendable, an the others limps somewhere, with Arrau - Eugene Ormandy, cond. Col ML 4074 astonishing lapse for this work. Ormandy probably the most satisfactory 29m$5.45 -NBC Orch.; Arturo Toscanini, cond. and certainly the best joint realization, with -Guiomar Novaes. Vienna Sym Orch.; t Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2 the slow movement very beautifully sung. Otto Klemperer, cond. Vox PL 7090 RCA Vic LM 1043 13 m $5.72 But the piano is hard. Mr. Ormandy's 32 m $5.95 -Philharmonia Orch.; Paul Kletzki, cond. work is the smoothest of any of the conduc- t Symphony No. 9 2 Col SE 150 14 m tors. Haskil- Swoboda has the best recording, $10.90 fat and healthy, nicely differentiated, thor- No. 5, IN E -FLAT, OP. 73 ( "EMPEROR ") -Munich Phil Orch.; Rudolf Albert, cond. ough for both piano and orchestra. Schnabel used to answer sturdily, when he Mme. he t Egmont and Coriolan Overtures Mer Haskil is persuasive although less nimble was asked what thought was the greatest piece music, 10 in. MG 15002 15 m $3.85 than Arrau, but the Swoboda direction is of piano that this is; and he was in solemn in the first movement to a depressing not alone thinking so. His performance has been, in NAMENSFEIER, OP. ri5 degree not completely mitigated by a lyri- our time, the standard: Written to commemorate St. Francis's Day cal Largo. Backhaus -Böhm has intermittent it is the one that other pianists imitate. His in honor of the last Roman Emperor, this fine moments but a number of difficulties second recording, available again and trans- ferred to LP with evidence of the Victor seldom- played Overture is rather cleverly appear in the sound as recorded. Arrau - clothed in a motley of pomp and rejoicing. Ormandy seems to be the wisest choice. skill at these resuscitations, contains the It is certainly worth more hearings than it -Claudio Arrau. Philadelphia finest playing we have of the piano part. Orch.; Eu- The orchestral collaboration provided receives. Prof. Heger's direction is sure and gene Ormandy, cond. Col ML 4302 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has not seems affectionate; the externally induced 35 m $5.45 wire in the violins is very resistant to evic- -Clara Haskil. Winterthur Sym Orch.; the majesty and force of the admirable equivalent offered by Szell tion even through a most flexible amplifier. Henry Swoboda, cond. West WL 5057 Georg to Clifford Curzon for London, which should have been, -Munich Phil Orch.; Robert Heger, cond. 35 m $5.95 f 'Jena" Symphony and Weihe des Hauses -Wilhelm Backhaus. Vienna Phil Orch.; in view of its recency and Szell's mastery, the essential edition; but something rotted Mer MG 10055 7 m $4.85 Karl Böhm, cond. Lon LI.P 289 37 m somewhere in a basically excellent recording. $5.95 -Artur Rubinstein NBC Orch.; Arturo Tos- There are several singular alterations of pitch, and the harassed canini, cond. RCA Vic LCT 1009 violins are by a CONCERTOS FOR PIANO 33 m spurious shimmer which can never quite $5.72 be No. r, IN C, OP. 15 expunged via the treble control. Schioler- The brilliant light of the Gieseking per- No. 4, IN G, OP. 58 Garaguly tempers the Emperor's might with formance exposes brutally the deficiencies of The delectable lyricism of this wonderful delicacy, not unpleasantly, in an honest and the three other discs, which seem shabbier work has been favored on the phonograph cohesive recording not less meritorious for after Gieseking than before, and perhaps with four interpretations of general excel- being unsensational. Either this or Schnabel- shabbier than they really are. The man is lence: a rarity indeed for one of the major Stock seems to be the best of these recorded in one of those rare, admirable moments works, to have none of its recorded versions Emperors, although Karrer -Wöss (whoever when he has no peer, when the agility of somewhere spoiled by bad taste, incompe- they are) have given us, curiously, the his fingers is dictated by grace of understand- tence, fatuity or pretentiousness. The four stateliest of the five concepts. Miss Karrer ing. With the anonymous conductor versions are listed in order of the writer's has a musical dignity somewhat above the (Süsskind ?) he conveys the bubbling preference, based on overall discal quality, limits of her strength but she and Wöss sprightliness of the First Concerto with in- but the first two are so close, after a compari- mingle the serene majesty of their exposition gratiating ease and crispness. The engineers son of their merits, that the deciding factor with a complicating sense of human friend- have aided with the best of the four record. was the richer, fuller orchestra revealed in liness, of uncustomary appeal. If severe ings, good average, not so rich and detailed the Backhaus-Krauss, with superbly de- rectification of the treble curve can be ob- in the orchestra as London but brighter, fined wind instruments. The piano tone is tained, the tonal qualities of their disc and with a purer treble in the piano. The strong and excellent everywhere except will be found something more than satis- Schröter -Altmann performance is a chaste now and then in the high treble. It is neces- factory. In the Columbia edition, Mr. and attractive miniature in a rather un- sary to warn that a regular pulsation of low Ormandy's opulent orchestra sounds superb- pleasant recording. Guida himself is ex- frequency background resonance may spoil ly the superb music given to it, but the cellent, limpid, poised and sinuous, but the pleasure of Backhaus's muscular and engineers, triumphant with the warm or- Dr. Böhm's prim and temperate direction tender versatility and the lovely, lingering chestral pliancy, failed the soloist, freezing has censored most of the frolic out of the environment supplied by the conductor's his piano to a brittle metal. work. Miss Dorfmanñ s heavily marked ac- affectionate understanding. -Victor Schioler. Danish National Radio cents and Mr. Toscanini s urgency make an The happiest and most effervescent ver- Orch.; Carl Garaguly, cond. Mer MG execution tedious from its excess of sparkle. sion is that of Rubinstein -Beecham. In roo6o 37 m $4.85 (After Gieseking, it was found impossible concert with a man of Sir Thomas's stature, -Artur Schnabel. Chicago Sym Orch.; to decide on a proper order of precedence this pianist is not victimized by his own Frederick Stock, cond. RCA Vic LCT for the others.) facility, and the results are exceptionally 1015 38 m $5.72 -Walter Gieseking. Philharmonia Orch.; gratifying. This is a recording in trans- -Felicitas Karrer. Sym Orch.; Kurt Wöss, cond. unnamed. Col ML 4507 31 m $5.45 ference from recent 78's, not so solid as cond. Rem RLP 199-1 37 m $2.19 -Heinz Schröter. Bavarian Radio Orch.; two of the other versions but without seri- -Rudolf Serkin. Philadelphia Orch.; Eu- Hans Altmann, cond. t Haydn: Con- ous engineering faults. gene Ormandy, cond. Col ML 4373 38 m $5.45 certo in D Mer MG 10047 34 m $4.85 Casadesus -Ormandy and Novaes -Klem- -Anil Dorfmann. NBC Orch.; Arturo perer are rather special in their treatment. -Clifford Curzon. London Phil Orch.; Toscanini, cond. RCA Vic LM 1039 Mr. Casadesus reduces the proportions of Georg Szell, cond. Lon LLP 114 38 m 32 m $5.72 the work and stresses, with the orchestra, $5.95 -Friedrich Guida. Vienna Phil Orch.; Karl its softer rondures. The smooth respon- Böhm, cond. Lon LLP 421 40 in $5.95 siveness of the orchestra is notable, and WITHOUT NUMBER, IN E -FLAT (1784) the enregistered tone is surprisingly good in We do not condescend to Beethoven, even No. 2, IN B -FLAT, OP. 19 view of the age of this edition. The princi- at fourteen. This exhumation, which Bee- This was the first written (not counting the pal weakness is some clatter at the top of thoven would not publish, contains an early effort in E -flat) and is the least often the keyboard, forte. The deliberate pace of orchestral reconstruction from notes in the performed of the five. It is by far the slightest, the Vox version will probably not please composer's hand, the piano part being en- but it is enjoyable and easily assimilable. music lovers accustomed to more con- tirely his own. It is pretty and well-made, Unfortunately neither of the recorded ver- ventional treatment, and this writer believes and by no means dull. Played for this disc sions is considered here a recommendable the retarded tempo not helpful, except in with a becoming tenderness, it may be the item, one because of its performance, the the Andante, where it produces a very elo- only edition for a long time. Unfortunately other because of coarse engineering. quent poem. An interesting feature of these the old recording is afflicted with consider- -William Kapell. NBC Orch.; Vladimir slow tempos is that they seem to benefit able distortion. Golschmann, cond. RCA Vic ro -in. the pianist and hurt the orchestra, which -Orazio Frugoni. Pro Musica Chamber LM 12 29 m $4.67 must of course jibe with the soloist. The Orch.; Paul Paray, cond. Vox PL 6470 -Hans Schröter. Bavarian Radio Orch.; recorded piano sound is excellent. The 22 m $5.95

www.americanradiohistory.com CONCERTO POR VIOLIN canini, cond. RCA Vic LCT roto 39 m No. 2, IN A, OP. 2, No. 2 $5.72 A wayward humor suggestive of Haydn, CONCERTO IN D, OP. 61 -Joseph Szigeti. New York Phil-Sym Orch.; but less ordered and headier than charac- A rare case. The four recorded interpreta- Bruno Walter, cond. Col ML 4012 42 m teristic of the older composer, infuses this tions are excellent beyond cavil for soloists $5.45 Sonata throughout its surprising length. and orchestra, with a palm for performance -Zino Francescatti. Philadelphia Orch.; The Scherzo is an endearing example of the going to Heifetz- Toscanini, not necessarily Eugene Ormandy, cond. Col ML 4371 form so irresistible to Beethoven. It pre- because of a musical accord which is equally 43 m $5.45 sents no particular difficulties to the talented apparent in the other editions, but because fingers and open mind of Mr. Appelbaum, of the marvelous chaste line of the Heifetz endowed in this recording with a deep, fiddle, perfectly proportioned without frig- vibrant bass and wonder of wonders, a idity. (This violinist can be counted on "TRIPLE" CONCERTO mellow and undistorted treble! for his best work when he is stimulated by -Kurt Appelbaum. t Sonata No. 32 West the example of a conductor of stature: Mr. CONCERTO FOR PIANO, VIOLIN, VIOLON- WL 5075 23 m $5.95 Toscanini is in a position to exact more CELLO AND ORCHESTRA, IN C, OP. 56 than Mr. Emanuel Bay.) It is possible that A greater proportion of Beethoven's work is No. 5, IN C MINOR, OP. Io, No. t the others are on a par, although the superior in active repertory than any other's of the C minor for Beethoven almost invariably richness of Ormandy's orchestra is patent, true Olympians. Yet the Triple Concerto, signified portent, struggle and triumph, but the dramatic Fifth Sonata interrupts the triumph of its Finale to end with a question, leaving the hearer with an uncomfortable feeling of suspension and apprehension. AN INTRODUCTION TO BEETHOVEN The vigor and intelligence of Backhaus backed by uncommonly able assistance from the engineers put this disc in the upper rank Heard for the first time, a great deal of the master's work is intimidating. It of Beethoven piano records. is not necessary to dive into the deepest waters first; there are delightful sun - streaked -Wilhelm Backhaus. t Piano Sonatas No. 6 lagoons. The following immersions are both warm and appetizing: and 25 LOU LLP 393 14 m $5.95 Andante of the First Symphony No. 6, IN F, OP. IO, No. 2 First and Second Movements of the Second Symphony Backhaus's celebration of the jubilant aerial spoofing of this untrammeled treasure is Scherzo of the Third Symphony less insistent on its contrasts and vagaries Adagio of the Fourth Symphony than Petri and to this writer the easier treat- Sixth Symphony ment is the more effective. Furthermore, Allegretto scherzando of the Eighth Symphony the Columbia recording, commendable at First Concerto its issuance, is hard at the upper half of the Minuet of the Septet keyboard, while the London delineates a Scherzo and Minuet from the Fourth:Quartet very persuasive piano tone. Both discs Finale of the Eighth Quartet suffer from background rumble. - The dis- Prometheus crepancy in elapsed time is caused by Finale from the Creatures of Backhaus's disdain for the indicated re- First Movement of the Serenade, Op. 25 peats. First Movement of Piano Sonata No. 1 -Wilhelm Backhaus. t Sonatas No. 5 and 25 Piano Sonata No. 17 Lon LLP 393 Io m $5.95 Piano Sonata No. 25 -Egon Petri. t Bach -Busoni: Chaconne Col Last two Movements of Piano -Violin Sonata No. 7 Io -in. ML 2049 15 m $4.00 "Spring" Sonata No. 7, IN D, OP. ro, 3 No. 3 No. Cello Sonata The verdict is to the more mobile tempera- Variations, Op. 35 ment and digitation of Mr. Appelbaum, who is more fluent and clearer even in his strongest contrasts and most abrupt transitions than Mr. Hambro has been able to realize in his most lyrical passages. Since while it is also patent that the Ormandy unique in its form, and first -class Beethoven, the Appelbaum disc has also been favored direction has moments of languor at odds seldom is publicly performed, and in phono- with engineering of the first class, easily with a more prevalent driving energy. graphic history has had only two complete superior to the other, the Westminster choice Not one is an outstanding example of recordings. It is a broad, exultant work, is dictated. engineering. Heifetz -Toscanini dates from garnished with sweeping tunes and hazards -Kurt A5 ppelbaum. t Sonata No. 21 West circa 1940 and did not adapt itself easily to for cellists. None of the hazards is too WL LP processing. The Szigeti-Walter, lyrical formidable for Mr. Rose in the only LP -Leonid OHambHambro.$t 9Sonata No. 28 All and easy -going, is an old LP by no means edition, and the lesser difficulties confront- AL 85 20 m $5.45 contemptible, but somewhat murky by ing his colleagues are overcome with homo- present standards. Francescatti -Ormandy geneous musicianship in a triumph which is No. 8, IN C MINOR, "PATHETIQUE", OP. 13 are the dazzlers of the lot, and have the nevertheless primarily Bruno Walter's. The Time and ten thousand pianists have re- newest recording, which regrettably ob- orchestra wings unstraitened in instinctive moved some of the bloom from this delicate trudes a ghost -like fifth string to the solo accord with the soloists customarily mem- and wistful garland, but for those who have violin that cannot be banished. The Kulen- bers thereof, not unaware of the leader's heard it fewer than five hundred times it kampff- Schmidt -Isserstedt collaboration is authority and submissive to his condignly must still be endearing. The recorded per- superficially the least arresting and in the easy control. One of Dr. Walter's best formances all seem good, with a decided long run perhaps the most rewarding, for discs, resonantly engineered. If the soloists advantage to Mr. Rubinstein's exceptional not only do these two skillful and intelli- seem on occasion larger than life the tuttis clarity and poise. The sound of his piano, gent musicians respond nicely to each other, are larger still. however, has not been realized so well as but they maintain an equanimity of grace -- Walter Hendl, piano; John Corigliano, that of Frugoni, which is the most satis- throughout the work. The disc is a transfer violin; Leonard Rose, cello. New York factory, or Kitchin's, which would have been from 78's, but one accomplished with com- Phil-Sym Orch.; Bruno Walter, cond. the most impressive with a little less metal petence, and the tonal results are the best Col ro -in. ML 2059 34 m $4.00 at the top. of all. Not one is definitive, but for music -Artur Rubinstein. t Schumann Fantasie- lovers without the most substantial of violin stücke, Op. 12 RCA Vic LM 1072 17 m concertos in their collection, the Capitol SONATAS FOR PIANO $5.72 record is recommended. For music lovers -Orazio Frugoni. t Sonatas No. 14 and 23 who already have any of these, the advice is No. r, IN F MINOR, OP. 2, No. r VOx PL 7160 15 m $5.95 to keep it, the points of difference being in- The only recording of a delectable, tripping -Alfred Kitchin. t Sonata No. 23 Rem sufficient as a whole to warrant a duplica- essay dating back to Beethoven's young RLP 199 -6 18 m $2.19 tion. twenties is lightly and smoothly handled by -Georg Kulenkampff. Berlin Phil Orch.; the pianist with a light sound to match, not No. 9, IN E, OP. 14, No. I Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, cond. Cap everywhere free of clatter in the treble. The running glibness of Mr. Baller seems P 8099 45 m $4.98 -Adolph Baller. t Sonata No. 9 All ro -in. highly appropriate to a pleasantly super- -Jascha Heifetz. NBC Orch.; Arturo Tos- AL 43 14 m $4.45 ficial Sonata to which Mr. Appelbaum gives

www.americanradiohistory.com more serious and stronger treatment. If the Pastoral Sonata receives a gentle and Vox PL 716o 19 m $5.95 the first style satisfies prejudice more than unassuming exposition from a pianist de- -Artur Rubinstein. t Sonata No. z8 RCA the second, the tonal qualities of the second lightfully subordinate to its good- humored VIC LM 1071 19 m $5.72 disc surpass those of the first. mood. The instrument has been recorded -Alfred Kitchin. t Sonata No. 8 Rem -Adolph Baller. t Sonata No. z All ro -in. with agreeable competence. RLP 199-6 23 m $2.19 AL 43 it m $4.45 -Gyorgy Sandor. t Chopin Miscellany -Rudolf Serkin. Col ML 2002 22 m $4.00 -Kurt Appelbaum. t Sonatas No. 24 and 31 Col ML 4X93 21 m $5.45 West WL 5090 14 m $5.95 No. 24, IN F -SHARP OP. 78 No. 17, IN D MINOR, "TEMPEST ", OP. 31, There is some controversy about this Sonata, No. t I, IN B -PLAT, OP. 22 No. 2 the only work dedicated to Therese von With this work the sonata, as Beethoven Two versions have patent merit with that Brunswick; proof, according to many had found it in Haydn, with its tight form of Mme. Novaes somewhat preferable in critics, that he loved this lady; overwhelm- and objective content, begins to burst under the sound of her piano (although the re- ing evidence, according to others, that he the impact of an assertive, virile imagination. cording is good average in both cases), and hated her. Support for the first contention is It is a piece in transition, not well- known, especially because of an episodic reticent offered by Mr. Appelbaum, for the second, neglected because there are after all thirty - delicacy very rewarding in the simple out- by Mr. Serkin. The composer himself one others. Appelbaum is sturdy and candid lines of the candid and open -hearted Sonata. esteemed the work, but Mr. Serkin has not in the only recording, which technically has The Dohnanyi has some superiority of dy- here the moodal dexterity to meet its ca- the excellence that Westminster consistently namics without the gentleness of Mme. prices on even terms. The Appelbaum per- produces from the piano. Novaes's poetry. Her moderation is that formance has more gusto, easier transitions, -Kurt Appelbaum. t Sonata No. 14 West. of a consummate musician and the overside surer manipulation. Piano tone is good in WL 5078 26 m $5.95 contains Sonata No. 26 in most seductive both editions, with the recent Westminster guise. The third version is not in this class. bettering the old Columbia, particularly in No. I2, IN A -PLAT, "FUNERAL MARCH ", -Guiomar Novaes. t Sonata No. 26 Vox clean retention of bass. OP. 26 PL 6270 2I m $5.9 -Kurt Appelbaum. t Sonatas No. 9 and 3z The two imposing names involved in the -Erno von Dohnanyi. t Andante Favori and West WL 5090 IO m $5.95 recordings of this beautiful Sonata - whose Haydn: Variations in F Minor Rem -Rudolf Serkin. t Trio and Fantasia Col Funeral March on the Death of a Hero pro- RLP 199-16 19 m $2.19 ML 4128 to m $5.45 vided a fitting accompaniment to Beetho- -Byron Janis. RCA Vic to-in. LM 5o 20 m ven's last cortege - can make us wish that $4.67 No. 25, IN G, OP. 79 lesser names but more sympathetic spirits Backhaus plays this Sonatina of scurrying, had been at the keyboard. The Backhaus No. x8, IN E -PLAT, OP. 31, No. 3 exuberant high spirits to perfection in a version, which is the better, is disappointing Inexorable superb pianism, everything pro- piano recording of outstanding realism. In- in an indefinable way, as if the pianist were portioned and neat, every note, every chord deed, the disc containing the Fifth, Sixth and not at ease with the work. His performance as if washed, by Artur Rubinstein in a ver- Twenty -Fifth Sonatas is delectable throughout, is blunt and almost casual, whereas Giese - sion which can teach much about the piano not only the best Backhaus has done for king, proud of the peerless agility of his to students, but which music lovers will find London, but the best London has done for fingers, dandifies the noble work by an a little disheartening in its intransigence Backhaus. exhibition fussy of and inappropriate insis- towards the tenderer aspects of an endlessly -Wilhelm Backhaus. t Piano Sonatas No. 5 tence on precision. His is a spectacular inventive and temperamentally complex and 6 Lon LLP 383 9 m $5.95 performance which music lovers will heard - sonata. Piano tone is excellent, barring some ly dislike. Tonal qualities average about hardness of room- acoustics. No. 26, IN E -PLAT, "FAREWELL, ABSENCE the same, the Backhaus piano betraying -Artur Rubinstein. t Sonata No. 23 RCA AND RETURN ". OP. 81A some metal at the top, and the Gieseking ViC. LM 1071 19 m $5.72 Serkiñ s is one of his best Beethoven efforts; instrument, just a little obscured along its admirably played in every way subject to range. No. 2I, IN C, "WALDSTEIN ", OP. 53 analysis, but without the ultimate spiritual -Wilhelm Backhaus. t Sonata No. 21 Lon It is assumed that all music lovers know the meaning which Novaes, with less acrobatic LLP 265 19 m $5.95 exhilarating grandeur of the "Wok/stein". digitation, weaves in an unassuming manner. -Walter Gieseking. t Grieg: Lyric Pieces If we remember that we are considering not Her environment seems suffused with the Col ML 4334 18 m $5.45 ideal abstractions but reproduced perform- shameless sentimental glow the simple ances, the three recorded must all be judged diary of this wonderful naive poem calls for. No. 14 IN C -SHARP MINOR, "MOONLIGHT", good, if in different degree. Backhaus is The sound of one is worth the other, with OP. 27, No. 2 the most robust and the most flexible. Arrau Columbia more seizing but a little brittle. It was such a brutalizing experience to corn - is swift and deft, but his Rondo is not Vox curiously rich in the fortes but uncer- pare the seven performances of this, in whole rhapsodic, which Backhaus's is, and Appel - tain in the treble during quieter passages. and then in part, that the judgments are put baum's may seem a little stolid in compari- The Gulda version was not available. in tabular form. It is really a poetic and son with Backhaus's Rondo. In com- -Guiomar Novaes. t Sonata No. z7 Vox dramatic piece of music, but under the pensation, Westminster and Columbia, in PL 6270 16 m $ .95 spell of the spurious appellation "Moon- that order, offer a consistently truer piano -Rudolf Serkin. Sonata No. 14 Col light" it has t been brandished far too often than London, which gives an opulant bass ML 4432 15 m $5.45 by amateur and professional pianists. and xylophonic top. Choice is always diffi- -Freidrich Guida. t Variations, Op. 35 Best recording: Appelbaum. - Generally cult under such circumstances as this, where Lon LLP 322 $5.95 best -rounded performance: Guida (with the favorite interpretation is tonally weakest. reproduction of a food standard). - Fru- Probably the Appelbaum will give the great- No. 28, IN A, OP. IOI goni is satisfactory in a satisfactory record- est pleasure to the largest number; and of The only version we possess of this Sonata, ing. Horowitz is listless and showy in be- course the respective couplings could sway which demands great flexibility of sympathy low- average recording. Serkin is rather dull. a choice. and fingers, is incompletely convincing in Schioler limps through his own harsh -Kurt Appelbaum. t Sonata No. 7 West the mild dynamics and prim contrasts offered clangor. Jenner is atrociously recorded. - WL 5044 24 m $5.95 by Mr. Hambro. The piano tone is fair, The choice of Appelbaum or Guida is -Wilhelm Backhaus. t Sonata No. 12 Lon not free of rumble. imposed. LLP 265 21 m $5.95 -Leonid Hambro. t Sonata No. 7 All AL 85 -Kurt Appelbaum. t Sonata No. sr West -Claudio Arrau. Col to -in. ML 2078 25 m 19 m $5.45 WL o 8 I m $5.45 -Friedrich Gui da. t Sonata No. 3z Lon No. 29, IN B -PLAT, "HAMMERKLAVIER ", LLP 150 i6 m $5.95 No. 23, IN F MINOR, "APPASSIONATA ", OP. to6 -Orazio Frugoni. t Sonatas No. 8 and 23 OP. 57 The enormous dimensions of this Sonata Vox PL 7160 12 m $5.95 Unlike one or two of the most chastised are not too large for its multitude of ag- -Rudolf Serkin. t Sonata No. 26 Col sonatas, the hard rock of this one seems gressive ideas in abrupt apparitions and ML 4432 16 in $5.45 forever resistant. The record preferred here bold mutations. The title by which we still -Vladimir Horowitz. t Mozart: Sonata is Frugoni's, a reliable exposition with ex- designate it is a simple acknowledgment of No. 12 RCA Vic LM 1027 15 m $5.72 cellent piano sound. Rubinstein, in another its hugeness, for two others (Nos. 28 and 3z) -Victor Schioler. t Chopin: Fantasie -Im- first -class recording, has a too obviously receive the same general distinction of promptu and Polonaise in A-flat Mer superior pianism, which seems irrelevant and nomenclature from the composer. There to -in. 15037 14 m $3.85 obtrusive. Kitchin, with impressive and are two recorded versions, of which that of -Alexander Jenner. t Chopin Miscellany powerful sound (not without a little clatter Horszowski could not be found. The other, Rem RLP 199 -10 15 m $2.19 in the treble) plays a neat first movement, a new one by the young pianist Friedrich but his individual treatment of the finale Guida, is a startling display of technical No. 15, IN D, "PASTORAL ", OP. 28 seems to add nothing to it. The Serkin mastery and musical understanding. His Affectionate and sunny, one of the few of recording is too harsh for comfort. is the kind of performance we expect from the thirty -two without any conflict at all, -Orazio Frugoni. t Sonatas No. 8 and 54 a master after years of specialization in the

www.americanradiohistory.com last sonatas. The contrasts in which the plation, but his bluff mind inevitably raged more audible than on most of the occasions work abounds are managed by Gulda with at them all as his stalwart, square body had when he has the honor of being shushed an instinctive avoidance of the excess which defied the complexity of ailments that would by his fiddling overlord. The Goldstein - so often makes the Sonata seem confused have killed a weakling twenty years sooner Bernstein version was not available. and merely noisy; and the great scope of than it killed him. The second C Minor -Emanuel Bay, Jascha Heifetz. t Sonata No. his dynamics is employed only to point the Sonata (the "Pathetique" was the first) en- z RCA Vic LM 1015 16 m $5.72 inherent meaning of the music. The en- compasses all his melancholies and all his -Ella Goldstein, Joseph Bernstein. t Sonata gineers have given us a piano tone with a rebellions: it requires an ideal performance No. 4 Conc CHC 34 $5.45 resonant, retentive bass and a rather hard and naturally never has one. Hearing the treble. But the disconcerting feature of Sonata, one can never escape an impatient No. 4, IN A MINOR, OP. 23 what should have been a great accomplish- frustration: it is as personal as music can The only record was not available. ment is an incorrigible background rumble be and one's judgment is otherwise per- -Ella Goldstein, Joseph Bernstein. t Sonata throughout. sonal and subjective. Every performance is No. 2 Conc CHC 34 $5.45 -Friedrich Gulda. Lon LLP 422 38 m $5.95 to a degree a failure, but those who descry -Mieczyslaw Horszowski. Vox PL 6750 the failure do not agree on just where it is No. 5, IN F, "SPRING ", OP. 24 The "Spring" Sonata has the most congruent $5.95 demonstrated. The personal preference here, among the of the titles gratuitously applied to Beetho- No. 3o, IN E, OP. 109 recorded performances, is for Mr. Lateiner's, ven's works. This music has no problems, The Thirtieth Sonata suffers from proximity although the Horszowski wins favor for although Spring may have hers: it is an to its overwhelming immediate predecessor some sections. All three are blessed with exhuberant, inspiriting and carefree expres- and the two supreme achievements to fol- excellent recording, with Mr. Appelbaum s sion of genial well -being. There are four low. The outlines of those are instantly least cherished interpretation slightly truer phonographic versions, and we have learned memorable and they are easily characterized, in sound than the others. to be wary of very prominent names in these but this one offers no immediately facile -Jacob Lateiner. t Andante Favori Col ML sonata -duos. We meet again the heartless means of identification despite its generally 4335 30 m $5.45 perfection of Mr. Heifeti s chaste purity of more meditative character. -Mieczyslaw Horszowski. t Sonata No. 3o line in an interesting misapplication of his On records, Backhaus presents the most Vox PL 7050 27 m $5.95 talents which shows him simultaneously at convincing and memorable pageant of ra- -Kurt Appelbaum. t Sonata No. 2 West his best and his worst, Mr. Bay murmuring tional sound, with Demus nearly as effective. WL507527m$5.95 ineffectually the while in futile dependence. The Horszowski performance is indefinably Mr. Milstein's growing repute has authorized undistinguished and uninteresting. As so his capitulation to it after a spirited first be a persuasive often happens, the engineering attributes MISCELLANEOUS PIANO movement. Mr. Balsam can are not in accord with the musical features. pianist, but knowing the place alloted to The truest piano tone emerges from the FANTASY FOR PIANO, IN G MINOR, OP. 77 pianists acting with violin virtuosi he cir- Demus disc with the Horszowski piano A showy piece in the manner of an improvi- cumspectly reduces his volume and attempts vedette only in the tired phrase just a little inferior and the Backhaus less sation, upon which some rather striking to outdo the realistic than either. poetic ideas are wasted. The pianist is more and the limp rejoinder. It is possible to Demus. Sonata No. 31 Rem RLP bulldog than poet, and his commendable feel an affection for the spirit animating the -Jorg t performance which 199 -29 21 m $2.19 tenacity is insufficiently flexible to realize Goldstein- Bernstein - Backhaus. t Chopin: Sonata No. 2 more than the externals of the music. The does indeed suggest Spring freshness - -Wilhelm being able to commend their disc Lon LLP 266 20 m $5.95 disc is not new, but reproduction of the without -Mieczyslaw Horszowski. t Sonata No. 32 piano is very good. which has some tonal oddities and a per- rumble. Fortunately Messrs. Bal- Vox PL 7050 19 m $5.95 -Rudolf Serkin. t Trio No. S and Sonata tinacious No. 24 Col ML 4128 9 m ler and Totenberg are present to apply team- OP. IIo ANDANTE FAVORI FOR PIANO, IN F, G 17o work and imagination, coupled with decent No. 31, IN A -FLAT, interpretation reveal- The conflicting virtues of the four editions Dohnanyi instills more fragrance into this restraint, to a pleasant make establishment of a qualitative hierarchy romantic interlude, which was the original ing sensitive mutability. The violinist dem- agreeably that purity of contour a matter of almost finical measurement. The slow movement of the "lValdstein ' Sonata, onstrates thematically of the great than Lateiner has done, but the formei s need not be divorced from warmth of spirit. Sonata, reminiscent Totenberg. Mass, but emotionally distinct and tinged attack is also cloudier, and the sound of - Adolph Baller, Roman t with that noble melancholy which Beetho- his piano not quite so realistic as that of the Sonata No. 6 All AL 47 20 m $5.45 ven put into so many of his later works, is Columbia sound which on this disc would -Artur Balsam, Nathan Milstein. RCA Vic LM $4.67 a ravishing balance of sim- be as good as any if it were a little less hard. I0 -in. 134 21 m irresistible in Heifetz. Mozart: plicity and subtlety. I.z each case here, the The feeling here is that the Lateiner way is -Emanuel Bay, Jascha t engineers have contrived a realistic piano too severe for music whose principal at- Sonata No. 24 RCA Vic LM 1022 17 m tone, with some sonorous superiority in the tribute is charm. The couplings are what $5.72 Westminster that only a very responsive re- will determine the choice. -Ella Goldstein, Joseph Bernstein. Conc producing apparatus can illustrate. In gen- -Erno von Dohnanyi. t Sonata No. 17 and arc 1720m$5.45 eral, Appelbaum and Demis play in a simi- Haydn: Variations in P Minor Rem lar fashion, evocative primarily of the feeling RLP 199.16 8 m $2.19 No. 6, IN A. OP. 30, No. t work, while Casadesus, crisper, per- -Jacob Lateiner. t Sonata No. 32 Col ML A sustained, aspiring Adagio features a in the less appealing in its other move- haps more pianist than musi:ian here, traces 4335 I I m $5.45 Sonata and this slow song is played with a outline with . imbler fingers. ments, a more facile Totenberg in the only is more of Beethoven in the Germans, good long line by There Elsewhere, however, his violin is small technical superiority of the SONATAS FOR PIANO AND VIOLIN recording. and the by of tone, apparent Westminster is enough to make the Appel- dogged harshness baum version preferable to the Demus and No. r, IN D, OP. 12, No. r particularly in the Finale. the Casadesus in that order. The Gulda The Baller -Totenberg playing of a gay and -Adolph Baller, Roman Totenberg. t 5 All AL 47 22 m $5.45 showing is damaged by an extraordinary refreshing work is more lyrical, dramatic Sonata No. background rumble. and imaginative than the other versions, but C MINOR, OP. 3o, No. 2 -Kurt Appelbaum. t Sonatas No. 9 and 24 has been inadequately engineered. Hors - No. 7, IN 21 m $5.95 zowski- Szigeti is nearly as good and the A sonata compact with pointed, aggressive, West WL 5090 ideas Sonata No. 3o Rem 199 -29 recording is satisfactory. Bay- Heifetz is an disconcerting and individual more -Jorg Demus. t numerous and disparate than in any other 20 m $2.19 essay in the projection of the Heifetz tone Schumann: Etudes with Mr. Bay scrupulous not to obtrude his, of the ten. It is beloved of violinists, for -Robert Casadesus. t of the five Col ML 4388 17 m $5.45 in a narrow recording. obvious reasons. Unfortunately, Symphoniques were not available, Gulda. t Sonata No. 14 Lon LLP -Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Joseph Szigeti. editions on records, two -Friedrich London and Remington. Bay -Heifetz are 150 19 m $5.95 ¡Schubert: Sonatina No. z Col ML 4133 17 m $5.45 by now familiar, and the familiarity has bred the ordained product. Zakin -Stern recreate No. 32, IN C MINOR, OP. III -Adolph Ballet, Roman Totenberg. t Violin culminates on the piano Sonata No. zo All AL 2 18 m $5.45 the work with insinuating skill, and ravish- The last Sonata ing from the violinist. Horszowski- Beethoven's long insurrection against des- -Emanuel Bay, Jascha Heifetz. t Violin tone even in the Fourteenth Sonata No. 2 RCA Vic LM ro15 r6 m Szigeti have collaborated on a disc of per- pair, an emotion which ever more than a portent to be $5.72 ceptive, imaginative, subtle and -vari- Quartet is never mastery an extraordinary eventually evicted. Despair belongs to able musical - comfortably in Paris at No. 2, IN A, OP. 12, No. 2 achievement, the greatest delineation of one Chopin, swooning these Sonatas on records. It is not new, the fall of Warsaw; Beethoven's rebellion The cold aloofness of the beautiful Heifetz of himself: he acknowl- involutions by no means supplies all the and its puny sonic appeal - particularly rejected the concept for his en- grief, anxiety, disap- requirements of a correct classical style. He since Szigetï s tone is never richest edged melancholy, is less than that of Zakin- pointment, hurt, resignation and contem- is producing patterns. Mr. Bay is a little dowment -

www.americanradiohistory.com MASTERY SONATAS FOR PIANO AND VIOLONCELLO

After a century or two we shall have recorded performances of all the Beethoven No. 1, IN F, OP. 5, No. t works without technical flaw (although our children will not renounce their right Mature in conception and inventive in de- of sneering at interpretive particularities). We find now, in the catalogue already tail, the work deserves a re- recording, for the only version we have is faulted discs of outstanding acoustical merit bearing performances of sadly in the available, certain engineering of what seems to be a direct singular understanding. These comprise the following: statement by the players. First Concerto (Gieseking; Philharmonia Orchestra). Columbia ML 4307 -Adolph Baller, Gabor Rejto. t Sonata Fourth Concerto (Backhaus; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra). London LLP 417 No. 3 All AL3820m$5.45 Triple Concerto (Walter and N. Y. Philharmonic- Symphony Orchestra). Colum- bia ML 2059 No. 2 IN G MINOR, OP. 5, No. 2 Octet, Op. 103 (Oubradous Octet). Vox PL 6130 A more entertaining work than its predecessor, and one which offers a fine Quartet No. 4 (Budapest Quartet). Columbia ML 4029 singing opportunity for cellists. The recorded versions (Paganini Quartet). RCA Victor LM 1052 are valuable but have not the same values, Quartet No. 6 (Budapest Quartet). Columbia ML 4073 that of Graudan -Graudan being an easier, Quartet No. 7 (Pascal Quartet). Concert Hall CHS 1205 more placid interpretation with a better Quartet No. 8 (Pascal Quartet). Concert Hall CHS 1206 tone than that of Baller -Rejto wherein we (Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet). Westminster WL 5098 find a soaring cantabile and more penetrating Quartet No. 9 (Pascal Quartet). Concert Hall CHS 1207 expression. Quartet No. 15 (Paganini Quartet). RCA Victor LM 1179 -Adolph Baller, Gabor Rejto. t Sonata No. 4 (Budapest Quartet). Columbia ML 4006 All AL 5020n1 $5.45 -Joanna Graudan, Nikolai Graudan. Quartet No. 16 (Pascal Quartet). Concert Hall CHS 1212 t Sonata No. 4 Vox PL 6770 22 m $5.95 (Paganini Quartet). RCA Victor LM 24 Septet. (Pro Musica Chamber Group). Vox PL 6460 No. 3, IN A, OP. 69 Serenade, Op. 8. (Fuchs, Fuchs, Rose). Decca DL 7506 The most familiar, and with the profounder (Pasquier Trio). Allegro ALG 3031 No. 4, the greatest of the cello sonatas, Piano Sonata No. 2 (Appelbaum). Westminster WL 5075 manly, fluent and melodious. The dogged Piano Sonatas No. 5, 6 and 25. (Backhaus). London LLP 393 recording flaws injure the Spartan projection of Messrs. Baller and Rejto in the only Piano Sonata No. 11. (Appelbaum). Westminster WL 5078 edition. 17 Vox PL 6270 Piano Sonatas No. and 26. (Novaes). -Adolph Baller, Gabor Rejto. t Sonata No. r Piano -Violin Sonata No. 7. (Horszowski -Szigeti). Columbia ML 2097 All AL 38 20 m $5.45 Piano -Violin Sonata No. 10 (Firkusny -Spivakovsky). Columbia ML 4402 Third Symphony. (Toscanini and NBC Orchestra). RCA Victor LM 1042 No. 4, IN C, OP. 102, No. s (Walter and N. Y. Philharmonic- Symphony Orchestra). Colum- This is a grand work whose subtleties have bia ML 4228 forbidden is wide popularity except among Sixth Symphony. (Klemperer and Vienna Symphony Orchestra). Vox PL 6960 musicians. It shares with No. 3 the distinction of being the best of Beethoven in the Seventh Symphony. (Scherchen and Vienna National Opera Orchestra). West- form, but the two cannot be compared, minster WL 5089 No. 3 being lyrical and openhearted, No. 4 Eighth Symphony. (Monteux and San Francisco Symphony Orchestra). RCA freer, less compact, spasmodic with intellec- Victor LM 43 tual implication and physically far easier to String Trios No. 3 and 4. (Pasquier Trio). Allegro ALG 3015 play. The discal situation here is similar to that of the Second Sonata: the Graudans have a smoother tonal appeal (which may express a difference in the engineering or the room acoustics) and Baller -Rejto show more independence of imagination. The best version on records is that of Schnabel Stern, but good enough to impose the older sound lacking in the more primitively en and Fournier on Victor 45's. disc as the urgent choice. gineered Serkin -Busch. The French musi- -Adolph Baller, Gabor Rejto. t Sonata No. 2 -Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Joseph Szigeti. cians maintain an admirable equality of All AL 5014m$5.45 Col. Io -in. ML 2097 26 m $4.00 importance in a work wherein such treat- -Joanna Graudan, Nikolai Gruadan. t -Alexander Zakin, Isaac Stern. t Mozart: ment should be a sine qua non but often is Sonata No. 2 Vox PL 6760 16 m $5.95 Concerto No. 3 Col ML 4326 25 m $5.45 not. -Emanuel Bay, Jascha Heifetz. RCA Vic -Robert Casadesus, Zino Francescatti. Coll No. 5, IN D, OP. 102, No. 2 Io-in. LM 6o 24 m $4.67 ML 4327 32 m $5.45 The record listed below was not available. -Heinrich Berg, Walter Schneiderhan. -Rudolf Serkin, Adolf Busch. Col ML 4007 -Adolph Baller, Gabor Rejto. All AL 75 Rem so -in. RLP 149-35 $1.69 27 m $5.45 -Franz Osborn, Max Rostal. Lon LLP 162 $5.95 No. To, IN G, OP. 96 The Baller -Totenberg disc can be dismissed TRIOS FOR PIANO, VIOLIN AND CELLO with acknowledgments to their attentive and No. 8, IN G, OP. 3o, No. 3 informed musicianship. The old Allegro Very rewarding in its happy proportions of record dry, -plangent each logically - over and spasmodi- (There is confusion of method in the num- lyric mood, with movement cally explosive in the piano fails to attain created by the other two. It is curious that - bering of Beethoven's piano trios. In a today's standards. The Columbia disc, with sense, he wrote at least thirteen works for there should be only one version, but the its diligent and alert partnership featuring high quality of performance and recording the combination, including a very early poetic phrasing from both and a superb tone work, arrangements, variations and the (after sharp downward revision of the treble) from Mr. Spivakovsky big, broad and does not make the absence of others some- - "Gassenhauer" Trio, Op. I r, which was suave at once - is competent if not re- primarily intended for clarinet rather than thing to lament. markable in its engineering, and one the Cornman, Tossy Spivakovsky. t of violin. The system used here reverts to the -Robert very best projections of a Beethoven work ignores Bach: Unaccompanied Sonata No. r Col old method which the early work in in this form on discs. Except for No. 5, this E-fiat and the miscellanies, and classifies IO -in. ML 2089 16 m $4.00 is the tenderest, the least disturbed of the the " Gassenahuer" separately, leaving six Violin Sonatas. trios listed as such, from Op. s, No. I to No. 9, IN A, "KRBUTZBR ", OP. 47 Music lovers may be disturbed at the Op. 97, the "Archduke".) The meditative variations separate two pres- sensationally inept coupling of "Violin tos of galvanic melodrama and heroic ten- Favorites ", five fat slices of assorted tripe; No. I, IN E -FLAT, OP. I, No. I sion unprecedented in violin literature. It proof that the larger companies still em- The record contains an adroitly stylized has been played so much we forget how ex- ploy malevolent juvenile delinquents to exposition of a comfortable work which is citing it can be. It is much more exciting assist in their editorial work. as close to pure froth as anything from the in the newer Columbia version (Casadesus- -Rudolf Firkusny, Tossy Spivakovsky. f composer, but it has been rather sadly abused Francescatti) than in the old, not necessarily "Favorites" (!) Col ML 4402 24 m $5.45 by the recording technicians, for while there because of the interpretation itself, but be- -Adolph Baller, Roman Totenberg. f is a satisfactory impression of proximity, cause of an outright living reproduction of Violin Sonata No. I All AL 2 24 m $5.45 the tripled tone is dry and spasmodically

www.americanradiohistory.com faulted beyond correction. We must regard fair as a whole, much better than in Trio ment. We are lucky that the only recorded recording like this as already archaic. No. z and not without real felicity below Inf. version is by the brothers Pasquier, working -Alma Trio. t "Gassenhauer" Trio All -Alma Trio. t Haydn: Trio in G All AL 4 with their habitual animated and soaring AL 34 25 m $5.45 24 m $5.45 fraternal cohesion in a domain almost their exclusive own. Some low frequency back- No. 2, IN G, OP. r, No. 2 No. 6, n B -FLAT, "ARCHDUKE ", OP. 97 ground interpolations require diminution This is a surprisingly long work of a con- Only Schubert's second (and last) trio has a of bass in a generally well- reproduced sound. struction pretty fragile to sustain its length, worth comparable to Beethoven's last; -Pasquier Trio. All ALG 3023 35 in $5.95 but it has an original and breezy finale. Schubert's is a dirge and Beethoven's a There are two discal versions: the Boston rapture. The balance of interest among the No. 2, IN G, OP. 9, No. r was not received. The other is distinguished four movements is simply astonishing: four Another of the gracious early works which by a particular charm in Gullet's violin, diversely complete expressions of the un- manages to imply in petto the characteristics quick, apprehensive and tenuous; the sonic conquerable. There are three phonographic of the imminent giant. The Pasquiers have results are good average. versions of which we may say that two are recorded all the string trios for Allegro, as -Artur Balsam, Daniel Gullet, André dissimilarly outstanding. Of these the Vic- they did years ago for Pathé, and it is quite Navarra. Conc CHC 27 33 m $5.45 tor is rightly considered a phonographic likely that no one will improve on their -Boston Trio. t Trio No. S All ALG 3026 classic, offering a beautifully toned and poised homogeneity and pure stylization. $5.95 phrased exhibition by three famous virtuosi Their sound on this disc has been captured in noble musical concert. Remington has a with clear exactitude, but volume should No. 3, IN C MINOR, OP. t, No. 3 newer disc with a broader, less close -knit ex- be maintained at a fairly low level lest a This very early work impressed the composer pression, in phrasing and intonation like rumble intrude. of two hundred marvels, Franz Joseph Haydn, the Victor, but raw in the violin, against -Pasquier Trio. t Serenade, Op. 8 All ALG with the intractable capacity of his young Heifeti s silk, and merely smooth in a cello 3031 25 m $5.95 pupil, part of whose first publication it was. which does not match Feuermann's velvet. No wonder. If we confine ourselves to the The Rubinstein -Heifetz -Feuermann classic No. 3, IN D, OP. 9, No. 2 Finale alone we heat a capricious and mys- is in transfer from 78's about ro years old: The only version is a delectable disc showing terious mingling of nervous urgency and the transfer has been competently effected. to perfection the reciprocal adjustment of placid acceptation ending in the suppression We would not call the Remington disc the Pasquier brothers in a serene but not of the latter, and a portent of intimidating particularly successful as a feat of engineer- thoughtless work which almost seems - par- insurrectionary devices checked only from ing: there is too much treble and not quite ticularly after this performance - to be gushing forth in tones by the prudent ten- enough bass, although we can rectify these their own property. The engineering is tativeness of a great young man not quite into a semblance of good sound. Thus firstclass, barring a trifling excess of rever- ready to burn his bridges. everything favors the Victor record, except beration. That the phonograph has produced no the actual projection of this wonderful Trio. -Pasquier Trio. t String Trio No. 4 All more than one edition may be attributed to The luscious Rubinstein -Heifetz -Feuermann ALG 3015 23 m $5.95 the comfortable belief inculcated by music tone is as if cushioned and restrained: per- teachers before 192o that Beethoven's work haps we would not notice this without corn - No. 4, IN C MINOR, OP. 9, No. 4 below Op. S3 was inconsequential. The parison with the direct and penetrating emis- This is the most robust and willful of the Alma Trio give us their best -recorded work sion of the Remington. The reduced cyclic string trios. It permits the Pasquiers to here: like Haydn they seem alive to the im- range and the diminished dynamics of the display their varied sensitivity to style and plications of a wayward and willful piece great performance in the older recording even undulence of line and undeviatingly whose multiple figures dance from their subdue the impact of the music, while the clear enunciation of tone at all intensities. instruments in capital fashion. There is some inferior performance, in an unremarkable The engineering has the soundness of Trio background rumble, but with the overside recording of later date, strikes the hearer No. 3 above, which occupies the reverse of this is a very inviting disc. with a tangible, living vibrancy. The vital the present performance. From all points -Alma Trio. t Adagio, Variations and Rondo, quality of the sound itself is compelling of view, an exceptional record. Op. z2za All AL 40 23 m $5.45 and determinative: the ecstatic festival of -Pasquier Trio. t String Trio No. 3 All ALG the "Archduke" Trio is most complete in 3015 21 m $5.95 No. 4, IN D, "GEISTER ", OP. 70, No. r the version of Messrs. Rapf, Jilka and The tired old process of invidious compari- Schwartzl. It has been engineered by its son has militated against the wonderful date into a larger musical experience. "Wraith" Trio because the "Archduke" is -Kurt Rapf, Alfred Jilka, Peter Schwartzl. MISCELLANEOUS TRIOS wonderfuller. Yet we do not pour away the Rem RLP 199-27 34 m $2.19 Chablis because there is Montrachet. The -Artur Rubinstein, Jascha Heifetz, Emanuel ADAGIO, VARIATIONS AND RONDO FOR variety of mood is exceptional even for the Peuermann. RCA Vic tCT 1020 35 m PIANO, VIOLIN AND VIOLONCELLO, IN G, composer, and the mysterious, arresting $5.72 OP. r2IA (VARIATIONS ON "ICH BIN DER beauty of the eponymous Largo should -Carnegie Trio. Program 707 34 m $5.95 SCHNEIDER KAKADU") signal this immediately as inimitable and Not particularly elaborate in variational in- superb Beethoven. Serkin et al. play with a TRIO (MOVEMENT) FOR PIANO, VIOLIN AND tricacies, this work, expressive of Beetho- spirited understanding a little deficient in VIOLONCELLO, IN B -FLAT, G r54 ven's growing interest in the variation -form finesse: rough humors are not necessarily Inviting, facile, warm and not very signifi- in his later years, is a splendid example of better realized by rough playing, and piano cant, this bit which dates from the year of successive and contrary moods created from and violin are brittle on occasion in the the great "Archduke" Trio is sympathetically the barest material. The plaintive and Columbia recording. However, if the edi- played in a recording of good standard rather somber introduction, itself in antici- tion is plainly not definitive, it is plainly merit. pation of the contemporaneously -popular not bad and proclaims great music honestly. -Mannes -Gimpel -Silva Trio. t Clara Schu- tune to be varied, is followed by ten varia- Reproduction, which at first may seem hard mann: Trio in G Minor Decca DL 9555 tions and a rondo - really another varia- in the violin and the upper reaches of the 6 m $5.85 tion - in which Wenzel Milller's little air piano, is amenable to satisfactory correc- assumes preposterous and conflicting guises. tion on a good amplifier. The Allegro disc It was the last work of the composer for was not available. piano and other instruments. It is worth -Rudolf Serkin, Adolf Busch, Hermann TRIOS FOR VIOLIN, VIOLA AND CELLO more frequent performance and is luckily Busch. t Fantasia in G Minor and Piano now available to music lovers in an able Sonata No. 24 Col ML 4128 22 m $5.45 NO. I, IN E -FLAT, OP. 3 and appreciative exposition by the Alma -Boston Trio. All'ALG 3026 $5.95 This long work, whose six movements sug- Trio. gest a divertimento -a suggestion dis- -Alma Trio. t Trio No. 3 All AL 40 17 m No. 5, IN E -FLAT, OP. 70, No. 2 proved by the serious nature of much of its $5.45 The music is that of the most familiar content - is tentative in structure and ex- Beethoven, but eventempered and mellow, perimental in effect. It seems definitely SERENADE FOR FLUTE, VIOLIN AND VIOLA, its intensity exorcised or temporarily chas- established that the string trios were com- IN D, OP. 25 tened: contemplation without melancholy, posed in preparation for a mastery of the The least known of Beethoven's voices is virility without roughness, rejoicing without string quartet, into which lofty stratum that in which he merely diverts the culti- assertion, sport without conflict. Perhaps it Beethoven did not wish to venture until he vated ears of the century which produced is this modification of emphasis that has felt himself capable of undergoing without him. The sprightly patter of engaging tunes caused the Trio to be the most neglected of shame the inevitable comparison with the in this Serenade diverts us too, when we the six. The Almas are at home with the great works of Haydn. It is striking how have a chance to hear it. Here it is, in an un- Beethoven trios, particularly in this one. The much less diffuse, how much more pointed, premeditated and expert performance by greenness of their tone seems to proceed each of the first six quartets are, than this three musicians of great taste and agility. from the acoustic properties of the recording Trio; but it has obvious worth as a stepping- If we judge by the latest standards the en- room, but the technical quality of sound is stone in the composer's enormous develop- gineers have not served the players too well:

www.americanradiohistory.com Schneider's violin has a harmonic wraith, ward line practiced by some of its members No . 8, IN E MINOR, "SECOND RASOUMOW- and rumble in the background adds a faint when they made part of the Coolidge Quar- SKY", OP. 59, No. 2 fourth instrument to the trio. Common tet. There are no idiosyncrasies, no devia- In evaluating a concert a critic of music faults, not disastrous, but detractive. tions from a pure contour, in their work assesses the propriety of the sound emitted -John Wummer, Alexander Schneider, Mil- here, and that is probably the best way to from the dictation of a printed score. The ton Katims. Col zo -in. ML 2124 23 m play these quartets, although we should not critic of records does this with the addi- $4.00 have been displeased with a greater warmth tional obligation of judging the modifica- of tone. - Sonically, the disc has the same tions of sound wrought by the electro- SERENADE FOR VIOLIN, VIOLA AND VIOLON- quality of virtuous reticence: it is distinct mechanical process of enregistering. Music CELLO IN D, OP. 8 and steady, bright without dazzle, round is an arrangement of sound productive prop- At twenty- seven, the mightiest of composers without a tidal impact, an accurate reflection erly of pleasure, and the critic of discs wrote music we can call "delightful ", of the group with little environmental must be concerned primarily with the eu- "lightsome", "carefree", etc. Certainly modification. phonic pleasure that emerges from the disc, the facile, insinuating tunes of this Sere- -Kroll Quartet. t Quartet No. 3 All AL 78 rather than that which the musicians give nade deserve such adjectives. It is remarkable 21 m $5.45 to a microphone. Thus here we reduce to that two groups of musicians of such out- secondary rank a disc presenting a glowing standing abilities should have recorded so performance - which is perhaps the better comparatively slight a work, and yet, in a No. 3, IN D, OP. 18, No. 3 performance, because less personalized The Quartet No. 2, above, - sense, the diversity of style prevents a true observations on in favor another whose special kind are equally applicable to the Third Quartet. of of duplication. The Pasquiers are more ele- performance, perhaps less desirable, has gant, a little more nervous; the Fuchs -Rose -Kroll Quartet. t Quartet No. 2 All AL 78 been improved in the process engineering. 20 m of trio play with a pronouncedly greater $5.45 We bow to Pascal and acclaim Vienna Kon- warmth, both of tone and of sentiment, as zerthaus, whose natural tone has been if anticipating the 19th Century, while the No. 4, IN C MINOR, OP. 18, No. 4 warmed, smoothed and enlarged by the Pasquiers remain in its predecessor. Both Owners of either of the two recorded edi- caressing acoustics of the hall which, in are ingratiating and justifiable interpretations need feel under no compulsion to ex- conferring these benefits, has not sub- tions, but where the Fuchs-Rose have it is change it for the other. This is an instantly merged detail. (That such suffusion in in a stronger recording which allows full captivating work without a slow movement room- warmth courts peril is sadly evident value to the cello; whereas in the Allegro and with little of the severe implications of in Quartet No. 15, where it is abominably version sufficient warmth can be supplied C -Minor Beethoven. There are no import- unsuitable.) to this instrument only by bringing to light ant differences in concept or execution be- Following their practice, the Viennese an extraneous bass rumble. tween the Paganinis and the Budapesters, Quartet take the pace slower than we gen- -Joseph Fuchs, Lillian Fuchs, Leonard Rose. nor is one satisfactory accomplishment of erally have it, but gravely effective here; Decca 10-in. DL 7506 27 m $3.85 engineering markedly superior to the other. and their unanimous aptitude for the long -Pasquier Trio. f String Trio No. 2 All -Budapest Quartet. t Haydn: Quartet No. 75 line has seldom served a masterpiece better. ALO 3031 27 m $5.95 Col ML 4029 22 m $5.45 The supernal, awestricken magic of the -Paganini Quartet f Quartet No. 5 RCA Adagio contemplating something expres- TRIO FOR PIANO, CLARINET (OR VIOLIN) Vic LM 1052 23 m $5.72 sive only in this Adagio is an ultimate per- AND VIOLONCELLO IN B -FLAT, ( "GASSEN- fection in Beethoven's slow movements, and HAUER"), OP. II a primary slow movement for incipient One of the most amiable tidbits in the No. 5, IN A, OP. 18, No. 5 The Paganini presentation of the capricious quartet lovers to hear. darinet literature, and most effective when -Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet. West wL played by that instrument, although Beetho- forays and unstable undulations of a breezy quartet is agile and convincing, and the 5098 42 m $5.95 ven pi ovided for the substitution of a violin Quartet. Conc CHs 1206 34 m superlative suavity of tone in which the -Pascal when a clarinet was not available. Thus the $5.95 Decca disc, embellished by the spirited group excels has been well indicated by the playing of Reginald Kell, immaculate in engineers except for some violin squeals on the amplifier with difficulty. style and tone, clearly earns preference over corrected No. 9, IN C, "THIRD RASOUMOWSKY ", -Paganini Quartet. Quartet No. 4 RCA the Allegro, where a violin is used, particu- f OP. No. 3 Vic LM 1052 22 m 59, larly since the Decca is easily the acoustic $5.72 Here we have a most illuminating demon- superior. stration of diversity in quartet style. Two nickname derives from The "Street-Tune" No. 6, IN B -FLAT, OP. 18, No. 6 of these discs, New Music and Italiano, the variations in the finale, written on a In this big, serious Quartet there are faint differ quite specially from any interpretation catchy air from an opera by Weigl. recurrent anticipations of the sublimities of one customarily hears, while the Pascal -Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Reginald Kell, the last five. The justifiable limitation to a record is extraordinary in its superb evoca- Frank Miller. t Mozart: Clarinet Trio single version here may be a reluctance to tion of a more conventional concept. New in E flat, K 498 Decca DL 9543 19 m challenge the masterful Budapest achieve- Music observe Beethoven's metronomic in- $5.85 ment. dications with strict exactitude and inter- -Alma Trio. Trio No. I All AL 34 17 m f -Budapest Quartet. f Quartet No. 11 Col esting, disconcerting and enlivening re- $5.45 sults. (Note the breakneck pace of the ML 4073 m $5.45 23 closing fugue.) There is an exhilarating sweep to their bows, and the tone as caught No. 7, IN F, "FIRST RASOUMOWSKY ", OP. 59 by the engineers has a correspondingly in- QUARTETS No. z vigorating tingle. The Quartetto Italiano It is not bold to say that this is the most impose no limitations upon their mutable No. 1, IN F, OP. 18, No. r widely loved of the Beethoven Quartets, and sensitive but personal formulation. The earliest of the three quartets Beethoven with its perfect equipoise of feeling and Their performance is beautifully studied composed in the key of F was not his first the formal perfection which frames it. Per- and musically intelligent, with places here quartet, nor is it the least in worth. The formance and engineering are capable in and there where their linear and emotional six works of Opus i8 have been deprecated both editions with Concert Hall superior in nuances, expressed in phrase, tempo and because they are not Rasoumowskys. They both particulars, for although the Colum- accent, can hardly be excelled in quartet - are vital, soundly constructed, inventive and bia sound is bigger and closer, Concert playing. The record is wounded by a low occasionally profound, particularly Nos. 4 Hall's is purer. Both styles of recording frequency background resonance and gratui- and 6. The only recording is by the Buda- are well -fitted to the interpretations they tous plangency in the violins. pest Quartet at a most impressive moment reproduce, the broad heartiness of Busch The Pascal Quartet play as music lovers of its powers, and the sound, a little thin, requiring a bold disc for its conveyance, generally hear Op. S9, No. 3, except better. is nevertheless satisfactory. and the remarkable finesse of the Pascals They eschew both the dash of the first and -Budapest Quartet. Col ML 4005 25 m insisting on an untainted recreation of the lingering subtlety of the second, of the $5.45 every light stroke. "Finesse" here implies rival versions, but proclaim their devotion no reproach: the Pascal finesse is not a to a standard reading with an even curvi- No. 2, IN G, On. 18, No. 2 mere fastidious intaglio; by no means. linear address which hides the precise or- Into this and especially its overside, No. 3, But they have a softer piano than Busch; ganization behind it. This is certainly the Beethoven put fewer of the qualities we call they are less free with fortes and have more edition most music lovers will prefer, par- Beethovenian than into any of the fourteen gradations between; their stroke is generally ticularly since its engineering values are the other Quartets. This means that Nos. 2 and lighter but more cleanly announced. They most impressive. 3 are characterized by lyrical profusion, produce a more ethereal elegy than Busch, -Pascal Quartet. Conc CHS 1207 31 m $5.95 fresh rhythmic liveliness and a lack of per- and although less muscular they are as -New Music Quartet. f Quartet after Sonata sonal intonation. This is still the Eighteenth athletic. No. 9 Bar BRS 909 26 m $5.95 Century, and the Kroll interpretation adheres -Pascal Quartet. Conc CHs 1205 37 m $5.95 -Quartetto Italiano. f Schubert: Quartett- appropriately to the absolutely straightfor- -Busch Quartet. Col ML 4155 4o m $5.45 satz Lon LLP 321 31 m $5.95

www.americanradiohistory.com No. Io, IN E -PLAT, "HARP", OP. 74 pest version is of the Budapest Quartet of Op. z8, and whose themes we know better Of the sixteen Quartets, this is the least 1940, and their tonal appeal surpasses that when enclosed in the Ninth Sonata, actually known in spite of the noble even -numbered of the Pascals. The intellectual grasp of the preceded the Sonata in concept, and served movements. It will not conquer the musical two organizations seems equally thorough as a dry run in quartet writing. It is less public on the basis of the only performance and penetrating. The Pascals are more mature than four of the six in Op. z8, but on discs, wherein everyone has a miserable telling in the quick sections, the Buda- has very agreeable turns of freshness and time, with woody tone (probably inflicted pesters in the rending slow movements. invention. Elan and taste modified by haste by local acoustics, since the engineering Between two such interpretations a choice characterize the performance, which has seems capable enough), disjointed utter- can carry no real conviction: the writer been engraved without major fault. ance and flexible pitch. fluctuates between them. More recent en- -New Music Quartet. t Quartet No. 9 -Winterthur Quartet. Conc CHC 42 32 m gineering permits the Pascal edition to be Bar BRS 909 14 m $5.95 $5.45 played satisfactorily on most phonographs; the Budapest version requires extraordinary GREAT FUGUE, IN B -FLAT, OP. 133 No. r r, IN F MINOR, "SERIOUS ", OP. 95 downward adjustment of the treble to bring This is a harsh and repellent music which The title is Beethoven's own and is repeated out its potentialities, and some dryness will Beethoven's contemporaries seem not to in the indication for the Scherzo, whose adhere to the cello under any circumstances. have tried to understand. After a number of searching impatience suggests the content The Pascal will sound better except to the hearings it begins to make light, a dazzling of the five quartets to follow much later. owners of highest fidelity apparatus, or to centrifugal light of unequal force at different Like them it has not the striking and im- those who contentedly possess the lowest points of its circumference, briefly illumining mediate seductiveness of Nos. z, 4, 6, 7 and fidelity. In the first case one can rectify fragments of man's sentiency. We are ex- 8; like them, its challenging appeal is more and in the second one does not hear what acerbated and enthralled in trying to iden- forceful at the fiftieth than at the fifth hear- needs rectification. tify these fragments. ing. There is one version, of compulsive -Budapest Quartet. Col ML 4106 36 m $5.45 The original finale of the Thirteenth Quar- intensity and elevation, which we could -Pascal Quartet. Conc CHs 1211 38 m $5.95 tet, the Great Fugue was superseded at the think of as final had it been transmitted by suggestion of Beethoven's friends who the engineering of a later period. Tone is thought it too long and too difficult. Its No. 15, IN A MINOR, OP. r32 lusty tenor permits the multiplication of its somewhat dry, and a proper adjustment of The poignant rejoicing of the z5th Quartet, both treble and bass is not easily obtained. parts, as in the Litschauer version, with some narrating the humble gratitude of a man gain in hardiness and some loss of detail. -Budapest Quartet. t Quartet No. 6 Col vastly proud, and punctuated as it is with ML 4073 21 m $5.45 The noble Pascal version implies a greater asseverations of this familiar pride, is at variety of drama, the orchestral version a -Griller Quartet. Lon Io -in. LPS 107 $4.95 present displacing the cosmic rebellions of Not available more overriding force, especially in a the z4th in the affections of the advanced leadership of such resolute energy as that musical public. It is patently easier to which Litschauer gives to his strings. The No. I2, IN E -FLAT, OP. 127 grasp, and it enjoys four LP recordings, of tonal quality is effective in both cases, but The first of the last five quartets has the which only the latest, by the Vienna Kon- in the Vanguard version only after decisive general relaxation of form that characterizes zerthaus Quartet, is not a convincing exposi- reduction of the treble. the others, but its long history of the diverse tion of its transcendental tribulations. In -Pascal Quartet. t Quartet No. z6 Conc is essences of contentment in sharp variance this version the huge tone which embellishes CHS 1212 16 m $5.95 with the fevered exhilaration of mood that the Vienna performance of the Second Rasou- -Vienna Chamber Orch.; Franz Litschauer, dominates the remaining four. It is the mowsky is destructive to contemplation, cond. t Purcell: Chaconne and Three least esteemed of the five, perhaps because sentimentalizes the nobility of the com- Fantasies Van VRS 419 15 m $5.95 hearers are more deeply moved by the nar- munication and is more suited to a political ration of conflict than of someone else's convention than to a confessional. Of the happiness. The Pascal performance is one others, Budapest is infinitely varied, tender, of intelligence, blended finesse, supple and never merely big and flabby, in pure exul- MISCELLANEOUS CHAMBER subtle; but it can be properly appreciated tation where Vienna only whoops. This is QUINTET FOR PIANO AND INSTRU- only if the outcry of the violins is tamed to the Budapest Quartet of circa 1940, with a WIND forbearance through a resourceful amplifier. most subtle susception to this epic narrative. MENTS, IN E -FLAT, OP. 16 We are more familiar with this slight but -Pascal Quartet. Conc CHS I209 36 m $5.95 The recording is surprisingly good for its age: it is a little thin in the violins and there diverting early work (with flicks of the coming "Emperor" Concerto in each move- No. 13 IN B -FLAT, OP. 130 is some blur to the cello, but a good compensator produces satisfactory results. Paga- ment) in Beethoven's transcription for piano The musical logic of Beethoven's passionate quartet. It is preferable in the original form sentiency is so chaste and so universal nini is excellent, but not so penetratingly - varied; Griller is commendable, but less so. if only because of the varying color. The in its acceptation by men as their own deep only version on discs is played recorded -Budapest Quartet. Col ML 4006 40 m and feeling - that it instills a contagious human $5.45 with comfortable ease. -Paganini Quartet. RCA Vic LM 1179 sympathy among listeners, instinctively -Messrs. Frugoni, Baudo, Druart, Coursier 43 m $5.72 aware of its universality and thus not ashamed and Allard. t 32 Variations Vox PL 6040 of the revelation of their hopes and hurts. -Griller Quartet. Lon LLP 318 40 in $5.95 The Thirteenth Quartet has no such fever as -Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet. West 24 m $5.95 WL 5104 46 in $5.95 the battle against loneliness in the Fourteenth RONDINO FOR OBOES, CLARINETS, BAS- nor such a maintenance of intensity as the SOONS AND HORNS IN PAIRS, IN E -FLAT, miraculous gratitude of the A Minor; but No. 16, IN F, OP. 135 G 146 in its human tergiversations between de- Beethoven's last complete quartet, eupeptic, The frail appeal of this orderly and rather pression and glory, regret and rejoicing, it tuneful, forcefully accented and beguiling sad little piece from the composer's youth is a marvelously strong explanation and with corollary anecdotes, has the pleasant is given out with a chaste delicacy by the expiation of weak humanity. The inter- ambiguity of those things in coalescence players in a recording of equivalent merit lacement of contradictions in the wonderful with a strait philosophical synopsis. So it is except for some incipient buzzing from the mockery of the finale - successively gay, suited to everybody with ears, and in its dangerous horns. rueful, ironical and resentful - is the Hu- dual phonographic representation neither -Members of the Little Orch Society. t man Comedy flippant and frightening. This aspect is ignored, although the Paganinis Octet in E flat EMS EMs 17 m $5.95 finale, substituted for the Great Fugue con- with their silvered tone stipulate the easier sidered over -long, was the last music Bee- facet rather than the severer statement for- SEXTET FOR Two CLARINETS, Two BAS- thoven wrote. warded by the Pascals. Neither recording SOONS AND Two HORNS IN E -PLAT. OP. In all their Beethoven discs the Pascal has any conspicuous faults and choice must 71 Quartet have been able to project the com- rest with the chooser's temperament. This A tenuous and elementary rhythmic charm plexity of sentiment without damage to the writer prefers Pascal. issues from the latter two of the four move- musical structure and with a tasteful avoid- -Pascal Quartet. t Great Fugue Conc cHs ments in a very early work without distinc- ance of that excess which in the last quartets 1212 22 m $5.95 tive melodic or harmonic character, best can pass, and has passed, for emotional -Paganini Quartet. RCA Vic ro-in. LM 24 employed as background music. The profundity. Sonically, their records present 23 m $5.72 healthy bloom of the only recording re- few difficulties, the major one being an un- states a smooth and sober performance. pleasant shrillness of violins which can be QUARTET -ARRANGEMENT (BY THE COM- -Wing Group of the Vienna Phil Orch. t successfully corrected by a flexible ampli- POSER) OF THE NINTH PIANO SONATA. Octet, Op. 103 West WL 50 -3 21 m $5.95 fier. OP. 14, No. 1 -Pascal Quartet. Conc CHS 1210 38 m $5.95 Beethoven, in view of the terrifying achieve- SEPTET FOR VIOLIN, VIOLA, VIOLONCELLO, ments of Haydn and Mozart, was circum- BASS, CLARINET, BASSOON AND HORN, IN No. 14, IN C-SHARP MINOR, OP. 131 spect in publishing quartets. There is some E -FLAT, OP. 20 The consummation of quartet writing in evidence that this work, published in its Beethoven's greatest early success was at- two consummate performances. The Buda- quartet form in 1802, after the quartets of tained with this melodious divertimento; a

www.americanradiohistory.com success which enraged the composer, as it lems in practice before committing his solu- enactment by Prof. Moralt and his condi- persisted in maintaining the Septet in con- tion to public distribution. Like the 2nd tioned minions. spicuous popular esteem long after its Sonata this work can have no ideal perform- -Gisela Rathauscher (s), Elfride Hofstaetter author had written six great symphonies. ance except inwardly. There are scores of (a), Alfred Planyaysky (t), Walter Berry We have no chagrin to vent on a little mas- places where exception can be taken to (bs). Akademie Chamber Choir, terpiece of graceful appeal; and one of the almost any delivery. There are, in the re- Vienna, and Vienna Sym Orch.; Ru- Pro Musica recorded versions - that of - corded version, no gaucheries, and there is a dolf Moralt, cond. Vox PL 6300 51 m with a nervous refinement of style quite skillful adaptability to the violent altera- $5.95 captivating on a disc of precious tonal tions of manner and spirit demanded. blend, can recreate for us the pleasure felt The piano sound is not easy to classify. by the contemporaries of Beethoven's After silence, or hearing one of the most MISSA SOLEMNIS IN D, OP. 123 youth. The Jilka record injects some subtle- modern discs, its note seems curiously The cosmic urgency of Beethoven's pan- ties into their small-scaled performance muffled and unvibrant but not otherwise theistic devotion exploding through the which are neither unintelligent nor unre- distorted. The listening ear forgets quickly sanctified ritual of the mass confirms the warding, but they are not so deft as their and the inert sound establishes its own intense struggle of his later years, and rivals and suffer from engineering of a lower normality quickly. If a modern piano disc affirms his mystic conviction that God, Man order. is not played in the same hour, the sound and the Universe coalesce through struggle, -Pro Musica Chamber Group. Vox PL 6460 here will serve. sorrow and virtue. In the only recording 33 m $5.95 -Leonard Shure. t Variations in F, Op. 34 we have, Otto Klemperer exploits the fer- -Jilka Septet. Rem RIP 199-22 39 m $2.19 2 Vox PL 636o 53 m $11.90 vor of that concept to the full, with a per- ceptive and experienced management of OCTET FOR OBOES, CLARINETS, BASSOONS FOR PIANO AND VIOLONCELLO, ON "BEI every phase of its complex sentiment. Solo- AND HORNS IN PAIRS, IN E -FLAT, OP. 103 MANNERN ", G 158 ists, chorus and orchestra are competent, That there should be three editions of this Early and easy, amusing and digestible, with the orchestra most apparently so, tech- tenuous entertainment - which, despite its done with grace and verve, clearly stated in nical difficulties contingent on recording number, is a very early work - is a minor the neat Vox recording. (The Allegro large choral forces having produced opacity phonographic puzzle and no doubt a minor disc was not available). in the vocal mass and inequalities in the headache to the three manufacturers. A -Joanna Graudan, Nikolai Graudan. t Var- weights of the various groups, while the finical discrimination does not seem neces- iations on "See the Conquering Hero" and orchestra is dearer and in proportion. The sary: the French group on Vox plays with Variations on "Ein Mädchen oder Weib- solo quartet is afflicted intermittently, but a pert flavor absent from the others, of chen" Vox PL 6150 10 m $5.95 luckily in small degree, with microphonic which the American group on EMS is rather -Adolph Baller, Gabor Rejto. t Variations "wing- beating ". We can say in fairness sober. Nor is there any strong basis for on "See the Conquering Hero", Variations that the discs are a middling tonal repre- choice in the respective tonal values. All on "Mädchen oder Weibchen" and Sonata sentation of an eloquent statement of a are good, Vox being the throatiest and big- No. 5 Allegro AL 75 $5.45 mighty and universal hymn. gest in sound, EMS the brightest and the -Ilona Steingruber (s), Else Schuerhoff (a), early Westminster a litde thinner and a FOR PIANO AND VIOLONCELLO, ON "EIN Ernst Majkut (t), Otto Weiner (bs). little darker. MADCHEN ODER WEIBCHEN'', OP. 66 Akademie Chorus, Vienna, and Vienna -Octet directed by Fernand Oubradous. t The description applied to the Variations on Sym Orch.; Otto Klemperer, cond. 2 Mozart: A Musical Joke Vox PL 613o "Bei Männern" is as appropriately applicable Vox PL 6990 I hr. 12 m $12.50 23 m $5.95 to this set played by the same pair and oc- -Octet from the Little Orch Society di- cupying the same disc. rected by Thomas Scherman. t Rondino -Joanna Graudan, Nikolai Graudan. t CANTATA ON THE DEATH OF JOSEPH II, for Wind Instruments EMS EMS 122 m Variations on "See the Conquering Hero G 196A and Variations on Bei Männern" Vox Haydn heard this at Bonn, and discerned $5.95 some genius in the 2o- year -old composer. -Octet from the Vienna Phil Orch. t PL 6150 io m $5.95 Op. 71 West WL 50 -3 22 m $5.95 Baller and Gabor Rejto. t Sonata So can we; and the resurrection of this early Sextet, -Adolph Beethoven did No. Variations on "Bei Männern" and success, which not publish, 5, is by no means a disservice his fame. Variations on "See the Conquering Hero" to The is already manly: the work is strong and All AL boy VARIATIONS 75 $5.45 unambiguous with dark undertones inchoate a he express FOR PIANO AND VIOLONCELLO, ON "SEE with more cosmic grief was to Vox disc exhibits a FOR PIANO, IN C MINOR, G 191 THE CONQUERING HERO ", G 157 in his maturity. - The Resourceful and intelligent exercises with In a spirited set of twelve by the composer serious Clemens Krauss at his best, dramatic an interest transcending that of mere tech- who became the greatest master of varia- but unvehement, responsive but not domin- nique, these Variations, in the course of a tions, his admiration for Handel, as manly a eering. Poell is very good; Miss Steingruber mid -192o revolt against romanticism, were composer as himself, is expressed in un- has good moments, and the choir and orch- represented by the avant -garde of the period Handelian fashion in the engaging version estra have plainly been well rehearsed. Sound as Beethoven's greatest contribution to here played with warm -hearted and appealing is good: the record is not free of the dis- music, with a minuet in G and a few pieces candor by piano and cello in ratifying tortions we expect from choral groups, but he did not write. Mr. Frugoni takes a less musical equality. The sound is of excellent has not much of the fault, and in compensa- serious view of their importance and his texture. tion there are frequent electrifying deliver- pleasant pianism gratifies us no little in a -Joanna Graudan, Nikolai Graudan. f ies by the united forces in brilliant clarity. competent recording. Variations on "Ein Mädchen oder Weib- -Ilona Steingruber (s), Alfred Poell (bne). -Orazio Frugoni. t Quintet, Op. z6 Vox chen' and Variations on "Bei Männern" Vienna Sym Orch. and Akademie PL 6040 IO m $5.95 Vox PL 6150 12 m $5.95 Choir; Clemens Krauss, cond. Vox -Adolph Baller and Gabor Rejto. t Sonata PL 6820 43 m $5.95 E -FLAT, "EROICA", OR FOR PIANO, IN No. 5, Variations on "Mädchen oder "PROMETHEUS ", OP. 35 Weibchen" and Variations on "Bei Män- not FIDELIO, OP. 72 (SEE ALSO LEONORA) The only recorded version was available. nern All AL 75 $5.45 -Friedrich Gulda. t Sonata No. 26 Lon One of the perplexities of musical history is LLP 322 $5.95 the difficulty of inducing Anglo -Saxon audiences to hear this monument among FOR PIANO, IN F MINOR, OP. 34 VOCAL AND CHORAL operas. The naive and very moral story is The only record of this was damaged to an not much of a dramatic creation, but in unplayable condition. MASS IN C, OP. 86 Beethoven's absolute and invincible sin- -Leonard Shure. t Diabelli Variations 2 Vox The bold, original, dramatic and beautiful cerity a small melodrama becomes a mighty PL 636o $11.90 Mass in C has been disdained in concert epic of the strong emotions: hate, fear, performance because Beethoven wrote a love and triumph laced together and trans- FOR PIANO, ON A WALTZ BY DIABELLI, bolder, more original and more dramatic figured by the dominant theme of loyalty. OP. 120 Mass in D. The devout emotion of the earlier Leonora, who is called Fidelio, is absolutely Everyone speaks of this longest set of varia- work does not overflow the limits of the paramount in this opera, as Tristan and tions with an awe proportioned to their Roman service: the chancel resounds with Isolde are in Wagner's music -drama. If size. They paint a vast panorama of tem- a lovely reassurance, the walls are not in the soprano to whom the part is assigned is perament, exploit every device of the key- danger of tumbling down. - The smaller not ofo quality approaching that of a Leh- board, puzzle many pianists, and in the forces used in the smaller Mass are easier mann or a Flagstad, the performance fails. hands of puzzled pianists, puzzle hearers. to enregister, and the sound is consistently The soprano in the recorded version listed The three record sides containing the Shure gracious and expansive in the recording by below has not this requisite quality, not interpretation are obviously a labor of con- Vox (who give us also the Miva Solemnis) does the conductor extract more than a pale sidered devotion. He had settled his prob- of a deliberate but sensuous and affecting effigy of the potency of the music. Listen-

www.americanradiohistory.com ing to the discs was painful, and was dis- mentioned. But the Song Cycle To the lively appreciation of the score is as obvious continued long before the end. Faraway Beloved offers no particular vocal as the incomplete realization of his intentions -Margarete Baümer (s), Heinz Sauerbaum difficulties, is romantically appealing, is by an orchestra not disciplined to unity, (t), Manfred Hübner (bne), Ursula formed with a musical address that makes and by an engineering tolerance of defective Engert (s), and other singers. Chorus any of the six songs dependent on the others, balance. This is a pity, since the basic and Orch of the Mid -German Radio, and is very seldom sung. Mr. Horne is sound, although a little harsh, is clear and Leipzig; Gerhard Pflueger, cond. 3 agreeably unassuming and has not misunder- timbre -true. The music itself is only slightly Oceanic OCLP 301 $18.50 (Extracts from stood the nature of this work, moving wounded, the conductor being sound. There this album are on Oceanic ocs 21). smoothly to the ordained climax. is a good degree of pleasure in the discs for -William Horne, tenor; Franz Rupp, piano. those to whom polish is not a sine qua non. GELLERT LEIDER, OP. 48 t Brahms: Six Songs Mer Io -in. MG The Mengelberg excerpts have polish in Several of the six devotional songs which 15016 13 m $3.85 one of Capitol's sturdy, resonant transfers Beethoven set to Gellert s words are well from 78's. The recorded Finale is one of known, Die Himmel Rühmen, No. 4, and the ELEGIAC SONG, OP. 118 the four places where Beethoven used the Busslied, No. 6, especially. It is good to This lament for the death of a friend sug- theme of the last movement of the Eroica have them on a single side, and it is good to gests a fragment of one of the last quartets Symphony. report that Mr. Herbert is a baritone who except in its decorous poise and rounded -Complete: Winterthur Sym Orch.; Walter invariably seems to know the meaning of his form. Performance and recording are both Goehr, cond. Conc cis 1063 r hr 12 m text. The accompaniment is correctly of the first class. $II.90 outspoken. -The Randolph Singers with the Guilet -Overture and Finale only: Concertgebouw -Ralph Herbert, baritone; Frederic Wald- Quartet. t Haydn: Seven Last Words Orch., Amsterdam; Willem Mengel - man, piano. t Four Songs All Io -in. AL 88 2 COLIC CHS I084 6 m $11.90 berg, cond. Cap (part of a miscellany) 13 m $4.45 P 8078 9 m $4.98 SONGS (EXCEPT THOSE IN FORMAL COLLEC- SCOTCH AND IRISH SONGS TIONS): Adelaide, Op. 46; Mailied, Op. 52, Beethoven supplied the harmonies and ac- 4; Trocknet Nicht, Op. 83, r; EQUAL' FOR FOUR TROMBONES No. No. Solemn and indefinably moving sequence of companiments by piano trio for more than Herz mein Herz, 75, 2. Op. No. played in beautiful tone, not much a hundred traditional Scotch, Irish and Welsh These occupy the reverse of the Gellert chords melodies. They are mature efforts and the They are among disturbed by some wisps of blastin . Lieder. the best of Beetho- or Piano accompanying trio, very characteristically ven's songs and were apparently chosen to -Schuman Brass Choir. t Sonata Horn and a miscellany Ren Beethoven, emphatically increases their ap- show the composer's variety of expression and short peal. Helen Traubel overwhelms five of the and the baritone's ability to recreate them. x 31 6 m $5.95 Scotch and five of the Irish songs in an ill - Intelligent singing and energetic accompani- conceived project which gives these tunes, ment characterize the disc. FANTASY FOR PIANO, ORCHESTRA AND for the most part wispy reflections appro- -Ralph Herbert, baritone; Frederic Wald- CHORUS, IN C MINOR, OP. 8o priate to nostalgic barflies, to Brünnhilde - man, piano. t Gellert Lieder All ro -in. The chorus, anticipatory of the finale of the and a Brünnhilde with a buttery enunciation AL 88 6, 2, 3 and 4 m respectively. $4.45 Ninth Symphony, is used here for only four of the highly special language of music minutes, which is no doubt the cause of the coaches, neither Scotch nor Irish, nor Ameri- Choral Fantasy's infrequent performances. is it is a can nor English. The pity here is that the MISCELLANOUS The work not to be disdained: splendid accompaniments are wasted on miniature epitome of Beethoven's method such misdirected efforts and a clear recording, SONATA FOR PIANO AND HORN, IN F, OP. 17 and manner, the impatient, contemplative and as well. Contrarily, the whining tenor of In the only recording, a trombone is used rebellious whims of the keyboard demand- Richard Dyer -Bennet is exactly appropriate in place of the horn. We do not need to ing relief and reassurance from the orchestra to his selection of Scotch songs (only two of discuss the acceptability of this kind of whose response culminates in a typically which are common to the two editions); substitution now, for the music is otherwise brave and simple maestoso before appealing and his intelligent projections could have damaged, the trombonist having assessed to the voices as the only true trumpets for claimed a definitive status for the disc if the the boon of his trumpet- bright tones so the exuberance of true joy. The one re- recording had been better. - Blithe and highly as to relegate the piano to a pitiable cording communicates with singularly inti- Glad, sung by Mr. Dyer- Benner, becomes obscurity, lest hearers mistake the protago- mate effect this pristine message, thanks the principal theme of the finale of the last nist. In admiring Mr. Schuman's instru- most largely to Dr. Krauss's serene manage- violin sonata, and was less majestically trans- ment -a little disfigured by some blasts in nient of his forces and the nicely balanced cribed, later, as the Hop Scotch Polka. the recording - no one will applaud this and unlabored recording. An admirable -Helen Traubel, soprano; Coenraad van Bos, kind of musicianship. disc. piano; John Pennington, violin; C. -Sam Raphling, piano; Davis Schuman, -Freidrich Wuehrer, piano. Vienna Sym Warwick -Evans, cello. Col ML 2085 trombone. t Equali for 4 Trombones and Orch and Akademie Choir; Clemens 3o m $4.00 a short miscellany Ren x -31 r6 m $5.95 Krauss, cond. t Schubert: Gesang der -Richard Dyer- Bennet, tenor; Ieace Geister uber den Wassern Vox PL 6480 Strasfogel, piano; Stefan Frenkel, violin; GESCHOEPFE DES PROMETHEUS, OP. 43 20m$5.95 Jascha Bernstein, cello. Conc CHC r3 Public performances vouchsafe the Over- 3o m $5.45 ture only, a heedless impoverishment of RUINS OF ATHENS: Turkish March only. our restricted orchestral repertory, for Bee- A stimulating tramp with a panoply of brass AN DIE FERNE GELIEBTE, OP. 98 thoven's only full -length ballet bares a pro- and percussion enthusiastically guided in a Our composer wrote little for the voice ex- tean design of muscular rococo splendor shining recording, the only one. cept canons, and all singers go into choler woven by rough hands already impatient for -Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Willem when the difficulties of the vocal parts in a more abundant tapestry. Goehr's is the Mengelberg, cond. Cap (as part of a the Ninth Symphony and the Missa Solemnis are only complete recording ever made, and his miscellany) P 8078 3 m $4.98

the annual activities of the orchestra, in somewhat limited. The stock of any one Music in Hawaii brief, is as follows: wholesaler is rather limited and deliveries By Carl von Wehrden Six 2 -hour concerts held on Tuesdays from the mainland are slow. Better service (broadcast in full) can generally be secured by direct mail Six 2 -hour concerts held on Sundays from supply houses on the mainland. No (called the Family Hour and roughly the dealer here has equipment set up for demon- In an endeavor to secure accurate informa- same as those on Tuesdays) stration purposes, although one is beginning don as to the status of live music in Hawaii, Fout "Pops" concerts to recognize the potentials of the audio I interviewed Mr. George Barati, conduc- Three pairs of children's concerts -Ih trade. tor of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. hr. (on tape) The large music stores have an excellent He related that, although the Honolulu Two or three Little Symphonies, cham- selection and supply of records. Tempo Symphony is 51 years old, this is the first ber in character records are now available and soon tape year that the concerts have been broadcast Twenty -one demonstrations of concert (we hope). We now have only one record- in full. The orchestra consists of approxi- music at schools, done by 6 to 8 musicians. ing company, 49th State. Formerly there mately eighty -five musicians, part of whom Mr. Barati also has a symphonic record were two more, Aku and Bell, some press- are professional and the remainder, amateur. program, with commentary by him, each ings of which are still available. The Li- They encompass all races and include some Sunday evening. brary of Hawaii has approximately 3,000 members of the Military. The schedule of The availability of audio equipment is Continued on page 56

www.americanradiohistory.com R EC OII)S In REVIEW C. G. BURKE JOHN CONLY ALFRED FRANKENSTEIN J. F. INDCOX

NOTES ABOUT churches expands from the coordinated BACH, J. S.: Six Sonatas for Flute and understanding of these experts. It not only Harpsichord RECORD REVIEWS displaces the previous version, but will Julius Baker, flute; Sylvia Marlowe, resist displacement by subsequent efforts harpsichord. Decca two r2-in. DX To facilitate reference to this section, for a long time. A vivid, compelling I13. 8o mins. all classical LP releases are arranged record. C. G. B. - "Elegant" is the word for this release. It is alphabetically by composer. Miscel- elegantly performed, elegantly recorded, laneous collections, not normally identi- BACH, J. S.: Passion According to St. John (Complete) elegantly annotated by Irving Kolodin, and fied by composer, are collected at the Blake Stern (t), Mack Harrell (bne), elegantly packaged to boot. A recording end of the record review section. Daniel Slick (bs), Adele Addison (s), that is as authoritative as it is complete. A. F. Where two or more composers appear Blanche Thebom (ms), other singers - and instrumental soloists. Shaw on one record, the reviews are cross - Chorale, Collegiate Chorale, and RCA BARBER, SAMUEL: Sonata for Cello and referenced but not repeated. Victor Orch.; Robert Shaw, cond. Piano, Op. 6 Playing time is reported for each re- RCA Victor three 12 -in. LM 6103. 2 See THOMPSON lease and, unless otherwise indicated, is hrs. 14 mins. $17.50. BARTOK: Music for Strings, Percussion the total for both sides of a single disc The merits of this production are patent and Celesta or, in the case of albums, is the total and many. The solo voices are well chosen, Los Angeles Chamber Symphony for all records in the set. the choir is scrupulously trained. Archaic Orch.; Harold Byrns, cond. Capitol The Editor welcomes suggestions for instruments have been assembled to re -cre- Io -in. L 8048. 29 mins. $3.98 ate the peculiar coloring woven through improving the Records in Review sec- Bach's polyphonic devotion. The engineer- Chicago Symphony Orch.; Rafael Kubelik, cond. Mercury 12 -in. MG tion of HIGH- FIDELITY. ing as such is without fault. Since the work 50001. 30 mins. is devotional and should be comprehensible, $5.95. a new English text has been contrived by The Philharmonic Orch.; Herbert von Mr. Shaw himself. The enunciation of the Karajan, cond. Columbia 12 -in. ML Sonatas Piano, Op. 5, BACH, J. C.: for soloists is entirely distinct. 4456. 29 mins. $5.45 Nos. 5 and 6; Op. 17, No. 6 But - Margaret Tolson. WCFM r2-in. LP 7. The disposition of the chorus or the acous- The smaller -scaled chamber symphony re- I I, 12 and 19 mins. $5.95. tical properties of the room has diffused cording on Capitol, released late in 1949, The London Bach, youngest of Johann the mellow choral sound into unintelligi- was a first on records for this unique and Sebastian's sons, was the most elegant and bility, and the sopranos are predominant engrossing Bartok score. A fine wide -range a for a long time the most famous of the in- most of the time. In the large chorales, job, it showed notable advance on any- credible tribe. He was imitated by Mozart the orchestra is suffocated under the vocal thing released previously on this label, and and Haydn; he was obviously a man of weight, and the intentional delicate reduc- even today can stand on its own against stature. Two of the three sonatas here do tion of instrumental sound providing ac- later releases. However, not all the prob- not verify that stature, but the Op. z7, No. 6 companiment, here and there poignantly lems that the recording of percussion in- conveys an impression of it - mature, dash- telling, becomes worrisome and precious. struments pose were solved satisfactorily. ing and difficult if superficial. Miss Tolson The translation is delicately spattered with The xylophone, with its sharp highs, plays with a musicianly effacement and the the kind of misplaced accentuation we look emerged with a slatiness of sound that was sound of the piano is small but very real. A for on television and the radio. none too pleasant. At the other end of the modest disc of no great importance, but in- Thus we can enjoy this edition for its range, bass drums were rather tubby, the creasingly ingratiating. C. G. B. many isolated sections of great beauty, and side drums chattery. The celesta fared bet- - esteem the enterprise which decreed an inter, but the piano tone had little depth. BACH, J. S.: Magnificat in D telligent marshalling of forces. It is too Much more successful was the string tone, Marta Schilling (s), Gertrude Pitzinger bad that a ruthless monitor did not compel particularly cellos and violas, the rich vel- (a), Heinz Marten (t), Gerhard Gro- a closer approximation to perfection. Per- vety sound of the latter being well cap- schel (bs); Rudolf Lamy Choral Soci- haps symbolic of the confused result is some tured. Byrns' performance lacks the ex- ety; Ansbach Festival Orch.; Ferdinand confusion of nomenclature: on the cover citement of his rivals, though he keeps the and labels Miss The - inner voices admirably clear. Leitner, cond. Decca 12 -in. DL 9557. of the album on the is a on the cover of The one -microphone Mercury job, im- 33 mins. $5.85. bom mezzo -soprano; the booklet she is a contralto; a designa- pressive for the sonority and spaciousness A revelation of style and skill, a performance don shortened in the text - lest things of its overall sound, approximates closely distinct in all its elements. A dramatic become too clean -cut and stabilized - to what the listener would hear in a concert éclat perhaps hostile to performance in alto. - C. G. B. hall performance. Unfortunately, on rec-

www.americanradiohistory.com ords, this also produces an instrumental a much later work than the others, are a Lion makes even that of Richard Strauss balance that seems slightly out of focus. product of Berg's period of study with seem elementary - but the aspect of the For instance, the celesta, highly important Schönberg; they are brief, atonal studies music about which there has been most to the score, is well recorded, but placed in sonority, highly condensed, highly dra- comment is that of its form. too far from the mike for its sweet sounds matic, and altogether fascinating. As everybody knows by now, lVozzeck to emerge strongly enough. The piano is Performance and recording are first rate. employs a series of instrumental structures: well forward, though somewhat submerged - A. F. its second act, for example, is a symphony by the welter of orchestral sound in the in five movements and its third act is a Fourth Movement. Xylophone better BERG: Wozzeck (Complete) sequence of six inventions. There is a con- placed ... sound good . .. the same applies New York Philharmonic-Symphony siderable literature on this phase of the to drums. The violins, which have a tend- Orch. with soloists and chorus; Dimi- work, and to study it is rewarding; never- ency to fade, also seem to be not as close tri Mitropoulos, cond. Columbia two theless, one must remember that Berg him- as they might be, but violas and cellos are I2 -in. SL I18. 85 mins. self once said, "I demand that from the more foreward and strong. moment the curtain rises until the moment Thanks to Columbia's multi -mike pickup, Alban Berg's Wozzeck is scheduled for per- it falls, no one in the audience be conscious the recorded sound has better balance and formance by the Vienna State Opera at the of this diversity of fugues, inventions, more overall depth and roundness, than Congress of Cultural Freedom next May in suite forms and sonata forms, variations Mercury. It also sounds slightly compressed: Paris. In other words, it has been selected and passacaglias - no one, I repeat, be probably a studio recording. I like the by an international jury as one of the prime filled with anything but the idea of the more musical, less clattery, xylophone sound, achievements of western man during the opera, which far transcends the individual which is very dearly reproduced, while the present century, and that is the crowning fortunes of Wozzeck." celesta has a warmer and more liquid tone. touch in its almost unprecedented history. Hearing the work on these records, with Both bass and side drums have depth of Shortly after lVozzeck was completed, 'the score in hand, one is not only filled sound. There is greater darity in the harp Berg told an interviewer "I naturally hope with the idea of the Opera but is seized work, too, and the instrument seems better that this opera of mine will be produced - and shaken by it in a feverish and over- placed than on the other discs. Strings are but I do not expect it." The composer's whelming experience. Seldom, if ever, has close, too, but some wiriness of tone in expectations were belied, however, and on one heard such a skein of ominous sounds, the violins is noticeable. the grandest imaginable scale, for Wozzeck, but they never lose their grip, since they Of the three, I find the Columbia the immediately after its first performance in are not exploited, like those of Elektra, for most satisfying, not only for the recorded Berlin in 1925, proceeded to make a tri- their sensational, nerve- wracking effect. sound, but also for Karajan s exciting and umphant round of practically every opera Wozzeck is a truly great tragedy, a work of dramatic reading of the work. Mercury house in the German- speaking world. It intense expressiveness and subtle pathos as has an edge economically, however, for it has been heard, at home and abroad, more well as a stark, sinister drama; it "purges manages the work on one side of a r2 -in. often than any other opera since Rosenka- through pity and terror" in a fashion rarely record, the coupling being a fine perform- nalier; a movie has been made of it, and attained by operas of this or any other time. ance of the Bloch Concerto Grosso for String now it appears complete on records. So The recording, taken from the Philhar- Orchestra and Piano Obbligato. Capitol takes modern German expressionism attains its monic broadcast of April 15, 195o, is su- two sides of a Io -in, disc, while Columbia most impressive victory in the musical perb, and so is the performance. Looking stretches it to both sides of a 12 -in. record. arena. at the printed music one wonders how it On all records, I found surfaces that were In its text, Wozzeck goes back to the be- can be performed at all, but it is done with reasonably quiet. - J. F. I. ginnings of the expressionist movement - complete conviction, clarity and apparent to a play by that extraordinarily prophetic ease by all concerned. The principal singers poet, Georg Büchner, who died in 18i7 at are Mack Harrell, Frederick Jagel, Joseph BEETHOVEN: See pg. 33 ff. the age of 24. The age of Büchner was Mordino, David Lloyd, Ralph Herbert, and much like the age of Berg himself: Büchner's Eileen Farrell. BERG: Seven Early Songs (1905 -08) Germany knew all about suppression and Columbia, however, has erred very seri- Piano Sonata, Op. z 0906-08) regimentation in the grand Teutonic man- ously in failing to provide the text. There Four Songs, Op. 2 (1908 -09) Four ner, and the figures of his drama - captain, are excellent notes by Herbert F. Peyser, army doctor, drum major, pri- Pieces for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 5 underdog but these are not an adequate substitute (1913) vate and prostitute - seem to step directly for the words, which should have been Benjamin Tupas, piano; Catherine from the violent caricatures of the German given both in German and in English. Fail- Rowe, soprano; Sydney Forrest, clari- military which Georg Grosz was to pro- ure to provide the text will inevitably cir- net. Lyrichord 12 -in. LL 13. 35 mins. duce at exactly the moment when Berg was cumscribe the sale of this set, and that is composing his music. $5.95 - doubly unfortunate since the proceeds are The plot is very simple: Wozzeck, the to go to the Philharmonic-Symphony's pen- now, Up to the Berg discography has been dull -witted soldier, butt of his officers' sion fund. A. F. limited to mature works of the 1920's and jokes and guinea -pig for his regimental - 1930's - Wozzeck, the Violin Concerto, the doctor, grows jealous of the girl who has Lyric Suite, the Chamber Concerto, and the borne him a child, stabs her to death, and BRAHMS: Gesang der Parzen, Op. 89 concert aria entitled Der (Vein. But a great drowns while attempting to retrieve his Nanie, Op. 82 - STRAUSS, R.: master is likely to be a great master through- knife from the pond in which he has thrown Wanderer's Sturmlied, Op. 14 the range out of his output, and his early it. Büchner tells this simple story, however, Vienna Chamber Chorus; Vienna Sym- works, influenced as they are bound to be by means of a very complex technique: phony Orch.; Henry Swoboda, cond. by the accepted styles his of youth, may there are 25 short scenes which move with Westminster 12 -in. WL 5081. I2, 14 serve as a valuable bridge to the under- cinematographic speed and fluidity, and and 17 mins. $5.95 standing of his later manner. Such, ac- since Berg was writing for the stage rather cording to the notes on the jacket, is the than the film, he was forced to throw out no This is by no means the heterogeny it seems. philosophy behind the present recording, less than ten episodes of the original. Each of these elaborate choral composi- and it proves its point most eloquently. In his musical setting, Berg uses tonality tions is concerned with the fundamentals The songs of this collection reveal a for sustained moods and atonality very of emotion; each is to a text by Goethe or composer much influenced by Brahms and largely for scenes of action; tonality, for Schiller; and the resemblance of the early Mahler and fully their equal; the songs, Berg, is a lyric resource and atonality, the Strauss to the late Brahms is strikingly ap- in fact, are the most important things in idiom of dramatic movement. The charac- parent. The disc is effective with its highly this collection, and they are works of mag- ters sing, speak, and employ the Sprech- disciplined chorus and clean, sober re- nificent power and dignity. Unfortunately, stimme - that mixture of speech and song cording. One hesitates to evaluate inter- however, only the texts for the four songs which the composer's teacher, Schönberg, pretations of works which one has never of Op. 2 are provided. had invented for Pierrot Lunaire; further- before heard, but in each of these an im- The piano sonata is a big piece in one more, there are a few incidents wherein the pression of complacence was received - a movement and in a highly chromatic, al- singers are required to whistle phrases care- feeling that the delivery was more static most Franckian idiom. The clarinet pieces, fully notated in the score. The orchestra- than befits the words and music. - C. G. B.

www.americanradiohistory.com BRAHMS: Quintet for Clarinet and I 2-in. ALP I 2 I I. 20 and 2I mins. canini, cond. RCA Victor r2 -in. LM Strings in B Minor, Op. zi5 $5.45 - I22I. $5.72. Reginald Kell and the Fine Arts The Britten, after Rimbaud, is a consider- Foremost contender for the title of LP- Quartet. Decca I2 -in. DL 9532. 35 mins. $5.85. able, arresting and remarkable work, car - least- likely -to- succeed -in -1952 is a January ressingly enunciated by Miss Mock with issue of La Mer, made for Columbia by Only Mozart's work in the form excels this warm support from the orchestral strings. Dimitri Mitropoulos and the New York in public esteem, and it is to be assumed The Martinu is light and rather trivial, not a Philharmonic- Symphony. Its pitiable fate that the same group will record the Mozart, disagreeable pastime. The little orchestra was to reach dealers' shelves at almost the Kell having already displayed his mastery is not to be sneered at, and the enregistered same time as this RCA Toscanini version - therein on pre -LP discs. This is the only sound is transparent and neat. - C. G. B. which is, beyond doubt, one of the very LP version of the Brahms Quintet, and its greatest performances of any music ever re- values are primarily those of continuous CAGE, JOHN: Sonatas and Interludes corded. For once, the Victor recording en- euphony, the pointed romantic phrase for Prepared Piano gineers have succeeded in doing the Maestro soothed in favor of luxury and purity of Maro Ajemian, piano. Dial two r 2 -in. something like justice. The sound level is sound. - C. G. B. 19 & 20. 78 mina. not too low, at least for microgroove reproduction. There is a certain leanness in The young American composer, John Cage, regards to the orchestral tone, but this BRAHMS: Symphony No. 2, in D, Op. 73 has developed a method of "preparing" a probably is not distortion. Under Toscanini, Berlin Philharmonic Orch.; Eugen piano, by means of nuts, bolts, screws, and the NBC actually sounds that way, even in Jochum, cond. Decca I2 -in. DL 9556. bits of rubber, so that it provides a range Carnegie Hall. He does a minimum of 39 mins. $5.85. of percussive tone -colors as rich and delec- blending, using pure tones much as im- table as those of a Balinese gamelan. This pressionist painters used primary colors, There is severe opposition from Monteux recording contains sixteen of the one -move- the blending to the listener's mind. on Victor and Mengelberg on Capitol for leaving ment sonatas Cage has written for the in- fits intention perfectly, and this beautifully- played version whose im- This Debussy's strument as well as four interludes. The is placable rectitude of tempo and judicious result one of tremendous power and music is on the busy, atonal side, but is almost visual explicitness. This is sea. balance of choirs make it the most sym- the often extraordinarily eloquent, for Cage is, the reverse the record, Mendelssohn phonic of a curious work which fluctuates On of above everything, a composer, and to em- fared well. Reverting to routine in an ominous solemnity and piping flippancy. has less phasize his experiments in medium above the excellent 1948 78's, the More polyphonic details become apparent transcribing his creative preoccupations is entirely to in this edition than in the others and, if RCA technicians have scrupulously removed misrepresent his significance. Miss Ajemian the inexorably moderate pace does not dis- all trace of highs. - J. C. plays the music with the greatest imaginable please, this would be the preference of dis- insight, and the recording is perfection cophiles, provided their amplifiers can banish DEBUSSY: La Martyre de Saint Sébastien itself. A. F. the sharp edge of the violins. - C. G. B. - Frances Yeend, soprano; Anna Kaskas, alto; Miriam Stewart, soprano. Okla- CHOPIN: Sonata No 3 in B Minor, Op. homa City Symphony Chorale and BRAHMS: Variations on a Theme by 58 Orch.; Victor Allesandro, cond. Al- Schumann, Op. 9 SCHU- -in. Robert - Rudolf Firkusny. Columbia io legro 12 -in. ALG 3004. 54 mins. MANN: Faschingsschwank aus Wien, ML 220I. 25 mins. $4.00. $5.95. Op. 26 Jacqueline Blancard, piano. Vanguard One may take exception to a few details of From time to time, this critic exhumes for I2 -in. YRS 416. 19 and 20 mins. this execution but, as a whole, Mr. Firkusny emphatic approval, certain editions of the sings a beautifully coordinated and even, $5.95 - recent past not reviewed by HIGH -FIDELITY rippling song, and Columbia has repro- in its still short career, but which make There is an appositeness in the Brahms- duced the piano with imposing exactitude. the reviewing a privilege at any time. The Schumann coupling that other recording - C. G. B. d'Annunzio- Debussy mystic, in a perform- companies might well emulate. This is a ance of ultimate implausibility at Oklahoma In first appearance on LP for both works. COPLAND: El Salon México City, is in effect a feat of ideal engineering fact, I do not recall the Brahms ever appear- See MILHAUD for the vaporous and tortured work. The ing before on records in this Country. recording is distant and something in the Miss Blancard would seem to be happier DEBUSSY: La Mer hall's acoustics has made the floating in the youthful Brahms variations, to which New York Philharmonic -Symphony emanation of tones from soloists, chorus she brings a finely controlled and singing Orch.; Dimitri Mitropoulos, cond. and orchestra appropriately siderial. It is tone, which suits them admirably. A com- Ibéria: Philadelphia Orch.; Eugene possible that no work for such forces has plete awareness of their shifting moods ever been so successfully imprinted into adds considerably to her persuasive per- Ormandy, cond. Both on Columbia 19 minx. vinyl the Columbia Alexander Nevsky formance. The gay, melodic Schumann 12 -in. ML 4434. 22 and - $5.45. comes to mind, but that was brazen, florid showpiece, with its bustling first section, and direct; this is tenuous and pallid, in- calls for considerable virtuosity on the Ibéria is the second Philadelphia record tangible and unlikely. The writer fears is mettle- part of the pianist. The playing made to the very highest standard that that the work would be boring by half in a some, and in the inner sections, convincing Columbia has given us, and the fat marvel less sensationally subdued performance, un- and tender. However, the opening and of this orchestra's tone so bountifully cap- like this one wherein no voices and no in- closing sections have a tendency to sprawl, tured by the engineers - not only the struments are distorted, wherein an inflex- with the pianist striving for too large a dazzling percussion, but the formidable ible cleanness of sound draws attention to tone. horns and strings - will presumably give musical line as such. Mr. Allesandro has The piano is boldly and brilliantly re- this version prior choice over good ones by drawn out a subtly capable performance corded: excellent in the bass, slightly less Reiner, Ansermet and André, in spite of a from forces of decided worth (if in an un- so in the treble. Occasional explosive fortes ruddy cheer in Mr. Ormandÿ s performance likely locale); and if enunciation is ethereal, in the higher registers had a tendency to less apropos than the brooding sensuous- perhaps Oklahoma French were better im- on "overload" on my copy. Tone steady ness advanced by the others. - La Mer, plied than uttered. - C. G. B. the Schumann side, but some slight, oc- well -engineered, is nevertheless not the re- casional wobble on the Brahms not too ... cipient of such special, preeminent engineer- DOWLAND: Songs PURCELL: Songs noticeable. Excellent surfaces. J. F. I. - - ing as Ibéria; but the Mitropoulos perusal John Langstaff, baritone; David Soyer, is affectionate and agile. - C. G. B. cello; Herman Chesid, harpsichord. BRITTEN: Les Illuminations - MAR - Renaissance 12 -in. % 27. 4o mins. TINU: Sinfonietta La Jolla DEBUSSY: La Mer- MENDELSSOHN: $5.95. Musical Arts Orch., La Jolla; Nikolai Incidental Music to A Midsummer Sokoloff, cond. (with Alice Mock, Night's Dream The earlier, and lesser known, Dowland soprano, in Les Illuminations). Alco NBC Symphony Orch.; Arturo Tos- (1563 -1626) contributes nine, Purcell (1659-

www.americanradiohistory.com 1695) six, to this handsomely produced dlcative of Falla's admiration for Stravin- Columbia I2 -in. ML 2205. 14 mins. collection of early English songs. Apart sky. They are played with Jorda's native (Dolly); I2 mins. (other three). $4.00. from the charmingly fanciful Say, Love, If suppleness, and the transfer from 78's has The subtle and penetrating Fauré, who Ever Thou Didst Find, Dowland remains been effectively operated. - C. G. B. com- in a generally somber and melancholy mood, posed subtly and delicately about nothing whereas Purcell ranges from the challeng- very much, occupies the anomalous position FALLA: Seven Popular Spanish Songs ing I'll Sail Upon The Dog -Star to the - of being lauded for a greatness his works GRANADOS: Seven Songs from lovely serenity of For A do not warrant and being neglected for a Music While. Tonadilla Occasionally, Langstaff finds the triviality he seldom displays. There is range Conchita Supervia, mezzo- taxing to his voice, but in general his soprano; nothing wonderful in the four pieces re- sing- Frank Marshall, piano. Decca Io -in. ing is forthright, musicianly, carefully corded here, but there is plenty of subtlety phrased and in excellent taste. His diction DL 75Io. 13 and 13 mins. $3.85. for those willing to listen closely. The performances have the is clear, and he has the ability to create a Anyone who has ever heard the primitive sound of authority; the sound of the piano is clean, but hard. mood. Bold, close-to -mike recording for sentiments of the Falla canciones sung by C. G. B. the vocalist . . . instrumental accompani- this miraculous mezzo, whose voice was - ments a trifle discreet on Purcell side .. . capable of anything and whose style was Le Chasseur - closer on Dowland. Interesting and suc- always perfection, whether of brutality or FRANCK: Maudit - RIM SKY-KORSAKOV: Le Coq cessful effort to simulate the lute by the use refinement, will not willingly listen to an- d'Or Suite of the harpsichord for the Dowland songs other interpretation. This disc, masterfully Royal should be noted. Excellent surfaces. This made from 78's, and caught at the summit Philharmonic Orch.; Sir Thomas Beecham, cond. one -record album comes with complete of her supremacy in genre singing, is superb Columbia -in. ML texts on the double faced inner liner notes: and unique, music by its ordained expon- 12 4454 15 and 26 mins. Very welcome. - J. F. I. ent. - C. G. B. $5.45 - Beecham in top form, with a particularly FAURE: Dolly, Op. 56 Nocturne, Op. lusty and atmospheric reading of the Franck DVORAK: Symphony No. 5 (cbron. No. 9) 74 Barcarolle, Op. 76 Impromptu, symphonic poem. Few conductors today in E Minor (New World) Op. 95 Op. 102 could breathe as much life into this tawdry New Symphony Orch.; Enrique Jorda, Robert Casadesus, piano (with Gaby score, nor so fully realize its dramatic cond. London 52-in. LLP 432. 40 Casadesus, both at one piano in Dolly). moments. Much of his enthusiasm has been mina. $5.95. One of the more successful and genial frauds of musicology is that this thoroughly Bohemian paean is African: the soupcon of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot does not THE COLUMBIA AL SERIES viously, Columbia has calculated that the dilute the Pilsen, nor does the erosion of potential field is large here and will be time fuzz the rhapsody of the last of the The primary virtue of LP is duration. But productive, for without exception the rec- great symphonies. this can be a nuisance and sometimes a ords are first -class reproductions of the Mastery of the involutions of Spanish fault. A large number of concert -pieces - works they carry, in both engineering and rhythms makes mastery of the healthier particularly standard overtures - properly interpretational terms. Following is the Czech meters easy, and the very talented last from 7 to Io mins. in playing. In initial list. Spaniard Jorda gives us here the most rous- older days, these were entrusted phono- AL I BRAHMS: Academic Festival. Overture ing performance on records, variation with- graphically to both sides of a 78 rpm. (9 mins.) Hungarian Dances Nos. I, 3, ro, out diffusion, nuance without affectation. record. On LP, the custom has been to put and z7 (so mins.). N.Y. Phil-Sym Orch.; After exhaustive fussing with the controls on two or three works to a side, lest the cost Bruno Walter, cond. a very sensitive amplifier, music lovers will per minute exceed the bounds of decency. AL 2 OFFENBACH: Orpheus in Hades: Over- find the orchestral semblance of a very high This has resulted in a number of inept ture (8 mins.) LISZT: Hungarian Rhapsody order. -.C. G. B. heterogenies in which a music lover want- No. 2 (ro mins.). Columbia Sym -Orch.; ing the Freischütz Overture had to get the Artur Rodzinski, cond. Fugue from Schwanda and the Russian and AL 3 VILLA -LOBOS: Bachianas Brasileiras FALLA: Nights in the Gardens of Spain Ludmila Overture as well. No. 5 (7 mins.) VERDI: La Traviata: Clifford Curzon, piano. New Sym- Some time ago, Capitol inaugurated a "Ah! Fors' è lui" and "Sempre Libera" phony Orch.; Enrique Jorda, cond. series of Io -in. LP's for works of this re- (7 mins.). Bidu Sayao; ensembles cond. by Excerpts from the Three- Cornered Hat stricted duration, issuing them at a price Heitor Villa -Lobos and Erich Leinsdorf. London Symphony Orch.; Enrique more or less proportioned to the amount AL 4 Oklahoma!: Medly (8 mins.) Rou- Jorda, cond. Both on London 12 -in. of music engraved. Columbia has now imi- manian Fantasy (6 mins.). Orchestra cond. tated this example with a series, identi- by André Kostelanetz. LLP 445. 25 and Io mins. $5.95 fied by the letters AL, of generally standard AL 5 PONCHIELLI: La Gioconda: Dance of The new Nights will be the touchstone by works averaging about 8 mins. in length, the Hours (8 mins.) NICOLA': The Merry which future performances must be judged. one each to obverse and reverse. The price Wives of Windsor: Overture (8 mins.). Royal A Rubinstein -Golschmann on Victor LM is uniformly $2.85, and it will be seen Philharmonic Orch.; Sir Thomas Beecham, 1091 seemed good until the advent of Cur- that in terms of the last regular pricing of cond. zon-Jorda, whose susceptivity to the tem- 78's, these are not a real monetary bargain. AL 6 VON SUPPE: Morning, Noon and Night peramental mutations of this music makes The advantage is one of convenience. in Vienna: Overture (8 mins.) STRAUSS: the brilliant chatter of the older version a Most, but not all, of this series had pre- Morning Papers Waltz (8 mins.). Royal Phil. little rueful. On London, we have a dark viously been issued by the company, usually Orch.; Sir Thomas Beecham, cond. and languorous accord between piano and in LP form as part of a miscellany. The AL 7 MENDELSSOHN: Ruy Blas: Overture orchestra, enlivening the Moorish mystery reprocessing has been in nearly every case (8 mins.) Fingal's Cave: Overture (9 mins.) with flicks of light. On Victor, Golsch- to the acoustical benefit of the recordings. N. Y. Phil-Sym Orch.; Dimitri Mitro- mann turns on the spotlight, and Rubin- Several are notably more brilliant in the poulos, cond. stein reads happily from his Baedeker. high frequencies than their prototypes, and AL 8 SAINT -SAENS: Danse Macabre (7 mins.) The real and ominous Curzon Jorda has a it is pleasant to report that this added bril- Le Rouet d'Omphale (7 mins.). N.Y. Phil- completer realization of the subtle orchestral liance has been obtained without exaggera- Sym Orch.; Dimitri Mitropoulos, cond. color, thanks to more recent engineering, tion or distortion. The Beecham records, AL 9 SIBELIUS: Finlandia (8 rains.) The but a low -frequency pulsation may be found originally very good, are better, and have Swan of Tuonela (ro mins.). Philadelphia oppressive. been rationalized into two reasonable coup- Orch.; Eugene Ormandy, cond. The Three -Cornered Hat excerpts are not lings. Walter's new Academic Festival Over- AL Io VON SUPPE: Poet and Peasant: Over- those of the customary orchestral suite al- ture is welcome, and is intelligently backed ture (9 mins.) WEBER: Der Freischitz: though they include some of that music, by four Hungarian Dances, three of which Overture (9 mins.). Philadelphia Orch.; particularly some descriptive episodes In- seldom have orchestral performances. Ob- Eugene Ormandy, cond.

www.americanradiohistory.com communicated to the orchestra, which plays sold over here, especially in competition it may be appropriate to indicate that with considerable verve, polish and rich with the rugged (if sometimes ragged) Nos. 3, 4 and 5 in this edition have the tone. The more immediately appealing Rus- Busch version put out by Columbia. This most immediate appeal, particularly No. 3, sian suite, with its sensuous melodies and is masterful Handel and fine, scintillant re- which the Schneider style befits aptly. No. 4 colorful orchestration, must take second cording. Neel is a perfectionist. (Some is a very neat work, with a disarming open - place here, even though the performance is other perfectionists, however, may object faced gaiety contrasted with a few wistful glittering. to the larger- than -life audibility of the "solo" moments. No. S is played here with a kind Generally speaking, the recording is above instrument groups.) - J. C. of impatient, quivering responsiveness to par - even for Columbia. In the Franck, every shade. In fact, a feature of these the bass drums, distantly placed, roll thun- discs is an emanation of pleasure, per- derously, the horn work is bold, and the HANDEL: Concertos for Oboe and Strings sonal in its origin to the players themselves, tone of the cellos, especially in pianiaimo No. 3 and 4 Concertos for Organ now forwarded to us. A good deal of care- passages, is finely captured. There is slight and Strings No. 13 and 14 ful preparation must have gone into the distortion in the last band on the obverse Hans Kauresch, oboe; Gustav Leon - performances, since the Schneider Quartet side, resulting in some murkiness of orches- hardt, organ (I 642) of the Franciscan is a new organization, and we find little tral tone. The woodwinds have a crystal Church, Vienna. Chamber Orch. of of the incertitude to be expected in re- clarity, and the brass work, particularly the the Vienna National Opera; Ernst cently- formed groups. The sound as such statement of the Golden Cockerel theme at Kuyler, cond. Oceanic 12 -in. ocs 25. is amiable and glossy, without any salient the start of side 2, is quite wonderful. Sur- 11, 10, 13 and I2 mins. $5.95. features to call for special comment. -C.G.B. faces are slightly crackly. - J. F. I. Musicianly adventures into fields explored HMV and Victor a dozen years ago by - HAYDN, F. J.: Sonatas for Keyboard FRANCK: Sonata in A Major for Violin of massive rock strewn with lush landscapes No. z -zo. and P'ano played in arrays of animate flowers. Deftly Sylvia Marlowe, harpsichord. Haydn Isaac Stern, violin; Alexander Zakin, all instances; the oboe with very broad tone. Society two I2 -in. HSLP 3037. I hr. piano. Columbia io -in. au. 2204. 27 is after drastic The recording alive and true 25 mins. $11.90. mins. $4.00. rearrangement of the treble curve. - C.G.B. The harpsichord was specified for these the Franck Sonata has been able to Since early abstractions, none of which seems some of the strange performances No. 4, withstand HARTMANN: Symphony for ever to have been recorded before. The to which it has been subjected in the past, Strings term "sonata" was not applied by Haydn it will doubtless survive this over-senti- André, INR Orch., Brussels; Franz to his multi- movement works until later. mentalized attack. L 29 cond. Capitol Io -in. 8146. These show that the form as he was to Certainly there is nothing Gallic about the mins. $3.98. round it and, as we know it, was, to say the approach, and little refinement and taste in least, inchoate. They range from 6 to 14 the performance. A savage thing, repellent in a continuous mins. in length, contain two, three or four The suave, lush Stern tone is glowingly intensity of dark mood, a lento and an movements and have a minuet as the only except for a few moments in the adagio in anguished encirclement of a grim recorded, invariable feature. Following a recent trend, Movement, where it tends to become allegro, a work of inescapable power which Second the harpsichord sound, remarkably clean and raspy. Piano tone is clean, resonant and cannot attract and cannot be repudiated. crisp here, has been enregistered larger than steady, and a closer placement of the piano The performance is excellent and likewise life not a bad procedure, since it per- to mike results in better balance than existed the recording. - C. G. B. - mits a reduction of background noise on the Brahms release of November. Slight- when the volume is turned down on the ly gritty surfaces on my copy. J. F. I. - HAYDN, F. J.: Concertos for Organ and amplifier to a realistic level, something that Orchestra No. z and 2, both in C must be done if we are not to receive a GERSHWIN: Piano Transcriptions of Anton Heiller, organ. Vienna Sym- false impression of this small music. Miss Eighteen Songs phony Orch.; Hans Gillesberger, cond. Marlowe plays with a kind of dogmatic Leonid Hambro, piano. Walden I2 -in. Haydn Society I2 -in. HSLP I043. 19 rectitude which begins to pall after a time, 200. 25 mins. and II mins. $5.95. although it is very effective in maestoso right for the plaintive Gershwin loved to improvise at parties, sections and just Written by the composer whom everyone 8, 9 and so receive a taking off from his own show tunes into whimsy of No. 2. Nos invariably visualizes as an old man, when more rhythmic variety unpredictable stratospheres of jazz virtu- freer treatment, with he was 24 and 28 respectively, these are B. a collection and a greater sweep of dynamics. - C. G. osity. In 1941 he published of slight, breezy, gallant and enjoyable, par- remembered from these piano transcriptions ticularly No. 2 with its rousing parts for party entertainments, and it is from this trumpets and drums. Performance and re- F. Sonatas for Keyboard, No. that the present recording is drawn. The HAYDN, J.: cording are in kind, light and openhearted. No. 19 in D Major, essence of an improvisation, of course, is 13 in E Major, C. G. B. 3z in E Major, and No. 32 in B that it is improvised, and in the writing - No. of the color of Gershwin's playing Minor some Stravinsky, piano. Allegro was lost; nevertheless, Mr. Hambro's imag- Soulima HAYDN, K J.: Quartets, Op. 17, Nos. z -6 12 -in. ALG 3040- $5.95 ination penetrates very shrewdly behind Schneider Quartet. Haydn Society and, at the bottom of the the notes - three 12 -in. HSQ -E. I hr. 54 mins. The pianist's father is the greatest of living whole, lie some of the best show tunes ever $17.85. Also available separately as composers. A career removed from the composed. - A. F. follows: Nos. z and 4, in E and C Minor keyboard is indicated for the father's son. (20 and 20 mins.) on HSQ I 3; Nos. 2 and - C. G. B. GRANADOS: Seven Songs from Tona- 3, in F and E Flat (i8 and 20 nains.) dilla on HSQ 14; and Nos. 5 and 6, in G and D See FALLA (17 and 17 nains.) on HSQ 15. $5.95 KREUTZER: Septet in E Flat, Op. 62 each. Vienna Octet minus one. London a t- Concerti Grossi, Op. 6, No. 5 in. LLP 420. 33 mins. $5.95 HANDEL: opus are in D Major, No. 6 in G Minor The six quartets constituting this Nos. 26 to 31 in the chronological series. Docile and innocuous music, soothing in a Boyd Neel and Orch., London 1 o -in. Their issuance signals the first step in no smooth version which will, perhaps, be the LPS 396. $4.95. less a project than the recording of all' the last. This is not to sneer at London or This is the third pair of these Opus 6 con- Master's works in the form. They were its minions: the piece serves as a correc- certi that London has eased into publica- written when Haydn was in his late thirties tive to the enormous contemporaries of tion with less fuss than they deserve. Ned and illustrate a transition between his ten- Kreutzer, and shows how Haydn, Mozart had made the whole twelve on English tative early works and the ever greater ones and Beethoven, unique men all, shocked; Decca 78's just before the advent of LP, to follow. None exists elsewhere on LP. and amazes the cynics among us that Haydn, but they were so expensive that few were In general, they are not well known, and Mozart and Beethoven prevailed. - C. G. B.

www.americanradiohistory.com LALO: Symphonie Espagnole in the Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue, which in E Flat (K 428) Jascha Heifetz, violin. RCA Victor this work precedes by about two years. Amadeus Quartet. Westminster r 2 -in. Symphony Orch.; William Steinberg, Copland's skillful orchestration of some folk wL 5099. 27 and 27 mins. $5.95. cond. RCA Victor Io -in. LM I27. and popular songs Mexico, I find less of No. z7 (only). Loewenguth Quartet. $4.67. interesting. Decca Io -in. DL 7517. 26 mins. $3.85. Stunning recording job, with well -bal- It is difficult to account for this. Probably anced, super -brilliant sound. There is some Very interesting extremes of performance Heifetz' contract called for one more record cloudiness on side 2, possibly due to slight in No. z7. The Amadeus group, in a huge in 1951, and it had to be something the echo on my copy. Brilliant brass and cool sound, rounds and softens every phrase members of a get- together orchestra could clarinet sound. Surfaces good. J. F. I. while the Loewenguth plays with the lofty play right off, without much practicing. It - directness that characterizes all its work. is to be hoped they met their deadline, be- MOZART: Concerto for Piano No. 244 in The Amadeus Quartet has a tone almost in- cause they certainly didn't accomplish any- C Minor (K 491) Concertofor Piano credibly appetizing and somewhat facti- thing else. J. C. - No. 27 in B Flat (K 595) tious, caused by the room acoustics which Paul Badura-Skoda. Vienna Sym- reinforce while caressing each instrument. MARTINU: Sinfonietta La Jolla phony Orch.; Felix Prohaska, cond. It is very beautiful, but can displease. Decca See BRITTEN Westminster 12 -in. WL 5097. 29 and has given the Loewenguth group a record- 29 mins. $5.95 ing exactly appropriate to the style, chiseled admirably, and the Decca disc will cer- MENDELSSOHN: Incidental Music to There are several striking things to note in tainly be accounted purer Mozart. A Midsummer Night's Dream connection with this disc containing, back Quartet No. z6 in the Amadeus version is See DEBUSSY: La Mer to back, two of the greatest concertos; in its general feature exactly similar to the No. 24, with tragic portents always per- better -known Hunting. There is also ceptible in the splendor of the panoply, a MILHAUD: La Création du Monde Loewenguth version of this, played with a - and No. 27, bedecked in corresponding COPLAND: El Salon México most delicate tracery, but injured in the brilliance, but with tragedy in entire sub- Columbia Chamber & Symphony old Allegro record by persistent low jection after the opening movement. First, -fre- Orchs.; Leonard Bernstein, cond. Co- quency background noise. - C. G. B. lumbia Io -in. ML 2203. 18 and II Westminster has here given the largest and mins. $4.00. most completely realized orchestral part we have had in any Mozart concerto, with MOZART: Quartet No. 23, in D (K Two sparkling performances under the stim- every instrument limpid; second, the use of 575) Quartet No. 25, in F ulating direction of Bernstein, who projects, a variable groove has permitted both to (K 59o) particularly in the Milhaud, just that little be imprinted on a single disc, where we Aeolian Quartet. Allegro I2 -in. ALG more than I remember having heard in would have expected two. 3036. 24 and 2r mins. $5.95. these scores previously. The performances are spirited in the Milhaud, in company with other Euro- orchestra but not without some stolidity on Curiously, No. 23, which is accorded more pean composers of his day, had just begun the part of the pianist, a little surprising performances, has had no other LP record- to show interest in the rhythm and music of since this quality has not been apparent in ing. It is mellow and lyrical Mozart, with- American Jazz - and there is a liberal use his other Mozart records. - C. G. B. out the breath -catching emotional sugges- of that idiom throughout this strong and tions of the other two members of the absorbing ballet score. The use of a blues MOZART: Quartet No. z7 in B Flat Prussian Quartets. The Aeolian Quartet here is strongly reminiscent of that used (Hunting) (K 458) Quartet No. r6 features an equality of outflow and etched

POSTSCRIPTS TO less mastery than the other two, it retains intelligent direction and, here and there, the Mozartian form, is properly the only some good singing, but it is marred seriously OPERA BUFFA AND MOZART complete Figaro on discs, and is recom- by the inability of some of the most im- mended here as the one for Mozartians. portant members of the cast to realize their An article on Opera Buffa and a review of The Beecham -Berlin Philharmonic Mgaic vocal obligations to this score. The late the Columbia Magic Flute in the last issue Flute enjoyed very good recording in its Fritz Busch, who conducted the Glynde- of this magazine, left readers in uncertainty epoch (1939) and that recording has been bourne records, deserves great credit for the as to the ultimate comparative merits of somewhat improved in the familiar LP way performance, which is always on its target; the records discussed, because the Victor by the Victor engineers on LCT 6ror, three for without the presence of one absolutely LP pressings of the Magic Flute and the 52 -in. discs. This is not to say that its unforgettable singer in the cast, he has Marriage of Figaro had not been heard. The acoustic qualities match those of the shining projected an interpretation we cannot seem necessary comparisons have since been made, new Columbia, but other factors may in- ever to forget. The men - Brownlee, without affecting the conclusions reached duce music lovers to prefer the Beecham Pataky, Baccaloni and Henderson - are ex- in the case of Figaro, but complicating version to the Karajan. (This critic, after cellent and the women fair. Brownleé s aris- judgment in the Magic Flute. repeated hearings, remains in indecision.) tocratic intonation is as right as it is rare, There had been some rumors to the effect The greatest virtue of the Victor is Beecham and it is impossible not to believe that that the LP's of the Glyndebourne Figaro himself, whose direction is tenser and Busch had something to do with this, since would insert the recitative excised for the brighter than Karajans, and the Strienz of the other Glyndebourne records show a ancient original 78's. The rumors were un- that day was an unsurpassable Sarastro. good deal of the same quality in other true, and this gallant, sparkling and homo- Berger and Lipp are on a par, according to singers. Indeed, it is impossible to think geneous Figaro (RCA Victor two r2 -in. the evidence of these discs, while the other of a contemporary baritone capable of giv- LCT 600r) has precisely the same funda- singers in the Columbia version are generally ing invisibly such an emanation of bearing mental and disqualifying fault as the beau- superior to those on the Victor. It is cer- as Brownlee has accomplished in his deft tiful, warm, and ripely-recorded Columbia tainly impossible to give a mathematical and suave characterization. Figaro. In the 78 rpm. version of the value to the varying and conflicting points We may not hesitate between the occa- Glyndebourne, the omission of the recita- of superiority in such a work as this, where sionally disconsolate Haydn Society edition tive was not so apparent and hence not so neither version has outstanding faults. with its brighter sonic raiment, and the obnoxious: the abrupt interruptions every The celebrated Glyndebourne version of pulsing, sensitive Victor version, despite its 3 mins. or so while a disc was being re- Don Giovanni has been reissued by Victor slightly threadbare but still satisfactory, placed by another mollified the abruptness on three r2 -in. LP's in LCT 6102. (Seldom acoustics. Perhaps Columbia or London of the transition from one great scene to have we heard so emphatic an illustration can assemble a cast to surpass the latter. another which should not have followed it of the essential benefit of LP: the original They cannot, alas, summon back Fritz Busch. without the intervention of action carried in edition occupied forty -six 78 rpm. sides!) May we beg Columbia, if she thinks of ven- recitativo secco. We have, then, three albums The competition here is with a commendable turing again into these altitudes, not to carrying the title Le Nozze di Figaro, and if edition from the Haydn Society (Hsu 2030), throw the recitatives into the wastebasket? the version on Cetra is plainly sung with which displays naturally superior acoustics, - C. G. B.

www.americanradiohistory.com detail within a taut framework of tempo Radio Orch.; Erik Tuxen, cond. Lon- usually patronized with blatant and per- and dynamics, in amusing contrast with don I2 -in. LLP roo. 34 mins. $5.95. functory readings. The engineering main- Amadeus in the complex interlacements of tains the brilliant standard ser by the preced- The earnest, well -made and aspiring music No. 25 (noted above under No. z8), whose ing records in the series. - C. G. B. exuberance of tone and soaring cantabile with its broad and strident but amorphous is are magnified by a reciprocal hall -tone, of themes of smaller importance than the PERGOLESI: Concertinos for String Or- seductive orchestral playing and stunning which Aeolian has little trace. The Ama- chestra No. z, 3, 4 and 5 deus gets at the heart with greater eloquence, engineering. Great rolling masses of ro- Winterthur Orch.; Angelo Ephrikian, abetted by engineering artifice, suggesting tund sound fill the hall with everything cond. Westminster two Its-in. WL an orchestra: the Allegro disc is of a string in rich balance except for some slightness 4005-2. 15, 13, t o and 9 mins. $8.90. of registry from the wood. The brass is quartet, well imprinted, but with a low - frequency background. C. G. B. massively unified beyond compare on There is some dispute over the authorship - records; the strings are silk. A record more of these ever -resourceful and diverting little for lovers of sound than of music. - The works. If they are not by Pergolesi, they MOZART: Quartets Dedicated to Haydn vocal interpolations are not long, but no are by someone who sounds just like him, No. r4 in G (K 387), No. 15 in D text is supplied, although the language is no small feat. Playing is spirited and Minor (K 42 I ), No. r6 in E Flat Danish. - C. G. B. sounds serene on these, the only to -in. discs (K 428), No. r7 in B Flat (K 458), in the Westminster catalog. - C. G. B. No. i8 in A (K 464), No. 19 in C OFFENBACH: Overtures to La Belle (K 465) Hélène Barbe -Bleue Le Mariage PUCCINI: Tosca Roth Quartet. Mercury three 12 -in. aux Lanternes Orphée aux Enfers Simona dall'Argine (s), Nino Scatto- MGL 8. 2 hrs. 25 mins. $14.55. La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein lini (t), Scipio Colombo (brie), Alfred Available separately in consecutive London Philharmonic Orch.; Jean Poell (bs), and other singers. Vienna pairs on MG 10108,10109 and toil o. Martinon, cond. London I2 -in. LLP Chamber Choir; Vienna National 26, 21; 22, 22; 26, 27 mins. respec- 350. 8, 3, 5, 9 and 7 wins. $5.95. Opera Orch.; Argeo Quadri, cond. tively. $4.85 each disc. Westminster three r2-in. w u. 302. No. 5 or 6 of a series called Famous Over- t hr. 58 mins. $17.85. Two years ago, this would have appeared as tures, of which the fame of some is dis- a constructive and revolutionary effort at putable and of others ill; but wherein all It was inevitable that Westminster, with systemization. But the two years have pro- are given a sonorous musical propulsion of its technical ability and growing confi- duced many versions of these great quartets high excellence. This is the second disc dence, would attempt an opera, every other by various groups. No doubt the obligation by a French conductor patently demonstrat- manufacturer having, with different degrees of a reviewer is to compare the new set ing that the infusion of some knowing imag- of success, lavished musical stage -works on with all the existing editions, but this ination can revitalize a category of music the record -public during the last year or two. reviewer, undertaking elsewhere in this issue a series of comparisons of some magnitude, had not time for the added duty. THE HAT TRICK On WL 509t, the fine young pianist Reine understand a Obviously, it is easier to Gianoli plays the A Minor Fantasia, the D played in a cohesiveness series of quartets This item was submitted to the editor just Minor Clavier Toccata and the celebrated fortunately, Roths, in of style and, the too late for inclusion in the last issue of Chaconne with an extraordinary strength and achieving this, do not confuse it with HIGH-FIDELITY. It was conceived as news, vitality matched by the extraordinarily are a healthy, stylistic uniformity. They as information of importance, rather than beautiful, vibrant and unprecedentedly faith- and intelligent organization with a sane, as formal criticism. Since this news is not ful reproduction of the piano. On WL method contempt for self -exaltation. Their yet stale, and indeed has not been generally 5096, Westminster's prime conductor, Her- is intentions and, to realize the composer's transmitted to the record- buying public, it mann Scherchen, leads the orchestra of the six are exceptionally since these quartets is printed late as better than never. Vienna National Opera in a performance of varied in line and sentiment, the Roths Of five discs received from Westminster Tchaikovskÿs Fourth Symphony, in which with adapt themselves - generally com- at Novembers end, two were generally ex- this old warhorse not only appears with different demands made upon fort - to the cellent without any sensational revelation. its familiar accouterments brilliantly shining, their skill. Nos. 2 and 4 seem especially Three unwound a spiral of magisterial but a regrouping of personnel vis -a -vis are difficult to ad- successful. The records acoustical accomplishment, and each was microphones has bared many niceties usual- just for the best sonic results. The sound concerned with a different instrumentalism. ly hidden. Contrapuntal details are revealed in proximity to the hearer, with the seems In each, this company, which periodically in a work we have thought of as a concen- nicely proportioned to each instruments erects new standards, submits an aural tration of fanfares relieved by a trippant is very large and the other, but the bass apocalypse. From its three -headed triumph holiday among the balalaikas. For the treble requires painstaking correction. we may draw a number of conclusions minor first time, in concert or on the phonograph, G. B. - C. and major, some obvious, some not. It is no detail seems to be lost, no part suffocates plain that the Westminster entrepreneurs another. The accuracy of timbre is not new MOZART: Six Sonatas for Organ and have critical ears - and this is not regle- in records of this company, but the libera- Orchestra: No. r in E Flat (K 67), mentary in the musical industry - that they tion of high violins from metallic shimmer No. 2 in B Flat (K 68), No. 3 in D have the musical stamina to resist both has never been more effectively accomplished (K 69), No. 6 in B Flat (K 212), No. laissez-faire and feverish sterile experiments, on LP. We are accustomed to heavy bass, 8 in A (K 225), No. 14 in C (K 329) and the analytical ability to discern what in but not to a 3- dimensional orchestral depth P. Messner, organ. Mozarteum Orch., records needs improvement and what are without bass -exaggeration. Salzburg; Paul Walter, cond. Period the means to effect it. Beethoven's second Rasoumowsky Quartet I2 -in. SPLP 534. 29 mins. $5.95. Most significant is the fact that the new is to be found on wt. 5098, lusciously played has been obtained in three by the Vienna Tidbits of varying value, all with some triple success Konzerthaus Quartet. The different fundamental instrumental fields and spectacular feature of this recording is less interest and No. 14 with emphatic musical in repertory: A Tchaikovsky basically concerned with naked realism, for appeal, neatly played and appropriately re- the standard symphony, a Beethoven quartet, and three on this disc we have a quartet -sound beauti- corded on a pleasant and unassuming disc. familiar Bach pieces for keyboard. If West- fully modified by a most ingratiating hall. The annotator chides Mozart perhaps a so right down the acts, as it were, as a little uncharitably for the commonplace minster can continue tone, which benign we shall be able to take the tech- unguent for the raspless strings. nature of the first three. Mozart was only repertory, nical results for granted; and since one These observations are cursory because eleven. C. G. B. - company has shown that new and wonderful of the pressure of time when they were results can be obtained by pertinacious ap- written, but it is felt better not to tamper NIELSEN: Symphony No. 3 (Sinfonia Es- plication of the human ear to the quality with the text now that there is leisure to pansiva) of sound, it may be assumed that before do so, on the ground that the impact of Inger Lis Hassing, soprano; Erik long, other companies will imitate this revo- the records is more forcefully revealed by Sjoeberg, baritone; Danish National lutionary process of listening before issuing. the hurried original article. - C. G. B.

www.americanradiohistory.com It was inevitable also that Westminster, the world's recording studios, has certainly instrumentalists; Arnold Schönberg, itself to an operatic having once committed found his best treatment in Stockholm and, cond. Columbia 12 -in. ML 4471 . 33 edition, would produce one of outstanding in consideration of this favor, has given us mins. $5.45. excellence. What we expected was perhaps what is unquestionably his best work. Hard Armide, Cosi Fan Tutte, or Oberon, in ac- - C. G. B. on the heels of the Dial release of cordance with the repertorial standards of Schönberg's Pierrot Lunaire, Columbia re- this company. We have Tosca. issues this definitive recording of the work, - RIMSKY- KORSAKOV: Le Coq d'Or Surely, this is the harlot in church, and conducted by the composer, with Mme. Suite so handsomely accoutered that she is not Erika Stiedry- Wagner intoning the Sprech- See FRANCK likely to be evicted. In truth, there is a gesang. It is in the declamation of the curious fascination in this adaptation of difficult singing- speech medium that this Sardou's slick melodrama, which emanates ROSSINI: Stabat Mater recording excels, for Adler's work on Dial in an exciting fashion from the disc when Ilona Steingruber (s), Dagmar Nerr- cannot stand comparison with the extraord- one knows the rollicking horror taking mann (s), Anton Dermota (t), Paul inarily subtle and impassioned perform- place on the stage. The recording is so trans- Schoeffler (bs). Academy Choir and ance of Stiedry- Wagner. It is tough listen. parent and realistic, in its smallest details Orch. of National Opera, Vienna; ing, until one's ear becomes accustomed to and its loudest interjections, and the sense Jonathan Sternberg, cond. Oceanic the vagaries of the vocal line contra the in- of theatrical presence is so skillfully main- I2 -in. ocs 24. 59 mins. $5.95. strumental accompaniment; after that, the tained, that Puccini s dramatic noises seem going is easier. A disc like this, not new, is the kind that to have dramatic significance, and his tune The recording is a little thin in body. It extorts a tempestuous puff for records not the one he uses in Butterfly, Boheme, the was originally made in 1940. Some shrill - previously reviewed here. The last extended Fanciulla and elsewhere is used to very highs from woodwinds . . particularly pic- - work of the genial genius, the most easy- good effect by the participants in this bril- colo ... cello and viola fare better. Sur going and sophisticated men, least liant album. The principal voices seem very of the faces only fairly quiet. exact of composers, who not suffer proficient with the musical material which could Though the liner notes offer descriptions and could not characterize, but could end- offers no differentiation of character; the of the twenty -one pieces, no German texts lessly invent music for the froth of life, has control of the orchestra by the conductor are, supplied. - J. F. I. given in his Stabat Mater not only a con- is startlingly homogeneous, and the dy- tinuation of William Tell and the Barber, namic range is truly majestic. Perhaps a - but a prescience and Zar and SCHUMANN, C.: Trio for Piano, notice of these disc should have appeared of Offenbach Violin Zimmermann. This is the most relaxing and Violoncello in G Minor, Op. here from a more sympathetic hand; but of r7 - music in a performance of contrary gal- BEETHOVEN: Trio Movement still, the grandeur of the engineering feat in vanic brilliance. Singing is beautiful, B Flat is possibly and properly emphasized by in- leadership excellent, and recording in trans- Mannes -Gimpel -Silva Trio. sistence on the excitement provided by the Decca lucent balance (the undistorted tone 12 -in. DL mins. $5.85. clash of the tawdry show in its magnifi- string 9555. 26 is something to be noted here, as less usual cent mounting. C. G. B. The - than the neat amalgam of drums and trum- sturdiest woman in musical history had a good deal of manhood pets). If there is some microphone- flutter in her, as the ex- PURCELL: Songs cellent notes to this record from the vocal quartet mf or louder, that is point out. This See DOWLAND seems to the not continuous, and has been, alas, almost be first of her works ever recorded: it sounds conventional in bold European tapes. A like a production of Robert, and not a RACHMANINOFF: Rhapsody on a fine record: spirituel if not spiritual. weak one. The performance is sympathetic and Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 -C..-G. B. unshowy in a William Kapell, piano. Robin Hood recording of agreeable, competent engineer- Dell Orch.; Fritz Reiner, cond. RCA ing. The Beethoven is reviewed elsewhere. SAINT -SAENS: Concerto for Piano No. 2, Victor Io -in. LM I26. 22 mins. $4.67. C. G. B. in G Minor, Op. 22 Ballet Music - The only thing hypothetically detractive from Henry VIII from this concentration of excellence is Hastings Symphony Orch.; John Bath, SCHUMANN, R.: Faschingsschwank aus some hardness in the exceptionally clear cond. (with Arthur Sandford in the Wien, Op. 26 piano sound and, to this critic, that hard- Concerto). Allegro 12 -in. ALG 3028. See BRAHMS ness is essentially the necessary adjunct to 24 and r5 mins. $5.95- a good staccato. In delicate poise and as STRAUSS, R.: Wanderer's Sturmlied, masters of shade, pianist and conductor Few composers had as much musical competence as Saint -Säens and so little feeling. Op. r4 play as one in the difficult alternating See BRAHMS moods of this exuberant, entertaining and There is a curious contradiction in his rather presumptuous pastime. The en- music which never seems worth the trouble gineers have contrived a disc of truly ex- to bear, 'DUI is never dull. Certainly the SZYMANOWSKI: Violin Concerto No. r, traordinary clarity in all choirs and for the best -known of his concertos, here recorded, Op. 35 whole orchestra, from whisper to loudest described by some wit as progressing from Eugenia Uminska, violin. Philhar- forte. It is hard to see how the work could be Bach to Offenbach, is as entertaining as monia Orch.; Gregor Fitelberg, cond. more completely realized. C. G. B. it is fundamentally empty. Mr. Sandford Decca I o-in. DL 7516. r8 mins. $3.85. - battles it valiantly and emerges from the encounter flushed, but not seriously hurt. The radiance, refinement, subtlety and deli- Symphony No r RACHMANINOFF: in The unfamiliar Ballet from Henry VIII is cate understatement which are so charac- D Minor, Op. 13 familiar in some of the folk tunes em- teristic of Szymanowski's music are mar- Stockholm Radio Orch.; Jacques Rach- ployed, and is not without a certain charm. velously exemplified in this masterly, 12 -in. MG milovich, cond. Mercury Mr. Bath is not a master of orchestral sub- neglected score. Performance and recording Io". 41 mins. $4.85. tlety but these are not works in which to are superb. - A. F. Another evidence of Mercury's sudden emer- bewail the absence of such a quality. What may be a premonition of a fruitful future gence as first -class technicians of record- RANDALL: is the acoustical triumph obtained by the THOMPSON, String Quar- ing the orchestra. It is the recorded quality tet in D BARBER, Allegro engineers. The orchestra is lumin- Minor- SAMUEL which strikes in this first version of a dra- Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. ous and in just proportion, the piano true - 6 matic symphony not without spasmodic Guilet Quartet. Raya Garbousova and interest but overlong in the presentation of sounding. - There is more of the "adjacent, anticipatory echo" than discs generally Erich Itor Kahn. Concert Hall Society its rather obvious ideas. The loud passages 12 -in. CHs display, but some people are amused by this 1092. 20 and 16 mins. are very effective, the brass showy, the $5.95. wood incisive, but the technical excellence lingering LP gratuity. - C. G. B. of the disc is best exemplified in the re- Thompson's quartet, his first, is one of markable qualities of the pianos. - Mr. SCHONBERG: Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21 his broadest, most tuneful, powerful and Rachmilovich, making a leisurely tour of Erika Stiedry-Wagner, recitation, with ingenious works. One expects this kind of

www.americanradiohistory.com dramatic, persuasive and exquisitely cal- and other soloists. Chorus and Orch. good, allowance made for its age. The re- culated composition from Randall Thomp- of Bayreuth Festival, r95í; Herbert cent complete edition on Urania, which son, but the virility, not to say monumen- von Karajan, cond. Columbia five 12- contains many beautiful things, was, of tality, of the Barber sonata is rather sur- in. sL 117. 4 hrs. z8 mins. $28.00. course, falsified from beginning to end by prising. It is an early piece and a rather the predominence of the singers obscuring Brahmsian one, but a work of decided Die Walkure, Act III the orchestra. - C. G. B. strength despite its obvious derivative - Astrid Varnay (s), Leonie Rysanek (s), ness. - A. F. Sigurd Björling (bne), and other WEBERN, ANTON: Works, Vol. II voices. Chorus and Orch. of Bayreuth Dial I2 -in. 17. 32 mins. $5.95. Festival, 1951; Herbert von Karaj an, VIVALDI: Dixit Dominus (Psalm ro9) cond. Columbia two r2-in. sr. 116. This set contains Webern's Concerto for Nine Instruments, his for Piano, his Rosanna Giancola (s), Luciana Pio- I hr. 9 mins. $12.00. Variations vesan (s), Maria Amadini (a), Emilio Quartet for Saxophone, Clarinet, Violin and Cristinelli (t), Giuliano Ferrein (bs). The prestige of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus Piano, and his Four Songs. Except for the Chorus and Chamber Orch. of the is grand, and these are recordings of public songs (for which no texts are provided), Scuola Veneziana; Angelo Ephrikian, performances therein. Record lovers do these works do not exemplify Webern as cond. Period I2 -in. SPLP 537. 41 not speak enthusiastically of discs made the aphorist of his legend. All are composi- mins. $5.95. under these general circumstances, thinking tions of some length and immense complex- sourly of the auditorium and stage noises ity; to my ear, the atonal involvements of With Juditha Triumphant, and the 109th which must intrude themselves into and the piano variations and the quartet are all Psalm in the Vulgate, Period is having a over the music, but there are other detri- but impervious, but the Concerto for Nine Vivaldi festival of its own. One of the mental things concisely revealed in these Instruments is a work of extraordinary fas- major achievements of LP has been to two recordings. Of the Third Act of ¡Val - cination, its slow movement especially so. disinter the works of this great man and küre, we may say that engineering and It is a study in that "melody of tone color" make them available again for people to editing were confused and unstable; that about which Webern and his teacher, hear. No more engaging example of his hope crossed by hysteria must have dictated Schönberg, often theorized; the movement sacred works could have been chosen than its issuance, for the women's voices, faulted consists of a kind of cantus firmus in the this in which the most spirited animation during the recording process, are all onerous piano over which the other eight instru- alternates with devout contemplation in a to the hearer, and this must have been plain ments spin out a long, single strand of way to obviate fatigue with either of them. to the supervisors. A vicious high -fre- melody, none contributing more than two A good deal of this sounds like good Bach quency bounce (caused presumably by the notes at a time. Webernians regard the and much of it like good Handel; the acoustics of the stage) worries every fem- piano variations, here played by Jacques credit being Vivaldi's, who did not imitate inine voice forte with deceitful shakiness and, Monod, as one of the composer's major those great contemporaries. Ephrikian was as the singers wander in their action on the achievements. If so, the repeated hearing the right man: he knows the score and has stage, their voices are caught now in a bel- which recording, and recording alone, makes trained the forces of his will. Since the low, now in a whisper, covering the orches- possible, should solve its formidable diffi- voices are, in the main, excellent, and the tra sometimes, indistinct behind its huge culties for the listener. - A. F. recording tone both bright and full, this curtains at others. Intoxicated with the disc can be called an unqualified success and sonorous name of Bayreuth, Columbia, the will probably be unchallenged for years. benevolent originator of LP, has used an - C. G. B. extra side to carry eight minutes. MUSIC IN HAWAII The RodzinskyJanssen- Traubel edition Continued from page 47 VIVALDI: Juditha Triumphans on Columbia sL 105, despite its age and a Rosanna Giancola (s), Maria Amadina consequent lack of lustrous depth in the (a), Emilio Cristinelli (t), Marcello sound, is more pointed, more dramatic, records, about 75% of which are available Cortis (bne). Chorus and Orch. of the more real than this Bayreuth effort, for all for withdrawal. These records are mostly Scuola Veneziana; Angelo Ephrikian, the deep -piled velvet of the Bayreuth classical. The library also has five machines cond. Period three r2 -in. SPLP 533. orchestra. for reproduction through headphones, at has I hr. 55 mins. $18.50. Die Meistersinger some of the faults the library itself. The Library of Hawaii has A couple of years ago such an edition would of the Walküre discs and some others, but its own one -hour program on Sunday after- have been greeted with awestricken compli- is less fatal in some; and it has some dis- noons over station KGBM. It consists ments expressing the most hyperbolic ap- tinct and almost compelling virtues of its mainly of opera and dramatic selections with proval. We are so accustomed now to the own. Karajan's direction is sublime, if emphasis on LP pressings. daily appearance of protracted esoterica one can say so about so earthy a work. The The present interest in custom installa- that we can receive such a tasty effusion singing by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Eva), tions is not all that it could be. This is as this with complacence and no surprise Otto Edelmann (Sachs) and Erich Kunz due, in part, to the fact that many of the at all. No doubt that the oratorio is a (Beckmesser), is consistently splendid; Ger- audiophiles are transient, being members work of genius, and pretty consistently en- hard Unger is good most of the time as of the Military or attached thereto. I think tertaining in spite of its repetitions. Vival- David; but regrettably the good tenor, Hans that this field could stand development and di was able to make a tune whenever neces- Hopf, had a wicked day as Walther. The intended to discuss it with some of the sary, and the rhythmic vitality here, joined strings of the orchestra have been richly architects, and to point up my statements to devices of an odd orchestration un- engraved, but the wind - both wood and with illustrations from HIGH -FIDELITY. familiar to modern ears, convey a real dra- brass - is weak, and also the chorus, in Possibly a point of interest will be the matic force beyond the power of the limp- this partial failure undertaken in unfamiliar fact that on this island (Oahu) we have ing text to project. Venice was Vivaldi's and tricky surroundings. The lyrical comedy seven AM stations but there is no FM its city, and there is obviously something of a is so very human, and romantic dramatics station on any of the islands. tradition of performance there: the present are so beautifully maintained by the con- To give an idea of the caliber of musical one is excellent from all hands for its six ductor, that it is a temptation, under their programs, here is the one given in the sides, while the sound is for the most part spell, to recommend this set. But then Little Symphony series on January 8, 1952: transparent and refreshing, marred at a few Walther appears; and, trying to escape this PERGOLESI: Concerto for Oboe and Strings intervals by some extraneous sounds and trial, we note that the richness of the or- ALEXANDRE TANSMAN: Triptych for String some microphonic hazards. C. G. B. chestra is uni- colored without sparkle, and Orchestra - we decide to wait for the first and third acts MOZART: Haffner Serenade, K. 320 announced by London. For the second act, Typical of the regular symphony concerts WAGNER: Die Meistersinger von Nürn- already issued by London, was promising, is the program for December r r, 1951: berg although atrociously edited (stretched to HAYDN: Symphony No. ¡04 in D Major, Otto Edelmann (bne), Elisabeth four sides where Columbia manages with (London) Schwarzkopf (s), Hans Hopf (t), Erich two), with the Fliedermonolog, God help CHARLES IVES: Symphony No. 2 Kunz (bne), Gerhard Unger (t), Ira us, divided in the middle. The reissued TCHAIKOVSKY: Concerto for Piano and Or- Malaniuk (ms), Friedrich Dalberg (bs) Victor third act (original 1939) is very chestra in B Flat Minor, Op. 23

www.americanradiohistory.com how to Dispose of the Body

AUDIOPHILES and detective -story murderers have The basic dimensions were dictated by the fact that one problem in common: what to do with the we wanted the tape recorder and the turntable equipment body. In the case of the audio hobbyist, the body side by side and at a height which would permit com- is the ever -increasing accumulation of equipment. Book- fortable operation while standing. Thus the compartment shelves and tables may be adequate for a while but, sooner for the Concertone was made 28 ins. wide. A space of or later, the day of reckoning arrives. In many cases, its 24 ins. was allowed for the turntable and arm. This dimen- arrival is heralded by angry wavings of the dust mop. In sion could be reduced if a shorter arm were used. Below our case, it was the Audio Fair last Fall in New York which the Concertone is a storage compartment for tape and precipitated the crisis. Once and for all, equipment had other accessories. The door to this compartment drops to be assembled into presentable form. Then, at the Fair, down to form a shelf. Under this compartment, and behind a number of people asked us for design details of the the grille cloth, is the i 5 -in. coaxial speaker. As can be cabinet in which we had managed to install all our equip- seen from the sectional sketch, Fig. i, the speaker panel is ment except auxiliary speakers and the Air -Coupler. With tipped upward for better sound projection into the room. the thought that readers of HIGH- FIDELITY might also want The dimensions of the speaker compartment were not to make use of some of the ideas incorporated into this critical from the acoustic standpoint because this speaker design, we have made sketches and taken pictures ... as was used to carry only the middle and high frequencies. evidenced on these pages. Frequencies below r75 cycles were diverted by a dividing Principal features of the cabinet, Figs. 2 and 3, are network to a corner Air -Coupler. It should be mentioned shock -mounting for both tape recorder and turntable, also that, at the Fair, the coaxial unit was used inter- and ample space to house a considerable assortment of changeably with a is -in. Jim Lansing in. a tightly -en- equipment: Concertone tape recorder, Rek -O -Kut turn- closed 3 cu. ft. cabinet supplemented by a Jim Lansing table, Fairchild transcription pickup arm, Browning tuner, tweeter. The purpose of this dual installation was to Brociner preamplifier, Williamson -type amplifier, loud- enable us to demonstrate reproduction from a coaxial speaker crossover networks, and a Stephens i 5 -in. coaxial unit as well as that obtained with two separate speakers. speaker. The cabinet was designed primarily for utility, In either arrangement, the corner Air -Coupler carried but attractiveness was also essential so that it would not the bass. be too out of place when used in the home. The Browning tuner and Brociner preamplifier, Fig. 2,

www.americanradiohistory.com B

-f-- - ze" .-

DDOR PULL - . DO'R ze 3ie. DOOR 24 D/e"

000 POLI Vat. I/a ROUND MOULDING

oR CLOTH Va ROUND MLDGS. SPEAKER _i

ALL MATERIAL PLFV1000 [TONT ELEVATION SECTION A -A 2 Ya' -3,4 SECTION B -B L- A

Fig. r. These sketches show essential features of the equipment cabinet. Note that the shelf behind the tuner, section B -B, is cut off to provide clearance for the chassis as well as ventilation. The chassis itself is mounted on the door,

were mounted on the door of the compartment below the stove bolts simply rested in the shock mounts; they were turntable and pickup arm. Three toggle switches, just not attached to them. This method facilitated removal visible under the preamplifier, control AC current to the of either the tape recorder or the turntable with a mini- various pieces of equipment. Mounted in this way, the mum of effort and trouble. There was a reason for want- tuner and control dials can be read easily from a standing ing to be able to remove the tape recorder easily, which position. It is not necessary to squat down, as is so often will be discussed later. the case, to read the dial markings of the tuner. The cabinet can be redesigned to accommodate differ- Just behind the panel, at its extreme right and left ent types and sizes of equipment. The photographs and edges, are side -pieces of wood, cut so that the door opens sketches here are intended as suggestions to help in lay- only part way. When closed, the heels of the side pieces ing out equipment. We must apologize to the mechanical rest on the shelf behind the tuner, as shown in the sec- draftsmen in our readership for having taken certain tion B -B. Fig. i. artistic liberties with the principles of drafting. Note, The method of shock mounting depends on the type please, that we refer to them as sketches! We realize of mounts used. We had mounts which were designed to that sectional drawings show many things which we do be screwed or bolted to a support. Hence, we used the not show, and should not show some things which we cleats shown in the sketches, attached the shock mounts do include. We can only hope that the sketches and to them, and then ran stove bolts from the plywood bases photographs will give an approximate idea of construc- under the turntable and recorder into the mounts. The tion. And to others, we must apologize for having made

Fig. 2. With doors open, left, equipment is easily accessible. r...... ® . .--, Fig. 3. Below: closing the doors gives a trim appearance. dri:"

www.americanradiohistory.com certain changes :between the time the cabinet was originally Furthermore, for some of our work, we used an Altec constructed (and photographed) and the time when the 21-B microphone. This unit requires a special power sketches were made. Putting the cabinet into actual supply which was mounted on the bottom of the carry- use showed that certain things could have been arranged ing case, as shown in Fig. 5. more conveniently. The major difference between photo- Normally, connections to the Concertone are made di- graphs and sketches is in the front skirt, at the top of rect to the preamplifier- compensator chassis on the metal cabinet. In the photographs, this is actually 8 ins. high. base plate of the recorder unit. As can be seen in Fig. 5, we ran wires from these connections to Amphenol connectors mounted in the plywood sub -base, so that connections could be made from the top of the recorder. There are three such connections: low -level input, high - level input, and output. In the home cabinet, the master wire feeding into the amplifier is "broken" by two Am- phenol male connectors, located at the rear of the cabinet. When the Concertone is in position, its output is attached to the connector wired to the amplifier; the other connector is attached to a cable leading to the input of the recorder. When the Concertone is not in the home cabinet, these two connectors are wired together by means of the short piece of cable, with female connectors at either end, which is shown lying on the open compartment door in Fig. 2. The top of the carrying case, Fig. 4, is fitted with pieces of sponge rubber, on pegs in each corner, which press firmly on the plywood sub -base of the recorder so that Fig. 4. Recorder fits both home cabinet and portable case. it will not fall out of position when being carried. The lid is held in place by two tension -type trunk catches In the sketches, it is marked as being 5 ins. high. The at either end of the case, which supply the necessary change was made because we have found that, for home pressure. use, it would be convenient to stand the reels of tape, as well as LP records, on edge instead of putting them down flat. The 5 -in. skirt leaves room for a compartment 13 ins. high. From the artistic point of view, the cabinet will not be quite as attractive; the skirt width will look a little skinny in comparison with the compartment doors. To improve the appearance of the cabinet when the doors are closed, another change has been suggested. The door pulls should be made longer and then centered on the cabinet, not on the dividing partition between the compartments, as shown in Fig. 3. Also, Soss invisible hinges, used on the left -hand compartment door, would make the appearance neater.

A Carrying Case for the Concertone

Design of the cabinet described above was closely related to that of a carrying case for the Concertone recorder. The manufacturer of the Concertone makes an "official" Fig. 5. Hinged bottom section exposes recorder connections. case for it, but we wanted to be able to keep the recorder in the living room cabinet except when going out for As can be seen in Fig. 4, the top of the plywood sub- recording on location. The case is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. base is about 3A -in. below the edge of the case. This Again, shock mounts were used, and they exactly du- means that the sponge rubber pads on the lid of the case plicate in style and position those on the home cabinet. project a corresponding amount beyond its edges. This Thus, the whole tape recorder mechanism can be dis- is a valuable feature! Even though the recorder is shock - connected, lifted out of the living room unit, and set up mounted, there is still some vibration transmitted to the for operation in the carrying case in about 6o seconds. case. If, then, the case is set up on a wood floor, there The cleats for the shock mounts can be seen in Fig. 5, is danger that this vibration will be transmitted, in turn, an underneath view of the carrying case with the bottom to the microphone. By putting the lid to the case on the of the case dropped open. The bottom was hinged to floor, and the recorder case on the lid, the sponge rubber permit easy access to the underside of the Concertone. pads act as additional vibration absorbers. Continued on page 74

www.americanradiohistory.com WGBH: Station with a Purpose

. . the prosperity of my native land, New England, which is sterile and unproductive, must depend hereafter, as it has here- tofore depended, first on moral qualities and secondly on the intelligence and information of its inhabitants ..."

LL THE unyielding determina- tion, the realistic philosophy, and the will to find a way which characterized the Pilgrim Fathers are reflected in the words above, quoted from the will of John Lowell, Jr., under which the Lowell Institute was established in 1836. Last October, in furtherance of the purpose of the Foundation, one of the most interesting projects in radio broadcasting history was inaugurated when FM station WGBH went on the air in Boston. There is always an uneasy feeling that non -commercial, educational stations are probably stuffy as to program management, and slightly sub -standard as to technical performance. Obviously, WGBH is an exception in those respects, because the percentage of homes with FM receivers in the Boston area increased over 40% in the first four months this station was in operation. Ever since it was announced that WGBH would open up by carrying the first concert of the Boston Symphony's fall season, dealers there have been hard put to supply the demand for FM sets and tuners for use with high -fidelity audio systems, and they credit these sales to public interest in this station.

What's New About It?

Because I wanted to know what kind of a station, educational or not, could attract such interest and attention, I went to Boston to find out. At that point, I knew only that WGBH was licensed to the WGBH Educational Foundation and that it was operated with the advice and cooperation of the Lowell In- stitute Cooperative Broadcasting Coun- cil. And I knew that Major Edwin H. Armstrong had presented a complete

www.americanradiohistory.com By Milton B. Sleeper

A . . =...t a ï i 1 1,: : 1. ,1 ' r . - p REL transmitter to the Massachusetts :e Institute of Technology, for use at station WGBH. My first meeting with Parker Wheat- ley, director of the Council and general manager of the station, was at the Harvard Club. Parker, I found, has enthusiasm born of ideal- LEFT: The WGBH transmitter at the tory of Musk; George E. Judd, Manager, that glowing Harvard observatory, on Greater Blue Boston Symphony Orchestra; Prof. Leo A. ism, and faith, and I thought as we sat Hill, Milton, Massachusetts. Martin, Director, Division of Radio, Television, and Theatre, School of Public in those sedate surroundings domin- ABOVE: Conductor Charles Muench and Relations and Communication, Boston the magnificent portrait of Dr. the members of the Boston Symphony University. ated by Orchestra, at Symphony Hall. Bryant Conant, that it would Standing, left to right, are The Rever- James BELOW: A photograph taken at the end Thomas F. Fleming, S. J., Assistant take just such a mid -westerner to spark semi -annual meeting of the Lowell Insti- Professor of Government, Boston College; Council, David W. Bailey, Secretary to the Cor- a project that might otherwise have tute Cooperative bradcasting on Decembsr 13, 195z. poration, Harvard University; Prof. Mil- relied on quality without benefit of spice Seatedfrom left k right, are Dr. George ton J. Schlagenhauf, Director of Public R. Harrison., Dean . f Science end Profes- Relations and University Admissions, and flavor. sor of Physics, MIT: Dr. John P. Tilton, Northeastern University; William G. As a prelude to our discussion of Provost and Deal of the Graduate Dooley, Ifrad of the Division of Educa- Parker reminded me of things School, Tuft; Col.ee; Ralph Lowell, tion, Boston Museum of Fine Arts; Parker WGBH, Trustee of she Lowell Institute; Harrison Wheatley, Director of the Council, and I had forgotten about the early days of Keller, Director, Neu England Conserva- General Manager of WGBH. broadcasting - how Herbert Hoover had expressed the confident opinion that such a public service would never become commercialized, and how David Sarnoff had predicted that broadcast stations, like public libraries, would operate under endowments. That was when stations were used to sell radio sets or to build good will. He recalled, and I had forgotten, that the first sponsors of radio programs were permitted to pay for talent, but not for time. They were allowed to give only their company names and addresses. Any mention of products, however, was forbidden because that was considered to be in bad taste, and station management generally held that such commercialism would offend their listeners. In those days, the sole purpose of broadcasting was to perform a public service by providing entertainment, chiefly in the form of good music. The old formula hasn't been proved wrong, and good taste hasn't become obsolete, Parker continued, just because station

www.americanradiohistory.com facilities are rented to companies who want to shout at people about "Tums for the tummy ", and the incredibly fast relief that Anacin brings "; to drum into their ears the demand that they should "sound off for Chesterfields"; or to jingle "smoke Lucky Strikes today" at them. Neither is there any evidence that listeners approve the shift to programs which ape the crime maga- zines, comic strips, and dime novels. When I stopped to think about these things, as Parker reminded me of them that evening, I realized that we have come to accept the prevailing type of

www.americanradiohistory.com programs only because the change was made so slowly we weren't conscious of it. And I remembered a remark someone made not long ago: "People listen to the damnedest stuff on the radio. I wonder how many man -hours are wasted that way in the United States!" So Parker Wheatley explained the idea of returning to the policy of planning programs for the benefit of listeners, rather than for the profit of sponsors, even before he told me about the organization behind WGBH, and the operation of this new station. Here are the facts about this remarkable project:

UPPER LEFT: John A. Kessler, re- CENTER: This is the control console at search staff member of the acoustics the transmitter. In case programs from laboratory at MIT, with the setup used the studio are cut off temporarily, trans- to check the microphone for picking up criptions can be played on the turntable concerts at the Boston Symphony Hall. at the right of the operator ABOVE: This REL FM transmitter was FAR LEFT: William H. Radford, MIT the gift of Major Edwin H. Armstrong. Professor of Electrical Communication, It was presented to MIT, for use at the serves as co- consultant for WGBH, and per- WGBH station. Instead of feeding the keeps a close check on the technical transmitter from the Boston studio by formance of the station. Through him, studio-to- trans- of were wire lines, a microwave the engineering facilities MIT mitter link is employed. This was done made available for the planning and in- to r5,000 -cycle audio quality, project. provide full stallation of this and to eliminate the continuing charge for a telephone line. Use of the radio link LEFT: Dr. E. Leon Chaffee, Professor also affords protection against interrup- of Applied Physics at Harvard, is also a tion of service in case of a severe ice co- consultant. As Director of Cruft storm which might cause damage to Laboratories, his particular interest is wires run up the side of the Hill. with the transmitter. In this photograph, he is checking the performance of the REL RIGHT: Chief engineer at WGBH is microwave receiver to which all programs Richard E. Johnson, a broadcaster of are beamed from the radio link transmit- long experience, who came to the new ter at the studio in Boston, ro miles distant. station from WCOP-AM -FM at Boston

www.americanradiohistory.com Looking into the control room from the larger studio at Symphony Hall. A Browning FM tuner and an H. H. Scott amplifier are mounted at the top of the racks on the right. These are used for monitoring purposes. Behind the operator are two Ampex machines which provide 15,000 -cycle program quality from tape. Above the two transcription turntables on the left is the window which opens into a smaller studio, used princi- pally for interviews.

The Organization of WGBH

The WGBH Educational Foundation, licensee of WGBH, is composed of Ralph Lowell, Trustee of the Lowell Insti- tute; James B. Conant, President of Harvard University; Paul C. Cabot, Treasurer of Harvard University; James R. Killian, Jr., President of Massachusetts Institute of Tech - nology; Joseph J. Snyder, Treasurer of M.I.T.; Henry B. Cabot, President of the Trustees of the Boston Symphony Orchestra; and Parker Wheatley. Cooperating in the operation of WGBH is the Lowell Institute Cooperative Broadcasting Council, organized in 1946 for the purpose of adult education by radio, and spear- headed by the y i6 -year old Lowell Institute of Boston. Under the will of John Lowell, Jr., one -half his estate was left for the establishment of the Lowell Institute, to provide free "public lectures to be delivered in said city of Boston, for the promotion of a moral, intellectual and physical instruction and the education of the Outside programs can be brought in by telephone line and recorded inhabitants of said city. " It is interesting to note that on this Magnacord machine, monitored by Nancy Maguire. his will further provided that all available funds should be used for intellectual advancement, and not for the were worked out in such a manner that the offices and erection of buildings. That is why plans for WGBH studios of the station are located in Symphony Hall, and the transmitter, in Harvard University's weather observatory on Great Blue Hill, io miles away. The Broadcasting Council is comprised of ten coordinators who represent the participating institutions, with Parker Wheatley as director of the Council and general manager of the station. The photograph on page 61 was taken last December, at the semi -annual meeting of the coordinators from: Boston College Boston Symphony Orchestra Boston University Harvard University Lowell Institute Foundation Massachusetts Institute of Technology New England Conservatory of Music Boston Museum of Fine Arts Northeastern University Tufts College These institutions contribute nearly all the program material carried by WGBH and, though not without some

www.americanradiohistory.com difficulty, are carrying the expense of operating the studio direct from Symphony Hall, with the full realism that and transmitter. Newspaper accounts of a $300,000 FM can provide. This alone is ample justification for fine grant from the Ford Foundation last summer gave the FM sets and hi -fi audio systems in the WGBH area. impression that this sum was made available for the opera- Similarly, the plays and lectures are broadcast direct tion of the station. Actually, that was not the case at or, if the timing does not fit into the station schedule, all. The grant was made to the National Association of they are transmitted from tape of such excellent audio Educational Broadcasters, comprising some one hundred quality that listeners do not realize that the programs stations and producing agencies, for the production of a are recorded. The use of disc transcriptions is limited to group of educational radio programs to be distributed special productions by the British and Canadian Broadcast nationally. The confusion probably arose from the fact Companies and Radiodiffusion Francaise. that Ralph Lowell, Trustee of the Lowell Institute and President of the WGBH Educational Foundation, was asked to act as trustee of the Ford grant. In the matter of technical operation, WGBH is most fortunate. Working with chief engineer Richard E. John- son are William H. Radford, Professor of Electrical Corn- munication at MIT, and E. Leon Chaffee, Professor of Science and Applied Physics at Harvard, who serve as co- consultants. Thus the facilities of two of the finest laboratories in the Country are available for maintaining the quality of studio and transmitting equipment at peak efficiency.

Programs Carried by WGBH

The service area of the transmitter has a radius of 8o miles or more, extending into all the New England states. This represents a potential audience of g million people, or 1.46 million homes. At the present Pulse figure of 18.4% FM set ownership, WGBH programs are now available Editor Barbara Wolfe listens to each program tape, cuts out irrele- to about I million people. Transmission is on 89.7 mc., vant parts, and in this way produces smooth- flowing continuity. from 3:0o to to:3o P. M., except during the Boston Sym- phony season when, on Fridays, broadcasting starts at 2:10, and on Saturdays, when it continues to the close In addition to music from the Boston Symphony and of the performance. the New England Conservatory of Music, the program One reason, undoubtedly, for the popularity of this content is made up of: station is that nearly all programs are live -talent broad- I. Regular college and university extension courses, casts, or are direct tape recordings of t 5,000 -cycle quality. lectures, and addresses from the classrooms of the cooper- The Boston Symphony concerts, of course, are transmitted ating colleges and universities. Continued on page 78

RIGHT: The operator at the control console watches Mrs. Harper, left, through the studio window, and listens to her voice over the monitor speaker.

LEFT: Part of the charm of Mrs. Nancy Harper's Chi!- drens' Circle program lies in the fact that she sits on the floor to address the microphone just as she would talk to a group of children if they were with her in the studio. When this photograph was taken, she had her audience playing a game, and she had just exclaimed: "There it is!"

www.americanradiohistory.com RESPONSE CURVES

By G. A. BRIGGS

EDITOR'S FOREWORD: In the preceding issue of HIGH -FIDELITY, the readings obtained under these conditions, but a true Mr. Briggs began what is to be a series of articles with a description of the ear and its relationship to a loudspeaker. The second assessment is very difficult for the layman. It is therefore article was to have dealt with room acoustics, for this is the next timely to draw attention once again to the known limita- major link as we work back toward the original sound. tions of the response curve as usually published, and to In preparing material for his discussion of room acoustics and their effect on sound reproduction, Mr. Briggs faced two problems: suggest complementary methods of working. First, how to analyze the sound output of a loudspeaker, and Developments on these lines were, in fact, prognosti- second, how to "pictorialize" sound for his readers. cated by the I.R.E. under "Methods of Testing Loud- The standard method of analyzing frequency response is to feed a speaker with a source of undistorted, single frequency speakers", outlined in 1938. Referring to testing under sound, set up a microphone to pick up the sound from the speaker, actual conditions of use, the following statement was and then measure with a meter the loudness of that sound as made: "As the art in sound measurements progresses, "heard" by the microphone.' As the frequency of the input is varied, the meter is read off and the readings plotted on a graph, this type of measurement will become more important." output volume versus frequency. These 1938 standards appear to be the latest that have This description is rudimentary; there are complications and been laid down, and the free field response curve still, so refinements galore. But one weakness is characteristic: the mi- speak, holds crophone does not discriminate frequencies and the meter reports to the field. the total sound level at the microphone. As an exaggerated example, we might imagine feeding a pure Limitations 5o -cycle frequency to a loudspeaker. The speaker, however, might reproduce at zoo cycles, and throw in harmonics at 200 and 400 cycles, just for good measure. The microphone, and the meter, A summary of the most obvious weaknesses of this method being frequency- blind, would indicate plenty of loudness. If would include the following: we were not wary, we might then conclude that the speaker's reaction to a 5o -cycle stimulus was excellent. NON -LINEARITY. The conventional curve does not ex- The primary weakness of this method is the frequency- blind- pose the presence of non -linearity at low frequencies, ness of the meter. To overcome this weakness, Mr. Briggs pushed which may be caused by cone resonance, faulty or badly to conclusion a series of experiments undertaken to perfect an designed suspension, excessive original and improved method of analyzing reproduced sound. cone movement, or un- In essence, he substitutes an oscilloscope for the meter mentioned suitable air -loading. The supreme importance of avoid- previously and records the results on film. ing such non -linearity should never be overlooked. Apart Development and perfection of this method enables readers of from dirty bass, it produces intermodulation HIGH -FIDELITY to see and analyze loudspeaker reproduction in and distorts a way that has not been publicized before. Both Mr. Briggs and the high frequencies, unless these are removed to a separate the Editor felt that, before discussing the complex problems of loudspeaker where they are out of reach of the evil influence. room acoustics, an explanation of present methods of analysis, TRANSIENTS. The and examples of results achieved by Mr. Briggs' development, conventional curve also fails to ex- would increase the value of his subsequent writings for our readers. pose the transient response. This has already been made His article on room acoustics will appear, therefore, in the next abundantly clear by Mr. Shorter, of the B.B.C. Research issue of HIGH- FIDELITY. Because of the developmental work Department, and by B.T.H. engineers. I will described in these pages, it will have special significance for both not waste technical and non -technical readers. time and ammunition firing at a target already riddled with holes made by such first -class marksmen, beyond drawing attention to the fact that a cheap, low -flux magnet' OBODY with any experience in the design or may produce a smoother response curve in the upper N testing of loudspeakers would ignore or despise register, with a given cone and voice coil, than an ex- the value of the normal pressure response curve. pensive, high -flux magnet. Such curves are usually based on performance in anechoic It is customary to take response curves at a standard rooms,2 which have the following advantages: input level of I watt at around 50o cycles. This is rather I) Isolation from external noise and weather conditions. unfortunate and, obviously, accounts for the anomaly 2) Uniform acoustic conditions, with limitations known just described. It would be better if curves could be to engineers in charge. related to a standard output level, but this would be much 3) Convenience in use. more difficult to measure. The performance in the upper 4) Recording on calibrated paper with immediate pic- register would then be compared at the same intensity of ture of results. cone agitation, as the input level would have to be increased Skilled investigators know very well how to interpret

2Loudspeakers are normally tested under one or more of three basic conditions: outdoors, in a "free field ", where reflections from other surfaces are not a problem; in anechoic or non -reverberant rooms - the nearest indoor approach to 'For a more detailed description of this method of testing frequency response, the free field; and in reverberant rooms in which no special effort has been made see HIGH -FIDELITY, Vol. 1, No. 3, p. 25. to minimize reflection and absorption by walls or furnishings. - Editor. 66

www.americanradiohistory.com in the case of low flux density. Improved transient response always justifies the use of high flux density, which may provide sufficient damping at low frequencies to obliterate the cone resonance completely. AIR -LOADING. The main indictment of the response curve in the charge of "deceiver of men" is in relation to air -loading of cone, usually accomplished, with varying degrees of success, by the speaker enclosure. The line Fig. z. Oscillogram of free field response of typical 8 -in. speaker. hitherto taken up and accepted by all and sundry appears This is a visualization of the sound output of the loudspeaker to have been: "Room conditions are variable and un- under test. The brightness of the trace in the go to zoo -cycle zone be especially, because it indicates frequency doubling. predictable; they must, therefore, be ignored." There should noticed Input level z watt at goo cycles. are, of course, exceptions, but the only way to limit the differences between free field and actual use conditions to those due to the characteristics of the listening room would be to mount a loudspeaker in a totally enclosed cabinet, take a curve, and then use the speaker in the same cabinet. In all other cases, the tremendous effect of the method of mounting must be borne in mind, as radiation from the rear of a cone often has more influence on results in the home than the frontal emission used in response curves. Fig. 2. Photographs of the waveform at 6o and 8o cycles of the speaker described in Fig. z. Oscillograms

In a short article, it is impossible to prescribe a remedy for all the ills and shortcomings which have so far been outlined. It is, however, suggested that more intensive use of oscilloscope would help to dispel some of the illusions. The inertia of the tracing mechanism used in recording pressure curves precludes the observation of single sound -waves, and the system is too clumsy to follow the sharpest transient effects. On the other hand, the oscilloscope easily provides a record of activities at Fig. 3. Oscillogram offree field response of typical zo -in. speaker. all frequencies within the audio range and for many octaves Note the difference in the contour of the trace above and below the dark center line. This indicates faulty cone suspension. In- re- beyond, if required. The result is that, in addition to put level r watt at goo cycles. Microphone 12 ins. on axis. cording mere intensity of sound, inspection of quality becomes possible, through evidence of non -linearity, sub - harmonics, intermodulation, and effect of room acoustics. This appears to open up a new field of presentation of loudspeaker performance for the benefit and guidance of the quality enthusiast. There follows brief description of some of the results obtained by the writer. I am rather fortunate in that my research room overlooks a large field which is reserved by a beneficent local authority as a recreation ground for children. The result is that children never play in it; Fig. 4. Output of a 15-in. bass speaker mounted in a brick corner the grass is usually about 18 ins. long, and there is absolute reflex enclosure of 9 cu. ft. This is an exceptionally even and quiet. In short, I have a very nice free field - free of cost clean frequency response; there is no evidence offrequency doubling in Fig. r. Speaker cone used cloth suspension. Input r free from noise. The unit under test is mounted in as shown and watt at goo cycles. Microphone 12 ins. on axis. the wall of the room, facing outside, at a height of some 16 ft. above the ground, giving virtual freedom from reflection. Unless otherwise stated, the input to the loudspeaker is set at approximately I watt at goo cycles - the power used has considerable bearing on results - and

,Flux density, a characteristic of loudspeaker magnet construction, is widely used in England as a measure of speaker quality much as U. S. manufac- tu -ers report the weight of the magnet in their units. In his book, "Loud - s,eakers ", Mr. Briggs has this to say: "Apart from improving sensitivity, high flux density increases the damping on the voice coil and gives life and attack Fig. g. Wave form at 4o cycles of speaker tested for Fig. 4, with range, and improved power handling to the reproduction with wider response z left, 4 watts, right. capacity at low frequencies." inputs of watt, and 67

www.americanradiohistory.com the microphone is placed at 12 ins. on axis. This arrange- Faulty Suspension ment corresponds to standard flee field testing practice. Figs. I and 2 show the free field response of a typical Because the oscilloscope records both positive and nega- 8 -in. speaker up to goo cycles. together with an oscillo- tive half-cycles of the sound waves, it exposes any non - gram of the wave form at 6o and 8o cycles. linearity in suspension of cone or in the action of the It is interesting to note the build -up of cone reson- centering device. A typical example is given in Fig. 3. ance between 7o and 8o cyctes, with frequency doubling and trebling shown by brighter intensity in the trace. In True Bass relation to total output, the proportion of frequency doubling below the cone resonance gradually increases. Any system of inspection or recording which exposes Above the resonance point the quality improves and is distortion or non -linearity, also possesses the virtue of almost linear at about 105 cycles. confirming the absence of these undesirable elements.

Fig. 6. Free field response curve waveforms of typical 12 -in. speaker. No negative feedback; impedance source roo ohms. Note the bump in the 6o -cycle zone and evidence of frequency doubling.

6 0,,

Fig. 7. Conditions same as in Fig. 7 except that 14 db of feedback employed. Cone resonance around 6o cycles has disappeared.

60- 50,

Fig. 8. Same as in Fig. 6 and 7, except feedback increased to 26 db; source impedance r ohm

d 40

Fig. 9. Conditions here correspond to Fig. 6 except that speaker has been mounted in a reflex cabinet and the test made in a reverberant room instead of a free field. No negative feedback.

Fig. ro. Same as in Fig. 9 except for 14 db. of feedback. Note how resonant peak around 7o cycles has been eliminated and the entire response up to 200 cycles improved.

www.americanradiohistory.com Fig. 11. This and Fig. 12 show effect 'of changing the magnet on a speaker. An 8-in. unit, 8,000 lines, input 1.4 volts, tested in a free field. Resonant peak at 8o Fig. 13. Wave form of speaker used in Fig. r1. cycles and frequency doubling are evidenced.

Fig. 12. Same 8-in. speaker was used here, but magnet was changed Fig. 14. is shown in the left -hand trace to one having a flux density of 13,000 lines. Input increased from Intermodulation distortion by difference between contours of bottom top lines. Speaker 1.4 to 2.0 volts. Resonance and doubling have disappeared. and was 8-in., input 6o cycles, 2.8 volts. A 1,90o -cycle tone was fed in with 6o -cycle tone. At right, the 1.90o -cycle tone was switched to another speaker; contours of top and bottom lines become the same.

This platitude is neatly illustrated in Fig. 4. The response curve up to 15o cycles is shown and looks very clean. Pictures of the wave form at 40 cycles, with the input increased to 4 watts, show no evidence of distortion. In other words, the production of second or third harmonics is avoided. Although the oscillograms of Fig. 4 were taken under live room conditions, they give a very good indication of the low frequency performance of the speaker system. It was observed and confirmed by numerous tests with different loudspeakers, that a corner position showed the least interference from room reflections, with maximum output. - Standing wave effects at -lo : frequencies were avoided by placing the microphone near the speaker. In Fig. 15. These four oscillograms illustrate the difference between free field and reverberant room tests, and the effect of a closed the room used, (i6 by 15 ft.) strong reflections became back cabinet. Speaker was ro -in. unit mounted in a r2 -in. cube evident at about zoo cycles and upward. lined with felt. Input r watt; microphone on axis. A and B are free field tests; A with back opening 1 by 8 ins., B with back closed. C and D are live room tests; C with back opening of z by 8 ins., Cone Resonance D with back closed.

It is common practice to take response curves under constant voltage conditions, or with a low impedance source, which has the rather misleading effect of damping out the main cone resonance. The three sets of oscillograms, Figs. 6, 7, and 8, show the effect of altering the negative feedback with tetrodes from zero to 26 db, which is equivalent to reducing the impedance source from about Fig. r6. A. Output from two 8 -in. speakers producing respectively 15 speaker was too ohms to i ohm. A typical tz -in. -ohm 90 and 2,40o cycles. Note sub -harmonic effect at 1,200 cycles, and used. Note the improved low frequency wave form as very slight non -linearity at low frequency. In B, 2,400 -cycle feedback is increased, and the more uniform response note was switched to speaker carrying the 90 -cycle tone.. level. Frequency response correction had been deliberate- ly omitted from amplifier. No doubt some readers will be shocked when they no- makes the peaks appear twice as bad as they really are. tice the lively output in the region of 1,600 to 4,000 cycles. When room reflections are added, the significance of the It must be admitted that many cones used in t2 -in. speakers peaks recedes still further, as the next oscillograms be- show a tendency to peak in this region, (with smaller gin to show. cones the affected range is at higher frequencies-) but it For the purpose of Fig. 9, the 12 -in. unit was mounted is very important to remember that these oscillograms in a reflex cabinet (34 by 16 by 17 ins.) and a live room depict both halves of the sound waves. Visually, this record of its behavior was secured, Continued an page 70

www.americanradiohistory.com RESPONSE CURVES //flflCu/2CÍf9 Continued from page 69

using the same tetrode source at 1 watt. The reflex loading gave an increased output between 3o and 5o cycles, with a pronounced resonant peak at 75 cycles which was com- ADVAN pletely removed by 14 db of negative feedback. Room reflections start suddenly at SERIES 400 about 200 cycles, followed by a still more prominent outburst at 500 cycles. In view of the improved low frequency quality from reflex loading, the wave form at 4o MODEL 400 -A cycles is also shown. with Half -Track Head Input Level and Intermodulation

401 -A The folly of judging loudspeakers on the MODEL basis of a common input level has already with been referred to. In order to make Full -Track Head Simultaneous an exact test of the effect of flux density, arrangements ERASE were made to change the magnet on a typi- 15 & 71/2 RECORD cal 8 -in. unit from 8,000 to 13,000 lines Inches Per Sec. PLAYBACK flux density. The voice coil had a resistance of 2 ohms. Input was varied from 1.4 to 2.8 volts at 500 cycles - approximately 1 Full REMOTE to 4 watts. The two curves of Figs. s r and CONTROL 12 reveal interesting results. The impedance source in this case was 2 ohms. Solenoid operated mech- Observe how neatly the high flux density anisms for all mechanical motions. has removed the cone resonance, in spite of the increase from 1 watt to 2 watts. If the power used with the smaller magnet is increased to reach an equivalent acoustic UNIFORM RESPONSE ... to 15,000 cps output, the cone resonance and distortion also at 71 ins. per sec. are intensified, with more and more intermodulation distortion. These effects LOW NOISE & DISTORTION LEVEL . . . are signal -to -noise ratio over 55 db at illustrated in Figs. 13 and 14. either tape speed (as defined by Intermodulation is a problem which is widely imperfectly NARTB). known but often under- stood. It is important to remember that PUSH BUTTON OPERATION there is no intermodulation distortion in a single as as is LONG LIFE ... precision built. speaker long there no non - linearity at a single frequency. In the left - LOW MAINTENANCE ... even with con- hand trace of Fig. 14, the contour of the tinuous use. bottom line does not follow the shape of the top line; the 1,900 -cycle component is therefore being constantly modified. To the ear, this produces harshness, which dis- 4 fo 1 TAPE SAVING appears when the 1,90o -cycle note is switched The valuable tape saving abil- to a separate speaker. The low frequency ity of Series 400 Recorders is distortion is, of course, audible all the time. clearly illustrated above - the young lady holds four reels The magnet used here had 8,000 lines flux which contain the identical pro- density. Changing this to 13,000 lines gram formerly requiring the sixteen reels shown on table. No would produce the same acoustic output other recorder can give this re- TYPICAL SERIES A00 OVERALL RESPONSE FREQUENCY IN CYCLES PER SECOND with a reduction of input from 4 to 2 watts. markable tape saving because 1000 I0000 15.000 no other recorder is capable of This would clearly reduce the non -linearity 15,000 cycle performance at 7'/z PERFORMANCE beyond comparison I and remove much of the intermodulation ins. per sec.; on but half the ... width of the tape! Published specifications of Ampex Recorders are conservative as distortion. It is true that distortion becomes these typical check -out graphs on Series 400 show. Ampex check less objectionable to the ear as the frequency PORTABLE IN SINGLE CASE outs always exceed guaranteed performance but even the guaranteed goes down. This is partly due to the lower or for RACK MOUNTING performance is sufficient to make Ampex the world's finest recorder! sensitivity of the ear at low frequencies. INTERCHANGEABILITY OF TAPES ... another unrivalled superiority of Ampex. This means that recordings made on any Ampex If, however, we look upon the distortion can he played back on any other Ampex (of like speed) with iden- as a disturbance which occurs in each cycle tical high fidelity and timing. of the sound wave, it is only logical to as- sume that the nuisance value will go up ' ... gives complete description and aASK FOR BULLETIN A -211 specifications of the Series 400 as the frequency is raised. A further illustra- Ampex Magnetic Tape Recorders. tion of intermodulation is given in Fig. 16.

AMPEX ELECTRIC CORPORATION Air -Loading Redwood City, California Distributors in Principal Cities The importance of oscilloscope readings in exposing faults such as frequency doubling and non -linearity in the bass has been made abundantly clear. It is much more difficult to outline any reliable application of the Continued on page 72

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Here's the easy -chair way to invite your favorite guest artists into your home -a truly remote controlled high fidelity amplifier d This Bell Custom Unit 6ked You puts at your finger tips the ability to switch to and from radio (or television) THESE FEATURES or phono, as well as to select the proper adjustment for playing all types of Amplifier of 30 watts power output assures domestic and foreign recordings. Also you can control tone and volume the high quality sound at oll volume levels same easy way. This remote control is in an attractive gold hammer-tone finished unit All triode tubes and 100 °, negative feedback (only 31/2" deep by 10" wide by 41/2" high) for table or console mounting - achieve clear, naturai sound reproduction and is a perfect complement to the Bell High Fidelity Amplifier, which is designed for any built -in or custom installation - can be tucked out of sight, Small, compact Remote Control Unit has 25 ft. or further away, and still assure clear, rich, reproduction. radio -phono selector, tone and volume controls Wide frequency range with tone adjustment for correction of listening conditions is vital to good listening, but of even greater importance is the Remote Control selector permits switching to amplifiers' ability to deliver low- distortion power over the full musical range. and from radio or phonograph at any time The extremely flat power distortion characteristics of the Model 2145 -A are a result of all- triode with basic circuit design for low distortion, the applica- Switch on Remote Control Unit adjustable for tion of a new multiple feedback principle using a 100% feedback loop playing all types of domestic and foreign around the power amplifier and a quality output transformer designed records specifically for the 2145 -A circuit. Distortion is less than .3 of 1 7( 25 to 10 kcs with 10 watts power output, rising slightly to 1/2 of 1% Bass and treble tone controls hove fiat ten- 22 :ps to 18 kcs. 15 watts will be delivered with less 1% than ter position, with boost and attenuation 20 :0 20 kcs. with a peak capacity of 30 watts. 1 WRITE TODAY FOR BULLETIN No. 51 -5 Amplifier and Remote Control, connected by It gives you all the specifications on the unit every- a single cable, can he widely separated body tells us is "today's best bu" in a fine Hi- Fidelity BELL y Amplifier." Compensated volume control on Remote Unit, o,U,Ng and Amplifier has master gain control SYSTEMS 555 -57 Marion Rd., Columbus 7, Ohio Inputs, outputs, and power source connect to main amplifier chassis instead of RC Unit Export Office: 4900 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 3, Ohio

www.americanradiohistory.com RESPONSE CURVES for those who treasure Continued from page 7o

system for revealing the benefits of suitable air -loading (reflex, horn, etc.). Room effects are even more difficult to master. We must therefore content ourselves here with Fig. t 5, which illustrates the enormous difference up to 500 cycles between free field curves and those taken under live room STEPHENS TRU -SONIC SPEAKER SYSTEMS conditions. ARE SUPREME The writer claims that the latter correspond more closely with what is heard, especially when back radiation from cone is involved. Acceptance by the leaders both in the commercial and custom set build The speaker used here was a non -corn- mercial guinea pig; a ro -in. unit mounted ing fields has been the award most prized by Stephens engineers through in a 12 -in. cube, with sliding doors to the the years. They know this recognition is a verdict of the truly discrimi- back to provide a means of tuning the cube resonance between 140 and 18o cycles. nating ear and it serves as a spur in Stephens' never -ending search for It is interesting to note that the totally enclosed condition reduces the disparity be- new peaks of perfection in sound reproduction components. tween free field and live room results. This is in accordance with expectations. It should be pointed out that for the live room readings the microphone distance was reduced Stephens proudly presents ... from 12 ins. to 8 ins. in order to minimize room reflections; hence the higher inten- THE 106AX COAXIAL 2 -WAY SPEAKER for full, rich, natural sound sity level. The tests were originally made for com- across the entire tone spectrum at all volume levels. One compact as- paring results with various tuning of the sembly combining a cone -type, low -resonant, low-frequency unit with cabinet. They are being used here for a multi -cellular type, wide -angle high -frequency dispersion (eight cells, rather different purpose, but they amply illustrate the point at issue. 40° x 80° ). A 1200 -cycle crossover network channels high and low tones to units designed to reproduce them. Power rating 20 watts. Sub -Harmonics Impedance 16 ohms. Frequency response 40 to 12,000 cps. Diameter The production of sub -harmonics at spot .,/ 15 V8 ". Baffle opening -131/2". Depth behind mounting panel - 101/2". frequencies, usually between 1,000 and Weight 30 lbs. Recommended for broadcast monitoring, motion 5,000 cycles, is a well -known bad habit of picture sound, and especially FM and record reproduction. "loud" cones, and is most commonly found in 8 -in. speakers. The fault is easily heard by a listening test with an audio oscillator, but is not shown up by the conventional response curve. Incidentally, the trouble is intensified by increase of flux density. At MINIM III lil1aililIMMICILICEMMCCIII a given input level the fault could be absent with a magnet of 8,000 lines flux density, 111111111111111 but could be quite prominent with a magnet 1 MICROPHONE 10 OFF THE AXIS ii __ RESPONSE CHARACTERISTICnII WI of 13,000 lines. The obvious i RU-SONIC C 741 AL remedy would ____ OA SPEAKER FREQUENCY PER ______IN CYCLES SECOND . \ \ \ \ o,,ADATENy be to fit a heavier and smoother type of cone to the improved magnet. The oscillograms of Fig. r6 are intended to show one of these sub -harmonic effects And as well as a further example of intermodulation. Fig. 16 -A shows the output from two THE MODEL 418 CORNER CABINET, the 8 -in. speakers - one with an input at 90 cycles and the other at 2,40o cycles. The finest custom -quality home reproducer in sub -harmonic is formed in the treble unit the Stephens TRU -SONIC line. It features at 1,200 cycles, shown by the increased output in alternate waves 2,40o two 15" permanent magnet speakers with of the -cycle trace. There is also a very slight non -linearity extended range for low tones, plus the full in the low frequency of 90 cycles. coverage in the high ranges afforded by Switching both inputs to one speaker removes the sub -harmonic due to difference the use of a Model 824H 2x4 800 -cycle in type of cone and reduced intensity, but horn, a Model 108 high -frequency driver, intermodulation is introduced as a result of and a Model 800X crossover network. the slight non -linearity at 90 cycles. dimensions: Width 41 "; Cabinet Depth Conclusion 23 "; Height 36"; Weight 15.5. lbs. Available in blond or mahogany. Electro- acoustic research is usually classified under two headings - subjective and objective - meaning, I suppose, theoretical and practical (I can never remember which WRITE FOR FREE LITERATURE TODAY! is which). They are both of great importance to progress. The present article deals sTPH ENS MANUFACTURING CORPORATION only with practical tests, but it is suggested T11 NI 8538 WARNER DR., CULVER CITY, CALIF. Continued on page 74

www.americanradiohistory.com GENERAL ELECTRIC °n° modernization components high-fidelity ph for improved reproduction

Famous G.E. Pickup Arms Variable Reluctance UPX -004. Complete with RPX -041 cart- Cartridges ridge for microgroove records. Tracks perfectly; only 6 -8 grams pressure for Fig. A. RPX -050 Triple -Play Cartridge. minimum record wear. Ball bearings for Plays all records. Dual sapphire -tipped smooth lateral movement. With replace- needle has .001" tip for 331/2 and 45 able .001" sapphire tip stylus. Length, 8 rpm records. Tip for 78 rpm records has inches. With mounting hardware and .003" radius. Tracks all records with arm rest. Shpg. wt., 12 oz. 6 -8 grams pressure. Requires pream- 65 -291. Net only $9.38 plifier. High compliance and low mass record wear. 21/4 x 11/4 x UPX -007. 'Pone arm for 78 rpm records, Fig. B. Single-Stylus Cartridges. Virtually reduce Size, with RPX -040 cartridge and replaceable .003" stylus. 12 -14 grams track- eliminate surface noise and needle talk. 11/4". Supplied with short and long knobs to fit most tone arms; complete ing pressure. 8" long. Shpg. wt., 12 oz. Require preamplifier. For any pickup 65 -262. Net only $9.38 with % mtg. ctrl. Fits Webster - with needle, hardware, instructions. Chicago 356 -27, 106 -27, 100 -27; also Shpg. wt., 4 oz. UPX -006. New tone arm for all 3 record speeds, incorporating the famous Garrard RC -80 changer plug-in heads. 65 -298. Net only $8.20 ItPX -050 triple -play variable reluctance cartridge. Minimum record wear. Length, 8 ". mounting template. Shpg. wt., 2 lbs. 12% x 34 x 9116 ". With RPX -047. Professional Triple-Play Cartridge. 65 -274. Net only $11.73 RPX -041. For microgroove records. 6-8 Has low impedance to match broad- grams pressure; 10 mv. at 1,000 cps. cast type equalizer equipment. 250 mh.; UPX -111. Consists of RPX -050 triple -play cartridge in Webster -Chicago With .001" sapphire tip needle (re- about 220 ohms DC. 8 my open circuit plug -in head. Twist of knob turns either end of dual stylus into playing placeable). output. Less stylus (see below). Shpg. position. Fits W/C plug -in type arm. With .001" and .003" sapphire tips. 65 -280. Net only $5.85 wt., 4 ozs. Requires preamp. Shpg. wt., 8 oz. 65 -263. RPX -040. For 78 rpm. records. Stylus 99 -835. Net only $9.08 Net only $9.38 pressure, 12 -14 grams. 10 my at 1000 FA -21 -A. Transcription arm for use with triple -play or single stylus cps. with .00W' sapphire tip needle RKP -009. Replacement Parts Kif. For use cartridges. Fits turntables with 15" or less from center to side. Adjust- (replaceable). with triple -play cartridge. Includes able stylus load from 10 -45 grams and 5 to 1 % oz. by means of precision 65.293. Net only $5.85 washer, spring, and plastic knobs. spring system. Ball bearings give smooth horizontal and vertical move- Shpg. wt., 4.oz. 1 RPX.046. Professional type for broad- ment. Perfect tracking, no arm resonance. Less stylus. lb. 65 -282. Net only 15c 99-811. cast equipment. Same specs as RPX - Net only $40.18 047 above. Less stylus. Preamplißers and stylii for use with any of 99 -812. RWP -001. Arm counterweight to adapt above for LP records. 99 -818. Net only $6.73 these cartridges are listed below. Net only... - $3.77

B G.E.

Replacement Styli Famous General For Triple -Play Cartridges 12" Electric Hi- Fidelity Stock No Type Stylus Radius Speakers 99 -836 RPJ -007 Sapphire .001 ",.0025" 65 -299 .001 ", .003" RPJ -010 Sapphire heavy systems.deal for quality NET EACH 3.50 ia extra- wawarping r ping al uminu magnet. 99 -837 RPJ -011 Diamond .001 ", .0025" Non-No superior p foiloil bass 65 -260 RPJ -012 Diamond .001 ", 003" to voice unaffected - G.E. Phono Preamplifiers NET EACH 29.37 capocity because i For use with G.E. variable reluctance cartridges to aluminum. of h ¡9 naffñd by mou increase output to higher level permitting use with For Single- Stylus Cartridges Res high heat handling any phono amplifier. Has built -in equalizing net- weight, 65 -281 RPJ -005 Sapphire .001" po se, 13,0p0cps. of work for proper response when playing standard 65 -261 -006 Sapphire .0025" 5p- Alnico records. With standard phono receptacle; 12" RPJ impedance,1n watts ounces. Power-handling shielded cable with phono plug for amplifier connec- 65 -295 RPJ -001 Sapphire .003" dust Resonance 2 V.C. at 70 tion. Size: 3% x 3% x 14 ". With installation NET EACH 06 81_S1S. diam cycles. instructions. Net 6 16s. 99 -815 RPJ -004 Diamond .001" only. r' 1 ". With UPX -003. MODEL Fig. A. Self- powered preamp for operation 99 -817 RPJ -002 Diamond .0025" S12O3D. directly from 110 -120 volt, 60 cycle AC line. Com- 99 -816 Diamond .003" 12 plete with tube. 24 lbs. RPJ -003 but with 119,95 65 -278. Net only $10.55 NET EACH 16.17 some 81íS Less dust over.51201D, UPX -001. Fig. B. For use with external power supply. NEW: RP.l -013 Triple -Play Needle. Has .001" 616Nei only...a9net With tube and 15" leads for power take -off from diamond tip and .003" sapphire tip; for amplifier. 14 lbs. use with RPX -047 or RPX -050 cartridge. 65 -276. Net only $7.00 99 -838. Net only $18.23 $139q

ams 1 ALLIED RADIO CORP., Dept. 49 -B -2 1952 CATALOG FREE 833 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago 7, Illinois Write today for our complete Buying Guide listing the world's largest selection of High - Send FREE 1952 ALLIED Catalog. Fidelity components. Obtain at of your audio Ship me the following G.E. equipment equipment from one depenctzble supplier, with the specialized knowledge and experience that will help bring you eptin+um high - s enclosed fidelity reproduction. If it's Hi -Fi, you'll find it in your ALLIED Catalog. Seed for if. Name RADIO Address ALLIED City Zone State

www.americanradiohistory.com RESPONSE CURVES Startling Continued from page 72

REALISM that oscillograms help to bring the two fields of research into closer relationship. Realism in music reproduction is not merely For example, there still appears to be some a collection of laboratory specifications, however doubt about the correct interpretation of superb. The final judgment comes from listener resonances which occur when reflex loading appreciation and the ability to enjoy uncounted is added to a loudspeaker. No doubt oscil- hours of music rvithout ear fatigue. lograms could be used to settle the problem once and for all. Nor does the purchase of top quality compo- It is not suggested that the pressure re- nents insure a perfect "instrument" unless it is embodies the engineering knowledge, combined sponse curve useless or obsolete. The with true music appreciation, required properly object of this article is to clear the air and to integrate a custom -built music system. to help the actual user of the loudspeaker to have a better understanding of its function. Brociner phonograph and radio reproducing systems are completely and studiedly integrated and can be built into your cabinets, storage walls, closets ... or supplied in their own cabinets fitting your personal decorative requirements. DISPOSE OF THE BODY Literature describing Brociner radio -phonographs, Continued from page 59 the Corner Reproducer and other components will Highest quality radio - be sent you on request. phonngrophs complete with cabinet from $506 In Fig. 4, an Electro -Voice Model 65o microphone is shown attached to the plywood sub -base. This is a useful stunt, but to be reserved primarily for emergencies. We discovered that the thread on the standard microphone cable connector corres- BROCINER ponds to that used on microphone stands. PREAMPLIFIER ELECTRONICS LABORATORY Hence, it is possible to screw the microphone base to one of the connectors EQUALIZER - should the regular stand have been left be- for finest phonograph reproduction 1546 Second Avenue, New York 28, N. Y. hind. With some microphones, there may be bad vibration pickup, however. The HERE'S WHY WESTMINSTER RECORDS Electro -Voice shown here comes complete with a very good shock -mount built into ARE USED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD the support, so little trouble has been ex- TO DEMONSTRATE HIGH FIDELITY EQUIPMENT .. perienced with vibration pickup. For photographic purposes, the microphone was faced across the top of the recorder; in actual practice, it should be faced away - ... the best orchestral recording ever made." so that the noise made by the motors will -C. G. Burke, High Fidelity not be recorded. WL 5091 PROKOFIEFF: Lt. Kije Suite Op. 60 Op. 20 Scythian Suite, Conclusion

"... the ultimate performance of a grand work recorded to As mentioned at the beginning, these photo- the best standards we have known." graphs and sketches are shown here for -C. G. Burke, Saturday Review of Literature their value as ideas and suggestions. Each WL 5045 JOSEF HAYDN: Symphony No. 100, G Maj. (Military) installation will be slightly different, de- Symphony No. 95, C Minor pending on equipment, requirements, and the uses to which the equipment will be put. That, in itself, is one of the great advantages of custom installation of components: . . most vital recording of a complete opera to date." -Peter H. Reed, American Record Guide maximum flexibility and utilization of corn - WA41. 302 PUCCINI: Tosca ponents can be achieved. The fact that we have already seen room for improvement in these designs indicates "... magnificently recorded." the need for very careful planning and much - Stewart Matter, Cleveland Plain Dealer forethought. It is strongly recommended WL 5068 RIMSKY-KORSAKOFF: that, before any construction is undertaken, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra SCRIABIN: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra a long list be drawn up of every conceivable use for the equipment under consideration. Only in this way can ultimate satisfaction be achieved. Finally, we want to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to Marsh B. Giddings, Jr., industrial arts instructor and C,`1 íCimat%L chief cabinet designer for Almar Wood - crafters, for his patience in listening to our endless list of conceivable uses, and for his ONLY WESTMINSTER HAS NATURAL BALANCE - NATURAL PITCH ability to translate these requirements into something at once practical and attractive.

www.americanradiohistory.com edam 4at vocUt uúat-tiy awl eidteac'uy fileadun,e

$15495 `630' CHASSIS Inc. Fed. tax & Warr. This new DX -2 30 tube set Lic. under RCA pat. is POWER PACKED for less cathode tube. PEAK PERFORMANCE IN RMA Guarantee ALL fringe areas. Handles all tubes from /6" to 24 ". Factory wired aligned Super engineered for & tested before ship- sharper cleared pictures ment. than ever before. Im- CJ proved keyed AGC 15 KV With HI Gain CAS- `r output; 3 stage SYNC sep- CODE standard coil tuner arator and clipper; molded and RCA HI F 12" speaker plastic condensers. New Improved high voltage sys- 4 microvolt sensitivity with tem. full 4 Mc band width. Five hour minimum heat run at fac- Directly adaptable tory; high gain front end down to 4 for color and UHF microvolts; Synchro lock; freedom from arcing and corona leakage. Armstrong FM CHASSIS sound system. Improved linearity. Phono con- MOUNTING $795 nection and switch on chassis. BRACKETS STANDARD BRAND GOLD PLASTIC MASKS RING & SLEEVE BLACK FACE Enhance the beauty of a custom 1st QUALITY TV TUBES installation. for 24- TUBE 1 YEAR GUARANTEE 1 7" $32.95 1T $ 5.95 $995 20" 42.95 20" 7.95 24" 74.95 24" 14.95

GARRARD '74'.72exemid MODEL RC 80 ALSO IN STOCK 3 speed record changer 331/2, 45 and 78 rpm RC -80C same as above but equipped with turnover dual crystal WEBSTER cartridge $44.90 RC -80PD With special matched pair Pickering cartridges equipped with laboratory ground diamond styli for years 3 Speed of finest reproduction $100.70 RC -80PS With matched pair Pickering cartridges using sapphire styli $64.70 Record Changer RC -80R2 With Standard Audak polyphase pink -up head, equipped with two sapphire styli $56.85 RC -80L6 With precision Audak polyphase studio head equipped with two sapphire styli $63.73 RC8OGED With pair of G.E. variable reluctance cartridges in- $2995 corporating precision diamond styli $79.66 RC -8OGE With pair of G.E. variable reluctance cartridges equipped with sapphire styli $51.44 RC -80GES Equipped with G.E. RPX -050 sapphire double needle cartridge for standard and microgrove $48.00 List $59.70 -our price

Send Postcard to Be Put CUSTOM on Free Mailing List ESPEY BUILT chassis with both A M & F M Designed for performance Model 511C 14 tube Deluxe. All merchandise is brand new, low priced - High fidelity - This receiver features the factory fresh and fully guaran Static free FM reception. latest in post war engineering teed. Mail & Phone orders design. 3 Dual purpose tubes filled upon receipt of certified Easily installed in old consoles. - added performance. Trebel check or money order for Models for all custom installa- tone control. Full -range bass $25.00 as deposit on TV tions. Model 7C FM AM tone control. 13 Watt and chassis. 20% on other items. Push -Pull Audio Output. Balance COD. FOB New Radio. Built -in pre -amplifier These chassis are supplied York. Prices subject to change for reluctance cartridges. ready to operate, complete without notice. No Fed. tax to with tubes, antennas and all pay. Prices lower than OPS Complete with all accessories necessary hardware for regulations. and instructions. $74.95 mounting,. $99.95

171 WASHINGTON ST., NEW YORK 7, N. Y. A I R E X radio corporation PHONE WOrth 2 -4029

www.americanradiohistory.com WORN NEEDLES Continued from page 32

ASTATIC "U" AND "C" NEEDLES: The U Cei Vitt MAGNETIC TAPE RECORDERS... needles are used in the U -type cartridges shown in Fig. 17. The C needles are almost identical to the U -type, and are used in early Markel changer cartridges. The U and C needles have tapered shanks that fit eCLfG'teCit/Z MAGAZINE* into a tapered groove which is part of the 1.414,THIT cartridge. This type can be removed with the thumbnail, by pulling back against rear hook of the needle, visible as a * Read "Installation and the white rectangular spot at the rear of the Operation of a Magnetic tapered groove in Fig. 17. (The needle tip in this photograph is slightly out of focus Tape Recorder" in the and cannot be clearly distinguished). To September, 1951, issue. re- install a U or C needle, it should be positioned in the groove and then pushed for- The only low cost high ward against the rear hook. fidelity tape recorders delivering professional Conclusion performance. Professional From the foregoing discussion, it can be users' net prices begin at seen that changing a stylus is not at all a difficult operation. The small amount of labor, and relatively low cost of using a $34500 diamond stylus will be repaid many times over by the saving in wear and tear on Write for Bulletin #106 valuable records. "Just like being there" NETWORK RECORDER M by anufactured NWR -1 Recorder 1401 WGBH Console 702 Berlant Associates from page 65 4,1-4-mt.,- Continued 4917 W. Jefferson Boulevard Los Angeles 16, California 2. Forum discussions and interpretations of world affairs by distinguished scholars and scientists. 3. Full- length productions from the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Tufts College Arena, and other dramatic groups. 4. Special musical programs from the Continental Network, originating at Wash- ington. Monday 5. The Children's Circle, through Friday, presented in consultation with Tufts College Nursery [Teachers] Train- ing School. Now you too, can Some notes on the Children's Circle will own the ultimate serve to emphasize the essential difference in high -fidelity. between the aims of programs planned for The world's finest WGBH and those which follow the cur- component parts, rent commercial pattern. combined with Mrs. Nancy Harper, who has two young- Voice and Vision's sters of her own, directs her scripts to "exact cubic -con- children two to six years old. Each program speaker tent" loud is carefully planned to tie in with the sea- chamber, provides sons of the year or events that affect the re- incomparable daily lives of the children, or with their Birch, production. emotionally -based problems. In contrast bleached ebony, to audio and video programs in which the oak, bleached children play only the passive part of the walnut, or mahog- audience, Mrs. Harper makes them play an any. Write for active part by instructing them to do cer- brochure or order in the course of the program. direct. tain things And, having called for action, she pauses do whatever is the award -winning PROFESSIONAL SERIES long enough for them to necessary, whether it is to see if they have by the nation's most acclaimed custom -builder put their rubbers neatly in place, or to draw PROFESSIONAL SERIES COMBINATIONS conclusions or make decisions based on the Laboratory assembled and tested $556.00 to $1000.00 story she is telling. The practice of telling PROFESSIONAL SERIES COMPONENTS KIT including cabinet children what they should do or think, or Assemble it yourself $468.71 to $784.28 making direct statements that Johnny Jones did this or that and so should you is strictly Voice and Vision, inc. taboo on this program. on page 77 316 N. MICHIGAN AVE. CHICAGO I, ILL. An 3 -3891 Continued

www.americanradiohistory.com WGBH Continued from page 76

And the conclusion, instead of inciting the children to buckle on their pistols for a bandit hunt or to scream for Wheaties, is carefully planned to relieve emotional tensions. This brings up the logical question: "Can such a program attract and hold the children's interest?" I asked Mrs. Harper about that, mindful of the fact that, in timing, it is in direct competition with Howdy Doody on television. She said: "Yes, the Children's Circle is competing very successfully. Let- ters to the station indicate that it is preferred in a steadily increasing number of homes where youngsters can make their own choice."

Studio and Transmitter Facilities

A number of photographs of the studio and transmitter installations are reproduced here for the benefit of readers who are interested in those details. One of these illustrations shows Miss Nancy Maguire monitoring the Magnecord tape equipment used to record outside programs which come in by telephone line. In many cases, portable Magnecord units and microphones are Years ahead in listening pleasure carried out to classrooms or lecture halls where suitable telephone lines are not When you own a Newcomb amplifier you own available. more than just a carefully built piece of electronic Tapes are then edited by playing them on equipment that measures up to the most exacting a desk -type machine. The editor, Miss mechanical requirements. You also own ... what Barbara Alice Wolfe, listens with headphones you really want. .. the phonograph amplifier that's so that the sound will not disturb those designed to give you the most in listening quality. Model HLP -14, 14 watt working near her. A graduate of Radcliffe Phonograph Amplifier Teachers College, she is a former school Let your own ears be the judge. When you listen teacher who had specialized in educational to a Newcomb you hear your favorite recordings radio work. Her editorial task is to cut and or radio and television shows come gloriously to piece together the tapes so as to remove life. These superb amplifiers are subjected to rig- pauses, interruptions, noises, and irrelevant orous testing procedures throughout their produc- remarks, in order to keep a smooth -flowing tion to insure mechanical and electrical perfection. continuity in the program material. Some- BUT . .. more than that ... they must meet the times, the elimination of ers and aaahs and most critical listening quality tests. Mode!! P -10A, 10 watt other distracting speech habits calls for Phonograph Amplifier particularly frequent and skillful patching Newcomb Model KXLP -30 is a 20-20,000 cycle, of the tape. low distortion, 30 watt phonograph amplifier pro- There are two views of the control room, viding the reserve power to make full use of its one showing the operator's side of the REL special tone control circuits. Superbly balanced elec- control console, and the other looking in trical design, the result of many years experience, through the window of the larger studio. gives you remarkable listening quality. The Ampex machines, installed behind the oper- Magic Red Knob four stage record condition corn - ator, are used for tape broadcasts. At one pensator frees tone controls from the function of Model R -12, Three Speed side are two turntables, and on the other controlling surface noise. Thus any desired tonal Portable Phonograph side, racks which carry jackstfor cutting in balance may be obtained under any condition of various program circuits. Above them are operation at any volume level. Adaptable for use a Browning FM tuner and an H. H. Scott with AM -FM radio tuners, TV, wide range loud- amplifier for monitoring. speakers and magnetic or crystal pickups, it is This installation is immediately adjacent engineered for your listening pleasure. to the stage of Symphony Hall. However, a small, auxiliary control room, high above Write for complete descriptive literature the auditorium, is used for the concerts. Model PC -12, Three Speed Portable Phonograph It is not illustrated because the space was too small to set up a camera. Programs are fed from the control room to an REL microwave transmitter, with a dish -type antenna on the roof of Symphony Hall, directed toward the Blue Hills trans- THE SOUND /// THAT QUALITY BUILT mitter site. The picture of Dr. Chaffee shows the microwave link receiver. Original- Model B -100 Radio ly, it was connected to a receiving dish at the base of the RCA pylon antenna. Later, NEWCOMB AUDIO PRODUCTS CO., DEPT. W, 6824 LEXINGTON AVENUE, HOLLYWOOD 38, CALIFORNIA Continued on page 78 MANUFACTURERS OF P.A., PHONOGRAPH, MOBILE, INSTRUMENT AND WIRED MUSIC AMPLIFIERS PORTABLE SYSTEMS, PHONOGRAPHS, RADIOS, TRANSCRIPTION PLAYERS AND RACK EQUIPMENT

www.americanradiohistory.com WGBH atioo Continued from page 77 U The TURNTABLE HIGH -FIDELITY a second dish was put up on the observa- is the HEART tory building, but the old one is kept as a spare. PACKAGE SPECIAL! of your Two other illustrations show the 3 -kw. Complete system consisting of REL FM transmitter and the associated the following famous makes: control console. The turntable beside it is HIGH FIDELITY provided so that records can be used in case the studio program should be cut off. Famous SYSTEM COLLINS The Future of Non - HI -FI Commercial Broadcasting TUNER You may own the finest pickup, amplifier and High Fidelity At Its Best! speaker that money can buy... yet you'll get Although many educational stations are on All the technical skill and craftsmanship possible poor reproduction if your TURNTABLE has ex- air, has been featured here be- have been incorporated into Collins Audio products. the WGBH As a result these units closely approach custom - cessive wow, hum or rumble! cause it is outstanding in the strength and built quality, which Is apparent upon inspection and demonstration. COLLINS FM-11 FM TUNER. scope of the organization behind it, and in Surpasses the performance of any units in its price the high technical standards represented in class. 9 miniature tubes, plus tuning eye and rec- R E K-V- K11lT tifier. 191/4 x 12 x 71/4. its equipment and performance. .offers a complete range of 12" Turntable models Much less elaborate installations can be BELL present high -fidelity equipment and to match your operated at considerably lower expense. your own pocketbook. Not every sound system re- AMPLIFIER quires the most expensive turntable ... your turn- However, compromise in program content table must be chosen to complement your other com- and signal quality are quickly, though per- Model 2122 an engi- ponents. Each REK -O -KUT Turntable carries haps unconsciously, recognized by listeners. neering specification which enables your Sound Dealer to select the appropriate unit. The quality and work- Any effort to benefit the public, no matter Superb performance and excellent quality at a popular price! manship of every REK -O -KUT Turntable, from our how sincere the effort, must nevertheless Ideal for reproducing the extended range of micro- most economically -priced model, to our highest priced compete with the efforts of commercial groove records and FM broadcast! Has separate professional machine is identical ... price differential bass and treble tone controls. Frequency range ±D/4 db from 30 to 15,000 cps when controls are is solely upon the type of materials used. stations to attract listeners. Thus, the suc- dependent set for flat response. Hum level: - 65 db below cess of a non -commercial station depends rated output of 10 watts with less than 3% dis- and tortion. 4 inputs; Radio or Tuner, Crystal Pickup, MODEL LP -743 directly on both program content signal and 2 Magnetic Pickups, each with built -In pre- quality. Listeners are not tolerant of com- amplifier. Output impedances: 3.4 to 4 ohms, 6 3 -Speed 12" Turntable to 8 ohms and 15 to 18 ohms -matching most high Induction type motor, promise in either respect. The reason that fidelity speaker systems. designed for smooth, the sale of FM receivers has increased so vibration -free operation. VM Tri- 0 - Matic speed rapidly in the Boston area since WGBH Instantaneous 3 -Speed changes without stopping went on the air is that is is not merely com- turntable or removing disc ;54.95 Net peting with the local commercial stations, RECORD but it is performing a distinctly superior MODEL CVS -12 public service in many respects. CHANGER There is no intention to infer that the VM Model 950 GE With magnetic All-Speed Continuously - cartridge. Top quality Automatic Variable WGBH type of operation should or can re- 3- Speed Record Changer. It plays All Rec- Turntable ords -All Speeds, All Sizes, All Types, and STOPS Plays all records, 6 " to 16" place commercial broadcasting. Public in- AUTOMATICALLY after the last record is played, and broadcast transcrip- terest is made up of many facets, and repre- regardless of size or type! It is extremely simple tions, not only at the three to operate, having only ONE CONTROL KNOB for all normal speeds, BUT AT sents many age groups and intellectual levels. functions: Features Automatic Set -Down Selection for all size records, including 7 ", and Automatic ANY SPEED from 25 to 100 Disc -jockey shows, soap operas, and who- Manual Control (No Adjustments required). Plays RPM. You play your records have audiences, and 12 -10 ", 10 -12 ", or 12 -7" records automatically - at the EXACT SPEED at dunits will still their 10" and 12" discs may be intermixed if same which they were recorded people who want to hear them will continue speed. or at any variation of speed or pitch which gives you to endure the cacophonous repetition of GENERAL ELECTRIC SPEAKER maximum pleasure. A plugs for soap, cereals, cigarettes, sedatives, Model S -12010 "must" for serious music lovers, pro musicians, and stomach settlers. Still, there is every schools, dance studios, etc. ;84.95 Net GE high fidelity 12" speaker reason to expect that we shall have many that is recommended by MODELS T & T -43H research organizations and -12H more stations supported by endowments music lovers, for superior performance. Frequency I The response to re- 2 -Speed 12" Turntables and public subscriptions. sponse: 50. 13,000 cps. -warping The -speed turn- WGBH has demonstrated that the broad- Molded cone. Non only 12" dual aluminum foil base voice tables that meet the standards casters' original policy of programming radio coil permits power handling speed regulation and WOW for stations to serve listeners rather than spon- capacity of 25 watts. 8 content specified by the Na- ohms impedance. Superbly tional Association of Broad- sors is not obsolete, but only forgotten. designed and beautifully built to provide true casters. extended range reproduction. With dust cover. Recommended for use with ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Amplifiers and Speaker Systems. Con,pkte MODELS MOTOR DI Nu Lull SPEED PRICE C ystern 9 Hystereronoussis -50DB T -12 H Synch 78.331/4 $119.95 Complete Set of Cables $7.50 extra Hysteresis Professional Directory -50DB 45.331/4 T -43 H' Synchronous SI19.95 WE STOCK AND DEMONSTRATE ALL STANDARD MAKES OF HIGH -FIDELITY EQUIPMENT. 4 PDIe -40DB T -12 Induction 78.33í/a $84.95 VISIT OUR SOUND STUDIOS , 4 Pole makes T -43 -4008 45.331/4 Write for literature on all inductiono -ion $84.95 High Quality Delivery limited due to .hmt supuly of Hysteresis motors Custom Installations Featuring the Famous See ... hear ... compare REK -O -KUT Turntables, HUDSON Phonographs and Professional Disc Recorders at RADIO & TELEVISION CORP. leading Music Stores, Audio -Visual Dealers and Radio "CHILDS" CUSTOM - Parts Jobbers... or write for latest, free Catalogue. BUILT AMPLIFIER Formed, Newo,L floor;, Co.. 1,., ul N,.. Yorl As described in the July issue of REK-O-KUT CO RADIO & TV NEWS UPTOWN ULRIC J. CHILDS 48 West 48th St., New York 19, N. Y. 38-01A Queens Blvd -, Long Island City, N.Y. Audio Engineer DOWNTOWN:

EXPORT DIVISION. 458 Broadway. New York City, U. 5. A. 1601 First Avenue, New York 28, N. Y. 212 Fulton Street, New York 7, N. Y. ATLAS RADIO CORP., LTD 560 King St. W.. Toronto 20, Ontario TR 9 -8290 CANADA. PHONE Circle 6 -4060

www.americanradiohistory.com READERS' FORUM Continued from page it

Would say that the purpose of Club 1, only AZTEC supplies to listen to symphonic and operatic music, to widen our libraries by pooling our selections, and to further our appreciation of a complete line of good music. Also to hide our heads, (like the proverbial ostrich) for two hours per week, from this insane world! high fidelity equipment! One member has a Scott high fidelity record player. Another has a 5o -watt RCA amplifier plus two Altec- Lansing speakers. A-tempts to adapt unmated parts together into a home Another member has a speaker cabinet with music systc-1 are often unsuccessful. Buy Altec and you five speakers ranging in size from 4 ins. to 18 ins. plus a very high quality amplifier not only get the highest quality but you get components and an Audak Polyphase pickup. As for Each unit into the myself, I have a model 585 Stromberg- designed to wort. together. plugs Carlson player with two speakers in a co- others. Easy to install. Designed for eye as well as ear axial mounting, which I prize very highly. We do not discuss the recordings too app?i Ir home installations as in all other audio much although we are very critical of the .Ids, the Altec name is your assurance of the best. type of recording work that is done by the different companies. We serve refreshments and alternate our meetings at the homes of each of the members weekly. That gives each member about one meeting a month AM -FM TUNER at his home. As for ages, we are all in the late thirties and forties. Our wives do not 3O3A - The best tuner money can buy for think too well of our meetings as they insist audio quality ... wide band super het AM we play too loud! ... superlative FM... equalized phono pre - amp ...extra input for tape ... record cross- As a group we are divided two to two on over frequency selection ... equalization for the modern living composers. We play LP records...bass and treble rise and droop their works but we don't agree that we ... built in power supply... more depend- like them! able features than any other tuner.

C. A. Anglemire REMOTE AMPLIFIER Nazareth, Pa. A -433A - Beautiful compact control unit for use with phono when 303A tuner is not re- How many other HIGH -FIDELITY readers quired. Contains VR phono preamp and all join in group listening of this sort? of the novel features found in the 303A tune- -Editor ... three inputs ... perfect for reproduction from records, tape and radio tuners.

SIR: POWER AMPLIFIER A -333A - The power amplifier without a one -year Please send subscription to ad- peer ... 15 watts with less than 1/2% har- dress below. Thank God somebody has monic distortion ... 27 watts with less than sense enough to publish a readable journal 5% distortion ... flat from 20- 20,000 cycles - free from the complex jargon of the elec- ... completely controlled from 303A tuner or tronics industry. A -433A remote amplifier.

David J. St. John LOUDSPEAKER San Francisco, Calif. 6O4B DUPLEX - Still the finest loudspeake of its type ever produced ... proved superio- SIR: time after time in critical listening tests by experts and laymen ... six other models from Wish to congratulate you on an excep- 8" to 15" also available. tionally fine magazine. Got first 3 issues 82OA- Altec's new corner speaker system... at once and have spent 2 days buried in the concert grand of the loudspeaker world them - am driving my wife crazy. Have ...two 15" woofers ...high frequency no hi -fi equipment now but anticipate Radio speaker and multicellular horn in a furniture Craftsmen "500" amplifier, RC -to tuner, cabinet provide famous Altec "Voice of the Theatre" quality for the home. Garrard changer, University 6201 speaker, and a tape recorder. Don't know what I'd SEE YOUR DEALER be doing without you. OR WRITE TODAY

Capt. Charles Kaiser, Jr. Ellington A. F. Base, Texas

SIR:

Have second copy of your new magazine 3356 SANTA MO -tI :A BLVD , BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF. and am very much impressed with the articles and the way you call a spade a spade. 161 SIXTH AVENUE, MEW YORK 13, NEW YORK We need a good publication which is not so politically bound that it can't bring it- Continued on page 8o

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Continued from page 79

self to saying what it thinks for fear they will step on someone's toes. Enclosed you will find a check for $1.25. Please send me the first issue: Vol. I, No. t. If I do not get a subscription for Christmas., you will have one from me shortly thereafter.

William R. Smith Oak Ridge, Tenn.

SIR: possible to reproduce 'a` Being somewhat of a hi -fi fan, I ans happy ur great favorites -- -- classics or to notice your gift rates in effect at this time. Please find enclosed a check for $6 popular - - -- in your own home, reflect- to take care of a subscription for myself for the next three years. This is for Christ- ing original concert -hall performance. mas. I like to get surprises, also.

ASSEMBLE YOUR NON-QUALITY E. T. Dibble Iowa MUSIC SYSTEM AROUND Ottumwa, SIR: THE

Your anxiously- awaited second issue is magnificent. Many of my friends are sending for copies; it's surprising how many more folks are getting interested in good audio reproduction. Having become in- FrI11°F. terested in high fidelity several years ago, I am somewhat immodestly taking a paternal interest in seeing that my acquaintances OInlllllllfill new to the field get started on the right v pub- track by subscribing to your splendid lication. What a vast void it is filling! For the rank amateur such as myself, it is invaluable. May I offer a few suggestions? I would encourage your advertisers to quote prices in their ads. To know that an amplifier can be had for $75 rather than $200 is just ALL TRIODE HIGH QUALITY as important to me as the information that it has 0.1 or 5% distortion. Also, in AUDIO AMPLIFIE regard to amplifiers and advertising, uni- Continued on page 83

About NEW Subscrip- tions - Please Note Henceforth, all new subscriptions to HIGH -FIDELITY will be started with the "next" issue. This means that subscriptions received up to April 15, 1952, will begin with the Summer issue, and first copies will be mailed in mid -April. We still have on hand a limited supply of each of the first four issues - Summer, Winter, and Fall, 1951, and Spring, 1952 - and these are available at the Detailed information and free booklet, " &cttet lialteaa«, regular single -copy price of $1.00 each. available on request. Dept. FB-2 If you would like oll four, you can have them for only $3.00, thus saving $1.00. Address your order for any or all of these BROOK ELECTRONICS, INC. issues to: Circulation Dept., HIGH - FIDELITY Magazine, P. O. Box 600, 34 'DeHART PLACE, ELIZABETH 2, N.J. Great Barrington, Mass.

www.americanradiohistory.com EDITING TAPES Continued from page 18 HARVEY QUALITY UNITS pare it down gradually by repeated trials in the recorder until the precise length is FOR, YOUR SPEAKER INSTALLATIONS attained. Of course, if this method is used for the head end, a short piece of leader STEPHENS COAXIAL JIM LANSING must be attached each time a trial is made, New! in order to be able to lead the tape through 2 -WAY SPEAKER SPEAKER SYSTEM the playback. In trimming very short A compact assembly FEATURING UNI- pieces of tape, only a few inches long, it combining a cone - FORM SOUND WAVE is advisable to cut the tail end before cut- type, low- resonant DISTRIBUTION OVER leaves lead low- frequency unit ting the head end. This a on THE ENTIRE AUDIO the tape to thread past the playback until with multi -cellular type, wide -angle RANGE. the final cut is made. high- frequency specifically As pieces of tape are broken out and pre- Designed dispersion. Recom- the music lover they are dropped into for pared for reassembly, mended for broad- who wants accurate the removable plastic bag shown in Fig. 3. cast monitoring, mo- and undistorted sound The head ends are held by a row of colored tion picture sound, and - especially -FM reproduction - this plastic clothespins bolted to the edge of and record reproduction. Power rating - system incorporates the table. Scenes are identified by numbers 20 watts. Impedance - 16 ohms. Fre- a new, imp -owed acoustical lens and or by the color of the clothespins. quercy response - 40 to 12,000 cps. 2 -15" woofer speakers in conjunction An added convenience is a wooden peg, Diameter-15 1/4". Depth -1 01/2'. with a crossover network. Housed in at- Weight -30 lbs. fastened to a piece of doorspring and tractive corner cabinet. mounted at the rear of the recorder. This No. 1065 X $124.50 No. D1004 in dark mahogany $390.00 just reaches the hub of either reel, and is No. D1005 in blonde finish $396.00 used instead of a pencil for threading up. PERMOFLUX CORNER It is always there when wanted, and springs PERMOFLUX ROYAL out of the way after use. BAFFLE A switch, cut into the eraser circuit, EFFICIENT rr. , EIGHT" makes it possible to dub foreground dialogue ATTRACTIVE over background music or over sound effects LOW PRICED previously made from records or radio. It Designed for use in al- 8 -inch Speaker offers has been found that, with the eraser inacti- most any room of the big- speaker perform- vated, the quality of the second recording house, this 4 -layer plywood cabinet improves ance in a small is not noticeably impaired, while the volume the performance of any frame. of the first, or background, recording is 8-inch speaker. Finished in rich mahogany leath- reduced sufficiently for a good background erette, it measures 24 No. 8T -8 -1 Low balance. Whether the background sound in. high. 14 in. wide Priced of .. $13.50 and is 91/2 in. deep at a is first recorded at normal level or some- top and 133/4 in. at bottom. Weight, less what above normal level depends on the speaker is 21 lbs. character of the background sound or music No. CS -8 -M $39.00 and the effect desired. A speed of 33/4 CABINART inches per second is very good for dialogue PERMOFLUX MONAURAL HORN LOADED CORNER and while it is too slow for high fidelity HEADPHONES BAFFLE IN KIT FORM it is for back- music reproduction, adequate Constructed of S- ground effects. This speed also permits Capable of repro- layer, 1/s" thick accurate cutting, for one inch of tape repre- ducing full orches- selected plywood. sents a little over a quarter of a second, tral scale within 1 Completely sanded and with a 90 degree splice, cuts can be range of average 1 and ready for finish- made to as close as a quarter inch, or one human hearing. ing. Kit includes grille fifteenth of a second. Compact, light weight. cloth, mounting hard- In editing, erasing has its uses, but is Finger -tip adjustment for 1 1 ware, glue, etc.... not to be compared to cutting and splicing proper fit. Easy -to- follow in- for simple and rapid assembly. for avoiding damage to the recording, and No. DHS -17 As illustrated structions for precision in timing and spacing. with No. 1505 Ear Kit for 12" speaker $19.95 Kit for 15" speaker $23.95 Finally, all finished reels are numbered Cushions $45.00 and kept in a compartmented and indexed carrying case, Fig. 4. has it! In our immensely popular AUDIOtorium If the basic process of recording voice If it's GOOD ... HARVEY we can instantly "custom match ", for your direct comparison, any com- and music on tape has been found enjoy- bination of components and equipments ... from the least expensive able, the tape hobbyist can be certain that to the "best in the world." editing will open many new doors to fur- If you would like to receive future HARVEY sound equipment bulletins ther pleasure and satisfaction. Once the ... or if you want detailed information on specific products .. , or if technique, or mechanical aspects, of editing ycu want assistance in planning your own installations, please write have been mastered, full energy can be de- to DEPT. HF -20. No obligation, of course. voted to the art. And that is a source of lasting enjoyment.

Telephone I r lUremberg 2-1500 VISIT 'THE NOTE: In view et the AUDIOTORIUM rapidly changing mari Subscriptions to HIGH -FIDELITY make cenditins, all Cerne in and e sit our kt wonderful gifts for friends, customers, and new sound depart- prices shown ore sub- associates. For special group rates on 3 or ment ... all these ject to thong' without and mar y more more subscriptions entered at one time, items notice end ore Met, on working tisplay write the Circulation Department, HIGH - 103 West 43rd St., New York 18, N. Y. F.O.B., N.Y.C. FIDELITY, P. O. Box 600, Great Barring- at all hoes. ton, Mass.

www.americanradiohistory.com A list of books which will be of interest and AUDIO -- PHILE'S value to you, carefully selected from the many publications related to music, records, and sound. Using our Book Service, you can have your choice by return mail. Just BOOKSHELF send the coupon with your remittance.

Aids to Listening ACOUSTICS OF MUSIC - Wilmer T. Bartholomew, 242 pages, illustrated, cloth. WHAT TO LISTEN FOR IN MUSIC Aaron - Copland, The physical basis of musical tone is explained in this book in 281 pages, 5% x 8. simple, everyday terms. Here is a clearly presented explanation The art of listening to music discussed by one of known our best of the link between sound waves and the artist's technique in and highly regarded contemporary American composers. Written producing them. The book explains the technicalities of sound from the composer's point of view, this work presents a fresh origination for the musician and music lover. Language is simple conception of just what we hear, and what we should hear, when and explicit throughout. Acoustics of Music fills the need for listening to any piece of music. is It an invaluable aid to a more a book clarifying the fundamentals of acoustics, complete and gives to music enjoyment of music. No. 3 $3.50 lovers in readable form the materials for AND understanding acoustical RELAX LISTEN - John Hallstrom, 534 x 81/2, cloth problems of composition, performance, bound. teaching, and appreciation. The various types of sound percussive, vibratory, etc. are The author, an executive of RCA Victor Records, - - has written, discussed in separate chapters. Ample illustrations and a very in a humorous and down -to -earth style, a book which provides complete bibliography make this book particularly useful. the average reader with a clear understanding of the basic nature No. 21 $4.00 of music, its major forms and their definitions and functions, and an acquaintance with many composers. He casts his definitions Technical in everyday terms assuming no musical knowledge whatsoever on POST -WAR AUDIO AMPLIFIERS AND ASSOCIATED the part of the reader. The value of the book is further enhanced EQUIPMENT - compiled by Howard W. Sams & Co., two by a comprehensive phonograph record listing, organized with vols., vol. 1: 368 pages; vol. 2: 352 pages; both profusely illus- reference to the subject matter of the text, and a glossary of musical trated, 8% x 11, paper- bound. terms and pronunciation guide. This book will be an invaluable Volume 1. The initial volume was the first publication to present a aid to those who are building record libraries as well as to concert uniform and thoroughly accurate analysis of the important sound goers. It is a fascinating reading experience. No. 19 $3.00 equipment appearing on the market following the war. It covers a LISTENING TO MUSIC CREATIVELY - Edwin J. String - wide variety of well -known audio amplifiers, FM and AM tuners, ham, 479 pages, illustrated, cloth. plus data on important wire and tape recorders. This book presents in an absorbing and ingenious way not only Volume 2. A continuation of the excellent coverage of the pre- the history of music but a method by which the untrained listener ceding volume, this manual provides complete information on 104 can find pleasure and meaning in music, and develop his own well -known audio amplifiers and 12 important tuners. critical capacity. Dr. Stringham covers all the forms of music, These two volumes which include hundreds of pictures and dia- analyzing simply and clearly a specific example of each type, and grams will provide a complete and authoritative sound library making additional suggestions for listening. In so doing, he fur- for their owners. No. 8 (Vol. 1) $3.95 nishes an excellent guide - with program notes, so to speak - No. 9 (Vol. 2) $3.95 for building a well -balanced record collection. Copious illustrations accompany the text. This book skillfully integrates biogra- phy, social history, and the other fine arts with the main stream of music. It should appeal to both the scholar and the novice. dust Received! No. 20 $5.35 We now have available in good supply these two Semi -Technical important books: DESIGN DATA FOR THE WILLIAMSON AMPLIFIER MAKE MUSIC LIVE - Irving Greene, James R. Radcliffe, Complete instructions, wiring diagrams and the part lists and Robert Scharff. Profusely illustrated, 7 x 11. for constructing this famous high- fidelity amplifier. A complete guide to the installation of a quality reproducing No. 25 $ 1.00 system in the home, this book describes all you need to know to PIANOS, PIANISTS AND bring into your living room flawless sound reproduction. Written SONICS by G. A. Briggs A new and fascinating book by three experts consultant on high -fidelity equipment, an by the noted British authority. -a Written in non -technical terms, it is intended for all industrial designer, and a home -building adviser - it includes music lovers and sound enthusiasts. The complete story detailed explanations on how to buy and select components, com- of the piano including history, construction aids in selec- plete installation instructions for all equipment, data on types of tion and care, and the relationship between the instru- woods, woodworking joints, hardware specifications and finishes, ment and sound -recording, reproduction, and room and methods of concealing components in existing furniture. acoustics. No. 15 $4.50 No. 26 $2.50 Miscellaneous Book Service Dep't HIGH -FIDELITY Magazine SELECTIVE RECORD GUIDE - Moses Smith, 51/2 x 81/2, cloth. Great Barrington, Mass. Here a famous critic and former director of a recording company helps you select your record library, guiding you through the great I enclose $ for which please send me, postpaid, the books emotional and aesthetic pleasures of recorded classical music. It indicated by the circled numbers below. (No C.O.D.'s, please.) is far from being a mere catalog of works obtainable - which might prove more bewildering than useful - hut is a truly selec- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 tive, and practical, guide. And it emphasizes economy, leaving out expensive and hard -to -get foreign records and expensive 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 domestic records. Besides emphasizing economy, the author also emphasizes quality of performance and recording. He shows his NAME preferences among recordings, besides supplying a running commentary on composers and their place in the historical scene, and ADRc55 on the music itself. This book will prove a wonderful discovery for all who wish to make a discriminating collection of classical CITY ZONE _ STATE records. No. 16 $4.50

www.americanradiohistory.com READERS' FORUM Continued from page So .Jhe aLJidcriminaEing eventually form listing of characteristics (with no hedging: your advertisers have a select Corne to Zeortard 3! and critical audience) in all ads would be of value. This would indude not only price, frequency range, output, but also normal and peak distortion, feedback, hum level, intermodulation distortion, and damping factor. This information may be had by writing to the manufacturer, of course, but we don't always have time to write several letters. A factual ad may produce a sale on the basis of the evidence presented. JENSEN TRI -AXIAL John M. R. Bruner, M.D. LOUDSPEAKER WITH Philadelphia, Pa. CROSSOVER AND SIR: CONTROL NETWORK

I have received the first two numbers of The JENSEN Model G -6 r o is the result of twenty years of intensive research Magazine and am extremely specifically directed toward the attainment of absolute and faithful music HIGH -FIDELITY each cover- with them. It is certainly a reproduction. Consisting of three independently driven units, well pleased range and a Crossover and Control Net- I had antici- ing a portion of the total frequency much better magazine than work which divides the electrical input at boo and 4,000 cps, the G -6ro pated and I congratulate you and the others brings to the listener the ultimate in listening pleasure. Frequency Response connected with it on making such a fine -20 to 20,000 cps. Impedance-r 6 ohms. Power rating -35 watts. publication for those of us who are inter- NET $224.91 ested in the reproduction of music. I especially like your section on record reviews because you tell enough about each record really to give the reader an idea of its merit. I certainly do object to one or two line reviews of a record - or a book either for that matter.

Richard W. Norton, Jr. Shreveport, La.

SIR:

I am enthusiastic about the Equipment Reports of the latest issue. They were clear BROOK MODEL 12A3 and accurate. But we need more of them, This superb remote control ampli- GARRARD MODEL RC -8 o and not in the form of free advertising fier offers music lovers and high - This superb three -speed record for manufacturers. When some audio com- quality audio enthusiasts a stan- changer plays recordings exactly ponent has faults, I trust you will not soft - dard of performance seldom a- as the manufacturers intended. pedal these faults. chieved within its price range. Heavy -duty constant speed motor Your record reviews, while quite good, Using low -mu triodes throughout assures quiet performance -with- with interstage and output trans- out "wows ". Professional -type were too eloquent about the music on the formers of special design, the records and not eloquent enough about the turntable "bearing balanced". Re- BROOK s zA3 delivers virtually damage lack of it that is movable spindle prevents engineering excellence or distortionless audio reproduction. to records. Pick -up arm is especia- actually the basic necessity of high fidelity. FREQUENCY RESPONSE: zo to ally designed to eliminate reson- 20,000 cps. within 0.5 db. ance. Plug -in type heads for stan- Robert P. Stockwell POWER OUTPUT: r o watts. IN- dard and microgroove recordings. Charlottesville, Va. PUTS: "A" Radio or TV, "B" and Automatic shut -off. Dimensions- "C" for low level magnetic -type ' 51/2" W. x '31/2 D. x 51/2 H. pickups. CONTROLS: Volume, SIR: Bass, Treble, Selector, Power NET (less pickup) $39.00 Switch. NET $098.00 I have received my third copy of HIGH - FIDELITY and am very much impressed with most of the material presented and the Mail Orders filled promptly! manner of presentation. However, I am NEW BIG CATALOGUE NO. 4: You'll want our new alarmed at certain trends of thought which 48 page Catalogue No. 4, featuring the latest and finest in seem to be entering the picture. equipment for audio- the Editor Sees As an example, the "As philes. Just drop us a It" column suggests that perhaps the audio dipostcard, or phone: system has now evolved into a musical COrtlandt 7-0315 instrument and that we have progressed beyond the realm of mere science and engineering, and have entered the realm of art. Nonsense! a is we r A musical instrument just what want an audio system not to be. A musical instrument is the source of the sound. On the house the other hand, the sole function of an built on Continued on page 84 SERVICE

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Continued from page 83

audio system is to reproduce sounds origin- ated by some instrument. The less one is conscious of the system - in other words, the less of itself that the system contributes to the intelligence - the better the reproduction. A good audio system is never the result of any nebulous artistic cut -and -try procedure. Each component is the result of the application of science and engineering to the problem at hand in order to make a basic design. Then the application of suitable tests is made to analyze the results. The final test - the listening test -tells the engineer how successful he has been in applying his theory. If results are not satisfactory, then he knows there is a physical reason. Let us leave the art to the true artists REBEL - the musicians, playwrights, etc. - and continue to develop our science of sound Since Klipschorn has been KLIPSCHORN reproduction by following the road of reason. dubbed "King" we suggest Rebel deserves at least a status of "Tribal "King Klipschorn" was the cog- A. R. Madison, B.A.Sc., P. Eng. nomen applied by The Wall Street Toronto, Canada Chieftain ". This outstanding corner horn loading Journal (26 Dec. 1951). Well de- SIR: system for direct radiators is achieving an enviable served and truly earned, this recog- It me that seems to your editorial in the reputation in nition by a leading financial publi- Winter issue is begging the question. While its field. Like Klips- it is true that audio equipment cannot be chorn, cation is none the less gratifying. the room walls at a corner completely rated unless all factors are given, form part of the speaker still it can be rated by test and by comparison. system to Klipschorn is an achievement of I would like to know how the Electro- offer surpassing bass performance design that enters its 13th year of Voice Patrician speaker system compares from with the Klipschorn, and the Jim Lansing a small physical structure. acceptance. It is a system employ- with the Altec. I, and probably many an- Rebel is priced from $37 for the other audiophile, could not afford to buy 3 ing speaker units including the each one and try it for himself. Yet, if your utility housing to $150 for the justly famous corner horn bass sys- argument in the Editorial is accepted, that furniture -finished housing. It is would be the only recourse. tem which uses the room walls at a I believe the greatest service you could designed for application of 12 inch render to corner as part of the speaker, en- audiophiles would be to help them and 15 inch direct -radiator speakers decide correctly in their purchases of audio abling a full bass range from a equipment by giving them your analyses of single and coaxial types. small structure. and comparisons. That would save them money, and would enhance the value of your Only in the Klipschorn magazine to the readers. authentic Whether Rebel is used as an does one find the latest corner horn S. C. Conrad Altadena, Calif. "ultimate" speaker or an "interim" engineering, consummate design- unit within the structure of a ing, original SIR: styling, and surpassing longer range plan to culminate in a craftsmanship assures lon- that The following experience of mine in Klipschorn, the Rebel assures a gevity and low obsolescence. hooking up my hi -fi rig may be of interest to readers of your Readers' Forum. Neither high intrinsic quality and good per- the manufacturers' instructions nor the formance per dollar. Models from $516 to $711. We hi -fi literature I have read warned me of suggest Klipschorn as ultimate goal the pitfall I fell into, and being a neophyte, I did not foresee it. in your long range planning. I have a Scott amplifier and a Pickering pickup. I mounted the pickup about to ins. above the amplifier. The painful result was a very strong hum. Apparently, the For data and for name of nearest fields of the transformers of the amplifier For data and for name of nearest dealer, were large enough to include the area which dealer, write write the pickup traverses in tracking the record. I had to redesign my entire installation. Ex- KLIPSCH & ASSOCIATES periments showed that hum from the trans- KLIPSCH & ASSOCIATES former field was noticeable as much as 18 Telephones: 7 -6795 and 7 -4538 ins. above the amplifier. Telephones: 7 -6795 and 7 -4538 Hope, Arkansas Continued on page 86 Hope, Arkansas

www.americanradiohistory.com understanding of the functions of the various components in a hi -fi system. It will also be valuable in guiding the selection of this complete equipment through a knowledge of the meaning of the technical specifications. The home hobbyist, with a well- equipped MUSIC CONTROL carpenter shop in the basement, will have new doors opened to him; the woodwork- SYSTEM . . . Make Music Live, by Greene, Radcliffe ing information in "Make Music Live" and Scharff. 256 pages, 6 -1/2 x 9 -Ys, z zo is exceptionally complete. illustrations. Medill McBride, 1951. When examined closely, "Make Music new $4.50. Live" shows the need of a little more care in its preparation and much more naming of H. H. SCOTT names. There are occasional technical in- As the months rolled by, we have wondered 214 -A just how "pre" pre -publication publicity accuracies, occasional bits of information could be. Announced with due fanfare which are already out of date and, more amplifier early last Spring, "Make Music Live" has important, there is no index. These defects, finally appeared. We share the authors' however, are minor and are many times out- joy at seeing the work in print, for HIGH - weighed by the amount of worthwhile in- FIDELITY'S Book Service Department is de- formation presented. guarantees your lighted to be able to fill orders out of stock More serious, however, is the omission instead of spending much of its time asking of equipment identification. In a discussion the impatient to be patient a little longer. of an "ideal home entertainment center ", complete listening Those who have waited so long will find performance specifications for each unit are themselves rewarded. "Make Music Live" given in detail, but the manufacturer is pleasure And in the appendix, this covers the large field of music reproduction not identified. Only H. H. Scott amplifiers combine, in a with a minimum of the technical and a maxi- policy of no names negates the value of single engineered system, all the unique fea- mum of the useful. A chapter is devoted much of the information presented. For tures you need for controlling, compensating, and amplifiying reproduced music. to each major component in the audio sys- instance, the careful listing of the charac- tem: record player, tuner, amplifier, loud- teristics of 19 loudspeakers becomes useless LISTEN TO THESE SUPERB speaker, speaker enclosure, antenna, and because the speakers are not identified AMPLIFIERS AT _ tape recorder. Details of cabinet design and other than by approximate price and size. carpentry are covered in four chapters, and Still, for those who want an overall pic- an appendix provides a glossary of technical ture, who want to improve their understand- GRAND CENTRAL terms, a list of hi -fi records, and a comparison ing of the technicalities, and who do not of some of the technical specifications for want data about specific makes of equipment, RADIO INC. tuners, amplifiers, and speakers. "Make Music Live" is a worthwhile pur- 124 EAST 44th ST. The newcomer to high fidelity will find chase. at LEXINGTON AVENUE this book of material help in building an - C. F. NEW YORK CITY, MU 2 -3869

for Supreme Professional Quality Satisfaction DIAMOND STYLI H. Your next needle will be - should be -- a DIAMOND! Televex Professional It Scott amplifiers Diamond Needles offer many outstanding advantages: Highest quality backed by 100% unconditional guarantee. Lowest cost, because sold direct to you from manufacturer. 214 -A Free microscopic examination of your diamond whenever you wish. remote Widest selection of replacements and re- tipping services. control Conversion kits for phonographs not presently adaptable to diamond styli. amplifier We have customers all over the world satisfied customers. Radio stations too. of course. Just recently, for example, we received an order from The American Broad- casting Company ( key station: WJZ, N. Y. City) for a quantity of special -shank diamond needles to be used in a modernization program involving their numerous Recognized as supreme in the field of music sound -effects turntables. amplification, H. H. SCOTT amplifiers give oirRemember, every needle we make or re -tip, whether for a radio station or you -at the same time- a control system, an individual, is made to just one standard... and that is the highest, a compensating system, a superb amplifier, all professional quality. You can pay less and get less; you can pay more and with FULL YEAR warranty get no better. Single -tip replacements and re -tips are $15.75 each, including either or both tips of hear it at Hudson sapphire tandem needles. Send used needle with order to insure correct identification. If puzzled about your own particular phono, write giving make and model number, preferably of cartridge. or better yet send cartridge and/or needle if removable. Free literature also available on request. HUh)SI)\ TH:1.1;VH:\ 476 West 238th Street, New York 63, N. Y. RADIO & TELEVISION CORP. 48 West 48th St New York 19, N. Y. Downtown Store: 212 Fulton St., New York 7, N. Y. Phone: Circle 6-4060

www.americanradiohistory.com READER'S FORUM 0 Continued from page 84 /«STORTION 0.10! FoR I suggest that other neophytes, before Now making a permanent installation, move the "POINT ONE" Send pickup around in the air in the vicinity of with new HIGH FIDELITY the amplifier and thus delineate the area of pre -amplifier which NEW objectionable hum. The final assembly can has compensated then be planned accordingly. settings for all records. Solid I imagine that the size of the hum area UIDEBOOu ll of differs with different amplifiers. It is some G FIn formation! thing which all manufacturers might mention in their instructions.

Olcott Gates Lakewood, Colo.

SIR: In the TL /12 amplifier, hum and noise levels fall within -80 db and -72 db relative to 10 watts I just received my newest issue of HIGH - and are entirely inaudible. Feed- FIDELITY. It gets better all the time. Saved back is taken from low side of output transformer and due to the my life, too, on getting my new Air- Coupler magnitude of feedback, there can out before Christmas. I can sympathize be no rise of voltage. The reproduction of transients, especially with Charles Fowler and Roy Allison in their of low frequency, is astonishingly trials and tribulations with the new Dual clarified. Air -Coupler - but at least they were not Leak "Point One" provides the ultimate in clarity and frequency threatened by a BROOM with nothing to response. Certified tests by British defend themselves with except a screw- Nat'l Physical Lab. (equiv. U. S. driver. Bureau of Standards) prove this triple loop power amplifier and How on earth did C. G. Burke get all pre -amplifier exceed manufac- that paraphernalia in his living room and turer's performance claims. remain on speaking terms with the little At your dealer or write for All about FREE FACT SHEET to Dept. 2LF Tells to know to woman? Or is he married? I'm beginning °u 0 BRITISH INDUSTRIES CORP. the things t Explains e to think that I'm going to have to do my High Fidell ity 164 Duane St., New York 13, N. Y. concert hall realism real Hi- newest Air -Coupler under "free field" con bring Tells what makes how to ditions, too. To eliminate room acoustics, home. System. Explains or of course. '3"rest Fi Music componentsvari- h'rítaíH's select individual Pictures shows PRODUCTS fete ensembles. Jack Starks AUDIO of installations our ous typtypes cats haves modest Ft. Worth, Texas how easily a F°,° System describes custom i and na- SIR: Illustrate the finest cost! of -Fi units on the completeknown Ht Orchids to Mr. Eton for his article on Vh fedale for h Prepared H popular records. At least this is a move Built by Wharfedale market. the advanced FREEig and for y our in the right direction, which is a happy Wireless Works Fidelitlst. S end for under the direction thought to me. today of G. A. Briggs, Hi -Fi Guidebook I only wish that I lived around the corner world renowned from you. If that were true, I would be on sound engineer! Finest Quality andIAMOUS For HI -F1 FROM your doorstep tonight with an armload YOUR CONCORD SELECT AT of discs. COMPONENTS Brooks GUARANTEED Bell Mr. Eton had a good selection of records Audak Fairchild Lansing EspeY for trial. I have most of them, but I would ?Ole( lectra- Voice Hall Garrard a few others. Tennessee Browning McIntosh like to suggest Waltz General Electric Leak Jensen Precision with Les Paul and Mary Ford. Also their Hallicrafters Pickering More Chance. Mcissner RCAStephens latest one, Just One This Rek- O-Kut Wharfedale one, I think, tops anything they have ever Craftsmen Chicago Radio Webster-Chicago made for fidelity. University Demonstra Another good album of records is Nero OUTSTANDING: Personal SALON For a HI -FI Fiddles. the lot is The Hot 12/C.S./A.L. CONCORD'S The best of Canary. Super VISIT THAT This one is so well cut that in a few places SPEAKER SINGLE you can hear the mechanical scraping of the A THE PERFORMANCE SURPASSES MULTI -SPEAKER bow in the strings, sounds which are sel- OF MANY dom heard on even the best violin record- COMBINATIONS for its remarkablestenge, CONCORD ings. The next album I would like to Acclaimed and P la sug- sound natural RADIO CORPORATION gest is Old Refrains by Robinson Cleaver quality. 901 W. JACKSON BLVD. CHICAGO 7 (Decca Album 9 -506). These are by far cloth best pipe organ recordings I have ever Wharfedale speakers are the suspended to improve transient are as far as res- ( CONCORD RADIO CORP., Dept. BB -52 ) found. They excellent surface response and to reduce bass Blvd., noise is concerned, and the organ bass has onances. This results in a more 901 W. Jackson Chicago 7, III. l level impedance curve and improves a depth I have never heard on a record be- ( D Rush FREE High Fidelity Guidebook ) the transient or decay element. The exclusive special cone with Rush FREE Big, New 1952 Catalog fore. Some others are Good Bye by Gene D bakelized apex achieves amazingly Ammons; My Foolish Heart, also by Gene clear highs. Name ) Ammons. These are sax solo's, slow and At your dealer or write for ) easy to listen to. In a good many places FREE FACT SHEET to Dept. 2 WF ( Address__ - _ one can hear the wind rushing through the BRITISH INDUSTRIES CORP. City Zone State Continued on page 87 164 Duane St., New York 13, N. Y / liti..., N....\ Noe =0tNliar"s 86

www.americanradiohistory.com READERS' FORUM Continued from page 86 reed before the notes are sounded. An- other recording of this type is Be My Love by the George Auld Quintet - also a sax solo. It is easy to listen to and has good fidelity. It is on a Royal Roost Label. I have many more such recordings in my collection. Let me add that when buying popular records in the record shop, one must have a critical ear. When a phonograph has a range no lower than too cps . nor higher than 5,000 cps., it is very hard to tell a poor recording. We all hope that public opinion will someday change all this for the better. If enough of us beef loud enough and long enough they will have to make some changes. CROSSOVER NETWORKS ... Terry McConnell If you are now using a single speaker - or a coaxial - of any Petoskey, Mich. type, you can get richer, deeper bass response by adding a single cross -over network and an Air -Coupler. G. A. has both. NOTED WITH INTEREST To get immediate delivery of a cross -over network operating at Continued from page 8 350 cycles, order our No. 4 to match a 16 -ohm low frequency woofer. To match an 8 -ohm bass speaker, order our No. 8. Either one is only $17.50 complete with inductors, capacitors and level con- music from time to time; in spite of the trols, f.o.b. South Egremont, Mass. Add 75 cents and we'll ship by infrequency of good music, WASH has parcel post prepaid and insured to any part of the United States. the highest fidelity of any station in the Washington area. Actually, by a judicious selection of associated components, the Best wishes to your excellent magazine. three values of network inductors on which G. A. has standardized - M. S. Hunter, Washington, D. C. enable our customers to secure low -cost crossover networks which will operate at 14 different crossover frequencies! They are described In my city of Louisville you list WHAS- in full in the instruction sheet which is sent without charge with FM and WBOX which handed in their every order for networks. If you would like a copy, just send us 10 cents in stamps or coin to cover mailing charges and we'll get licenses many months ago. S. A. Cis - - it off to you by return mail. These networks, by the way, can be ler, Louisville, Ky. used with systems employing two to eight speakers. -

We would appreciate your adding KITE - FM, San Antonio, to the list of stations in the United States. - Charles W. Balthrope, AIR - COUPLERS . e e San Antonio, Texas. We can ship you an Air -Coupler completely assembled! Yes, the new design developed by the group at Radio Communication and FM station WLSU in Baton Rouge, La., com- has had excellent supper music. This sta- High- Fidelity gives much better results but it is also more tion is owned by Louisiana State Univer- plicated to build. The internal partitions must be positioned in sity. Monthly programs mailed at request. exactly the right places and it requires a lot more screwing and - E. D. Trellue, Jr., New Orleans, La. gluing. So we have arranged to carry them completely assembled, with a hole cut for a 12 -in. speaker, everything ready for you to FM station KOZY, Kansas City, Mo., on put into immediate operation. They are made out of selected your FM station list has been off the air %-in. plywood, all joints are glued and screwed together. The for about two years. The University of cost is only $47.50, f.o.b. South Egremont, Mass. Kansas at Lawrence, Kansas, is erecting an FM educational station. Station KCMO- AND - if you have the time and inclination to put everything FM, Kansas City, Mo., carries mostly AM together yourself, the new Air -Coupler is also available in knock- network programs. - Victor W. Amoth, down form, all parts precisely cut and carefully matched, for only Lawrence, Kansas. $34.50. Immediate delivery on either knock -down or completely Please don't use my name on this, but assembled models. here is the sad report on some of the FM stations. WHAV -FM seems to have quit. MISCELLANY we continue to carry in stock... A Itec 600- 812 -in. speakers, a best buy under I think they had quite an audience for their any circumstances, a must for Air -Couplers; only $46.50; Peerless 5 -2300 output transformers $26.00; continuous music. WPJB -FM has gone Peerless R -560A power transformers, $16.00; Peerless C-455A power chokes, $10.00... A new supply ABC and stopped their FM promotion and of the English KT -66 tubes (specified for Williamson amplifiers) has just been received; they're stopped the fine music programs they only $4.95 each. There's no exact U. S. equivalent. carried. WLAW -FM has a loud 6o -cycle Send remittance with your order. hum. WLLH -FM has a whine or squeal SAVE C.O.D. charges! originating at a pumping station. The squeal stops, when the pump stops. The big network programs sound dead compared to those of WGBH. WNAC -FM has AM General Apparatus Cu. modulation and bursts of loud hissing from failing condensers. Continued on page 88 South Egretnont, Mass.

www.americanradiohistory.com ... designed by PROGRESSIVE NOTED WITH INTEREST LOUDSPEAKERS ENGINEERING! Continued from page 87

WHDH -FM has fine quality with almost dead silent carrier. There are five FM- Quality and Dependability only stations in the Boston area: WERS, WGBH, WBUR, WPTL and WXHR. Four One of the complete line of Every UNIVERSITY of these are non -commercial. These five "COBRA" TWEETER tweeters for both product is built to carry much fine music. WJAR -FM carries MODEL 4409 2000 and 600 cycle traditional standards of crossover. Recom- the NBC Symphony live. WBZ -FM mended for concert quality that have earned I 666 halls, theatres and a world -wide reputation doesn't carry it at all, as far as can find the high fidelity en- for out. Too bad WJAR -FM doesn't get at thusiast, they provide absolute depend- economical wide ability. Highest quality least 8,000 -cycle feed. Too bad Boston range response to materials, skillfully fab- doesn't know that WJAR -FM carries the the limits of audibility. These ricated, tweeters may be added to any cone result in unsur- NBC Symphony. WJAR -FM feeds a strong speaker fo provide high fidelity at passed performance and signal into this area: several hundred low cost. extra reliability. "Pro- microvolts up here. WLLH -FM and WCOP- B1 UNIVERSITY .COBRA" TWEETERM_M gressive Engineering" .ra FM carry quite a bit of serious recorded ä f AC:.1 assures the latest design University . music in the evening. WBSM -FM also improvements in every Tweeters feature has an evening. the exclusive "Co- IMPI 1i111MIIM4111t11 piece of UNIVERSITY hour of serious music each bra" horn that overcomes IIi111117/MINI=\GiIj11iIIMI Name and Address Withheld by Request. 111111NI11k1 equipment. - the disadvantages of mul- 111p1UVMIIIM\11K91INN1M lIWYIRiY7IIIIMI II1'I1111M ti- cellular and multi -sec- WRITE FOR FREE tional horns - affords true FREQUENCY CYCLES /SECOND O.DOO 155.000 Carpenters uniform wide angle polar response HI- FIDELITY through the new University theory Var'ety of CATALOG TODAY of flares. crossover in the previous reciprocating networks R Fully explains the In response to our request also avalable. use and advantages issue for names of carpenters and cabinet s.- - of UNIVERSITY ------HI -FI equipment makers capable of handling the woodwork- in easy to under- ing aspects of hi -fi installations, we have stand language. Covers the com- received the following suggestions: UNIVERSITY plete line, gives Memphis, Tenn.: We keep a file of work- full application LOUDSPEAKERS INC and installation men of all types, from skilled woodcarvers details. to hammermen. Hirsch Electronics, 80 S0. KENSICO AVE., WHITE PLAINS, N. Y. Write plain - Desk 37. 421 N. Watkins. Denver, Colo.: Mr. Ditman of Designs Co., 301 W. Evans, Denver, designs and builds furniture, radio cabinets, and built - ins. He is an excellent designer and cabinet- The most popular, low price maker and builds to the customer's specifications, or will design with the advice of the radio expert associated with him. -- AM -FM D. M. Bender, 3171 S. Cherokee, Engle- wood, Colo. Cleveland, Ohio: My father, Henry Vanek, Radio Receiver is available for "careful carpenter" work in the greater Cleveland area. - Henry J. Vanek, 13115 Coath Ave., Cleveland 20, O. CHASSIS Chicago, Ill.: I can wholeheartedly recommend Mr. Sam Solomon of Neo Furniture The New ESPEY and Interiors, 11323 S. Michigan Blvd. He Model 7 -C is a master craftsman who has done work for me personally, as well as for Concord. FEATURES -" He is particularly well suited as he is a high I. AC Superheterodyne AM -FM receiver. He knows 2. Improved Frequency Modulation Circuit, fidelity enthusiast himself. the Drift Compensated. electronic and acoustic aspects peculiar to 3. 12 finest quality tubes, including rectifier. audio installations, as well as the func- 4. 4 dual purpose tubes give 15 tube performance. tional and decorative niceties. - Albert L. 5. Automatic volume control. Concord Radio 6. Inverse Feedback. Whyte, Audio Consultant, 7. High Quality AM -FM reception. Corp. 8. Full -range combination bass-treble tone Hempstead, Y.: May I enter my name control. N. 9. 10 watt (maximum) Push -Pull Audio Output, in your cabinetmaker's file. I not only Beam Power. make the cabinets, but do wood finishing. 10. 12 -inch PM speaker with Alnico V magnet. SPECIFICATIONS H. Indirectly illuminated "slide- rule" dial. I do this part time, at home, where I have Supplied ready to operate, complete with 12. Loop antenna for AM and Folded Dipole a well equipped shop. - Matthew Marcin, antenna for FM reception tubas, antennas, speaker and all necessary supplied. 135 Martin Ave., Hempstead. hardware for mounting in a table cabinet or 13. Provisions for external antennas. console, including escutcheon. Power con- 14. Wired for phonograph operation with pre - New York, N. Y.: This company is par- sumption - 80 watts. amp tube for reluctance pick -ups. ticularly well equipped for building cus- IS. Licensed under RCA and Hazeltine Patents. Chassis Dimensions: 13 1/2" wide x 9" high 16. RMA listed, Code Symbol #I74. tom jobs as the owner, Mr. Tony Rizzo, is x 9 deep. 17. Microphone input for public address use. a hi -fi fan and knows what is acoustically, Net Weight: 13 lbs. each. I8. Uses latest type miniature tubes. as well as artistically, correct. The company through Sold your favorite parts distributor. is: York Furniture Co., 206 East 47th St., WRITE FOR CATALOGUE HF -2 Makers of fine rodios since 1928. New York City. -J. R. Austin, Calvert CONTAINING PRICES AND COMPLETE Distillers Corp., N. Y. DETAILS OF ALL MODELS Please - will readers continue to send us TEL. TRafalgar 9 -7000 their recommendations, so the file will MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC. cover the whole Country. 526 EAST 72nd STREET. NEW YORK 21. N. Y. Continued on page 89

www.americanradiohistory.com NOTED WITH INTEREST Continued from page 88 FAR MORE DIAMOND Keeping Score than mere NEEDLES It doesn't take any great amount of musical knowledge but it does add a lot to the AMPLIFIERS pleasure of listening, if musical scores of 214 -A $1050 the great compositions can be followed two or- POSTAGE while the records play. At least ganizations make a specialty of preparing inexpensive scores for just this purpose: by now No doubt you have learned Lea Pocket Scores, and Boosey and Hawkes. that the needle in your record player Cost is from $1 up to $3 or so, depend- is not permanent. It is tipped with ing on the length of the musical work. For either sapphire or osmium metal complete information, write Lea at P. O. which should be changed after about Box 138, New York 32, N. Y., and Boosey 20 hours of playing, in order to pro- & Hawkes at 3o West 97th St., New York tect your valuable records. 19, N. Y.

This means that if you use your Wanna Drool? record player on an average of an hour a day these needles need re- If you do, just send off to Ampex Electric, placing about every three weeks at Redwood City, Calif. for a circular de- a cost of between $1.50 to $3.50. scribing the latest addition to their line of This one is a portable unit, Because of this frequent needle tape recorders. operating at 71/2 and 15 ips. Response is changing you have of course learned specified as flat within 2 db. from 7o to how to install a new one when re- 10,000 cycles at 71/2 ips., or from 5o to quired. 15,000 cycles at 15 ips. We quaver a little H. H. SCOTT at the price (though, actually, it's well Why not, then, retip your present within reason, considering quality and oper- amplifiers replaceable needle with a genuine ating features) - $985 ... but a fella can diamond. One that will give you at dream, can't he? give you complete least 1000 hours of high fidelity, music- control systems distortion -free record playing plea- Mighty Midget sure with the comforting assurance Frankly, whether you buy H. H. Scott your wisest your costly records will remain in California, we bring to amplifiers or second -best, that While we're out is as an amplifier those product investment versatile undamaged - particularly your attention another worthwhile as you can afford. Why? In operation, long -playing micro groove records, of that State: a portable transcription you must cope with many recording so finely grooved and sensitive to a player announced by Newcomb Audio characteristics and all kinds of records worn stylus? Products, 6824 Lexington Ave., Holly- -old, new, noisy, quiet, clean, distorted. wood 38. Takes records up to i71/2 ins. at The real test of amplifier quality is speeds of or 78. Has a 12 -in. speaker, superb music under all conditions, poor Send us your replacement needle 33, 45, amplifiers is equipped with dual G -E reluctance cart- as well as good. H. H. Scott assembly now-today. Let us retip give and weighs only 33 lbs. exactly that. it with the highest quality genuine ridge, No other amplifiers have any of the diamond stylus -exactly the same exclusive H. H. Scott control and com- Static Eliminator pensating features. kind that we make for leading radio ... Wide -range listening flexibility stations the country over. Save the of unique continuous 3- channel There is apparently no way of eating our difference between $10.50 for 1000 tone controls cake and having it, too. We thought we had hours of playing and up to $3.50 for ... New automatic loudness control gotten rid of static by switching from AM compensating for the different 20 hours. And also save because to FM. But along come LP records, and response of your ears to high and you deal directly with a leading the gremlin is with us again. The trouble low notes at different volumes manufacturer of diamond styli for is not due to the fact that they are LP's. ... The amazing DYNAURAL noise broadcast use who is in a position to It is caused by the plastic from which the suppressor which virtually eliminates record scratch and LP hiss offer the lowest price available for records are made. The vinylite picks up dust, which without losing music, combined diamonds of this quality. static electricity, which picks up with which then is ground into the record, ... A record -distortion filter and a Our diamond tips are uncondition- makes with the customary crackles and pops pickup level adjustment ally guaranteed and are made for - just like AM radio. However, there's In all- around performance, H. H. Scott field. LP or standard records. Send check an inexpensive answer for LP's: a product amplifiers stand unique in the Stati- Clean, put out by Walco or money order for $10.50 plus 25c known as Products, Inc. of 6o Franklin St., East hear these amazing for return postage with your needle Orange, N. J. It comes in 1 oz. bottles or if assembly or complete cartridge 6 oz. aerosol spray cans. Best procedure amplifiers at LEONARD you cannot remove the replacement seems to be to take the new LP - before it three sound studios, courteous hi -fi ex- needle assembly (except Pickering is played even once - wipe it off with a perts to help you with music at its best. to: the spray can and go non -replaceable type) soft, damp rag, take You will want our new High Fidelity catalogue. ph -t -t a couple of times on each side. If Write Dept. A the LP has been used a while, wiping off TELEPHONE: COETLANDT 70315 THE TRANSCRIBER CO. with a soapy rag first will help remove Diamond Styli Manufacturers some of the imbedded dust. Stati -Clean is not a cure; it is a preventati'e. 172 Green St. Dept. H Boston 30, Mass. If you already have dust ground in, you'd Continued on page 90

www.americanradiohistory.com NOTED WITH INTEREST Continued from page 89 THE

better get a noise suppressor. But Stati- AUDIO Clean will help keep matters from getting any worse. We asked Bob Walcutt, V. P. of Walco, EXCHANGE if spraying Stati -Clean on our table -model AM radio would help that kind of static. A FULL Our policy of offering best value He said "No ". in guaranteed ACOUSTICAL LENS used high quality audio equip- Packaged Custom Installations ment now extends to these NEW items, FOR LOUD custom -built for us: We had an inquiry about our Magazine SPEAKER from the A & A High Fidelity Associates in WILLIAMSON- CIRCUIT AMPLIFIERS Chicago, so wrote to find out what they with complete choice of output trans- associated about. Seems they have USE been formers. Oil -filled condensers used making packaged custom installations at a throughout. 807 output tubes. Distributing a cost of $160. That is, they have a single, uniform sound standard set of components, including a AE -100 $85.00 to $145.00 wave over the entire Webster- Chicago 106-27 with magnetic audio spectrum, the new heads, a Bell 2122 -A Jim Lansing acoustical lens or Bogen DB10 ampli- TEN WATT CONSUMERS' RESEARCH fier, a coaxial speaker, and all necessary smooths out the high frequencies and the ALL -TRIODE AMPLIFIER gives them a mellowness that your ear wires, precut, soldered, ready to connect. will appreciate instantly. Unlike the In the Chicago area, they do simple cabinet multicellular horn, which performs well work; elsewhere they sell the group of com- at some frequencies but beams or dis- ponents, provide coordinated instructions tributes very poorly at others, the new and technical advice if needed. The street lens is not sensitive to frequency...be- address is 1520 West Foster cause the band width is wider than the Avenue. audio spectrum with which it is used. The new lens and horn is for use with S. G. A. E. the Jim Lansing #175 high frequency drip er. Which stands for Sociedad General de TRANSPARENCY CAN BE MEASURED! Autores de Espana. Which, in turn, hopes Transparency or absorption to tape record Spanish music in Spain. In in the new Jim Lansing regard to their plans, they "are still very Tubes: 6SC7, (2) 6SN7, 6J5, (2) acoustical lens much in the experimental stage. It will 6B4, is measured in the same way take some time for all the equipment to be 5U4. Radio and phono (GE, Picker- as it is in the optical lens assembled in Madrid; then further ing) inputs. Output impedances 4, 8, -by index of time will refraction. pass before the technical difficulties, 16, 250, 500 ohms. Frequency res- The percentage of sound ab- arising sorbed by the Jim Lansing from the instability of the electric current ponse 20 to 15,000 cycles t 1 db. acoustical lens is less than the in Spain, can be ironed out." - We'll keep Total harmonic distortion: less than percentage of light absorbed readers posted. 2.5% at 10 watts, 2.5% at 11.8 by the finest optical lens. watts at mid -frequencies. The Professional Touch W -I -D -E DISTRIBUTION ANGLE! AE -110 $75.00 The angle of distribution which is controlled by curvature and index of refrac- Cabinet drawers that slide in and out on tion can now be varied between wide ball bearings add the professional touch, SPEAKER CORNER ENCLOSURE, BASED limits...permitting the sound to be con- if you know where to get the drawer slides. ON THE FAMOUS centrated or diffused. BRIGGS DESIGN. The 175 DLH Grant Pulley and Hardware Co., 31 -85 shown above (Sound Reproduction, p. (driver, lens and horn) Whitestone Parkway, Flushing, 33.) A fine distributes over a 90° solid angle. N. Y. tells us that they have two styles available, for furniture piece with choice of finishes, side and for underneath mounting, in a which outperforms by far most cor- range of sizes providing normal travel from ner cabinets. 9 to 121/2 ins. AE -300 $74.00 ENTERING LIGHT OR - LIGHT OR SOUND WAVES SOUND SPREADING Relentless Energy The workmanship on all custom -built WAVES OUT EVENLY equipment is guaranteed to be of unex- If you need 1 minute and 26 seconds of Re- celled quality. A liberal allowance for lentless Energy (backed by 1 min. 20 secs. of Hidden Power), write immediately to your present equipment can be credited Audio -Master Corp., 341 Madison Avenue. toward the purchase of this new equipment. A graphical diagram or ray tracing of the operation New York 17, N. Y., for their record No. of the Jim Lansing acous- Data sheets on the above items, as well as tical negative lens showing focal point 272. If that sounds too vigorous, you might and diffusion angle as controlled by complete catalogue of guaranteed used curvature and index of refraction. try No. 26o, which will supply you with equipment gladly sent upon request. Ask your audio dealer 3 mins. 6 secs. of Courting and 3 mins. 9 for demonstration of secs. of Love Scene ... or at least, music the new Jim Lansing to effect. pass acoustical lens today! that - We along this tidbit of information because the time may come when you need a specific bit of background THE music. Meantime, their catalog is intri- guing and available for the asking. Someday, AUDIO we're going to succumb and send for No. 268, which backs up 3 mins of Seduction 2439 FLETCHER DRIVE with 11/2 mins. of Good Old Times plus EXCHANGE, INC. LOS ANGELES 3 9, CALIFORNIA 11/2 mins. of Peaceful Finale. 85-08 168th Place, Jamaica 32, New York

FIRST IN FINE SOUNC Continued on page 94 OLympia 8 -0445

www.americanradiohistory.com AUTHORitatively Speaking ch i/07( '4c thcz[c> ic42 Continued from page 3 NO OTHER CARTRIDGE CAN galley. It was just that we had picked the LIKE A PICKERING wrong time to subject our author to the PERFORM tedium of proofreading: he was on' his honeymoon. Unfortunately, editors are not respecters of such mundane interruptions to publication schedules. Proofread- ing went on as usual. Incidentally, Shirley patented design is president of Televex, and we announce this in spite of his suggestions to the contrary. He believed that readers would feel he might be biased. We feel that a) if he i1T L i1al * is biased (which he isn't) readers ought to dFo,, DYAit I t know about it, and b) that being who he range is, he should know what he is talking about throughout the entire audible (which he does), and readers ought to V;ell- inforptred engineers and t., hnicians, schooled in know that only wide- know that, too. * DYNAMIC the scietiee of electro-mechanics,, COUPLING range frequency response' provides full transient re- Many months ago, we received a group of ASSURES sponse; the electronic "phenomena which enables the reproduction of orchestral music with all the subtle subscriptions from Hawaii. Later, another constant stylus contact sounds that gicr' each musical instrument its individual group came in so many that we decided with the record grooves - character. to find out what was going on. Thus we are over the entire audio spectrum (20- 20,000 cps) now able to publish the interesting report and designers have but one objec- full frequency response Pickering engineers on Music in Hawaii, on page 47, by Carl tive to produce products that will please the music full transient response ... von Wehrden. About himself, the author lovers' insatiable appetite for the flawless recreation of writes, "My interest in high quality audio NO RESONANCES recorded music ... for the utmost in quality insist upon stems from my job as sound and projection NO MISTRACKING Pickering Audio Components. engineer, currently (for the past two and NO GRINDING OF one -half years) for the Pacific Army -Air GROOVE WALLS Force Motion Picture Service and, since 5940, for the Army -Air Force Motion Pic- Pickering Cartridges transmit ture Service on the mainland. I have been all of the sounds in the musi cal spectrum, without loss of the guiding hand behind the formation of definition, lust as a fine opti- d COMPANY, INCORPORATED Hawaii Audio Society and am currently cal lens passes all of the col- the ors in the rainbow. its president. I sometimes wonder at my OCEANSIDE, NEW YORK For literature address Dept. H present involvement with electronics, especially in view of the fact that I graduated an ME, but I love it." The "RESCONIAN" Custom Hatched This month, we add two well -known names to our record review staff. There is little HIGH FIDELITY SOUND SYSTEM need to introduce either Alfred Franken- offers stein, music critic for the San Francisco The "RESCONIAN" high fidelity system a brilliantly matched ensemble to delight the Chronicle, or John Conly, writer in many most devout music lover yet the price is on hi -fi and music. We are - GENERAL ELECTRIC publications unbelievably low -only $185.00. Comes MAGNETIC CARTRIDGE indeed fortunate to have critics of such ready to play- complete with connecting Model RPX -050 caliber on our reviewing staff, and are grate- cables 8 plugs. already ful to them for making time in their Every part of this superb system gives out- full schedules for HIGH -FIDELITY. WEBSTER- CHICAGO GROMMES standing performance. The Webster- Chicago RECORD PLAYER AMPLIFIER record player, teamed with the GE Variable Model 101 -270 Model 50PG Reluctance Cartridge, plays all three speeds with faultless reproduction. The world famous Meissner 8C has long been recognized as a TRADER'S MARKETPLACE classic by music lovers. The Grommes 50PG Amplifier performs with the brilliance of Here's the place to buy, swap, or sell amplifiers selling for two and three times MEISSNER more. The University 6201 Coaxial Speaker TUNER only 20e a BC audio equipment. Rates are was chosen for its accurate reproduction of Model word (including address) or $20 an inch, frequencies from the very low to the very high. and your advertisement will reach 20,000 Come in to ovr modern sound department and hear the sensational "RESCONIAN." You'll be to 40,000 audiophiles. Remittance must amazed at how well a system con sound - yet accompany copy and insertion instructions. cost so little. If distance prevents a trip to our studio you can order this system by mail. It will °.° be carefully packed and promptly shipped. 185 UNIVERSITY COAXIAL SPEAKER SALE: Practically unused amplifier, direct coupled, Model 6201 absolute fidelity Amplifier Corp. of America Model No. ACA 100 GE. Make offer. J. Brown, 1631 Walton Radio Electric Service Co. Y. Ave., New York 52, N. Dept. S -52 7th d Arch Streets PARTNER WANTED for established High Fidelity 7TH & ARCH STREETS Philadelphia 6, Pa. business in Washington, D. C. Write to Box D High - 3 -5840 Gentlemen: Fidelily Magazine, P. O. Box 600, Great Barrington, PHILA. 6, PA. LOmI and Please send me your latest high fidelity sound Mass. BRANCHES catalogue supplement. St. potential from your Hi -Fi radio- 3412 Germantown Ave. 1042 Hamilton GET THE greatest Allentown, Po. Name phonograph-tape-speaker, (television) units; we Philadelphia, Pa. 916 Northampton St. specialize in building custom cabinets to engineering 5930 Market Street Address specifications. Contemporary or period designs to Philadelphia, Pa. Easton, Po. suit individual taste. Expert craftsmanship, choice of 3rd 8 Tatnall Sts. City State ... woods and finishes, glass, wrought iron, used. BERAN- Wilmington, Del. ORBAN OR 4-6123, 22 Astor PI, N. Y. C.

www.americanradiohistory.com in every phase of custom building Annual Index by Subjects

NOTE: in the listing below, the first figure the criterion walffilwilwwwwla is the issue number, the second (in italics) is the page number,

Acoustics, Room 3-25 Air -Couplers I-42, 3-22 cabinetry design Amplifiers: audio engineering Controls 4-19 How to Select I-40, 2-19 custom service F -A -S 1-42 "Viewer's" 1-59 Output Power Requirements I-S7, 2-20 Audio Fair, New York 3-7 List of Exhibitors 3-84 the electronic workshop Audio Nerve Center I-18 Bass Response, Improving 1-42 Beethoven on Records 4-33 Bookshelf Installation 1-54 Broadcasting: Concert Stations 1 -15 FM 2-33, 3-13, 4-60 FM Station List 3-29, 4-8 Budget Your High Fidelity 2 -17 Cabinets - see Custom Installations Carrying Case for Recorder 4-59 Cartridges, how to change 4 -30 bleecker at tenth Children, Records for 1-53 Compensation - see Record Compensation new Connecting Equipment 2 -22 york city 14 Controls: Oregon 5 -2631 custom builder's brochure upon request Tone I -18, i -41, 2 -20, 4-19 Volume 1-18, 4-19 See also: Record Compensators Noise Suppressors Crossover Networks AVAILABLE FOR RECORD PLAYERS! I-44 Wo tk tiftútte- All Custom Installations: hear your LP recordings as Design 1 -29, 2 -40, 4 -13 ONLY PRACTICAL Photographs 1 -29, 2 -30, 2 -40 THE FOR LP you never heard them before! NEEDLE 3-49, 4-13, 4-27, 4-57 RECORDINGS RECORD Discs, private collections 4-7 PER COSTS LESS Dividing Networks - See Crossover PLAYING NEE Networks DISCS AND TIME BOTH S Edit Your Tapes 4 -16 'Rs,\110M. MANY LAST Equipment Cabinet 4-57 LONGER Equipment Reports: DM Brociner preamp- equalizer 3 NEEDLE SEIV -8o Fairchild arm and cartridges 3-82 F -A -S System I-42, 3-22 FM Station Your record collection deserves the DUOTONE DIAMOND! List 3-29 Revisions 4-8 Ordinary needles wear three times faster on LP records, permanently impair record quality. Duotone Diamonds finer tip retains shape, reproduces with higher fidelity, Frequency Response 4 -66 preserves record quality and affords the convenience of the most permanent stylus Hearing and the Ear ever made. Enjoy all the superb original music and protect your costly recordings 3-17 with Duotone's new LP exclusive! Authentic laboratory tests by recognized sound Hi -Fi- Phrenia 2 -13 experts reveal diamond to be the only practical, economical LP needle! Klipschorn - How to get best results from I M ^de expressly for LP players by -10 Library, Records on Loan 1-36 IT 1 DUOTONE SEE COMPANY Loudspeaker and the Ear NOW KEYPORT, NEW JERSEY 3-17 ITe. Famous for phono needles, recording needles, Loudspeakers: discs and quality sound accessories. Coaxial 2-25 Design 4-14 Enclosures I-IO, I-38, 2-24, 2-27 Klipschorn I-10 CLIP MAIL TODAY ... Performance 4-66 Placement I-31 WHAT EVERY AUDIOPHILE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT NEEDLES! I Selection 1-56, 2-23 44P. NEW, '52 NEEDLE GUIDE! DUOTONE, INC. Testing Describes: Locust Street I-56, 3-25, 4-66 Tweeters 2-25 A Correct DIAMOND needle replace- Keyport, New Jersey ment for individual set. Send free Duotone Needle Guide. Woofers 2-25 Simple installation instructions for Name Making a Metal Matrix 3-61 all needle replacements. Address Microphones: Description of original needle sup- City Zone... State Catalog, and Selection of 3-56 plied with each model. Phonograph Model Continued on page 93

www.americanradiohistory.com HIGH - FIDELITY Annual Index Continued from page 92 Itow-ru ca4 , by Subjects ,betiove, e,,t#01 TAPE RECORDER Music Between 2 -63 Music in Hawaii 4-47 /hem/ $79.45 Music on the Air 1 -15 ONLY Needles - See Styli Noise Suppressors I -i8, 4-19 r Opera Buffa on Records 3-33 Oscillograms 4 -66 Phonograph Installation 1 -54 Pickup, Fairchild 3 -82 Pickups, Phonograph 2 -32 Preamplifier- Compensator, Brociner 3 -8o Preamplifiers 1-18, 3-31 Pre -recorded Tapes 2-7, 3-74 Radio Stations: WGBH 4-60 TAPEMASTER TH -21 TAPE TRANSPORT WMIT 2-33 Readers' Forum 2-9, 3 -9, 4-9 Record: Compensation 3-31 Manufacture 3-61 Manufacturers, LP - List of 3-41 Selection 3-39 TAPEMASTER PA -1 PREAMPLIFIER RECORD REVIEW SECTION t-61, 2-57 3-42, 4-49 At last ! A dual track 71/2" per sec. Also articles on tle PLAY BACK tape recorder worthy Beethoven 4-33 of HI -FI rating, at a price lower than Children's I-53 CRAFTSMEN 500 THROUGH $80! Your TAPEMAS- Music Between 2 -63 TER includes the self - ULTRA FIDELITY powered recording Opera Buffa 3-33 and playback pre- Popular 2-62 audio amplifier and the YOUR OWN amplifier 1 when we transport mecha- Repertory Unlimited -25 Even we were amazed nism with the fine Schubert 2-36 tested this remarkable amplifier. SHURE record -play- AMPLIFIER erase head. Trans- Semi- Classical 2 -63 Never before, in our experience port plus pre-am- Recording: (or yours) has such remarkable plifier PLUS your own audio amplifier equals a I -18, 3-31 professional tape recorder- playback worth Characteristics performance been recorded. The $300 -$400. Note: units are furnished com- Tape 2-45, 3-56, 4-59 -free. C -500 is 99.99+ %distortion pletely wired, with inter -connecting cables - Wire 4-25 no wiring required. Available in two compact We had to think of a new word for custom instal- Records: separate units (illustrated) it. The word is ULTRA - lation, or installed in a rugged portable carry- 1 -53 to describe For your Child and ing case, TAPEMASTER offers the ultimate in FIDELITY. Hear the "500" flexibility. Features include: RTMA standard Of the Great 3 -39 why. 712" per sec. tape speed : 70 -8000 cps response: On Loan 1 -36 you'll know flutter less than 0.5 %; fast forward; rewind Repertory Unlimited 1-25 20:1 speed; handles 7" reel of type "B" tape C500 Amplifier Features - 1 hour dual track playing time; full monitor- Residence Entertainment Center 4-13 ing; inputs for radio-phono and mike; outputs Response Curves 4 -66 FAMOUS W ILLIAMSON all-triode to amplifier and headphones; one knob mechanism control; push-pull supersonic bias and Schubert on Records 2 -36 circuit. erase ; neon level indicator. Preamp has master Selecting a Speaker 1-56 db., 20 switch for selection of tape play- record, or FREQ. RESPONSE: ±0.1 radio -phono! Styli: cps to 20,000 cps; ±2 db., 5 Diamond 4-28 cps to 100,000 cps. ORDER YOUR TAPEMASTER BY MAIL! How to Change 4 -30 12 watts Note: TAPEMASTER uses "B" tape - coating Tape Recorder: POWER RESPONSE: facing out. "A" tape may be used after rewind- -}2 db., 10 cps to 50,000 cps. ing to face out. Carrying Case 4-59 TYPE DESCRIPTION SIZE NET Installation and Operation 2 -52 TOTAL H DISTORTION: Less TH -21 Transport Mechanism 11x7x51/." $48.95 Tape Recording: than 0.1% at 10 watts, at PA -I Matching Preamp. 10x31/2x5" 30.50 PT -I21 Above in port. case. 12x111/-.x8" 89.95 Part I 2-45 mid- fregs. B 14" 1200 ft. 3.60 Plastic Tape Part II 3 -56 *0.01 % at ay. listening level B 14" Tape 1200 ft. 2.29 Paper Catalog 2 -45 7" Plastic Reel 1200 ft. .50 Equipment below 1 watt. AP 3.35 Crystal Mike Tapes 65N- 75 Mike Plug .38 Editing 4-16 TUBE COMPLEMENT: (2) I(T66 power output; Pre -recorded 2-7, 3-74 7GTA; (2) FREE! RADIO SHACK 1952 CATALOG! Tone Controls - see Controls 5V4G rectifier. NAME for the Juke Box 2-62 Sold by leading radio parts Tops distributors everywhere ST. and NO. I-18, Turnover Frequency 3-31 or write to CITY ZONE STATE Turntables 2-32 Loudspeakers Tweeters: see THE RADIO Viewer's Amplifier 1-59 Volume Controls - See Controls SHACK Volume Expanders I-41 crattsmen RADIO Ave. CORPORATION Wire Recording 4-25 Dept. 112, 4401 N. Ravenswood Woofers: see Loudspeakers Chicago 40, III. Worn Needles 4-28 167 Washington St., Boston 8, Mass. Continued on page 94

www.americanradiohistory.com You CAN Have Annual Index Continued from page 92 Real High Fidelity by Author LET US PUT At Reasonable Cost Briggs, G. A. The Loudspeaker and the Ear 3-17 Arrow knows that thousands want -and need Response Curves 4 -66 -fine high fidelity equipment for their personal Brociner, Victor YOUR. gratification, but feel that it may be too costly. Record Compensators and Preamps 3-31 That's why Arrow is happy to offer top-flight Burke, C. G. equipment that performs beautifully, at down - to -earth prices. Why deny yourself the pleas- Repertory Unlimited 1-25 ure of good music, beautifully reproduced? Schubert on Records 2-36 Arrow has just what you want, at prices that Opera Buffa are well within your budget. 3-33 Beethoven on Records 4-33 Conly, John M. LPPROBLEM Hi- Fi- Phrenia 2 -13 Dale, C. B. What about Wire Recording? 4-25 Eton, Carl IN OUR Tops for the Juke Box 2-26 Fowler, Charles Full Bass Response I-42 Prescription for Better Bass 3-22 Greene, Irving Bookshelf Installation 1-54 Kahn, Albert Residence 10 -Watt Remote Control Entertainment Center 4-13 LAP Kelsey, Philip C. Hi -Fi Amplifier For Your Inspiration I-29 for only 9950 Klipsch, Paul W. How to Get Best Results from a This fine Lowther MAIO Remote Control 10- Klipschorn I -10 to find Watt High Fidelity Amplifier is an excellent Hard classical, example of the superb quality you can get Landeck, Beatrice from Arrow at low cost. For only $99.50, here Records for Your Child I-53 is the "heart" of an excellent high fidelity Macy, Alan C. jazz and folk music on phono or phono -radio system that, experts claim, Audio I-18 performs as well as units at much higher cost. Nerve Center Tape Recording, Part I 2-45 small labels - or any EVERY ADVANCED FEATURE Part II 3-56 For only $99.50 the MA10 gives you 20 to Merritt, Edward L., Jr. 40,000 cps frequency range with less than 1% The Music Between 2-63 L. P. record listed distortion at full power. The MA10 has sep- Mogan, Dolors G. arate, fully variable bass and treble controls. Records on Loan I-;6 It has a built -in pre -amplifier for use with in Catalog magnetic cartridges in its handsome remote Murdock, William J. control cabinet. It is rated excellent in com- How to Lose Friends 4-2(, ponents, design and construction. Newcomb, Robert E. mailed to you - on UNCONDITIONALLY GUARANTEED How to Select an Amplifier 1-40 Pomper, Victor H. Drop in to Arrow's high fidelity studio and let receipt of the MAIO itself show you how good it is. Controls and the Amplifier 4.19 check or Or try one in your own home for 30 days, Rollie, Allen and if you honestly believe you can get better Music in the Home 4-27 money or if value for your audio dollar, we'll gladly Schoedsack, Ernest B. order- you refund your purchase price. We've sold hundreds with this bona -fide guarantee and have Edit your Tape 4-16 yet to be asked for a refund. Shirley, Gerald prefer c.o.d. Drop in for full details -or send us the coupon Danger! Worn Needles 4-28 below. But, best of all, hear it yourself -and Sleeper, Milton B. be convinced that you CAN have real high By Way of Introduction 1-6 fidelity at reasonable cost from ARROW. All sent More FM Broadcasting 2-33 Records I 5,000-Cycle FM Broadcasting 3-13 ARROW/ ELECTRONICS INC. WGBH: Station with a Purpose 4-60 Post Paid. IT COITIANDT ST., NOW YORK 7. N. Y. DIGIT -71 Sprinkle, Melvin Viewer's Amplifier I-59 ARROW ELECTRONICS, INC., Thomas, William H. 82 Cortlandt Street, Selecting a Speaker I-56 Write to New York 7, N. Y. Enclosed is $ ...... for which ship me a Lowther MAIO Remote Control Amplifier, with unconditional 30 -day money NOTED WITH INTEREST back guarantee. Continued from page Send data on Lowther MA10. 90 Send Free Arrow Hi- Fidelity Brochure. Jic "3)3Sa1C i3 Send Free constructional booklet on high fidelity speaker enclosure cabinets. A Chance to Ogle 279 Main Street

NAME...... _...... _...... Great Barrington, Mass. New York area audio - philes will have a Address...... chance to ogle the myriad wonders of the radio industry when the Institute of Radio City...... _...... Zone ...... State ...... Continued on page 96

www.americanradiohistory.com ADVERTISING INDEX Airex Radio Corp. 75 Allied Radio Corp. 73 Altec Lansing Corp. 79 Ampex Electric Corp. 70 Arrow Electronics, Inc.. 94 Audio Devices, Inc. Music comes to LIFE right in your liv- The Changer: Webcor 101 -270. Inside Front Cover ing room with a "Sun Radio PAGEANT The Pickup: General Electric RPX -050 Audio Exchange, Inc 90 Home Music System ". Priced within The Speaker: University Diffusicone 12 reach of all music lovers. Top quality Prefabricated for instant use within Bell Sound Systems, Inc. 71 at a price that makes sense. minutes after unpacking. Pre- tested Berlant Associates 76 Here's what you get for .... $155.00 for quality in our audio laboratories. British Industries, Inc. 86 The Tuner: Meissner 8CC FM Tuner. Immediate delivery. Order now. Brociner Electronic Lab. 74 The Amplifier: Grommes 50PG. Same Package, Less Tuner... $112.50 Brook Electronics, Inc. 80 Browning Laboratories, Inc 8

Ulric J. Childs 78 Columbia Records Back Cover Concord Radio Corp 86 Sun Radio's "ORIGINAL" Duotone, Inc. 92 Audio Handbook 92 Again SUN RADIO brings you a new edition of Electronic Workshop this valuable handbook acclaimed by thousands Electro- Voice, Inc. 5 of Music Lovers as the "Bible" for high- fidelity Espey Mfg. Co., Inc. 88 home music reproduction from radio& records. 132 pages of down -to -earth information on "How Garrard Sales Corp 2 To" assemble, install or improve music repro- General Apparatus Co. 87 ducing equipment in the home. Clear, non- technical text written for the l a y m a n. New General Electric Co. 7 Ideas -- New Methods -- New Systems. Write & ELECTRONICS CO. INC. in Free Copy. Gray Mfg. Co. 10 today to Dept. F or come for your 122-F DUANE ST... NEW YORK 7, N. Y. Open Daily 9 -6, Sat. 9 -4:30 Harvey Radio Co. 81 BARCLAY 7-1840 High -Fidelity Magazine.... 80, 82 Hudson Radio & TV Corp.. .. .78 Jensen Mfg. Co. 1 Klipsch & Associates 84 The music you love sounds better Lansing Sound Corp. 90 Leonard Radio, Inc 83 with a Magnecord, Inc. 9 McIntosh Engineering Lab. 95 The Music Box 94 Newcomb Audio Pdts. Co. 77

Permof"ux Corp. 11 Pickering & Co., Inc. 91 Presto Recording Co. 12 50W -2 Amplifier Most Efficient Amplifier Radio Craftsmen, Inc. 93 50 Watts (Peak: 100) World's Radio Electric Service Co. 91 Unsurpassed for performance and Radio Shack Corp. 93 Reaches audio peaks from 200 to quality - your entire record collection Radio Wire Television, Inc. 96 400 times the average power of speech and music (either tape or disc) will reproduce Rek -O -Kut Co. 78 better with lifelike reality through this Russellcraft Co., Inc. 96 Less than 1% distortion at peak new amplifier circuit. power Herman Hosmer Scott, Inc... 85, 89 Unequaled for quality reproduction of with variable the offers Stephens Mfg. Co. 72 Works perfectly any sound source, McIntosh impedance load OVER 65% EFFICIENCY; DYNAMIC Sun Radio & Electronics Co. 95 RANGE OVER 70 db.; FREQUENCY 1% intermodulation distortion at RESPONSE 20- 20,000 cps. Televex 85 peak power Terminal Radio Corp. Music lovers agree that McIntosh gives Inside Back Cover superlative audio reproduction! Traders Marketplace 91 AE 8 -stage Amplifier Equal- Transcriber Co. 89 20W -2 2 Amplifier izer perfectly matches the stable, distortion -free ampli- University Loudspeakers, Inc.. 88 20 Watts (Peak: 40) fier performance. Voice and Vision, Inc. 76 Send for Free Catalog ENGINEERING LABORATORY, Inc. Webster- Chicago Corp. 6 McINTOSH Westminster Records 74

www.americanradiohistory.com NOTED WITH INTEREST et,e4rombied Sem Continued from page 94 Engineers puts on its annual show at the Grand Central Palace, March 3 through 6, inclusive. Ogling hours are 9:30 to 9:00 except on Wednesday, on which day the powers that run these affairs decided we should be allowed to go home and soak our aching feet at 6 o'clock. Our sister publication, RADIO COMMUNICATION, will hold forth will full confidence in Space 325 on the third floor; HIGH -FIDELITY will be there also, standing shyly in the corner with its mouth hanging open and feeling like a Freshman at the Senior Prom. Factory -Sealed Records We are not certain if this item belongs here in Noted with Interest, or if it should go into the Readers' Forum. Since it is not a letter to us, but rather a copy of one UNI -MODE CABINETS which subscriber George Burnside sent to -46te Columbia Records, we decided on this Pre -cut for your radio, phono and TV components column. Mr. Burnside's comments to Co- lumbia were most interesting and bear quot- Decorator designed Superb finishes Sectionalized ing in full. What do other readers think his Here it is: If your distributor does not handle UNI -MODE, order direct about suggestion? "Gentlemen: from Russellcraft. Write for complete new catalog. "From my recent copy of HIGH- FIDELITY Magazine, I observe your offer to audition two superb examples of high fidelity record- The R USSELLCRAFT eompaHti, ittc ings, which I would be pleased to receive and try on my Home Music System. "I wish to take this opportunity to praise MMI 2541 WEST CERMAK ROAD CHICAGO 8, ILL your action and interest in the audiophile. I appreciate that most of our ever -increasing FORMERLY MFD. BY GRAND RAPIDS WOODCRAFT CORP. group purchase regularly a considerable quantity of records. For one, I like your listing of records having good musical and technical quality, with the basic information given and the record number. I hope you will continue this practice. "Another comment I wish to make con- Read y Now! cerns what I've found to be the weak link in this entire electronic music hobby, usually Guide" referred to as the 'Record Store'. Without ataYette's "High Fidelity malice, I must report that at least one out of every five LP's I have purchased have New 1952 Edition been musically impaired due to previous In these 32 pages devoted exclusively to operation on poor equipment, or careless handling by sales people uninformed con- high fidelity you will find such features as: cerning the handling and playing of the microgroove record. I am forced to the con- complete What is high fidelity Contains a listing of all standard a shelf, makes of audio equipment including such fa- clusion that buying record, off the What constitutes a high fi- that has been played by the record store, mous names as: Altec Lansing Audax delity system bears the same element of chance as pur- Audio Development Bell Bogen Brook The economical way to select Browning Clarkstan Craftsmen Electro- components chasing a used car. You may get a good one, or you may get a lemon. I'll welcome Voice Espey General Electric Jensen Ideas on where to install your Jim Lansing Leak Livingston Magnecord hi -fi system the day I can buy a factory sealed record, Markel Masco without listening to it at the record store. Meissner McIntosh Illustrations of typical wall Pickering Presto RCA Rek -O -Kut installations It would be agreeable to me that such sealed H. H. Scott Stephens Thordarson Uni- could not be returned, unless Ready made cabinets for your merchandise Mode University V -M Webster- Chicago custom installation defective in manufacture." Complete packages shown for the budget -wise, as well as New Book deluxe ensembles including TV FOR YOUR Just as we go to press, a copy of the revised FREE COPY and greatly enlarged edition of Oliver Famous for finest r - MAIL THIS in high- fidelity COUPON Read's well -known text "The Recording radio for nearly TODAY TO Name and Reproduction of Sound" was received 30 years. Visit DEPT. WB Address have full information in High Fidelity Hall for review. We'll at any Lafayette City Zone State the next issue; meantime, those already Branch and com- familiar with the wealth of information in pare the perform- ige¡) 100 AVE. N. Y. 13 the 364 -page first edition will want to place ance of any com- SIXTH bination of hi -fi ((l((- RECTOR 2 -8600 their orders now with HIGH -FIDELITY'S components on our DIV. OF RADIO WIRE TELEVISION, INC. Book Service Dept. for the new, 790 -page - High Fidelity In N. Y. High Fidelity Hall is open Wed. till 9, Sat. till 5. Conveniently (we said it was enlarged!) edition. Cost is Selector Rack. reached by 6th, 7th, 8th Ave. subways, Canal St. Station. Other High Fidelity $7.95 and well worth it. Centers at: 24 Central Ave., Newark and 110 Federal St., Boston. _J - C. F.

www.americanradiohistory.com TERMINAL has the right combination for you ... COORDINATED QUALITY, HELPFUL SERVICE and a P.D.Q.! A Terminal P.D.Q. - "Package Deal Quote" - saves you plenty in TIME and MONEY! You buy a coordinated, matched group of high fidelity sound equipment for your custom installation! Terminal's sound department personnel are fully qualified to assist you - no push- button selling here! You are always assured of personal attention to your particular requirements, friendly expert guidance, and careful selection of the proper components for your utmost satisfaction. CHANGER V -M 955GE 3 -Speed AM -FM TUNER G.E. Triple -Play C -10 WIDE RANGE with RADIO CRAFTSMEN CARTRIDGE provides brilliant improved model built -in Latest both bands. Has performance on and similar improved 4 -pole for G.E., Pickering New, An preamplifier Automatic frequency heavy -duty motor. cartridges. elimi- mixer wide -ronge tuning easy - to - operate circuit simplifies one simple control Features aand changer with nates station drift. sensitivity, knob. Comes cps, microvolts control triple - from ess at full output. equipped with GE 1 distortion less than °/ treble variable reluctance and play in Cascade limiter. and TV audio. and mounted inpu seforr pho o° cartridge controls, metal including ppickup p FM -AM antenna. moving parts, Supplied with Fully ÍarnP oof all injuring mechanism. rectifier. Polished by play with at 11 tubes plus D, arm, may chassis 15" W, 9" r 10 t or12ichr rest chrome 16 lbs. 13150 Automatically Pickup arm returns`xo H. Shipping weight, orsh rpm.rp 131/4" 7" after lost record! Size: and motor shuts of H. x 12" D x 8"

Complete with antennas, RADIO CRAFTSMEN cables and plugs, 8 C -2 AMPLIFIER and PERMOFLUX Royal housings for tuner Horn Reproducer improved circuit. amplifier. Folded New with Designed for use Response Model CB8M -W-S C -10 tuner. COST 20- 20,000 cps. Output NO EXTRA 1% dis- GIVEN AT to in watts with - Designed 10 of matched high living fitroom, edcorner tortion. Overall gain superb P.D.Q. selection ampli- of o famous feed- This includes tuner and Equipped with 70 db. Inverse fidelity equipment mahogany study. PM speaker, impe., finished in rich Royal Eight 8" back. Output fier housings corner baffle. performance ckias- to mulch CB -8 -M for sparkling ohms. Chrome plated leatherette Here is bal- 30 cycles to a 4, 8 and 16 from a low of dances: For 105 -125 V., tone at cycles. Fin- x 10" x 16 ". 4290 anced of 12,000 sis: 7" weight: L its musical high leath- cycles AC. Shipping ished in rich mahogany 60 best AND bol- 12 lbs. ette. 24" a nced ap- for high, 14" pearance wide, 91/2'' 5145 attractive at top, placement in deep RADIO CRAFTSMEN your own 133/4" at bot cabinet or tom. C -500 AMPLIFIER shelves. book Now you can have a BETTER tape

A new 15 watt "ultra - recorder ...this easy, low cost wayl fidelity" amplifier PICKERING using the famousWil- TAPE -MASTER liamson circuit. Gives MAGNETIC CARTRIDGES the remarkable per- NEW GARRARD Marvelous fi- formance for which 3 -Speed this design is world - Manual delity with high level, renowned. Frequency Model M response 20- 20,000 cps ± 0.1 db. Total har- distortion - monic distortion less than 0.01% at average free output. Record Player Assembly Delivers 70 listening level below 1 watt. 995077 m i l l i- volts from 40 Tape transport mechanism for play- to 10,000 cps. Stylus guard protects back with your own audio ampli- jewel tip. High impedence. Simple fier, radio or radio- phonograph mounting in any record changer. combination. Tape speed is RIMA 11NYWRSITY 6201 12 -inch standard 71/2" per second. Fidelity S- 1405 - Pickering magnetic equal to better record COAXIAL cartridge with sapphire 1500 players. Fast forward stylus for microgroove and rewind. Complete SPEAKER records. with instructions and Full -range 25 watt coax- D 140S - With diamond diagrams. ial speaker, 45 to 15,000 stylus. 3600 Tape- Master Preamplifier cps response. Complete with 2000 cycle built -in S -120M- Pickering magnetic cross -over network and cartridge with sapphire stylus for standard groove high frequency attenua - tor. 24 oz. Alnico This is the answer for those who records. V W- are LP libraries. Some AUDAN DL -6 High impe- shaped building - Self -powered recording and play- magnet. 8 found in the dance polyphase turnover -ohm 4410 high craftsmanship as back preamplifier with push -pull impedente. Garrard changer mechanism, but cartridge, equipped with for micro- supersonic bias and erase oscil- much more compact due to straight diamond stylus wired and ready to pho- groove and sapphire for lator. Fully player arrangement. Balanced 40e6 plug in. Has complete master TERMINAL'S own KK -12 no arm, smooth noiseless opera- standard groove records. permanent iistalla- assembly switching for tion make this phono G.E. RPX -050 - Triple -play tion, full monitoring, inputs for KORNER -KABINETS really outstanding. Sup- cartrdige, equipped with radio -phono and micro- plied with two empty car- dual sapphire stylus for phone outputs to ampli- - 3050 for 12" speakers tridge holders (less car 2354(,J standard and microgroove fier and headphones. The answer to your spoce and tridges). records. Complete with instruc- price problems! Acoustically tions. superior to any conventional - type speaker housing. Sturdily constructed of 1/2" thick S -ply plywood throughout, properly reinforced to eliminate reso nonce and give true tone. Un- finished exterior for decorating to harmonize with your room. Complete with removable speaker mounting board, sound - absorbing pads, and hardware. Com- ad-o and Elec'"' - ment pletely assembled, not a kit. 36" high, 2100 NDT STREET, NEW YORK 7, N 32" wide, 23" each side. Add $3.50 for shipping container WOrth www.americanradiohistory.com WIDE RANGE RECORDING AT ITS BRILLIANT BEST!

COLUMBIA Lp RECORDS PRESENTS

rsYmphic . Paraphe Scintillating, vivid -this superb premiere -_ a, paraphrases by ChaP,Slicks" performance of symphonic _ by. _ famous Russian composers is a musical " ! , -r BORODIN CESAR delight -a Hi-Fi holiday! !' .r CUI íAt)py Of particular interest is the spectacular v. . ,,,. , IMSK. range of orchestral color -rich in KOR$q resonances of basses and brasses, finely detailed to make expressive even the -At "' most transient passages for triangle, bells, tambourine! You'll want to own and enjoy this dazzling achievement in high fidelity recording.

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THE WORLD'S LARGEST LIBRARY OF LONG PLAYING RECORDS Trade Marks "Columbia," "Masterworks, "ei), m Reg. U. S. Pot. OR. Marcos Registradas r-- WNW. -- WINO --UMW Columbia Records, Inc. 1473 Barnum Avenue Get this free record! Bridgeport 8, Conn. YOU car "audition" two choice examples of HIGH FIDELITY Please send me the free LP record for Audiophiles I recordirgs. Simply send this coupon and we will mail you a

Name I free 7° LP record (331/3 R'M) containing excerpts from two Street .'Flew Columbia releases. This offer is limited and may be City . one own at any time without notice.