(I-INH Records 4(45, with Fauré's Bonne and significant direction: Everything seems chus: he does manage to get through this chanson and Poulenc's Bol masque) is to be one -heat -to -the -bar. As a result, noth- murderous part without coming to con- larger than life: Janet Baker's (Oiseau-Lyre ing much ever seems to be happening musi- spicuous grief, though the notes around the SOL 298, with Ravel's Trois poémes de cally. break are not really comfortable. and his Mallurmé and songs by Chausson and De- To these reservations must be added the soft singing in the upper register is chancy. lage) is more meltingly tender. The Colum- qualification that the LPO's playing. though We have heard worse performances of this bia recording of the violin -cello sonata by certainly competent and clearly recorded. role: )an Peerce (Leinsdorf) makes a more Jaime Laredo and Leslie Parnas (M 33529) is is hardly up to the level of sume other re- musical effect, and the now deleted BASF more incisive than that of Cohen and Eddy, corded ensembles in this : Karajan's resurrection of a 1935 German broadcast with more lucid stereo separation. and it is Philharmonia (don't miss Dennis Brain's (the -opera only, without the Prologue) pre- paired with the finest performance of Ra- horn playing in "Ein schones war"), the served the genuinely heroic singing of vel's piano trio in my experience. A.C. Vienna Philharmonic (whether for Bühm in I-lelge Roswaenge. 1944 or Leinsdorf in 1959). Kempe's Dresden In Zerhinetta's coloratura intricacies, STRAUSS, R.: , Op. 60. State Orchestra. (On this honor roll cer- Edita Gruberová's accurate singing is hard The Prima Donna: Anadne (s) tainly belongs the Or- to fault, though the legato lines of the Pro- Zerbineda Edita Gruberova (s) chestra as it played this work during the re- logue duet show up a beat in the lower Najade Deborah (s) Cook cent season-will there ever he a range. This is a brittle comedienne. with a Echo Bunowes (s) The Composer Tatiana Troyanos (ms) commercial recording of its present superb squeezed. Slavic tone and a small but dis- Dryade End Hartle (ms) estate?) tinct Slavic accent-far less winning than The : Bacchus René Kollo (t) The Dance Master Heinz Zednik (t) Once upon a time. Leontyne Price might Erna Berger (in the BASF set) or Rita Scaramuccio Kurt Equiluz (t) have done justice to the requirements of Streich (Karajan). Her companions are led Brighella Gerhard Unger (t) Ariadne's music. Occasionally. a phrase by Barry McDaniel (also the Harlekin of An Officer Peter Weber (t) The Music Master Walter Berry(b) still surges out with the familiar tempera- Bcihm's stereo version), a warm, slightly Harlekin Barry McDaniel (b) ment and something like the old warmth wobbly voice: they are more efficient than Truttaldin Manfred Jungwirth (bs) characterful. A Wigmaker Georg Tichy(bs) and richness of tone. A certain rapt inten- A Lackey Alfred Sramek (bs) sity is also germane-in the duet with Bac- In the Prologue. we encounter two old The Major -Domo Erich Kunz (spkr) chus, at "Ich weirs, so ist es (tort wohin du friends: Tatiana Troyanos as the Com- London Philharmonic Orchestra, , mich führest," for example. Most of the pose-, familiar from the second Btihm cond. [Christopher Raeburn, prod.] LONDON time, the tone is dry. wooden, and the Ger- recording. and Walter Berry as the Music OSAD 13131, $26.94 (three discs, automatic man diction insufficiently specific to give Master (which he sang earlier for Leinsdorf, sequence). the character profile. Neither vocally nor also doubling then as Harlekin). Troyanos Comparisons: interpretively can Price's work be coin - is a fine singer and a committed interpreter, Kara(an/Philharmonia Ang. CL 3532 pared to Schwarzkopf's magisterial per- who deserves her success in the part on- Leinsdort/ Vienna Phil. Lon. OSA 13100 formance (in the Karajan set), or to the now stage. Still, for all her strength in the lower Historically, the second version of the unavailable performances of Reining reaches of the part. crucial moments clearly Strauss -I lofmannsthal Ariadne oaf Naxos (Btihm, 1944) or janowitz (Kempe). demand a voice that opens up as it climbs has been remarkably well performed on René Kollo may he a rather plain Bac- toward B flat, and in this she is no match for records. Writing in these pages in February S 1989, Conrad L Osborne hypothesized. 0 "Perhaps it is the special quality of this op- era (and its special difficulty) that has saved it on records: the cast requirements are so

severe and unusual and the orchestral de- - 1 DON'T EVER PAY $7.98 0R mands so high (in terms of quality. of course. not quantity) that one would not MORE FOR QUALITY LP'S & TAPES dream of undertaking the piece without an Why is it that the record you're You can choose from thou- extraordinary assemblage of talent." Not looking for is never on sale'? sands of popular, classical, folk, long thereafter. however, came BOhm's There's a simple answer. and jazz albums, including many stereo version, seriously undercast as far as Most dealers reduce their hard -to -find releases. prices on a few hit albums to All labels. All artists. the opera seria principals were concerned. attract customers into the store. All priced way below list. Now here is the next Ariadne, and the jinx But the rest of their inventory You save up to 50%-and often is still on. if in different ways. sells at or near the full list price. as much as 75%! Get records as The National Record Plan is inexpensive as $1.00. I feel, is The major problem, that Sir different. Want proof? Georg Solti misses the point a good deal of We don't have a fancy store to Send for our 32 page EVERY- the time. At the start of the opera proper, e/ pay rent on. We're located in an THING SALE Catalog listing the G major trio of nymphs has no spine, no old warehouse on 36th Street in thousands of records and tapes EXTRA New York. Because our overhead on sale! See why over 30,000 tonal continuity: I found myself turning up is low ... and because we deal smart record buyers go to the volume trying to hear what was missing DISCOUNTT directly with you, cutting out the National Record Plan. "between the notes." but without success. middlemen ... we can offer low Try us Just once. You'll be FOR NEW sale prices on every record -year convinced. This isn't really a matter of vocal - CUSTOMERS ' round inadequacy: though the lowest voice of the SEE ONLY. r trio is uncertain. the sopranos are firm e190 1 COUPON Natioial Record Plan enough. Essentially, by voices and instru- am Dept. J-1, 315 West 36th Street ments, the music is pecked at: impressionis- New York, N.Y. 10018 tic petit point instead of elegant tapestry. GUARANTEE YOU MUST BE TOTALLY SA rIs- Yes! I want to discover how to save up to 50% (and Ariadne's big solo veers from slow mo- TIED WITH EVERY RECORD OR often morel) on the LP's and tapes I want. tion to virtually no motion at all. the con- TAPE YOU GET FROM NATIONAL RECORD PLAN OR WE WILL Rush my copy of your 32 -page EVERYTHING ductor making enormous ritards to under- REFUND YOUR MONEY NO - SALE CATALOG-listing thousands of LP's and line even the most local cadential events as QUESTIONS ASKED. THIS GUARANTEE COVERS tapes on sale. Also for new customers only- if they were major articulations. And the fi- EVERYTHING YOU BUY FROM US, nclude a special 10% DISCOUNT CERTIFICATE nal duet undergoes the same sort of debili- INCLUDING RECORDS, TAPES- -on purchases of $25.00 or more. EVEN THE CATALOG. Enclosed is $1.00 to help cover postage and tating distensions-occasionally in aid OUR BUSINESS IS BUILT ON of handling. the singers. but as often clearly a matter of THE BASIS OF SATISFIED CUS- _,r TONERS. NO OTHER STORE, NO the conductor's choice. The bufo material. RECORD CLUB, NO OTHER OR- GANIZATION DARES TO MAKE Name on the other hand, though taken at a re- SUCH A COMPREHENSIVE GUAR- Address _ spectably bouncy clip is so uniformly and ANTEE OF SATISFACTION. -tc unvaryingly stressed as to lose both shape City _ State Zip -- L -J JUNE 1979 87 CIRCLE 58 ON PAGE 89