High .Fidelity

High .fidelity

SEPTEMBER

THE CHAMBER MUSIC

OF BRAHMS

P ON RECORDS

PAUL AFFELDER

www.americanradiohistory.com polyester film offers you these important new advantages

1. many times stronger 2. withstands extreme temperatures 3. impervious to moisture 4. maximum storage life most permanent magnetic recording medium ever developed

Audiotapc on "Mylar" polyester film provides a degree of permanence and durability unattainable with any other base material. Its exceptional mechanical strength makes it practically unbreakable in normal use. Polyester remains stable over a temperature range from 58° below zero to 302° Fahren- heit. It is virtually immune to humidity or moisture in any concentration - can be stored for long periods of time without embrittling of the base material. The new polyester Audiotape has exactly the same mag- PHYSICAL PROPERTIES netic characteristics as the standard plastic -base Audiotape "Mytar" polyester film compared to ordinary plastic base material - assures the same BALANCED PERFORMANCE and (cellulose acetate) faithful reproduction that have made it first choice with so many professional recordists all over the world. 1 Mil 1.5 Mil 2 Mil 1.5 Mil PROPERTY "MYLAR" "MYLAR" "MYLAR" Acetate If you have been troubled with tape breakage, high humidity or dryness, Audiotape on "Mylar" will prove well Tensile Strength, psi 25,000 25,000 25,000 11,000 worth the somewhat higher price. In standard thickness Impact Strength, kg-cm 90 170 200 10 (11/2 mil), for example, the cost is only 50% more than Tear Strength, grams 22 35 75 5 regular plastic base tape. Break Elongation, % 80 95 105 20 Ask your dealer for our new folder describing Audiotape Softening Point, °F 464 -473 464 -473 464 -473 149-230 on "Mylar ". Or write to Audio Devices, Inc. Moisture Absorption, % (at 100% RH) 0.3 0.3 0.3 9.0 Bending Modulus,. psi 500,000 500,000 500,000 350,000

Flex Life, cycles at 0° F 20,000 500 audiatape audiodises AUDIO DEVICES, Inc. audiop.oints 444 Madison Ave., New York, 22, N. Y. audi,otftiin, Export Dept., 13 East 40th St., New York 16, N. Y., Cables "ARLAB"

www.americanradiohistory.com A C H I E V E M E N T O F A

For those who pursue the ultimate -the rediscovery of perspective in music...

The stiinulat on and pleasure gained by listening to a live performance is the result of much more than frequency range considerations.

Here is a revolution -the use of true proportions of sound in authentic reproduction including smooth coverage of the complete useful frequency range and thus recreating the fine performance with the greatest possible degree of accuracy.

Voices come to life and there's a new almost geometrical separation of instruments. A three -way system with 1 -f unit loaded by a new- design reactance -annuling trilateral -mouth horn for bass; selected compression- driver horn -loaded mid channel with intrarange equalizer for a final touch to precise balance and coloration elimination; and superlatively smooth, space-blended supertweeter top. Each instrument is individually serial numbered and accompanied with a signed certificate certifying that the reproducer fully meets the exacting performance standards set for it. (Components and performance are the same as for RS -100 Laboratory Reference Standard Reproducer.)

PR -100 "IMPERIAL" REPRODUCER

ST -919. Selected Mahogany. Net Price $525.00 ST -918. Satin Korina. Net Price 535.00

LABORATORY STANDARD

Built for research comparison

The Imperial was designed by the Jensen engineering staff for their own use as a reference standard of the highest quality of high -fidelity reproduction. In this original laboratory version the RS -100 Laboratory Ref- erence Standard Reproducer is a new and important tool for sound, recording and broadcast engineers, workers in psy- choacoustics and music critics who require an unusually high quality of reproduction. Some music lovers and audiophiles will undoubtedly want to own an RS -100. Cabinet is plywood attractively two -toned in blue gray.

RS -100 LABORATORY REFERENCE STANDARD REPRODUCER

ST -920. Net Price $468.00

ensen Jensen -world's quality standard for more than a quarter century. Division of the Muter Co. elMANUFACTURING COMPANY 6601 S. Laramie, Chicago 38, Illinois

www.americanradiohistory.com N OW . . . the first and only complete R -J unit ... the definitive combination among compact, B.1. C. high performance speakers ... ready for use ... a brilliant pairing of two great names. ENDORSEDOuu $ 50 Model SSMC ...Mahogany V net COMPLETE (Speaker. Enclosure, jand Grillet

Model S8BC ...Blonde $57.50 n, t ditrt 01"" V-

II" high 10" deep 28%" long.

Vi. -a Wharfedale, de- .°74 is the orig- signed and constructed under personal super- inal, authentic R -J Single Shelf vision of G. A. Briggs, specifically to match model... the revolutionary idea this R -J Enclosure ! This 8" speaker incorpo- which literally "established" to- rates all the advanced Wharfedale elements day's trend to small speaker en- aluminum voice coil ; cast chassis; a felt closures. Expertly built of heavy, "buffer" between the speaker cone and frame. top quality genuine Mahogany or Demand for Wharfedales has always ex- Korina veneers, in hand rubbed ceeded supply- making them highly valued as dark or blonde finish. components. Now pre -package, this great speaker lends its brilliance to the first and /I.4%..ex (Cgs?eepdscrced only R -J combination. "Maximum Bass ... Minimum Space!" ( Use with any loudspeaker) Full efficiency at normal room listening levels!

With any well- designed speaker, FLUX DENSITY: 10,000 lines each R -J unit offers thrilling per- IMPEDANCE: 10 ohms I11I111IIIIIMIIIIIIIMEENIMMIN formance ... smooth bass funda- TOTAL FLUX: 39,500 lines, with IIIIIIIIuuMMuuIM1111111I1r.=1111M1111111===MMEI mentals, without peaks, down to ample power handling cooacity I I,:!R11111111MIIII.117MMIrlliregRell111MRlMIPP11 01 MMUIPt.. \:..7. MtA!!Mb. low organ pedal notes ... unob- FREQUENCY RESPONSE: iNEMouun.uMIIININ «tM structed "highs ". 50- 16,000 cycles iee .MIIN MMIMtt I i Floor models (for 12" or 15" speakers) 20" high x 20" long x .g4 fs1d1 a is formed of British "Ex- 16" deep, plus legs. pamet" . expanded golden aluminum ... a Mali., Blonde or unptd. product relatively new to the popular Ameri- Single Bookshelf Model can market, but used throughout the world (for 8" speakers) 11" in the most expensive loudspeaker combi- high x 10" deep x nations. There are good reasons for this. 23%" long. Sanded. unpainted. Expamet is more than a speaker covering . adds its own fine performance to that of Double Bookshelf the R-J Enclosure. This permanently beau- Model (for 12" speak- tiful metal is accoustically "perfect ", will ers) 24" high x 21" never cause distortion, and transmits the long x 10" deep. Sanded, unpainted. entire sound of the speaker, uninhibited.

R -.I AUDIO PRODUCTS. INC.. Dept. t1 F -9 ICI Duane Street. New York 13, N. Y. Anil coupon today for n compliment nr3 Please send "Sound Craftsmanship" to: copy of "Sound Craftsmanship ". 16 R -J AUDIO PRODUCTS, INC. pages illustrating and describing R -.1 Name Enclosures and the other products of the New York 13, N. Y. Street__ British Industries Group. 164 Duane Street, fit> _State www.americanradiohistory.com High Jidrlilq

T H E M A G A Z I F O R M U S I C L I S T E N E R S

Volume 4 Number 7 September 1954

This Issue. The first AUTHORitatively Speaking 4 time a news- column- ist lampooned the Noted With Interest 6 high -fidelity "maniac" we thought it Letters 19 oo,o / was funny. The As The Editors See It j second time, it was 33 still good for a In Defense of the Faithful, by C. G. Burke 34 chuckle. The fifteenth time, it occurred to To be caricatured in the press is a mark of success, and the us that potential new recruits might be high-fidelity following need not resent it. But let us keep getting the wrong impression of the whole the facts straight. art, so we asked C. G. Burke if he would care to criticize the critics. He would, and Scala's New Queen, by Martin Mayer i7 he does, on page 34. Pretty well, we think. Birthplace: New York. Hair: red. Figure: slim. Voice: superb. Latest conquest: the world's most knowledgeable opera The Cover. The two bearded gentlemen on audience. Who is she? the cover are, of course, Johannes Brahms (piano) and his violinist friend Joseph Adventurers in Sound, by Frederic Grunfeld 39 Joachim, redrawn from well-known carica- The Well- Tempered Ionizer. tures and considerately furnished with a microphone by art director Roy Lindstrom. To Custom Installations 42 learn more about them, read the introduction to Paul Affelder's discography of Brahms Jazz in Mid -passage, by Nat Hentoff 44 chamber music, which begins this month. European music - lovers long have accepted jazz as a major American contribution to Western culture. Now, are we Next Issue. In October look for a report going to, too? on Adventurer -in -Sound Emory Cook; a piece by Peter Bartok on aesthetic factors In One Ear, by James Hinton, Jr 47 in recording and Part II of J. F. Indcox's Tchaikovsky Discography. Records in Review 49 You Can Take It With You, by Harry L. Wynn 87 Car radios may never become super-fi reproducers, but they needn't be squawk- boxes, either. Tested in the Home 93 CHARLES FOWLER, Publisher Brociner Transcendent JOHN M. CONLY, Editor GE Hi Fi Components Crestwood 313 Tape Recorder ROY H. HOOPES, JR., Managing Editor Acoustical Quad II Amplifier System ROY F. ALLISON, Associate Editor James B. Lansing Model 34 Speaker System ROY LINDSTROM, Art Director Telefunken Orchestra Receiver Editorial Assistants Wilcox -Gay 4A Io Recorder Miriam D. Manning, Cora R. Hoopes LEE Catenoid Speaker System JAMES HINTON, JR., Books In Review z19 New York Editorial Representative Audio Forum I27 Contributing Editors C. G. BURKE Professional Directory I28 -I29 JAMES G. DEANE Trader's Marketplace 130 MANSFIELD E. PICKETT, Director of Advertising Sales Music Listener's Bookshelf 132 WARREN B. SYER, Business Manager Advertising Index 135 PRANK R. WRIGHT, Circulation Manager

High Fidelity Magazine is published monthly by Audiocom, Inc., at Great Barrington, Maas. Telephone: Great Barrington 1800. Editorial, publication, and circulation offices at: The Publishing House, Great Branch Ofcee (Advertising only): New York: Barrington, Maas. Subscriptions: $6.00 per year in the United States and Canada. Single copies: 60 cents Room 600, 6 East 39th Street. Telephone: each. Editorial contributions will be welcomed by the editor. Payment for articles accepted will be ar- Murray Hill 5 -6332. Fred C. Michalove, Eastern ranged prior to publication. Unsolicited manuscripts ehould be accompanied by return postage. En- Manager. - Chicago: 5449 W. Augusta Blvd. Tele- tered as second -class matter April 27, 1951 at the post office at Great Barrington, 1,4 We., under the act phone: Columbus 1 -1779. Charles Kline, Mid - of March 3, 1879. Additional entry at the post office, Pittsfield, Mass. Member Audit Bureau of Circula- Western Manager. - Lee Angeles: 1052 West 6th tion. Printed in the U.S. A. by The Ben Franklin Press. Pittsfield. Mass. Copyright 1954 by Audiocom, Street. Telephone: Madison 6-1371. Edward Brand, Inc. The cover design and contente of High Fidelity magazine are fully protected by copyrights and must West Coast Manager. not be reproduced in any manner.

SEPTEMBER, 1954 3

www.americanradiohistory.com AUTHORitatively Speaking

send for the most widely used Readers of this magazine have been aware for High Fidelity Buying Guide some time of the existence of C. G. Burke. who probably originated the composer - discography, and who listens to records through a Klipschorn and an E -V Patrician, going simultaneously, so that he can de- 308 -PAGE tect rumble inaudible to anyone else. It is CATALOG less well known that while still in his teens ALLIED'S 1955 he was America's first classical record sales promotion man - for Columbia, in the days of acoustical recording. Midway in his first cross -country tour, he heard a record called "Let It Rain, Let It Pour," and promptly quit his job. The litde pop disk had been electrically recorded, Burke's wares had become obsolete overnight, and VIKam, from the an era had ended. Burke has been a collector all his life, and a hi -fi experimenter world's largest stocks since the 1930S, hence we thought him a good man to answer the critics of sonic of complete perfectionism. See page 34. music systems Nat Hentoff, who discusses the changing and high fidelity status of jazz (page 44) was born and raised in Boston, won highest honors at components ... Northeastern University and has held Har- vard and Fulbright fellowships, neither in music, though he can play clarinet, alto sax, ALWAYS AVAILABLE piano and recorder. Currently he is associate editor of Down Beat magazine, where he also writes two columns. He has initiated a number of Boston radio programs, mostly xL4 dealing with jazz and the off-beat classics. At present he is preparing a jazz -history as told by the musicians themselves. His Send today for your FREE copy of our latest Catalog. favorite avocation: writing poetry which, It's virtually a complete Sound Exposition, offering America's he says, has so far been widely unpublished. largest selection of matched -component complete music systems, as well as all available quality amplifiers, reproducers, Frederic Grunfeld will need no introduc- enclosures, FM and AM tuners, record -playing equipment, tion to many New York area radio listeners, who used to hear him nightly (heralded recorders and the fullest selection of accessories. If it's anything in by the César Franck Symphonic Variations punc- High Fidelity, or anything in the field of Electronics, you'll tuated with typewriter -latter) as editor of find it in your 1955 ALLIED Catalog -at lowest, money -saving WQXR's "Music Magazine." He is a graduate of the University of Chicago, where prices. Write for your FREE copy today he studied composition and made the track team. At present he conducts two musical radio programs, for Mutual on Saturdays at 6 p.m., for NBC on Sunday mornings. He met Edgar Varese ( "The Well -Tempered EXPERT H1 -FI HELP! Ionizer," page 39) while hunting program material. Whether you make your Hi -Fi selections in person at our Sound Studios - or from our catalog -our audio spe- Martin Mayer was copy editor and fiction cialists will help you to select the editor of Esquire until he left for Europe this summer, to finish equipment that will completely satisfy two books for Harper & Brothers and interview Maria Callas (page your personal listening desires -and 37) for us. He describes his musical back- save you money. ground as considerable but not professional. Neither of his two forthcoming books are ALLIED'S ingenious "Auditioners" about music; one is a novel, the other de- permit listening to every possible com- scribes Wall Street. bination of audio components to help select the very best for you. Harry L. Wynn, (the L is for Lanson), whose automobile radio sounds richer, finer, fuller ALLIED RADIO than any other in Pittsburgh, is airway weather forecaster for 100 N. Western Ave., Dept. 49 -J -4 that city's great air- Chicago 80, Illinois port, a job he describes as impossible. He send for catalog trained (at Bucknell University) as an elec- World's leading High Fidelity specialists trical engineer, learned meteorology in the Air Force. He tells how to wire your car for medium -fi on page 87.

4 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com After more than five years of study and development, we present our most prized accomplishment, the RONDINE. We are satisfied that it is the finest 12 -inch turntable unit we have ever built ... and that its performance is years ahead of high REK -O -KUT fidelity standards as we know them today. proudly announces The Rondine achieves almost complete acoustical isolation between motor and turntable. Rumble has been reduced to a the NEW minimum. Wow and flutter are virtually non -existent.

Features include: Single selector -knob for setting speed: 331/3, 45 or 78 rpm Three -speed strobe disc, permanenti affixed, for instantaneous speed -check. Built -in retractable hub for 45 r records - no adapter required Sp cork -neoprene mat material to eliminat record slippage Neon pilot light 12 -INCH 3 -SPEED Rectangular chassis fits most changer boards- pre -drilled and tapped for stand- precision turntables ard pickup arms.

The Rondine embodies other well know time -tested, Rek -O -Kut features: turntable is cast aluminum, and exerts 'pull' on magnetic cartridges. An ext heavy rim is precisely lathe -turned and dynamically balanced for smooth flywhe action. Internally rim -driven with a n prene -compound idler, perfect drive tra tion is assured. All inter- moving parts a case- hardened, and ground to a micr finish.

The Rondine is available in 2 models: RONDINE, Model B -12 -with special designed 4 -pole induction motor - noi level better than 40db below avera recording level. $69.

RONDINE Deluxe, Model B- 12H -wi new type custom -built hysteresis synchronous, self -lubricating motor - noise level better than 50db below average recording level. $119.95 For Complete Specifications, write to Dept. QJ -2

See the Rondine at the R E K - O - K U T C O M P A N Y HIGH FIDELITY SHOW Makers of Fine Recording and Playback Equipment September 30th through October 2nd Engineered for the Studio Designed for the Home Room 733, Palmer House, Chicago 38-01 QUEENS BOULEVARD, LONG ISLAND CITY 1, N.Y.

SEPTEMBER, 1954

www.americanradiohistory.com LnISrSEr AerravtD OrrdrreP ?S

Show: San Francisco

Scheduled for Sept. so, tt and tz in San Francisco at the Palace Hotel.

... built into the recreation roam bar Show and Convention: New York

The New York Audio Fair is scheduled for October 14, 15, 16 and 17 at the Hotel New Yorker, 34th St. and Eighth Ave.; the Annual Convention of the Audio Engineering Society will be held

. set within 13 17 in a bookcase October to (note difference Wrought Iron dates), also at the New Yorker. legs optional a functional headboard and elsewhere! Show: Chicago

A reminder that Chicagoland doings oc- Every Room Music . Room 2 a cur on Sept. 3o, Oct. f and at the Palmer House. with the UNIVERSITY Transistors

We've had some inquiries from readers instance, it in t e con nes "o fl- stna enc asure- about transistors; one, for performance that spans the complete musical range wrote "... I gather that transistors are from rich, vibrant bass to lyrical, brilliant highs. amplifying devices which may replace 11ERF,'S 11ÚN': certain radio tubes. Can you tell me WOOFER: Heavy Duty exclu- CROSSOVER NETWORK: what the chances are of their being sive "W" Alnico 5 magnet True electrical separation of used in audio amplifiers and replacing high, middle and low fre- and rim- centered diaphragm tubes with consequent decrease in size with oversized voice coil on quencies, with professional type improvement buzz -free duralumin suspension pro- inductance /capacitance networ and operating cost, and dimensional spoti vide exceptional richness and depth of results in deep ( ?) in performance ?" orchestral quality. the lowest bass tones. Answer: Tube -operated audio equip- BALANCE CONTROL; obsolete for a MID-RANGE: Patented Adjusts performance of the ment won't become "Diffuser" element comprises system to suit program quality, long while. Transistors are extremely l" dual radial mid -range pro- room acoustics and accom- small, require little power, and can be ring for modates a wide gamut of jector and diffraction used to replace all audio amplifier tubes efficient full- bodied repro- personal taste. in stage. Only duction of the middle octaves, retaining AUTOMATIC CLOCK: except those the output all the original "presence ". Versatile timepiece will plan disadvantage is cost, which at the your musical itinerary- record moment is something like ten times TWEETER: Genuine heavy broadcast programs in your that of comparable vacuum tubes; it duty driver unit with exclusive absence- awoken and per- "reciprocating flares" wide mit you to retire with choice appears quite unlikely that there will is' angle horn reproduces the music by adjusting a simple control... be drastic reductions in price within full range the of highest and the entire music system, tape the near future. Accordingly, the musical tones clearly and with true recorder or radio will "perform" or brilliance. "shut off" remotely or automatically. main applications of transistors are

For t r,a ,, , ,,,,,, ,,,, those in which small size, light weight, UNIVERSITY LOUDSPEAKERS INC. and low power drain outweigh cost 80 SOUTH KENSICO AVENUE WHITE PLAINS, N. Y. Continued on page 8

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com * Listening Quality

The prime function of your hi -fi TONE ARM

For TRUE reproduction of concert quality High Fidelity music, depend on the Gray Tone Arm. It gives you perfect compliance and tracking for all records ... new or old ... at lowest stylus pressure. Virtually eliminates tone arm reson- The GRAY ances. Today, more and more High Fidelity viscous- damped 108 B enthusiasts are achieving TRUE musical realism with the Gray 108 B Tone Arm. Specifically TONE ARM designed to meet the most exacting listening Gray offers a radical departure in tone demands. arm design to assure the ultimate in performance from new and old recordings ... 333 , 45, and 78 RPM ... up to 16" in diameter. The NEW suspension principle "damps "vertical and horizontal movement of the arm ... stops Gray 106 SP Gray 103 S groove jumping and skidding ... pre- Transcription Arm Transcription Arm vents damage if arm is dropped. Instant Chosen by profes- Leading audio engi- sionals for superb neers recognize the cartridge change ... Pickering, GE, tone reproduction true tone reproduc- Fairchild ... with automatic adjust- ... for every speed tion. Specifically de- ment to correct pressure. record. signed for 78 RPM records.

Visit your nearest. High Fidelity dealer today examine the precision construction of Gray Tone Arms . . . hear them reproduce perfect r Hi -Fi performance. GRAY RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT CO., INC. Hilliard Street, Manchester, Connecticut. Please send me complete descriptive literature on L. ÉARCH Gray Tone Arms. 1...1 , AND DEVELOPMENT CO. Inc.. Hilliard St.. Mnehester, Conn. Name Division of the GRAY MANUFACTURING COMPANY Originators of the Gray Telephone Pay Station and the Address Gray Audograph and PhonAudograph. City State

SEPTEMBER, 1954 7

www.americanradiohistory.com considerations, such as in some hearing BROCINER'S NEWEST... Coming your way aids, aircraft equipment, and military computers and communication gear. If at the Chicago and New York AUDIO FAIRS you wait for transistorized hi-fi equipment, chances are t) it will be a long wait; 2) cost will be higher; 3) performance may be as good but will be no better than at present.

As the Editors See ( ?) It

Pix is nix in NWI; consume too much space. But the day is hot, the eyes weary froraH reading ( ?) mimeo'd news ("pix attached ") releases about this, that, and the other product. So we break down and sneak in two tiny but typical pieces of industrial promotion art. On the left, as the editors see it, is new Ampex 60o, and on the right, as they see (3o releases later) the new A NEW 30 -Watt Muzak tapes. POWER AMPLIFIER Under $100 With Phenomenonally A NEW AUDIO LOW Distortion CONTROL CENTER Under $90 THEY'LL BE AS FAMOUS AS ...

The WIDELY ACCLAIMED... B R O C I N E R Muzak to Tape INTEGRATED After zo years on disk, background - AUDIO musickers Muzak are switching to AMPLIFIER tape. Selections are recorded from a library of over 7,000 selections, played back on half -track recorders which hold 4,800 ft. of tape and reverse automatically at end of one trip through the tape - to provide 8 hours of continuous operation. (That must mean they run at 33/4 ips). The news release says, "The tapes

SMALL IN SIZE LOW IN PRICE TOPS IN QUALITY . . . have been run continuously through accelerated tests with the FEATURES: playback mechanism over 5,000 times 12-Watt Power Amplifier, with Bass & Treble BROCINER Quality at low cost ...made by economical production through without any sign of deterioration, wear Controls, Phono Amplifier and Compensator ... possible the use of etched circuitry and semi -auto- of in a Single Unit ... only $98.25. matic assembly. or strain." That's an indication Performance worthy of use with the finest will THE FIRST COMPLETE HIGH DUALITY AMPLIFIER how long tape last! speakers and phono pickups. SYSTEM USING MILITARYPROVEN "PRINTED Flexibility of control ordinarily found only CIRCUITS" in expensive amplifiers. maroon and gold Tape Holder Available at better Handsome, iridescent. unit. high-fidelity distributors. housing... attractive as remote control Compact and easy to install in cabinet. (Prices slightly higher west of Rockies) All sorts of ruses are used to keep Literature on request. Full 12 watts at less than 1% distortion. . . . I from spilling off reels the Preamplifier for all types of high.quality tape phono pickups. Pro -Tex Reel Band Co. offers a ship- Record Compensator: independent TURN- it successfully BROCINER OVER and ROLL-OFF controls provide 24 play- shape way of doing ELECTRONICS LABORATORY back characteristics. every time: their reel clip consists Tape take.of jack. long, deep 12 Dept. HF9, 344 E. 32nd St., New York 16 Only 4'/," high. 10'/e" 8" Continued on page

8 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com Unique New STEPHENS CAVALCADE firings you concert hall sound with a living room look

sleek contemporary ENCLOSURE houses popular STEPHENS

o i vial two -way SPEAKER

Designed for gracious listening, the Stephens Cavalcade combines direct radiating cone with dual horn loading. Affords distortion -free bass reproduction heretofore possible only with much larger enclosures. Exclusive with the Cavalcade are the two curved exponential horns. Each horn ports to the front of the cabinet, allowing the Cavalcade to be used either as a corner or wall enclosure with equally good results. Beautifully crafted in blonde or mahogany with choice of beige, bronze, or the luxuriant random gold grille as illustrated. Comple- ments the Stephens 206AX 15" coaxial speaker, accepted internationally as the finest. True multicellular horns provide even wide -angle dispersion of high frequencies. 25 watts power capacity.

Enclosure Dimensions: 32" wide, 34" high, 17" deep Shipping Weight (enclosure) 128 lbs. ST ENS with 206AX installed 159 lbs. -sorc Model 627 Cavalcade with 206AX Speaker r List Price $341.00 Model 206AX 15" Coaxial Speaker alone Stephens Manufacturing Corporation List Price $166.00 8538 Warner Drive, Culver City, California

Cable address "Simontrace" all codes - Export address: 25 Warren Street, New York 7, New York www.americanradiohistory.com FOR SUPERIOR FOR TRUE STEREOPHONIC RADIO RECEPTION ... REPRODUCTION ... VatCLASSIC 200 ZealMODEL 3D -12, 25 WATT 2 KNOB FM -AM TUNER 2 CHANNEL AMPLIFIER

/, '. IO.

1/111111 "HI -FI IS FOR EVERYBODY" .. says Robert Newcomb 4 ... Regardless of budget, way of life, or $169.50 AUDIOPHILE NET space limitations. Ownership of a true Really two complete matched 12'i watt ampli- high fidelity system no longer requires an Designed for use with any amplifier having its fiers and preamplifiers in one. Common set of extensive technical background. In fact, own complete set of controls. It's today's most control knobs for both amplifiers offers easier today it doesn't even require more than a advanced tuner. Designed and built by Newcomb operation, perfect results. All normal controls won- ... Completely new. distinctly different. and are provided plus new "focus" control. Channel moderate expenditure to enjoy the noticeably better! Fully enclosed and beautifully selector switch gives operator choice of stereo- derful realism of high fidelity. finished to use "as is:' To place in a cabinet, phonic reproduction. stereophonic reversed. Hi -Fi Products and Newcomb's exclusive "Adjusts- Panel" feature Channel A, Channel B, or enhanced 2 channel Look over these new monaural for simulated stereophonic reproduc- makes a simpler, neater job. U /I, approved. Out- you'll see that Robert Newcomb not only tion of ordinary records. Dual tape "inputs" and 10 volts less than ', 1 at less put is at volt dual "outputs" to tape make the 3D -I2 ideal for believes that Hi -Fi is for everybody ... but than 4 /100 ";,. Effective to 200 ft. from amplifier. use with the new 'Binaural" tape recorders. has a complete line of products to prove it. Many new circuit advances have been made in Crossover selector provides various recording Whatever your Hi-Fi plan, whatever both FM and AM sections. Results: 30 db of curves for both channels. Special switch provides with 1'í micro-volts input on FM. is right quieting only correction for Cook Binaural recordings. Distor- your Hi -Fi budget, Newcomb 1 Microvolt AM sensitivity for 1 volt output. tion below 1% at 25 watts. Response ±1 db there with the right amplifier. Only 61." high by 11'7" by 11': ". 20- 20,000 cycles.

NEWCOMB ee4441C £eUd AMPLIFIERS.. WITH REMOTE CONTROL OR These remote controlled Newcomb Classic Series Amplifiers offer U/L approved. Only your ears can convince you Hi -Fi can be so matchless performance and complete sound control ... music close to perfection. For utmost pride ... for classic beauty ... for exactly as you want to hear it. Words can't describe these superb luxurious operating ease and utmost listening pleasure ... for sub- products. Both give you: True remote control up to 50 or 100 ft.; stantial savings in cabinetry and installation expense... for lowest Separate crossover and rolloff controls for up to 36 different recording curves; New "Level" control; Advanced design Loud- distortion for life ... Own a Newcomb Classic Series Remote Con- ness control; New rumble filter; Seven inputs; Mike input; Tape trolled Amplifier. Don't fail to see and hear these premier products "Input "; "Output" to tape; No -Glare petite pilot light; and they're of Newcomb's 17 years of sound leadership.

Teat CLASSIC 2500 -R VW CLASSIC 1500 -R Ì,'l CLASSIC R-7 $197.50 AUDIOPHILE NET

Remote Controlled Ultra -Fidelity Pre -Amplifier 25 watt Ultra Fidelity Remote Controlled Amplifier - 20 watt Ultra- Fidelity Remote Controlled Ampli- Bring your present amplifier up to date with a Preamplifier Less than 1 /100% distortion up to fier-Preamplifier Less than 5/100% distortion new "front end:' The New Classic R -7 Remote 10 watts, less than 2/10% at 20 watts 10 to 100.000 at average listening levels Less than !r% dis- Master Control Unit and Pre- Amplifier offers cycle response within 1/10 db from 10 to 30,000 tortion at 15 watts 10 to 100,000 cycle response guaranteed results, the most modern of circuitry. cycles Program condition compensator Un- within 1 db to 30,000 cycles Dual range tone tremendous range of control ... plus operating equalled dual range tone controls, Bass range -16 db controls, Bass range -17 db to +20 db, Treble and cabinet saving advantages of real remote to +23 db, Treble range -25 db to + 23 db D.C. range -20 db to +18 db Ultra conservative control. All inputs connect directly to the power operated preamplifier. design for extended tube life. supply chassis only. Beautiful control unit is a decorator'. delight.

"AUDI - BALANCE" Newcomb Classic Series Amplifiers with their ex- seldom sufficiently identical twins to balance auto- for clusive "Audi-Balance" (Pat. Pending) distortion matically. fea- LIFETIME control device assures you of absolute minimum With Newcomb's exclusive "Audi- Balance" distortion for life! No matter how perfect your ture for lifetime distortion control, you are not left FREEDOM amplifier when new, its distortion is bound to in- to guess whether your amplifier is continuing to front crease with age. During the useful life of a set of provide the lowest distortion possible. You know by tubes, output tube unbalance is the greatest single just pressing a button! What's more, you can do DISTORTION! cause for amplifier distortion being above the mini- something about it ... instantly ... by just turning mum of which the amplifier is capable. Aging can a small control and listening to the distortion dis- unbalance a set of tubes and replacement pairs are appear!

www.americanradiohistory.com Zetti NEWCOMB "COMPACTS " Zel.0 NEWCOMB "A" SERIES For Use "As Is "...Need No Cabinetry! For the Budget Minded Perfectionist With these "Compacts' Newcomb makes true Hi -Fi via se- MODEL A -127R 12 watt Semi- Remote Controlled High Fi- lected components practical for everyone. They're simplest of delity Amplifier -Preamplifier. all to install. Just sit down, plug in and use. They need no cabinetry but include Newcomb's exclusive "Adjusta- Panel" feature to make installation in a cabinet extremely easy if necessary. Both U/L approved. They're absolutely ideal for the apartment dweller because they're so easy to set up or move. o oOool COMPACT 12 COMPACT 10 MODEL A -127R $99.50 AUD OPHILE NE, $79.50 AV DIOPHILE NET $89.50 AUDIOPHILE NET

12 watts at less than 1% distortion Control unit on 4 ft. cable solves many installation problems

211 -20,00 cycles ± 1 db 6 position recording curve selector Input and 12 Watt High Fidelity Amplifier - rumble filter selector Large potted Preamplifier- Control Unit. Less than output transformer Advanced design 1% distortion at 12 watts Response 10 Watt High Fidelity Amplifier- ±1 db 20- 20.000 cycles Separate Preamplifier- Control Unit. 10 watts lone controls, Bass range -15 db to crossover and rolloff controls give 36 at less than 1' distortion Response +18 db; Treble range -18 db to +16 ±1 different recording curves Input db 20- 20,000 cycles 6 position gib 6 inputs Tape input Output selector and rumble filter Seven in- recording curve selector Input selec- puts Mike input Tape input Out - tor Budt -in rumble filter Separate to tape Mike input Loudness con- put to tape Wide range separate bass and treble tone controls in new trol Loudness compensation switch MODEL A -127 hass and treble tone controls, Bass "Interlocked" tone circuitry for "fool- "Adjusta- Panel" Removable range -15 db to +18 db, Treble proof" results and less frequent need $79.50 AUDIOPHILE NET range -18 db to +16 db Hum bal- for tone control adjustments Hum "gold" anodized dial plate Hum ance control New "Level" control balance control 6 inputs Tape input balance control "Petite" pilot light Identical to A -I27R except all con- are on chassis. Advanced design "loudness" con- Output to tape Mike input Loud- 11/1, approved. trols trol Size only 4K" high x 12', "x 9 ". ness control Size 3'," x 7l, "x 9' ".

MODEL A -107 10 Watt High Fidelity Amplifier- Preamplifier. 10 watts at less than $59.50 AUDIOPHILE NET 1% distortion 6 position recording curve selector Potted output transformer New electrically isolated in- FOR PERFECTION IN EVERY DETAIL put circuitry requires no input switch - .. on and ing...Just turn use 6 Inputs tape input Output to tape Mike t 'It input Separate bass and treble tone It controls with new "Interlocked" .... WITHOUT REMOTE CONTROL circuitry for foolproof operation Adjusta -Panel Removable "gold" Identical to the Classic 2500 -R and Classic 1500 -R without anodized dial panel Petite pilot remote control, the Classic 2500 and Classic 1500 offer full light U/L approved. Classic Series perfection in every detail at lowest possible cost. All controls are on chassis. They also feature Newcomb's exclusive "Adjusta- Panel" that lets you instantly extend knob shafts to accommodate cabinet panels up to '/" thick. Dial panel is removable, beautifully finished in "gold" anodizing j process that never tarnishes. Panels include petite pilot light. Both U/L approved. All ratings identical to the equivalent remote control models. NEW, FASCINATING, INFORMATIVE BOOK &A CLASSIC 2500 71exte CLASSIC 1500 ON HI -FI... 25c This 250 book can save Hi -Fi enthusiasts and music lovers hundreds of dollars. Not a catalog, "Hi -Fi Is For Every- body" is packed with money- saving facts, how -to illustrations and suggestions. Written in easy -to- understand language, this new, practical ap- the simplest system with an proach to Hi -Fi tells how to eye toward building the most get more for each dollar in- elaborate. Beautifully illus- vested in components, how to trated. Handy cost- estimating cut costs without sacrificing sheet makes it easy to keep AUDIOPHILE NET v quality or looks, how to plan track of purchases and budget! NEWCOMB AUDIO PRODUCTS CO., DEPT. W9 LISTEN and you'!l hear something wonderful! 6824 Lexington Ave., Hollywood 38, California I am enclosing $ -__ -_ . Please send me -copies of "Hi -Fi Is For Everybody" @ 25t` each. Please send me free catalog MCS54 on Newcomb High Fidelity Components. NEWCOMB® NAME -- Sound Quality Since 1937 ADDRESS CITY ZONE. STATE

www.americanradiohistory.com NOTED WITH INTEREST Continued from page 8

of a strap of metal, rounded and bent at one end, with spring clips at the other. The clips press on the tape, the rounded end snaps into the hub hole. Neat, if a bit on the costly side: 8o¢ and qo¢ each for 5 and 7 -in. sizes, respectively, in lots of too or less.

Full Speed Ahead

In our August issue, we mentioned those nasty little phono plugs which terminate so many wires in a hi -5 system, and noted that a manufacturer

had stepped up with a hot idea .. . The hi -fi industry moves full speed ahead, and our right hand keepeth not up with our left. The NWI item was on page 14; by page 88, a dealer had the plugs, with wires duly attached, ready for you: V & H Sales Co., Long Hill Branch, Bridgeport, Conn. to heartbeats Hi Fi as a Demonstrator

Problem which faced the M. P. Moeller With the lowest distortion, widest useful dynamic and frequency ranges, Organ Co. of Hagerstown, Md., was flattest response and finest balance how to demonstrate their product in a available today for critical listeners, tr Bozak Loudspeakers and Speaker Systems prospect's home without calling in a recreate every audible sound crew of movers. Solution: they had a with its most subtle qualities that contribute the last whisper of realism. recording made by B & C Studios in New York and can now play a record Chosen as the standard hi fi system (most by leading acoustical laboratories ... on the prospect's have hi fi, it seems) and presto! Rumor all others for selected above has it the record is a beauty; one has the clinical study of heartbeat sounds ... been promised us, so mayhap, more purchased time and again by musicians and music critics anon. who know true sound quality... î1 the Bozaks remain unchallenged for Cabinet Makers (cont'd) The Very Best in Sound Mrs. R. A. Chatterly, now of Fort

Room 713 Wayne, Indiana, writes: "Mr. Robert Chicago High -fidelity Show C. Hinman of 88 Lincoln Avenue, September 30th October 2nd Saratoga Springs, N. Y., did a great New York Audio Fair deal of fine work for me when I was October 14th 17th in the east. I have yet to find a comparable craftsman ..." From Baltimore comes a letter from William J. Miller, recommending the fine cabinetry of Benjamin Johnson, the R. T. BOZAK 4510 St. Georges Avenue. Co Qa411;44 D. L. Weare, of Boston, recommends L. Spinazzola of 33 Mountain 114 Manhattan Street Stamford Connecticut A. for kind Export Office: Electronics Manufacturers' Export Company, Hicksville, New York Avenue, Revere, Mass., any Continued on page z7 t2 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com Only the New MIRACORD XA -100 has the "MAGIC and push button control!

Stabilizing plates and push- er arms are no longer needed because of the unique constructioo of the "MAGIC To the music lover the MIRACORD XA -100 has become WAND" a symbol of everything that could be asked for in a 3 -speed automatic changer. Wow and rumble are eliminated and the "Pausamatic" feature allows the user to select "pause" time between records of from 5 seconds to 5 minutes. The MIRACORD XA -100 comes complete with the "Magic Wand" and single play spindles. An automatic record spindle for 45 RPM is available as an accessory. Every unit is shipped completely assembled with leads and plugs attached ready for operation. The MIRACORD XA -100 is superbly finished in rich burgundy with surf -white trim.

The manually operated MIRAPHON XM -110 is also available, and this unit incorporates the same superb quality found in the MIRACORD XA -100. Send for descriptive literature, or see these remarkable units at leading distributors throughout the United States.

I AUDIOGERSH CORPORATION Dept. H -91 254 Grand Avenue, New Haven 13, Conn. AUDIOGERSH Please send me descriptive literature. I 1 CORPORATION J Name

Exclusive Distributors in the U. S. for FLAC Record Players Address I

Zone State SEE US AT THE AUDIO FAIR! - OCT. 14 -17, ROOM 732. Litt J SEPTEMBER, 1954 r3

www.americanradiohistory.com «s THE /1/EW NERE

LABORATORY ENGINEERED BY intintosit

featuring the exclusive patented* w .IJtOa11 Circuit

Here is what the magnificent new McIntosh amplifier gives you for your dollars invested in listening pleasure: the unique McIntosh bifilar circuit(with Unity Coupling), not available on any other amplifier, to provide performance that delivers to your ears the natural peaks and overtones present in actual concert hall sound. You hear all the instruments, unmixed and undistorted.

Power, yes but power plus exceedingly low distortion for faithful reproduction of clean, pure living sound. Full orchestral force is handled with crystal clarity, yet the virtually un- measurable hum level and low distortion assures breathtaking enjoyment of pianissimo passages as well.

For performance that really makes a difference enjoy the McIntosh, superbly crafted in the McIntosh tradition by amplification specialists to please the most exacting listener. Adver- tised performance money-back guaranteed by thorough laboratory tests on each unit.

Consider this important feature: You can listen to the McIntosh for hours, not just minutes, without listening fatigue. Lifetime pleasure and comfort are yours with a McIntosh -centered home music system. Save by getting your "replacement" amplifier first - the McIntosh 30 watt, .^`!?`rw; YkM1t;s%ía:}¡t6yrj ÿ' McIntosh Laboratory, Inc., introduced Unity Coupling I1'eYi. to High Fidelity in U. S. Patents 2,477,074 (1949); also {,,yy 2,545,788; 2,646,467; 2,654,058. . rt r Fora new miracle in sound make the McIntosh listening test. ,n gcarr et voter You can hear ,-). at deaerd.. the difference. 0 -' 'nF1ntoh

www.americanradiohistory.com 3OWATT AMPLIFIER

Model MC-30 $14350

GUARANTEED 1/2% MAX. INTERMODULATION loo 0 DISTORTION! ì, 99 607 UNITY COUPLING PERFECT FOR PERFORMANCE AMPLIFICATION arcliane tleae dfteetpcat.iaaa

POWER OUTPUT -30 watts continuous (60 watts peak ). INTERMODULATION DISTOR- All but 0.000016 of power output TION - guaranteed below s'zcó at full 60 watts is a perfect reproduction of in. peak output. HARMONIC DISTORTION - puf signals at 30 watts. (20.20,000 cycles) guaranteed less than ss °ó from 300 microwatts STYLED to 30 watts output, 20 to 20,000 cycles. FRE- QUENCY RESPONSE- within ± .1 db 20 to IN BLACK AND CHROME 30,000 cycles at 30 watts output, and within -!- 1 db 10 to 100,000 cycles at 15 watts output. INPUT (.5 volt) .25 megohms for full output. NOISE and HUM LEVEL 85 db or more below rated output. -

Send for FREE booklet McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. "LOST 322 Water St., Binghamton, N. Y. INSTRUMENTS" Please send me FREE booklet 32 page illustrated, liFinfos "LOST INSTRUMENTS" and detailed literature. non -technical discussion, LABORATORY, INC. explaining why the Name McIntosh Circuit 322 Water Street Binghamton, N. Y. Address Export Division: 25 Warren St., New York 7, N. Y. produces purest CABLE: SIMONTRICE High Fidelity Sound. City Zone- State_

www.americanradiohistory.com e PILOTONE

AA -902 PILOTONE AMPLIFIER $39.95 Williamson type Amplifier with special inter -leaved wound Output Transformer and push -pull output. AMPLIFIERS Contains 5 tubes including rectifier, Frequency Re- sponse {- 1 db, 15 to 40,000 cycles at 10 watt output. Distortion less than 1% at 10 watts and less the ultimate in electronic than .1% at 1 watt from 30 to 15,000 cycles. Pro- vided with speaker output impedances of 4, 8 and 16 ohms. Underwriters Laboratories Approved. skí!l engineered by ¡Wo1 RADIO CORP. Matched Companion to t World- Famous Pilotunors

AA -903 PILOTONE AMPLIFIER $69.50 Williamson type 10 watt Amplifier, with built -in Preamplifier. Seven tubes including Rectifier and push-pull output tubes. On -Off Volume, separate Bass and Treble Controls and Equalizer selector switch for LP, NAB, AES and Foreign recordings,

Frequency Response -- 1 db. 15 to 40,000 cycles. Distortion less than 1% at 10 watts. Hum Level

70 db below 1 volt. Three inputs for Radio and Auxiliary equipment and one variable impedance input. pIL0T0IIE Q AA -410 PILOTONE AMPLIFIER $49.50 Unexcelled Williamson -type High Fidelity Amplifier for consistent, dependable performance employing rugged full power 5881's for full 15 watt output. Four tubes and Rectifier. Frequency Response: t 0.1 db. 15 cps. to 20,000 cps. at rated output. Total Harmonic Distortion: Less than 1%. Intermodulation Distortion: Less than 2 %. Hum and Noise Level: 90 db. below rated output. Potted output transformer constructed with inter- I leaved winding for reduced leakage inductance..

AA -420 PILOTONE AMPLIFIER $99.50 Unsurpassed Williamson type high fidelity audio amplifier with push-pull 5881's for full 15 watt output combined with professional preamplifier for maximum efficiency and flexibility in most convenient space saving format. Six tubes plus Rec- tifier. Frequency Response: 1.0 db. 15 cps. to 20,000 cps. at rated output. Total Harmonic Distortion: Less than 1%. Intermodulation Distortion: Less than 2% at rated output. Hum and Noise Level: 80 db. AA -904 PILOTONE AMPLIFIER $89.50 below rated output. t Dual equalization switches provide five positions World famous ultra -linear Williamson Circuit using of treble roll -off and five positions of bass turnover. push -pull KT -66's for thirty watts audio output, now con- new, compact size. Frequency Re- Loudness control with individual level setting Slightly higher West of Rockies in convenient watts. trols for three inputs. sponse: 1 db. 15 cps. to 50,000 cps. at 15 .1 db. 20 to 20,000 cps. at 1 watt. Total Har- monic Distortion: Less than 0.1% at 10 watts. Less PILOT RADIO CORPORATION than .3% at 25 watts. Intermodulation Distortion: Less than 0.5% at 10 watts. Hum and Noise Level: LONG ISLAND CITY 1, NEW YORK 90 db, below 10 watts.

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com NOTED WITH INTEREST Continued from page 12

of cabinetry: "... his work unques-

tionably that of an artist . . . prices on the very reasonable side." 7.7.,77"-"#

Binaural Broadcasts TYPE 310 FM BROADCAST Several issues ago we called on readers for information about binaural broad- MONITOR TUNER casting activities in their areas. Ap-

parently, BN activities are spotty . . . not too many reports have come in. From Oakland, California, comes a letter telling of joint broadcasts by FM stations KPFA and KPFB. Reader Worth says, "These stations produce

several B /N broadcasts each month . . .

announced well in advance . .. live . . . four -foot microphone r . spacing. Also,

KRE -FM -AM has heavy plans . . . tape recorded on location. And KEAR- KXKX in San Francisco is planning h would be difficult to hide our pride and to present FEATURES feeling of accomplishment binaural." in the new 310 FM Broadcast Monitor Tuner. As all Chicago readers know, WM- It combines professional performance. real operating convenience. AQ-FM-AM has been binauralizing and functional styling. quite regularly, even tied in its TV A basic innovation in tuning mechanism Wide -band allows station, WNBQ for binaural sight and the entire FM hand detector to be swept through with a single motion. sound. The wide-band detector Charles Wood, president of the and true Bandpass IF's make tuning completely non -critical and drift -free. Rensselaer The fine- tuning Polytechnic Institute chap- Single -sweep control with combined ter of the Audio Engineering Society, tuning meter and signal strength indicator tuning are useful primarily for accurate tuning on the wrote a most detailed and interesting many weak stations received with 2 isv sensitivity report on the college's binaural experi- at 20 db quieting (4 pv at 40 db quieting). An inter -station noise suppressor ments. RPI has two student- operated with adjustable control on the front panel allows complete inter -station noise stations, WHAZ which is a 1 -kw. Interstation elimination but also reception of very weak signals. AM -er, and WRPI, which is a carrier - noise Full 150 KC wide, flat bandpass characteristic current station (that is, the broadcasts gives essentially distortionless reproduction at suppressor all signal levels. Rejection of spurious responses are carried by the college's AC lines). resulting from cross modulation by They have been experimenting since strong local signals is better than 85 db, an outstanding design accomplishment. late 1952 have tried tying in eight ... 2- microvolt Other features include capture ratio better than 4 db. local AM stations (four for each ear) exceptionally low co- channel and adjacent and also broadcasting two sensitivity channel interference. channels neutralized cascode front -end for lowest noise. on WHAZ (AM). temperature compensated oscillator. and 8 tuned In out own area, Ayer, circuits providing highest Walton Chief attenuation outside of desired passband for Engineer of Pittsfield's WBEC-FM- Tuning- signal- most effective rejection of interfering stations. AM, gathered steam, We believe that the 310 provides the borrowed some strength metei best possible overall design balance BN equipment from us (on which he incorporating ell significant features had to do some smart adapting in and refinements known at this stage of the art. order to feed into his studio lines), toducton put on a post -midnight test and then ' o t o u Aeo neg ran a Saturday evening program. Re- ond ;FAmeMaANUtPnSnumetCI ,N,n, pd;o ióomti It , t action was more than favorable, so he ved the Ec e Sound 1 d tece a '.Grx t y coodiO h opE,s M 1 the repeated, and plans more. Emory and Scott o nhge ;neto, l og btie H Cook's binaural records were used as the Au d to H' dio ,ds H. o t owed eo H. SOTT . h C on' to program material. We, 20 miles away, wat FREE BOOKLET 0100,4ne had to listen monaurally; can't get e WBEC -AM with any regularity!

Continued on page 121 385 PUTNAM AVENUE, CAMBRIDGE 39, MASS.

SEPTEMBER, 1954

www.americanradiohistory.com The Tannoy Dual- Concentric makes the word loudspeaker" completely out-of-date. Here is a precision acoustic transducer which sets a new standard in high fidelity reproduction ...an instrument rather than a mere mechanism, designed with the most exacting American standards firmly in mind, TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION and built by skilled British engineers in the Frequency response of both 12" and 15" models, best traditions of British craftsmanship. suitably housed, k 3dB, 35 to 20,000 c.p.s. with The Tannoy Dual- Concentric relies no more a useful response outside these limits. on revolutionary ideas and startling 12 MODEL IS MODEL secrets than does the unsurpassed product Impedance for Crossover 18 ohms 15 ohms of Mr. Rolls and Mr. Royce. Its superlative Flux density, LF gap 10.000 gauss 12,000 gauss performance is due simply to an Flux density. HF gap 15,000 gauss 18,000 gauss and uncompromising choice of materials Power handling capacity 15 watts 25 watts an uncompromising choice of craftsmen Polar distribution for -3 dB at -4 dB at to work with them. 60 degrees included angle I 10,000 c.p.s. 10,000 c.p.s. Intermodulation products < 2% <2% manufactured by T,aNNOY PRODUCTS LIMITED

at the WEST NORWOOD LONDON ENGLAND We shall be exhibiting TANNOY DUAL CONCENTRICS AUDIO FAIR HOTEL NEW YORKER 14 to 17 OCTOBER American Distribution North A number of new Tannoy products in the TANNOY (CANADA) LTD some tradition will be on view for the first time. 36 Wellington Street East, Toronto I, Ontario, Canada

18 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com still setting the standards

7-- a L ( AMPLIFIERS, EQUALIZER .' -PREAMPLIFIERS Sm: 65 -watt Type 265 -A Laboratory Power Amplifier I have seen nothing in your publication about the possible re- allocation of the FM band to UHF -TV use. As I understand it, UHF frequencies would become available to FM users, at considerable expense and incon- venience. Such an event might well be the death of FM. Senator Charles Potter, of Michigan, is to head a subcommittee of the Senate Interstate Commerce Com- mittee, which has been appointed to inquire into the UHF -VHF -FM matter. If all persons interested in the survival The new of FM wrote to Senator Potter and to 265 -A Laboratory Power Amplifier is the finest we are able to make. the FCC, perhaps Frequency Modula- Its 65 -watt output tion might receive a new vote of confi- 121 -A DYNAURAL provides more than ample reserve power Equalizer -preamplifier for the most demanding applications. dence. Such a vote could not help Features are: impressing the FCC, which seems in variable damping for exact speaker matching. and a new design contribution the past to have been suspiciously an adjustable "snubber' circuit desirous of re- allocating the FM band. allowing full output power on music. with maximum Louis T. speaker protection. Milic The 265 -A is a fitting companion to the Bozeman, Mont. t 2I -A DYNAURAL Equalizer- Preamplifier. which we believe to be the most versatile The new 32 -watt 232 -A Lab- and complete control and compensation unit oratory Power Amplifier offers ever offered. The 121 -A includes SIR: power ample for all but the the patented DYNAURAL Noise Suppressor. most complex ... It is surprising to me that HIGH systems, and continuously variable equalization for any at an outstanding price. We FInECrrY has recording curves. past. present or future, not taken the opportu- believe the 232 -A to be the and many other features. most practical nity to note and deplore the current choice and Self- powered. beautifully styled and constructed. the best buy among power the 121 -A. like the 265 -A. is designed for attempt, on the part of the TV in- amplifiers. the connoisseur to whom cost is secondary dustry, to seize the FM band for its to that performance possible only from units containing own. The argument is simply every refinement possible that at this stage of the art. more people are interested in TV than are interested The 214 -C Remote-Control Amplifier in FM .. . consists of the 232 -A Power Amplifier Senator Potter, of Michigan, has and a non -self-powered version of the 120 Equalizer- Preamplifier. been in charge of the hearings The compact new 120 -CP self- on the powered Equalizer-Preampli- obtaining power from the 232 -A so- called "plight" of the TV broad- fier affords exact convenient The 214 -C provides superb performance at lowest casters, who are screaming for more control and compensation for cost to those purchasing those who desire highest pro- equalizer- preamplifier and power room. I am not aware fessional amplifier together. that the friends standards but with teOd¡n9 of FM have been applying a pressure greater simplicity and economy than offered by .e , the one t : equal to that of its foes. Unless we 121 -A. d Y l á ° 1 Yv 1 a w 9 do, FM will vanish and with it will . - cataosu go the last pretense of the radio -TV tOaIb ..p:mrt ONo,ot' tda industry at furnishing serious music. m tt d ba n M°P e No one can believe that the big ad- H. H. SCOTT t inc. iedPWSd p csh 5 vertisers who control TV will ever T FREE BOOKLET . . h give more than token representation °utbor OI to serious music. It pays more to Continued on page 21 385 PUTNAM AVENUE, CAMBRIDGE 3wo,Hmdv 9 , Mvau.atAWtua Sd .

SEPTEMBER, 1954 19

www.americanradiohistory.com sr') cuulfug TRANSCRIPTION ARM rtoi kaiwuei wukziaci Alavu fr-Au Today there is much discussion of amplifiers, loudspeakers and proper enclosures ... all necessary for top hi -fi performance in your home music system. Yet one of the most important parts of your music system has long been neglected ... the arm that guides the cartridge across the record. The arm acts as a housing for the cartridge and plays a similarly important part to that of the speaker enclosure. An arm should not change the characteristic performance of a good cartridge by introducing resonances or distortion of any sort.

Fairchild, with extensive experience in the development of professional recording equipment, now offers you a studio - quality transcription arm for home musk systems. This arm allows the cartridge alone to lift all the tone color from your recordings - For finest listening with any completely eliminates the undesirable effects arm be sure to use Fairchild's of arm resonance. Continuous perfect high compliance diamond mid -groove tracking is assured by precision -engineered cartridge! This professional offset and dual pivoting. There is no side thrust, cartridge completely elimi- skidding or groove jumping. nates listening fatigue caused by tracking distortion re- to use! - And the Fairchild Transcription Arm is so easy duces record and stylus wear. The arm rest is built -in and automatic. Any standard cartridge, reluctance or dynamic, plugs easily into proper position. $3750 Professionalize your home music system today with the Fairchild Model 280 Transcription Arm. An extraordinary value at $295O

Available at better Audio dealers. Write for free folder.

1110111/D EQU/PMENT 10th Avenue and 154th Street, Wnitestone 57, New York lin,, u Aar t tirer, tif the It urld.r Finest Professional Sound Equipment

20 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com amuse the bemused boobery with Strike It Rich, the show with a heart. Therefore, it would seem that all patented! exclusive! lovers of FM should, in the hackneyed phrase, gird their loins, spring // to the barricades, or perform any other proverbial and metaphorical action which may best suit themselves ... I f / //^ urge that all who would prevent the knavery afoot immediately write to DYNAURAL dynamic noise suppression Senator Potter and present their views. loseph V. Wikox Albion, Mich.

SIR: Because of my deep love for Hector Berlioz, and my equal admiration for his Beatrice and Benedict Overture, I simply could not resist typing this letter in regard to Mr. Burk's article in your July issue of HIGH FIDELITY. Overlooked by Mr. Burk was the

Charles Munch recording (RCA Victor The new 210 -C DYNAURAL Laboratory Amplifier L1.1 -17oo) with the Boston Symphony with dynamic suppression Orchestra of the above-mentioned overture. For a recording featuring The DYNAURAL Noise Suppressor clarity in performance, with brass and virtually eliminates turntable rumble strings clearly accented, the one by and record scratch and hiss, but without losing audible music I Mr. Munch is one highly recommend. ,, with fixed filters. The 99 -A Transcription Am- Of course it is only my preference, to DYNAURAL noise suppression is almost essential plifier set a new styling which we are all entitled, but here trend by incorporating "front if the musical response now possible there is no doubting RCA's wonderful end" and 12 -watt power am- with new extended -range speaker systems sound. plifier, with power supply in and program material is to be enjoyed fully a compact. attractive case. - unmarred by extraneous noise. I must add that I enjoyed your two Like all H. H. Scott amplifi- 'l'he new 210 -C DYNAURAL Laboratory Amplifier its articles on Berlioz immensely, and ers, clean, symmetrical includes the best, most practical features clipping when overloaded af- for one deeply appreciate your pio- we have developed over the years fords power output audibly and at a "best buy" price. neering. equal to much higher for- - Resembling an attractive "control unit". Carl F. Klink, Jr. mal ratings, based on com- West Orange, N. J. parative listening tests. With the 210 -C incorporates control flexibility matched by complete equaliser- preamplifier. few amplifiers at any price, 23 -watt power amplifier. we believe the 99 is preemi- DYNAURAL noise suppressor SIR: nent in performance and operable on all input channels. If the people who buy classical music value in the hundred -dollar versatile record equalizer and input selector. price field. records were to reject those disks unique flexibility in tape recording and monitoring. which are "swingers" (off- center, ec- The 114 -A DYNAURAL Noise centric), easily half the records on the Suppressor. styled to harmo- .md many other features. American market today would remain nize with the 99 -A Amplifier In our opinion. and 120 Equalizer- Preampli- the 210 -C offers the outstanding combination I is unsold. What cannot understand fier, offers the DYNAURAL of over -all features. performance, how a public, supposedly so sensitive feature to those wishing to and price. to beauty of tone that it spends mil- add it at a later date in the development their high 9er,dm!ñ lions annually for high and ever higher ts fidelityel'tyr systemsf n \le +e fidelity, can accept these wretched We W v `N'rscoPlco\ \lofutws records with sickening pitch by N rech their en en4 __ eorned ndln9 fe I Ove o ,^eons \lstenln9nd wavers. Until recently was a dealer sbe in records and can, therefore, tell you pers \ß 09á H . H . SCOTT inc Scott tolu with some authority that, as common yepclY e"" art 1n ads of ho 1nte9rir' as scratched and otherwise defaced INI.I. nl)nNl_Il Kundt lnso,e records were, swingers were even t0 commoner. There is no decent ex- Continued on page 26 385 PUTNAM AVENUE, CAMBRIDGE 9, MASS.

SEPTEMBER, 1954 21

www.americanradiohistory.com

www.americanradiohistory.com Music ... clean and pure ... filling the room with on ethereal, fragile beauty. The mood is magic. But the slightest hiss, a jarring crackle, a nagging hum can shatter it into a thousand glittering fragments. The mood is never shattered when you listen through National's superb new HORIZON line. No distortion of any kind intrudes. "Listening fatigue" becomes a meaningless term. The sensational FM MUTAMATIC tuning, for example -a Nationalexclusive - completely eliminates all hiss and noise between stations. Stations leap out of velvety silence, stay locked in..National'shigh capture ratio, gets rid of adjacent stations impossible to tune out on ordinary equipment. Another exclusive feature is National's new "linear impedance" detector. Extreme sensitivity pulls in weak stations strong and clear. Similarly, tube noise, microphonics and hum in tuner and amplifiers have been virtually eliminated. Such a supreme audio achievement is the result of National engineering - engineering respected throughout the world for 40 years - engineering that is "tuned to tomorrow!" For further details,

www.americanradiohistory.com JJJJLIJ AM -FM TUNER $169.95 (SIZE: I61/2" s 7 ") Never before a tuner so versatile! You can enjoy full -band AM! You can listen to matchless, drift -free FM! You can hear both at the same time, using dual sound systems! You can receive revolutionary new binaural broadcasts as they are made available in your area! Two gain controls and separate tuning condensers are provided-one for AM, one for FM! Exclusive Mutamatic FM Tuning eliminates all hiss and noise between stations, so annoying when tuning conventional tuners! Stations leap out of velvety silence -stay locked in automatically! Unit features new "linear impedance" detec- tion. Superior design eliminates drift. An exceptional capture ratio rejects all unwanted signals Ik up to 80% of the strength of the desired signal. The FM sensitivity proves the name -"the Criterion" - by which all other tuners are judged. "UN

20 -WATT AMPLIFIER $84.95 (SIZE: 141/2" x 4 ") To surpass the present high level of amplifier design, National proudly introduces new power amplifiers with a revolutionary new output circuit employing unify coupling. With unity coupling, the output transformer is no longer required to supply the coupling between output tubes for distortion cancellation as in normal push -pull circuits. Instead, the transformer supplies only the impedance matching between the tubes and the speaker system, thus eliminating impulse distortion created by transformers. Music k reproduced with an unclouded transparency -at all listening levels - never before achieved! The HORIZON 20 is a 20 -watt amplifier with a total harmonic distortion of less than .3% and total intermodulation distortion of less than I% at full rated output. Frequency response is ± .1 db 20 cps to 20 kcs; ± I db 10 cps to 100 kcs. Power response at rated output is =L- .15 db, 20 cps to 20 kcs. Hum and noise k 80 db below rated output.

JIJJi] /J1 10 -WATT AMPLIFIER $79.95 (SIZE: 141/2" x 4 ") Incorporating the revolutionary new unity -coupled circuit in a 10 -watt amplifier design, the HORIZON 10 offers performance never before achieved at such a moderate price! The built -in preamp -control unit offers a choice of 3 record equalization curves, a loudness control and separate bass and treble controls. Harmonic distortion is less than .5%; intermodulation distortion, less than 2% at rated output. Frequency response is

-!- I db, 20 cps to 20 kcs; power response, ± 2 db, 20 cps to 20 kcs. Hum and noise are better than 70 db below rated output on high -level input, better than 50 db on low level input. V .IL

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www.americanradiohistory.com LETTERS Continued from page 21

aneWwworld cuse for the companies throwing such living sound ordure on the market - at any price. of Albert J. Franck ` Richmond Hill, N. Y.

SIR: ... In the "As the Editors See It," (June, page 25) you panned all the existing recordings of Copland's Ap- palachian Spring. I am afraid that you are in error here. In saying that there was not a really good performance out, you left out, in my opinion the best one. It features an American orchestra and conductor, and the sound is little short of terrific. It was issued by the American Re- cording Society, along with some music by Samuel Barber on the other side. The American Recording Society Or- chestra is led by Walter Hendl, who is, I think, permanent conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. with low -cost Crestwood 303 I cannot go too high in recommend- Daystrom firmly believes that true, faithful sound reproduction is the all - ing this record. important characteristic of a quality tape recorder. This was the guiding prin- Daniel Suchman ciple followed in designing and developing CRESTWOOD Tape Recorders. As New York, N. Y. a result, with higher fidelity than comparably priced tape recorders, CREST - WOOD offers sound that virtually matches the original. Along with its wide range and low cost. CRESTWOOD offers: The omission of the American Re- Ease of operation - Push button controls located front and center. cording Society version of Appala- Safety lock prevents accidental erasure. chian Spring from the editorial men- Rear plug -ins for microphone, radio, headphones, etc. -avoid wire tions was an oversight, but not an jumbling. unnatural one. Our regular policy Rewind is 20 times faster than recording. Light weight and compact design for portability. is to review only records available Quality performance - in shops, and ARS recordings are Professional recorder "Red Heads" provide faithful sound reproduction. sold on a subscription plan. As it Dual speeds of 71/2" and 33/4" per second. 10 watt output from 6" x 9" oval dynamic speaker- double the volume happens, this editor has a copy of of comparable tape recorders-fills large rooms with Living Sound. the Hendl disk and likes the per- Three outputs: Internal speaker; external speaker; special output to formance very much indeed. It bypass internal power amplifier to feed a high fidelity system. was recorded abroad, not here, but The CRESTWOOD 303 comes complete with microphone and cord, radio and TV connection cable, power cable and empty reel. Mr. Hendl knows American music. We can't put sound in print. As you know, you must hear for yourself the We do think the sound, though, quality of any tape recorder. But we will be glad to send you the complete is more than a little short of terrific. CRESTWOOD story -and tell you where you can conveniently hear one. There is a slightly granular quality in the treble, here and there, that makes us suspect that the original recording was done on unlubricated BY D A Y S T R O M German tape, hard to equalize in transcription. Ed. Daystrom Electric Corp. - Dept. 10-1 837 Main Street, Poughkeepsie, New York SIR: Hi -Fi Crestwood 400's I am interested in: I was thoroughly appalled by the at- Model 401 (Recorder) $199.50 High Fidelity System (Frequency response: 30 to complete titude of Mr. Lowenthal as presented 13,000 cycles + or - 2db at Tape Recorder only 7l /z" per second tape- speed) in the Letters column . . . for May Model 402 (Power Amplifier Name I and Speaker) $100.00 1954. had been under the impression Crestwood Model 303 Street that "high- fidelity" - such as it often Tape Recorder á199.50 is, had as its first purpose the more (Slightly higher in Denver and West.) Town State

26 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com te Xed Vexi4 f6,44 Wien *cre AT' THE FISHER Custom Audio Components If you are buying `for keeps' buy the best first! Buy FISHER, quality leader for seventeen years. Engineered for the professional, functionally designed for home use. "Of the very best!" -High Fidelity.

FM -AM TUNER, Model 70 -RT 50 -WATT AMPLIFIER, Model 50 -A Features extreme sensitivity, low distortion and low 100 -watts peak! World's finest all- triode amplifier. Uni- hum. Armstrong system, adjustable FM -AFC and AM form within 1 db, 5 to 100,000 cycles. Hum and noise selectivity. Preamplifier- equalizer, 2 inputs, 2 cathode 96 db below full output. IM distortion below 2% at 50 follower outputs. Six controls. Self- powered. $184.50 watts. Highest quality components thruout. $159.50 FM -AM TUNER, Model 50 -R SPEAKER ENCLOSURE, Series 50 Same features as 70 -RT above, but designed for use NEW! Regardless of the speaker or enclosure you are with external preamplifier -equalizer such as 50-C. Hum now using, the "50" Horn will revolutionize its per- level better than 100 db below 2 volts output. Fully formance. For use with 12" or 15" speaker systems. shielded and shock -mounted. Self- powered. $164.50 50-HM (Mahogany)$129.50 50-HB (Blonde) $134.50

MASTER AUDIO CONTROL, Series 50 -C PREAMPLIFIER -EQUALIZER, Model 50 -PR 25 choices of record equalization, plus separate bass Professional phono equalization facilities at low cost! and treble tone controls, loudness balance control. Five Independent switches for LF turn-over and HF roll -off. inputs and input level controls, two cathode follower Output lead up to 50 feet. Can accommodate any low - outputs. Chassis only, $89.50 With cabinet, $97.50 level, magnetic pickup. Self- powered. $22.95

25 -WATT AMPLIFIER, Model 70-A HI -LO FILTER SYSTEM, Model 50 -F 50 -watts peak! More clean watts per dollar. Less than Does what ordinary tone controls cannot do, for it sup- /2%t distortion at 25 watts (0.05% at 10 watts.) Re- presses all types of noise with an absolute minimum sponse ±0.1 db, 20- 20,000 cycles; 1 db, 10 to 50,000 loss of tonal range. High impedance input; cathode cycles. Hum and noise virtually non -measurable! $99.50 follower output. Use with any equipment. $29.95 Prices slightly higher treat o! the Rockies WRITE TODAY FOR COMPLETE SPECIFICATIONS FISHER RADIO CORPORATION 45 EAST 47th STREET NEW YORK, N. Y.

SEPTEMBER, 1954 27

www.americanradiohistory.com lifelike reproduction of music. Ad- mittedly, there have to be people who thrill to the record hiss from 15,000- 22,00o cycles, and for whom the 17th "A truly remarkable achieve- harmonic of the triangle is indispensable, but such people might better ment . . . You can hear learn to tinkle their own triangle and its perfection." hear even more harmonics without the record hiss .. . Outside of unusual instruments, or unusual use - e.g. the Strauss wind machine, or the four extra brass choirs in the Berlioz Requiem - mention of which is usually made on the record jacket anyway, I can see no good purpose in having the record jacket state how many kettledrums are used at the expense of remarks on the music itself. If anything need be said, let it be of the composer and of the performers so one may try to understand why the work is performed in the given manner. Charles A. McCarthy Rochester, N. Y.

SIR: Until about 2 years ago, we had the same problem as John Savage (June Readers' Forum). At that time there

were only 1 or 2 companies that had "factory- sealed" disks. We worked it out very simply, and it is now a blessing, what with more factory-

4 Charlton Heston, star of the forthcoming Cecil sealed disks. The solution was that 8. DeMille production, (Mrs. Heston) "The Ten Commandments" the shop opened up one copy for now starring Chicago Con, "we, of demonstration and used only that one. The Seven ear Itch." This simple solution would help many record shops and buyers. Peter Cronin Eccleston, Md.

SIR: Ultra High Fidelity I have just received a letter . . . drawing my attention to the comments CABINET SPEAKERS about Wharfedale Speakers which ap- Designed to add refreshing smartness to room interiors pear in the May issue over the name and bring sparkling sound rendition of Mr. L. A. Roper. (music you can feel) to your home. We agree that it is desirable to re- Featuring Curled, not folded, exponential horn tain the dust -cover where the magnet (1 ¡ó of formula). Multiple flare formula (patent gap is exposed behind the cone, al- applied for). Passive phasing chambers. 24db /octave though in the average living room a acoustical crossover. Distributed throat loudspeaker will normally perform for characteristic (not found elsewhere). a long number of years without at- See your high fidelity distributor or write tracting sufficient foreign matter to cause trouble. G. A. Briggs Wharfedale Wireless Works INC. Bradford, England 725 South LaSalle Street, Chicago 5, Illinois A Division of Eddie Brocken Enterprises

28 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com 50% more recording time with new &vz&PLOA4 tape!

No more stopping for reel change when Secret of new "Scotch Brand's extra play- you're tape recording longer musical works, ing time is a more potent oxide coating which dramatic productions, sports and news events! offers improved hi fi response, yet is 50% New "Scotch" Brand Extra -play Magnetic thinner than standard tape coatings. A thinner Tape 190A cuts time-consuming changeover tape backing produces more uniform hi fi breaks by giving you 50% more recording time output -cleaner, crisper tones -while retaining on each reel -with as much tape as you'd find on critical strength factors to meet the demands of 13/ reels of conventional tape. all home recorders.

EXTRA -THIN. 50% thinner, INCREASED FREQUENCY STRENGTH TO SPARE. New more potent oxide coating, range of new Extra -play 190A tape stands up under DM 30% thinner backing permit tape enables home machines even grueling steel ball drop í/ \ » more 190A tape to be wound to produce recordings with test. Naturally it's tough 5 /*- fi enough to withstand severe ik on standard reel. One roll of o greater hi response than with most stresses of sudden machine new tape does job of 13,4 FREQUENCY formerly possible reels of ordinary tape. conventional magnetic tapes stops, starts and reverses.

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The all new VM Fidelis offers astonishing beauty in styling and high fidelity tone ... plus luxurious convenience. Exclusive tone- o -matic loudness control lets you simultaneously balance both bass and treble tones to V-111 .556 the degree you desire in authentic high fidelity response. Power control regulates this predetermined response to provide the power level most WITH tone- o- matic® suitable for your listening comfort. Exclusive bass reflex chamber plus three angularly mounted speakers provide proper dispersion of all frequencies from 40 to 15,000 cps. Exclusive tuner input jack, external speaker jack, and 5 watt amplifier, plus many additional features, are all included for your pleasure. V -M Fidelis is available in Champagne blonde or African

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www.americanradiohistory.com The abundant flexibility of the beautiful new McIntosh C -108 Professional Audio Compensator assures you of the most listening pleasure from all of your records. Five bass turnover switches and five treble attenuation positions as well as variable bass and treble controls compensate for all recording curves - those in use today and any that may be used in the future. A rumble filter diminishes or completely eliminates turntable rumble, especially annoying when listening to older records. An Aural Compensator Control maintains proper bass and treble loudness when you play your system at low volume level. The C -108 for the first time combines beauty and abundant flexibility with ease of operation. - -FREE RECORD COMPENSATION GUIDE - McIntosh Laboratory, Inc 322 Water St., Binghamton, N. Y Please send sour helpful chart of 43 record company compensation curves for best playback results Intosh Name LABORATORY, INC. Address 322 Wate, Street Binghamton, N. Y Cit - -- Zone State. --- Export D.v,aon: 25 Worn, St., New York r N Y. COBLE SI MONTRICE ithitosh There's More

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HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com AS THE EDITORS SEE IT

ORIGINALLY we started this editorial with the word, Now, only a few hi -fi amplifiers or control units incor- "phooey." Then we crossed that out to try instead "de- porate as much as 20 db of bass boost at 5o cycles. But partment of better understanding" or something of the anyway - can you turn your bass tone -control all the kind. Because, while we feel inclined to say phooey, in way up without getting some hum? Then consider the due disgust at the status quo, it seems wiser - on calmer tape recorder manufacturer, who must achieve even greater thought - to try to understand the reasons for our an- bass boost and still keep the hum level so low that you, noyance. when you play a tape back, can add your own bass boost if What incites us today is some recent experience with your system is a little deficient in the lows! (Highs are tape recording. Not long ago we recorded a pianist also a severe problem, by the way.) in our home, using tape recorder A (in the $zoo price Now let's go back to our three recorders. Each of the class). Since tape recorder B (in the over- $1,000 bracket) three machines had been checked out for frequency res- was already connected to our high -fidelity system, we ponse by recording and playing back a frequency run at played back on that. Sound was clean but seriously out of 71/2 ips; each was flat within t r db from 5o to 12,000 cycles. balance: lows too heavy and highs too weak. Tape re- Those are high standards; what more can you ask for? corder C ($5oo class) was also ready for operation, await- But wait - let's switch tapes. Let's record the fre- ing testing. We tried that. Balance good, but still a little quency run on machine B and play it back on machine C. off. Finally we moved unit A into the listening room, The overall results will be: down 3 db at 5o cycles and hooked it up and tried that. Everything fine. down io db at 12,000! In other words, while all three

Why? To professionals, the . answer is well- known. machines were excellent within themselves, they were in- But an increasingly large number of tape recorders, even compatible with one another. of professional quality and price, are going into homes - What each manufacturer strives for is "perfect" equal- and home users, unless they are aware of the status quo ization. But he achieves that in two steps: partly in the we mentioned above, are quite possibly in for some dis- record phase of operation, partly in the playback phase. appointment if they try recording on one machine and How much equalization is inserted in record and how much playing back on another. in playback is an arbitrary matter determined by each Furthermore - and this may well have much greater and manufacturer for himself. And just as pickup manufac- wider significance - prerecorded tapes are on the market. turers do not agree on the best design for a phonograph Only a comprehension of - and action by manufacturers cartridge, so too the tape equipment manufacturers don't on - this problem of incompatibility will prevent the pos- agree on how much bass (and treble) boost to put into sibility of your discovering that the pre -recorded tapes you which mode - record or playback. are particularly anxious to hear cannot be played back, Which puts you in a predicament if you record on one ma- without serious tonal unbalance, on the machine you own. chine and play back on another. You may be able to And this although both your recorder and the one used by make up some, even all, of the difference with tone con- the producer of the tape are highly respectable makes. trols. But again, you may not. In other words, it appears that we are about to run into And what is it going to do to A -V Tape Libraries? To as much confusion with tapes as we have already experi- Webcor? To RCA Victor? To the others who are in, or enced with records, and out of which the record industry going into, the prerecorded tape business? They hope is only just beginning to extricate itself. to sell tapes to you because they afford superior sound. We have been over the record -equalization problem But how can they give you "better sound" when they dozens of times. We have bewailed again and again the haven't the slightest idea of the proper playback charac- multiplicity of recorded frequency characteristics used by teristic for your machine? the various record manufacturers, and on the need for On to the padded cell, men! standardization. The day when all recording companies Or - and this course of action we urge with all the use the same characteristic seems at last to be in the offing. strength we can muster - on to the conference table . . . Some companies, notably London, are now going so far right now, fast, before the equalization- confusion of the as to re- record large portions of their libraries to match record companies is sadly repeated. Certainly, some sort the new RIAA standard. of standard playback characteristic for tape machines can Very much the same sort of a dilemma now faces manu- be agreed upon ... even a rough standard ... and this facturers of tape equipment and of prerecorded tapes. should be done while the market is still in its infancy, not Let's examine it, understand it, and urge action. after it has started to grow and been stunted by dissatis- Life isn't easy for the manufacturer of a tape recorder. faction. One problem, for example, is how to get adequate bass Certainly, we know that standards are the hardest thing boost without getting hum. If tape were to be used un- in the world to agree upon. Everyone can prove that his aided by bass boost, the sound level at 5o cycles would way is best. But in the end, standards always come. Bet- be down more than zo decibels below that at i,000 cycles. ter for all that they should come in the beginning. C. F.

SEPTEMBER, t954 33

www.americanradiohistory.com Cultists, audidiots, bugs, hifinatics - these are some of the names tossed by supercilious critics and commentators at the folk who go to trouble and expense for high -quality music reproduction .. .

. in defense of the FAITHFUL

I C. G. BURKE

TO BE LAMPOONED is to be acknowledged. The cially defined: it represents no mensurable standards, and victim of satire is good or bad according to the culture of so it is abused with impunity. Good technical definitions those who examine him or pretend to, but he must be of all the components of a "high -fidelity" system exist, somewhere formidable or he would not be satirized. but they have never been issued to the public. A popular Everyone prominent is a little ridiculous, because some or non -technical definition is an urgent necessity. Until kind of variation from mediocrity - up or down, coarse we have one, caveat emitter. or refined, Thomas Parnell or Parnell Thomas, Andrew The sweep of celebrity has been a natural result of the Jackson or Andrew May - creates the prominence which great popularity of the long- playing records. The ad- dominant mediocrity must laugh at to keep its self -love. vent of LP found no instrument ready to play it well, and A faction will be lampooned in its struggle for power the subsequent improvements in tape and technique have and after power has been won. A radical doctrine will instigated improvements in the apparatus to reproduce undergo ridicule while it is radical and after custom has them. The reciprocal stimulation of disk and machine is made it tradition. Great satire may be mortally effective mighty and continuous. It has acquired for both a vast (Don Quixote), or running counter to a current, satire new audience, and for FM radio stations, those aristo- may be ineffective (women's voting). Fads are always cratic waifs of an industry not contaminated elsewhere by lampooned, and thousands have been drowned in laughter, distinguishable refinement, myriads of informed and dis- but some have enough vitality to survive surprisingly, and criminating listeners, people familiar with the magnificent make part of a culture. Lawn tennis lasts after more than complexity of a symphony orchestra. Such people wish 7o years, but mah -jongg was buried after a short excited an oboe to sound unmistakably and completely like an flurry of existence. Bundling as a risky way of courtship oboe. Hence high fidelity. Hence alas, also, low fidelity was scoffed out of the communities that had esteemed it. in masquerade as high. It is a pity, and it is needless, that The dashing sports -car of inadequate capacity offers satire anyone be deceived by the travesty, since there is a wealth a recurrent target. Fashions in women's dress rise of excellent equipment available. There is real danger that and fall on alternate billows of insensate publicity and those gulled will mistake what they bought for the true implacable ridicule. But alive or dead, all those things substance of what a phrase induced them to think that meant something once, and the survivors are no longer they were buying. Here high fidelity, however it may be called fads. defined, makes enemies. Now let's take a look at the manifestation called High It has made others. Some with obvious justification Fidelity. Is this a fad? Is it durable? What is it, exactly; (the dissenting part of a household not at one on music and what would be Low Fidelity? Everyone talks about it, as a household god; the neighbors within easy earshot; and the newspapers and magazines are rich in advertise- the deaf and the tone -deaf, disagreeably reminded of an ments of it; and we have perplexing variants of the term: affliction), others with justification less apparent. "Ultra Fidelity" and "Super Fidelity." If fidelity is a good There is severe criticism from sources not fundamentally thing, is it good to be beyond or above it? inimical. There is implied criticism from sources pre- The thing itself, or the inception of the thing, dates from viously always sympathetic. Satire converges on high the mid- 193os. Thus it has already proved durability. The fidelity from all directions, and a jocular air of mystification term, casually used, appeared at about the same time. It emanates from countless journalistic references to the sub- was not then in the vernacular, and it is its recent extra- ject. Plainly, high fidelity (whatever it is) has here an ordinary ubiquity that gives to the thing some of the as- acknowledgment of its strength; and serene in its strength pects of a fad. The term has never been publicly or offi- may examine thoughtfully the transgressions imputed to it.

FIDELITY MAGAZINE 34 HIGH

www.americanradiohistory.com One of the earliest, and still one of the most valid, There is worse to come. Writing in The Reporter of Nov. warnings against a tendency in the reproduction of musical Io, 1933, Mr. James Hinton, Jr., well known to readers sound, was spoken by Mr. Paul Henry Lang in the Musical of HIGH FIDELITY, renders the animal more repulsive still: Quarterly of July, 1952. Mr. Lang, after mentioning the "True audiophiles are a race apart ... They don't listen to high- fidelity phenomenon with respect and knowledge, music at all; they listen to high frequencies and low fre- deplores the license of the recording director - the elec- quencies; and they buy records simply because the cult tronic engineer - to falsify music and confound aesthetics grapevine has put out the word that so- and -so's such - when that engineer is guided exclusively by scientific and -such is really hi -fi. I once saw a man turn off the tables of measurement. We all know the abuse of this whole middle register of his 'rig', as audidiots call their license, the fever of high -treble mania, the intoxication of pets, and sit contentedly through the Westminster Pines percussion, the shock of dramatic disproportion. The of Rome . . . with nothing audible above 15o cycles or abuse prevails less now than it did two years ago, but we below 4,000" - Mr. Hinton means nothing audible be- still have it when the musician is not there to overrule the tween these points - " ... He would be better off if he sonic technician. The trumpet's voice is less important played with electric trains .... " than what the trumpet says. Perfection in both is the goal, but if there must be compromise, let the idea dominate. The technician has his place and he ought to keep it, sub- NOW UNLESS coincidence wrought a miracle and servient, knowing how, to him who knows why. had two men silencing the mid -range speaker in a repro- (The matter of creative unbalance, of intensifying musi- duction of the same recording of the same Pines of Rome, cal expression by electro-mechanical means, a fecund mat- at about the same time, the writer of these words knows ter to be examined with hopeful, careful eyes, is another where and when that demonstration was accorded Mr. question, not propounded by Mr. Lang. Its answer would Hinton. The experiment was purely antic in spirit, aimed be vaster than this space provides.) at the amusement of guests too well fed for more serious The early high -frequency intoxication was really the matters. All, including the experimenter, far from sitting intoxication of discovery. The phonograph sounded in- contentedly in the midst of the horror he had contrived, struments that had previously been silent, and to prove laughed or groaned as the horror's shifting emphases this, such instruments were given the foreground from impelled them. Mr. Hinton's little anecdote is more which to proclaim themselves. Thus triangle, cymbals, amusing, but it gives wings to a myth. tam -tam and glockenspiel often were given the promin- Journalists without Mr. Hinton's customary responsi- ence of solo instrument when their place in the score bility, mistaking, according to journalistic tenets, exag- was to add tints of color or to mark punctuation. This geration for humor, have sweated over many a funny stint coincided with the appearance of a couple of tweeters of on high fidelity. Two ought to suffice: a Mr. Gilbert Mill - exacerbating brilliance, which had the merit of restoring stein, resolutely a funny man, prefers falsehood to far - to life high frequencies engraved into 78s but remaining fetching, in making merry for the readers of the New York latent to most apparatus. The tweeters still exist for Times of November 22, 1953: "High fidelity . .. is actually those who want them, but they are already archaic in a a discipline as bleak and sinewy as that of the Trappist scheme of reproduction in which balance is now a pri- monk ... The mere act of turning on the machine is a rite mary desideratum. And nowadays perhaps one record so stylized that" ... "By the time a high -fidelity machine in to, no more, is deliberately unbalanced to favor im- is primed to play a record, at least an hour and a half has mediate effectiveness at the expense of a more durable elapsed ... it is de rigueur to play Haydn's 'Military Sym- sobriety. phony.' In the second movement . . . there are about four or five minutes of almost nothing but triangles and cymbals ..." AN EXTENSIVE article in Life last summer, knowing as Of course, this is jocose, in a desperate way, but it is whole but concerned with the commercial, social and a train of lies nevertheless. (The Haydn could have been technical aspects of high fidelity, featured in photographs obviated by a glance at the score. The rest can be cor- and text a rather disappealing animal that other journalists rected only by the acquisition of taste.) But we are watch- have enthusiastically maintained as a symbol for those ing the promotion of a myth, the invention of an animal, who prefer good to bad phonographs. High fidelity, the creation of a monster; and the merry twinkle in the said Life, "is mainly the work of a large body of 'audio- creative prose is assumed to compensate for the affront philes', or mild- mannered lovers of well- reproduced music, to truth. spear -headed by a small, ardent band of hobbyists, known Mr. Frederick C. Othman has the tired and obnoxious as 'bugs' or 'knob twirlers', who are among the most job of filling daily a newspaper column with subjective dedicated fanatics ever produced in this country ... The reflections. No one can do this well: no one has ever bug does not necessarily like music at all but is simply lived who had something worth saying, not said before, interested in the reproduction of dazzling sound for its every day. With the address of a crippled Holstein he own sake ... He will play an entire 12 -inch record through has exercised the columnist's prerogative to attack what simply for the sake of one well -recorded cymbal crash at he does not understand, in a column appropriately ter- the end; sometimes he plays only the cymbal crash, over minated by the word "cheap." In this witty thing he seems and over ... . to be saying that the operation of a phonograph eludes

SEPTEMBER, 1954 35

www.americanradiohistory.com his comprehension. for an accuracy that cannot be excelled and does not yet In this little examination of the negative criticism of exist. To the writer this seems a good thing, the search high fidelity, attention has been paid only to those critics for perfection; although it is an onerous, trying thing, and who carry weight, either in their own hands or in the expensive. It seems odd that some should seek medio- prestige of the publications which print them. A well - crity when they are not bound by economic shackles, disseminated ridicule by others merely imitates the line very odd that "medium fidelity" should be preferred to to be taken if journalists wish to arrive. No knowledge of high, oddest that the Philadelphia Orchestra should be music, no appreciation of electronics, and no ears are preferred veiled to naked in all her vividness. necessary to write in a condescending way about the re- But some say that the Philadelphians on records can production of music, when the reproduction is good and never be right. This involves prophecy, which cannot the goodness is still a novelty. be successfully contested until the event's advent; and it An aggressive design of mockery emerges from these involves a definition of "right" which cannot be accepted examples. Only Mr. Lang expresses straightforward con- with unanimity. The Philadelphia, like other orchestras, cern for an abuse that admittedly did exist and a danger does not sound the same at different times in different that has been abated, and he is the only one to refrain places. A good record played through a good apparatus from derision. What are the other gentlemen laughing at? obtains a good similitude of the orchestra performing no It is not the concept of high fidelity itself, for this phrase matter where, no matter when. Good similitude and high is translated most simply as close resemblance, accurate fidelity are synonymous, and the most valid objection to reproduction, applied to sound. The gentlemen would either would be force majeure, - lack of money, presence not claim a superiority for inaccuracy or dubious resem- of wife, restricted space, atrophied ear, hatred for art. blance. They prefer to lampoon a by- product, an animal, Just the same, objections have been cited which are a bug, says Life, who uses, or talks about, high fidelity. current. Here, they seem frivolous, and so do other ob- This is like rejecting a Chrysler because some of the jections which have not been cited. A healthy institution people who drive it are not nice; or deriding Shakespeare examines the objections opposed to it, however frivolous, because fools can quote him, or disparaging the coconut to defend its health. The objections will not be so much because monkeys esteem it. answered here as explained, because frivolity earns no Does the animal, the bug, exist? Is he important? Has answer but betrays a symptom. he done any harm? Is he worth denigrating the accom- Many objections directed at high fidelity are reiterations plishment of the industry called high fidelity? The in- of old complaints aimed at the phonograph in any form, dustry has made disponible to ten thousand hamlets the at the reproduction of music through mechanical or elec- music of Beethoven and 6o -odd symphonies by Haydn. tro- mechanical means. Mr. Hinton, in partibus infidelium, Ten operas, 40 concertos and 4o symphonies of Mozart, makes several points sharply that seem true: that is, they 5o cantatas by Bach, all the spontaneous wonder of Schu- are certainly true to those who assess one group of pre- bert and the obscurer grandeurs of Handel are the fruit judices more highly than another. (Undoubtedly true, of this derisory industry. So are the symphonies of Mahler, Anatole France used to say in aesthetic discussions, but so and a bewilderment of contemporary music doomed is the contrary.) without records to be mostly silent. Will we despise the This is necessarily a polemic article against what the fruit, because a bug has fluttered over it? writer believes to be a mistaken flippancy invidious pos- The insect does probably exist, but he seems not to swarm. sibly to a leaven of spirituality granted the American There is enough testimony on his existence to grant it. people (in particular) by the marvelous favor of the phono- Still, he cannot be numerous, for the present writer, in graph and those radio stations who sacrifice soap for opera. 30 years of active interest in the phonograph, has never The writer has never heard or seen a criticism of the phono- met an example of the breed. He has encountered just graph as an excitant of high pleasure that could bear one among a thousand correspondents, and this young long scrutiny, and he is convinced that without exception one may have been spurious, flaunting as he did, a vo- general negative criticism is superficial. He thinks that cabulary suspiciously like a parody of much of it proceeds from an old habit the trade cant that the high -faithful of snobbish aloofness acquired when are supposed to use. the phonograph was disreputable. The high- faithful known to the What are we to think of the metro- writer are grave and considered in politan provincialism of those who their judgment of the reproduction of advise the public performance as a music. Without exception, they favor thing of infinite living superiority over accuracy. Without exception, they the best recording of the same music detest exaggeration of the upper by the same performers? Shall the treble, in recording or reproduction, rancher in Wyoming discard his Missa and some of them have had influence Solemnis because once or twice a year, in curbing this aberration. They do perhaps, a public performance in New not use a special, self -conscious lingo. York or Chicago will be more effec- It is true that most of them are vic- tive? The musical regimen of three - tims of a pushing and prurient desire fourths of Continued on page 112

36 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com A prima donna in the grand old manner is the grand young woman, American-born, who has conquered opera - loving Italy and opera -discophiles the world around. 5cath's kw Qaeen.

by MARTIN MAYER

T HIS WAS IN APRIL, the next to last month of the separated, and mother took Maria back to Greece, where, opera season at La Scala. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the age of 14, she made her debut in Cavalleria at the had just put his crown back on, over his monk's cowl, and Athens Opera. dragged his dying grandson off to the catacombs at Miss Callas was successful in Greece, but very much stage left, and the curtain was dropping on the year's a local star, and in 5945 she returned to the United States, final performance of Verdi's Don Carlos. A full house of looking for new lands to shine upon. The parts and places 3,zoo Milanese was making its presence felt, and shortly she was offered seemed to her unworthy of her abilities, the cast was taking bows before the curtain, dominated and her quest was fruitless for a year. Then, quite sud- now as during the performance by the tall, red -headed, denly, there appeared in New York the director of Verona's slender figure of the Queen of Spain, Maria Meneghini outdoor opera season, looking for someone who could Callas. handle Norma. He auditioned Miss Callas in New York It was her last performance of the season at Scala, and gave her a contract. and this 1953 -54 season had seen the greatest triumphs of Within three years she had sung major parts in every her career - Donizetti's Lucia, Gluck's Alceste, Cherubini's important Italian opera house, and her talents had been Medea. In the row behind me a man broke off his applaud- gathered together and given a new direction by Tullio ing to say to his companion, "La Regina della Scala" - Serafin, the Grand Old Imp of Italian opera. "You could the Queen of Scala. And at the end of the last curtain say he made me," Miss Callas commented. "Of course, I call, a straggler turned to the stage and called, con amore, made myself. But he was very important." She sang in "Arrivederci, Maria!" London and in South America, and the records began to Few opera singers ever win such displays of love from appear: the first was Cetra's Gioconda. Then EMI (Angel in the audience in the expensive seats, and I told Miss Callas the United States) featured her last year in its three official about it when we met the next day at the spanking -new, Scala recordings - Tosca, Lucia, Puritani - and her name abandoned movie theater (its owners had been unable to began to be heard back home. The Metropolitan Opera get a license) where EMI was recording Bellini's Norma. tendered an invitation which was rapidly refused, both Miss Callas was delighted. "You know, we can hear them money and other conditions being unsatisfactory; but the shouting," she said, "but we can't hear what they shout. resuscitated Chicago Opera rescued the situation. Miss I'm so happy to know it's so nice." Callas will make her professional debut in her native One of her entourage picked up the conversation, land at Chicago early this November. She will sing in "They loved you in Don Carlos," he said. "But I don't Lucia, Norma and Traviata - six performances in all. think I'll ever hear anything like the reception they gave Then she returns to Italy, to reign at Scala, and elsewhere. you after Lucia." What the Chicagoans will see this fall bears small re- Miss Callas turned on this unfortunate with her full semblance to the pictures which have accompanied Miss stage presence. "What!" she said. "Have you forgot- Callas's record albums. These photographs showed a hefty, ten? I haven't done Traviata yet!" goggle -eyed woman, no style to her at all; while the Callas This was three -quarters a joke. Almost exactly three - of today could be a symbol of theatrical chic, a young girl quarters. with an excellent figure, wearing dark -rimmed, extreme harlequin glasses, her flaming red hair pulled tightly back Maria Callas (Meneghini is her husband's name) was into a burning bun, her tailored clothes and dramatic hats born 32 years ago to a Greek immigrant family in New in colors that set off the very white skin, the black eye- York City's Washington Heights. She sang from infancy, brows, the red hair. She is not photogenic, in the same mostly in church choirs and over the radio on Saturday illogical way that some singers record badly, but even the morning children's programs. She received her early edu- camera does not lie so completely. During the summer cation in the New York public schools, from which comes of 1953 Miss Callas lost no less than 7o pounds, with the the idiom of her English. When she was 13 her parents inevitable, cheerful result. She said that she did not work

SEPTEMBER, 1954 37

www.americanradiohistory.com to lose her weight: "I am not naturally fat. I had a tape- wall. The local deckhands cleared out the back 15 rows worm, and when I lost the tapeworm I lost the fat." And of the orchestra, sat the musicians in front of the wall, then, later, she added, "The operatic public does not like facing toward the stage, and used the wall as a sounding fat women, and they are right. To be on the stage a wo- board. The chorus sat in the loge, right above the orches- man should be attractive." tra; the singers stood on a raised, railed walk to the con- It was a conversation studded with such comments, ductor's left. This is a very awkward way to run a railroad, like nail heads. "Records are wonderful for little voices," and as many as eight microphones were used to pull every- she said. "They are hard for me because, you know, I thing together on the tape. have the big voice." In talking about composers she took The engineering and musical staff, one Englishman pains to praise Bellini, for whose music her brilliant, flex- and one Italian at each position, sat in a small, smoky ible voice is perfectly suited, at the expense of Verdi, who room behind the stage, and communicated by telephone sometimes demands a richer sound. She lamented that cer- with conductor Tullio Serafin. To a visiting American tain singers whose presence would enrich the casts of her the strangest part of the procedure was the casual way favorite operas tend to waste and ruin their talents on the musical staff turned the dials on the recording equip- works in which she has no part. She does not sing German: ment: any such behavior in the United States and the "Opera is always so beautiful in Italian." engineers' union would go into a state of shock, and It is fun to watch this sort of thing being done again, probably pull all the wires out of the joint, smash the after so many years. Most modern opera singers are hard- equipment and yank up the floorboards. In Italy, it seems, working musical professionals whose performances are the rules are less rigid. Walter Legge, grand sachem of judged, like pianists' performances, according to more or EMI, was boss on the job; since he was boss, he could less objective standards. In the Golden Age, or so the twist knobs to his heart's content, until he got the balance memoirs have it, the cantatrice was a woman apart, walking he liked. in an aura of impeccable greatness towards which gravi- EMI's Scala recordings are locally considered historic tated a large, traveling entourage. Every piece of clothing documents, on which no expense is to be spared. Thirty - was part of a costume, every word expressive of a compli- six hours of recording time went into the two records of cated inner state called temperament. The world was an Puccini's Tosca, and though Norma was a less compli- oyster, and prima donna was its pearl. What saved this cated job it was damn the torpedoes from beginning to attitude from pomposity was the boisterous Italian sense end. The worst trouble, oddly enough, came in the mo- of humor; Miss Callas, returning to the grand manner, ments that sounded most beautiful in the hall: the second relies with great success on an equally direct, equally at- act duet between Miss Callas and Miss Stignani. tractive American irreverence. They are as unlike each other as any two women could Behind the sound, the fury and the bounce, after all, be. Stignani is as short and dumpy as Callas is tall and is a superb voice and a great talent. Music aside, Miss trim, and some years older. (Ebe Stignani is a name not Callas is an excellent actress, specializing in the most for an age but for all time, with which your great- grand- difficult of the acting arts: classical tragedy. Her glance father was probably acquainted. She has been singing dominates the stage. Her posture proves the pride that is for at least 3o years, but her voice remains pure, huge and about to fall. In emotional moments she uses her hands incredibly flexible, without any edge to it, or an ounce and arms - very slow, smooth gestures - to beautiful of strain.) Stignani croons through a rehearsal, and turns effect. She moves regally, slowly, gracefully. ( "But, of on the juice for the recording; her mouth forms a differ- course," she says, "what counts is that I can stand still. ent shape for every vowel and every tone; she works. Callas Very few singers can stand still. It takes nerve. ") The loves to sing, and gives at all times; Continued on page roo voice itself is an extremely expressive one, especially in a Recording Norma: Callas looks across contralto Rina Cavallari at dark, tolling lower register which is Miss Callas's patented tenor Mario Filippeschi. At her right: basso Nicola Rossi- Lemeni, own. PU I FOTO With these tools, her strong intelligence, and her Greek - American- Italian exoticism, Miss Callas has established with her audience a rapport that makes her the unquestioned prima donna of the Italian operatic stage. This was difficult to do: how difficult can be appreciated only by those who have experienced the incomparable voice and perfect musicianship of Miss Renata Tebaldi. To have the second best voice in Italy, and become the first lady of opera, is an accomplishment beyond any man's poor power to add to or detract from. Like all such accomplishments, it takes constant work.

The movie theater in which EMI recorded Norma is a one -level affair with a loge but no balcony. The orchestra section runs back to a wall about a quarter the height of the theater, and the loge starts at the top of that

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE 38

www.americanradiohistory.com ACURIOUS BYSTANDER in shirtsleeves butted in the Austrian mountains with no sprightlier step than while Edgar Varèse was on one of his sound -gathering Varèse's, at 69, as he traverses the streets of lower New excursions last spring, occupied with the delicate business York. In Greenwich Village on a summer day, as he of recording the grating, grinding sounds of a machine greets children, shopkeepers and old acquaintances in shop. The onlooker asked what was going on. Varèse fluent Italian, French, Spanish, German or English - Eng- explained that he was collecting the makings of a com- lish the worst - it's obvious that the natives regard him position, that these sounds (he never calls them noises) as a local institution. Thus it was with "Der Beethoven" are his raw materials. "Ah!" the man said, with a pleased and the Viennese. look of recognition. It was a pleasure to meet a modern The day -to -day sounds of a working city are to Varèse composer. A friend of his was an expert on the species what nightingales, bubbling brooks and the distant melan- - "He owns a record that sounds just like all this ma- choly of the ranz -de -vache were to his predecessors. "Raw chinery." material," he says with a gleam of anticipation, stopping Preoccupied, Varèse only nodded and pulled the head- to hear better the undulating counterpoint of a cutlery- phones down over his ears. "You're going to have a hard grinder's wheel over the basso ostinato of an ancient Ford time doing better than that record," the questioner per- truck with faulty pistons. In his perambulations, Varèse sisted, "it's called Ionizations, or something like that." also keeps an eye peeled for all sorts of likely sound - Varèse shrugged and turned the gain up a little higher. producing instruments. One of the latest additions to his "Certainly I can do better," he said, "I'm sure of it." percussion arsenal at home is a broken piece of to -inch Having said which, the composer of Ionization pressed the pipe picked up from a plumber's discards. It will con- "START" button of his Ampex 4o1 -A, with the confidence tribute its sombre, iron resonance to the work he's just and determination of a Beethoven rapping out the germ - about to finish, called Deserts. (What deserts? Not only motif of the Fifth Symphony. those he explored in New Mexico, but all kinds, every- The idea that Edgar Varèse is a genius within the Great where - "including the desert in the mind of man. ") Tradition of Beethovenian iconoclasm has had consider- The score calls for short sections of taped sound, played able currency for nearly 5o years. Claude Debussy was antiphonally with an ensemble of winds and percussion. one of the first to say so, in days when Pelléas and Méli- The tape embodies snippets of compressed -air whsssshs, sande were still Young Moderns. Varèse himself, though frictional grrrrrs, the schtompfts of trip- hammers, all reluctant to talk about it, has lived and worked secure in edited, filtered and organized as an abstract sonic collage. the conviction that this is indeed the case. In his sense of Varèse looks pained, and makes no effort to conceal mission he resembles the solitary Baron de Stendhal, who his distress, when people ask whether Deserts or his now - wrote for a future age, and for "The Happy Few." (Inci- celebrated Ionization are intended as industrial tone -poems. dentally, Louise Varèse, the composer's wife, ranks as "There's nothing imitative or descriptive or futurist about one of America's foremost translators of French poetry me," he tells them, "I have nothing like the Iron Foundry and prose, and is responsible for the Stendhalia published of Mossoloff, or Pacific 231. Mr. Honegger's locomotive by New Directions.) doesn't travel very fast, does it ?" The pattern of musical genius appears to have changed Though he carted his Ampex all the way to Philadelphia very little since Beethoven, Schubert and Berlioz set the for Deserts raw material, and just because a certain factory style for the Romantics. Edgar Varèse has the same there offered "marvellous reverberation," he resents hav- beetle -browed look one encounters in portraits of Bee- ing critics class him with the apostles of music- in -the- thoven and Berlioz; Schubert, at 3o, could have hiked over machine, as some have done. "I go to them for sounds

photographs by WALTER D. BURSTEN

SEPTEMBER, r954 39

www.americanradiohistory.com only because existing musical instruments are inadequate that which exists between writer and reader, through the for my needs," he explains. "On tape I can make what book." He notes sorrowfully that "right now, tape is I need." The sight of Varèse at work on location, placing often used for stunts instead of composing." his Altec non -directional microphone near drill -presses or Forty years ago, Varèse predicted confidently that the lathes with all the fastidious care usually lavished on day would come when anyone could press a button and Philharmonic set -ups - this sight has such fascination music would be released exactly as the composer wanted for his friends that he never has any trouble finding cars it. "In the 1920S and '3os I thought Varèse was living in a and willing roustabouts to take him and his equipment dream -world, with his sound amplifiers and purifiers and wherever he wants to go. He may spend hours recording what- not," a prominent critic confessed recently. "Even a ratratatatrat just to have 20 seconds' worth for the fin- when old professor Theremin built him those two elec- ished composition. tronic howlers for Equatorial, I thought it must be all a Many expert witnesses have maintained over the years lot of moonshine. But now it's coming to pass, not from that what Varèse composes isn't properly "music" at all, the composer's end so much as from the listener's. Every- no matter what instruments he chooses. As recently as body is talking frequencies these days." 1949, for instance, Olin Downes was moved to describe Varèse's music fares eminently better in this frequency - Integrales as "something dramatic and something that conscious era than it did in days of yore. More people might be productive of a new shudder for a sympathetic may have bought the EMS LP of Ionization, Integrales,

nervous system . . . . enormous percussion, monstrous Density 21.5 and Octandre as a high -fidelity demonstration brass and wailing woodwind .... Music? Probably not." record than for its purely musical content. Varèse doesn't Yet Integrales of 1924 is relatively conventional, at least in consider that any reflection on himself. Test -record or not, orchestration, using only standard wind instruments - sales have exceeded all expectations and Varèse feels at flutes, clarinets, oboes, trumpets, trombones, and French least partly vindicated as a "worker in frequencies." Re- horn - together with assorted cymbals, castanets, tri- leased as the first commercial disk with a measured range angle, Chinese blocks, gong, tam -tam, chains, sleigh bells, from 14 to 18,000 cycles, it was five months in the making, tambourine, slapsticks, and several kinds of drums. He a labor of love by the composer and recording engineer has the percussion arranged so it can be manipulated by Robert E. Blake. In due course, Ionization and the others a four-man battery. are going to be understood, Varèse is certain. "Artists and Varèse says he doesn't care about "music." "It is only thinkers are never ahead of their time," he snorts, "but the a colossal industry today," he asserts with a sardonic smile. vast majority of people are trailing far behind it, still liv- He'd already washed his hands of it by the time Integrales was written: "When I see and hear some of the things that are done in the name of music, I don't want to be known as a musician. Call me rather a worker in intensities, frequencies, and rhythms." Composing on tape directly hasn't affected his lifelong habit of calculating every pitch, nuance, and timbre long before he actually begins setting down what he has in mind. In that important respect he differs from most of the "Tapesichord" avant -gardists of musique concrète. Pierre Schaeffer, the school's founder, has hailed Varèse as concrète prophet and patriarch, but Schaeffer and his cohorts are mainly surrealists -in- sound, improvising tape- montages from railroad noises, or crickets, or human heartbeats. Varèse has no interest in improvisation. In fact, to him the main attraction of tape, and of the electronic instruments he hopes to see perfected, is that they will give the composer ing in the past century. Hah!" complete control. Performing artists are a dangerous lot; Asked about the nature of his own mission as artist - they play around too much to suit Varèse. When tape thinker, Varèse will pull out a tattered slip of onion -skin and electronic media come of age, he expects they'll elim- paper that reads: "Our actual situation cannot be compared inate the meddlesome middleman in modern music, so to anything in the past. We must radically change our that "there's no distorting prism between composer and ways of thinking, our method of action." The author is listener, and we'll have the same intimate communion as Einstein, but Varèse says the feelings are his. He remem-

40 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com bers first feeling the need for radical change at the age of about to depart for greener fields in Germany, Rolland 19, when he left home in defiance of a stern father who counselled in a letter, " Puisez dans vos passions. You are wanted him to study engineering. (The Varèse family master of your musical language, with a virile youth comes from Corsica, where its name was entered into the and purity of poetic art which I love. Don't be too objec- stud -book of minor nobility about the same time as the tive. And don't be afraid to unbutton, like Strauss in the Buonapartes'. This circumstance may in part account for first page of Ein Heldenleben. You will never lose your French the eagle mien and imperial disdain with which Varèse clarity ...." confronts his critics.) Coming to Berlin as a choral conductor in 1907, Varèse For several years he studied composition and conduct- was drawn into the orbit of Ferruccio Busoni, the most ing at Vincent d'Indy's Schola Cantorum in Paris. "By intellectual musician of the day - composer, writer, example, d'Indy showed me what not to do," is his wry theorist, scholar, philosopher and keyboard virtuoso with- comment. Albert Roussel taught him the ground -rules of out peer. Gustav Mahler, Karl Muck and Richard Strauss counterpoint; organist Charles Widor invited him into his stood god- father in the baptism of his earliest tone -poems, master class in composition at the Conservatoire. "Those works of mixed Strauss -Debussian parentage that, naturally, were real master classes," he recalls, "not like here, where provoked several riots. Collaborating with Strauss's librettist, a master class is according to how much you pay. Stu- Hugo von Hoffmansthal, Varèse composed an opera, dents were there to learn in those days. Whenever I've Oedipus and Die Sphinx. It, together with seven years' taught at universities here, students were treated like cus- worth of orchestral scores, were burned in a warehouse tomers and the teachers were there to see they're kept hap- after his return to France on the eve of war. py. The customer is always right. If our medical schools With a wicked smile, Varèse recalls that New York re- were on the level of our music departments, they'd gradu- ceived him with open arms in 1916. Society feted the young ate not doctors but morticians." composer as a French military hero till he let it be known The First Prize of the City of Paris for 1906 was awarded that in two years of service he'd never risen above the to Varèse on Jules Massenet's recommendation. But it rank of Private, Second Class. "Why ?" was the ladies' was as a Debussy protégé that the young composer became shocked question. "Because there isn't any third class," known, and as an adventurous hot -blood whose exploits chortled Varèse. But he conducted like a veritable Field were freely transcribed by Romain Rolland for the story Marshal when - supported by Whitneys and Vanderbilts of his composite hero, Jean Christophe. When Varèse was - he led a mammoth performance Continued on page 104

SEPTEMBER, 1954 41

www.americanradiohistory.com Superimposed on the score above are two of the line of ready -made speaker cabinets made by Angle- Genesee, of Rochester, N. Y., and, below them, the hand-made equivalent, built and owned by reader Roy R. Mumma, of Pittsburgh. The two scenes at the bottom of the page are 26 feet apart in the home of H. J. Landsberg, a businessman of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The structure built around the top of the fireplace is the main woofer-enclosure, heavily insulated against heat - just as the lid of the record player compartment is insulated against needle -talk.

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE 42

www.americanradiohistory.com r

Both these very sightly jobs of housing equipment were done by Holly- wood Electronics. The array at the top seems to feature horizontal de- ployment. It feeds a Jensen speaker- system, not shown in the photo, and apparently is owned by a Scriabin -:over (three Scriabin records show). The lower array, vertically stacked, serves an Elec- tro -Voice Georgian speaker- system.

SEPTEMBER, 1954 43

www.americanradiohistory.com ... jazz in mid - passage Scholarly symposium at Newport. (I. to r.): Cowell, Stearns, O'Conner, James, Meriam.

After the Newport Festival this summer we thought it was time for another look at jazz. To take it we asked a Down Beat staff member - who reports as follows:

UNTIL this past July 17 and 18, the town of Newport, the Newport Jazz Festival symbolized the changing place Rhode Island, has been thought of as one of "the last of jazz in Western music. Long regarded by many suppor- resorts" - most easily identifiable by the mansions of the ters of "serious" music as a raucous young musical de- "400," the tennis tournaments at the Casino and the sites linquent unworthy of careful attention, jazz has steadily of early American history that are its streets and its seaport. established itself both here and abroad as a vital art form Now Newport has also become an historical landmark that will not be denied its place in concert halls, college in the growth of American jazz. Its new place in history classrooms, high -fidelity recordings and in the pages of can be attributed in large part to Mr. and Mrs. Louis P. the most reputable publications. The Newport Festival Lorillard, whose enthusiasm and financial assistance helped was heightened evidence of this change. bring about the highly successful Newport Jazz Festival, Actually jazz received serious recognition in Europe which drew 13,000 people into the town on those two long before it began to conquer some of the inaccurate July nights - along with several score newspaper and connotations that had constricted its area of acceptance magazine reporters. Life, Time, The New Yorker, Look, here. The first critical studies of jazz of any worth were The Saturday Review, Newsweek (and High Fidelity) were written by Europeans, and the first jazz festivals were represented, as well as a Mexico City newspaper and held in Europe. The Newport Festival was, oddly enough, Figaro of Paris. No previous jazz event had ever received the first of its kind anywhere in the United States. How- comparable attention. ever, when we finally did get around to having a Jazz The major part of this vigorous press coverage was Festival we did succeed in gathering the largest collec- frankly motivated by the dramatic irony involved in the tion of jazz groups and soloists ever assembled in one importing of jazz to the fading home of the 400. As shell.* Howard Taubman pointed out in The New York Times, The Festival's producer, George Wein, also decided Newport "gave itself a shot in the arm this weekend with that, in addition to the music, the Festival might benefit an infusion of one of the liveliest arts. It started a jazz from a little academic support. Stan Kenton was assigned festival, and it hopes this will become an annual event the task, difficult at times, of holding audience -attention that will help to recapture some of Newport's former long enough to precede each group with introductory luster." remarks, the whole of which was intended to add up to Interesting as this is as part of America's constantly a "Living History of American Jazz." A panel was also changing social history, the main significance of the New- '''Eddie Condon and his Dixielanders: Wild Bill Davison, Pee Wee Russell, port Festival lies in its relationship to jazz as a cultural Bobby Hackett et al; Milt Jackson Quartet; Oscar Peterson Trio; Dizzie Gillespie Quintet; Gerry Mulligan Quartet; George Shearing Quintet; Errol manifestation. In its roster of artists, in the nature of Garner Trio; Gene Krupa Trio; as well as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Teddy Wilson, Lester Young, Vic Dickenson, Rudy Brag, Lennie Tristano, its audience, in the long -range blueprint of its producer, Lee Konitz, Johnnie Smith, Bill Harris, Milt Hinton and many others.

by NAT HENTOFF

Mulligan Hinton Young Jackson Wilson

44 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com invited to discuss "The Place of Jazz in American Culture." The market for jazz recordings, however, remained Participating were composer -teacher Henry Cowell (Colum- limited in numbers until the early '4os, when it enjoyed bia University); anthropologist -jazz bibliographer Alan P. a brief spurt. Then, however, it began to decline, and by Meriam (Northwestern University); Marshall Stearns, exe- the early '5os almost the entire recording industry, except cutive director of the Institute of Jazz Studies, and Pro- for that section producing classical music, was geared to fessor of English (Hunter College); and Professor William exploit a sudden and voracious public appetite for maso- Laurence James, teacher and folklorist (Spelman College, chistic vocalists, echo chambers and other mechanical Atlanta). Moderator was Father Norman O'Connor of gimmicks. Boston University. Within the past two years, however, the market has Wein's ideas for jazz in Newport go beyond concerts shifted again and there has been an astonishing resurgence and panel discussions. "This is just the beginning," of jazz on records. Part of this is due to the ascendancy he said in an interview, "Now that we've proved this can of the LP. The LP is a particular blessing for jazz artists. be done, we can go on to do what we want to. And that For one thing, it does not restrict their performances to the includes a summer center of jazz studies here in Newport. arbitrary three- minute-limit imposed by 78s. Now a man In time, I hope that the center will be the most important can improvise as freely and for as long (practically speak- aspect of the whole undertaking and that the concerts, ing) as he likes. Witness the Columbia Buck Clayton though they will continue, will be secondary to the school. tz -inch LP (c1. 548). One tune, The Huckle -Buck, lasts We want to build something permanent for jazz with over 20 minutes and 63 choruses. these festivals." Equally important is the fact that tape, now universally This linking of the words "jazz" and "permanent" is used by record companies, is especially adapted to the another indication of the changes in attitude toward jazz growing practice of recording jazz "on location" before among both its audiences and its practitioners. The early an audience, catching the spontaneity of the live per- jazzmen had little idea that they were creating an art form. formance. It makes a difference. A recent Dave Brubeck For them jazz was a means of expression and of making a collection taped at three college concerts (Jazz Goes to living. Their solos were as transitory as their jobs, and were College, Columbia c1. 566) has been outselling Liberace! made anew each night. But some musicians like Duke (It is unfortunate, incidentally, that no tape record- Ellington did begin early to create works with permanence ings were made at the Newport Jazz Festival. One would in mind. And through jazz recordings, beginning in the think that for a cultural event of this importance, ar- 1920s, even some of the transitory solos in "head" arrangements would have been made with the American rangements were preserved as well as the written frame- Federation of Musicians to allow at least a "documentary" works like those of Ellington. record of the events to be made for presentation to the The part recordings have played through the years in Library of Congress, as had originally been intended.) preserving the line of the jazz tradition cannot be under- The third and most recent factor in increasing the num- estimated. For a long time the early jazz recordings were ber of jazz recordings being made and bought has been the sold primarily to the Negro market and few thought of introduction of what has come to be called "high fidelity" those recordings as having permanent value. But, begin- into the recording of jazz. I remember several years ago ning in the '3os, jazz collectors arose, discographies were the lament of several engineers I knew that there were printed, magazines were created for the jazz collector, no jazz records of sufficient hi -fi quality to serve as demon- and the phonograph recording assumed an importance in stration disks. It was their theory that jazz usages in per- the growth of jazz even greater than in classical music. cussion and in the voicing of melody instruments were The obvious reason for the importance of recordings "made" for high fidelity. Not until recently, however, in the evolution of jazz is that an improvised solo is never did any of the recording companies realize this. played the same way again. Mozart can and did live All companies, it would seem, have blandly stamped for a century and a half through manuscripts that can be "hi -fi" on their envelopes, but actually the only two com- performed by any musically qualified orchestra anywhere panies whose jazz product is consistently of the highest in the world. Jazz so far has been able to preserve its quality are Vanguard in the East and Contemporary (which achievements only through recordings. also manufactures the equally hi -fi Good Time Jazz) on

Newport Jazz Festival photographs by MAURICE WOLF.

Krupa Brajj Peterson Fitzgerald Kenton

SEPTEMBER, 1954 45

www.americanradiohistory.com the West Coast. The others are becoming more consis- gan may be explained by his practice of basing the im- tent, and eventually that bold "hi -fi" on the envelopes will provisations of his four -piece pianoless unit on cleanly have some sonic justification. linear interplay. Mulligan's music, therefore, has some The interest in all forms of jazz has now become so of the same kind of seemingly simply charm to be found widespread that the major companies are engaged in a in the two and three part inventions of Bach. fierce competition to bind jazz talent to exclusive recording More and more classical musicians and listeners are contracts. The small, independent companies, as usual, apparently finding something for them in jazz. I recall took the early economic gamble in recording the newer, that when Duke Ellington played in Boston two years ago, untried jazz (and still do). Then the major labels saw the a sizeable delegation from the Boston Symphony percus- sales figures and jumped in, signing artists who had first sion and brass sections were on hand to listen to drummer become known on small -company labels, and even some Louis Bellson, and trumpet player Cat Anderson. Similar- "unknowns." Victor, for instance, recently added Dick ly, Dave Brubeck (a pupil of Darius Milhaud, incidentally) Collins, Don Elliott and Tony Scott to their stables of has attracted both classical artists and teachers to Story- jazz performers. Three years ago, this would have been ville in Boston, Birdland in New York, and I suspect, the inconceivable. West Coast clubs where he also plays. Cause of all the excitement are the reports from re- The changing patterns involved in this broadening of tailers that jazz is rapidly becoming the "bread and butter" the jazz audience to include those who appreciate Bach line of many stores. For 17 years, to cite one instance, and Bartok has been largely a matter of re- education. Herman Lemberg ran the Record Collectors Shop in New Most of the new adherents had been so convinced for years York primarily as a classical operation. Now, though he that jazz was a tawdry, transitory music that they had still stocks classics heavily, Lemberg has devoted a large condemned it without ever bothering to listen to it. part of his inventory to jazz. The reason, he points out, is Others, through difficulties of definition, had assumed that that even when the rest of the record field lapses into one the standardized popular music they heard played relent- of its intermittent declines, "jazz pays the rent." Lemberg lessly on the radio and in the juke boxes was jazz. As has gone even further in his emphasis on jazz. He has jazz, however, began to be played more often on intelli- recently been hiring well -known modern jazz musicians to gently programmed radio broadcasts and as it became more perform at free weekly jazz concerts in his store. The available on well- reproduced recordings, many classical object is to familiarize the fans with the fact that the shop listeners began to shed their preconceptions. does carry all makes of jazz recordings. Accordingly, the jazz concert -audience began to change. Lemberg, like other record retailers, has discovered what In New York this past season, a group of young modern was also evident at Newport. The people who buy jazz jazzmen inaugurated a series of experimental jazz concerts records are not, as used to be thought, mostly teen -agers. and found themselves playing to a mature, attentive au- (The majority of the teen -agers, in fact, are far likelier to dience first at Carnegie Recital Hall and then at the Mu- squander their devotion and spending -money on Tony seum of Modern Art. Bennett and Joni James than on jazz.) In Boston, the committee for the annual Boston Arts The jazz audience is probably more diversified than any Festival, in a last- minute decision this year added an of the other buying categories. It comprises a large num- evening of jazz to the nights of opera, drama, choral and ber of college students, a large number of "young mar- symphonic programs. The reaction of the large audience rieds" whose interest in jazz did begin in their teens has ensured jazz's place in the future programs of the (their generation followed the bands rather than the Boston Arts Festival. The Newport Festival, was, in a vocalists); many professional men (there seems to be an sense, the culmination of this mature approach to the unexplainable affinity between medical doctors and Dixie- presentation of jazz. land); and an increasing number of the same people who While the audience for jazz has been gradually chang- regularly buy classical records. The remarkable sales of ing, so has jazz itself. The basis of jazz musical expres- the Gerry Mulligan quartet on the small Pacific Jazz sion is still improvisation, but the framework and the in- label has been due, in the opinion of some record re- terconnective texture has become more involved and better - tailers, to the fact that many classical purchasers made structured. There is greater utilization of contemporary the Mulligan records their initial venture into the world classical techniques, though none of jazz's traditional in- of jazz. The predilection of these consumers for Mulli- dividualism has been sacrificed. Continued on page ir8

Condon Russell Holiday Hackett

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE 46

www.americanradiohistory.com n By JAMES HINTON, JR.

Reunion in Eisenstadt

At last, after a hundred and forty -five years of separation, expect any high -pressure sales talk about its being the Josef Haydn is together. most macabre episode in the history of blah -blah. It's On June 5, Theodore Cardinal Innitzer, Archbishop of pretty macabre, all right, but not all that macabre. Or Vienna, led a solemn procession of high officials to the maybe is depends on the construction of individual ma- base of a pedestal in the Musikverein building. On top cabre- meters. I never had much trouble suppressing shud- of the pedestal was a reliquary case containing a skull. ders over it, but it is a sort of kicky story. President Theodor Koerner; Chancellor Julius Raab; the To begin with, it is necessary to understand that Joseph Papal Nuncio, Monseigneur Giovanni Dellepiane; and Haydn was in no sense a neglected genius. He was a suc- members of the diplomatic corps of many nations watched cess from the start of his career, ate better than most all as Cardinal Innitzer blessed the skull. Then the reliquary through it, and was pretty generally recognized as a Great was taken down, and the procession moved out the way Composer long before he died. And he didn't die until it had come. he was a good, round seventy -seven years old. Composers, A hearse was waiting to receive the reliquary. With speaking generally, are a neurotic and sickly lot, and it in the lead, a motorcade snaked slowly out of Vienna Haydn had his aches and pains - which he complained and headed in the direction of Eisenstadt, a market town about with gusto, just like anyone else - but he pretty in Burgenland Province - in the Soviet Zone. There nearly always had a place to live and people to pamper the body of Josef Haydn rested, coffined in a tomb in an him and flatter him, honors to buck up his spirits, and old, baroque church. The motorcade was charged with money to spend. True, he spent the greater part of his restoring its head. life in the service of the Esterhazy family, wearing the Ester - When the skull -bearers finally arrived at their goal, hazy livery. But that was before the fashionable nineteenth- another service was held - this time a blessing for the century conception of the creative artist as a sort of By- remains of Joseph Haydn, in toto, as the officials and diplo- ronic hero, standing alone on a rock, with lightning flash- mats looked solemnly on. Then the motorcade turned ing and waves crashing about his feet, looking nobly into in the square and swept back towards Vienna. Mission the storm for Inspiration. Haydn was a servant, in a way, accomplished. but he was also a high -level servant -a kind of officer - As the big, black, official automobiles departed, one servant, like the major-domo of the Esterhazy estate. Any Gustinus Ambrosi - described in the press only as "an way you cut it, he didn't have a half bad job. Besides, by expert" - set to work putting Haydn together again. the time he died, the nineteenth -century had begun, and How one goes about reconnecting a detached skull is a the old man had the advantages of both post- Renaissance question that only an expert - like the good Ambrosi - paternalism and the increasing deification of the artist. can answer. It seems best to trust him, and fret no more Compared with Bach, with all those big, little, and medium - about it. At any rate, for better or for worse, the Russians sized Bachs to feed (they were his own fault, to be sure, now control all of Haydn. They may have composers but there were still a lot of them) and Wilhelm Friedemann, formalistic as he, but for a combination of decadence the most talented one, raking up the pea- patch; compared and formalism, Haydn as he is today can hardly be beat. with Handel, in and out of debt and saddled with a flock All of which is pleasant as far as it goes, but it doesn't of temperamental castrati, Haydn had a pretty mellow tell how the body happened to be in Eisenstadt and the time of it, all told. skull in Vienna. Suppose someone wonders? Well, all Taking advantage of this salubrious climate, and mak- right, tell it again. The story of Haydn's skull has been ing use of his tremendous genius, he composed works told so many times that once more won't hurt, but don't that have led people to call him - and with plenty of SEPTEMBER, 1954 47

www.americanradiohistory.com justification - the Father of the Symphony, the Father of Haydn. Their motive? Simple enough: They were in- the String Quartet, and the Father of Modern Instrumental terested in phrenology, as were medical friends of theirs. Music. And, what is more, he lived to enjoy his status. They wanted to measure the skull and make phrenological Yet, living moderately and securely, he aged. In 18o3 he experiments on it. After all, Haydn was a great composer, was seventy -one; that year he conducted for the last time wasn't he? And how often do phrenologists, professional -a performance of The Seven Last Words. In 1805, a rumor or amateur, get a crack at a skull like his? Who could got around that Haydn had passed on. Cherubini corn- blame them? posed a cantata in memoriam; Kreutzer composed a violin Well, Prince Esterhazy, for one, could - and did. He concerto (based on themes by Haydn); and Mozart's set the police on their trail. The police went to Peter. Requiem (Mozart had died early, in í79t) was sung in No skull. He had given it to Rosenbaum (along with a Paris. Then came a letter from the old man saying that he lovely baroque case that had glass windows and a satin was "still of this base world." He added that had he known pillow). So the police went to Rosenbaum. No skull. of the occasion in time he would have come to Paris to At least not a findable one. As it turned out, Therese conduct the Requiem himself. Gassmann, Rosenbaum's singer wife, had taken the skull His last appearance in public was at a performance of to bed with her and refused to admit the police because The Creation, given at the University of Vienna in cele- she was, she groaned, oh so terribly ill. bration of his seventy -sixth birthday. Everyone was there The police were in a dilemma. If they turned up without - almost everyone. The Princess Esterhazy sat next to the skull, the prince might take drastic action. But no skull. him and put her own shawl around his shoulders. As he At this point, Rosenbaum offered a skull, no questions left the auditorium Beethoven knelt unostentatiously and asked. He wanted money, and apparently was not at all kissed his hand. In 1809, with the Napoleonic armies rag- reluctant to whittle the coin on both sides. He got little ing outside of Vienna, he said: "Children, be comforted. enough for his pains, but the police accepted the skull. I am well." Then he died. In Vienna, Mozart's Requiem It wasn't Haydn's skull. It was just some old skull Rosen- was sung again. baum happened to have knocking around in the cupboard. All of this, I suppose, is quite beside the point. It is But it was a skull. simply meant to call again to mind that Joseph Haydn really So the wrong skull was dutifully attached to the rest of was a great man. and that his greatness was known in his what was left of Haydn - whether by "an expert" or not long, beloved lifetime. It is background for the unseemly has not come down in history - and there the composite comedy that followed. skeleton lay in the church at Eisenstadt. It looked splendid. Haydn's body was buried with honors in the Hunde- If matters had stopped there, no doubt everyone would sturm Cemetery (the name of the cemetery alone is enough have been satisfied. Eisenstadt would have had a complete to strike the grotesque note) largely because of the war's representation of the mortal remains of Haydn, and unsettlements. Soon Prince Esterhazy was granted per- Prince Esterhazy could have rested content that he was no mission to move the body to Eisenstadt. Times were still longer being selfish and hoarding distinguished bones. far from settled, though, and in 1814 Sigismund Neukomm, But this was not to be. finding the tomb in what seemed to him a shocking state Rosenbaum finally died - as all men must, and pass to of disrepair, placed on it a marble slab with Haydn's favorite dust - leaving the echt skull of Haydn to his old friend and tag from Horace: "Non omnias moriat," set as a five - fellow grave -robber, Peter, with the proviso that it be part canon. willed by him to the museum of the Society of the Friends Some half a dozen years later, the Duke of Cambridge of Music. At this point, the plot becomes a little bit con- said, as though envyingly, to Prince Esterhazy, "How fused. What seems to have happened is that Peter, on his fortunate is the man who employed this Haydn in his death - presumably after having made all the cranial lifetime and now has possession of his remains." This measurements he cared to make - willed according to the set the prince to thinking, and he ordered Haydn's body entail. But then the skull could not be found. It had exhumed and re- entombed in the Eisenstadt city church, been taken by a fellow phrenologist. He on his death, be- where he had in life so often conducted his masses. queathed the skull to the University of Vienna. Officers moved to obey the prince's order, but in pro- Then ensued a long legal tangle, with three litigants cess of carrying it out, they opened the coffin itself. To claiming Haydn's head: the Friends of Music; the uni- their enormous shock: No head! Here was Haydn, ready versity; and the Esterhazy estate. Finally - on what to be moved to Eisenstadt. But where was his head? grounds it is very difficult to imagine - the Friends of The officers told the prince. The prince called the police. Music were given title to the disputed object, and from He ordered them to find Haydn's head. The police went 1895 until this June 5, there it sat on its pedestal in the away. Prince Esterhazy had not said "look for "; he had Musikverein building. said "find." So, the police dutifully turned up with a In 1932, the Haydn bicentennial rolled around, and the head. Orders, after all, 'are orders, and a head is better Musikverein offered the skull to the Esterhazy family - than no head at all. for a price. The price was too high to be mec, at least at As it turned out, one Carl Rosenbaum, formerly a secre- that time, so the skull stayed in Vienna and the skeleton tary to Prince Esterhazy, had connived with one Johann stayed in Eisenstadt. At the time of the Nazi Anschluss, Peter, a prison official, and the two had bribed the grave- there was great talk about putting Papa Haydn together digger in Vienna to open the casket and steal the head of again, but no action was taken. Continued on page 108

MAGAZINE 48 HIGH FIDELITY

www.americanradiohistory.com RECORDS kecords In

Reviewed by PAUL AFFELDER C. G. BURKE JOHN M. CONLY RAY ERICSON ALFRED FRANKENSTEIN JAMES HINTON, JR. ROY H. HOOPES, JR. J. F. INDCOX ROBERT KOTLOWITZ

DAVID RANDOLPH GONZALO SEGURA, JR. JOHN S. WILSON

Classical Music, Listed by Composer 49 Dialing Your Disks 68 Collections and Miscellany 63 The Music Between 69 Treasure on Tape 64 The Best of Jazz 7o Building Your Record Library 67 Chamber Music of Brahms on Records, Part I..75

CLASSICAL Considering the vitality of most of the BACH performances, it is somewhat disturbing to Variations on O Gott, du frommer Gott! ALBENIZ note the repeated slowing up of the tempo, Canonic Variations on Vom Himmel Iberia in the concluding section of the Toccata, hoch; Six chorale fughettas; Five chorale tTurina: Danzas Fantasticas Adagio and Fugue in C Major. D. R. preludes. L'Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du BACH Finn Vider¢, organ. HAYDN SOCIETY HSL -94. t2-in 15, 12, 8, Conservatoire de Paris. Ataulfo Argenta, Suitefor Flute and Figured Bass in C Minor 12 min. $5.95 cond. tVivaldi: Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Violin, LONDON LI. 921. 12 -in. 34, 22 min. $5.95. Bassoon and Figured Bass in G Minor; The fughettas include Christum wir sollen Sonata for Flute and Figured Bass in performances of the very popu- loben schon (ewv 696); Gelobet seist du Jesu Superlative D Minor. lar Iberia and of the less familiar Danzas Christ (697); Gottes Sohn ist kommen (7o3); Fantasticas suites are stunningly recorded in Jean-Pierre Rampal, flute; Pierre Pierlot, Herr Christ der ein'ge Gottes Sohn (698); Lob this London disk. The flashy, sensuous, oboe; Robert Gendre, violin; Paul Hongne, sei dem allmächtigen Gott (7o4); Nun komm', exciting music receives the type of perform- bassoon; Robert Veyron -Lacroix, harpsi- der Heiden Heiland (699). The preludes in- ance and recording it obviously calls for. chord. clude Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend G. S., Jr. HAYDN SOCIETY HSL -80. I2 -in. $5.95. (709); Herzlich tut mich verlangen (727); Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier (706); FVer nur BACH There seems to be some doubt as to whether den lieben Gott lässt walten (690 and 691). Passacaglia in C Minor; Jesu, Joy of Man's the Bach work recorded here was a projected Desiring; Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in suite for orchestra, or a work for wind or C Major string instrument with harpsichord ac- Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor; Concerto Mandel: Basso Ostinato (Concerto in G companiment. The published score '-on- in A Minor (Vivaldi); Fugue in G Minor ( "Little ") Minor, Opus 7, No 5 ) sists of only an upper melodic part and a Feike Asma, organ. figured bass. However, the choice of the Alfonso Vega Nunez, organ. flute as the melodic instrument is an en- EPIC LC -3025. 12 -in. $5.95. COOK /SOUND OF OUR TIMES 1056. to -in. tirely felicitous one, and with the realization 13, 9, 3 min. $4.00. The Passacaglia and "Jesu, Joy of Man's of the figured bass by Robert Veyron -La- Desiring" were recorded on the organ of the croix, (who fulfills the same function for the Although not new to LP disks, it is Bach's "Old Church" in Amsterdam, Holland. For Vivaldi works as well), the work emerges as complex, abstract, and brilliant Canonic the other works, the organ used was that of a valuable addition to the literature for the Variations on Vom Himmel hoch - a product St. John's Church in Gouda, Holland. Both flute. Just in passing, the theme of the Sara- of his last years - that gives distinction to instruments are of the modern variety, so bande brings to mind the melody of the Finn Vider¢'s recording. A relatively early that one will not find in this record any sug- closing chorus of Bach's own "St. Matthew work, the Variations on 0 Gott, du frommer gestion of the "baroque" organ. These are Passion." Gott! is notable mostly for one boldly full- bodied, robust performances. If your The Vivaldi "Concerto" is actually a chromatic section. The short chorale equipment (and your neighbors) will permit sonata for several solo instruments. How- fughettas, averaging a little over a minute it, the recording is stunning at high volume. ever, because of the nature of the writing, in length, seem like brief exercises, expert The organist has a rather dramatic con- it is not difficult to see why the work should but dull listening; the chorale preludes, ception of the famous C Minor Passacaglia. have been called a "concerto." The third slightly longer, are less impersonal. Thus, when the fugue enters, rather than work on the disk, Vivaldi's Sonata for Flute As a matter of clinical interest to students diminish the registration, he brings it in and Figured Bass, is unpublished, and is or admirers of the Baroque organ school, the with the same fullness as that with which listed as the only one of his 73 sonatas that disk has value, and Mr. Vider¢'s perform- he has invested the previous variation. In he composed for the transverse flute. ances are exemplary as always. He plays this way, he achieves a feeling of "urgency" All the music is uncommonly attractive, the organ at Sorvi and Kaertemunde, Den- that gives the fugue a greater sense of con- uncommonly well -played, and recorded with mark, and he supplies on the record jacket tinuity than I can recall having heard in pre- a fidelity that (one is pleased to report) has the registrations he uses. Sharp, clean re- vious performances. become routine with the Haydn Society. D.R. cording.

SEPTEMBER, 1954 49

www.americanradiohistory.com RECORDS

now is a subsidiary of English Decca, and early works of arresting proficiency, and the is releasing its disks directly in America performances flash with amiable expertise. through London Records. As has usually Crisp, telling sound, unexceptionable save been the case with this venerable label, the for the intrusion of some background noise quality of both reproduction and surfaces during some moments of the Trio. Cheerful - at least, on this sample - is very high. bagatelles very well done, and so recom- There is a fine balance between the violin mended. C. G. B. and piano, and the sound, while not startlingly brilliant, is clear and faithful. BIZET Ferras and Barbizet, however, are not the Carmen (excerpts) ideal interpreters for these two sonatas. Licia Albanese (s), Micaela; Paula Lenchner They allow their Gallic backgrounds to (s), Frasquita; Rise Stevens (ms), Carmen; interpose too strongly on this Teutonic Margaret Roggero (ms), Mercedes; Jan music, with the result that it emerges sen- Peerce (rt), Don Jose; Alessio de Paolis (t), Finn Videra at ancient Danish organs the sibly enough, but without sufficient strength Dancaire; George Cehanovsky (b), Remen- sound is baroque, the Bach is brilliant. and vigor. P. A. dado; Robert Merrill (b), Escamillo. Robert Shaw Chorale and RCA Victor Or- Alfonso Vega Nunez's disk is for hi -li BEETHOVEN chestra; Fritz Reiner, cond. addicts and the curious. It was made in the Sonatas for Piano and Violin: No. 2, in RCA VICTOR LM 1749. 12-in. $5.95. in Morelia, Mexico, A, Op. 12, No. 2; No. 9, in A, 17th- century cathedral "Kreutzer," A well -enough -selected highlights excerp- and plays on a mammoth the organist Op. 47 tion from the complete set, which should be Walker organ brought from Germany and Ginette Doyen, Jean Fournier. familiar in kind by now to those listeners who installed there in 1905. The instrument has WESTMINSTER WL 5275. I2 -in. 18, 33 min. prefer stylistically heterogeneous and de- reputedly remained unmodified since that $5.95 - cidedly non -French performances of Car- Cook engineers have captured a time. The men à la Metropolitan. Granted their varied feeling of the cathedral's vastness with the The feature is not the " Kreutzer" but the assumptions, most (but not all) of the in- sounds the spectacular cavernous organ delicately molded and benevolent playing dividual contributions have some merit, individual produces. Some interesting stops of the submissive, endearing Op. 12, No. 2. but not enough to bother with here. Matter are discernable; some of the pipes are - The French players are on the point of of taste. For collectors of discological rather charmingly - out of tune; other- finishing the recording of the io Beethoven curiosities, it might be worth mentioning wise the instrument sounds cumbersome, sonatas, and it has been noticed enroute how that the envelope of the review copy carries in Mr. Nunez's full -blown Ro- has been work, particularly thoroughly concerted their a sultry picture of Rise Stevens on the front, mantic performance. A binaural edition of and in most cases how warmly accurate the and on the back excellent notes by Harold the record is available. R. E. engineered sound. The latest disk reiter- Schonberg - all about the Rachmaninoff ates a display of those qualities. - The anti- C minor Concerto.' Any takers? J. H., Jr. BEETHOVEN theses in this "Kreutzer" are broad, and Concerto for Piano, Violin, Violoncello and Miss Doyen is rougher than the work re- BRAHMS Orchestra, in C, Op. 56 while Mr. Fournier, reaching for quires, Academic Festival Overture, Op. 8o- See Lev Oborin, David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav novelty in an overplayed composition, Schubert. Knushevitsky; Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, underplays frequently. Intelligent if dis- Nikolai Golovanov, cond. appointing, but lovely on its overside. BRAHMS C. G. B. Concerto for Violin, in D, Op. 77 fBrahms: Concerto for Violin, Violon- cello and Orchestra, Op. 102 Nathan Milstein; Pittsburgh Symphony Or- BEETHOVEN (perhaps) chestra, William Steinberg, cond. David Oistrakh, Milos Sadlo; Prague Sym- Symphony in C, "Jena" CAPITOL P 8271. 12 -in. 36 min. $5.70. phony Orchestra, Karel Ancerl, cond. fMendelssohn: Ruy Blas Overture; COLOSSEUM 10200. 12 -in. 3i, 3o min. $5.95 The Destruction of Doftanas A notable record that instills a strong sense of concert -hall actuality. The spaciousness A valetudinary presentation of the Brahms, Radio Leipzig Orchestra, Rolf Kleinert, vaults the sound, lifts it and broadens it, cond. Radio Berlin Orchestra, in a recording with the orchestra evanescent (Jena). so that the orchestral surges seem circular Schartner and except in the ritornellos of the finale, and a Walter (Ruy Blas) Rolf and enveloping. The reverberation has been gallant presentation of the Beethoven Kleinert, cond. so judiciously estimated that the expansive- 12 24, 8, 14 min. ruined by a sound three- fourths clatter. URANIA 7114. -in, 35.95. ness does not weaken impact and impoverish C. G. B. indeed even most The "Jena" Symphony, a splendid imita- timbre: the minor or- BEETHOVEN tion of the later Haydn, can be savored on chestral details are clear amidst the general solidity of sound, and the reproduction of Two Sonatas for Piano: No. 21, in C, its merits no matter who wrote it. It has the massed strings suggests a polished wall. "Waldstein," No. 23, in F Minor, its best sound here, of the editions recorded, Op. 53; A solo violin has not been recorded better, "Appassionata," Op. but the playing is a little haphazard. The 57 and disk its Ruy Blas enjoys a skillful performance and on this equality with the or- Sascha Gorodnitzki. excellent sound, while the portentous and chestra is remarkably displayed without CAPITOL P 8264. 12 -in. 23, 24 min. $5.70. dull "Destruction of Doftanas," constructed moments of either subservience or domina- tion. Finally, we hear nothing ostentatious These fields are trampled, but Capitol seeks with a skill surpassing its ideas, has an in- helped by in this realism, and there are no difficulties to prevail by the pressure of a piano tone of telligent, careful interpretation vivid reproduction. C. G. B. of adjustment to fear. The best results are the most convincing verisimilitude. Good obtained at rather high volume. performances, too, especially the "Appas - The performance is hearty, in a deliberate sionata," manly and tense but ordered; the BEETHOVEN way which tolerates no slurring, the first less certain "Waldstein" commendable but Trio for two Oboes and English Horn, in C, movement an intricate, implacable manifesto in stresses the first movement. C. G. B. the of Op. 87 and the finale a burly and determined dance BEETHOVEN Variations on "Là ci darem la ,nano," in C pretty novel and pretty fascinating. Mr. Flat, G 1.46 a Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 5 in F Rondino for Wind Octet, in E Milstein offers generous variety of tone and an admirable range of volume, while the Major, Op. 24 ( "Spring ") Hans Kamesch, Manfred Kautsky, H. Hada- to attention fBrahms: Sonata for Violin and Piano mousky. Wind group from the Vienna conductor continues capture by his talent for precision without convention- No. 3 in D Minor, Op. soß Philharmonic (in the Rondino). ality. The opinion here is that Mr. Stein - WESTMINSTER WI. 5262. 12 -in. 22, I I, 7 Christian Ferras, violin; Pierre Barbizet, berg's abilities, like those of Dr. Szell and min. $5.95. piano. Mr. Leinsdorf, have been u ngenerously recog- TELEFUNKEN LGX 66014. I2 -in. $595. The sprightly, resourceful Trio and the nized. - The adagio of the Concerto, in Telefunken, once affiliated with Capitol, amusing Variations are new to LP. All are the Milstein -Steinberg version, has a quiver.

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE 50

www.americanradiohistory.com ing lyricism especially beautiful between the No. 3; in C, Op. 119, No. 3; and in E Flat contrasting robustness of the external move- Minor, Op. rr8, No. 6; Capriccio in B Minor, ments. C. G. B. Op. 76, No. 2; and Rhapsodies in B Minor, Op. 79, No. r; in G Minor, Op. 79, No. z; BRAHMS and in E Flat, Op. rr9, No. 4. Concerto for Violin, Violoncello and Or- Rubinstein's chestra, Op. 102 - See Beethoven. Artur Brahms selection is the first of a series of six records; on each of BRAHMS the subsequent five disks he will similarly Sextet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 36 devote his great gifts to the music of one composer. The record is issued in a hand- Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet; Wilhelm some double -fold album, with a sepia -tone Huebner, 2nd viola; Günther Weiss, 2nd pencil sketch by Arthur Lidov of the pianist's 'cello. hands on the cover and the familiar drawing WESTMINSTER WI. 5263. 12 -in. 43 min. of the bearded, cigar- smoking Brahms at Brahms by Rubinstein: festively packaged, $5.95. the piano on the inner fold. Mr. Rubin- stein's art is decidedly worth the fancy near - perfection in playing and recording. It has taken a surprisingly long time for packaging, and this relatively well -known chamber -music the recording comes close to perfection in performance and reproduc- Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 2 in B Minor, item to find its way into the catalog. It is tion. In the I say 7. Reproduction is more than welcome, being one of Brahms' rhapsodies would the Op. clear and smooth, pianist does attain perfection is inclined to favor the most appealing compositions for small - if there though soloist. Hei- groups. The performance by the Vienna such a thing in music. In the other pieces, fetz, Milstein and Francescatti may do I find the more personal, intimate versions slightly better the Bruch, at Konzerthaus Quartet and its two colleagues by but nearly of Walter Gieseking a shade more subtle four times the price. P. A. is notably superior in interpretation and re- and lyrical. The superiority either pianist corded sound to their presentation several of over the other is not arguable, and this re- BRUCKNER years ago, also for Westminster, of the No. 4 cording is highly recommended. R. E. Symphony in E Flat Major ("Roman- Sextet No. r. The playing might have been tic") a little more incisive, yet is highly accep- BRITTEN }Mahler: Kindertotenlieder table. Aside from some raspiness in a few A Simple Symphony for String Orchestra, of the heavier passages, the reproduction is Hague Philharmonic Orchestra; Willem van 4. bright, maintaining the intimacy proper to Op. Otterloo, cond. Herman Schey, baritone, Concertino Pastorale music of this kind. P. A. in the Kindertotenlieder. The M -G -M String Orchestra, Izler Solo- EPIC SC 6001. Two 12 -in. $11.90. BRAHMS mon, cond. Bruckner's Fourth Symphony is probably Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5 M -G -M E3074. 12 -in. 36 min. $4.85. his most easily accessible and popular, and has been recorded more frequently than the Paul Badura- Skoda, piano. Britten composed his Simple Symphony at others. Up to now, my favorite recorded WESTMINSTER WL 5245. 12 -in. $5.95. 20, from material he had written between version has been that by Herman Abendroth the ages of nine and 12. It is a whimsical This Sonata, composed when Brahms was and the Leipzig Symphony Orchestra little piece, though the scoring for string only zo, reveals maturity uncommon in (Urania), but this new Epic belongs on orchestra is surprisingly mature. Some clue one so young. It is both virile and romantic, about the same level. One seems to com- as to its contents may be gained from the and so is the interpretation the young plement the other; where Abendroth is of alliterative titles the composer gave its four pianist Badura -Skoda. Perhaps he tends to heavy and slow, van Otterloo keeps things movements. r. Boisterous Bourée. 2. Play- over- romanticize the two slow movements moving, and vice versa. The newer set has ful Pizzicato. 3. Sentimental Sarabande. slightly, but on the whole, his is a wholly two advantages: slightly better reproduc- 4. Frolicsome Finale. masterful presentation, one of the best - tion and, as a bonus, Mahlei s Kindertoten- There is nothing playful about the tightly played and most faithfully recorded on lieder on the fourth side. Both versions are constructed, expressively dramatic Ireland disks. P. A. more than acceptable, but neither is ideal. score. The three strongly contrasted move- The one conductor who should record ments consist of the opening Eclogue, a BRAHMS this symphony is Bruno Walter, and it is pastorale, in which the interplay of instru- Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3 in D to be hoped that some day he will. ments suggests a discussion; Threnody, a Minor, Op. rob Beethoven. As to the Kindertotenlieder translated as -See moody, elegaic slow movement, and Toc- - Songs on the Death of Children - this is the cata, a bustling and brilliant finale. BRAHMS fifth version on LP but the first to be sung Both works receive first -class perform- Ten Piano Pieces by a baritone, for which the songs were ances, but the sound is almost unbearably written. Schey sings with appropriate Artur Rubinstein, piano. biting, due, I assume, to an unnecessarily simplicity and dignity, and van Otterloo RCA VICTOR LM 1787. 12 -in. 5o min. $5.95. close mike placement. J. F. I. provides a sympathetic background. Still, there is nothing here to compare with Includes Intermezzos in B Flat Minor, Op. 117, BRUCH the unforgettable performance by the late No. 2; in A, Op. r:8, No. 2; in E Minor, Violin Concerto No. r G Op. 26 in Minor, Kathleen Ferrier with Bruno Walter Op. 119, No. 2; in C Sharp Minor, Op. 1'7, tPaganini: La Campanella conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Or- Ricardo Odnoposoff, violin. Netherlands chestra (Columbia). Both the symphony Philharmonic Orchestra; Walter Goehr, and the song cycle enjoy spacious, wide - cond., in the Bruch; Utrecht Symphony range reproduction. P. A. Orchestra; Paul Hupperts, cond., in the Paganini. CHARPENTIER, MARC-ANTOINE MUSICAL MASTERPIECE SOCIETY MMS 40 Mass and Symphony "Assumpta est Maria" 10 -in. $1.50. M. Angelici, J. Archimbault, sopranos; S. (Sold only by mail order. Address: 25o Michel, J. Collart, altos; J. Giraudeau, tenor; West 57th Street, New York 19, N. Y.) L. Noguera, baritone. Choir of Jeaunesses All too frequently, bargain disks have good Musicales de France. Orchestra directed by Louis Martini. Henriette Roget, organ. reason to be sold at a low price. This one, Vox PL -8440. 12 -in. 52 min. 40 sec. however, is a real buy. It presents the time- $5.95. honored Bruch Concerto in a warm, broad, Charpentier is an important figure in the full -toned performance by a first -class vio- history of music. (His dates, 1634 -1704 will linist and, as an added attraction, the popu- indicate immediately that he is not to be Brahms by Milstein and Steinberg: "A solo lar La Campanella in its original, complete confused with the Charpentier who com- violin has not been recorded better .. . form as the third and final movement of posed Louise.)

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During most of his life he was overshad- Preludes, Book s owed by the Italian-born Lully, who domin- Walter Gieseking, piano. music. He has been called ated French - ANGEL 35o66. 12 -in. 34 min. $5.95 (fac- the greatest French along with Lalande - tory sealed); $4.95 (thrift pack). composer of church music of that time. Al- though there is a good deal of solo singing I ncludes Danseuses de Delphes; Voiles; Le veut in this Mass, it nevertheless emerges as a dans la plaine; "Les sons et les parfums tournent large -scale work, involving, besides the six dans l'air du soir' ; Les collines d'Anacapri; Des soloists, a six -part chorus and an orchestra pas sur la neige; Ce qu'a vu le vent d'Ouest; La of strings, Elutes and organ. fille aux cheveux de lin; La sérénade inter- The performance is a completely dedi- rompue; La Cathédrale engloutie; La danse de cated one, and the recording is spacious. Puck; Minstrels. D. R. Suite Bergamasque The Children's Corner COATES London Suite; London Again Suite ANGEL 35067. 12 -in. 16, 15 min. $5.95 (factory sealed); (thrift pack). The Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra. $4.95 Eric Coates, cond. The Suite includes Prélude; Menuet; Clair de DECCA DL 4039. to -in. 29 min. $2.5o. Lune; Passepied. The Children's Corner includes Doctor Gradus has recorded his two popular Gieseking starts recording the complete The composer ad Parnassum; Jimbo's Lullaby; Serenade for several times previously, and others piano works of Debussy: "incomparable." suites the Doll; The Snow is Dancing; The Little their hands at them too, though have tried Shepherd; Golliwog's Cake -Walk. less successfully. This new recording ex- DEBUSSY ceeds all others in every respect. The per- Fifteen Piano Pieces Images, Book I formances, directed with a vitality that belies Images, Book II the composer's age (he is now 68), are as Walter Gieseking, piano. Pour le piano bright and shiny as a new penny, and the ANGEL 35026. 12 -in. 53 min. $5.95 (fac- Estampes sound is brilliant. For the first time, we tory sealed); $4.95 (thrift pack). ANGEL 35o65. 12 -in. 14, 8, 12, 8 min. $5.95 get a proper appreciation of Coates' mastery Includes Danse (Tarantelle styrienne); Rêverie; (factory sealed); $4.95 pack). of orchestration, as every color and tone (thrift Arabesque No. 1, in E; Arabesque No. 2, in G; emerges with glowing fidelity. The two Nocturne; Valse romantique; Elsie joyeuse; Le Images, Book I, includes Reflets dans !'eau; marches are the high spots, as always, but petit nègre; Masques; Danse bohémienne; Bal- Hommage á Rameau; Mouvement. Images, the pretty "Mayfair" waltz is not far behind. lade; Mazurka; La plus que lente; Berceuse Book Il, includes Cloches d travers les feuilles; The quieter moments of "Langham Place" héroique; and Hommage d Haydn. Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fur; Poissons and "Covent Garden" sound more impres- d'Or. Pour le piano includes Prélude; Sara- sive than of old, and anyone who knows bande; Toccata. Estampes includes Pagodes; these London landmarks will quickly realize Soirée dans Grenade; Jardins sous la pluie. how wonderfully Coates has caught both their spirit and their atmosphere. J. F. I. London sets a precedent - The first fout disks in a projected recording series by Walter Gieseking of all of De- Early gems in new cuttings bussy's solo piano works find the pianist at DANZI the height of his powers, which means Two Sonatas for Piano and Horn: In E Midway in the career of the long -play- that these particular records are incompar- Flat, Op. 28; in E, OP. 44 ing record came a couple of important able. The interpretations differ little from Lola Granetman, Franz Koch. new techniques - the hot -stylus, which those on the memorable Columbia issues, SPA 29. 12 -in. 18, 18 min. $5.95. made possible much cleaner cutting of all recorded before the war, I believe. high -frequency modulations, and auto- Where differences occur, the subtleties have We all admire enterprise, and enterprise matic groove- spacing control (variously become subtler, the jeweled tones more was needed to unearth these wan Sonatas trade -titled by different companies) which iridescent, the attacks defter, the rhythmic from the limbo wherein their minor late - permitted much wider dynamic range and dynamic effects as precise but more Eighteenth Century composer had been without wasting disk -surface space. muted. The progress is towards greater over- buried. The horn parts are difficult but not Much more lately came something else all simplicity without the loss of a single really necessary, and Mr. Koch wastes his - inter- company agreement on a re- nuance. (Perhaps one should confess that ability on them, while the pianist seems cording characteristic, the so- called RIAA Mr. Gieseking's fingers sometimes slip and skeptical of the worth of what she is play- curve A number of record producers that Angel's engineers have not produced ing. Reproduction is commendable. C.G.B. have been remastering some of their the highest fi possible, but these deviations earlier releases, using the new develop- from the ideal seem negligible in the cir- ments but saying little about it, perhaps cumstances.) DEBUSSY for fear of annoying owners (including to drool on about Mr. for Children) The temptation La Boite à foujoux (Ballet dealers) of the original versions. Gieseking's performances - for example, RIAS Symphony Orchestra, Jonel Perlea, Now London Records, Inc., has bro- who else fulfills as well as he Debussy's cond. ken the ice, announcing a list of seven instructions to make a phrase sound REMINGTON 199.159. I2 -in. 37 min. $2.99. earlier releases that have been reprocessed "Comme un tendre et triste regret ?" - is strong, (NOT, insists London, that the original but more praise is surely unnecessary at this This obscure ballet score by the great French issues weren't good). They include the date. It remains to point out that the col- for Impressionist dates from 1913, though Gilbert and Sullivan Pinafore and Pirates lection of 15 piano pieces includes several unexplained reasons, he never completed it. of Penzance; the Ansermer reading of pieces not previously available on LP disks. This was done by André Caplet, some years Stravinsky's Petrouchka; the Beethoven R. E. later, working from the composer's piano Third Symphony (Kleiber) and Third score. The scenario concerns itself with Piano Concerto (Backhaus, Böhm); the dolls and toys that come to life, as in Ros- DEBUSSY Brahms First (Beinum); Debussy's Noc- Quartet sini's La Boutique Fantasque. But where the turnes and Ravel's Rhapsodie Espagnole tMilhaud: Quartet No. 12 Italian composer provided a score that is (Ansermet, both on one record). The melodic, effervescent and humorous, only new issues are identifiable by hyphenate Quartetto Italiano. the latter commodity can be found in the additions to their regular LL and LD ANGEL 35130. 12 -in. 25, 22 min. $5.95. Frenchman's amorphous work. Jonel Per - master -numbers. Thus LL 71/72 (Pina- (factory sealed), $4.95 (thrift pack). lea directs a sensitive performance and we fore) becomes LL71 /72 -IC; LL 239 ( "Eroi- Lush is the word for this one, at least so get some really excellent orchestral sound ca ") becomes LL 239.4AR. And so forth. from Remington. J. F. I. far as the Debussy is concerned. The in-

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www.americanradiohistory.com ItI ( )ItI)

terpretation achieves a remarkably ethereal as something short and sweet, but Elwell's When SPA came out last year with a record- effect at the end of the slow movement, but composition is a full -blown symphony in ing of Falla's delicate, charming opera -or- the work as a whole is vitiated by whim- four movements for soprano voice and or- what-is-it El Retablo de Maese Pedro (Master sical changes of tempo, portamenti, and chestra, employing the first three chapters Peter's Puppet Show) - and a good record- all manner of caressing little pats on the of the "Song of Songs." The music is ing, too - it seemed sheer lagniappe, un- bottom after the fashion of highly paid especially remarkable for its sustained line, likely to be offered by anyone else. Then violin virtuosi. Having no standard of its perfect declamation, and the adroitness Westminster topped them by offering a comparison on disks and no score to follow, with which it handles its material symphoni- somewhat better Maese Pedro on one side of I cannot say if the Milhaud is similarly cally and yet retains its lyrical, song -like a disk, with a gusty El Amor Brujo on the treated; the work is typical of Milhaud in character throughout. American composers reverse. And now Angel comes along with its fluent, gracious ease and its frequent almost always get into trouble when it the same coupling, preferable performances, suggestions of pastoral melody. Excellent comes to writing for a solo voice in extended sealed in an album with all the usual extras. recording. A. F. forms, but Elwell solves the problem bril- To recapitulate, briefly, El Retablo de Maese liantly, and with great dignity, richness, and Pedro deals with a Don Quixote incident. DEBUSSY variety of effect. Miss Marshall's perform- The old man comes to an inn at which a Songs-See Ravel. ance is superb from every point of view, travelling puppet show is about to begin. and the work of the conductor, the orchestra, He watches as the puppets act out an old DELIBES -DOHNANYI and the recording engineers is entirely in tale of knight, fair lady, and Saracen villains. Valse Coppella Lente from - See Tchai- keeping. A. F. Carried away by the drama, he finally leaps kovsky. into the puppet action, swinging his sword DITTERSDORF and hacks the bad puppets to pieces. Then he delivers a speech in praise of chivalry, Symphony in F Minor (The of Rescue and departs, leaving the puppet master Andromeda by Perseus) among the ruins. It is a simple story, a Symphony in E Flat small -scale score, but the subtle tracery of Winterthur Symphony Orchestra and Or- medieval, Spanish, and Moorish detail exerts chestra of Radio Zurich, respectively, a special, unpalling charm. El Amor Brujo Clemens Dahinden, cond. hardly needs comment. It is powerful ballet CONCERT HALL 1227. 12 -in. 24, 20 min. music for Andalusian witches, demons, 55.95. ghosts, Romany, and young lovers. Of the available couplings of these musics, The best of these sounds like the least of Angel has the advantage, in my opinion, Dittersdorf's contemporary, Haydn. The on both sides of the disks. Both Maese remainder shines with and grace the clarity Pedro performances are quite good, but the which the last quarter of the Eighteenth Angel version has greater elegance musically demanded its Century of music: little ex- and vocally and is perhaps even more citement, but plenty of flash. Engaging cleanly recorded. In El Amor Brujo the performances and recording, particularly in Angel orchestral performance is much the the E Flat Symphony. The reproduction, smoother, with a strong, steady rhythmic has the ease and assurance of close reality pulse and more sense of going somewhere. without dramatic asseveration. C. G. B. Engineering: very fine, with techniques suitable to the different scales of the works. Lois Marshall sings in Elwell's Biblical DONIZETTI A vote for Angel. J. H., Jr. Lucia di Lammermoor (excerpts) Pastorale -"dignity, richness, variety." FRANCAIX Dolores Wilson (s), Lucia; Ebe Ticozzi FALLA The Emperor's New Clothes (ms), Alisa; Gianni Poggi (t), Edgardo; The Three Cornered Hat: Three Danses. Gugielmo Fazzini (t), Normanno; Mario La Vida Breve; Interlude and Dance. Saxon State Orchestra, Kurt Striegler, cond. Carlin (t), Bucklaw; Anselmo Colzani (b), Ashton; Silvio Maionica (bs), Raimondo. Philharmonic- Symphony Orchestra of New tNicodé: Carnival Scenes York, Dimitri Mitropoulos, cond. Chorus and Orchestra of "Opera di Milano "; Symphony Orchestra of Radio Leipzig, COLUMBIA AL 44. lo -in. 18 min. $2.85. Hil- Franco Capuana, cond. mar Weber, cond. URANIA URLP 712o. 12 -in. $5.95. Occasionally the Mitropoulos direction URANIA URLP 7122. 12 -in. 22, 24 min. It may seem peculiar in a highlights selection slightly chills the Spanish warmth of the $5.95 from Lucia di Lammermoor to dances from The Three Cornered Hat, but omit the Act The Francaix is a very tuneful, brilliantly II duets between Lucia and Ashton, but, otherwise the performances are most per- orchestrated, workmanlike and totally con- after all, this is Urania's plastic until some- suasive. The three excerpts are "The Neigh - ventional ballet score. The NicodE is body it. hors," "The Miller's Dance' and "Final buys Otherwise, the essentials are straight pop -concert stuff, quite impossible here, as excerpted in generous segments Dance." A more relaxed approach to the to sustain without a bottle of Schlitz. Un- from the complete Urania recording Interlude from the composer's almost for- - distinguished recording. A. F. which, to eliminate an earlier ambiguity, gotten opera La Vida Breve enhances the does include the first scene of Act III, in- tranquility of that short section, quickly FRANCK followed by the well -known dance in a variably cut in this country. Dolores Wilson. Prelude, Chorale and Fugue - See Schu- who made her Metropolitan debut last strong and rhythmic performance. Fine mann. February in this role, sings cleanly, accurate- sound. J. F. I. ly, and with good schooling, and Gianni GABRIELI, ANDREA Poggi is satisfactory; the rest are competent FALLA Motet and Missa "Pater Peccavi" without special distinction. All told, an El Retablo de Maese Pedro Christmas Motet "Angelus Ad Pastores" economical buy for Mad Scene collectors. Lola Rodriguez Aragon (s), The Boy; Choir of the Capella di Recording: quite good. J. H., Jr. Treviso. Directed Gaetano Renom (t), Master Peter; Manuel by Monsignor Giovanni d'Alessi. Ausensi (b), Don Quixote. Orchestre Na- Vox PL 837o. 12 -in. 42 min. S5 95. ELWELL tional de la Radiodiffusion Francaise: Eduar- Pastorale do Toldra, cond. Dear Editor: As HIGH Lois Marshall, soprano; Toronto Symphony El Amor Brujo FIDELITY'S reviewer of things Orchestra, Sir Ernest MacMillan, cond. choral, pre-Bach, and Baroque, I have spent Ana Maria Iriarte (ms). de la HALLMARK CSI. 12 -in. 38 min. $5.80. Orchestre countless hours playing recordings of early Société des Concerts du Conservatoire choral music. My ears have long since grown The title of this work is a trifle misleading. (Paris), Ataulfo Argenta, cond. accustomed, for instance, to the pure, white, at least so far as its proportions are con- ANGEL 35089. 12 -in. $5.95 (factory sealed); "virginal" tone of sopranos striving for cerned. One ordinarily thinks of a Pastorale S4.95 (thrift pack). "authenticity."

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When this search has led singers to em- Scherchen, in which recourse was had to ploy types of tone that do not endear them the conditions prevailing at the time of the to the average concertgoer of today, I have original production in 1742, as far as they hastened to come to their defense, in the can be realized. This was also a completely belief that their aim is laudable. My voice new scrutiny of the score, by eyes not filmed has been prompt to forestall critics who might by tears of British pride in accomplishment; make the mistake of judging such perform- and the scrutiny has resulted, aided perhaps ances in terms of 19th -century vocalism. by hypnotism in the leadership, in one of However, I find that with this record, all the foremost glories of recorded music. my theories and good intentions fail me. Considering now the newest edition, just The soprano and contralto parts in this issued by London, we find that the conduc- chorus are sung by boys. But these boys tor, Sir Adrian Souk, has like Dr. Scherchen do not have the sweet, pure, innocent sound dismissed the wind instruments not pres- that we are supposed to associate with the cribed by Handel. He has retained the harp- child's voice. Instead, this group of boys sichord continuo, like Dr. Scherchen, and produces some of the most piercing, me- also the organ, highly effective in the Lon- tallic, unpleasant sound that has ever as- don recording. The two solo violins, so sailed my ears under the guise of music. prominent in the Westminster version, are They sing in an almost stentorian fashion, multiplied by London, and the chorus in literally painful to hear. the latter edition is larger. According to the jacket notes, the Ga- The outstanding virtue of the London brieli composition is a "work of grandeur version is apparent at once: it has a beauti- and distinction." I am in no position to fully- engineered sound. Balance is excep- judge whether this is so, since, frankly, I tional in all directions, a rarity in choral spent the 42 minutes' duration of the re- Boult: his new Messiah offers Handel in recording, the massed voices ascending as cording wishing it would end. traditional style and magnificent sound. if vaulted by the benign acoustics of Kings- In view of the fine work done by this same way Hall, and the strings are satiny. Since (minus the boys) in such recordings Sir Adrian has accomplished a projection of chorus of this transfer from 78s is a barrier to musi- the Venetian School, and the tenderest and the most forceful dynamics, as their Motets of cal enjoyment, though the 78s themselves qualifications of the con- the pianos, in this realistic seizure of sound, of the undoubted are reputed to have been excellent. C. G. B. ductor, I should hesitate to dispute the au- are feathery, delightful. Fanatics of repro- thenticity of the performance. However, I duced sound per se will be jubilant over this am afraid this record will be of value only HANDEL London edition. to the die -hard antiquarian, or to the person Basso Ostinato (Concerto in G Minor, Op. 7, The performance is a glorification of the for whom its religious significance is upper- No. 5) - See Bach. tradition established by a hundred provin- most. As a purely musical experience - no. cial Handel Societies and maintained in a Very truly yours, thousand churches and reiterated at all the David Randolph HANDEL Handel Festivals. In spite of the return to Messiah a reduced orchestration, the excellent sing- GLIERE London Philharmonic Orchestra and Lon- ing of the soloists, the really fine choral The Bronze Horseman - Ballet Suite don Philharmonic Choir, with Jennifer discipline and the responsiveness of the Vyvyan (s), Norma Procter (a), George London Philharmonic Orchestra to a con- Orchestra of Radio Berlin. Adolf Symphony Maran (t) and Owen Brannigan (bs); Sir ductor whom they obviously respect, this cond. Fritz Guhl, Adrian Boult, cond. is the same old thing. Messiah is in the Eng- URANIA URLP 7121. 12 -10. 45 min. $5.95. LONDON LLA 19. Four Ia -in. 2 hr. 48 min. lish bloodstream, and may have been slowed by it. In this performance no one The synopsis of Gliéré s ballet "The Bronze $23.80. has questioned the good old way whereon Horseman," based on a poem of Pushkin, About 1930, Sir Thomas Beecham con- everyone proceeds with placid and elegant reads like a Poe nightmare, being full of ducted for English Columbia a performance step. It is in every sense the least storm and flood, destruction and unre- of Messiah that became celebrated for its - Messiah, indeed, even troublesome beautiful quited love. It came as a pleasant surprise, imaginative resistance to the consecrated if flaccid after we have heard the German since I had never heard the score before, to stolidity of a national British habit to regard Scherchen's refusal to bend to British tradi- find that this ballet suite seems to have it as a usufruct and monument of empire, C. G. B. the gloomier side of the story, and tion. ignored like the Nelson column. Sir Thomas's delightful, extremely tuneful, is entirely hot intensity cracked the idol in many HAYDN fiery, and never depressing. rhythmically places, but his iconoclasm was incomplete. Six "Russian" Quartets, Op. 33: No r, for an occasional moment, where Except He retained the added orchestration of in B Minor; No. 2, in E Flat; No. 3, in C; the orchestra seems to be pushing for effect, Mozart, and excised a number of arias and No. 4, in B Flat; No. 5, in G; No. 6, in D the performance extremely good. I found choruses not favored in standard English sound is full- bodied and well - Schneider Quartet. Urania's productions. This was a phonographic all frequencies. J. F. I. HAYDN SOCIETY HSQ -G. Three 12 -in. 18, balanced through years, those 78's weighed pride for twenty and 19, 19, 17, 20, 18 min. $18.50. 20 pounds. GLUCK In the late 1940's Sir Malcolm Sargent The Quartets, in consecutive pairs, are also Orfeo ed Euridice (synopsis) produced for English Columbia a version - available on separate disks at $595 for later transferred to American LP's which each disk. Kathleen Ferrier (a), Ann Ayars (s), Zoë - seems in many respects to have been modeled These are Nos. 38 -43 in the accepted chrono- Vlachopoulos (s); Glyndebourne Festival upon Sir Thomas's model performance. At logical order. The sobriquet "Russian" Chorus and Southern Philharmonia (194 ?) about the same time Sir Thomas himself refers not to their content but to the sup- Orchestra, Fritz Stiedry, cond. committed to HMV disks the first represen- positious circumstances of their first per- LONDON U. 924. 12 -in. 54 min. $5.95 tation of Messiah in its long entirety, an formance. They are also called "gli Scherzi," If the purpose of this sad recreation was intelligent production lacking the stormy not because they are more jocular than to give homage to the late Kathleen Ferriei s insistences of his first, and complicated by other Haydn quartets, but because every memory, the record is tragic. When this the use of choruses varying in size accord- one has the notation " scherzando" or "scher- was made Miss Ferrier had not the under- ing to the content of the music. Remington zo" where a minuet was expected. Most standing that she acquired later, nor does then issued a version in German which need of these movements are minuets, but frisky Dr. Stiedry give to this music the breadth not detain us, and Victor has a recording ones to which the " scherzando" designation de rigueur in classical Gluck. Perhaps he directed by Sir Ernest MacMillan not heard is appropriate. No. 2 is itself known as was impatient with a tabloid version: less by this critic. "The Joke," after some amusing tricks in than half the opera is here. In any event, In March of this year Westminster pub- its finale. No. 3, "The Bird, is the best the muffled, distorted and shallow sound lished an integral performance by Dr. known of the six, and is a beauty; but so

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are the others, and in all the resolute flores- IVES and its somewhat Wagnerian chromaticism. cence of sonata form under the tireless in- A Set of Pieces It looks forward to the mature Ives in its quiry and experimentation of Haydn in ¡Milhaud: Fantaisie Pastorale use of popular song materials and of themes 1781 has the excitement of pursuit and cap- and harmonic progressions derived from Stell Anderson, piano; Vienna State Opera old American liturgical music. It sounds, ture. Orchestra; Jonathan Sternberg, cond. in The Schneiders are steeped in Haydn short, like the work of a Protestant New OCEANIC ocs 31. lo -in. to, 12 mins. $4.75. now, and play with authoritative ease. In England Bruckner, although its forms are this Op. 33 there are no disks in competi- The Ives pieces seem to be fairly early and tighter and more original than those of the tion, but if duplications do advene, they are not especially impressive except for the Austrian composer. It is a wonderfully cannot be so much better that we shall third and last, which is an impressionalistic, beautiful and moving work, especially in throw away the Schneiders. The fault here nocturnal affair rather like The Housatonic at its two slow movements, and its last pages is some coolness of tone, compensated by a Stockbridge. Milhaud's Fantaisie Pastorale are a bit on the hair -raising side. Only Ives decided crispness of articulation, both pre- sounds like nothing so much as a Fantaisie could have built a symphonic apotheosis on sumably influenced by an acoustical en- Pastorale by Milhaud. Adequate sound. A.F. "The Camptown Races," "Columbia, the vironment a trifle short in reverberation. Gem of the Ocean," and the U. S. Army Thank God we cannot have everything: it IVES reveille call and really made it sound like is enough to think that these records would Symphony No. 2 an apotheosis. The recording is good and F. J. Haydn. C. G. B. the interpretation generally authoritative, have pleased Vienna Orchestra, F. Charles Adler, cond. but the orchestra sounds like a SPA 39. 12-in. 45 min. 85.95 scratch HAYDN group rather hurriedly thrown together. A. F. Symphony No. 44, in E Minor, 'Morning" This work, composed between 1897 and See Mozart. - 1901, represents Ives at a crossroad in his KABALEVSKY IBERT career. It looks backward to the 19th cen- Suite from "Colas Breugnon ' - See Pro - Divertissement - See Saint -Saëns. tury in its length, its rich, heavy scoring, kofieff.

Hello, Young Lovers, Good -bye - -- Gounod's Romeo and Juliet

TO most people, Gounod means Faust, a little aria on the Queen Mab speech; but idea of the same dance); there is Juliette s and Faust means Gounod, and a great many then he dies. Friar Laurence? He comes on waltz song; there is Mercutio's aria; and so people would be well content to leave it at too late. So what is there left to do? Rig on. But back come the lovers, and sweet that. However, there are two other operas up arias for Romeo and Juliet, reconcile though their music is it has to be marvel- by Gounod that exist - that really do exist yourself to giving them two long duets lously well sung if it is not to encourage and are performed: Roméo et Juliette and without any real possibility of emotional woolgathering, after a time. Middle. And, like it or not, the one is variety, and use what time is left to attempt The London performance is solid in all recorded now, and a recording of the other some kind of minimal characterization of the departments, and Janine Micheau, as Ju- is on its way. That should settle the Gou- minor characters who really keep things liette, does some extraordinarily brilliant nod problem for a good long time to come. going. And that is precisely what Barbier singing, some that is quite touching, and Roméo etJuliette is eight years younger than and Carré, the librettists, and Gounod did; some more that might have been equally so Faust. It had its premiere at the Theatre it was about all they could do. if her voice had more variety of color. Those Lyrique, Paris, in 1867, was a success (al- The main impression of the score is that who remember Raoul Jobin without any though not an unqualified one) and even- of a long tenor- soprano duet, very sweet, special quickening of the pulse may be tually made its way to the Opéra, where it and often lovely, but not (and this is the surprised at how well his Roméo sounds. has been in and out of the repertoire ever damning thing) quite as good as the garden They really shouldn't be, though, because since. In this country, it had a great vogue scene in Faust. A composer of tremendous he sang just as well here in French roles. at the Metropolitan between 1891 and 1907, inspiration might have carried it off. Gounod The Mercutio is the London Pelléas, was revived in 1922 for Lucrezia Bori, stayed was a very competent man, and the music is Pierre Mollet, and he is excellent -a on until the middle 193os, slipped from almost good enough to be sure -fire. But light, flexiblebaryton- Martin voice, used with sight, was revived, and slipped from sight not quite. That, of course, is not all there is plenty of snap, and a remarkable ability again. In Chicago, it had what looks on to Roméo et Juliette. There is the chanted (really remarkable in this opera) to charac- paper like some brilliant performances. The prologue; there is the glittery ball at the terize vocally without resorting to tricks. San Francisco Opera has given it, and Capulets (pretty pale compared to Berlioz' Of the others, most are up to their tasks. Charles Wagner even put a touring company The only real flaw in the casting is the as- on the road in it a few years back. signment of Heinz Rehfuss as Frère Laurent. Its libretto is not the happiest creation Alberto Erede, on the face of it, would ever. Juicy though the story of Romeo and hardly seem the ideal choice to conduct Juliet may seem at first glance as an operatic this work, but he does it very well, with subject (and there have been at least twenty only a few of the vacillations of tempo that Romeo operas). if you stop to think about mar some of his other recordings. the plot, you will realize that nothing really Engineering: Typically London (Paris happens to Romeo and Juliet, once they have style) in balances and resonance. and very met. They are star-crossed, and that is that. good of its kind. Recommended to those Events happen all around them, but they who want the opera, until a better comes have almost no experiences save that of along in the dim, indistinct future. J. H.. Jr. loving each other - and people in love GOUNOD be terrible bores. In the play it is the can Roméo et Juliette constant rush of uncontrollable events, the brawling servants, the minor characters, that Janine Micheau (s), Juliette; Claudine Col - make the play live, that give it pace in the lart (s), Stéphano; Odette Ricquier (ms), theatre, that define the lovers. Gertrude: Raoul Jobin (t), Roméo; Louis In an opera, how can one make use of Rialland (t), Tybalt; Pierre Mollet (b), this material? There are two lovers - tenor Mercutio; Heinz Rehfuss (b). Frère Laurent; and soprano, naturally - but who else? Camille Roquetty (b), Paris; Charles Cam- Who else, that is, who can be useful? bon (bs), Capulet; André Philippe (bs), Capulet? No. Paris? No. Tybalt? Why? Grégorio and Le Duc de Verone. Orchestra Mercutio? Well, he can talk to Romeo and Chorus of the Théatre National de when Romeo isn't busy giving voice to his Some of Gounod's woes were a legitimate l'Opéra, Paris; Alberto Erede, cond. emotions about Juliet, and he can be given legacy from the Bard of Avon himself. LONDON t.t.A -18. Three 12 -in. $17.85.

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LALO even more pervasive than that: they be- Namouna: Suite No. r from the Ballet came hymn tunes in churches (Consolation - Roi d'Yr Overture "Still, still with Thee, when purple morning Rapsodie Norvègienne breaketh "), Music Appreciation pieces in schools (Spring Song), and encore display Lamoureux Orchestra, Paris, Jean Fournet, titbits for virtuosos in the concert hall cond. (Hunting Song and Spinning Song- also EPIC LC 3049. 12 -in. 23, 12, I I min. $5.95. known as The Bumble Bee's Wedding!). How Substantial, exhilarating and brilliantly con- fitting, then, that one of them, the Funeral structed stuff by one of music's best lesser March, Op. 62, No. 3, in Moscheles' orches- talents, played with an honest gusto in a tration, should be played at Mendelssohn's registration of knowing and refined skill. funeral. The engineers have neither perpetrated ex- What endeared these miniatures to the cesses nor tolerated obscurities. The or- Victorians and to subsequent generations chestra seems natural in its totality and in was the quality so perfectly described by its parts; and the short reverberation admits Sir George Grove as "domestic." They excluding definition. Re- express no emotions outside the bonds of warmth without "Domestic" but not negligible: the Songs with pleasure. C. G. B. propriety; their perfection of form is simple commended Without Words, played by Ginette Doyen. and obvious; they are frequently attractive; LISZT and many are easy to play. Les Préludes four symphonic poems presented here might Although the works are slight, averaging tTchaikovsky: Capriccio Italien have had a far wider appeal had their per- about two minutes in length, and some are formance been entrusted to a more sym- hackneyed, they are not musically negligible. The Philharmonia Orchestra; Alceo Gal - Devotedly played by a fine pianist, as they liera, cond. pathetic conductor. Dixon apparently cares as them as I do, and gets are here by Ginette Doyen, they can be ANGEL 35047. tz -in. 3o min. $5.95 (factory little for through them as fast and as perfunctorily as he quite ingratiating. sealed), $4.95 (thrift pack). possibly can. A wasted asset is the super- The French pianist seems temperamentally There's a well -bred air to Galliera's reading latively realistic, wide -range reproduction well suited to the music; her performances of the Liszt tone poem which I find debili- achieved by the Westminster engineers. P. A. are unpretentious without being vapid, tating w the score. The conductor always technically deft without being unduly vir- seems to be holding something in reserve, MAHLER tuosic. The project of recording all the works which if let loose, might really bring this Kindertotenlieder - See Bruckner. (Vol. I, Westminster WL 5192, and the above old war horse alive. There is a far better two volumes complete the series) probably appreciation of the Tchaikovsky score, MARTIN could not have been entrusted to better which is given a nicely atmospheric read- Concerto for Harpsichord and Small Or- hands. Westminster's engineering is near- ing. The orchestral work is admirable, but chestra perfection, possibly a shade on the brilliant recorded sound lacks the sheen side. R. E. Angel's of Isabelle Nef, harpsichord; Ensemble Or- some of its other releases. J. F. I. chestral de l'Oiseau -Lyre, Louis de Froment, MENDELSSOHN cond. St. Paul Oratorio (Paulus), Opus 36 LISZT OISEAU Rhapsodies No. r, -LYRE LD 53001. io -in. 20 mins. Les Préludes; Hungarian Laurence Dutoit (s), Hans Loeffler kt), 6 $2.95. No. 2, No. 3, No. Maria Nussbaumer (a), Otto Wiener (b); Philharmonia Orchestra; Rudolf Schwarz, This is a real find and a great tribute to Akademie Kammerchor, Pro Musica Sym- cond. Frank Martin's skill, sensibility, and in- phony, Vienna. Ferdinand Grossmann, RCA VICTOR LBC -1070. 12 -in. 16, 9, 9, ventiveness. His erudite command of har- cond. 7, 8 min. $2.98. mony is put to work to discover new and Vox PL -8362. Two 12 -in. $11.90. quite fascinating sonorities in the harpsi- Another in RCA Victor's inexpensive Blue- chord; the sonorities of the orchestra are Mendelssohn's "St. Paul" is an unjustly bird series, this disk offers the best -known - perfectly adjusted to those of the solo in- neglected work. It has both dramatic and probably the best - of Liszi s symphonic strument, and the whole thing moves with lyric moments; in the latter we find many poems and four Hungarian rhapsodies in taste, precision, and spirit. Splendid re- appealing, typically "Mendelssohnian"melo- first-rate performances, excellently recorded. cording. A. F. dies. The entire work is conceived in the The orchestral rhapsodies do not corre- form of the Bach oratorios, yet remains un- spond in number to the piano versions ex- MENDELSSOHN mistakably Mendelssohn. The overture, cept in the case of the familiar No. 2. No. 1 Ray Blas Overture; The Destruction of based on the familiar chorale, "Wachet for orchestra is No. 14 for piano; No. 3, Doftanas - See Beethoven. Auf! ", is one of the most powerful pieces No. 6; and No. 6, No. 9. The transition to of orchestral writing I have heard from orchestral dress (by Liszt and Franz Doppler) MENDELSSOHN Mendelssohn. involves some shrewd structural changes in Songs Without Words (Vol. II) The performance and recording are good, the music and provides worth -while lessons with the exception of the solo soprano part, Ginette Doyen, piano. in orchestration. A good buy for those sung with an unpleasant tone much of the WESTMINSTER WL 5246. 12 -in. 41 min. interested. R. E. time. Chorus and orchestra seem to be $5.95 responsive to the conductor's knowing LISZT Includes fifteen works: Op. 38, Nos. 4 -6; hand. D. R. Les Préludes; The Battle of the Huns; Op. 53, Nos. 1.6; Op. 62, Nos. 1-6. Mazeppa; Orpheus MILHAUD Songs Without Words (Vol. III) Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of Lon- Fantaisie Pastorale - See Ives. don, Dean Dixon, cond. Ginette Doyen, piano. WI. 12 min. MILHAUD WESTMINSTER WL 5269. 12 -in. $5.95. WESTMINSTER 5279. -in. 40 $5.95. Quartet No. 12- See Debussy. Franz Liszt was a pioneer of the tone poem; Includes nineteen works: Op. 67, Nos. r -6; MOZART consequently, when one listens to his works Op. 85, Nos. i-6; Op. 102, Nos. r -6; Gondel- Cassation in G, Kv 63 in this form a century later, some of them lied in A Major. are bound to sound crudely sensational. Cassation in B Flat, KV 99 Actually, only Les Préludes has managed to Under a title that was virtually his own in- Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Paul Sachet, hold its place in the standard repertoire, vention - Songs without Words - Men - cond. pieces though Orpheus deserves to be heard more delssohn wrote 48 short piano (eight EPIC 3043. 12 -in. zo, 19 min. $5.95 frequently. The melodramatic Battle of the sets of six each) that during the past century Huns smacks of the days of the silent movies, have invaded the parlors of almost every Cassation in G, Kv 63 and begins to pall before it is half over. The home boasting a piano. They have grown Serenade No r r, in E Flat, KV 375

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Chamber Orchestra of Radio Berlin, Her- the Pritchard orchestra, small for this music, with the old problem of shall they be bert Haarth, cond. ( Cassation). Munich is softer in accent than the conductor, re- sounded as written, with some blast? or Philharmonic Wind Ensemble. versing the process evident on the London shall they be demure and the record ¡vexless? URANIA 7 -32. 12 -in. 24, 23 min. $3.50. disk. Here the preference is for the horn in its The Westminster team of Rivkin -Dixon is unique glory, even at the price of a blast Epic has the considerable advantage of the best as team, and their No. 11, one of or two: the stallion may kick, but he is presenting both Cassations on one disk, those beautiful skeins of gallantry so often complete. - The registration of this most and this is now the only available edition deplored because no strife is in them, is the munificent of the wind instruments may well of KV 99, an old one having been with- only recording extant. It is suave work, the give the verdict to Westminster's stallion, drawn. The Zimbler record of the First conductor responsive and the orchestra deliberation notwithstanding. C. G. B. (Decca DL 8520) is pleasant in the glib as- silken, the piano neat and assured, the surance of its playing, but the new ones sound both clean and solid except for two MOZART have fuller sound. Epic has in fact too full a or three startlingly coarse tuttis. - Epic's Quartetsfor Strings: No. 20, ¡MD, KV 499; bass, which would make Urania, which pro- sound is precarious at strong volume, deli- No. 21, in D, KV 575 duces easily a sound of matter -of -fact real- cate weaker; London's, not remarkable, String Quartet. ism, the disk to have if Mr. Haarth matched presents no problems. C. G. B. Juilliard the suppleness of Mr. Sacher. Compli- COLUMBIA ML 4863. 12 -in. 26, 22 min. cating selection immeasurably is Urania's $5.95. Serenade (Octet) No. rr, the best recording MOZART Two Violin Concertos: No. 5, in A, Both Quartets seem cynically offhand in the of this, and an expert performance, although "Tur- KV 219; No. 7, KV 271a playing, to this critic, who prefers several without the nice authority of the Kell group kish ", in D, versions extant. Barring occasional hard- for Decca or the Vienna Philharmonic David Oistrakh; Orchestra of the Bolshoi ness from the violins, the recording is of players on Westminster. The reader may Theatre, Moscow, Nikolai Golovanov, - good order. C. G. B. now compare the factors for himself, with- cond. (No. 5). "National Philharmonic Or- out ignoring the appeal of the Urania price. Kiril Kondrashin, cond. chestra," (No. 7). MOZART C. G. B. COLOSSEUM 154. 12 -in. 30, 26 min. $5.95. Four Sonatasfor Piano and Violin: No. 25, Magnificent playing, lamentable sound. in G, KV 301; No. 28, in E Minor, KV MOZART C. G. B. 304; No. 36, in B Flat, KV 378; No. 37, Two Piano Concertos: No 18, iu B Flat, in G, KV 379 KV 456; No 19, in F, KV 459 MOZART Alice Heksch, Nap De Klijn. Divertimento No. r7, in D, for Strings Vienna EPIC LC 3034. 12 -in. 12, 13, 16, 15 min. Hans Henkemans; Symphony Or- and Two Horns, KV 334 chestra, John Pritchard, cond. 55.95. Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet with Josef EPIC LC 3047. 12 -in. 29, 25 min. $5.95. There are other versions all, but naturally Hermann (string bass), Hans Berger and of no other disk the four. The Nether- Two Piano Concertos: No. 23, in A, KV Othmar Berger (horns). contains landers play competently, shunning am- 488; No. 24, in C Minor, KV 491 WESTMINSTER WL 5276. 12 -in. 49 min. biguity and failing a completion of revela- $5.95. Clifford Curzon; London Symphony Or- tion. Still this is something better than a chestra, Josef Krips, cond. It is well to remember that the strings praiseworthy series of duplications. Miss LONDON L 918. 12 -in. 26, 29 min. $5.95. are often multiplied in this great Diverti- Heksch (at home, Mevrouw De Klijn) a a uses a piano modeled on one of Mozart's Two Piano Concertos: No. rr, in F, KV mento, and Vanguard has good record of performance that is whose modest gentility accords in lovely 413; No. 22, in E Flat, KV 482 following practice. It exasperatingly difficult to assay the work of fashion with the violin in these Sonatas, Vivian Rivkin; National Opera Orchestra, the Viennese septet dominated by the man- apter to its work than either harpsichord or Vienna, Dean Dixon, cond. ner of the VKQ. The calculated deliberation potent modern piano. And since the re- WESTMINSTER WL 5244. 12 -in. 26, 3o min. appalls at first and then assumes a plaintive produced sound of the difficult combination $5.95 charm; but it hurts in the brilliant fencing of is nearly immaculate, the record is one to the second minuet where we hear the waft hear. C. G. B. It is now standard operating procedure to of a fan instead of the thrust of the rapier. pair Mozart concertos on a single disk. The London version (LL 235) will please Three years ago this was bold, and we feared MOZART more people with its vigor, also made in severe deterioration near the center. This Symphony No. 35, in D, "Haffner," KV 385 Vienna; but to confound everyone West- hazard has been abated in the best modern Symphony No. 40, in G Minor, KV 550 minster has given a very sweet sound to the recordings and is not evident in the present The London Mozart Players, Harry Blech, strings and a brave lack of reticence to the trio of disks, each offering doubled con- horns which supply color and drama to the cond. venience at halved price. music. In fact, the horns violate the capacity RCA VICTOR LBC 1069. 12 -in. 17. 23 min. All are in sum creditable and in part of the groove, and we are confronted again $2.98. faulty. Mr. Curzon, who seems to play anything well, has perhaps the highest musi- Symphony No. 35 cal conscience of any of today's commanding tHaydn: Symphony No. 44, in E Minor, pianists, and the balance of significance and "Mourning" supple grace in the great KVV 488 and 491 RIAS Orchestra, Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay, is admirable from beginning to end. The cond. is Glyndebourne conductor, Mr. Pritchard, DECCA DL 9614. 12 -in. 21, 20 min. $5.85. never a mere accompanist: the few records we have had of him display a Mozartean of Mr. Blech's sensitivity to dynamics and rare parts, especially in the bmffa of the tempo, shown by delicate mutations in both, Figaro manner. Concerto No. 19, one of brings a not uninteresting novelty, while the half-dozen either a prolepsis or an echo his resistance to contrast where we expect of Figaro, is vivid in the detailed sparkle it brings a novelty less pleasing. Big, fairly - of the orchestra, and its more serious com- well detailed but rather hard sound on this panion is the opposite of routine in its disk, above average for the difficult small fresh inquiry of all the orchestral lines. It classical orchestra. We could say good for would have been a triumph had Messrs. the price, except that both symphonies are Curzon and Pritchard been on the same team, better here than in several more expensive since Mr. Krips is bland beyond the need versions. of the intense No. 24, and enlivened only for Mr. Fricsay rushes the Haffner's andante, the conclusion of No. 23; while the pianist but then nearly everyone does; and the Hans Henkemans, deft enough, and appro- Clifford Curzon. Mozart gets the benefit sparkle in the rest is entirely unspurious priately in miniature to match the nicety of of supple grace and musical conscience. through a natural blending of tones con-

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trived for the well- disciplined orchestra by fresh and up -to -date as anything being advocate of his songs, brings authentic engineers without presumption. The warmth written now. In the texts, written by the spirit and perfection of phrasing to her in- of the orchestral synthesis is especially and composer, a child asks for bogeyman stories, terpretations. Her legato is not so smooth, admirably apparent in the "Mourning" is scolded by his nanny, encounters a beetle, her voice not so gleaming as it once was, Symphony, one of the best recordings says his prayers, rides his hobby horse, gets but still often beautiful. Good close -to vouchsafed by Decca. - The Symphony scratched by a cat, and a little girl sings her recording. R. E. seems to be underplayed, as if Mr. Fricsay doll to sleep. Realistic, touching, the words feared to be maudlin. C. G. B. reflect the wondering curiosity and spon- NICODE taneous directness far of children -a cry Carnival Scenes See Francaix. from the conventional expression of childish - MUSSORGSKY The Nursery sentiments. The musical settings are equally realistic letting the vocal line move freely PAGANINI tRachmaninoff: Eight Songs See and conversationally and in the accompani- La Campanella - Bruch. Maria Kurenko, soprano, Vsevolod Pastuk- ment pointing up or characterizing the sub- hoff, piano. jects with succinctness. PEZEL, JOHANN CAPITOL P 8265. I 2-in. 16, 20 min. $5.70. Russian -born Maria Kurenko, one of the Tower Music finest recitalists of recent decades, sings The Mussorgsky cycle includes With the Tower and Festive Music of the 17th Cen- these superb songs with consummate ease Nurse; In the Corner; The Beetle; The Dolts tury. Brass Ensemble under the Direction of and complete understanding, and the rap- Lullaby; The Evening Prayer; The Hobby Gunther Schuller. port between her and the excellent pianist Horse; The Cat and the Bird. Armando Ghitalla, 1st trumpet; Ralph cannot be too highly praised. Until a better The Rachmaninoff songs include In the Kessler, 2nd trumpet; Roger Smith, 1st version appears, the Mussorgsky cycle alone Silence of Night, Op. 4, No. 3; Lilacs, Op. .21, trombone; Earl Leavitt, 2nd trombone; makes.this disk indispensible. No. 5; Summer Nights, Op. 14, No. 5; The John Clark, bass trombone. Lovely melodies, characteristically har- Alder Tree, Op. 26, No. ro; Oh, Cease Thy EMS 7. 12 -in. distinguish fine Rachmaninoff $5.95. Singing, Maiden Fair, Op. 4. No. 4; Sorrow monized, the songs and in Springtime, Op. 21, No. 12; The Soldier's in this collection, the original In view of the small number of such re- Russian give more bite and flavor to Bride, Op. 8, No. 4; Vocalise, Op. 94, No. 14. texts cordings available, this should gladden the the songs than they have when sung in hearts of devotees of music for brass in- Mussorgsky's genius is at full bloom in the English. Miss Kurenko, who studied with struments. The entire disk consists of "Nursery" song cycle, a work that seems as the composer and has long been a persuasive Stadt-pfeiffer (Town piper) music of 17th century Germany. It was the custom for such music to be improvised, with the middle instrument playing a popular song Love (and More Love) from Carl Orff or ballad, while the upper instrument added florid decorations, and the lower voice a Carmina Burana, Catulli Carmina, and The similar hit, because the work is very similar bass. However, all the music on this record Triumph of Aphrodite form a trilogy of vocal in style. It is a little drama in three scenes. was composed by Pezel (1639 -1694) one of works on which Carl Orff labored from 1936 In the first, a group of boys express their the leaders of the town musicians in Saxony. to 1953. All, apparently, have to do with devotion to a group of girls, but a group of There is nothing rustic about the music, love in one form or another, Carmina Burana old men insist that this is all nonsense, and despite the implications of the title. The with love as celebrated by the cynical, they conjure up Catullus and his lady -love, 14 short works show considerable variety of anonymous, bohemian poet -scholars of the Lesbia, to prove it. The long middle section mood, and are written in a sophisticated Middle Ages, and Catulli Carmina with love deals with Catullus and Lesbia, with the style. The performances are all expert and as experienced by the Roman poet, Catullus; lady's cruelty and faithlessness, and with a the recording is good. D. R. it remains to be seen what aspect of the sub- few of the poet's side expeditions involving Ipsitilla and Ammiana. ject will be dealt with in The Triumph of prostitutes named PROKOFIEFF Aphrodite, which had not been published or At the end, the chorus comes back; nobody Four Portraits from "The Gambler." has been of anything, but Catullus recorded at the time of writing. convinced tKabalevsky: Suite from "Colas Breug- has himself in Decca brought out Carmina Burana some expressed some tremendous non." time ago and made a tremendous hit with it. verse and Orff has created some sensationally Vox's Catulli Carmina is likely to make a zestful and melodious music to go with it. Philharmonia Orchestra of London, Wil- The opening and closing choral sections helm Schuechter, cond. are accompanied by a percussion group M -G -M E -3112. 12 -in. 26, 24 mins. $4.85. including four pianos, but the rest is without Leonid Sabaneev did Prokofieff a signal accompaniment. As in Carmina Burana, disservice with his famous, clever line, "He everything is at the highest, most extrava- is a eaglet who will never grow gant pitch of tuneful and rhythmic brilli- stabilized into an eagle." To be sure, this composer ance. The opening chorus reminds one, in was a past master of the grotesque, the its sweep and excitement, of the final dance whimsical, and the colorful, but he also had in De Fallá s Three -Cornered Hat, although his epical side, and this revealed itself early. its colors are those of chorus and percussion its most important manifestations instruments, and the solo songs of the middle One of is the opera, The Gambler, after Dostoevski's section are swashbuckling virtuoso affairs of novel, from which this big symphonic work a breathtaking force and range. The per- is reconstructed. The four portraits of formers are excellent and the recording - the reserved, imposing, corrupt General; leaves little to be desired. The text is, as the grandly domineering old Grandmother; my grandmother would have said, nix für the cat -like Pauline whom the General Kinder, and some parts of it have, of neces- desires, and the elegant, ineffectual Alexis sity, been left untranslated in the leaflet who is tutor to the General's children and that comes with the record. loves Pauline ALFRED FRANKENSTEIN also - fall together to provide self- sufficient work of great psychological subtlety and insight; it is not a series of selections from the opera, but a tone poem ORFF paralleling the stage piece and drawn from Catul /i Carmina its material. It makes the music of Kabalev- Elisabeth Roon (s); Hans Loeffler (tl; sky on the other side seem anemic and in- Wiener Kammerchor; instrumental ensemble, significant, though Colas Breugnon is by no Heinrich Rollreiser conducts the second Heinrich Hollreiser, cond. means lacking in charm when one comes part of Trionfi in its first recording. Vox PL 8640. 12 -in. 35 min. $5.95. upon it without Prokofieff fresh in one's

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ear. The recording is mediocre, but the the texts of Paul Morand and their settings performance is not. A. F. by Ravel. The songs are tricky to sing, but Mr. Souzay is equal to their difficulties, and PROKOFIEFF the recording is very fine. Interpretatively, Classical Symphony my preference is for the old 78 -rpm recording Suite from "The Love for Three Oranges" made for Columbia by Martial Singher, but Mr. Souzay is a fine, sensitive musician, des Concerts Lamoureux. Jean Orchestre too, and has the benefit of ffrr engineering Martinon, cond. - and LP. The Debussy songs are also ex- Piano Concerto No. 3 tremely well sung, with even greater pene- tration; it does seem a pity that all three Alexander Uninsky; Hague Philharmonic Villon ballads could not have been squeezed Orchestra, Willem van Otterloo, cond. in. Highly recommended. J. H., Jr. EPtc LC 3042. 12 -in. 12, 13, 25 mins. $5.95. These works are so well known as to de- RI MSKY -KORSAKOFF mand little comment. A good part of Scheberezade; Symphonic Suite, Opus 35 Prokofieff's reputation is based upon them, Symphonique de la Radiodiffu- and quite justly so. The Classical Symphony L'Orchestre sion Nationale Belge, Franz André, cond. inaugurated a whole era of light -hearted 12 min. Mozartian composition, but it remains at TELEFUNKEN LGX 66o18. -in. 4o the head of that particular train. The third $5.95. in a the Maria Kurenko sings Mussorgsky's song - piano concerto is now class with Where there already exist 16 versions of so Grieg or the second Rachmaninoff so far cycle, The Nursery - "indispensable." popular a work as Scheberezade, a 17th must as popularity is concerned, and it has been surely be issued with more optimism than recorded at least as often. Performances common sense. Unless it has especial merit, which offers Noel Coward reciting Ogden here are excellent, but the recording is far issue has not, hardly make which this it can Nash verses over André Kostelaneti s or- below the best contemporary standards. A. F. much headway against the versions of Dorati chestra very entertaining once, but much on Mercury or of Quadri on Westminster. - RACHMANINOFF less durable than the music alone. Anyway, André's reading is sensuous enough, and -Saens is better at getting chuckles Eight Songs See Mussorgsky. Saint - colorful, but inclined to conservatism. The than Nash at getting guffaws, especially Telefunken sound remains much the same aided by the kind of fidelity Capitol has RACHMANINOFF as to be found on the disks it previously achieved. The sizzling high fiddle -harmonics Concerto No. 2, C Minor; Prelude Piano issued here, under a business agreement with which introduce the donkeys and the sub- in G Minor, Op. 23, No. 5; Prelude in Capitol. Reasonably bright, slightly shallow terranean double-bass elephant -dance are G Major, Op. 32, No. 5 in the bass, in general somewhat pinched in supposed to be astonishing sounds, and here Geza Anda, piano. Philharmonia Orchestra; sound. they really are. Slatkin and his associates Alceo Galliera, cond. This company is now issuing its record- play with fine verve, polish and good taste. ings through London, and it is to be hoped ANGEL 35093. 12 -in. 32, 4, 4 min. $5.95 The Ibert Divertissement, with its police - avoid issues the war- (factory sealed); $4.95 (thrift pack). they will further of whistle and can -can, is a practically perfect horses, and turn to more esoteric items. companion for the Saint -Saens. Highly is a year Hungarian Geza Anda, 32- -old now J. F. I. recommended. J. M. C. living in Switzerland, whose American recording debut is in two standard concertos ROSSI N I SCARLATTI, ALESSANDRO - the Rachmaninoff Second and the Tchai- Il Signor Bruschino The Passion According to Saint John kovsky First. His performances have a Elda Ribetti (s), Sofia; Claudia Carbi (ms), (Chapter XVIII and Chapter XIX, skimming quality of considerable élan and Marianna; Carlo Rossi (t), Bruschino, son; v. 1-37) transparency. He makes fresh, individualis- Luigi Pontiggia (t), Florville; Renato tic rubatos without breaking the continuity; Blake Stern, tenor, Evangelist; David Capecchi (b), Gaudenzio; Carmelo Maugeri he also uses some curious accentuations, Laurent, bass, Jesus; James Borden, tenor, (b), Bruschino, father; Walter Tarozzi (b), which seem impulsive, not logical. The Pilate; The Choir of St. Thomas's Episcopal Commissioner of Police; Ivo Vinco (bs), piano does not stand out as sharply against Church, New Haven, Conn.; Members of Filiberto. Milan Philharmonic Orchestra; the orchestral background as is possible and the Yale University Orchestra, Graham Ennio Gerelli, cond. desirable, but neither is Mr. Anda a slashing, George, organist; Howard Boatwright, cond. Vox PL 846o. 12 -in. $5.95. banging virtuoso. A good recording, but OVERTONE LPI. 12 -in. $5.95. not one to take the place of those by Rach - This is a very charming score, if perhaps Overtone is certainly to be thanked for hav- maninoff, in reprint, or Rubinstein or not quite top- drawer Rossini. For people ing made available a work that has been Kapell. R. E. who dig in and try to keep pace with the neglected since Scarlatti's own day. As Leo plots of hula operas, it might be noted that Schrades scholarly jacket notes point out, RAVEL this one is more than satisfactorily confusing, in setting the text, returned a Dulcinée Scarlatti, to Don Quichotte à and rather more fun than average to unsnarl. musical style which had all but disappeared Songs tDebussy: The performance is stylish and springy. after the death of Monteverdi, the dramatic with an attractive lucidity about it. Record- Ravel: Don Quichotte à Dulcinée (three songs) : stile recitativo. The work consists almost en- Si vous ne disiez que la terre; Bon Saint Michel; ing: Fresh, clean, small -hall -type resonance. tirely of recitatives; the chorus' part is con- Recommended. J. H., Jr. Foin du batard. Debussy: Dame du Ciel fined to brief, angry interjections, of a (Villon); La grotte; Mandoline. dramatic nature. The part of the Evangelist SAINT-SAENS is accompanied only by the hallo continuo, Gérard Souzay (b). L'Orchestre de la Société Carnival of the Animals that of Jesus by string orchestra. (Note des Concerts du Conservatoire de Paris; tlbert: Divertissement similarity to the later treatment Edouard Lindeberg, cond. the of the same two parts in Bach's St. Matthew LONDON LD 9091. IO -in. $2.95. Victor Aller and Harry Sukman, pianos; Concert Arts Orchestra, Felix Slatkin, cond. Passion.) is a to in the Schwann catalog The work emerges as a very moving piece It shock look CAPITOL P 8270. I2 -in. $5.70. and realize that with all the dupli- (and of music, especially when listened to with multipli -) cation of works on LP, just this This record is bound to be a success. It text in hand. This is facilitated by Over- one representation of Don Quichotte à Dul- presents true musical humor in sonic repro- tone's having supplied both the original cinée is listed. These are wonderful songs, duction realistic enough to be called au- Latin text and the English translation, side part of a score planned for a Don Quixote thentic high fidelity, both of which are a by side. Blake Stern gives a moving in- movie with Feodor Chaliapin. The mad good deal rarer than people think. There is, terpretation of the taxing role of the Evange- old knight is sketched sharply and eco- of course, strong competition to the Saint - list, and David Laurent sings the role of nomically, with wit and sophistication, in Saens zoo -suite side in Columbia's version, Jesus with gratifyingly fine tone. The

SEPTEMBER, 1954 59

www.americanradiohistory.com chorus acquits itself well. One could wish Decca balance is superior. But to these ears SCHUMANN for better singing in the smaller roles, but the violence and haste of Mr. Wallenstein Manfred Overture, Op. Its- See Schu- it is apparent that the whole performance are remarkably misplaced here. The first bert. was presided over by a knowing hand. D. R. movement of the "Tragic" is shapeless in this implacable speed, and the lyric juices SCHUMANN Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13 SCHNABEL are desiccated in No. 5. Mr. Dixon is by [Franck: Prelude, Chorale and Fugue Concerto for Piano and Orchestra no means without strength and a sense of Ten Songs urgency, but they are elements of a variety Julius Katchen, piano. which includes many other elements. After LONDON LL 823. 12 -in. 23, 18 min. $5.95 Helen Schnabel, piano. Vienna Orchestra; all, in adopting a manner to serve as his Philharmonia. F. Charles Adler, cond. trademark, a conductor circumscribes him- Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13 Erika Francoulon, soprano. self: Mr. Wallenstein has done this and Mr. Fantasy, in C Major, Op. 17 SPA 55. 12 -in. 19, 21 min. $5.95. Dixon has not. Most people will prefer the Yves Nat, piano. "Tragic" in his version over all the others, The late Artur Schnabel's activities as a HAYDN SOCIETY (Collection Discophiles and the composer were overshadowed by his great- Fifth in his reading is now the best Francais) HSL -87. 12 -in. 23, 28 min. $5.95 all- around version. ness as an interpreter. Moreover, he was C. G. B. Young Julius Katchen 's performances not a prolific writer; he was modest about - he is 28 defy criticism because there is his own creations; and his later works were - nothing really wrong with them; they are in the forbidding 12 -tone idiom. One work sensitive, musical, carefully phrased and that did achieve some popularity was his balanced, tonally solid and full. What Piano Concerto, written in t901 in a con- more is there to ask in a performance? servative style, and much played in Germany for Perhaps that through an individual approach during the 1920s. The Concerto is in two it adds to our knowledge or understanding movements: a touching Intermezzo with a of a score that is thrice familiar. If Mr. Kat- wide- ranging melody, and a scherzo -like chen does not do this, his Schumann is still Rondo, more whimsical than dashing, with a as as its for the Franck very pleasant theme. Schumann, Brahms good competitors; I prefer Joerg Demus's version on a West- and early Strauss are the influences most ap- minster disk. London has provided satisfac- parent, and if the work exhibits no novelty, tory, but not exceptional, engineering. it does have an appealing quality that grows Yves Nat gives forceful, mature readings stronger with rehearing. The orchestra takes of the Schumann pieces, although he is un- a simple but tasteful part in the proceedings. comfortable technically at the end of the The performance by Helen Schnabel, the Etudes. The first movement the Fantasy composer's daughter -in -law, is highly per- of finds him at his best, his directness and suasive, delicate and sensitive. strength effectively set off by passages The songs, composed between 1900 and played with quiet lyricism. Excellent piano 1902, show the same influences plus that of sound. Here again, Mr. Demus's version is Hugo Wolf, and exhibit the same thoughtful preferred. R. E. workmanship. Miss Francoulon sings in- The late Artur Schnabel: in a youthful telligently and sympathetically in a rather writing, much charm, lasting interest. SCHUMANN wiry voice. Excellent sound, intimate and Symphony No. 2 iu C Major, Op. 61 clean. R. E. SCHUBERT Stadium Concerts Symphony Orchestra of Symphony No. 8, in B Mirror, Unfinished SCHUBERT New York, Leonard Bernstein, cond. tBrahms: Academic Festival Overture, Quintet for Piano, Violin, Viola, Violon- DECCA DL 9715. 12.iIí. $5.85. Op. 8o cello and String Bass, in A, "Trout ", tSchumann: Manfred Overture, Op. Op. 114 n5 This romantic symphony has recently re- Orchestra of the Florence May Festival ceived crisp treatment from George Szell Alice Heksch, Nap De Klijn, Paul Godwin, (1953 ?), Vittorio Gui, cond. (Columbia) and relaxed treatment from Carl Carel van Leeuwen Boomkamp, Lion Groen. Schuricht (London). Although I prefer the AUDIOSPHF.RE 501. 12 -in. 22, IO, 12 min. EPIC LC 3046. 12 -in. 36 min. $5.95. $5.95. latter for its greater warmth - and still do after hearing the present disk I find Like its five predecessors on LP, this - The voyage south of the Alps has softened Bernstein's rather taut approach to the first, "Trout" is a good one. Still, arriving so the Unfinished Symphony to an amusing second and fourth movements rather re- late, it ought to be a revelation, and is not. degree. Expunged of its bitterness it is bland freshing. But whereas Szell atoned some- The performance has a gratifying community and lyrical in a way unknown what for his brusqueness by imparting of intonation and harmonic balance, marred further from to the Arno. Some of this is a the slow movement a finely phrased, lyrical by curious stretches of matter -of -fact phras- contributed by deep hall -sound that envelops the brighter quality, Bernstein holds the reins here so ing. The sound seems to be the truest of instruments, but since this is less evident tightly that the music here never gets a any: a certain shallowness in the piano in the two conjoined works, it may be as- chance to sing. The Stadium Symphony - results from a light left hand, and the more sumed that Mr. Gui, who is throughout summer pseudonym for the New York difficult treble is crystalline without being very forebearing, did not insist on vehemence. Philharmonic-Symphony plays with its glassy. C. G. B. - The Brahms is jocular music, given here accustomed excellence, and the reproduc- portentously, in an tion, while lacking a certain resonance and SCHUBERT excellent recording especially commendable in its projection of favoring the middle frequency ranges, is Symphony No, 4, in C Minor, "Tragic" the full orchestra. The orchestra has diffi- more than acceptable. P. A. Symphony No. 5, in B Flat culty following the stricter exigencies of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Al. Manfred Overture. Here again the sound is SERRANO fred Wallenstein, cond. imposing, the choirs distinct although nicely Les Claveles DECCA DL 9725. 12 -in. 28. 27 min. $5.85. balanced, the reverberation in creative Maria Espinalt (s). Joselina Puigsech (s), Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of Lon- consolidating. But the sound cannot be Pablo Civil (t), Francisco Paulet (t). Or- divorced from what is sounded. don, Dean Dixon, cond. C. G. B. questa Sinfonica Espanola; Rafael Ferrer, (Addendum: may interest WESTMINSTER WL 5274. t2 -in. 30, 29 min. It be of that cond. Audiosphere records emanate from Living- $5.95. ANGEI. ANG 64003. Io -in. $4.95 (factory ston Electronic Corporation, makers of sealed); $3.95 (thrift pack). If sonic qualities were alone in contest, we Livingston arms. Each recording, so far. could accept these disks as equal, for al- has been issued on both disk and 71/2 ips This addition to the now fairly extensive though Westminster has riper acoustics, it tape. The tape copies sent here for review zarzuela literature on records is a pleasant has a too -apparent seepage of proleptic proved faulty, and were returned for ex- trifle by one of the most successful corn - echo and some acid in the violins, and the change. - Ed.) posers of the genre, written 25 years ago.

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The amusing book, by Luis Fernandez de deals with quite serious situations. La del Lisa della Casa (soprano); Vienna Philhar- Sevilla and Anselmo Carreno, provides op- Soto del Parral, for example, has a story that monic Orchestra, Karl Böhm, cond. portunity for a half -dozen sprightly tunes no sane Léhar or Hammerstein would even LONDON LD 9072. Io -in. 18 min. $2.95. while developing the story of a girl who an- consider, yet it has proved highly popular in nounces that she is going to make a certain Spain. It concerns the efforts of a man to Sentimentality upon worldliness, an elabora- young man fall in love with her - and then keep the son of his late best friend and bene- tion at which Strauss was a master. The proceeds, against her will, to fall in love factor from marrying the latter's former mis- placid elegance of the orchestral writing with him. The story ends very happily, of tress. The task is made more difficult be- and the subdued intensity of the voice inter- course. The recording is rather harsh, but a cause he had been sworn to secrecy by his twine to make little triumphs of lofty, system with flexible controls can tame it friend shortly before dying, and there are meiotic art. The records are only half in satisfactorily. G. S., Jr. other complications. Of course, everything rivalry, and if one wants the "Capriccio" is finally cleared up, but this tale of marital music the Schwarzkopf disk is indicated, SIBELIUS infidelity and near- incest is pretty strong that nearly faultless singer being in form; but the della The Legends of Lemminkäinen, Op. 22 beer, not diluted very much even by the Casa soprano has smoother pair of comic lovers that briefly appear. sensuousness in The Four Last Songs, and Symphony Orchestra of Radio Stockholm; Musically, the idiom is still the popular Dr. Böhm's accompaniments are of some- Sixten Ehrling, cond. Spanish tunes and rhythms characteristic of what superior delicacy. Registration is CAPITOL P 8226. r2 -in. $5.70. the zarzuela, yet it never does violence to the equally successful in the two cases. C. G. B. The four Legends making up serious text. Also, the score shows more this suite - STRAUSS Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of Saari, careful workmanship than is found in the Metamorphoses See Stravinsky. The Swan of Tuonela, Lemminkäinen in average zarzuela. - Tuonela, and The Return of I have not been able to determine how Lemminkäinen - STRAUSS have been recorded several times recently, Americans unacquainted with this type of Sonata for Piano, B Minor, Op. 5 in each case with considerable success. My music would react to this particular work. Five Piano Pieces, Op. 3 own favorite is the one by Ormandy (Co- However, I have the feeling that La del lumbia), but this Swedish performance per- Soto del Parral would have a greater immedi- Alfred Brendel, piano. formed with abundance of dramatic excite- ate appeal to average musical Americans than SPA 48. 12 -in. 21, 24 min. $5.95. any I ment, runs it a very close second, though I other zarzuela know - unless they When Strauss wrote think the popular Swan of Tuonela is made to objected to the libretto! these compositions, he sing its hauntingly beautiful song rather too Performance and recording are both quite was only 16 and had not yet developed - quickly and prosaically. The reproduction good, but, as in the case of every zarzuela or even indicated - the style of his mature is notable for its three- dimensional illusion. recording I have seen so far, the accom- years. its P. A. panying notes are most inadequate. There Outside of historical interest the Sonata is quite SIBELIUS is a vast American public that knows no dull, conventional in the Spanish but that, if helped along, a little late -19th- century manner, with respectable Symphony No. 4 in A Minor, op. 63 bit, could well take these works to its heart themes, conscientiously worked out, and Tapiola, op. 112 - to the profit of all concerned. One im- with no breaches in taste. Schumann, Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Kara - portant step in this direction would be to Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Beethoven are jan, cond. include, along with every zarzuela recording, the models. There is not a trace of original- ANGEL 35082. 12 -in. $5.95 (factory sealed) complete Spanish and English texts, as ity, only a remarkable skill in manipulating or $4.95 (thrift pack). well as such further explanatory matter as musical materials. The Five Pieces are may be necessary, just as is done with most probably worthwhile, although the idiom is This is the darkest, most brooding of operas and other works in foreign langu- just as tradition- bound. Sibelius's seven symphonies and, for many, ages. G. S., Jr. Mr. Brendel seems a satisfactory inter- the hardest to assimilate. But it is also the preter, who produces a very good piano most intimate and personal, though posed tone, which SPA has neatly captured. R. E. in uncompromisingly laconic terms. To fathom its inner beauties requires many STRAVINSKY hearings, but is worth the effort. Symphony of the Psalms The versatile von Karajan goes a long (Strauss: Metamorphoses way toward making this work palatable to the most resistant listener. He has rounded Orchestre National et Choeurs de la Radio - off some of the rugged edges and warmed diffusion Francaise, Jascha Horenstein, cond. up many of the cold passages. Whether or ANGEL 35101. 12 -in. 25, 24 min. $5.95 not this is the ideal approach to this sym- (factory sealed); $4.95 (thrift pack). phony is debatable, but I must admit that The austere, monumental, the suavity and polish of the Philharmonia hieratically stylized symphony by Stravinsky is Orchestra are mighty pleasing to hear. There given a remarkably warm and human treatment is more ruggedness in the later tone -poem, in this superb recording. Stravinsky's own Tapiola. Reproduction throughout is full - interpretation (Columbia ML 4129) of the range and faithful. P. A. piece is like a huge Byzantine mosaic; Horenstein softens its angular planes and SOUTULLO and VERT severe, overpowering outlines and in so La del Soto del Parral doing convinces his hearers that his insight Maria Espinalt (s), Conchita Panades (s), into the score is superior to the composer's Juan Gual (bs), Jerénimo Meseguer (t), own The Strauss on the other side is one Enrique Esteban (t), Oscar Pol. Chorus and of that composer's last works. It is a long Orquesta Sinfonica Española; Rafael Ferrer, slow movement for 23 string instruments, cond. Jascha Horenstein: in the Symphony of the and it sounds like Octavian, the Marschallin, Psalms, insight surer ANGEL ANG 65000. I2 -in. $5.95 (factory than Stravinsky's. and Sophie Faninal singing their famous sealed); $4.95 (thrift pack). Rosenkavalier trio under the moon of Schön- STRAUSS, RICHARD berg's Transfigured Night. A. F. The Spanish zarzuela, like its cousins the Closing Scene from "Capriccio" Viennese operetta, the Broadway musical, The Four Last Songs TCHAIKOVSKY the Gilbert and Sullivan, etc., is a form of Capriccio Italien See Liszt. popular entertainment in which pleasant Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano); Philhar- - monia Orchestra, Otto Ackermann, tunes highlight a book based primarily on cond. TCHAIKOVSKY ANGEL 35084. I2 -in. 17, 19 min. $595 romantic and on comic situations. One Piano Concerto No r, B (factory sealed); $4.95 (thrift pack). Flat Minor curious aspect of the zarzuela - or is it of IDelibes- Dohnanyi: Valse Lente from the Spanish people? - is that its plot often The Four Last Songs Coppelia

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Geza Anda, piano. Philharmonia Orchestra; TURINA to make much of the difficult middle -voice Alceo Galliera, cond. Danzas Fantasticas- See Albeniz. climax on Oh patria! Oh patria quanto mi ANGEL 35083. 12 -in. 34, 8 min. $5.95 costi! Here is the strong, ringing metal of (factory sealed); $4.95 (thrift pack). Mario del Monaco's voice, also his lack of VERDI polish, and tendency to get excited and rush Mr. Anda's Tchaikovsky is not in the mas- Aida (Act III, excerpt) tempos - and so on. It may not be the sive vein of most versions; in fact, it is al- Renata Tebaldi (s), Aida; Ebe Stignani best Nile Scene ever, but it is alive and ex- most playful. This is refreshing but, basi- (ms), Amneris; Mario del Monaco (t), citing even in its human failings. Record- cally, the work does require a "big" style, Radames; Aldo Protti (b), Amonasro; Dario ing: typical of the company, and very good and there are plenty of available recorded Caselli (bs), Ramfis. Orchestra of the Ac- at that. Italian and English texts on the performances with this attribute. The re- cademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome; Alberto envelope. If not an essential, still a good corded sound of either orchestra or piano Erede, cond. thing to own. J. H., Jr. is is over- alone excellent, but the piano LONDON LD 9055. to -in. $2.95. shadowed by the orchestra when heard with it. Sheer delight is the Delibes -Dohnanyi On its envelope, this record is called "Com- VIVALDI Bassoon Waltz from Coppelia, entertaining for its plete Nile Scene." It isn't, unless you con- Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Violin, virtuosic display, anachronistic harmonies, sider that Act Ill of Aida, certainly one of and Figured Bass in G Minor; Sonata Bass in D Minor and fine tunes. Mr. Anda's performance is the great acts in all opera, begins after O for Flute and Figured dazzling, tonally superb. R. E. patria mia, with Aidi s Ciel! mio padre! - See Bach. Having got that straight, though, here is TCHAIKOVSKY some of the most powerful music Verdi ZELLER Waltzes- Transcribed for Four Pianos wrote - the great duets between Aida and Der Vogelbündler (medley) The Manhattan Piano Quartet. Amonasro and Aida and Radames,the furious Maud Cunitz; Emmy Loose; Karl Terkal; explosion of emotions at the end of the act M -G -M E 3too. 12 -in. 29 min. $4.85. Kurt Grosskurth. Singgemeinschaft Rudolf - not cut and in context. For those who do Lamy, Orchester des Bayrischen Rundfunks; Several of the better known waltzes from not own a complete Aida this is something Willy Mattes, cond. Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The of a bargain; for Aida -lovers, who do not TELEFUNKEN TM 68o08. 1010. Nutcracker Suite have been tastefully trans- own the complete London set, but are in- cribed for four pianos by Marga Richter. terested in performances of Aida, it is even Karl Zeller's Der Vogelbündler had its prem- She has kept the melodic line nicely clear, more of a bargain, since it offers in small the iere in 1891. The vein of Viennese- German and managed to obtain an orchestral tex- typical glories and frustrations of that issue. operetta tapped by Johann Strauss, Jr., was ture to her piano scoring. Excellently Here is the marvellous flow and expressive- beginning to run thin, and not for almost 20 - the sheen years were Franz Lehar and Emmerich Kal- played, well integrated and recorded in ness of Renata Tebaldi's singing, stunning piano sound by M -G -M's engin- of her piano top tones; here also is the edgy man to set the new Viennese style, typified neers. J. F. I. full -voice top, and her frustrating failure by The Merry Widow. The story Zeller set

How to Serve a Feast of Wolf: Hotter and Moore

HUGO WOLF, alive, was by all accounts a as intelligent and responsive and at the same rather special sort of man; and Hugo Wolf, time has far more than average keyboard dead just more than 5o years, is still a rather facility. Happily, Hans Hotter is such a special composer - not controversial, in any singer, and Gerald Moore such a pianist. complete sense, but special. He did not live Those who know Mr. Hotter only or long. He died, insane, before he was 43. mainly as an opera singer may wonder But he composed much. He left an opera, what he is like in such a context. The Der Corregidor, and some instrumental answer is: just as magnificent. His high music, but the greatest part of his energy intelligence and command of language here, went into songs. There are something like are very much in point, and his performances 245 of them - composed in great, feverish, of these songs are masterly. His singing, intermittent fluxes of solitary creative ac- as singing, is not flawless - there is the tivity. familiar shoving of high tones up into the People who love his music love it pas- facial mask to make them stay put - but sionately. Yet there are those in the world what a tremendously impressive artist he is, (and the mere intimation of this is often and how well he is partnered by Gerald enough to arouse ardent resentment among Moore, whose affinity for this music is an Wolfophiles), who are left utterly and com- old, old story to those whose memories pletely cold by Wolf's songs. Since it is extend back to some of the fine 78s issued useless to argue with people who are bored by the Hugo Wolf Society. J. H., Jr. and tell them that they ought not be bored, there will certainly be no argument here. However, for those who love Wolf this re- WOLF cording is a real prize; and for those who Lieder to Wolf it Hans Hotter "ti eniendously impressive." never have exposed themselves - Hugo Wolf: Michelangelo Lieder: t (Wohl can be recommended as an excellent in- denk' ich oft an mein vergang'nes Leben), 2 to the more serious, troduction - especially (Alles endet, was entstehet), and 3 (Fühlt meine sad because lover -boy has gone far away, elevated side of his musical personality. Seele das ersehnte Licht von Gott, der sie erschuf ?); a the that the other one is a song about how pret- With Wolf it was not question of Cophtiscbes Lieder: t (Lasset Gelehrte, sich by a poem ty mountains look in the sunset, and soon. composer having been inspired zanken und streiten) and 2 (Geh! Gehorchen is much more complex. His songs (or a poetic idea implicit in a poem) to write Wolf meinen Winken); Grenzen der Menschheit: a tune in similar metric form so that the follow the poem, accent it and interpret it, Prometheus Harfenspieler Lieder: 1 (Wer sich He sentence by sentence, frequently even word poem could be sung instead of read. der Einsamkeit ergibt), 2 (An die Türen will it by word. This is an approach that is often attempted much more, and just isn't ich schleichen), and 3 (Wer nie sein Brot mit called but it really is at least as possible to really hear a Wolf song without "Wagnerian," Tränen ass): Geselle, wolf u'ir nm in Kuueu as the musica reservata of the Renaissance. paying strict attention to the precise words. old hüllen? With some other songs it is, practically What is required in the way of performers speaking. enough to know the general is a musicianly singer of great intelligence Hans Hotter, bass; Gerald Moore, piano. tenor of the words; it is almost enough to and responsiveness to poetry, along with ANGEL 35057- 12-in. $5.95 (factory sealed know that this one is a song about being reliable technique, and a pianist who is just in album); $4.95 (thrift pack).

62 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com to music here has to do with true love run- As to the music, the Haydn is familiar ning gradually smoother and smoother in and lovely; the Bach, elaborate, rich, some- Tirol, not that it matters, for what the record times quite moving. The less weighty presents is a medley of tunes, unspaced and Clementi pieces have immeasurable charm self -identified. The music, is bright and gay, on this instrument: their simplicity acquires easy to take, sometimes quite acrobatic. a sparkle in the tinkling, music- box -like The feel is always right. The envelope sounds available to the performer. The play- doesn't tell who sings what. No texts; ing is stylistically astute, the acoustics notes designed for British readers. Record- satisfactory. R. E. ing not new, but passable. Essentially for operetta fans. J. H., Jr. ORIGINAL DON COSSACK CHORUS Easter Music Serge Jaroff, cond. Soloists: A. Jarovitzky, A. Levchenka, M. Olchowyj, L. Lugovsky. COLLECTIONS AND W. Magnuschevsky. MISCELLANY CONCERT HALL CMS-1192. 12 -in. $5.95. Needless to say, the performances on this disk are authentic in every way. Moreover, RAPHAEL ARIE both the individual soloists and the chorus Russian Arias as a whole produce some ravishing sounds, Mussorgsky: Boris Godunoff: I have attained and the music itself is quite moving. Only the highest power; In the town of Kazan. Rub- Shirley Booth: more at home by the Coney two points of criticism prevent an unquali- instein: The Demon: I am he whom you called. Island sea than in tree -grown Brooklyn. fied recommendation. First, the surprisingly bad intonation at several spots; second, the Raphael Arié (bs). L'Orchestre de la Société Shirley Booth. As a vaudeville performer of fact that the recording is technically not des Concerts du Conservatoire de Paris; the era, Miss Booth finds the sea air of up to the level that we have a right to expect Alberto Erede, cond. Coney Island more congenial than that of nowadays. English translations of the texts LONDON LD 9073. Io -in. $2.95. Greenpoint, where, as Aunt Cissie in A Tree are provided. D. R. To judge by recent top- drawer issues in the Grows in Brooklyn, she lingered a while a few years LD series, it appears that Raphael Arié has back. If her singing lacks musical MATTIWILDA DOBBS not, as intimated in an earlier review, been appeal, she more than makes up for this in Song Recital devalued by London. Very likely an apology the knowing way she projects a song. There Schubert: Die Entziicking an Laura; La Pas - is in order. At any rate, the young Yugo- is philosophy and rich humor in her "I'd torella; Nacht und Träume; Heidenrriskin; Lieb- slav- Israeli bass sings these three excerpts Rather Wake up by Myself," and a genuine haberin allen Gestalten. Brahms: Auf dem from Russian operas quite respectably, old -time vaudeville air to her "Little Girl" if Schiffe; Wiegenlied; Nachtigallen schwingen; not terribly excitingly. Recording: standard number, "Please Don't Send Me Down a Botschaft. Wolf: Die Spröde; Die Bekehrte; Zi- London (subdivision Paris). Notes, but Baby Brother," sung in a style worthy of tronenfalter im April. Fauré: Clair de lune: no texts. J. H., Jr. Ray Dooley or Fannie Brice at their best. Mae Barnes and Wilbur Evans acquit Notre amour. Hahn: Si mes vers araient des ailes. Chausson: Le colibri; La cigale. BRAVO POUR LE CLOWN themselves well, the chorus sounds agree- La goualante du pauvre Jean. Et moi. able, and the whole production is lively Mattiwilda Dobbs (s). Gerald Moore, N'y va pas, Manuel. under the direction of Jay Blackton. Capi- piano. Les amants de Venise. L'effet qu'tu tol's sound, while clear enough, is a bit ANGEL 35094. L2 -in. $5.95 (factory sealed ); M fais. Jean et Martine. thin. J. F. I. $4.95 (thrift pack). Johnny, tu n'es pas un auge. Bravo pour No matter how well a coloratura sings, le clown. CLEMENTI PIANO no matter how suitable and intelligently ordered Haydn: Edith Piaf and orchestra. Adagio in F Major; Bach, C.P.E.: her program, her truncated vocal spectrum Twelve Variations on the "Folies d'Espagne ;" ANGEL 64005. to-in. 25 min. $3.95. is liable to turn a recital -length song pro- Clementi: Arietta con Sonata in Variazioni; gram monotonous. Mattiwilda Dobbs is The diminutive French chanteuse, Edith D Major, Op. 26, No. 3. no exception. Words, whether French, Piaf, remains unrivalled as "A singer of sad John Newmark, piano. German, or Italian go for nothing, or next sonks," to borrow a phrase from Nikita HALLMARK RS 4. t0 -in. to nothing. The phrase is all that seems to Balieff, compére of the once famous Chauve 5, 9, 5, 9 min. $4.80. matter much. Singing like this can delight Souris. In her new Angel recording, six of the ear, but it never brings songs alive, and her songs are devoted to the sordid and a Hallmark, Toronto firm, has put out few after a while delight fades into boredom. seamy side of love, and the title song, are recordings, but they singularly choice Recording: excellent. Not recommended as "Bravo pour le clown," borders on the ma- for one reason or another. This disk is no more than surface representations of these cabre. Miss Piaf has a most persuasive way exception, for John Newmark's brief recital songs, but fine vocalism. J. H., Jr. with even the most ordinary material, as on a Clementi piano is indeed a charmer. for instance "Johnny is the Boy for Me," The instrument, built by Muzio Clement in KATHLEEN FERRIER an American hit last year. By artful phrasing London in 181o, made its way to Canada via Arias and vocal subtlety she transforms it into Ypsilanti, Mich., where it was discovered an appealingly sly little reprimand to a in an antique shop by John Challis, the Handel: Rodelinda: Art thou troubled?; Johnny, who is no angel. J. F. I. harpsichord maker, who put it in playing Serve: Ombra mai fu. Gluck: Orfeo ed Burl- condition. dice: What is Life? Mendelssohn: Elijah: BY THE BEAUTIFUL SEA It is Ilh octaves shorter than a modern 0 rest in the Lord. piano; Shirley Booth, Wilbur Evans, Mae Barnes, uses one string for all keys, instead Kathleen Ferrier (c). London Symphony; one, three; and Richard France, Cameron Prud'homme. of two, or has leather rather Malcolm Sargent, cond. Boyd Neel Or- than felt hammer Chorus and orchestra under the direction of covers. chestra; Boyd Neel, cond. The sound is neither so richly resonant as Jay Blackton. LONDON LO 9066. 10 -in. $2.95. a modern piano so as a CAPITOL S 531. 12 -in. 43 min. $5.95. nor brilliant harpsichord. The bass has a heavy twang, the Since her untimely death in 1953 there have Set in the rowdy, carnival atmosphere of upper notes are weak, and the instrument been so many tributes to Kathleen Ferrier the Coney Island of 1907, By the Beautiful sounds tinny when played loud. But from - heartbroken tributes, by those who knew Sea is a pleasant, old- fashioned, George M. piano to mezzo -forte in the middle register her and loved her as a human being as well Cohan sort of musical comedy, which boasts the sounds are delectable. Oddly enough. as an artist - that another, here, would be of a respectably tuneful Arthur Schwartz it makes possible a remarkable legato, even an impertinence. There will be none. Her score and a warm, appealing performance by and clear. life was tragic, and her death. Her career

SEPTEMBER, 1954 63

www.americanradiohistory.com RECORDS

Treasure on Tape was a short one; she came to public notice is to be expected in a compendium as only in 1945, when she created the name large as this. Victor provides spanking A -V's `Music for role in Britten s The Rape of Lucretia. Even sound throughout. J. F. I. so, its last years were shadowed by approach- Young Listeners" ing death. No one can say what she might FOLK BLUES have become had she lived on. No one can and his mouth harp, accom- Consists of 14 7' í ips dual track 5 -inch reels even guess. But, as she was she is here. al- Sonny Terry panied by Alec Stewart, guitar. of tape (A -V Tape Libraries, Inc.) and three ready a remarkable artist. It is difficult to EKL 14. -in. 25 min. 122 -page books (Silver Burdett Company). describe a vocal personality in words. Hers ELEKTRA Io $4.45. books each; tapes $75 (complete); $1.76 is even more than usually difficult, because The fabulous Sonny Terry, wizard of the Crimson sets $6.75 each Green, Blue and it had, and has, no mannerism about it. Her mouth harp and singer of the blues, never separately at $24, $24 & $35, was and even in scale, available voice round warm, has been treated so considerately before on respectively. and individual in quality. She was a thorough- records. Sitting right on top of the mike, respon- ly reliable musician, intelligent and he introduces, explains, sings and blows the Somebody has had a fine idea which should she was a fine vocalist. But she sive. And blues as informally as if he were on the porch much smacking of brows and mum - cause never exploited any of these gifts for herself; of his own house, entertaining some old "why didn't I think of that ?" blings of she used them in service of the music. No friends. His seemingly impromptu remarks, A -V and Silver Burdett, evidently in a joint her a singer, but she one could call cold almost a conversation with himself, grow a effort, have contrived three "sets" of books was not an intimate one, nor was certainly little tedious after a while, but some of and tapes one book with four tapes, - she what could be called a shrewd performer. them are pungent. Besides the well -known another with four and the last with six She was simply enormously gifted and ab- "John Henry" and "Red River," he does tapes. Their aim is to acquaint young She must have known solutely honest. "Talking about the Blues," "Goodbye Lead - people (eight and older, I would suggest) were, but I doubt what vocal "effects" belly" (a blues in an almost formative stage), music by giving them material which with that she ever attempted to make one. As "Mama told Me," "Moaning and Mourning read to (or by) them, and then may be a result, there was about her singing a kind Blues," "In the Evening," and his specialty graphically illustrating it with taped music. and sense expressive of classic dignity of "The Fox Chase," a humorous and expert The Green Book deals with Handel, Mozart, the proportion combined with utmost tale of the hound dogs who follow the fox, Schubert, Schumann, Bizet, Saint - Ghys, womanly sincerity. In airs such as these few realistically blown, talked and sung through Ravel, Pierné, Poldini, Liadoff, and Saëns, collected here, especially, the communica- the mouth harp. Remarkably clean sound MacDowell, first relating a quick (and some- seems inevitable. She was a very lovely tion throughout, and generally a proper balance times a bit romanticized) story of the corn- singer. At the risk of seeming to borrow between Terry and his guitarist, Stewart. poser's life and then following with a dis- bathos, it might be right to end by borrow- J. F. I. cussion of some of his specific compositions. ing from a liner note by Dynely Hussey The musical works discussed are recorded part of a Stevenson verse, to which, as he IGOR GORIN: ARIAS on the tapes so that while the word -picture says, such a recording gives new meaning: is still fresh in the student's mind he may Fair is the fall of songs, Leoncavallo: Prologue, from 1 Pagliacci. immediately compare the musical picture. When the singer sings them. Wagner: Song to the Evening Star, from For example, under "Mozart" in the book Oft they are carolled and said - Tannhauser. Verdi: Eri Tu, from The Masked comes first his life story and then six pages On the wings they are carried - Ball. Rossini: Largo al Factotum, from The of intelligent dissertation on "The Little After the singer is dead, Barber of Seville. Verdi: Di Provenza il Mar, Nothings" (Pantomime, Joyous Gavotte, and And the maker buried. from La Traviata. Massenet: Vision Fugi. Graceful Gavotte). -The Don Giovanni "Min- Recording: ffrr. Notes; no texts. Recom- tive, from Herodiade. uet ' and the "Romanza" from Eine Kleine mended. J. H., Jr. Igor Gorin (bne); orchestra conducted by Nachtmusik. In the tapes, we find each of Donald Voorhees. performed by the Hamburg these works ALLIED LP 3003. 12 -in. $4.85. Chamber Orchestra under the direction of FIEDLER'S 2 5TH - Walther. Hans Juergen Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler, there are two other sets of IGOR GORIN: SONGS As indicated, cond. book and tapes. The Blue Book deals with Malotte: Song of the Open Road. Speaks: March No. Scarlatti, J. S. Bach, Haydn, Chopin, Toch, Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance r; Sylvia. Sieczynski: Vienna, City of My Dreams. but Lonely Heart; Gluck, Rossini, Wagner, Rimsky- Korsakoff, Tchaikovsky: None the Seaver: Just For Today. Bach: Jesu, Joy of Verdi and Humperdinck, and the Crimson Johann Strauss, Jr.: Thunder and Lightning Man's Desiring. Clark: The Blind Ploughman. Book with Boccherini, Johann Strauss, Ger- Polka; Bosc: Rose Mousse; Gillet: Loin de Denza: Had You But Known. Malotte: The man, Quilter, Der, Skilton, Guion, Men- Bal; Pierné: Entrance of the Little Fauns; Lord's Prayer. Igor Gorin, baritone; or- La delssohn, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, White: Mosquito's Dance; Seradell: chestra conducted by Carmen Dragon. Golondrina; Johann Strauss: Radetzky March. Dubensky and Coates. The last is a six -tape ALLIED LP 2000. Io -in. $3.85. set. The books were all written by Lillian Tchaikovsky: Waltz from "The Sleeping Baldwin and are generally very well done. Beauty"; Herbert: Dagger Dance from "Na- For at least 15 years I have thought that Some will take exception to the cross -section toma "; Paganini: La Campanella. Anon: Gorin had one of the most mechanically of composers; others to the selection of Wien bleibt Wien; Johann Strauss, Jr.: Die perfect vocal organs I have ever heard. music. Considering the outrageous prob- Fledermaus Polka; Caillet: Birthday Fantasy; These records do nothing to change this lems involved in such anthology, however; Steffe: The Battle Hymn of the Republic. impression. He may have become a little "pinched" in his high work little the total effect is top- notch. The music RCA VICTOR LM í79o. 12 -in. 5o min. -a constricted but not much. He still rolls has obviously been picked with young S5.95. - people in mind. The Toy Symphony, The forth some of the most exciting sounds I William Tell Overture and the Carnival of It is 25 years since Arthur Fiedler took over have heard uttered by the human throat. the Animals, for example. The fidelity of the conductorship of the Boston Pops Or- Unfortunately, also still present is the same the tapes is in no case less than good and chestra (Anyone remember his predecessor ?) old obstruction to his achieving any pinin many spots really excellent. All the or- and to commemorate the occasion Victor nacle of vocal greatness. He sings one aria chestral work is done by the Philharmonia has issued this 50- minute concert of light in just the same style, with precisely the Orchestra of Hamburg under Hans Juergen classical music. This is the sort of stuff same (or lack of the same) histrionics as Walther and, where appropriate, Sondra that Mr. Fiedler and his men have perfected were in the one before and you know will Bianca, Gerhardt Arnold, and Felice Takak- through the years, light, lilting music by be in the one after. This was always his jian, pianists; Hannelore Unruh, harpsi- Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Elgar et al, played trouble; I expect it always will be. The chordist: the Baldwin -Wallace Bach Festival with spirit and precision. The 16 numbers fidelity of the 10 -inch "Songs" disk is Singers. and the Bartels Ensemble (a string selected from the orchestra's repertoire make quite good. The accompaniment is un- quartet) take part also. Everything is so a nicely diversified program, and if some bearably schmaltzy (replete with chimes, tastefully done and there seems to be so are more successful than others - as for et al). The operatic arias on the 12 -inch are because of much good use to which this series should instance the Radetzky March and the Thunder generally better listening; in part and honest, be put that I say "bravo." W. B. S. and Lightning Polka, an occasional unevenness a sparkling job of recording

64 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com straightforward orchestral work by Voorhees Schubert: Eight Ländler; Impromptu in A knowledge of the instrument. The record and his men. Actually, there isn't much on flat, Op. 142, No. 2. Liszt: Mephisto Waltz: was prepared by G. Donald Harrison, Eng- either record but a terrifyingly good voice. Hungarian Rhapsody No. rr, in A Minor. lish -born president of Aeolian- Skinner, who has worked hard in his adopted country to But there surely is plenty of that. W. B. S. William Kapell, piano. reform organ construction. What he tries RCA VICTOR LM 1791. 12 -in. 27, 7, 7, to achieve in building his "American Classic HARP MUSIC, Vol. 2 (Contemporary) to, 5 min. $5.72. Organ" is an instrument that combines Prokofieff: Prelude, Op. 12, No. 7. Taille- William Kapell's death in an air crash on clarity for Baroque polyphonic music with ferre: Sonata. Tournier: La Source. Roussel: Oct. 29, 1953, at the age of 31, was a tragedy, dramatic color and massiveness for Romantic Impromptu, Op. 21. Hindemith: Sonata. for in 10 years before the public the gifted and modern music. In the course of demon- Glanville -Hicks: Sonata. young virtuoso had shown a rare capacity strating the sound of principals, flutes, Nicanor Zabaleta, harp. for growth, and he had finally emerged as a strings, reeds, mutations, and mixtures - the various pipe categories he contrasts ESOTERIC ES 523. 12 -in. 2, 8, 3, 7, II, 8 min. mature artist. - his new instruments with the $5.95 This memorial disk reissues a 1945 re- standard, cording of the Mephisto Waltz and adds the vague -toned Romantic organ, and makes a last recordings Mr. Kapell made before his pretty strong case for the superiority of his HARP MUSIC, Vol. 3 (Eighteenth Cen- death. His technique was always exceptional, workmanship. tury) because of its combination of clarity, ac- Pipes from many instruments, including Bach, C. P. E.: Solo (Sonata). Beethoven: cent, dash and rich tone, and these elements the shattering State Trumpet at the Cathedral Variations on a Swiss Tbeme. Mayer: Sonata. make the Mephisto Waltz a virtuosic delight. of St. John the Divine, in New York, are Rosetti: Sonata. Krumpholz: Andante con Technically as brilliant, the Rhapsody, prob- explained and presented, alone and in com- variatione. ably because it is a recent recording, is a bination, in phrases or in whole compositions. At one point the full range of the Nicanor Zabaleta, harp. wonder of beautiful ringing piano sound, it also shows a greater refinement in organ is exemplified in an ascending scale ESOTERIC ES 524. 12 -in. 12, 6, 7, to, 4 min. but style, more sensitive and with the relaxed from the lowest to the highest tones, $5.95. expansiveness of a thoughtful performer. which provides a rough test of how many Those who know the initial volume of harp The Schubert and Bach works give the cycles your high -fidelity set is capable of music recorded by Nicanor Zabaleta should measure of Mr. Kapell's mature stylistic setting forth. welcome volumes 2 and 3. Together they awareness, for the former is quiet, simple, Mr. Harrison's urbanely British delivery make three of the most satisfactory records singing; the latter, set off in planes of of the commentary is a pleasure, and many I know. A faultless technician and superb sound with the utmost clarity. At the same of the stops are so attractive in themselves musician, the performer has developed an time, the performances are flavored with that the brevity of their use is quite frustrat- exceptional repertoire, fresh and ear- provok- individual touches. The pianist made more ing. The mechanical aspects of the recording, in which there is not a shoddy passage. spectacular recordings, but these of the ing are the best available where organs are Were David one -tenth as good a harpist in Schubert and Bach are the best possible concerned, although the company found it his day as Mr. Zabaleta is now, it is no won- tribute to his achievement as a consciously necessary to report itself "not satisfied with der he could drive the evil spirit out of Saul developing artist. Excellent sound for all the quality of the surfaces." with his playing. Color and dynamics vary but the Waltz, which is satisfactory. R. E. Aeolian-Skinner promises future releases endlessly; rhythms are alive, pitches per- of complete performances. If the standards fect; and chords are precisely plucked in THE KING OF INSTRUMENTS of presentation are maintained, such releases are to be eagerly awaited. R. E. Mr. Zabaleta's offerings -a relief from the Vol. l: The American Classic Organ. mono -chromatic, pretty -pretty style of standard harp playing. And he is as fully at G. Donald Harrison, narrator. AEOLIAN- SKINNER ORGAN COMPANY. 12- OPERA PRELUDES AND INTER- home in polyphonic passages as in the MEZZI sweeping arpeggios so dear to harp com- in. 44 min. $5.00, postpaid from factory, posers. Boston 25, Mass. Verdi: La Traviata: Prelude to Act I; In Vol. 2, the Hindemith Sonata (1939) is Prelude to Act III. Aida: Prelude. Pon - Although this disk is admittedly a "demon- the longest and most consequential work chielli: La Gioconda: Prelude. Puccini: - stration medium" in which the kinds of most striking for its original use of a harp's Manon L scant: Act II -III Intermezzo. Mas- pipes that go into one make of organ are arpeggio style in the second movement and cagni: Cavalleria Rusticana: Intermezzo. described and heard, it should be of im- its medieval quality in the third. Peggy Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur: Act II -III for portance to anyone who wants further Glanville- Hicks' Sonata ('953) is hauntingly Intermezzo. Wolf -Ferrari: I Quattro Rustegbi: Spanish -Moorish in coloration. Marcel Act I -II Intermezzo. "Orchestra of the Tourniei s work is a standard repertoire Radio Italiana' (no city given); Vittorio piece, but lovely nonetheless. Prokofieffs Gui, Gabriele Santini, Antonio Votto, Al- Prelude (1913), designated for either harp fredo Simonetto, Federico del Cupolo, and or piano, and Germaine Taillefairré s Sonata Arturo Basile, conds. are equally delightful; and Roussel's Im- CETRA A- 50159. 12 -in. $5.95. promptu (1919) beautifully reflects his interest in East Indian music. This record, the latest result of Capitol's policy of snipping up and remarketing Of the 18th century composers on Vol. 3, the Mayer and Krumpholz were harpists, who, Cetra opera catalog, is frankly a miscellany. is, in their representations here, wrote pleasant- It perhaps, best described, as a sort of record. If you have ly conventional music. Rosetti, who might operatic party guests (a) like opera, and (b) have been a harpist also, so idiomatic is his who like to talk, you style, shows more compositional enterprise might try this as background noise. It is in his Sonata. Beethoven's six variations on unlikely to annoy anyone, and it surely won't disrupt any conversation a Swiss tune, for harpsichord or harp, are save the simple and elegant. C. P. E. Bach has pro- most perfunctory. Viewed more seriously, vided the most weighty work, however, this collection of preludes and intermezzi extremely sophisticated by any standards, makes even less sense musically (or any with an enchanting final Allegro. other way) than does the similar Capitol Like the other aspects of these disks, the collection of lopped -off overtures. But it engineering seems perfect. May we have does make less noise. J. H., Jr. more such releases from Mr. Zabaleta and Esoteric. R. E. GINO PENNO: OPERATIC RECITAL KAPELL IN MEMORIAM Bellini: Norma: Act I, from Svanir le voci - .'.icauor Zabaleta and harp: how David got through Meco alt altar di venere to end of Bach: Partita No. 4, in D (Gigue omitted). rid of Saul's demons need puzzle no one. Scene 2. Verdi: Simon Boccanegra: O in-

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ferno! through Sento avvampar melt anima. Il presumably to give the listener a rest, for Although my knowledge of night clubs is Trovatore: Di quella pira. Mr. Templeton's well -known improvisatory limited indeed, I can easily understand the Gino Penno (t); Angelo Mercuriali (t). abilities seem inexhaustible. Clean sound, appeal Amalia Rodrigues would have for "Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (Mi- low price make this a good bet for those their clientele -a warm voice, a personality lano)"; Antonio Narducci, cond. who like smart -cabaret duo -pianism. R. E. that comes through, music that is interesting LONDON LD 9117. to-in. $2.95. and unusual, and just the right face and figure. In this record she offers four Portu- Gino Penno is one of the most successful MOTETS OF THE VENETIAN guese fact and four Spanish flamenco songs. of the younger, or postwar, generation of SCHOOL (16th CENTURY) VOL. II The fados include Coimbra, better known in Italian tenors with big voices. His rise to Choir of the Capella di Treviso, Italy. this country as April in Portugal, a number fame from the opera school at La Scala was Under the Direction of Monsignor Giovanni that seems typical of the genre. (She sings immediate and rapid, and last season he D'Alessi. one of its stanzas in English.) The flamenco was engaged by the Metropolitan and sang songs seemed a bit tame to my ears, but Composers: Asola, Croce, Ingegneri, Nasco, here in such operas as La Forzadel Destino, Il perhaps this may make them more acces- Porta, Ruffo, Vecchi, Willaert. Trovatore, Aida,Pagliacci, and Norma. Before sible to the average American listener. The Vox PL -861o. 12 -in. $5.95. that, Mr. Penno's voice had been heard here recording I thought quite harsh, but flexible Cetra recording of Verdi's in the complete This is a companion -disk to the earlier controls can bring it in line. G. S., Jr. has been made, by interested Ernani. Much volume of 16th Century motets issued by of Mr. Penno's parties, of the great size the same chorus. The works are beautiful SHOWPIECES FOR ORCHESTRA, actually in the opera voice. As it sounded examples of their kind, and repay repeated Vol. I house, it certainly made a gracious plenty hearings. me, at least) less Borodin: Polovuian Dances from "Print. of noise, but it seemed (to Since the choir consists of men's voices for actual decibels than for the Igor." remarkable only, the uppermost line is sung, of course, uncushioned impact it made Enesco: Roumanian Rhapsody No. t in A kind of naked, by tenors. The very strain occasioned by recording technique Major, Op. s t. on the eardrums. The the high tessitura causes their voices to take -to in the London manner) Ippolitoff -Ivanoff: Caucasian Sketches, Op. se used here (close on an unusual quality, the "rightness" of of dimension; no one gives some sense which increases as one listens. Those who Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Alfred likely to think it hearing this disk would be are accustomed to the relatively impersonal Wallenstein, cond. It does, however, give the a small voice. style so often found in the "English" ap- DECCA DL 9727. 12 -in. 44 min. $5.85. livelier, more impression of being somewhat proach to early music, may be surprised by more surrounding resonance foursquare, not vibrant, with the quality of the tenor tone in this record- These overly expressive it had in the Metropolitan. Otherwise, performances, vigorously directed by Wal- than ing. There is a liberal use of the vibrato, is typical straightforward, lenstein, and well played by his men, the singing - which lends a feeling of urgency. As a do in treatment of in steady, not very imaginative result, these are not mere museum re-crea- not, any way, challenge recordings al- itself is reliable, in words. The voice bright, tions, but rather, readings in which the ready to be found the catalog. The Boro- variety. rather lacking in expressive Antonio emotional implications of the text seem to din and Ippolitoff -Ivanoff scores may be is perfectly satisfac- found in superior performances Narducci's conducting be of greatest importance. One is aware of under this sort. secondary ML tory for a do of The an undercurrent of passion throughout the Mitropoulos on Columbia 4815, and the Flavio, Angelo Mercuriali, Enesco is better on Victor LRM 7043 tenor who sings music which is, after all, a product of an by So is the chorus (La - is is extremely good. era which was given to extremes of emotional Stokowski. There bright sound from H., Jr. Scala ?). J. expression. Hence my statement that the Decca, but it calls for some bass boost. "rightness" of the approach becomes in- J. F. I. SYMPHONIC "POPS" CONCERT creasingly apparent as the record progresses. SONGS AND BALLADS The recording is excellent, and complete OF AMERI- Overture to "Martha" (Flotow); Incidental CA'S WARS Music from "Mignon" (Thomas); Storm texts and translations are supplied. D. R. Music from "The Barber of Seville" (Rossini); Felix the Soldier; The Press Gang Sailor; The Ballad of Montcalm and Wolfe; Doodle Dandy; Intermezzo from " Pagliacci' ( Leoncavallo); AMALIA RODRIGUES Overture to "Mede" (Cherubini); Invitation Paul Jones; The British Soldier; Perry's Vic- Sings Fado from Portugal and Flamenco tory; The Battle Cry of Freedom; The Twenty- to the Dance (Weber); Tales from the Vienna from Spain Woods (J. Strauss) Third; Virginia's bloody Soil; The Southern Amalia Rodrigues, accompanied by Jaime Girl's Reply; The Old Unreconstructed; The The Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Ferdi- Santos and Santos Moreira. Bonnie Blue Flag. cond. nand Leitner, ANGEL ANG 64002. 10 -in. $4.95. DECCA DL 8509. 12 -in. 46 min. $4.85. Sung by Frank Warner. ELEKTRA EKL 13. to -in. 31 min. $4.45. A generous serving of seven standard orchestral compositions in good, straightfor- Most of these old songs, born of the camara- ward performances, and moderately good derie of men who fought in the wars of this sound. But isn't this sort of portmanteau country, have all but been forgotten. A LP outdated, these days? With Extended few linger in the memory of those who Play 45 -rpm records designed to take care heard them from their elders, and some may of similar selections, at a reasonable cost, be found in the song books devoted to this it is unlikely that any listener interested, for medium, but all are quite rare. Anne instance, in the Overture to Medea is likely Warner's informative liner notes as to where, to be willing to spend $4.85 to obtain it, and how this collection was uncovered, and also acquire six selections which may be plus some historical notes on their back- of no interest to him. J. F. I. grounds, and the variants by which some may be known makes fascinating reading. Frank Warner, her husband and a singer ALEC TEMPLETON IMPROVISES with a decided flair for capturing their Alec Templeton, piano. quality, sings them with simplicity, honesty REMINGTON R- 199 -158. 12 -in. 18, 19 min. and without trace of affectation. Whether $2.99. unaccompanied, or with guitar or wooden banjo, the voice is always nicely placed and Alec Templeton forms a two -piano team the style pleasantly informal. Elektra's with himself to produce some amiable en- snund is first rate. J. F. I. tertainment. With considerable wit, he juggles whole tunes or fragments thereof - SPANISH GYPSY-AIRS now you hear them, now you don't - and the bouncing rhythms never flag. Each Amalia Rodriguez: fado andJlarnenco song. Jose Moreno (flamenco singer), Carlos Mon- side is broken up into four movements, tailored for night-clubs - or for export. toya (guitar), and ensemble.

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C. G. BURKE SUGGESTS A BASIC HAYDN SHELF building your record library

number twelve

About one -fourth of the 104 Haydn symphonies authenticated No. 88, second and fourth movements ( Decca DX 119); No. 92, have nicknames to help their identification, to lure the passer -by second movement (Westminster WL 5137); No. 93, first and second and cut a place into human memory: they are the ones publicly movements (Columbia ML 4374); No. 95, minuet (Westminster wt. performed. They are not necessarily the best - there is no best 5045); No. 97, minuet (Westminster WL 5062); No. 99, probably in Haydn - but they have lost the anonymity that keeps the the most beautiful of the symphonic slow movements in Haydn others obscure. A phalanx of numbers, confronted from outside, (Westminster WL 5102); No. zoo, first and second movements is not inviting. Maybe the observations here will help some music - (Westminster WI. 5045); No. 102, any movement (Westminster lovers to break the phalanx. The shiny integuments of the records, WL 5062); No. 1o3, first movement (Columbia ML 4453); No. 104, of the 64 symphonies, the 43 quartets, the assortment of 20 trios, first, second and third movements (Westminster WL 3o66). The the to masses, the sonatas and the concertos, look all alike. frequent recurrence of the Westminster name results from the But in every one of his five decades of composing, Haydn fash- company's entente with the conductor Hermann Scherchen, who ioned particular temptations full of craft, appearing guileless but has recorded 18 Haydn symphonies, including the last 13, to musical not to be resisted. The candid contentment of the early Quartet No. and acoustic standards higher than there is precedent for in so 18, Op. 3, No. 5 (London is 656), is a most ingratiating introduc- extensive a uniform series. tion not only to Haydn but to the rarefied realm of chamber music, Restricted in color and timbre, the Quartets present subtler in- and the last piano trio, in G, imperturbably known as Trio No. r, dividualities, a more shadowy allure. There are 77, of which 45 wafts a propaganda of sophistication in innocence from the superb are on LP, 41 by the Schneider Quartet for the Haydn Society, and grooves of Westminster WL 5202. (In every case the records men- of these 41 only to have been duplicated. One calls attention to tioned are believed by the writer to be the best of those devoted to particular ones with diffidence, certain that others have as com- the music under consideration.) manding an appeal to other people as the ones specified have Two famous concertos deserve their fame. Music was never here, where Op. 77, No. 2 (Haydn Society HSQ-38) is estimated the freer of mysticism than in these, the Trumpet Concerto (Haydn greatest and Op. 3, No. 5 (London s -656) the most amiable. The Society ío38), a jubilation infallibly dictated, and the keyboard six Quartets Op. 76 (Haydn Society HSQ-L) are a treasury, and trea- Concerto in D, heard to best advantage on a harpsichord, variously sure- hunters will be initially beguiled most by the first and third movements No. 2, the called No. 1 - although it was the composer's last - and Op. 21, of second movement of No. 3, the first and in which rusticity and courtliness are married in an unforgettable fourth of No. 4 and the second of No. 5. One movement of the ceremony without ceremoniousness. Here the Landowska per- very lyrical Op. 64, No. 5 (Columbia ML 4216) is as captivating as formance has classic values, but the recording (Victor Lcr 1029) another. The quartet form of the Seven Last Words (Haydn So- is old, while the Vox version (PL 6320) of Mme. Roesgen- Champion ciety HsQ -39) is the most poignant of musical devotions. The and the very energetic Lamoureux Orchestra has solid sound, and Seven Last Words in its final, vocal, setting (Remington 199 -66) the overside contains an Oboe Concerto in a masterly performance. is compulsive in spite of the minor damage undergone in recording a public performance. These four things are consummate revelations of a kind of holiday music in which Haydn indubitably excelled, and for which he Of the 12 extant Masses, to have been recorded, not with uni- success. 1 has been blamed, on the familiar aesthetic premise that it is some- form Two of the short ones, Nos. and 5, are the most how more laudable to create a troll than a tiara. obviously devout, and occupy the two sides of an excellent Lyri- chord disk (LL 30). No. 7, the huge Saint A nosegay of pleasing inconsequentiality is presented on Lyri- Cecilia Mass, is grandly operatic (Haydn Society 2028); No. 4, the "Great chord 36, the mingled perfumes of four early symphonies, none Organ Mass," is delightfully light (Vox PL 7020); No. 9, the found anywhere else. They are the Symphonies Nos. r 2, 23, 29 "Wartime" Mass (Haydn Society 2021), and 30, an intelligent progression from an evanescent aroma to the composed in the year of Lodi and Rivoli, the first so many years deadly lasting scent of the confident "Alleluja" Symphony. The elegant of to Imperial arms, sings victory rather than defeat; and the "Theresa" Mass, 12, is early trinity of "Morning," "Noon" and "Evening" - Sym- No. one of the most gracious and courtly of all invocations of divine grace phonies 6, 7 and 8 - shows Haydn as courtier, absorbed in the cre- (Vox PL 6740). ation of pure concinnity (Haydn Society 1025 and 1016, with Sym- The fragmentary marionette singspiel, phony No. 21 on the fourth side). Symphony No. 48, "Maria Philemon and Bauds has three ethereal arias to counter-balance a surfeit Theresa," on a brilliant London record (LL 844), trumpets a great of dialog, and these are enough to justify the disk (Vox PL 7660). bandmaster's pomp in celebration of a great housewife and tragic Certain energetic or graceful trifles German Empress. provide facile entertainment, including some attributed to Haydn which he perhaps did not Far from those are the menacing anxiety of Symphony No. 39 write. Among the dubious but entertaining works a (Haydn Society í0ío) and the startling agitation of No. 49. The are curious Flute Concerto (Urania 7031) and the Divertimento (Decca 4066) Scherchen performance of the latter on Westminster WL 5206 is a from whose slow movement Brahms took the theme for his Haydn stunning example of this conductors ability to vitalize a score Variations. Authentic and authenticly brilliant are a through exhaustive scrutiny and indifference to precedent. The handful of Divertimentos on Westminster WL 5227, and it is a "Mourning" Symphony, No. 44, is coupled with this masterpiece temptation to recommend the 24 "Dances for the Redoutensaal" Haydn on a disk of remarkable grimness. Society 1022) in spite of their direction by a conductor more Haydn's jokes are as frequent and as as characteristic Beetho- spirited in music for the church, for these alternating minuets ven's. The sudden explosive interjections in the slow movements and German Dances are close to the dizzying standard set by (Westminster WL of Symphonies 92 5137) and 94 (Columbia ML Mozart. Finally, seven Nocturnes for Ferdinand IV of Naples the instrumentation No. 82 (Haydn 10o8) 4453), flip of Society (Haydn Society 1023 and 1044), with the Trio for Horn, Violin and the fastidious allegory ending LL No. 45 (London 525) extort and Cello, belong to that class of art, which, disarming in title smiles. So do a hundred other movements. and form, keeps its weapons keen for an inner edge of meaning, Where to start? Among the following suggestions - for aural like Schubert's Marche Militaire, Beethoven's "Kakadu" Variations, shopping - one will find infection in at least three or four: Sym- Schumann's Carnival and Stravinsky's Pastorale. phony No. 22, first movement (Haydn Society 1o09); No. 39, Franz Josef Haydn, as we have had him from the writers on mu- first movement (Haydn Society tom); No. 43, finale (London LL sic, was a perpetually old man. But we know when we listen to 525); No. 48, first movement (London LL 844); No. 49, finale him that his music was always young, especially when he was (Westminster WL 5206); No. 82, finale (Haydn Society 1008); really old when he composed it.

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records are played, therefore, treble must be on LP. Some older LPs and 78s required 800 - Dialing Your Disks reduced and bass increased to restore the cycle turnover; some foreign 78s are recorded original balance. Control positions on phono with 3oo -cycle turnover and zero or 5 -db equalizers are identified in different ways, but treble boost. One -knob equalizers should be Records are made with the treble range equivalent markings are listed at the top of set for proper turnover, and the treble tone boosted to mask surface noise, and the bass each column in the table below. This table control used for further correction if re- range reduced in volume to conserve groove covers most of the records sold in America quired. In all cases, the proper settings of space and reduce distortion. When the during the past few years, with the emphasis controls are those that sound best.

TURNOVER ROLLOFF AT loKC. REMINGTON R- 199 -171. 12 -in. $2.49. 400 500 500 (MoD.) to.5 -13.5 db 16 db RIAA AES Here is a record to thrill the lovers of RCA NARTB [ante flamenco! The intricate arabesques of ORTHO LP RCA NAB (Old) the melismata that adorn the fabric of this NAB COL ORTHO COL music have a strangely powerful emotional NARTB ORIG. LP RIAA LP effect that moved and excited me much more RECORD LABEL AES (old) AES (new) LON LON ORIG. LP than any other record of this type of music Allied I have ever heard. This effect was heightened expressive Angel by Carlos Montoya's thrillingly guitar, and was not diminished in the least Atlantic.' by Moreno's unprepossesing voice. The Amer. Rec. Soc. recording itself is beautifully clear and per- Bartok fectly balanced. There are, it is true, a very Blue Note Jazz* few spots where, for a second or two, something seems to go wrong with the sound, Boston* hut these are very minor flaws in a record Caedmon that otherwise is the equal of the best made Canyon* by any company. G. S., Jr. Capitol* Capitol -Cetra SPANISH MUSIC Cetra -Soria Amparo Iturbi, piano. Colosseum* RCA VICTOR LM 1788. 12 -in. 47 min. $5.95. Columbia* Includes Granados' Asturiana, Arabesca, Concert Hall* and Mazurka (Spanish Dances Nos. 8, 12, Contemporary* and 9); Turina's L'Andalouse Sentimentale and La Brune Coquette (from Femmes d'Es- Cook (SOOT)' pagnole); Infanté s Danse Gitane, Aniers sur Decca la route de Seville, Canto Flamenco, and EMS Tientos (all from Pochades Andalouses); Al- Elektra béniz' Granada and Cordoba; and Cuesta's Danse. Epic Valencian Esoteric Amparo Iturbi, José's sister, gives her Folkways (most) countrymen's music bold, sharply defined with a tone that is Good-Time Jazz performances, sometimes a mite brittle and hard. The style seems Haydn Soc.* right since dance rhythms are the matter at L'Oiseau -Lyre hand, and a couple of performances - of London* Granados' Mazurka and Albéniz's Cordoba Lyrichord, new*? -- are particularly well turned out. Save for all the Granados and Albéniz works, the Mercury* music is relatively unfamiliar. It follows the MGM well -trodden but still agreeable paths of Oceanic* early -loth- century Spanish music in being Pacific Jazz eminently listenable. The recorded sound is Philharmonia* reasonably realistic. R. E. Polymusic' GORDON STAPLES RCA Victor A Violin Recital (Kroll: Banjo and Fiddle; Remington* Sarasate: Malaguena; Prokofieff: March Riverside from "Love for Three Oranges;" Szymanow- Romany ski: La Fontaine d'Arethuse; Falla: Danse Savoy Espagnole; Debussy: Sonata No. 3 in G Tempo Minor). Urania, most* Gordon Staples, violin; George Silfies, piano. Urania, some MclNrosH MUSIC MM 1o1. 12 -in. (no price listed yet). Vanguard* Bach Guild* Gordon Staples (who is only 25) and George Vox* Silfies are both members, for the nonce, of the U. S. Navy Band, in Washington, Walden D. C., which is where they met Frank Westminster McIntosh, who lives there. McIntosh, as 'Beginning sometime in 1954, records made from new masters require RIAA equalisation for both every sound -enthusiast should know, is the bass and treble. designer of some of the world's most Binaural records produced on this label are recorded to NARTB standards on the outside band. On the inside band, NARTB is used for low frequencies but the treble is recorded Hat, without pre - honored audio and radio circuitry. emphasis. Lately he has become something of a Some older releases used the old Columbia curve, others old AES. music maniac, and has decided to show the

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www.americanradiohistory.com recording companies how their job should foreboding material with respect, and his is carried by Ruth Rubin, a young lady be done. In poetic justice, he should have baritone is a good deal richer and deeper whose voice, unfortunately, is not up to the come a cropper, but he hasn't. Indeed, than most folk-singers. Elektra, on its part, demands of this primitive and emotionally - qua recording, this is one of the best has tied up the whole bundle in an elegant charged music. Her interpretations, too, records anyone ever has made, up to now. package that includes obvious but far from lack variety and a certain necessary guttiness. Both fiddle and piano are absolutely un- ordinary cover art, clear, well- balanced Around to help her are a hearty chorus, a troubled and natural in sound, and they are sound, and a little booklet containing all the couple of mandolins and an accordion. The balanced in impeccable taste. The light- lyrics Mr. Wilder sings. accompaniments work well enough. Oriole weight fiddle-fare is played with impressive Records has considerately supplied the texts technique, and if the Debussy isn't Fran - to the songs and literal translations made by cescatti, it isn't bad, either. Keep an eye on Miss Rubin herself; the engineers, on their this label. J. M. C. part, have given the project first-rate sound, but, as is too often the case, they have not DANCE IN PARIS been matched in kind by the performers. Charles Trenet, with orchestra and chorus; Jacques Helian, cond. HOLIDAY IN VIENNA ANGEL 64004. 10-in. 26 min. $3.95. Alexander Schneider String Ensemble.

A choice bouquet of 20 of Trenet s better - COLUMBIA CL 556. 12-in. 12, 25 min. known songs - pleasant listening, less suc- $3.95. cessful as a dance selection. All the numbers Enjoy Your Life; Schonbrunner Waltz; The are short, and the swift and unexpected Triflers Oracles; The Romantics; Sper! Polka; changes in tempi, as beguine follows fox- Country Dances; Secret Magnetic Forces; trot and tango gives way to a waltz, break Nostalgia; Fortuna Polka; Ladies Souvenir; down the continuity. The arrangements The Sylphs; Piefke and Pifke Polka; Evening are in the current American style, often too Star Polka. elaborate and heavy for these Parisian songs. Good orchestral sound, and clean, noiseless A quiet, low- pressured recording, guaranteed surfaces. J. F. I. to keep your mood even, unexcited, and maybe soothed. Its at its best when played in excerpts; run through without a stop, you're liable to become bored, as I was, with MORRIS H. JAFFE the sameness of the selections. There are Folk -singer Dick Wilder: The life of a no Strauss, Jr., waltzes here, but you'll find THE MUSIC BETWEEN pirate is not for a reasonable man. polkas by Strauss, Sr., a waltz by his son Josef, several waltzes by his friend and CITY BLUES MUSIC FOR LISTENING quartet partner, Josef Lanner, and a group Sonny Terry and Alec Stewart Donald Voorhees, conducting the sym- of Mozart country dances. Possibly your phony orchestra. interest will be perked up when you hear ELEKTRA EKL 15. Io -in. 15, i6 min. one of the waltz themes from Der Rosenkava- $4.45. ALLIED LP -3001. Iz -in. 17, 13 min. $4.85. lier stated in Josef Strauss's charmingly - Chain the Lock on My Door; Little Annie; Hejre Kati; Riviera Girl Waltzes; Poems; titled Secret Magnetic Forces, but that is prob- Louise Bluer; Down in the Bottom Blues; First Entr'acte from Raymonda; Intermezzo ably as ruffed as you'll get. The Schneider Baby, Baby Blues; Custard Pie; Kansas from L'Amico Fritz; Simple Aveu; Romanza String Ensemble does its work professional- City; Late One Saturday Evening; Old from Concerto No. 2 in D Minor (Wieniaw. ly and with great seriousness, perhaps too Woman Bluer; Hard Luck Blues. ski); Valse Bluette. much seriousness. Columbia has helped Playing Time: 17 min.; 13 min. with forthright sound. Sonny Terry's harmonica, for me, is as nerve- rasping as ever, but in these blues War -horses here, so lame by this time that I LOVE PARIS they seem just right. He gets sympathetic it they have trouble making to the finish Michel Legrand and his Orchestra. collaboration from Alec Stewart on the line. Donald Voorhees, who has been guitar, and when Mr. Stewart takes his turn conducting the symphony orchestra (credi- COLUMBIA CL 555. 12 -in. 19, 21 min. with a vocal he turns out to be a far tougher ted to radio's Telephone Hour, Cavalcade of í3.95- blues- shouter than Mr. Terry. I suggest America, and General Motors Metropolitan I Love Paris; Mademoiselle de Paris; Autumn that you buy this record if you only are Opera Series) for about two decades, could Leaves; Under the Bridges of Paris; La Seine; really interested in authentic it blues; won't probably play these selections in his sleep; Paris in the Spring; Paris Canaille; April in work as background to conversation. Elek- the band no doubt could do the same. In Paris; A Paris; La Vie En Rose; Under Paris tra's sound is superb, and they deserve the Kalman waltzes, however, solo cellist Skies; Paris, Je T'Aime; The Song from another nod for a first -rate package for Lucien Schmit tears his heart out, pouring Moulin Rouge; The Last Time I saw Paris; special tastes. on the schmaltz with the best of them. Too I Love Paris. often the sound was tinny; this may well PIRATE SONGS AND BALLADS have been the orchestra, though. There isn't a wrong note, technically or Sung by Dick Wilder otherwise, on this record. Filled with one JEWISH FOLK SONGS, Vol. III ingratiating tune after another, it may cele- ELEKTRA EKL 18. Io -in. 14, 14 min. Ruth Rubin, musical settings by Richard brate a town that does not need another $4.45- Neumann. musical rally, but Paris would have to be The Bold Princess Royal; The Romantic gauche, indeed, to snub the honors Monsieur RECORDS. 12-in. Pirate; Henry Martyn; The Female Warrior; ORIOLE 18, 20 min. Legrand and his orchestra offer it here. For Captain Kidd; The Female Smuggler; Bold $5.95. one thing, there is the sound: it sparkles. Manning; High Barbaree; The Flying Cloud. Gitarr Sheltn, Shell Ich Dem Tog; Papir Iz For another, there is Legrand's orchestra. Doch Vays; Firhelech Koyfn; Beker Lid; His men may not have the precision of Most of these will songs convince you in Dorm, Dort,, Ibern Vatted; Bay Dem Percy Faith's band, for example, but they no time Hat that life a is the of pirate not Shied; Ale Vasserlich; Tontsm Tonu Ant- play with a good deal more spirit and just for a reasonable man. sad They point kegn Mir; MoladTi; Shir Ha- Hagana; plain amiability, it seemed to me. And morals, not bothering to even nod at the in Vig lid; Yafim Haftlot; Zemer Lach: Se above all, there are the melodies, sixteen stylized literary romance that has grown up Ug'Di; Zirmu Galim; Shir Ha- Avoda. all, arranged in medley fashion, and not a in the past couple of centuries about the dull one in the group. I think you'll like men who make their living from robbery- Volume three in a series that brings together Legrand's buoyant soft -shoe approach to at -sea. Dick Wilder, who seems to believe 19th century Yiddish and contemporary Paris in the Spring, the wry and acid wood- every word he sings, handles this solemn and Israeli songs. The bulk of the undertaking wind harmonies on La Vie En Rote that al-

SEPTEMBER, 1954 69

www.americanradiohistory.com most make the song sound as if it never had stimulating, reaching a particular point of Henry Coker, Benny Powell, trombone; been played before, the brassy mockery in keenly conceived madness on the opening Jimmy Jones, piano; Oscar Pettiford, the usually solemn The Last Time I Saw chorus of Tea for Two. Montrose's tightly bass; Osie Johnson, drums. Paris, and the slaphappy banjo in Paris, written arranged sections get loving rendi- Some Other Spring; You're My Thrill; Basie Je TAime. There are dozens other of tion from the group and pianist Paul Moer Ain't Here; Mishawaka; Flute Song; Fran - pleasures here, all to be enjoyed; I think adds some swinging solo spots in the Russ kosis; Well Point. you'll have a fine time. Freeman manner to the overall excellence of ROBERT KOTLOWITZ the disk. That excellence, incidentally, This disk marks Commodores return to includes the recording which is of particu- active recording after almost a decade of larly high quality. quiescence. It also marks a reorientation of the company's sites toward contemporary THE BEST OF JAZZ LIZZY MILES jazz. The selections by Frank Wess' Quin- tet provide an appropriate beginning for the COOK /SOUNDS OF OUR CHET BAKER ENSEMBLE TIMES 1181. io -in. label's new venture appropriate in that 23 min. $4.00. - they point a direction in an extremely PACIFIC JAZZ PJLP 9. 10 -in. 26 min. $3.85. Sam DeKemel, bugle; Joe Antoine, trumpet; pleasant and unpretentious way but are Chet Baker, trumpet; Jack Montrose, tenor Jack Delaney, trombone; Tony Costa, not so spectacular as to be almost impossible saxophone; Herb Geller, alto and tenor clarinet; Nina Picone, tenor saxophone; to follow up. saxophones; Bob Gordon, baritone saxo- Frankie Frederico, guitar; Joe Loyacano, Wess, a saxophonist with Count Basie's phone; Russ Freeman, piano; Joe Mondra- bass; Freddy Neumann, piano; Johnny band, plays in a relaxed, swinging manner gon, bass; Shelly Manne, drums. Castaing, drums; Lizzy Miles, vocals. with taste, self -control and an ardent affin- Moonlight Becomes You; Ergo; Backhand; Some of These Days; St. Louis Blues; Old Grey ity for melodic line. He makes three ap- Little Old Lady; Headline; Goodbye: A Dandy Bonnet; All of Me; Darkness on the Delta; pearances on flute, displaying a highly Line; Prodefunctus. Swanee River; Some Day Sweetheart; Fidgety legitimate talent on what currently appears Feet. to be the great new instrument in the jazz MEET MR. GORDON world. His quintet is compact and integrated Lizzy Miles, billed on this disk as "Queen as a group but the members of the support- Bob Gordon Quintet. Mother of the Rue Royale" (otherwise ing cast are only adequate as soloists with PACIFIC JAZZ PJLP 12. Io -in. 25 min. $3.85. Royal St. in New Orleans), is a veteran blues the exception of Jimmy Jones who plays shouter who was a leading practitioner of the Bob Gordon, baritone saxophone; Jack two brief solo passages in a delightfully art in that period which would now seem to Montrose, tenor saxophone; delicate and highly personal style. Paul Moer, have been the Golden Era the piano; Joe Mondragon, of Blues. She bass; Billy Schnei- still sings with verve der, drums. and vitality, with RED CAMP UPRIGHT knowledgable phrasing and in a voice What a Difference a Day Made; COOK /SOUNDS OF OUR TIMES Tea for Two; which may once have been bigger but which 1089. 10-in. Love Is Here to Stay; Meet Mr. Gordon; 33 min. $4.00. Modus is still big enough. She is refreshingly direct Operandi; Onion Bottom; For Sue; Two Can and to the when Red Play. point, even she sings All of Camp, piano; Chet Rupe, guitar; Me in French. Secondary billing goes to Arley Cooper, bass. Chet Baker, who has been worming his way Buglin' Sam DeKemel, a gentleman who Liza; Love Me or Leave Me; Limehouse performs prodigies into a rather tedious straitjacket in his re- on a bugle. Despite his Blues; Binaural Bounce; Tea for Two; cent recordings, sheds his bonds on this efforts, however, his instrument remains a Nola; Small Hotel; Lulu. disk and plays the stimulating kind of horn limited one for a jazz performance. The heart Fun and games on an old upright piano with which first brought him to attention. He is of this disk is the band of sea- soned New Orleans mandolin attachment by a Texas pianist only faced by two slow ballads, a métier men who accompany in whose basically gutty barrelhouse style has which he has become more and Lizzy and Sam. It is a group which plays more somehow become involved with traces of stereotyped, but even in these instances with great polish and ease but without the - somewhat the modern jazz pianist's long, flowing line. Moonlight Becomes You and Goodbye he rough tone that one might expect - from an The blend is often interesting, frequently escapes the dead quality that has been in- oldtime New Orleans group. The amusing. Camp, who is not exactly a pol- fecting his ballad work and on solo spots by trombonist Jack Delaney Goodbye pro- ished pianist, quite evidently enjoys him. duces an unusually effective moodily moan- and clarinetist Tony Costa are wonderfully sophisticated jazz and when self immensely with the gadgets at hand. ing solo. To be sure, he is playing a beauti- trumpeter Joe Antoine can extricate his When, riding easily along on Tea for Two, fully arranged version of Goodbye, a point horn from the of he is suddenly overcome with a desire for no little importance. In fact, it would onslaughts of Buglin' Sam, he provides a appear cascades of sound, he cascades with vigor. that much of Baker's effectiveness firm and persuasive ensemble lead. This is a on this He prods and pushes Nola out of her cus- disk is due to the fact that it is band which deserves more unalloyed disk made up of tomary strict tempo ricky- tickiness and at- originals and arrangements by Jack space on its own. Mon- tacks Liza with such fury that at times the trose, a disciplined and imaginative member FRANK WESS QUINTET whole thing gets away from him. Limehouse of the West Coast school who, on the evi- Blues comes out a well -developed solo and dence at hand in these numbers, believes COMMODORE FL 20,031. IO -in. 26 min. that Binaural Bounce is an easy, swinging trio jazz, whatever else it may do, must swing. $3.85. effort with a pleasant guitar spot by Chet The young trumpet player would seem to be Frank Wess, tenor saxophone, flute; Rupe. It's all entertaining, a bit off the further stimulated by the ensemble with beaten track and recorded with Emory which he is surrounded. Certainly Gordon, Cook's usual interest in clarity. Geller and Freeman add greatly to the net result with their solo work. Those who have BUDDY DE FRANCO been dismayed by Baker lately may be grati- Pretty Moods fied to know that, given something to play and somebody to play it with, he is still an NORGRAN MG N -16. 10 -in. 22 min. $3.85. unusually provocative jazzman. Buddy De Franco, clarinet; Sonny Clark, Gordon's disk marks his debut as a leader piano; Gene Wright, bass; Bobby White, and he, too, is playing arrangements and drums. originals by Montrose. Gordon does dis- Tenderly; Lover Man; Deep Purple; Yester- guished work in transforming the usually days; If I Should Lose You. lead- bottomed baritone saxophone into a lithe and driving melodic instrument, but Buddy De Franco is in the great tradition Montrose's writing once again provides the of jazz clarinet men and he proves it very distinguishing features of the disk. His convincingly on this disk. These selections varied and intriguing ways of weaving the are not (except for Yesterdays) fast and flashy two saxophones and the piano into intricate Lizzy Miles: The Qn ,i Mother still has show pieces on which a swift fingered virtu- harmonic patterns are both amusing and verve, vitality and a hig enough voice. oso may show off. They are ballads taken at

70 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com LLUV.11:..CM

on CAPITOL RECORDS in Full Dimensional Sound

IRVING KOLODIN- Saturday Review .. Milstein's transfer to Capitol seems to accord with a new vitality and breadth of feeling in his performances. He has been a superb technician and a musician of integrity since his first days here in the late Twenties. To be able, now, to convey so much more in warmth and artistry in works he lived with so long can only mean two things: the possibilities for exploration they contain, and the capacities for growth he has discovered within himself."

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE " .. must be ranked among the finest, most romantically expressive interpretations of these two favorites to be heard anywhere. " _t Milstein has long been an acknowl- ( TO...... «. 11 c w601.á1.:4. edged specialist at performing k Nochcouurn.a..:1 61w0.a1.1. them..." ......

BRUCH: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Opus 26. t

MENDELSSOHN: E 1 Violin Concerto in ..i://"...y.4 .41,44n F..."1 1 Minor, Opus 64...... w.. WILLIAM eTE1 . Nathan Milstein, violin. Pittsburgh : Symphony Orchestra, conducted by William Steinberg P-8243

THE NEW YORK TIMES "Astonishing display of agility by one of the great violinists of our time. Mr. Milstein's own Paga- niniana for unaccompanied violin Incomparable High Fidelity is a highlight of this disk."

in Full Dimensional Sound A NATHAN MILSTEIN RECITAL. Per - golesi, Sonata No. 12; Schumann, Inter- mezzo; Brahms, Allegro; Suk, Burleska; Bloch, Nigun; Milstein, Paganiniana. Nathan Milstein, violin, accompanied by Carlo Bussotti, piano P -8259

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a gentle pace, a vastly difficult and danger- he does on several numbers - on Angela, exclusive ous matter for a jazz soloist to undertake as on Imagination and even on an irritatingly NOW! De Franco's contemporaries - particularly fast version of Long Ago and Far Away. raised rims and centers his colleagues of the reed section - prove Despite the definite merit of much of almost every time they drag their dreadful Elliott's work, there is a disturbing element protect RCA VICTOR way through such an effort. De Franco, of hey- look- at -me- and -my- three-heads about long play however, is a musician of impeccable taste this record. records... and unusual ability and he invests his imaginative and lyric interpretations of REISSUES these numbers with charm, vitality and un. derstanding. No small part of the pleasure The volume of older jazz items being re- afforded by this disk is its utter lack of pre. issued on LP and EP is now almost equaling tention. the volume of new jazz coming out - no small feat these days. There's rich fare in GENE MAYL AND THE DIXIELAND much of this reissued material. RHYTHM KINGS Twelve of Duke Ellington's compositions as recorded by his band between 1928 and EMPIRICAL EM 102. ro -in. 28 min. 1949 make up The Music of Duke Ellington Bob Hodes, cornet; Charlie Sonnanstine, (Columbia cL 558, 12 -in.). The numbers, trombone; Joe Darensbourg, clarinet; culled from the Master, Brunswick, Okeh Robin Wetterau, piano; Jack Vastine, and Columbia files, are Black and Tan Fan- banjo; Gene Mayl, tuba. tasy, East St. Louis Toodle -oo, The Mooche, Mood Indigo, Creole Love Call, Sophisticated protects on the player, when Maple Leaf Rag; Chattanooga Stomp; Wa- °ruve /Gard Lady, Solitude, Caravan, Let a Song Go Out records are stacked. Built up rims and centers bash Blues; Buddy's Habits Skit Dat De I keep playing surfaces well apart. Dat; Panama Rag. of My Heart, In a Sentimental Mood, Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me and Don't The Dixieland Rhythm Kings are as de- Get Around Much Any More. In other words, terminedly traditional in both repertoire and an almost definitive 20 year survey. attack as any group around today. The Other fine big bands brought back on repertoire has been well tested by time but reissue are the spirited and vastly under- the attack varies with the personnel of the rated Missourians ( "X" EVA 15 and 16), band. The present group includes two men, Fletcher Henderson's bands of 1927 and Joe Darensbourg and Charlie Sonnanstine, 1931 -32 ( "X" EVA I and 2) and the Jean who play within the framework of the tra- Goldkette band which included Biz Beider- dition but with a fire and drive which are becke ( "X" EVA 9 and to). their own -a very important characteristic Some Louis Armstrong efforts covering a ti for musicians who choose to fence themselves period of 15 years have been collected in Gruve /Gard protects in handling. Firm grip. in in so many other ways. It is principally Louis Armstrong Sings the Blues (Victor gm ping edges make records easier and safer to Sonnanstinés big, blowsy trombone and 1005, 12 -in.) but, unlike the Ellington disk handle. Fingers need never touch surfaces. Darensbourg's rich and floating clarinet above, the result is scarcely definitive. Arm- that make these selections something more strong is, as ever, Armstrong but his ma- than repetitions of things that have been terial is of varying quality and his accom done many times before, although Bob paniment almost consistently leaden al- Hodes lends a commendable hand on cornet though there are some bright spots from on occasion being a deliberate and feelingful Jack Teagarden on three 1947 recordings. rendition of that fine piece of Armstrongi- Some of the records made by Armstrong's ana, Skit Dat De Dat. Although the record- mentor, King Oliver, in the twilight of his ing is only reasonably good - there's some career have been revived on "X" EVA I r and echoing and the ensembles tend to get mud. 12 and, despite arguments about how much dy - it is still the best the Dixieland Rhythm of the trumpet heard is really played by Kings have so far been granted. Oliver, the group plays with a likeable bite Gruve /Gard protects in and out of enve and vitality. Two other New Orleans veter- lopes. Sleeve edges can't harm grooves. THE DON ELLIOTT QUINTET ans, Richard M. Jones and Punch Miller. recorded some nostalgic sides for the Session VICTOR LIM 1007. 12 -in. 47 min. $4.62. label in 1944 which have been reissued as only Don Elliott, mellophone, trumpet, vi- New Orleans Stylings on Pax LP 6010 (10 -in.). braphone, bongos, vocals; Ralph Mar- Jones's group, sparked by some delightfully RCA Victor tin, piano; Joe Puma, guitar; Mort Her- soaring clarinet work by Darnell Howard, has bert, bass; Jimmy Campbell, drums. almost manages to make time stand still. Angela; Five O'Clock Whistle; Everything Pax has also rescued from the Session I Love; Long Ago and Far Away; Imagina- catalog some brooding Jimmy Yancy tion; There IT/ill Never Be Another You: piano solos (Yancey 's Mixture, Pax LP 6o11, Susan Stands Pat; I Just Don't Care Any. 10 -in.) while Riverside has reissued a group typical, full -blown Jelly Roll Morton more; Nettie But Nice; Laura; Bingo, Ban - of go, Bongo; Don's Dilemma. piano solos, originally released on Gennett (Riverside RLP ío38, to -in.). Muggsy Don Elliott is a young musician who, it Spaniels somewhat legendary work with appears, must try his hand at everything. the Bucktown Five and the Stomp Six has Not satisfied with playing several instru- also been put back in circulation by River- ments uncommonly well, he also ventures side (RLP 1035, ro -in.) as has a group of into areas in which even perfection would recordings featuring Jimmy Blythe, Jimmy scarcely seem worth while. He performs O'Bryant (an excellent clarinetist) and Natty Cole Porter's Everything I Love, for instance, Dominique (RLP 1o36). These latter two by humming in an odd, wailing fashion disks, of course, belong on the Chicago which might be the height of attraction to a shelf where they might nestle somewhat un- dog but scarcely does anything for a piece certainly next to the imaginative but ill - permanent protection for record surfaces of music. On the other hand, given a trum- starred efforts of another Chicagoan, Mezz pet or -even better-a mellophone, he can Mezzrow, to form bands in 1934 and 1937 raised rims and centers on Long Play - display cllm and reasoned taste and an as preserved on "X" EVA 5 and 6. -raised centers on "45's" and "45 EP's" unusually graceful manner of playing. This JOHN S. WILSON

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www.americanradiohistory.com HIGH FIDELITY DISCOGRAPHY No. 12 The Chamber Music of Brahms on records

by PAUL AFFELDER Part I: Sextets; Quintets; Quartets; Trios

DURING an era of musical transition, such as the one most dreams and secrets of his soul. Brahms's music in which we find ourselves now, there is a tendency on the shows many romantic tendencies, and from the days of part of many listeners to seek aural refuge in the works of his youth he enjoyed the close friendship and enthusiastic a composer from the past who represented a solid, steady- support of one of the frankest romanticists of them all - ing influence in the evolution of the tonal art. Perhaps that Robert Schumann - and his gifted wife, Clara. But he is why the popularity of Johannes Brahms has increased had the good fortune to study piano and composition with so markedly in recent years. Eduard Marxsen, who saw to it that he received a thorough There are several important reasons for Brahms's success. grounding in classical form and style. Besides, some bit- First and foremost, he was probably the most self-critical ter personal experiences in his youth - the poverty of composer who ever put pen to paper. As a matter of fact, his parents; being brought up in the red -light district of pen seldom was put to paper until a musical idea had had Hamburg; being obliged to earn a living at a tender age; time to germinate thoroughly in his mind; and unless that frustrations and disappointments in early love affairs with idea recurred persistently, he was likely to discard it. Clara Schumann and others; the slow acceptance of his There was very little spontaneous jotting down of themes music; some indiscretion in his relations with the neo- in sketchbooks, as Beethoven had done, and no instance German movement of Liszt and Wagner - all these caused at all of a composition bursting forth suddenly, to be him to withdraw more and more within himself, to de- written out on the nearest tablecloth, as was Schubert's velop a hard, gruff, sometimes uncouth protective exterior custom. Music was a long time evolving with Brahms. coating, and to feel inhibited from giving free rein to his Not infrequently, a work was tried out in one instrumental romantic musical ideas. Brahms stood in great awe of or vocal form, was found wanting, and was recast in a Beethoven, the man who had forged the link between second or even a third mold before it was sent to the classicism and romanticism. More than one of his well - publisher. More often than not, however, the entire wishers had hailed him as Beethoven's successor, and he composition was rejected by its uncompromising creator, wore this responsibility heavily, striving constantly to who promptly burned it. From these refiner's fires emerged live up to his reputation. the pure gold of truly great and lasting music. In the Besides Marxsen and the Schumanns, one other musi- works of no other composer is the level of inspiration and cian played a prominent part in Brahms's career. He was quality so consistently high or so even from one end of the Hungarian -born violinist and composer, Joseph Joa- the catalog to the other. chim. Brahms first met Joachim in 1853, while the former Brahms also limited himself in the media for which he was on a concert tour as accompanist to the Hungarian wrote. Glancing over the catalog of his works, one dis- Gypsy violinist, Eduard Reményi. So impressed was covers music for orchestra, with and without solo instru- Joachim with the zo -year-old Brahms's music that he sent ments; for various chamber music combinations; for piano him off with enthusiastic introductions to many important solo and duet; for organ; for chorus, with and without ac- musical personalities in Germany, including Schumann companiment, and for vocal solo, duet and quartet. With- and Liszt. It was Joachim, then, who first opened the door in these media, too, the forms are relatively limited. There for the shy young composer -pianist from Hamburg. He is no opera, no true oratorio, no tone poem. With the also remained a constant champion of Brahms's music, exception of the vocal music, there is nothing with an playing and conducting his friend's compositions wherever extra -musical "program," and even the treatment of the he went. Much of Brahms's skill in writing for stringed in- songs and choruses is apt to adhere more closely to tonal struments he owed to the example and advice of Joachim, than to textual dictates. and much of his strength as a contrapuntist was derived Finally, there is to be found in Brahms a unique blend from the numerous exercises in counterpoint that the two of two great musical styles - the classical and the roman- men exchanged regularly in person or by mail. tic. He lived during the age of musical romanticism, when From the time of his birth, on May 7, 1833, Brahms, it was fashionable for every composer to wear his heart like most other composers, had a difficult economic and on his sleeve, to let everyone hear in his music the inner- artistic row to hoe. He won many staunch friends, and

SEPTEMBER, 1954 75

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through his gruff, obstinate manner, lost many, too. tous effect upon his chamber music. It is generally con- But he had the satisfaction of seeing much of his music ceded among enthusiasts for this intimate form of musical accepted and acclaimed during his lifetime. And, unlike expression that no other composer has turned out a com- so many of his colleagues, when he died in Vienna on plete catalog of chamber works that maintains so consis- April 3, 1897, he was a rich man. tently high an average of excellence. The usual catalog By comparison with other musical giants, Brahms left enumerates 24 works - two sextets for strings; two quin- relatively few compositions. Considering the hunger with tets for strings; a quintet for piano and strings; a quintet which the record manufacturers have gobbled up every- for clarinet and strings; three quartets for strings; three thing within reach to commit to microgrooves, it is sur- quartets for piano and strings; three trios for piano and prising how many omissions there are in the Brahms strings; a trio for violin, horn and piano; a trio for clarinet. catalog of music on disks. All the orchestral works are cello and piano; three sonatas for violin and piano; two generously represented, except the Serenade No. 2, which sonatas for cello and piano, and two sonatas for clarinet was once available on a Mercury disk, now deleted. All and piano. Added to these in the present discography are the chamber music has been recorded, too, but with recordings of a recently discovered Trio in A Major and fewer duplications. The keyboard works have not fared the so- called Sonatenratz - the Scherzo from a violin too badly, though the First Sonata is missing, as are sev- sonata, written jointly by Brahms, Schumann and Albert eral of the early sets of Variations. Where the real gap Dietrich. The music will be dealt with here beginning with exists, however, is in the vocal music. Most of the more the works for the largest number of instruments and pro- familiar songs are represented, but where are the Triumph - gressing numerically downward. lied, the Motets and the numerous smaller works for If proof of the lasting quality of this music were needed. chorus, not to mention the scores of vocal quartets, duets it was provided conclusively by the experience of listening and lesser known solo songs? critically to 58 recorded performances of these 26 works. Instead of losing their appeal, they continued to take on The process of refinement and rejection which Brahms new beauty, new expressiveness and new meaning with applied to all of his compositions had an especially felici- each rehearing. Few compositions can pass such a test.

SEXTETS resonance and an equitable instrumental pared to that they gave the Sextet No. 1. balance. Possibly, they could have dug a little deeper FOR 2 VIOLINS, 2 VIOLAS, 2 CELLOS Against such a setup, the Vienna group into the music, yet theirs is a highly ac- cannot hope to compete. Its performance ceptable interpretation. Despite a slight No. I IN B FLAT MAJOR, OP. 18 (2 Editions) is workmanlike and serviceable; the en- raspiness in a few of the louder passages. With the exception of the Trio in B Major, semble is good; but there is a general lack the recording has good definition and Op. 8 (which, however, Brahms revised ex- of tonal and dynamic variety, polish and balance. Since the microphone has been tensively toward the end of his life) this enthusiasm, resulting in a slightly flabby placed rather near to the players, the effect Sextet constitutes the first of his published reading. The principal drawback, however, is one of intimacy. chamber music works. It was written while is the reproduction. The sound is somewhat -Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet; Wilhelm he was still in his 205, yet there is certainly veiled, though not lacking in volume or Huebner, 2nd viola; Günther Weiss, 2nd nothing immature about it; one can find in room resonance, and the dark color of the cello. WESTMINSTER WL 5263. 12 -in. it, rather, a noble serenity. By its very in- music is overemphasized by centering the 43 min. $5.95. strumentation, the music eschews brilliance, focus on the violas and the first cello and for the dark -hued instruments - the violas relegating the violins to a back seat. The QUINTETS and cellos - outnumber the lighter ones - higher tones of the latter are also often the violins - two to one. The net result of marred by distortion. FOR 2 VIOLINS, 2 VIOLAS, CELLO the combination of content and scoring is a -Isaac Stern and Alexander Schneider, vio- composition which satisfies by its opulence lins; Milton Katims and Milton Thomas, No. 1 IN F MAJOR, OP. 88 (r Edition) and fullness of sound and its warm, some- violas; Pablo Casals and Madeline Foley. "The whole work is pervaded by the at- what relaxed musical atmosphere. cellos. COLUMBIA ML 4713. r2 -in. 36 mosphere of Spring, " wrote Brahms's friend, The recording made at the Casals Festival min. $5.95. Theodor Billroth, after he had heard this at Prades in 1952 definitely bears the stamp -Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet; Ferdinand Quintet, and to Spring it belongs, having of the great Spanish cellist. His stylistic Stangler, 2nd viola; Günther Weiss, 2nd been written during that season of the year influence is felt throughout the work, but cello. WESTMINSTER WL 5o63. 12 -in. 1882. It shares with the two Sextets that especially in the rhythmic "bite" and variety 37 min. $5.95- wonderful Brahmsian geniality; only here, of color in the second movement - the the composer's employment of one less lovely theme with six variations - and the No. 2 IN G MAJOR, OP. 36 (t Edition) instrument, plus the added experience he expressive tenderness of the final Rondo. Completed several years after the First had gained with the passing years, enabled There are even occasional moments when Sextet - though possibly begun at the same him to write with greater flexibility and this becomes a "septet," Casals' unconscious time - the Second is both more ebullient spirit and without as much cumbersome singing supplementing the six string parts. and transparent, and also more deeply weight. He has also condensed the work With six well -known concert artists col- searching. This depth is most apparent in into three movements, the second being a laborating in this performance, one might the third movement, a Poco adagio with five deft combination of a slow movement with imagine that it would lack unity of concep- variations, characterized by a masterful use two brief interpolated scherzi. Much of the tion; but it is Casals who guides his col- of counterpoint. Perhaps because of this flexibility in the writing is reflected in the leagues, molding them into a remarkably new awareness of the wonders of counter- single recorded performance, which is both well integrated ensemble. The dynamic point, Brahms became more conscious of the careful and ingratiating. The bright, well - range is fairly wide, both in performance and relative roles to be played by the six instru- balanced reproduction is marked by con- recording, and the instrumental timbres are ments; consequently, they are handled more siderable, but not excessive, resonance, well defined. The microphone has been skillfully here, with a resultant brightness in thereby creating a concert -hall spaciousness. placed near enough to impart a certain in- tone color. More up -to -date reproduction -Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet; Ferdinand timacy to the performance, yet far enough has also brightened and equalized the per- Stangler, and viola. WESTMINSTER WL away to allow a reasonable degree of room formance by the Viennese musicians com- 5027. 12 -10. 28 min. $5.95.

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No. 2 IN G MAJOR, OP. 111 (r Edition) if without any great individuality of style. -Alfred Boskovsky, clarinet; Vienna Octet Here is a work with a little of everything in His tone is pure and even. Gallodoro is, Members. LONDON LL 858. 12 -in. 34 min. it - an exuberant opening movement; a perhaps, the most flexible of the four, with $5.95. beautifully lyrical, melancholy Adagio; a control and tonal variety that is almost the -Alfred Gallodoro, clarinet; Stuyvesant gently swaying third movement, and a equal of Kell's, without his vibrato. String Quartet. CONCERT HALL CHS 1004. Hungarian, peasant-dance finale. It is too The warmest string playing comes from 12 -in. 32 min. $5.95 bad that the star performers in the present the Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet. The recording do not go after the remainder of Stuyvesant foursome is a fairly close second; FOR PIANO, 2 VIOLINS, VIOLA, CELLO IN the work with the same combination of vigor the Fine Arts players do a reasonably good F MINOR, OP. 34 (3 Editions) and mellowness that they show in the first job, despite some timidity in the third move- With the possible exception of the Violin movement. More of an underlying rhythmic ment, and the Vienna Octet members have Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 108, this Quin- pulse, plus a greater feeling of drama and a united sound but not much conviction. tet is the best -known and most- played of all mystery, would have been welcome in the Interpretively, the four versions vary wide- Brahms's chamber works. This fame is not Adagio; the swaying forward motion of the ly. As can be seen from the timings below, without logical foundation, for the music third movement is not captured, while the they range from the leisurely Wlach to the abounds in rich, singable melodies, richly verve and fire of the finale are missing. Al- fast -paced Gallodoro, whose reading takes scored. It is alternately dramatic and lyric in together, there is too much caution and tonal some six and a half minutes less. Yet this content, and it possesses a strength and polish, though the give- and -take in the does not tell the whole story. Despite the meatiness that are immensely satisfying. ensemble is good. Each individual instru- slower tempi in every movement, the overall Furthermore, Brahms has almost succeeded ment emerges clearly in the close -to re- impression of the Wlach is exceptionally in doing the impossible: blending the cording, which is not too resonant, yet not satisfying. Though it lacks the subtlety and percussive keyboard instrument with the too stuffy in sound. This version will suffice, polish of the Kell, it is incisive, dramatic and strings. but one recalls with pleasure and a feeling of intense. Besides, the quartet's shading is so The spirit of this Quintet is best captured nostalgia the matchless readings of both this clever that it usually covers up Wlach's by Curzon and the Budapest Quartet. Their and the First Quintet by the Budapest Quartet deficiencies in this department. Many more interpretation is warm, intense and deeply on some old 78 -rpm disks issued by RCA repeated hearings than time will allow will expressive, and they bring out the many Victor, and wishes that this ensemble might undoubtedly determine whether it will hold passages of dark drama and passion, even be permitted to record them again. up as well as the Kell or better. though Curzon does not always match the -Isaac Stern and Alexander Schneider, With the exception of the third move- warmth of his four colleagues. Running violins; Milton Katims and Milton Thomas, ment, whose speed brings about some blur- this version a very close second is that by violas; Paul Tortelier, cello. COLUMBIA ring in several of the clarinet passages, Gallo - Demus and the Vienna Konzerthaus Quar- is and ML 4711. 12 -in. 26 min. $5.95 (with doro's performance has a wonderful flexi- tet. There more serious introspection Schumann: Quintet for Piano and Strings in E bility and flow. Boskovsky and his col- less dynamism and fire here; also, with the Flat Major). leagues provide a somewhat paler interpreta- exception of a fairly rapid first movement, tion, though a very closely integrated one, the tempi are a trifle on the slow side, but FOR CLARINET, 2 VIOLINS, VIOLA, CELLO IN as far as ensemble playing is concerned. But this is a deterrent only in the forward motion B MINOR, OP. 115 (4 Editions) too many of the edges have been rounded and flow of the Andante. One must admire The world of music, in general, and lovers off, robbing the music of much of its bite, the performance of the Chigi Quintet for of Brahms's chamber music, in particular, and giving the impression of superficiality. its polish, refinement and sensitivity, but owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to There still remains the question of repro- must criticize it for being overly reserved Richard Mühlfeld, first clarinetist of the duction. All four disks are notable for their and discreet. This group's Latin upbringing ducal orchestra at Meiningen. As auditor, equitable instrumental balance and just the is not in tune with this Teutonic music, soloist and guest conductor of this orchestra, proper amount of room resonance. Re- and the result is an interpretation that has in Brahms had an opportunity, during the cording honors go to Westminster, whose it more Boccherini than Brahms. latter part of his life, to hear and admire the rather close -up microphone and fairly high As far as reproduction is concerned, West- artistry of this sensitive musician. Mühlfeld volume level creates the most realistic minster walks away with the honors; its may be said to have been directly responsible sound - so realistic in places that one can sound is certainly the cleanest, most trans- for the creation of four of Brahms's last and discern the clarinetist's breathing and the parent and most spacious, and it is the only finest chamber music masterpieces - the clicking of the keys on his instrument. recording which reproduces the piano tone Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano in A Minor, Deccá s microphone is a bit farther away, with any degree of realism. Columbia, Op. 114; the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings yet the instrumental definition is still clear. however, does a reasonably acceptable job; in B Minor, Op. 115, and the two Sonatas The tone of the first violinist, however, is the strings have plenty of bite and character, for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 120. Of these, a trifle edgy in spots, while that of the clari- and the balance is good, but the piano oc- the present Quintet is generally considered net takes on a hard quality in a few of the casionally takes on a wooden quality. Lon- to be the greatest. It is full of refinement, louder, higher passages, and there is some, don has recorded the Chigis at a lower depth of feeling and quiet introspection - not much, surface noise throughout. volume level and with a somewhat veiled the personal expression of a serious and The paleness of the Boskovsky reading is tone. Its microphone tends to favor the thoughtful man in the autumn of life. It is matched by London's veiled sound. Here, piano - again rather wooden -toned - and made up of a graceful, serene, gently sway- the microphone is yet farther away, though the first violin, at the expense of the other ing first movement; a sombre, brooding, not really distant, but there is a lack of instruments. The cello, particularly, has been sometimes starkly dramatic Adagio: a tonal focus which often conveys the im- shoved into the background, weakening the placid Andantino with a slightly faster, pression that the strings are muted. But it is necessary solid bass support this work so quasi- playful middle section, and a final the reproduction in the Concert Hall disk badly needs. noble theme with five variations. that almost puts it out of the running. It -Clifford Curzon, piano; Budapest String Kell is a thorough musician with excep- has been dubbed from the 78 rpm disks Quartet. COLUMBIA ML 4336. 12 -in. 37 min. tionally fine control of his instrument. His once issued by International Records, with $5.95. phrasing is sometimes unorthodox, but al- resulting surface noise and considerable -Joerg Demus, piano; Vienna Konzerthaus ways in the best taste, and he is the only one distortion of the higher frequencies. The Quartet. WESTMINSTER WL 5148. 12 -in. of the four clarinetists who seems able to moderate microphone placement, however, 40 min. $5.95. LL 12 -in. command a true pianissimo when it is re- is good, as is the general instrumental -Chigi Quintet. LONDON 501. quired. On the other hand, he employs a definition, but the clarinet tone, in particular, 37 min. $5.95. rather wide and steady vibrato, not always in suffers from the old recording techniques. keeping with the nature of the music, and If only this version had reproduction equal his ideas of phrasing make his interpreta- to its competitors, it might very well have QUARTETS tion of the Adagio a bit choppy, causing it led the field. to lose interest in spots. -Reginald Kell, clarinet; Fine Arts Quartet. FOR STRINGS Wlach has a fuller tone, though it is some- DECCA DL 9532. 12 -in. 34 min. $5.85. 1 51, No. 1 (3 Edi- what mono -chromatic, adhering most of -Leopold Wlach, clarinet; Vienna Konzert. No. IN C MINOR, OP. the time to a dark color and lacking variety haus Quartet. WESTMINSTER WL 5155. tions) was in no more of a hurry to release of shading. Boskovsky is a tasteful musician, 12 -in. 39 min. $5.95. Brahms

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his first string quartet to the world than he was to let his first symphony out for circulation. In both instances, he felt dwarfed ©, «Ìy LIVING PRESENCE by the masterpieces in these forms which Beethoven had produced. When Brahms finally did come out with his first quartet H I G H F I D E L I T Y and symphony, both turned out to be in C minor, and both remain the most remarkable "firsts" in the entire literature of music. S É P T E M B E R R E L E The C Minor Quartet, however, was anything A S E S but an initial essay in this genre; the composer had preceded it with at least 20 other string quartets, all of which he discarded as Ar;ut .u.t].c ll unsatisfactory. And even after he had sum- .,... _..a,. Schumann moned up courage to release his first quartet and symphony, he must have been haunted LISZT SYMPHONY No. 4; by the shadow of Beethoven; for, whereas PAU. rAtn.wwy.. Liszt LES PRELUDES. the earlier composer had produced nine TIM frxlUtT nntsTYA symphonies and 16 string quartets, Brahms Paul Paray conducting the could bring himself to write - or at least- to allow the world to hear - only four sym- Detroit Symphony Orchestra phonies and three string quartets. Of these MG50036 three quartets, the C Minor is the most fiery, dramatic and poignant. The three available recorded versions of this glorious work provide an embarrass. Berlioz ment of riches for the collector, who cannot really go wrong with any of them. The SYMPHONIE Budapest is, perhaps, the best proportioned FANTASTIQUE of the three. Theirs is a vigorous, powerful and deeply penetrating interpretation, re- Antal Dorati conducting the lieved by great warmth and tenderness in the two middle movements. Tonally, theirs Minneapolis Symphony is also the richest, which is not surprising, Orchestra MG50034 since it is played on four of the Stradivarius instruments from the Gertrude Clarke Whit - tall Foundation, and is recorded in the matchless Coolidge Auditorium of the Li- brary of Congress, a well -nigh perfect hall Ravel LA VALSE; Faure PAVANE; Franck PSYCHE for either in- person listening or recording. A further advantage here is that Columbia has Paul Paray conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra succeedcd in getting the entire work on one MG50029 disk side, thereby permitting uninterrupted hearing. The balance is also commendable, while the string sound, both individually and collectively, has a wonderfully true ring. Recent LIVING PRESENCE Releases The reading by the Amadeus Quartet follows fairly closely that by the Budapest foursome. It is just as forceful, though the ANTAL DORATI conducting the CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Finale emerges with a slightly lighter, more tender touch. Westminster's reproduction, Kodaly PEACOCK VARIATIONS; Bartok MIRACULOUS MANDARIN SUITE. MG50038 Schubert SYMPHONY No. 8 ( "Unfinished "); Tchaikovsky ROMEO AND being more resonant than JULIET, Columbia's or Overture Fantasia. MG50037 London's, creates the illusion of the concert hall rather than the living room. Perhaps PAUL PARAY conducting DETROIT this accounts for the sound being a trifle the SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA harder in texture. The microphone place- Dukas THE SORCERER's APPRENTICE; Faure PELLEAS AND MELISANDE, Incidental ment tends to favor the three higher instru- Music; Roussel THE SPIDER's FEAST. MG50035 ments, eliminating some of the desirable Rimsky -Korsakov RUSSIAN EASTER OVERTURE; SYMPHONY No. 2 ( "Antar "). bass foundation provided by the cello. MG50028 Cleanliness and incisiveness of performance mark the version by the Vegh ensemble, ANTAL DORATI conducting the MINNEAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA though some of the flaming intensity and Tthaikovsky THE NUTCRACKER (complete ballet). Deluxe illustrated, factory sealed tonal glow of the Budapest are missing here. otbum. OL -2 -101 The opening movement is taken at a more Bartok CONCERTO FOR ORCHESTRA. MG50033 deliberate pace, but does not lose its con- Stravinsky LE SACRE DU PRINTEMPS. MG50030 viction. Some of the underlying pathos in the third movement is glossed over, how- HOWARD HANSON conducting the EASTMAN -ROCHESTER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ever, by the adoption of a faster tempo. Taylor THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS. MG40008 London's recording is close -to, favoring to MacDowell SECOND ( "INDIAN ") SUITE. MG40009 a small extent the first violin, which occasionally has a cutting sharpness. * Since all three disks are of a generally FREDERICK FENNELL conducting the EASTMAN SYMPHONIC WIND ENSEMBLE superior quality, the choice will depend on MARCHES by JOHN PHILIP SOUSA and others. MG40007 individual tastes.

-Budapest String Quartet. COLUMBIA ML l2 -in. 3o min. $5.95 Dvorak: 4799. (with Ñ é PÉSÉNÇE Quintet for Strings No. 3 in E Flat Major). ((ï -Amadeus String Quartet. WESTMINSTER c ii

SEPTEMBER, 1954 79

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WL 5084. 12 -in. 3o min. $5.95 (with ly spirited. The Finale, while abounding in Schubert: Quartersatz in C Minor). bite and vigor, sounds a bit four -square, and -Vegh String Quartet. LONDON LL 588. could benefit from more abandon. Moder- Over 12 -in. 29 min. $5.95. ately close -to reproduction emphasizes the first violin slightly. Crowding the work onto No. 2 IN A MINOR, OP. 51, No. 2 (2 Edi- a single side is not an advantage in the West- 500,000 tions) minster disk, since it takes some of the This Second Quartet is the most melodic of sheen off of the Curtis Quartet's tone. The the three, though a shadow of sadness hangs more distant microphone placement here over many of the melodies. The Hollywood and the more resonant studio impart a record Quartet version, comfortably spread over darker tone quality to the ensemble, while two record sides, is notable for its highly - the individual instrumental timbres are less polished sound and careful, transparent in- clearly defined. Nevertheless, the Curtis collectors terpretation, all of which is faithfully mir- group plays with great warmth. Though rored in the recording. Almost too much its interpretation of the second movement caution has been used in the last two move- has less flow than that by the Hollywood read ments, however. The third is rather too players, this is compensated for by a closer solemn and stately, though the concept is approximation of the proper tempo in the is proper- third movement As for the Finale, the "schwann's valid, and the faster middle section long playing HIGH FIDELITY RECORDED TAPES record BY catalog" every month before buying. The ORIGINAL Producer of Recorded Tapes are you one World's LARGEST Selection of them? UNSURPASSED High Fidelity

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www.americanradiohistory.com same criticism applies here as to the Holly- on the Columbia disk, though the cello re- same time as the G Minor, is a brighter. wood reading: too strict and reserved. mains dark in color, and some hollowness more youthfully vivacious work than its -Hollywood String Quartet. CAPITOL P prevails throughout. It is interesting to companion; it is also more frankly romantic 8163. 12 -in. 32 min. $5.70. note that Adolf Busch's violin blends in and lyrical. Thanks to more up -to -date re- -Curtis String Quartet. WESTMINSTER WL much better with the ensemble than it does production, this Quartet also fares better on 5152. 12 -in. 31 min. $5.95 (with Quartet in the String Quartet No. 3 in B Flat Major, disks than the First. Yet the two perform- No. 3 in B Flat Major). discussed above. Despite the shortcomings ances represented here differ widely. Basi- of reproduction noted in the Columbia disk, cally, the difference is one of personnel. No. 3 IN B FLAT MAJOR, OP. 67 (2 Edi- however, it is of sufficient artistic quality Mercury's is by the Albeneri Trio, supple- tions) to merit inclusion in a collection of Brahms mented by the violist Raphael Hillyer; Whereas a mood of darkness hangs over chamber music. Columbia's enlists the services of three mem- the other two string quartets, this one might -Rudolf Serkin, piano; Adolf Busch, violin; bers of the Budapest Quartet, with Clifford be described as idyllic and serene, occa- Hugo Gottesmann, viola; Hermann Busch, Curzon added on as pianist. As a rule, it is sionally reflective but never brooding. The 'cello. COLUMBIA ML 4296. 12 -in. 38 min. easier to integrate a stray viola player into an spirit of freedom and relaxed warm-hearted- $5.95. established chamber music group than it is ness is best captured by the Curtis Quartet, -Mieczyslaw Horszowski, piano; Alexan- to add a stray pianist. As a result, the Al- which performs with great flexibility and der Schneider, violin; Milton Katims, viola; beneri- Hillyer combination conveys the de- tenderness. As was the case with this group's Frank Miller, 'cello. MERCURY MG 10011. sirable impression of a closely knit ensemble, recording of the A Minor Quartet, the rela- 12 -in. 35 min. $4.85. whereas the Budapest -Curzon team gives the tively distant microphone, combined with a illusion of a contest between piano and resonant studio, creates the effect of a con- No. 2 IN A MAJOR, OP. 26 (2 Editions) strings. Besides, the Albeneris and Hillyer cert hall performance. Here, however, the The A Major Quartet, written at about the really dig in and become so deeply immersed tone is in no way hampered by crowding the entire work onto a single disk side. The closer proximity of the microphone in the Busch recording, which was made in a less resonant studio, gives more of a living -room effect, but the late Adolf Busch's violin is the dawn of inclined to protrude from the rest of the ensemble with an edgy, occasionally scratchy tone. There is also less polish in the playing of the Busch's, though perhaps more gusto. a new era Some technical raggedness crops up, especially in unison passages, and the quartet's tone is often pushed and uneven. Whereas the Curtis players move right along - their in operatic first movement is even on the fast side - the Busch foursome is sometimes inclined toward choppiness, most apparent in the gentle third movement. recording -Curtis String Quartet. WESTMINSTER WL 5152. 12 -in. 32 min. $5.95 (with Quartet No. 2 in A Minor). -Busch Quartet. COLUMBIA ML 4330. 12 -in. 33 min. $5.95- FOR PIANO, VIOLIN, VIOLA, CELLO DER ROSENKAVALIER Maria Reining No. t IN G MINOR, OP. 25 (2 Editions) The Marschallin Sena Jurinac Brahms was able to blend piano and strings Octavian Ludwig Weber in his chamber music as could few other Baron Ochs ___....Hilde Gueden composers. This is especially evident in his Sophie .__Alfred Poell three quartets for this instrumental com- Faninal Judith Hellwig bination. The first and most popular of the Mistress Leitmetier Peter Klein three embodies a number of interesting ele- Valiacchi Hilde Rossi Maidan ments. Its first two movements are fairly Anina Anton Dermot° Italian Tenor sombre, the third takes on more brightness, other famous soloists Rossmayer) and the Finale is a brilliant mélange of CHORUS (Dirt Dr. Richard THE VIENNA STATE OPERA Gypsy dance tunes - music such as the the young composer heard when he served as VIENNA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA accompanist to the violinist, Eduard Rem - Conductor: ERICH KLEIBER ényi. Neither of the present recordings of LLA -22 $23.80 this Quartet is ideal, since neither is very new. Nevertheless, the Serkin -Busch disk has a good deal to recommend it from the FFRR continues the series of full -length operatic recordings whose superiority interpretive angle. This is a deeply- probing, on all counts is manifest. Once again, every artist involved is the finest exponent expansive account of the work, which reaches of the role as glancing at the above roster reveals. This is the type of performance its in the fiery which Virgil Thomson describes as "a miracle of Vienna ... where the ensemble climax Gypsy music of the of acting was tasteful, dignified and organized. The singers played to one another last movement, delivered with a full ap- as a good theatre group does. Nobody took the show into his own hands, and nobody preciation of its essentially rhapsodic na- played up his own radio or concert personality. Everybody was acting in a play, ture. Horszowski and his able colleagues and they were acting in the same play. They were also making music, and they offer a smooth, sensitive and well- integrated were all singing the same music. The musicians from the top stars to the bottom performance; though it is a trifle reserved, it tuba player were making the music work for the play in awareness of the audi- might have stood up very well with more ence's awareness. And so they did everything very carefully and very beautifully." modern reproduction. As it is, the recording, which dates from the early days of LP, has a muffled sound, and is lacking in realism and dynamic variation. Besides, the second side is recorded at a higher volume level f than the first. The tone is essentially brighter i1PoX

SEPTEMBER, 1954 81

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l in their work that they carry the listener irresistibly along with them. They play like real chamber music enthusiasts and sound 16 as if they are enjoying themselves immensely in Mercury's faithful, well- balanced and well -defined recording. The microphone is EALITY. fairly close, but there is still ample room resonance. Altogether, this is an exemplary job. The Budapest- Curzon effort is not to --?,"Terrifying In Its Reality" be decried, however. h is a more cautious, reserved performance, with tempi - especially in the second movement - some- VOX RAVEL: FIREBIRD SUITE (Stravinsky) / PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION (Mussorgsky -Ravel), Radio what slower. There is certainly no lack of Bolero, La Valse, Alborada Del Gracioso, Rapsodie Leipzip Orchestra- Urania 7 -18 $3.50 warmth or intensity; in fact, some of the Espagnole, Pavane for a Dead Princess. Orchestra BOLERO / LA VALSE / DAPHNIS 8. CHLOE dynamic contrasts are more marked and Radio -Symphonique de Paris René Leibowitz, (Ravel), Radio Leipzig Orchestra, Borsomski - conductor. PL 8150 -Urania 7 -28 .___ $3.50 dramatic here; but on the whole, the lis- I LOVE PARIS, Michel Legrand Orchestra tener's interest is better sustained by the "The impact of the percussion is almost (16 songs of Paris including: VIE EN ROSE, terrifying in its reality, and is matched LA SEINE, AUTUMN LEAVES, etc.) Co- Albeneris. Columbia's reproduction is just by the penetrating brasses and the cool lumbia 555 _ $3.95 as faithful as Mercury's. The microphone woodwinds, all adding up to an over- SWAN LAKE (Tchiakovsky) complete suite, is slightly farther off, however, and the Philharmonic Orchestra. Robert Irving all sound of imposing depth and sub- - overall tone is drier. R.C.A. Bluebird 1064 $2.98 stance." HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE MASS IN B MINOR (Bach) complete, Berlin -Erich Itor Kahn, piano; Giorgio Ciompi, Radio Chorus & Orchestra, Fritz Lehman - violin; Raphael Hillyer, viola; Benar Heifetz, Bach Guild 527/528 (2 12" LP's)..._ $5.95 GAITE PARISIENNE (Offenbach) RIAS cello. MERCURY MG too9o. r2 -in. 4o min. "Splendidly Resonant" Symphony Orchestra, Manuel Rosenthal - $4.85. - Remington 199 -172. $2.99 -Clifford Curzon, piano; Josef Roismann, SYMPHONY NO. 3 "EROICA" (Beethoven). VOX GRIEG: Leinsdorf, Rochester Philharmonic-Columbia violin; Boris Kroyt, viola; Mischa Schneider, Entre 3069 $2.98 cello. COLUMBIA ML 4630. 12 -in. 45 min. Piano Concerto, A Minor, Opus 16; SYMPHONY NO. 40 (Mozart) / SYMPHONY DE FALLA; Nights in the Gardens of Spain. Guio- Leinsdorf, $5.95. NO. 8 "UNFINISHED" (Schubert) mar Novaes, piano Pro Musica Symphony, Vien- Rochester Philharmonic - Columbia Entre - 3070.. $2.98 na Hans Swarowsky, conductor. PL 8520 No. 3 IN C MINOR, OP. 6o (2 Editions) - WESTMINSTER TEST RECORD - excerpts "The recording is generous in quantity, best LP's and Frequency Though it is possible that the Third Piano from Westminster's excellent acoustically, magnificent in Test Signals -Westminster DRB $3.50 Quartet may have been started even earlier performance. Miss Novaes brings to the HOLBERG SUITE / NORWEGIAN DANCES than its two predecessors in this form, it (Grig) Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, Grieg concerto both heroic sweep and some years later, and Kleinert- Urania 7-30 _ $3.50 was finished therefore a rich, unsentimental expressiveness. represents the more mature Brahms. Its Splendidly resonant." dominant trait is seriousness - even trage- HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE dy - coupled with a certain passion and intensity. It is also more compact than the other two quartets. Quiet relief from the -"The Tone...a Solid Pleasure" more sombre emotions of this work comes with the reposeful third movement, Andante, vox VIVALDI: whose principal theme is one of the most La Stravaganza, Opus 4 and long -spun melodies sublimely beautiful (12 Concerti for Solo Violin, Strings and Continuo). to be found in all of Brahms' music. The Barchet, violin - Elsner, harpsichord -Pro Musica choice of recording here must, of necessity, String Orchestra - Reinhardt, conductor. fall to the Columbia disk, which was made ORDER ANY LP 3.12" DL 103 at the 5952 Prades Festival. But this choice "Phonographically, the principal im. ANY LABEL from OMEGA is based largely on the reproduction, which preuario of the Vivaldi revival has is far superior to Mercury's dated recording, been Vox ... Mr. Barchet, the solo vio- PLUS marred by a degree of distortion and an lin, is admirably reticent, and his Each record specially ordered and per- absence of highs. Were this reproduction strings are touched with silver ... Mr. sonally inspected -Guaranteed never better, Horszowski, Schneider, Katims and Reinhardt, conducting, is kindled by played before because OMEGA IS NOT Vivaldi to a grateful glow The tone Miller would easily win out over Hess, ... A RECORD SHOP. of this string orchestra gives a solid and Tortelier, for there is Each record shipped in a sealed plastic Szigeti, Katims pleasure of its own, with the harpsichord container (polyethylene). much more warmth, cohesion and flow in nicely blended and the solo instrument Records shipped POSTAGE FREE any- the former group's interpretation. The latter never aggressively eminent." where in the U.S.A. foursome, however, does a clean, careful HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE Fastest service anywhere in the world. job, but also a more deliberate one all the FREE way through, while Szigeti's uneven fiddling is a slight deterrent to full enjoyment. But "Splendidly Recorded" HARRISON Hi- Fidelity Catalog No. 2 since the poor sound in the Mercury disk OMEGA Hi -Fi Jazz List is an even greater drawback, Columbia's VOX LISZT: OMEGA Audiphile List close -to, well- defined one will have to do Piano Concerto =1, E Flat Major; Piano Concerto OMEGA Selected List of Hi -Fi LP something really outstanding comes until #2, A Major. Orazio Frugoni, piano - Pro Musica Releases Along. New OMEGA Hi -Fi Folk Music List Symphony, Vienna - Hans Swarowsky, conductor. Hess, piano; Joseph Szigeti, violin; New OMEGA Hi -Fi Choral Music List -Myra PL 8390 Katims, viola; Paul Tortelier, cello. Milton "Excellent in every way ... splendidly COLUMBIA ML 4712. 52 -in. 36 min. $5.95. recorded ... Frugoni handles the Liszt -Mieczyslaw Horszowski, piano; Alexan- Concertos ... sweeping boldly through der Schneider, violin; Milton Katims, viola; bravura passages." OMEGA Frank Miller, cello. MERCURY MG room. HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE ELECTRONICS l2 -in. 29 min. $4.85. Mail Order Dept. TRIOS 7511 Santa Monica Blvd. for sound reasons .. "OX' UHF FOR VIOLIN, CELLO, PIANO Hollywood 46, Calif. Ultra High Fidelity No. r IN B MAJOR, OP. 8 (3 Editions) Y. This, one of the most beautifully melodic 236 West 55th St.,NewYork 19,N.

82 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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and appealing of all Brahms' chamber works, HACK SWAIN was also the very first of them to be published. It was composed in 1853.54, when Brahms STUDIOS was still in his early 2os, and came to print in 1859. But it was quite different from the Trio we know today. As he matured, Brahms ANNOUNCE became dissatisfied with this youthful effort, and in 1891, he completely revised it, re- the exclusive taining some of the original material, dis- carding some of it, tightening up the loose F ends. So consistent was he in his musical release of 9 ideas throughout his life, however, that there is no disparity in styles; the later No Money for new half -hour version is only more sombre and more Send economically organized; there is no sacrific- MUSIKON* TAPE ing of the music's youthful ardor. Exclusive New Kind of Way Making a choice from the three available programs by recordings is a difficult, though most To Protect Your Priceless pleasant task. All three of them are of recent vintage, benefiting from advances in re- OUTSTANDING cording techniques, and each of the performances has fine qualities to recommend HI -FI RECORDS a ARTISTS it. The tone, particularly of the strings, is richer and fuller in the Westminster and We will send you absolutely free Columbia disks, but the Trio di Trieste sets Tab his and without obligation a sample Smith and a remarkably high standard of ensemble of the amazing new Record -Saver super -toned alto -sax playing, and its interpretation is sensitive and orchestra and refined. All three groups do extremely which protects priceless recording- well by the movement; against dust, dirt, finger marks. Top alto soloist in the nation, Tab Smith has be- opening Stern- Casals- come one of the highlights in music, and his Hess even repeat the exposition. Both jacket scratches, and accidental platter recordings are among the top sellers for FournierJanigro- Badura, the past three years. Skoda and the damage. Trieste threesome have a lighter, crisper We make this offer to you so that approach to the Scherzo than does the Casals The Metronomes group, whose treatment lacks buoyancy. you can discover this new develop- First trio to win in the Arthur Godfrey Talent ment in record care and get Programs, these lads have zoomed into tremen- All three take the Adagio quite slowly; the ... dous popularity operating the famed Metro- Stern -Casals -Hess reading is the most tragi- new pleasure and enjoyment from nome Room in Sarasota. Entertainment Capital of Florida. cally expressive, with that by Fournier - your recordings. Record- Savers Janigro- Badura, Skoda having the most flow. also add hundreds of hours to the There is more passionate excitement and life of your costly stylus. Charlie Davies forward motion in the Finale by Stern- Casals- In his best "Society Piano" Charlie brings you a Hess, with - Record- Savers are a new kind full hour of his original arrangements of stand- Fournier Janigro -Badura, Skoda ard favorites. Delightful cocktail hour, rumpus as close runners -up. Westminster and of plastic jacket developed ex- room and background music when the lights are low. Columbia have just the slightest edge over clusively by us of Du Pont London in matters of reproduction, though "Alathon." Record -Savers also & the differences are not appreciable. An inti- ease handling and storage prob- Lanny Ginger Grey mate, close -to atmosphere pervades all three creators of "jingles that lems. Labels can be read without World's top don't versions. All in all, the Westminster disk jangle", Lanny and Ginger do some of their removing records from protective unique radio songs and routines. The very first may prove to be the most satisfying for re- vocals released by Hack Swain. Decidedly Record -Saver. Cannot be ob- different! peated listening, but all are so distinguished that individual choices are here in order. tained in stores. Jan Call -Jean Fournier, violin; Antonio Janigro, If rite today for your free sample cello; Paul Badura -Skoda, piano. WEST- Concert Pianist of renown, Miss Call proves while supply lasts. Also ask for MINSTER WL 5237. 12 -in. 33 min. $5.95. her ability to step off the concert stage to reach information on another exclusive the music short hairs with scintillating renditions -Isaac Stern, violin; Pablo Casals, cello; of her own original arrangements in the popular -Kleen -Disk, a safe, thoroughly mood, Myra Hess, piano. COLUMBIA ML 4719. 12 -in. 39 min. $5.95. tested preparation which magically MUSIKON is Hack Swain's exclusive name for prerecorded tapes, produced In 7.S IPS FULL TRACK -Trio di Trieste. LONDON LL 955. 12 -in. cleans valuable records, and re- @ p9.8S; 7.5 IPS HALF TRACK or 3.7S IPS FULL 33 min. $5.95. moves static electricity in one TRACK p5 fS In the nation's most modern sound studios. @Each program a lull hall-hour long. They appl ica t ion. average ten selections per program. No. 2 IN C MAJOR, OP. 87 (1 Edition) TODAY Ask your dealer for an Nearly 3o years elapsed between the corn. r- -MAIL - -- position the Trio No. z and audition or send for of in B Major MARION PRODUCTS C0. -Dept. 549HF the Trio No. 1 in C Major. During the in- 6953 Murray Avenue FREE CATALOGUE tervening period Brahms a turned out good Cincinnati 27, Ohio of all 40 half -hour deal of important music. He also matured l'Ir: senit n n-ilhnut cool o obligation considerably, becoming ever more intro- MUSIKON* TAPES FREE , Record -Saur. Also send spective in his approach. This quality shows FREE., information on Aleen -Disk, roar Write Dept. HF -9, P.O. Box 2384 strongly both in this trio and the Trio No. 3 safe. new preparation for record cleaning. It is agreed that no salesman will call. Sarasota, Florida in C Minor. The Brahmsian propensity for rich melody supported by warm harmony is Distributorships still there, but some of the youthful ardor NAME Available has cooled. This C Major Trio has many fine attributes, few, if any, of which are realized STREET in this frankly poor performance. It is one , of the very few disks from the 1952 Prades CITY ZONE _STATE_ ' Festival that does not reach any real artistic e heights. The three players seem to lack u,tcynP. O. RIM lies spirit, conviction, enthusiasm and a unified !SARASOTA FLORIDA point of view. None seems quite sure what

SEPTEMBER, 1954 83

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the others will do next. As a result, the en- So is the clean, realistic recording, which tire performance is sluggish, uneven and offers good, almost three -dimensional per- uninteresting; at times, it even emerges with spective of a small concert hall. THESE ARE THE a nonchalance that one would expect from -William Huebner, violin; Richard Harand, a hotel trio playing dinner music. The re- cello; Franz Holletschek, piano. WEST- production is close -to, resonant and clear MINSTER WL 5058. 12 -in. 43 min. $5.95. REASONS enough to hear Szigeti's wobbly tone and uncalled -for slides from one note to another, FOR VIOLIN, HORN, PIANO IN E FLAT why so many people as well as Casals' characteristic grunts and MAJOR, OP. 40 (1 Edition) singing. A work of this excellence deserves This is a combination of instruments unique are switching to far better representation on records. in chamber music composition. The diversi- -Joseph Szigeti, violin; Pablo Casals, fication of tone quality makes a closely knit THE MUSIC BOX'S cello; Myra Hess, piano. COLUMBIA ML ensemble difficult, if not impossible, to 4720. 12 -in. 30 min. $5.95. achieve, and it certainly is not achieved in Long Playing the present recording. To begin with, the unique No. 3 IN C MINOR, OP. tot (1 Edition) very nature of the horn - that is, the old - record mail order Not only is this the shortest of all Brahms' fashioned, valveless lvaldhorn which Brahms chamber works, it is generally conceded, prescribed here - prevents it from taking service: according to Edwin Evans, to be "the short- an equal share of the musical burden. Most est of all great chamber -music compositions of the time, it is assigned to fill in harmonies for three or more instruments, being through- or to sing a slow melodic line. The bulk of out terse and concise to a remarkable de- the work, then, is divided between the violin to be Every record guaranteed gree." Despite its terseness and the pre- and piano. Nevertheless, Brahms has man- and un- brand new, factory fresh vailing minor key, it is anything but a aged to turn out some mighty engaging played. sombre work. It receives a warm, fluent music for this combination, so that a better reading at the hands of the Compinskys, equipped trio of performers than this one Every record carefully inspected whose interpretation and close -knit en- could really do something with the work. for visible imperfections, before semble playing are above reproach. The Koch has a fine, round tone on the horn, mailing. recording is bright and properly re- but is not very flexible. Barylli sounds like sonant. The strings are somewhat closer an individualist, Every record dusted, cleaned and too much of both tonally to the microphone than the piano, though and interpretively, to blend in an ensemble enclosed in a cellophane envelope this does not seriously affect the balance. of this kind. Only Holletschek maintains to lessen possible damage from ... The jacket, strangely, contains no descrip- spirit give- and -take dust, while in transit. the requisite of for this tive notes. music. The best work here is, as might be -Compinsky Trio. ALCO ALP 1025. 12 -in. Every record carefully packed to expected, in the sustained, expressive 18 min. $4.85 (with Ehrhardt: Trio in D reach you in perfect condition. Adagio. The two fast movements - the Minor, Op. 17). second and fourth - lack the desirable Every order mailed to you POS- rhythmic impetus; they are approached too TAGE FREE, anywhere in the IN A MAJOR, OP. POSTH. (1 Edition) cautiously, and the result is an inescapable U. S. A. This Trio is not formally numbered among stiffness. The reproduction is clear, with Brahms' 24 chamber music compositions. the microphone fairly close - at least to Any LP record on any label. No The manuscript was only discovered in the violin - but sound is never cramped, substitutions made at any time .. . 1924 in Bonn; Brahms' name was not on it, and the horn never blasts. without your express approval. and the hand was that of a copyist. Never- -Walter Barylli, violin; Franz Koch, horn; theless, scholars seem to be in agreement Franz Holletschek, piano. WESTMINSTER Fast, prompt and courteous service. that it was written by Brahms, probably WL 5146. 12 -in. 27 min. 55.95. (with about 1853, which would place it before Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano in A Current Schwann LP catalog in- the Trio No. r in B Major. Its four move- Minor, Op. rr4). cluded in every package. ments contain much that is characteristic of the composer, but the influence of Schu- FOR CLARINET, CELLO, PIANO IN A MINOR, THE MUSIC BOX is not a regular mann can be heard in many passages. The OP. 114 (3 Editions) retail record store, but is devoted to music cannot be ranked with the rest of This is the first of the final quartet of Brahms' mail order business exclusively. Brahms' chamber works, though it is well chamber works - all written for the much - From picking to packing, all orders put together and makes for good listening. admired Richard Mühlfeld, clarinetist of the are handled, with the greatest care, For Brahms, it is a rather gentle work, and it Meiningen Orchestra. It is a work of serious, by one person only. is in that spirit that it is performed on this even tragic, mien, whose first two move- disk. At times, one might wish for a little ments are said to have been intended for Inquiries, questions, or what have less reserve and more verve from the players, the never-composed Fifth Symphony. In rec- you on any matter relating to yet their refined approach and carefully contrast to the Horn Trio, which is somewhat ords cordially invited. balanced ensemble playing are fine to hear. inhibited by its instrumentation, the present All records sold at manufacturer's suggested list prices only. When or- ' 1.:A;Eyre ,tvÍ.w!iY,wT.'-4..:F..iaU, .,1...e:: dering, simply list the records you MAKE YOUR RECORDS CARL SANOBURG want, with your check or money SOUND BETTER- LAST LONGER AMERICA'S GREATEST POET ANO TOLKSINGER ;t order to cover their cost ... or, if sings his favorite 15 folk tunes from his ¡b with the famous ORIGINAL "THE AMERICAN SONGBAG" . you prefer your order will be Boll Weevil Song Careless Love shipped C.O.D. Sorry no open Mama Have You Heard The News ... DUOTONE ELECTRO -WIPE Moanish Lady In De Vinter Time ^J accounts. Chemically treated Foggy, Foggy Dew He's Gone Away I Wish I Was A Little Bird j MAGIC RECORD CLOTH I'm Sad and I'm Lonely (over 500,000 sold) Cigarettes Will Spoil Yer Life

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work enlists the services of three instru ments of maximum adaptability. Conse- Record Market quently, all share in the proceedings equally. One is confronted here with three verb commendable recorded performances. From the standpoint of sound reproduction and virtuosity of the participating players, the lil -FI SCORE CARD Kell- Miller -Horszowski disk takes top CHICAGO'S honors. The playing is relaxed, yet percep- 3" x 5Ye" Heavy Plastic perma- tive; Kell's tone is limpid, his phrasing H i - Fi Record nent card, showing all the cor- sensitive; Miller's tone rich and vibrant, H Horszowski's performance the model of eadquarters rect listings for Turnover and taste, and the recording is most faithful, Rollback values necessary to with optimum microphone placement. 101 labels -featuring produce the best possible tone But Wlach, Kwarda and Holletschek en- Audiophile and Cook joy equally fine reproduction, though it quality from your Hi -Fi system. shows the clarinetist's tone to be less than Sernd no stamps. Only 50c postpaid. ravishing and the cellists to be rather resin- ous. Too, there may be a little less polish DUBLIN'S P. here, but this is compensated for by a more J. IIOMCIIIS, Jr. 203 W. Wacker Dr., Chicago 6, III. closely integrated ensemble, more tender. RFD No. 3 Chagrin Falls, Ohio ness - coupled with some restraint - and more cohesiveness and flow, making this the most satisfying of the three versions. There is considerably less polish in the POLK KEEP YOUR RECORDS Forrest -Greenhouse- Balogh disk, partly be- and RECORD COVERS CLEAN cause it is recorded at an appreciably higher MUSIC volume level, with the microphone almost with SAMPLER ! too close to the players. Perhaps this may O L 'V s I I' I A account for the buzziness in the cellist's lower strings, though the two upper ELEKTRA issues a special Hach CLEAR VINYL PROTECTIVE SLEEVES two Fidelity 10" Long Playing record ones have a clean sound, as does the re- featuring selections from twelve of * Ends scratch * Resists water, oil, etc. our folk releases. as a whole. Nevertheless, this is :r Seals out dust * No more fingermarks cording Each Folk Music Sampler is pressed * more -than -acceptable presentation of the on pure vinyl. triple inspected and * Tear Resistant * Protects against heat carefully packaged In a dust-free Available in 7 10 12" work by three accomplished musicians. One plastic envelope. which in turn is ", ^, might quarrel with their heavy, deliberate protected by a hard jacket. ICI Sleeves to a package This unique Elektra release is treatment of the opening movement and specially priced at $2.00 (postpaid) ONLY $1.00 per package of 10, POSTPAID and is available only from: their almost too careful approach to the Please specify size. Adagio; but there is no denying the fluency ELEKTRA RECORDS BRANDYWYNE HOUSE of the third movement, while their interpre- 361 Bleecker St., N. Y. C., N. Y. 6 East 39th St. New York 16, tation of the Finale has more impact and N. Y. meaning than those by their competitors. -Leopold Wlach, clarinet; Franz Kwarda, Tile uf,.rld furrunr.r cello; Franz Holletscheck, piano. WEST- MINSTER WL 5146. r2 -in. 22 min. $5.95 dlacuizeS Pochet scont's (with Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano in is TO INCREASE YOUR ENJOYMENT OF Flat Major, op. 40). RECORD LISTENING. -Reginald Kell, clarinet; Frank Miller. Included are your favorite chamber and HIBAY: Scenes de la Csarda RR-5 cello; Mieczyslaw Horszowski, piano. DEC - symphonic classics --and modern works SIX HUNGARIAN CSARDAS KR -I CA DL 7524. to -in. 23 min. $3.85. by COPLAND, BRITTEN,BARTOK, GYPSY MELODIES KR -3 Bernard Green- -Sidney Forrest, clarinet; STRAVINSKY, KODALY, R. Michel and His Gypsy Ensemble house, cello; Erno Balogh, piano. LYRI- STRAUSS and many others. CYMBALOM MELODIES RR -2 CHORD LL 9. 12 -in. 23 min. $5.95 (with Our popular booklet, HOW TO READ Josef Moskovici (cymbalom) Mozart: Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piam, A SCORE, by Gordon Jacob, will facili- THE GYPSY 'CELLO RR -4 in E Flat Major (K 498)). tate the beginner's use of pocket scores. Ted Michel ('cell,) $1.00 10 inch long -playing suggested retail price $3.95 Pocket Score Catalog . The remaining non -orchestral works f of all loading record shops DEPT. 372 of Brahms will be surveyed in a nationally distributed by future issue of HIGH FIDELITY. BOOSEY and HAWKES ROMANY RECORDS P.O. Boa 418 LYNBROOK, L. I. New York 1301 Mass. Ave., N. W. Washington 5, D. C.

MUSIC FOR THE STATICLOTH ORGAN saves your records A High Fidelity Demonstration Record Prevent slow ruin of precious Hi -Fi Ernest White. Organist plays and LP records from dust and ground - in grit attracted by static charges. Bach, Martini. Fiocco and others Play the clean groove, hear music at "Ultra linear reality and definition its best. STATICLOTH cleans, lubricates incomparable combination of musical and destroys static. Ask for it, ONLY values". (,Music on Records) 49c at your record dealer. WROUGHT IRON RECORD RACK Holds 200 10" & 12" LP's with room fora few 78's. Möllcr LP E 4 12" $5.95 Black satin finish with rubber tipped legs. Size 19" STATICLOTH high 25" long 9y$" deep. Sturdy °4" & 34" steel rod IT 'bored by construction. Direct factory to you? No catalogs or lit- Record Cleaning Cloth erature available, THIS IS ITI Remittance with or- Dauntless International der, NO COD's. Satisfaction Guaranteed or $9s5 -_a Lafayette Street New York 12. N. 1. Interelectronics Corporation Money Refunded. Shipped Express Collect. A b & e prolific ' 2432 Grand Concourse, N. Y. LESLIE CREATIONS, 2116 ROBBINS ST., PHILA. 49, PA.

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SINCE Americans spend a great amount of time in their which will help. It's likely that tuning can be effected automobiles, it was inevitable that interest in high fi- for best overall results, or for a particular station, by delity would broaden its bass, so to speak, to include changing the length of the antenna. auto radios. As it turns out, there is much room for For better AM reception with the radio you have, try improvement here. a long police antenna (mounted on the rear bumper) or a In the qualities considered most important in low -fi pair of cowl antennas on opposite corners of the body. days - sensitivity, selectivity and freedom from fading The former's low mounting allows you greater length - most AM auto sets now equal home receivers. But the without collisions, and the rod is well away from the body; automobile world thinks of the radio as a mere accessory, both conditions help pickup. With the latter arrangement to be crammed into as small a box as possible. This results the top of the car is never between your antenna and the in serious fidelity limitations, from which escape is not transmitter. However, such an altered antenna may re- easy. We can elude this outworn concept only by consider- quire realignment of the receiver RF stage. In a good ing the sound system as an important part of the car, per- AM radio the automatic volume control should be able to manently and properly built into the body - just as we cope with the strengthened signals. If yours isn't, as evi- scrapped the one -box idea to achieve good sound in the denced by distortion on local stations, a serviceman may home. be able to increase the AVC action. There are at least three ways to make improvements in A conventional AM receiver is handicapped by power your mobile audio system: i) additional equipment can line static, lightning static and noise in general, par- be added to your present car radio; 2) modifications might ticularly on those long stretches of driving, far from furnish better sound from your radio; and 3) a better any town, when the car occupants most wish it would speaker system can be installed. Putting these ideas into behave. If you've not had anti -static powder put into practice may require money, physical labor and liberal your inner tire tubes, do it now. It's possible to build a quantities of common sense. noise limiter into the receiver', or you can buy an at- Let's consider first some ways to obtain a wider range tachable noise clipper' for $ro. These will subdue the of program material than the conventional AM receiver louder static crashes, such as lightning, but under some provides. For instance, an FM tuner can be purchased and conditions may introduce distortion or cancel sudden for- attached to the car radio with little fuss. Two units' tissimos in music. The performance on steady noises of are manufactured specifically for mobile use; in areas of moderate intensity (the kind experienced while driving adequate FM service, they furnish static -free reception beside a power line) will be disappointing. They're en- and fine sound. They are small enough to mount under gineered to do a job, but they have limits. the dash or on the steering column. Power comes from the Short -wave converters can also be obtained; one type' existing radio, or from a separate amplifier-speaker -power tunes from 3 to 3o mc. in three ranges. While short waves supply unit. The manufacturer's antenna recommenda- are subject to fading and are not very good during daylight tions should be followed. hours, the music lover would do well to consider this AM For an experimental FM installation of your own de- adjunct because there is much fine music available on short vising, where a home-type tuner or a complete receiver is waves. A receiver equipped with FM and SW offers a high to be used, you can try various kinds of antennas. In probability of freedom from broadcast -band interference, strong -signal areas a loop of wire, or a twin -lead dipole, a maximum of program choices and a minimum of boredom. can be put up inside the body or on the edges of the wind- All accessory gadgets that require r io -volt alternat- shield. For areas with weaker FM signals a rooftop dipole might be used, but try the ordinary telescoping cowl 'Made by the Gonset Company, 801 S. Main Street. Burbank, Calif.. and by antenna, too - the car body serves as the bottom half of Hastings Products. Inc.. 171 Newberry Street, Boston 16, Mass. =Radio Amateur's Handbook, 31st Edition, 1954, pp. 92, 435. an open dipole. This arrangement is non -directional, 'Gonset Company.

SEPTEMBER, 1954 87

www.americanradiohistory.com ing current can be operated from power inverters, which This works only on sets which have no tone control, or provide the equivalent of house current for moderate loads. on tone -control receivers that have a second, parallel Many inverters are sold for operation of electric shavers; capacitor across the control itself or across the primary one of these might he adequate for powering a small of the output transformer. Remove (or reduce in value) standard FM tuner. that capacitor, and speech and music will be suddenly While a better speaker will probably do more for your crisp with overtones. If the bass is already weak, the car radio than anything else, the receiver chassis may be situation will not be bettered with regard to balance, a maladjusted little critter that demands attention too. and more treble may prove fatiguing. But try it. It's There's little point in providing an elaborate reproducer treble overemphasis, no doubt, but in a car this is us- if the radio is faulty or unsatisfactory in any way. Also, able. You can always add a tone control or replace the many may shun a more elaborate speaker set -up, but may be capacitor. willing to tinker with the chassis, which after all is out That capacitor's purpose is to prevent treble peak and of sight. Some cheaper receivers are unnecessarily deficient. supersonic oscillations. I've yanked some of the rascals Some of the better ones can be improved too. Let's see out. The radios always sound sweeter and never blow up, what can be done with a local anesthetic and not too so I don't lie awake nights worrying about the theory. much mutilation of the body. If you do reorganize the speaker system, you might Certain little irritations not associated with fidelity might want to put in a different amplifier, though the push - be mentioned briefly. If you haven't enough light on pull stage used in better -grade radios ought to be good the dial, put in an extra bulb. A socket isn't needed; enough. The single output tube used in less elegant sets by soldering the bulb to a stiff wire forming its ground gives good volume, but you may dislike its distortion and connection, it can be placed where it does the most good. lack of reserve power for bass peaks. If these are valid If inward pressure on the tuning knob causes a station to objections to you, by all means put in a super- duper, fade away, the cause of this detuning can be located in more -than -linear amplifier. The added current drain, how- or near the tuning condenser and corrected. ever, will demand an added power supply. If you'd really like to be able to boast "the best sound around," and are willing to spend some time and effort to achieve it, a redesigned speaker system must repre- ONE item every owner should check is the present sent your major effort. Of course, if you trade your car speaker mounting. In one set the 5-inch speaker is at- in yearly, you're out of luck, unless you can become re- tached to the grille panel with Vs -inch of open space all signed to repeating all the labor. And you must accept around! In such a case, sound is perforce unsound. For the fact that a car installation differs from one in a living closing such gaps, or mounting speakers anywhere, I room. The sound I recommend will surround you, with like sheet cork, sold by the mail order folks for making two sources, front and rear. Both reproducers will carry auto gaskets. It can't rattle, set or deteriorate. But fixing middles and highs, but bass will come only from behind. this is only a gesture in the direction of better bass. There's Before we go into the problems of the bottom range, still very little baffle on the bottom of a dashboard radio. consider intelligibility. It's the high frequencies that are It would help if the speaker were above the chassis; it responsible for the nuances in music and crispness in never is. You can mount it on a board under the glove speech. But the noise level in a car is high; this is true compartment, facing down, and gain a little baffle area, of even expensive cars. There is motor noise, tire noise but not much. and chassis noise, not to mention noises along the road. In buying a car radio, favor the type in which the power In summer, particularly, the sound of rushing air corn - supply is mounted separately on the fire wall, for a buzz- petes savagely with the same high frequencies that clarify ing vibrator is a nuisance. Its noise can be transmitted speech. electrically as well as mechanically. In this case there's It's imperative to start with what has already been not merely a buzzing but a frying sound when no station outlined for the highs - pull out that muffling capacitor. is tuned in. With the chassis partly taken out it con- Then, substitute a real output transformer. One with tinues unabated. To cure this, add a zo -mfd. filter con- some stuff in it that's heavy. The best transformers cost denser at the rectifier tube filament. For mechanical $tg up, but excellent ones are available for $g to $10. buzz, which can be felt because it uses the dash as a sound- Following this, in the event that words like "sassafras" ing board, and which diminishes if the vibrator is grasped have been coming out of your speaker "faffafraf," and tightly in the hand, suspending the vibrator in some way still do, junk the existing speaker in favor of an extended is the most effective cure. Put it in a so- called "floating" range type. socket, suspend it in mid- chassis with springs, or just hang it from the chassis on a short cable. Unless you're revamping the speaker system, it may not IN MOST auto radios the speaker is below the chassis. be worth the trouble to put in a quality output transformer This places the knobs conveniently, to be sure, but it -a step that will give noticeable improvement in treble, decreases the distance to the edge of the speaker baffle, it not in bass. But a simple receiver alteration may do as thus sabotaging the lows. Since the dash slopes forward much in that direction, without costing a cent, and should underneath, the speaker also beams any available highs be tried first. into the passengers' laps.

88 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com If there's a chance of turning the whole receiver up- round to $to for a 6- by 9 -inch oval. My 1952 jalopy ap- side down, this should be considered. Or perhaps you peared to have mounting holes for a 4- by 6 -inch oval. can find a way to tilt the speaker up within the cabinet. Presumably, such a unit will fit if it is bought from your It's easier if you substitute a smaller speaker, which might car dealer. At any rate, these speakers bring understand- be a tweeter; in that case, put the old speaker or another able sound to the rear -seat riders, permitting lower vol- mid -range speaker under the glove compartment, so as not umes, and give a pleasing wide -source as well. to deprive front -seat riders of the middle range. A third For best results, of course, effort expended on the solution is to mount a tweeter in plain sight atop the rear -deck speaker installation should be devoted primarily center of the dash. Aim it either front or back; high to better bass reproduction. Attention has been directed notes will bounce off the glass, if you like, in a reason- so far toward the treble end of the spectrum. But satis- ably wide pattern. faction in music listening comes from balanced sound, so Extension speakers are sold for mounting face up on that treble range extension must be accompanied by a gain what is called the "rear deck." That's the catch -all be- in the opposite direction. Seldom does a car radio have tween the top of the rear seat and the bottom of the back non -resonant bass and. certainly, every one can be im- window, usually surfaced with a sheet of fiberboard. proved. A switch for selecting either speaker, or both, is a stan- Having tried them all, I am convinced that the only dard item. Speaker prices range from $6 for a 6 -inch suitable place is the rear deck, where the large, tight volume of the trunk is usually available as a resonator. I found, with a large cabineted speaker lying on the rear seat, that a dual source is very pleasing with that amount of separation. I was unable to tell where the sound came Records on Wheels from. So it seems that the answer to the bass problem is to The gentleman pictured below is Mr. Pat Marks of use the biggest, best bass speaker that can be squeezed Eugene, Oregon, who has spent several thousand hours into that rear deck, making the partition strong and tight of the past three years conditioning a standard 45 with plywood cut to fit. The trunk, when empty, serves rpm record player to perform in an automobile, even as a closed cabinet of large capacity. Energy from the so he claims "at high speeds and on the rough- - rear of the cone doesn't stray out of the car. The rear est country roads." At the moment, Mr. Marks is of the speaker is protected. With today's sharply slanted looking for a national manufacturer for his patented rear windows, the sound is reflected forward, as we desire. unit. He believes it can be sold for around $50 or $6o. There are difficulties to be expected. The deck width To ready the player for use in an automobile, Marks in cars ranges from 8' to 13 inches or so. The more first converts the six -volt power output of the car costly the car, usually the greater the window slope and into regular 110 AC, 6o cycles. He estimates it takes the wider the space. The largest speaker that could be 13 watts to run a standard 45 rpm changer and to get accommodated is to -inch. it he uses a 3o -watt converter. As Mr. Marks puts it, Deck construction leaves something to be desired. Un- "the trick is getting the player's arm to stay in the der the fiber there's a sheet -metal panel full of holes, groove when the car lurches - that's where the patent which will help in maneuvering a hacksaw for a larger comes in." circular cutout. That part of the trunk is an inconven- Looking to the future, Marks adds: "There's really ient but not impossible place in which to work. no reason why these can't be installed in boats, air- You might decide, upon examination your planes or any moving object even these flying platters." of particular holes, - that sound can escape sufficiently without a larger one. R. H. Sct-trtuos But a firmer, more airtight deck is strongly recommended, with the speaker bolted to it. Some kind of grille and protective covering must be improvised. This side of the cone will be subjected to strong sunlight, so use a light- proof grille cloth. If this is a woofer only, a topside tweeter can be added. Aim it forward or straight up toward that sharply sloping window. Use heavy wire to connect the rear speaker. A moderately husky household extension cord will serve. Some minor issues, like the choice of an impedance tap and the inclusion of a dividing network, will depend on your particular set -up and must be left to you. Though this is not a very elaborate system it's about the best that can be done in a car. Anyone having suitable components, and the time, curiosity and energy required to set up the system, should be more than pleased with the results. What's that you say? You own a convertible?

SEPTEMBER, t954 89

www.americanradiohistory.com FIRST EVER DESIGNED TYPICAL PERFORMANCE DATA

PRC1 and A.30 TONE CONTROL CURVES

BASS TREBLE WITH NEW CIRCLOTRON CIRCUIT' 20 10 WITH NEW CRITICAL DAMPING CONTROL 0-10

.20

20 100 000 10000 20000 required for ideal operation FREQUENCY IN CYCLES PER SECOND

-10C MAXIMUM POWER VS. FREQUENCY into 3 -fidelity speaker systems I I high z30 AVERAGE Of 10 UNITS

E. 20 +DRATED"' ° 10 S 00 s 1000 s 0o00 MOO In a new historic development by A. M. Wiggins, ELECTRO -VOICE now FREQUENCY IN CYCLES PER SECOND brings you closer than ever to the goal of perfection in high fidelity PRC -I and 5- 30INTERMODULATION DISTORTION VS. POWER OUTPUT reproduction! The E -V Circlotron Amplifier provides exclusive E -V Critical = s. Damping Control to insure proper match to a high quality loudspeaker 4 system- restores bass to proper balance- assures utmost pleasure from home RAT ED music systems -provides new efficiency for professional operation.

3 6 9 12 Is IA 21 24 27 30 33 36 You need only compare to recognize the difference. POWER OUTPUT IN WATTS £'Ie$kc CZtcttto?

E -V CIRCLOTRON CIRCUIT' E -V CRITICAL DAMPING CONTROL

Advanced design removes all DC from Exclusive E -V damping factor control the output transformer. Allows cool, permits perfect match of amplifier out- optimum, efficient utilization of output put to the critical damping resistance tubes. Provides unity coupling between of the loudspeaker, as well as to type of tubes. Completely eliminates all switch- enclosure. Operates optimumly into ing transients -greatly reduces distor- the variable impedance of a speaker Your tion. Has less than one -quarter the load rather than a purely resistive load Electro -Voice plate circuit impedance found in con- as in previous amplifiers. Control elim- Distributor ventional amplifier output circuits, inates speaker bass losses from over - invites you assures vastly extended, distortion -free damping- minimizes low- frequency range response at full rated power. distortion- subdues hangover due to to see and Provides trouble -free operation and underdamping. Assures most efficient hear the long tube life. sound reproduction. difference. E -V Patents Pend.

NEW E -V PREAMPLIFIER AND REMOTE CONTROL SETS (shown at bottom right) Here is a further result of E -V planning, research and engineering...to help you obtain the fullest efficiency, operating convenience and enjoyment from your high fidelity equipment. The new Preamplifier and Remote Control Set (in two models) is designed for use with the E -V Model A -30 Circlotron Line Amplifier. The Preamplifier, with its Off -On and Function Selector Switches is used near the equipment location for easy hookup. The Remote Control is separated for convenience and flexibility to allow single cable connection to any remote position up to 75 feet, or may be used at preamplifier location. Each is housed in a beautifully styled hand- rubbed Mahogany or Korina Blonde cabinet.

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HIGH FIDELITY AMPLIFIERS, SPEAKER SYSTEMS. MICROPHONES, PHONO -CARTRIDGES, AND OTHER ELECTRO- ACOUSTIC PRODUCTS

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E-V Model A-20C 20 Watt Circlotron Amplifier Compact, high quality, conservatively rated amplifier with all necessary controls for handling a complete high fidelity system. Power Output: 20 watts rated, 40 watts on peaks. Frequency Re. sponse: ± .1 db 20-20,000 cps at full 20 watts. Inputs: Ultra- Linear phono, magnetic phono, tape or tv, tuner or tv, Hi-Z microphone. Controls: Function selector, record compensation, level, loudness, bass, treble, damping factor, and two hum adjustments on chassis. High level output connector also available to feed tape machine. Size: 107/4" wide x 111/4" deep x 7h" high. Model A20C. List Price $183.33. Audiophile Net $110.00

E-V Model A-30 30-Watt Circlotron Line Amplifier This professional-type amplifier sets a new standard for efficiency in high fidelity reproduction. Power Output: 30 watts rated, 60 watts on peaks. Frequency Response: -± .5 db 20-50,000 cps. Con- trots: Gain, damping factor, hum adjustment, power switch. Easy mounting on baseboard, side, or rack. Volume control adaptable for front panel accessibility. Size: 131/4" wide x 81/2" deep x high. Makes perfect combination with Preamplifier and Remote AMPLIFIERS Control Set shown below. Model A-31. List Price $241.67. Audiophile Net $145.00

At140.,

E-V Preamplifier and Remote Control Set-with Exclusive Vital Presence Control For use with E-V Model A-30 Circlotron Amplifier. Model PRC-1 allows E-V Model PRC.1. Preamplifier and Remote Control Set. both Ultra-Linear ceramic and magnetic phono-cartridge inputs. Model Includes Model M-1 Magnetic Phono Preamp plug-in unit. PRC-2 is identical except without magnetic phono preamplifier. Fre- Complete with Mahogany or Korina Blonde cabinets. quency Response: ± .5 db 20-20,000 cps. PRC-t Inputs: Ultra-Linear List Price $200.00. Audiophile Net $120.00 phono, high-level magnetic phono, low-level magnetic phono, tuner, E-V Model PRC.2. Same, but without the M-1 Magnetic tape, tv, and auxiliary. Preamplifier Controls: On-Off switch, function Phono Preamp unit. selector, 5 individual input level controls. Remote Controls: Record List Price $175.00. Audiophile Net $105.00 compensation switch, level control, volume-loudness switch, rumble E-V Model M-1. Magnetic Phono Preamplifier plug-in unit. filter switch, presence switch, bass control, treble control. Size each List Price $25.00. Audiophile Net $15.00 of the Preamplifier and the Remote Control is 103/4" wide x 71/2" deep (cffeamplifier and Remote Control units we also avail- x 43/4" high. Supplied with 5 fj. cable on each. Extensions available able without cabinets. Simply deduct $8.33 from list for Remote Control unit. price or $5.00 from audiophile net for each cabiael.)

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MAGAZINE 92 HIGH FIDELITY

www.americanradiohistory.com These reports may not be quoted or reproduced, in part or in whole, in anyform whatsoever, without written permission from the publisher. Because of space limitations we normally attempt to report only on products of wide general interest. Thus, omission does not, per se, sig- nify condemnation, although reports are seldom made on equipment that is obviously not reasonably high in fidelity. - Each report is sent to the manufacturer before publication; he is free to correct the specifications paragraph, to add a comment at the end, or to request that the report be deferred (pending changes in his product) or not published at all. He is not permitted, however, to amend or alter the report

Brociner Transcendent special i 5 -inch woofer; to my way of thinking, the Lowther is what counts. SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): A 3 -way corner The bass goes down nicely to 3o cycles, full and smooth. reproducer utilizing a special 15 -in. speaker driving a folded exponential horn for bass range, to a 250 -cycle crossover point, The middles and highs (from about 200 up) spread beauti- and a twin -cone high frequency driver for mid -range and high fully throughout the room, are rich and honey- smooth. frequencies, with a mechanical crossover at 4,000 cycles. Fre- Which I (and this is a first person singular report) like. quency ronge: 30 to 20,000 cycles. Power input: 20 watts maximum on program material. Impedance: 16 ohms. Size: 49%q And which some members of the HIGH FIDELITY staff do in. high, 33 wide, 29% diagonally from front corner, 23% in. not like. When I go to a concert, I sit back to to 15 rows; along Shipping Prices: wall. weight: 300 pounds. from $597.00 I don't like extreme brilliance, live or reproduced. I play to $744.00, depending on finish. Address: Brociner Electronics Laboratory, 344 West 32nd St., New York 16, N. Y. my records medium -soft; I like transparency rather than brilliance. But others sit in the first row and like brilliance. When audiophiles start discussing which is the best - bar So you take your choice; it's your money - and a lot of it! none - speaker available, the Brociner Transcendent is Don't spend this kind of money for any speaker, if you can sure to be among those discussed. As the price indicates, possibly help it, without first listening and listening. it competes for top place. And whether or not it gets We tried using two amplifiers with this system: one for that rating does not depend on the speaker but on the the woofer and one for the Lowther, with crossing -over individual who is doing the judging. What do you like? being done ahead of the amplifiers. A slight improvement Vic Brociner uses a Lowther for his middles and highs, was noticed, but very slight and only in complex sound. using the same basic dispersion principles as on his Model We were using a top -quality amplifier for single -ended 4 enclosure - and about that we made some highly favor- operations; perhaps a greater difference would have been able comments a good many issues ago. He also uses a apparent if a medium -quality amplifier had been compared with two medium -quality jobs. We have suggested to Brociner that he add a level control on the Lowther, to compensate for differences in room acoustics. Our room seemed to eat up the bass and we had to cut the Lowther down slightly to get correct balance. I became unaware of this speaker about as fast as any I've listened to in quite a while - which is a high compliment. I personally want music and not sound. - C. F. MANUFACTURER'S COMMENT: We agree that the choice of a speaker is largely a matter of individual taste. A complication is that comparative listening tests often lead to conclusions that are not supported upon extended listening in the home. In other words, a speaker that "demonstrates well" may not wear well. Despite the obvious resulting handicaps, we feel that s speaker should be designed to provide the best possible approximation of the original sound, without imposing any coloration even those apparently liked by some listeners. - We appreciate your suggestion that we add a balance control to compensate for room acoustics, and are proceeding to do so.

GE Hi -Fi Components

SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): model Al -500 "Baton" tone arm is 10 %a in. long, for records up to 12 in.; model Al -501 is 14 %g in. long, for records up to 16 in. Each of aluminum construction with cartridge holder that tilts upright for stylus inspection. Stylus pressure is adjustable by a sliding weight on The Transcendent has full bass, honey- smooth middles and highs. a counterbalance arm that is calibrated directly in grams. Dust-

SEPTEMBER, 1954 93

www.americanradiohistory.com proof ball bearings do not require lubrication. No resonances ords, the arm deserves high praise. The adjustable coun- in audible range. Height above motor board adjustable up to terbalance arm is graduated for GE cartridges directly in 2 in. Cartridges plug into head; 2 plug -in slides supplied with Al -501, 1 with Al -500. Extra slides available. Prices: Al -500. grams of stylus pressure, and is accurate also for Picker- $31.95; Al- 501, $35.50. Model RPX -052 cartridge is a triple -play ing single -stylus models. For Fairchild cartridges the variable -reluctance (magnetic) type, with diamond stylus for scale indication is two grams light of the actual weight; microgroove and sapphire for 78s. Styli are easily replaceable. Response is smooth from 30 to 15,000 cycles; recommended with a 5 -gram scale reading the true weight is 7 grams. stylus pressure 6 to 8 grams. Price: $23.37. Model Al -200 pre- With a Pickering turnover cartridge, the scale indication amplifier- control unit is self -powered, and can be used with any is 3 grams light actual weight. "flat" power amplifier. Inputs for magnetic phono cartridge of the (matched for GE cartridge), radio, and one auxiliary high -level The main section of the arm rotates freely on the base source; single medium -impedance output. Controls: selector pivot but does not move vertically. All vertical movement switch with positions for radio and auxiliary inputs as well as in head and assembly, which is five equalization positions for phono input; treble, bass, and occurs the counterweight loudness controls. Switch on back of chassis converts loudness advantageous in many ways. Effectively, the vertical mass control to uncompensated volume control. Bass continuously is reduced for the up- and -down movement caused by a +13 50 cycles; treble continuously adjustable from to -15 db at wear on the record and stylus, adjustable from +15 to -16 db at 15,000 cycles. On rear of warped record; this reduces chassis are two switched AC outlets, audio output jack, volume - and provides for better tracking. The cartridge head can be loudness selector, a hum -adjustment control, level control for tilted up to a vertical position for cartridge installation and phono input, and the three input jacks. Output: 2 volts at can be lifted from a record 4,000 ohms. Distortion: less than 1%. Noise: -52 db with phono adjustment. Finally, the stylus input; -60 db with other inputs. Dimensions: 3 3/32 in. high being played easily and without tearing grooves, by push- by 12% wide by 8% deep. Tubes: 6SC7, 12AX7, 12AÚ7. Price: ing downward on the counterbalance arm. $57.95. Model Al -300 power amplifier has 10 watts output for In order to install a Pickering or similar turnover type 2 volts input; 4, 8, or 16 -ohm impedance. Response *2 db, 30 to 15,000 cycles. Distortion: less than 1% harmonic at mid - of cartridge, it is necessary to cut off the front lip of a frequencies. Noise: -70 db from rated output. Dimensions: cartridge slide, which is scored for that purpose. 51./. in. high by 124 wide by 4% deep. Tubes: 12AX7, 6C4, The RPX -o52 cartridge was reviewed in the Sept. -Oct., 2- 6V6GT, 5Y3GT. Price: $47.75. Model Al-400 coaxial speaker consists of 12 -in, woofer and 2 ¡4 in. cone -type tweeter, coaxially 1952 issue of HIGH FIDELITY. We won't devote much space to it here, since the design has not been changed. Suffice it to remark that we believe the cartridge to be well above its price class in performance and convenience. The AI -zoo preamplifier is a medium -price unit, a good one and worth its cost, but not comparable in flexibility with more expensive preamps. There are practically no self- powered preamp- control units, other than the GE, in the $50 class. Five record- compensation positions appear on the selector switch at the left: Noisy 78, Eur. 78, AES, Flat, and LP. We should have liked more; alternatively, well have been put on equalization for Ten-wailer can be easily changed from 2 to .3 -volt sensitivity. emphasis might microgroove records rather than 78s (which have three of RCA -RIAA or mounted. Impedance: 8 ohms. Response: 40 to 15,000 cycles. the five positions). No equalization for Power rating: 25 watts integrated program material. Slotted London curves is provided. The other switch positions cover plate serves as tweeter baffle and part of mechanical - are for the high -level inputs. electrical built -in crossover network. Magnet: 14.5 oz. Alnico in of the unit; 5 on woofer; 6.8 oz. on tweeter. Price: $41.95. Model Al -406 Three input jacks are furnished the back speaker encl is of the distributed -port bass -reflex type, suit- the phono input, for which a level -set control is provided, Enclosed volume: 6 cubic able for wall or corner placement. has a sensitivity of lc) millivolts for 2 volts output, and feet. Prices: $59.95 in mahogany or blonde; $50.37 unfinished. 2 Manufacturer: General Electric, High Fidelity Section, Radio 86 the two high -level inputs produce a maximum of volts TV Dept., Electronics Park, Syracuse, N. Y. output for volt input. The phono channel has insuffi- cient gain for very low -level cartridges unless the preamp General Electric calls this its Custom Music Ensemble, is used with an amplifier having high sensitivity (which which is just about right - it isn't a complete hi -fi sys- the AI -3oo, unless a circuit change is made, does not). tem, since no turntable or record changer is offered, No output jack for tape- recorder feed is furnished. Sim- nor is a tuner. And no combination price has been fixed for the entire group of components. Because of these circumstances, we feel justified in evaluating the components individually as well as part of a system. This is for the best; price considered, we should have to rate the system good, while rating some of the components excellent. It should be borne in mind that the performance of a complete system is determined not by the average quality of its components but by any element not up to the standard of the others. The tone arm belongs in the "best" category. Flexible in application, convenient in operation, and easy on rec- Self-powered preamplifier-control unit is capable, inexpensive.

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE 94

www.americanradiohistory.com ple circuit changes made on the preamp's high -level in- A departure from stan- puts can change the sensitivity to .3 volts, but the phono dard American practice channel gain is fixed. Similar changes made on the power marks the A1-400 coaxial amplifier input circuit (directions are given in the instruc- speaker; the tweeter is not tion book) can alter its sensitivity from 2 volts to .3 volt horn loaded but is of the for ro watts output; if this were done the preamp and small cone type. Mounted power amplifier together would have sufficient gain for on a slotted baffle plate low -level phono cartridges. that covers the front of the A good idea is the switch on the back of the chassis 12 -in. woofer, the tweeter that removes the compensation from the loudness control, operates from 1,800 cycles making it a straight volume control. The overall level is upward. Something called not changed by removal of the compensation circuits, a pressure equalizer (actu- GE distributedport enclosure. which is desirable. Some might prefer that switch on the ally a phase equalizer) has front panel. been installed at the apex of the tweeter cone. Whatever The power amplifier is well built and sounds clean; the equalizer's function, this tweeter produces highs that it's well suited for medium -priced installations. No oper- are full- bodied and strong, but crystal clear and very pleas- ating controls are provided: it is designed to plug into ant. In the distributed -port enclosure designed for it, a switched source of AC, and to work with a separate con- the total sound is far better than the $100 total expenditure for speaker and enclosure would seem to warrant. To summarize: we consider the preamp- control unit, the amplifier, and the enclosure good, representative values in their price range; the pickup arm and cartridge, and the speaker, to be very good - significantly higher in quality than their prices would indicate. - R. A.

MANUFACTURER'S COMMENT: The AES compensator position on the AI -200 Baton pickup arm and rs -in. coaxial speaker. pre -amplifier- control unit is within 2 db of the new RIM -AES curve and is suitable for this new standard as well as for the old AES curve. For London microgroove. use LP position and readjust treble tone control as desired. Two compensator positions are labeled specifically for 78 RPM. "Noisy trol unit. Sensitivity can be altered for use with preamp- 78" indicates a position with a rapid high -frequency rolloff, and is for use with any speed record having excessive noise or high -frequency distortion. control units of various output levels, as explained pre- In addition to the 13 db bass boost at 50 cycles provided by the Bess control, about 17 db more boost is contributed by the Loudness control at low viously. volume levels. Thus the total available bass boost is 30 db or more at 50 cycles.

Crestwood 303 Tape Recorder Two inputs are provided: microphone and radio; i.e., low and high -level. Two outputs: earphones and external SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer and shortened by speaker. Plugging in the phones does not cut out the in- editor because they are almost the same as those for the Crest- wood 401 which was reviewed in detail in the March '54 issue) ternal speaker; plugging into the external speaker jack ... speeds are 3% and 7 2 ips, accommodates 7 -in. reels; built -in does cut out the internal speaker. Trick: if you connect amplifier and speaker. Frequency response: 50 to 10,000 cycles. to a hi -fi system via the earphones jack, you can cut out Distortion: under 3% at 5 watts. Size: 10% by 12% by 15% in. Weight: 31 lbs. Price: $199.50. Address: Crestwood Division, the internal speaker by inserting a phone plug into the Daystrom Electric Corp., Poughkeepsie, N. Y. external speaker jack, with a heavy resistor (such as io watts, 5 to 5o ohms) wired to the plug. As noted above, we reviewed the Crestwood 401 in the Hum level on the 303 may be slightly noticeable at high March issue. The model 303 is so close to the 401 in performance that Crestwood will have to do some price adjusting, we think. The 401 is better quality, built to slightly higher standards: wider and slightly smoother frequency response; less hum, though not much; less wow and flutter; less distortion. And, if the 401 is used with its complementing 402 amplifier- cum -speaker, it will sound better than the 303. But the 303 costs Poo less than the 401 -402 combination. If you're going to use a tape recorder with a hi -fi system, the 401 edges the 303. Never- theless, the 303 has a monitor jack ahead of the power output stage and speaker, for connection into a hi -fi system. This, to our way of thinking, is all -important if a hi -fi system is involved. The 401 has an equalized phono- input channel, which the 303 does not; balance this against separate bass and treble tone controls on the 303 compared with a single, continuous control on the 401. Connections to the 303 are made at the back of the case. This package recorder has an output ahead of the power stage.

SEPTEMBER, 1954 95

www.americanradiohistory.com playback levels when used in conjunction with a hi -fi system. With built -in speaker (a 6 by 9 oval), hum will not be noticed. The 303 is a good buy, either as a "packaged" recorder or as a double -duty one: packaged but able to work with a hi -fi system. It is a close second, in this respect, to the 401. - C. F.

Acoustical Quad II Amplifier Quad II amplifier, quality :nuhol 'wit, pickup m,rt(hing plug. System A number of unusual features are incorporated in this new control, which were evidently well thought out in the SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): complete amplify- design period. The plug -in matching network is a little ing system with separate preamplifier -control unit. CONTROL aluminum can that plugs into a nine -pin socket at the UNIT - Inputs: three total; one compensated for phono cartridge, one high -level for tuner, tape recorder, or TV; third is back of the QC II. This adjusts the sensitivity of the for microphone or another high -level input, depending on plug - phono channel and provides the proper terminating resis- in matching network used. Controls: AC on -off and volume; for the cartridge at the same time; accordingly, Bass ( -13 to +13 db); Treble ( -15 to +13 db); Filter slope; tance Filter range switch. Also six pushbuttons; four at right are for various units are available for different cartridges. Also, phono equalization (COL LP, AES, FFRR 78, STD 78), and each is available in two types, depending on whether the pushing any one or a combination of these puts the phono chan- a or nel in operation; two at left are for selection of remaining two third input channel is to be used with microphone channels. Response: radio inputs, 20 to 20,000 cycles, t .3 db; a high -level source. microphone input, 20 to 18,000 cycles, t 1 db; phono input, with- The real forte of the QC II, however, is its ability to Distortion: on radio in- in .5 db of equalization curve selected. unneces- put with controls level, .02% at 1.4 volts output; worst possible control program noise and distortion without combination of inputs and control settings, less than .1% for sary loss of high- frequency response by means of the 1.4 volts output. Hum and noise: -70 db. Tubes: EF86, ECC83. elaborate filter system. There is a fixed sharp -cutoff filter in. by high by 63,' deep. AMPLIFIER Dimensions: 10% wide 31 - to remove any high- ampli- Power output: 15 watts. Response: 20 to 20,000 cycles, .2 that operates at 20,000 cycles, db; 10 to 50,000 cycles, .5 db. Distortion: less than .1% total tude peaks in the output of wide -range pickups that might at 700 cycles, 12 watts; less than .25% at 25 cycles, 12 watts. cause distortion of the audible signal. In addition, there Maximum intermodulation distortion, not more than .4% at filter by two knobs at the right 15 watts output. Hum and noise: -80 db. Output impedonce: 15 is an adjustable controlled or 7 ohms. Tubes: 2 -EF86, 2 -KT66, GZ32. Dimensions: 13 in. of the panel. Four positions are marked on the switch long by wide by 63. high. Prices: $237.50 total; power am- 4?j knob at the right: io kc., 7 kc., 5 kc., and Cancel. The plifier only, $130.00; control unit only, $120.00. Additional pickup matching plugs, $2.75 each. Manufacturer: Acoustical first three, of course, correspond to the frequencies at which Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Distributors in U. S., Beam Instruments the filter begins to be effective in those positions. In Corp., 350 Fifth Avenue, New York 1, N. Y. the last position all the filters and tone controls are removed from the circuit. The knob just to the left of this more, power amplifiers become closer More and good one is continuously adjustable; it controls the rate of far as the ear can judge. together in performance, so cutoff of the filter beyond the frequency selected. This Therefore let it be said simply that the Quad II unques- rate can be any from zero to 5o db per octave! It can very best power am- tionably belongs in the field of the be seen that the frequency range passed by the amplifier and that our checks plifiers, it has no critical adjustments, can be matched exactly to the quality of the source. With rated, and focus our show it to be quite conservatively practice in their use these controls add much to the en- attention on the control unit. joyment of music. but is supplied The QC II is not a "remote control," No tape output jack is furnished, although instructions plug into the power with two 36 -in. lengths of cable that are given as to how one can be added easily. The process and the audio amplifier. These carry the main AC power does, however, involve a soldering operation. amplifier, and operat- signal from the control unit to the Because the record -equalizer pushbuttons are additive the control unit. The ing power from the amplifier to in their effect when pushed in multiple, all the standard its own. QC II has no power supply of playback curves can be matched. Pushing the three labeled AES, FFRR 78, and STD 78, for instance, yields the RCA - RIAA -NARTB standard curve. A table is furnished with the instructions (they are unusually complete, by the way.) At the end of the control unit are two plug receptacles to furnish operating voltages to tuners or other equip- ments not having power supplies built -in. A nice feature that could often be useful. Some American purchasers might wish for more input channels, and some might object to supplying their own AC power cords after putting $237.50 on the line. But the Insides of the Quad amplifier and control units look like this. Quad II is capable, flexible in adaptation, and generally of

96 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com the highest quality throughout. For deluxe home music Dimensions: 26 in. long by 16% high by 11 % deep. Price: $249.00. Distributed in the United States by: American Elite, Inc., 1775 installations, we it well consider to be worth its cost. - R.A. Broadway, New York 19, N. Y. MANUFACTURER'S COMMENT: Three switched input channels are provided

- - no more are really necessary, surely? ... We do, in (act, now supply power cord, although your comment concerning this point was (air for the unit Even the briefest inspection will lead to the conclusion you received. that the Orchestra is a most unusual table model radio receiver. Its controls, exceptionally complete, are equal to those found on many more pretentious sets. The fre- James B. Lansing Model 34 quency bands covered include most of those of interest Speaker System to the general listener. The manufacturer, if he anticipates an extensive sale of his product in the United States, might SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): a two -way loud- even consider the omission of the long wave band on sets speaker system consisting of the Jim Lansing 130A 15 -in. woofer destined for this country. American transmissions on these and the 175DLH Koustical Lens horn and high frequency driver, in a No. 34 horn- loading enclosure. Acoustic crossover of low - frequencies have, at best, limited appeal. The short wave frequency horn, 150 cycles. Electrical crossover between woofer band might then be divided in two for greater ease in and tweeter, 1,200 cycles. Free -air woofer resonant frequency, tuning. 36 cycles. Power capacity: 25 watts. Impedance: 16 ohms. Dimen- sions: 37 7/8 in. high by 22% deep by 23% wide. Pries: $361.50 Band selection is accomplished by means of four push in mahogany. Manufacturer: James B. Lansing Sound, Inc., buttons, any of which will put the set in operation if it 2439 Fletcher Drive, Los Angeles, Calif. is turned off. A fifth position is provided for phono input. Tuning is controlled by either or both sections of a two - We can sum this up in a part tuning knob. The center section tunes the receiver few words: small (rela- for long wave and standard broadcast, and is the main tively), simple (a 15 -in. tuning control for short wave. The outer knob acts as a woofer plus a tweeter), bandspread on short wave and as the main tuning control sturdy, and sweet. Add: for FM reception. Separate controls for bass and treble excellent projection. By boost are provided, with the treble boost serving also as a we mean sound is that, the selectivity control. pushed out of the cabinet The receiver incorporates a Ferrite rod antenna operative into the room, so that you on both long wave and standard broadcast bands. For don't become cabinet -con- FM reception, there is a built -in dipole. In this location at scious. This effect is hard least, reception was satisfactory on both these frequency to describe; pleasant to ranges without using external antennas. Short wave re- experience. ception was rather less satisfactory under the same condi- Model 3.1. simple. slued), Sweet. Balance between lows tions, but the signal could be improved appreciably by and highs is fine; the tweeter has a three -position level the connection of a simple straight wire outdoor aerial. control, which we think just about essential. The woofer To test performance, the Orchestra was compared in is rear- loaded through a straightforward design (the com- operation with a larger fourteen -tube communications re- pany will be glad to send you specifications and drawings ceiver. The results were very favorable; its ability to pull so you can build your own if you want). The tweeter in a weak signal or to steady a fading one was only slightly takes over around 1,200 cycles. Cabinet contruction is, inferior to that of the larger set. Selectivity was good. as we indicated, exceptionally sturdy. Stability was excellent; no drift was noticed on nineteen Lows hold up well at low volume levels; we'd rough - meters or on FM after one half -hour of operation. estimate the usable bottom at around 45 cycles at normal Insofar as sound is concerned, it is far above usual table- listening levels. The cabinet is totally enclosed so it can be used in any location in the room, though a corner position seems best to help the low end. - C. F.

Telefunken Orchestra Receiver

SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): a table -model four -band receiver. Tunes FM band; Long Wave (145 to 320 kc.), Medium Wave (515 to 1,630 kc.), and Short Wave (16.2 to 50.8 meters) AM bands. Has input for phono pickup (high -level). Antenna connections: Built -in Ferrite rod antenna for MW and LW bands; built-in FM dipole, used for SW AM band also. Ex- ternal antenna connections on back. Speakers: one 7 and one 8!4' in. speaker in parallel; one crystal -type tweeter. Controls: Vol- ume; direction control for Ferrite antenna (has separate indicator); bass; set of eight pushbuttons for turning power off, selecting wave band or phono channel, selecting Ferrite or external antenna; treble; two tuning controls (concentric). Tubas: ECC81, 3 -EF41, ECH81, EABC80, EL12, EM3S, selenium rectifier. A most unusual table model radio receiver; made by Telefunken.

SEPTEMBER, 1954 97

www.americanradiohistory.com model standards. External loudspeaker connections are if a to -ohm resistor were connected across the output from furnished. F. W. the external speaker jack, and this were fed to a hi -fi sys-

MANUFACTURER'S common.: The Telefunken Orchestra, when used in con- tem. junction with a preamplifier and magnetic pickup, reproduces exceptionally well even at excessively low volume. This unit is not designed to fill an audi- Frequency response wasn't specified in the literature we torium. Its prime purpose is good listening at normal or even below normal room volume. It is a very satisfactory unit for apartment dwellers with lim- received, and our simple checks indicated that it was ited space. Service and parts are no problem, as American tubes and parts are inter- limited. More important, of course, is the listening qual- changeable. Service diagram included with each set. ity - and this, as we said before, was not bad. At the price, we'd say that the new Wilcox -Gay recorder is a very good buy. - R. A. Wilcox -Gay 4A10 Recorder

SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): a package -type LEE Catenoid Speaker System tape recorder, with built -in amplifier and speaker. Speed: 7% and 3% ips, double- track. Inputs: one phone -jack microphone SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): a three -way system input, one high -level phono -type input. Controls: single -knob employing a horn -loaded 12 -in. woofer, direct -radiator mid- tone control (effective on playback only); combined AC on -off range speaker, and horn -type tweeter. Woofer is entirely front- and volume control; five pushbuttons, interlocked, labeled loaded by horn designed on the catenary curve. Crossover fre- REVERSE, RECORD, STOP, PLAY, FORWARD. Normal quencies are 300 and 6,500 cycles. Tweeter fed through special and overload indicators of the neon glow type are furnished. equalizing network. Impedance: 8 ohms. Reap : 35 to 15,000 Separate Record lock lever is supplied; this must be operated to cycles, t4 db. Dimensions: 35 in. high and 281/2 in. each side depress RECORD button. Rotating knob to control speed. Ex- from corner. Price: $295.00. Manufacturer: Laboratory of Elec- tension speaker jack is supplied; when this is used, internal speaker tronic Engineering, Inc., 413 L Street, N. W., Washington 1, D.C. is silenced. Microphone is supplied. Remote -control socket is furnished, with a remote -normal switch. Up to 7 -in. reels can There's some interesting be used. Price: $149.95. Manufacturer: Wilcox -Gay Corp., Char- lotte, Mich. design theory behind this enclosure: the horn is of This late model of Wilcox -Gay seems to be greatly im- catenoidal rather than con- proved over previous recorders from that company. Al- ventional design. Without though it still cannot be expected to compare with re- getting into an involved corders costing twice as much, the sound is quite respectable. discussion, this means that The two -speed feature, and the easy method of chang- the rate of flare is slower ing speed, are much to be desired. Furthermore, the opera- . . . the size of the horn tion can be controlled remotely, up to 18 ft. away, with a mouth, at a given distance cable and switch that can be plugged into the recorder. from the throat or loud- The controls are simple and easy to operate - how- speaker end, is smaller. Which means, theoretical- ever, when pressing the STOP button after any mode of New design idea in a bass horn. operation except reverse, be sure to push firmly. The ly, that a catenoidal en- brakes are applied after the drive mechanism is discon- closure will be smaller, for equal results, than one using nected, and if the button is pushed inadvertently only exponential design. half-way, tape is likely to spill out of the reels. If the Inside this enclosure are three speakers: a Iz -in. unit buttons are pushed firmly, the mechanical action is posi- which faces into the catenoidal horn and which carries the tive and fast. frequencies from 3o to about 300 cycles; a direct- radiator In common with other package recorders, the speaker cone, and a horn tweeter, the former covering the range and amplifier are small and of only fair quality. The sound from 30o to 6,5oo cycles and the latter taking over at the is improved radically when a better external speaker is 6,5oo -cycle point. The enclosure looks smaller because plugged in. Still more improvement could be expected the front panel is small, but the unit sits out from the wall quite a distance (it must be used in a corner) and therefore takes up a "normal" amount of floor space. Considering both the size of the enclosure and its cost, we'd say that low frequency response is smooth and goes deeper than normally expected from a 12-in. speaker; middles excellently clean but a little brighter than this writer likes; highs very bright - in the opinion of, again, this writer, in need of a control. - C. F. MANUFACTURER'S COMMENT: We are indeed happy that your comments on the high frequency response were expressed as an opinion only, since the measured response of the system shows no deviations greater than 4 db above the mean. Because of the unusually wide high frequency response, the system might appear to some bit bright. If the middles seem bright, it is as we intended. Production was delayed for months in order to achieve an outstandingly smooth and clean mid -range response. The current Vmd has been to design to a predominance of high treble and bass while neglecting the middle range. If the listener desires to alter the high frequency characteristics to suit his ear, we suggest that this be done by the amplifier controls and not at the speaker which has been factory adjusted for flat response. We appreciate your comments on the system's bass response. A fifteen- inch speaker in a horn will yield only 3 db more sound. In conclusion, we would state that if system measures well it will sound Here's a low-priced tape recorder that sounds reasonably good. well and continue to sound well.

98 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com THESE FACTS AND FIGURES WILL MAKE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC -FOR YOU! Now you can get Frequency Response: 50 to 13,000 cps.

Power Handling Capacity: 12 watts HI -FI in a of program material Impedance: 8 ohms Magnetic Structure: 6.8 oz. Alnico V HATBOX! Flux Density: 13,000 gauss Cone: 8" dia.; moisture resistant; curvilinear with %" dia. voice coil Resonant Frequency: Approximately 75 cps. Sound Pressure Level: At distances from the speaker of 71/z, 15 and 30 ft., the sound pressure levels are 88 db., 82 db., and 76 db., respectively. Meas. urements are made on the speaker axis,

at 1000 cps, free field, input of 1 watt, output in db. above a reference level of .0002 dynes per sq. cm.

Dimensions: 81/8" dia.; 4%" deep. Mounting Dimensions: Eight equally spaced holes on 7 %" dia. bolt circle for mounting purposes. Require 6/" dia. baffle opening.

Weight: 3 lbs.; packed for shipment New low-priced 8" speaker fits 3t/z lbs. cabinet space as small as 1.7 cubic feet Finish: Speaker pan- fine-wrinkle, sil. ver -gray over cadmium plate. Magnetic structure- cardinal red. Here at last is an answer to associate with the name your space problems! Stromberg- Carlson ... at only This sparkling new Strom - $20.00 list. berg- Carlson RF-460 8" Real Hi -Fi Quality -with a re- STROM BERG -CARLSON speaker gives you high fideli- markably low price tag! You SOUND EQUIPMENT DIVISION ty reproduction in an enclo- can actually make the RF460 1222 Clifford Ave., Rochester 21, N. Y. sure measuring only 20 "x10" a part of your Hi -Fi system Please tell me the name of the nearest x15 " -or most other dimen- for less than the cost of 3 or 4 Stromberg. Carlson high fidelity dealer, sions adding up to 1.7 eu. ft. good record albums! so I can see and hear your new RF -460 With a closed -back cabinet Visit your dealer and get 8" speaker. you can use it for just about acquainted with this new 8" any type of installation -book- speaker! If you don't know Name shelf, table, wall, floor or in a who your nearest Stromberg- portable case. Small in size, Carlson dealer is, mail the it still gives you the top quali- coupon at the right today for Address ty reproduction you always complete information.

STROMBERG- CARLSONß city

Zone State

SEPTEMBER, 1954 99

www.americanradiohistory.com SCALA'S QUEEN in THORE3 Continued from page 38 she produces her voice effortlessly, and her mouth scarcely opens; she exclusive seems to be talking; her mind is constantly on the dramatic significance of direct -drive ... the music. Stignani stands four -square, stiff and stern, the disciplined House Mother; Callas leans forward into the the difference music, her elbows propped against the railing. When the passage is over to the ear Stignani simply closes her mouth; Callas shakes her head, frowns and looks ashamedly into the floor, pro- is here... tecting herself against any possible disappointment when she hears the tape. It is a very appealing - and oddly American - gesture. When the duet started, Callas E PA 53 reached over took Stignani's hand, Transcription and Turntable to achieve a closer communion. Sera - fin turned to them with his seraphic smile, and they sang it gorgeously. Then the two engineers came out mut- tering, and began moving microphones, platforms, scores, people. The girls had sung their perfect thirds, but the resultant tones in that oddly- shaped house, with its acoustically treated Rubber belts, pulleys, idler wheels and other wearable elements of friction -drive turn- ceiling and bare walls, had created serious harmonic distortions. Again tables contribute to unwanted noise and pitch variation. There are none of these in a Thorens they sang it, again, and again, per- ... instead the ideals of silence and speed regularity are realized by a direct -drive motor fectly every time, until Legge had the whose speed is perfectly controlled by a governor. You can manually adjust the speed for sounds he wanted. It was an exhaust- "exact pitch" on 78, 45 and 33 -1/3 rpm records. Furthermore, speed is not affected by heat ing day - for Serafin, who is now 76 or load conditions! and feels it; for Stignani, who had postponed an engagement in Rome to finish her part of the recording; for Acting through an electronically balanced rotor shaft further silenced by a mechanical Callas, who was fresh out of a sick- bed; for Meneghini, her husband, who filter, the turntable is kept free of wow or waver. Only direct -drive permits better positioning is always with her when she sings; and and machining of fast -rotating parts, as well as better vibration dampening thus primary - for their chauffeur, a swarthy gentle- sources of rumble are eliminated. In test, a Thorens turntable maintains a noise level of man in puttees, who kept wandering - 48db -.. truly unparalleled performance indeed. in and out of the hall. Bored.

Miss Callas lives in Verona, in the For first installation or replacement, it is certainly worth your while to hear the quality penthouse of a new, six -story apart- of Thorens turntables, players and changers before you make your choice. You will agree, ment house two blocks from the Ro- we know, that at last ... the difference to the ear is here! man amphitheater where, seven years ago, she made her first Italian appearance. (This is one home; she and At leading CD-43 Meneghini also maintain a permanent high fidelity suite in Milan's Grand Hotel, where departments Verdi worked and died.) Her husband See us in Room 751, Palmer House, Write probably owns the whole house; when Chicago Hi -Fi Show, for latest they were married he sold his large Sept. 30, (kt. 1 -2 building materials factory, put all his literature: money into real estate, and turned his Continued on page toz THORENS COMPANY, DEPT. A, NEW HYDE PARK, N. Y.

I00 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com The NEW NATIONAL Y6 !r7-Ven meine of High Fidelity Equipment

c 444 ohms up to For over 40 years, National has been a byword in radio communications (400cps and 7kc mixed 4 /1). Output impedance: 3000 permits ...famous as makers of outstanding equipment for professionals, rodio 50 feet of cable without frequency discrimination. hams, armed forces and other government agencies. This experience and Horizon 5 may be panel -mounted or recessed in Criterion Tuner or Horizon 'know -how' has now been applied to the development of a complete line 20 Amplifier. of high quality audio units embodying the most advanced design ele- with tubes -- $4995 ments and performance features. Complete - -- - (D) CRITERION AM -FM Tuner (A) HORIZON 10 10 Watt Amplifier, with boss and AM and FM sections, each with its own tuning and A complete, self contained power amplifier phono equalizer, Completely independent -level inputs for tuner, tope, etc., Permits simultaneous AM and FM reception for binaural lis- treble, and loudness controls. Has 2 high level controls. for A.E.S., Ortho, and Foreign tening of same or to enable different programs to be fed to and phono input with compensation selector program continuously variable over a range from -}- 11db different points, or recording one while listening to another. records. Tone controls are to -10db at 10,000 cycles, and to 15db at 30 cycles. Exclusive 'Mutamati<' FM tuning eliminates between- stations noise and + to cycles I db. Power response: 20 to hiss. Other FM features include: 0.5 AV sensitivity for 20 db quieting . Frequency response: 20 20,000 ± less than ,5% harmonic, and less than better than 60 db Image rejection ... 4- section tuning capacitor for maxi- 20;000 cycles ±2db. Distortion: watts. mum selectivity ... less than 0.5% audio distortion with modulation up to 2% intermodulation, at 10 125% ... cathode follower output: 2 volts at 600 ohms. Other AM fea- Employs new 'Unity Coupling' circuit as described in Horizon 20 Amplifier. tures include: 10 AV sensitivity for 10 db signal -to -noise ratio . . image ( built- in)...... _.. _ _._$7915 ratio better than 60 db ... less than 1% audio distortion ... cathode fol- Complete with tubes preamp lower output: 2 volts at 600 ohms. (B) HORIZON 20 20 Watt Amplifier A recorder output provides a constant I volt level independent of gain a major design innovation called 'Unity Coup- control setting. Cabinet measures 161/2 x -7t / ". By removing decorative The Horizon 20 embodies this means, the output transformer ris no longer relied upon for face space is provided for recessing and flush -mounting the Horizon 5 ling'. By plate, the tubes, as is the case in normal preamplifier -control unit (as illustrated). distortion cancellation between output push -pull circuits. The transformer simply os an impedance matching (lest Complete with tubes preamplifier) _....$16915 component. In this way, transformer distortion is reduced to a minimum. 20 to (C) HORIZON 5 Preamplifier- Control Unit Other features of the Horizon 20 include: Frequency response from cycles ±,1db and from 10 to 100,000 cycles ±Idb. Power re- TV, 20,000 An unusually flexible, high quality unit with 3 inputs for tuner, phono, watts from 20 to 20,000 cycles ±,15dó and from 10 to 60,000 equalization posi- sponse at 20 tape, or other program sources, and providing 7 phono db. Harmonic distortion is less than .3% at rated 20 watt out- Independent, continuously vari- cycles ±I tions. Each input has gain set adjustment. put, and .6% at 25 watts. Intermodulation distortion is not more than 1./e boost or attenuation from + 25db able bass and treble tone controls permit at 20 watts (400cps and 7kc mixed 4 /1). to -15db at 30 cycles, and from 12db to -25db at 10,000 cycles. Has for matching to either 8 or 16 ohm speaker sys- loudness Control with on /off switch. In 'off' position it acts as conven- Output taps are provided face space is provided for recessing tional Volume Control. tem. By removing decorative plate, and flush mounting the Horizon 5 preamplifier- control unit. In flat position, frequency response extends from 20 to 20,000 cycles _.___. .. _... _...... __58415 ±.25db, and to 100,000 cycles ±1db. Harmonic Distortion: less than .2 Complete with tubes (less preamplifier) volts output. Intermodulation Dis- at 1.5 volts, and less than .6/ at 10 National Horizon High Fidelity Units Employ Printed Circuitry tortion: less than .3% at 1.5 volts, and less thon 1.5% at 10 volts output All New PICKERING New TURN-OVER CARTRIDGE Model 260DS with Diamond MAGNECORD and Sapphire Styli Portable Following the enthusiastic acceptance of the Model 260DD Dual Diamond TAPE RECORDERS Cartridge, Pickering now announces the Model 260DS with Sapphire stylus for standard and Diamond for microgroove. Both cartridges are otherwise identical. Model M -30 Precision built to stand- moving mass Response is smooth and clean from 20 to 20,000 cycles. Lower ards which have gained for Magnecord equipment an important position in and higher compliance provides excellent tracking at low stylus pressure, the professional field, the Model M -30 has been priced within repch of the and good transient response. These and other design features result In lower high fidelity enthusiast, the musician, and others concerned with high harmonic and intermodulation distortion. The Model 260DS fits most pickup quality recording. Frequency response at 71/," /sec. extends from 50 to over arms and operates directly into conventional low -level preamp inputs. 10,000 cycles ±2 db, and at 3s/ " /sec. from 50 to 5000 cycles ±2 db. An motor is employed for excellent speed regulation. An eye Model 260DS- Diamond-Sapphire $4800 oversize, 4 -pole tube permits control of recording level. Model 260DD -Dual Diamond 60.00 Two inputs are provided for recording from high impedance microphone, and from phonograph, rodio tuner, or other high level source. The output is high impedance, and can be fed into any conventional high quality am- New E E C T R Model 666 plifier. A monitoring jack permits the use of earphones or external VU L O -VOICE meter. Uses tope reels up to 7 ", dual -track (full -width track optional). Super -Cardioid Dynamic Weight: 35 lbs. Microphone Supplied with AC cord, 7" take -up reel, and maroon leatherette- covered case measuring 17%/ x111 /.x131/ "...... $29900 A wide- ronge, unidirectional microphone with a sin- M The model M -33 is identical in all respects to the Model gle moving element and featuring unusually high front - Model -33 that is with a built -in amplifier and loudspeaker. to discrimination. Frequency response is niform M -30, except it provided -back for through from 50 to 13,000 cycles. The output impedance is 50 The M -33 is also provided with an output connection playback an ohms with internal provision for easily adjusting to external amplifier system. 150 or 250 ohms. Output is -57 db (Ref. 0 db = a 1 mw /10 dynes/m2). Supplied os the Model M -30 plus The Model 666 is ideal for TV, radio, recording and high quality ceramic microphone .- $32900 other applications calling for high quality, and can be used with boom, floor and table stands, and other microphone mounts. Weighs only 11 ozs. Complete with Stand Coupler and 20 -ft., 2- conductor cable with Cannon UA -3 -11 connector. _... $14700 RADIO Model 366 - Boom Shock -Mount 24.00 COMPANY, INC. Model 420 -Table Stand 12.00 HARVEY

NOTE: Prices Net, F.O.B., N.Y.C. Subject to change without notice. 103 W. 43rd Street, New York 36, N. Y. JUdson 2 -1500

SEPTEMBER, 1954 IOI

www.americanradiohistory.com SCALA'S QUEEN Continued from page zoo

commercial attention to managing his wife's career. eIIe The apartment, like the household, is a handsome blend of Italian and American (Miss Callas, though permanently residing in Italy, retains her U. S. passport and citizenship). The living room is enormous, full of corn - objets d'art Miss 01103 THE RIGHT CHORD fortable furniture and Callas's grand piano at one end; the IN HIGH 21 -inch screen television set at the other. The kitchen is full of chrome FIDELITY gadgets, and Miss Callas trots around in skirt, sweater and flat shoes. There is an exuberant, two -year -old poodle, obviously one of the happiest dogs in AUTY dog -rich Italy. (Miss Callas added to this happiness, and took years from STYLING the lives of EMI's Milan staff, by bringing the poodle with her to the RESPONSE last recording session of Norma.) PRESENCE Around two sides of the living room runs a wide terrace, on which Miss Blond Chordette - Model HF 500 B Callas is presently establishing a gar- Complete with two speaker system den; next year she hopes to have Audiophile Net -554.95 rambler roses. She loves it all: home and husband, tI t a price garden and dog. She loves her car, a remarkable light -green Alfa -Romeo specially made for the Paris Auto YOU CAN AFFORD Salon by Pinin Farina. "You know," she says, "it's very difficult for me. Something new has happened in high fidelity -the Utah If an ordinary artist has a Cadillac, Chordette. A fine piece of functional furniture with how can I have a Cadillac, too ?" a beauty and styling as modern as tomorrow combined She loves her costumes, many of which with a two -way high fidelity sound system designed for those who demand fine reproduction. The new Chordette are her property, made by her own is truly a space saver -it can be used as a chair couturier; she loves her large personal side or end table, bookshelf -or without the leg wardrobe. In short, she loves all the assembly -be mounted vertically. The fine woods and appurtenances of her great success; tasteful design of the Chordette- whether you select a she worries about them; she works model in blonde korina, mahogany or rich cherry will complement and grace your decor -excite the envy terribly hard. and admiration of your friends. The new Chordette "Every year," she said, "I must be is truly a master achievement in the art of woodworking better than the year before. Every and sound engineering -and at a price you can afford. year I must have an even greater career. Otherwise, I'd retire. I don't need the See and Hear the New Chordette at Your Local Hi Fi Headquarters money. I work for Art. But also I work for a great success." ASK FOR A DEMONSTRATION OF ALL THE HIGH FIDELITY MODELS IN THE UTAH PERSONALITY SERIES TRIO * BRILLANTE * CONCERTO * QUARTETE Have you noticed * SQUIRE AND MATCHING ESQUIRE our money- saving In the Squire you can enclose your tuner, amplifier and record changer -all in one cabinet. group subscription rates? RADIO PRODUCTS CO., INC. See bind -in opposite page 121. U50 WASHINGTON STREET HUNTINGTON, INDIANA

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE I '1

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Mail this coupon today! r PRESTO RECORDING CORPORATION, HIGH FIDELITY SALES DIV. PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY Please send me illustrative data and specifications on the new, improved Presto T -15 turntable. ~eJ RECORDING CORPORATION NAME PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY ADDRESS

Export Division: 25 Warren Street, New York 7, N. Y. CITY Canadian Division: Walter P. Downs, Dominion Square Bldg., Montreal ZONE STATE

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www.americanradiohistory.com ADVENTURERS

Continued from page 41.

of the Berlioz Requiem at the Hippo- drome, "in honor of the dead of all nations." In 1917 he met and successfully alte essence courted his American wife. With that cMatii, much accomplished, he proceeded to character initiate New York into the mysteries and lite o/ of the New Music, domestic and im- ported. Satie, Honegger, Poulenc, BELL High Fidelity Amplifiers Milhaud, Bartok, Hindemith, Webern, Berg, Schönberg, Ives, Ruggles, Rieg- ger, Chavez and Revueltas were among those heard for the first time at con- Quality of components is the basic necessity for certs of his International Composers achieving true high fidelity in any custom music system. Guild in the early Roaring Twenties, Such quality is an essential characteristic of the "The present -day composer refuses to famous family of Bell Amplifiers, and is typified in die!" proclaimed his militant manifesto. a new member with outstanding Model 21998 - There were outraged counter -cries features and an economical price. In this versatile - of pain - when his own Amériques 12-watt amplifier, you will find a combination had its premiere, under Stokowski, in of features to answer your every need. Complete Philadelphia. " Amériques Brings Hiss- control to suit your individual taste is included, through es At Academy" and "Catcalls Greet a seven -position selector switch with equalization, Orchestral Work" were headlines that a continuously variable loudness control, bass ushered in the second, fully -ripened and treble tone controls with boost and attenuation, stage of the Varèsian style. One critic, and gain control. aghast at the introduction of a siren, said it "seemed to depict the progress of a terrible fire in one of our larger zoos." Other reviewers took up their cudgels on Varèsé s behalf, perhaps concerned lest history repeat itself again. In the sonorities of Arcanes Pitts Sanborn heard "a subterranean effect, as of blind tumultuous labors in the secret places of the earth." In the same piece, Paul Rosenfeld sensed "the force which thrusts up towers of steel and stone to scrape the clouds." ;4> For him, too, Varèse was "the latest of the great Romantics." _. * ' , 40 ..1° , Hyperprism, Integrales, Equatorial, Io- 00 .0°' , nization and Octandre encountered the fierce of partisanship in + same storms ` the Twenties and Thirties. Varèse / thinks the reception of Deserts will run true to form. Yet not so long ago he See the complete line of Bell Hi-Fidelity Amplifiers at your electronics dealer, or write for details. had the satisfaction of reading that Ionization, of 1931, was repeated after Io rounds of applause at a University in Illinois Festival, leading Virgil of BELLSystems, stems, Inc. Thomson to report that he thought the Subsidiary of Thompson Products, Inc. score was about to become a classic. 555 -57 Marion Rd., Columbus 7, Ohio "How do you think I feel when I Export Officer 401 Broadway, N. Y. 13, N. Y. see my old ideas fulfilled ?" Varèse asks excitedly. "Last year the Radio - CABLE: UNIONTEX Continued on page Io6 10 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com SI \I.I; the advent of the first Audax CHROMATIC, other pickups have appeared claiming to equal this superb reproducer in performance. However, the famous CHROMATIC performance still stands alone - NOT equalled by any other pickup. The new Hi -Q7 ". . . . about a year ago you wrote me that you CHROMATIC model delivers the same high quality were then working on a new model reproducer performance but with higher voltage output. As on with higher voltage output that would work with all CHROMATIC models, the styli are independently my weak amplifier. Any news on this? My replaceable. But, only YOU can decide what sounds friend has an Audax CHROMATIC and I am best -therefore hear either of the two CHROMATIC most anxious to be able to use one...." models, and you be the It a letter) Judge. Yet Audax costs no more than ordinary magnetic pickups. The newly developed high voltage Audax Hi -Q7 cartridge is our answer. Write for FREE "Electronic Phono Facts ".

Watch for early announcement of the new revolutionary Micro -Poise AUDAK COMPANY 500 Fifth Avenue Dept. HF New York 36, N. Y. Creators of Fine Audio- Electronic Apparatus for Over 25 Years "he Standard l j Tilhich Others Are fiadged and Valued

SEPTEMBER, 1954 Ios

www.americanradiohistory.com ADVENTURERS Performance neuer before possible Continued from page 104 diffusion Francaise performed my In- tegrales in a way I only dreamed of when I wrote the piece in 1924. The net effect was just about as I'd conceived it." How was that? "Well, THE new cro{fsmen C1000 to give you an idea ... in our musical system we deal with quantities whose values are fixed. In the realization I dreamed of, the values would be changing constantly in relation to a constant. In other words ..." and at this point he casts a probing glance at his listeners to see whether they're still,following, "this would be like a series of variations where changes would result by slight alteration of the form of a function, or by the transposition of one function into another." Greeted by blank stares, Varèse shifts into analogue. "Let me make myself clearer," he says hopefully, "Let's make it simple. It's easier to visualize in space. Think of the chang-

Here is the finest FM -AM Tuner ever made.... The new Craftsmen C1000 is the ing projection of a geometrical figure entire control center for the finest high fidelity system, combining in one chassis and plane moving in space, but each a superlative FM -AM Tuner and equaliser- preamplifier. The C1000 affords greater sensitivity, more features and flexibility and the highest standard performance with its own arbitrary and varying ever attained! speeds of translation and rotation." pass and FM sensitivity of 1 mv. for 20 db quieting but with wide band characteristics (At this juncture, if Mrs. Varèse is excellent discriminotor lineority for undistorted performance. AFC for simplified tuning and freedom from drift may be switched out if desired. listening, she will excuse herself and Two AM band width positions: "Sharp" for noisy areas and DX -ing and "Broad" tiptoe upstairs.) "The instantaneous for high fidelity local reception. Bandwidth: FM -200 KC; AM -13KC and 5KC. 10 kc Tuned RF stoges and separate triode converters assure low noise level. A form of the projection is determined whistle filter eliminates adjacent channel interference. by the relative orientation between the The audio circuit affords input for mognetic or voriable reluctance cartridges, four positions of record equalization, separate boss and treble tone controls each figure and the plane at the moment," recorder and TV. giving 15 db boost and ottenuotion and input positions for tope Varèse continues doggedly. "Yes? Frequency response: FM -20 to 20,000 cps '/e db. AM -20 to 5,000 cps '/s db. Dis- tortion: 0.05% IM at 11/2 volts; Harmonic content negligible. New beauty of design If you now allow both plane and odds refreshing smartness to room interiors, even when used without cabinet installation. figure to have motions of their own, The 01000 116 tubes, including rectifier). $179.50 net. you can produce a highly complex The C1000 is indeed a true audio control center. and seemingly unpredictable picture with the projection. Then you can heighten the effect by letting the form new C550 30 watt amplifier of the geometric figure vary as well A basic h.qh LOal.t 000:0 amb.;lier, without controls. For use with high fidelity tuners or preamplifiers such as its speed ..." os the C1000 or C350. 30 full watts of audio with only 1 /10 of 1% har- "Anyway, I planned Integrales for monic and Yx of 1%a IM distortion. Exclusive thermal time delay provides complete protection of spatial projection in sound, but with power supply: the same type of time delay used in broadcast transmitters. New circuit design end certain acoustical media that weren't con materials provide exceptional stability margins and extended range. Power response: 10 to 50,000 then in existence. I knew they could cps 0.1 db at 30 watts. FR 0.1 db 20 to 20,000 cps at 1 w. Damping factor 32:1. 16 tubes including KT66 out- be built and would be available sooner put tubes, rectifier and thermal time delayl C330 $109.60 net or later. They are now," What he'd like to see developed in the near future are electronic instruments tuned See and hear these outstanding new Craftsmen devel- to scales outside the traditional sys- at your Radio Parts Distributor. opments tem of equal temperament. He'd like For complete information on C1000 request Bulletin to unravel the tightly -knit and highly 503; on C550 ask for Bulletin 504. practical arrangement put forward by Johann Sebastian and his Well -tem- The Radio Craftsmen, Inc. Dept. F -9 pered Preludes and Fugues. Varèse 4403 N. Ravenswood Ave. Chicago 4D, III. has recently been scale -tampering in

I o6 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com theory with the help of engineers and mathematicians. Graphs, charts and scratch pads covered with equations a new concept of audio control and logarithmic spirals, the evidence of his latest project, are strewn over his desk in comfortable disorder. The studio where the composer Now works and teaches takes up most of the r ground floor of the Sullivan Street .-..a.. house the Varèses have owned for .-.. 3o years. It overlooks a quiet garden, and contains paintings by several old friends, including Alexander Calder, Fernand Leger, and Marcel Duchamp. THENE A sign above the naked high -fidelity components in one corner warns "Do w craftsmen Not Touch." Percussion instruments by the dozen are scattered on tables C350 EQUALIZER- PREAMPLIFIER and in cupboards: A gleaming brass NOW Craftsmen offers the high fidelity artillery shell casing; a zinc- and -copper ... enthusiast the finest, most advanced preamplifier ever built - featuring hinged tone controls - a Craftsmen exclusive that "xylophone" made with a local plum- produces clean, smooth changes in bass and treble with unbelievable clarity. The sharp ber's help; and two ancient Chinese shelving contours and resulting transient distortion prevalent in conventional pre-amplifiers ore completely eliminated. For the first time, a tone control system is offered that gongs, whose glorious sonorities the allows really accurate balancing of highs and lows, doing away with the "not just right" owner will gladly demonstrate for feeling that so often occurs with even the finest high fidelity systems. The C350 is designed and engineered to provide every essential feature of an audio control center. special visitors. Tapping softly around Complete flexibility, extreme accuracy, and negligible distortion are the qualities which the rim with a padded stick, he ex- make the C350 outstanding. C350 Net price $129.50 plains lovingly, "You must always caress them first, to warm them up." One cabinet holds a set of wood- block resonators, double -ended with a short handle between, that Varèse strikes delightedly, looking like a weight- lifter receiving inspiration from a bar -bell. These and a drawer -full of shining percussion sticks, or claves, were a gift from Fulvio Pardini, a violin -maker from Tuscany who still plies his ancestral craft in back of a Sixth Avenue cabinet shop. Fulvio is deeply grieved whenever Varèse expounds his ideas on the role of string instruments in the new music to come. (They're an "anachronism. ") To allay his fears, the composer con- cedes that "all that exist should remain - the old instruments for the old music, naturally. I'm really a conservative," he smiles reassuringly, C375 FILTER SYSTEM "enough so that I want to go back and A new sharp cut -off filter system featuring ten positions of cut -off action. resurrect the original instruments of The C375 effectively reduces hum, turntable rumble, hiss, record scratch and sub -sonic surges which are often present in broadcasts and recordings. Monteverdi's time - for playing Mon- The C350, together with the Craftsmen C375 filter system, teverdi." affords every conceivable type of audio control. The with orches- trouble standard The C375 will be available at your high fidelity dealer about November 15. trations? "They strive always for a blending of colors." What an audi- You can hear the difference at your radio parts distributor. ence should really be made to hear are For complete information send for bulletin 502. the utmost differences of colorings and densities, Varèse insists, staring The Radio Craftsmen, Inc. Dept. F -9 off into some new spatial projection. 4403 N. Ravenswood Ave. Chicago 40, Ill. Continued on page 108

SEPTEMBER, 1954 ID7

www.americanradiohistory.com ADVENTURERS

Continued from page 107 AND YOU WILL CHOOSE . . To Fulvio's joy, Varèse will soon be faced with the problem of writing for fiddles, the first time in 40 years, since his next score has been commissioned by and for the Louisville Orchestra, which includes strings. He is not in the least discomfited. "Don't worry, I'll find a new use for them as sus- tainers of tone," he says, breaking into hearty laughter. "Go ahead and laugh," he orders, wagging his fore- finger, "it's the only internal massage man has at his disposal."

IN ONE EAR

Continued from page 48

After World War II, the Musikverein, musical term - wan nroadth and dignity." apparently tired of the whole hassle, agreed to hand the skull over to the New Specially Designed Horn -loaded High Fidelity Speaker System Esterhazy family so that it could be reinterred at Eisenstadt in the nice, The Largo is a complete wide range speaker system utilizing the new Permoflux 8V81 Super Royal Eight speaker and 32 KTR Super elaborate sarcophagus built for the Tweeter in an acoustically advanced enclosure scientifically matched headless Haydn in 1932. But just as to the speaker characteristics. The enclosure is an entirely new and unique horn -loaded non resonant baffle with horn loading of the the transfer had been arranged, the speaker back wave accomplished in the cabinet base. Every inch of present Prince Esterhazy, a Hungarian the cabinet construction serves an acoustically useful purpose. Baffle and speaker characteristics were matched octave by octave citizen, was arrested, along with Josef through laboratory tests to provide undistorted reproduction of all Cardinal Mindszenty, and sentenced to frequencies from 35 cycles to 16.000 cycles. Power handling capacity is 15 watts. A high frequency balance control is provided for matching fifteen years in prison. Now, at long, individual room characteristics. long last, Haydn is one again, and Its low contemporary styling is gracefully proportioned for decorative blending with the finest room decor. Precision constructed of unless the Russians let something selected f Mahogany and Korina veneers. happen to him, there he will stay in A Permoaux Exclusive: Special connection for headset extension cord for private listening and hard of hearing music lovers. the Eisenstadt church until judgment The Iargo...Audiophile Net Price $99.75 day comes round. The tale of Haydn's head is perhaps Enclosure styled by Contemporary American Furniture. the most elaborate of the lot, but there at- Th. Fortissimo -A 2 -way multiple speaker system. does seem to be something that Unique "New Dual Driving Point" Enclosure Design tracts misfortune to the remains of surpasses bass and mid -range performance of finest 12 and 15 inch systems. With 2 Super Royal 8 the musical great. For instance, Bach speakers and Super Tweeter. Cabinet beautifully quietly on July 31, styled in Mahogany or Korina Blonde veneers. (J. S.) was buried Audiophile Net Price $218.00 1750, beside the Johanniskirche, just The Otmineette -A 2 -way speaker system featuring beyond the east wall of the city of full high fidelity performance with minimum cabinet size and low cost. With 2 Royal 6 speakers and Leipzig There he remained for two Super Tweeter. In Mahogany or Blonde finish. sort of marker. Audiophile Net Price $49.30 centuries without any Finally, a plaque was put up on the Visit your Hi -Fi dealer for a demonstration; also hear the New Super Royal Speaker (8. 12, and 15 inch sixes). south wall of the church. The plain fact is that nobody knew exactly where Send today for complete descriptive literature. Bach's bones lay. In 1894, the church was restored, and excavating workmen a skeleton 4916 West Grand Avenue brought up a box containing P.Vvm was exhaustive research ") Chicago 39, Illinois that ("after CORPORATION decided to be that of Bach. Bach or Continued on page Ito West Coast Plant 4101 San Fernando Road Glendale 4, California

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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Used with or without cabinet, this fine Farman- kardon The new MELODY C -100 is only 31/4" tuner reflects the important new trend high, 121/2" wide and 71/4" deep. This toward functional, compact beauty in "flat" silhouette sleek - compact - brushed copper and high fidelity equipment. The new black silhouette houses a remarkable THEME is housed in a sleek brushed IO watt ultra -linear Williamson ampli- copper cage, set off by a handsome cop- fier and complete preamplifier. per escutcheon on a black display panel. 4" high, 121/2" wide and 71/4" deep. it The preamplifier incorporates the fa- includes a dual purpose AM antenna - mous Harman -Kardon Dynamic Loud- carrying handle. ness Contour Control which permits you to listen at living room volume In every technical detail, the A -300 with the full richness you normally ex- THEME is outstanding. Armstrong perience only at high volume levels. FM with sensitivity that achieves the Full selectable record equalization (in- theoretical maximum AM reception cluding the new RIAA Curve) compen- which is cleats. quiet between stations Deluxe AM -FM Tuner and Ultra Linear sates correctly for the characteristics and unusually efficient Precision fly- of more than 30 recording labels. Sep- wheel tuning on both AM and FM "Williamson" Amplifier- engineered arate bass and treble controls each pro- Dramatically effective Automatic Fre- and styled to function separately yet vide 32db of control. Frequency quency Control for ease of tuning and - matched to look and perform as a single response is flat within 1/2 db from 10 freedom from drift Cathode follower to 40,000 cycles. output magnificent unit, when preferred. Price $74.50 2: 5575.50) complete. Price $115 (Zone 2: $1 16.50). complete. (Zone

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Buffalo, N. Y. New York. N. Y. Yonkers, N. Y. Chicago, Illinois Hollywood, California Montreal. Canada RADIO EQUIPMENT CORP. FEDERATED PURCHASER WESTLAB NEWARK ELECTRIC CO. HOLLYWOOD ELECTRONICS CANADIAN ELECTRICAL 147 Genesee Street 7475 66 Dey Shwa, Central Ave. 223 W. Madison St. 7460 Melrose Avenue SUPPLY CO. Madison 9676 9-3050 Spencer 9.6400 Digby State 2-2950 Webster 3 -8208 275 Craig Street, W. Empire State's Also Newark, Easton, In Westchester, It's Westlob Write For Hi-Fi Components Exclusively University I -2411 High Fidelity Center Angeles Allentown, Los Complete HiFi Catalog Toronto and Edmonton Branches

Philadelphia, Pa. New York, N. Y. Washington, D. C. Chicago, Illinois Pasadena, California .. HARMAN- ICARDON, Inc. RADIO ELECTRIC HUDSON RADIO ELECTRONIC WHOLESALERS VOICE AND VISION, INC. HIGH FIDELITY HOUSE 52 West Houston St.. HF-1 SERVICE CO. & TELEVISION CORP. 2345 Sherman Avenue, N. W. 53 East Walton 536 South Fair Ooks I New York 12, N. Y. 709 Arch Street 48 West 48 Street Hudson 3 -5200 Whitehall 3.1166 Ryan 1 -8171 I Send literature on "Festival" to: Lombard 3 -7390 Circle 6-4060 For Everything In Audio High Fidelity Exclusively World's Finest Music Systems, I Name Allentown 8 Easton Branches 3 Metropolitan Area Salesrooms Street

I City . Zone State.. www.americanradiohistory.com IN ONE EAR Magnecord Continued from page ro8 no Bach, they put it in a limestone the professional tape recorder tomb under the altar of the Johannis- kirche. During the latest war, the now available for home use Johanniskirche was bombed out. When digging out began a great dispute arose: Should Bach be left where he was; should Bach be removed to the Thomaskirche, where many of his great sacred works were first performed; or should a centrally located tomb be built as a civic monument. What did finally happen about that? And - ask this only in a still, small voice - are the bones in the tomb really those of Bach? And Liszt. Why should he have M30 been buried at Bayreuth in the first place - except that his daughter Cosi- for home school ma (ultimately) Wagner said that this and was "also wholly the wish of the great the first professional tape but modest departed "? Offhand, Bayreuth would seem a most unlikely recorder at a popular price resting place for Liszt, and there have always been agitations to move his bones (assuming that they are just bones by now) to various other places - to Weimar (because of historic as- sociations); to Hungary (because he was Hungarian); to Rome (presumably the same because he became an abbé). And so on. Why not put his bones in a great fine quality rocket and shoot them into outer space; he was born "in the year of as the the great comet," wasn't he? As for poor Mozart, nobody knows M80 where he lies. He was buried in a choice of pauper's field during a heavy snow- storm. His wife was too ill to attend. broadcasters When she recovered sufficiently to search for his grave, the man who had research men dug it had gone away, and no one and engineers could give her any idea where her husband lay. Haydn, his head at last rejoined to his body, lies in a carved tomb. Bach - if Bach it is - has his bones made the subject of Model M33, slightly higher in price than the M30, civic acrimony. Liszt is claimed by has built -in speaker. Look for your Magnecord the points of the compass to which he dealer's name in the classified telephone directory. travelled. But Mozart, the flesh and bones of Mozart, vanished at once into the earth that made them. He was and is his music, and nothing corporeal is inagr, e cord, iric. left to obscure the fact. There is, 225 WEST OHIO STREET after all, a kind of superior dignity in CHICAGO 10, ILLINOIS DEPT. HF -9 that.

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com ACOUSTICAL

BEAM QUAD II AMPLIFIER & CONTROL UNIT

BRINGS YOU THE FINEST

QUALITY, VALUE and PERFORMANCE

Finest in appearance ... efficient in design ... superb in performance and workmanship ... this is the British -made Acoustical Quad II Amplifier and Q.C. II Control Unit. "This unit should satisfy The Quad features high sensitivity from 1.5MV., full - the most critical..." range fidelity, 10 to 60,000 cps., within sfi db; independent Equipment Report, AUDIO, May, 1954 harmonic filtering, freeing bass and treble controls for setting perfect musical balance without distortion or loss of Add the graceful, richly finished styling - the most harmonics; push -button equalization and channel selec- functional in high fidelity today - and you have good rea- tion; plug -in matching to your choice of pick -up, automat- son to see and hear the QUAD at your earliest opportunity. ically correcting for best sound, least noise; adjustable net bandwidth and slope of roll -off; stable balanced feedback System Complete $237.50 throughout, and a full 15 watts of audio output 20- 20,000 Quad II Amplifier alone $130.00 net cps. from the 14 section output transformer. Q.C. II Control Unit alone $120.00 net

STENTORIAN Full-range high fidelity loudspeakers in a wide range of types and sizes, FULL RANGE SPEAKERS for every audio purpose - these are the British -made W/B Stentorian speakers. Never before has such superb response, dynamic realism and high magnet sensitivity been achieved in a speaker anywhere near the Stentorian's prices. No speaker at any price has all the exacting precision features of the Stentorian Duplex Twin -Concentric 12" and 10" models: patented LF diaphragm of impregnated uncured cambric, die - cast chassis; phase -matched high frequency horn formed by machined magnet center pole; frequency response 20 to 20,000 cps; bass resonance 35 cps.; and built -in crossover network. 12" Duplex model, (20- 20,000 cps), 15 watts, $99.50. 10" Duplex model, (30- 16,000 cps), .10 watts, $44.50. All W/B Stentorian are beautifully finished in crackle gold. All voice coil and input impedances are 15 ohms.

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Beam also brings you a complete line of extended range, high fidelity Stentorian direct radiators; all with the new patented W B diaphragm. Audition and compare them for price and performance to prove their outstanding value: Model HF 12135', 25- 14,000 cps, STENTORIAN CROSSOVER BEAM STENTORIAN 12 ", $39.50, 15 watt; HF 1012', HF TWEETERS NETWORK HIGH FIDELITY 18" WOOFER 30- 14,000 cps, 10 ", $14.95, 10 3,000- 20,000 cps. Crossover at 3000 ENCLOSURES Giant of pure 1F watt; HF 912', 40- 13,000 cps, 9 ", Hear the difference. cps. 15 ohm input Corner and wall bass sound, 2'2 voice $11.55, 7 watt; HF 810, 50- 12,000 T -10, 5 watt, $17.95 and both output ire reflex types. Gibral- coil, 25 -6,000 cps. cps, 8 ", $8.95, 5 watt; HF 610, 112,15 watt,$45.00 pedances. $7.25 tar construction, su Die -cast chassis. 30 60- 12,000 cps, 6 ", $6.95; HF 510, perb finishes, perfect watt rating. Crackle 100 -12,000 cps, 5 ", $6.55. Send for complete literature acoustical designs gold finish. $139.50 `Precision Die -Cast chassis. on these superior audio products from $89.50 BEAM INSTRUMENTS CORPORATION 350 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 1, N. Y. AEIimEwrfb. These fine beam products are available at all better audio dealers.

SEPTEMBER, 1954 III

www.americanradiohistory.com IN DEFENSE

Continued from page 36

our people is sparse and in the main FIDELITY derisory. The music -loving part of MIMI :sOssNa 1/0/71 OF SOUND them depend on records. Even if it were invariably true that the live performance was liver than the recorded AXIETTE 101 one, the contrast of the respective 8" Single Cone Loudspeaker repertories, live and recorded, so pre- posterously favors the latter that this The need for a reasonably -priced and medium sized high - basic advantage outweighs any disad- fidelity loudspeaker has been met by the Research vantage that could be urged against it. I aboratories of Goodmans Industries who are There are three times as many composi- constantly in touch and, indeed, in sympathy tions capably available now on records with the requirements of the high- fidelity as all the symphony orchestras in the enthusiast. To a certain extent this demand country will play during the next five can be related to the present -day years. There are on records hundreds restrictions on living space and the fact that enthusiasts are seeking a loud- of works that have never been publicly speaker which, when suitably housed, performed in the country. Records will occupy the minimum of space, hold an abundance of music which the and yet still faithfully reproduce their phonograph's critics have never heard particular choice of music. elsewhere and never will. What is From the start it was decided that piffle to piffle about this achievement? the new loudspeaker would be Those Bach cantatas might indeed be housed on an 8 in. chassis and better in public performance, but they to set a really new trend, a special are not performed: piffle extols the hyperbolic cone was designed. nihil, the very void, above the brilliant actuality. SPECIFICATION There is the old distaste for "canned" Frequency Ru.Re 40- 15,000 e/s music. Fundamental Resonance 6S c/s (nominal) Voire (oil Diameter 1 in. (2.5 ems.) There is the predilection of many for Voice Impedance IS ohms. Coil a Flu: Density 13,500 gam. music as social lacquer. Subscrip- Total Flu: 51,200 Maxwell. tions to the opera and the symphony Maximum Power Dandling 5 walla peak A.C. a cachet Overall Diameter 81 io. (20.63 ems.) orchestra are supposed to give Overall Depth 311 in. (10 ems.) of social savoir-faire. The phonograph, Baffle (tole Dian 7 in. (17.8 ems.) hidden at home, used for personal Mounting Doles 4 lots 1 in. (9.3 mm..): j, in. (5.5 mme.) egnispaeed on delectation and not personal adver- 71 in. (19.36 ems.) P.C.D. tising, with this as- Nett Weight 31 lbs. (1.47 kg..) cannot compete Finish Grey Rivelling Enamel pect of art. There is an impatience with gad- AUDIOPHILE NETT PRICE $ 2 1 .3 0 getry, among the most gadget- ridden people in the world, that permits them to sniff at the necessary controls of a -fidelity although Exclusively Distributed by: - - high phonograph, WEST EAST HOLLYWOOD ELECTRONICS their motor cars have more controls, GOODY AUDIO CENTER INC. 7460, Malrosa A and give out noise and stink, and kill. 235, West 49th St., NEW YORK 19, N.Y. LOS ANGELES 46, CAL. There is deafness. SOUTH & SOUTH- It'N.'ST: ('A.VADI AN SALES OFFICE: HIGH FIDELITY SSS A. C. SIMMONDS a SONS LTD., There is in some quarters a resent- 606, Peachtree SI., N.E., ATLANTA, GA. 100, Marten St., TORONTO 17 ment that a sanctum has been invaded by the vulgar, as if the Ponte Vecchio were worse for being looked at. There is the distress - and this is natural if not commendable - of conservative musicians and music- lovers at the relentless irruption of a great new force in their ordered world. There is a healthy disaffection for fads and hobbies, but high fidelity's GOODMANS INDUSTRIES LTD., AXIOM WORKS, WEMBLEY, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND Continued on page IIS

II2 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com A REED IS A REED IS A REED ... if it's recorded on Soundcraft magnetic recording tape

A reed is never Pre -Coated adhesive applied directly to Soundcraft LIFETIME" Tape for priceless re- a flute ... or a flue base-firmly anchors the oxide in place. cordings. For rigorous use. For perfect pro- pipe. So. to be sure of Surface -lubrication on both sides! No fric- gram timing. It's on a base of DuPont capturing all the haunting tion, no chatter, no squeal. "Mylar" Polyester Plastic. A third as strong brilliance of reed instruments - as steel. Store it anywhere. Guaranteed for a and the full range of sounds of the entire Chemical balance throughout to prevent lifetime. orchestra always use Soundcraft Tapes! cupping, curling, peeling, chipping. - ±% Get the Soundcraft Recording Tape von Why? Uniform output of db. within a reel, need today. Your dealer has it. --% db. reel -to -reel. Because Soundcraft Tapes, and only REEVES Soundcraft Tapes, combine: SOUNDCRAFT TAPES FOR rRit Constant depth oxide for uniform middle - EVERY PURPOSE and low- frequency response. Soundcraft Tape for all high -fidelity record- SOUNDCRAFT

Micro -Polished coating, a patented ing. CORP . Dept. F9 process Soundcraft that eliminates unnec- Soundcraft Professional Tape for radio, TV 10 East 52nd St., N. Y. 22, N. Y. essary head wear and gives uniform high - and recording studios. Splice -free up to 2400 eit frequency response right from the start. feet. Standard or professional hubs. F O R E V E R Y S O U N D R E A S O N THE WO4,_D'S FINEST TAPES...YET THEY COST NO MORE

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Fleetwood delivers the same bright, clear picture you see on professional TV station monitors, such as the makers of Fleetwood supply to major networks. Designed for custom installation with your hi -fi equipment, Fleetwood supplies audio power for your speaker and has high fidelity audio outputs to connect with your sound system. Enjoy luxurious convenience, too, with the separate remote control tuner which may be mounted 40 feet or more from the picture chassis. Of the Super Cascode type, this tuner adapts readily to U.H.F. And it has an edgelit dial, individual channel pilot lights, as well as off -on, volume, picture channel selection and fine tuning controls. Available for 21 ", 24" and 27" rectangular tubes, Fleetwood receivers employ 27 tubes exclusive of the picture tube. Four I. F. stages afford four megacycle bandpass. Gold colored hinged escutcheon plate for picture chassis permits easy access to secondary controls. Both units come attractively finished in grey and black baked enamel. Fine Fleetwood performance features are also available in other models without remote control. Prices start at $199.50. Write today for complete information and name of dealer nearest you.

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ll4 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com IN DEFENSE

Continued from page rrz

by L. H. Bogen rugged establishment and deep appeal Member. Audio Engineering Society are the oppposite of evanescent. It is Vice President. David Bogen Co.. Inc. certainly here to stay, and it is the hope of us who have been with it from the beginning and are its devoted disciples, to make it perfect. We are Lebensraum: 6" not deaf to its shortcomings and we These new Bogen space savers (and cabinet savers) hate certain collateral abuses, but we may be the answer to your installation problem will hear no nonsense from those who, like the categories specified above, If you haven't started drilling holes have the temerity to exalt their per- yet, stop! We may have a solution to your installation problem that is sim- sonal physical or temperamental in- pler and neater. capacities as a basis to destroy what The solution lies in the shape and they incompletely comprehend. form of our new Bogen R640G tuner We should also like to castigate and and DB15G amplifier. Low -slung, smartly encased and closely -matched evict from the temple of music those esthetically as well as electronically, New Bogen harpies who prey on it, especially those you can take them out of the carton, R640G FM-AM tuner whose savage exploitation slip them right into your book case... commercial Like an R604 tuner of inferior equipment as "high fidelity" and you're in business. All they require is a meager 6" of head room. that somebody sat on has embittered thousands and bewil- Or, if you plan to have a cabinet or a The R640 FM -AM Tuner offers a dered millions. Continued debasement built -in installation, you can purchase sensitivity of 5 microvolts for 30 db may make of the phrase indicating an the R640 and DB15 in chassis form quieting. FM frequency response is 50- 15,000 cps ± 1 db. Stability is com- ideal a heartfelt curse. The responsible and mount them pickaback in a space only 12" high, 131/2" wide and about parable to the well -known Bogen R604 members industry, who are the of the 9" deep! tuner, with automatic frequency con- majority, must prevail in compelling trol and temperature -stabilized oscil- adherence to clearly- defined standards lator preventing drift and eliminating warm -up period. We have also added by those who may use the phrase an AFC -defeat switch. "high fidelity." The foxes within the Value is in the Bogen tradition (you industry give some justification to the can pay more but you can't buy bet- croakers without. "High fidelity," ter listening) : in continued debasement, will soon R640 FM -AM Tuner chassis....$105.50 R640G metal case) 112.95 mean exactly what "phonograph" New Bogen (in DB15G amplifier DB15 Amplifier chassis 89.95 means, no more, unless its precious DB15G (in metal case) 99.00 implications are protected by its guar- The beautiful thing about this com- Your favorite sound room should have dians. pactness is that it has been achieved them by the time you read this. without sacrificing performance by The ideal of High Fidelity was to even one -tenth of a decibel. reproduce sound as it was sounded, Have you sent for a copy of Circuit based on "Understanding High Fidelity"? and music as it was written. Sometimes the famous Bogen DB2O the ideal was realized so nearly, in a Louis Biancolli and 1 have The DB15 incorporates the Partial written this 48 -page book combination of transmission (radio or Cathode Loading circuit first used in with the idea of providing. record) and reproduction, that the re- our famous DB20 amplifier. Harmonic in about 2 hours' reading is less 1% at 15 watts; time, a theoretical and prac- creation was accepted as an unques- distortion than tical ground -work for the intermodulation distortion and fre- gran who is serious about tioned truth. The immediate impact of quency response are of laboratory Custom hi-fl. For a copy of true High Fidelity allows no doubt standard level. "Understanding High Fi- delity". mail the coupon and and permits no reservations. Like a A separate loudness contour selector 25r. (1f you already know mirror, its truth is relative but un- permits you to preserve the highs and your theory and application. lows as you turn down the volume. send for the free Bogen challenged except after analysis. It And there are two different record catalog.) reflects an accurate image. It seizes and equalization controls: one for low - preserves and represents a mass of frequency turn -over and one for high - r frequency rolloff -making possible no David Bogen Co., Inc., Dept. WI sound, or a modicum, and the atom fewer than 20 different record equali- 29 Ninth Ave.. New York 14, N. Y. within the mass, all identifiable at once zation positions. Send "Understanding High Fidelity" ( for and beyond dispute with their proto- which I enclose 25e) , and free catalog. types. Its divergences from absolute name truth can be recognized through analy- address tic study, never from spontaneous re- city rone state ocen Send catalog only. free Continued on page 116 ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT

SEPTEMBER, 1954 I 1 5

www.americanradiohistory.com IN DEFENSE Continued from page 115

action. There is no High Fidelity when the reproduction of a complex NEW WORLDS OF sound raises at once the question of accuracy. LISTENING PLEASU When successful it is a reproduction of music as it was written. It reproduces the viola as a viola, and the cello with the unmistakably as a cello. That is part of High Fidelity, and it does not seem lampoonable. The identity of most modern reproductions of solo instruments with the original is heartening, and chamber music has found an acceptance among discophiles that it never was able to obtain in the Ameri- can concert hall. There is substantial reason for this, not quite germane to this article: suffice it to say that the recording of chamber music must be a With the new Melodist loudspeaker -amplifier combination pretty accurate reflection of the musical writing if it has captured the devotees Altec Lansing brings true high fidelity, in a small package, within of this comparatively austere type of the reach of everyone. The Melodist is the latest development of music. engineering force that has made Altec the leader the outstanding Good reproduction (high fidelity) in professional sound equipment. It's a combination amplifier and two -way becomes integral with a musical pre- speaker system that provides the maximum performance possible in a sentation, as does bad. The good does limited volume enclosure. And its specifications are guaranteed accurate! not omit anything: the purposes and devices are all clear. We must admire Felix Weingartnei s fluent strength in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony on the Columbia disk re- recorded from old 78- rpm's, probably above all others; but it would be strange if we did not find the Kleiber and Dorati records, in less illuminating performances, more effective presentations of the Fifth Symphony. The pungency, complete- ness, timbre and detail of the newer recording have their own compulsion. For example, in the finale Beethoven A -339A Melodist Amplifier 700A Melodist Speaker adds a piccolo, a contrabassoon and

Dimensions: 13 x 4% a 9% Dimensions: 22% a 11'/, a 10% three trombones to the standard classi- Range: 20- 22,000 cps Range: 90- 22,000 cps cal orchestra of the preceding move- Power: 10 watts, less than 2% t.h.d. Power Capacity: 20 watts Impedance: 4, 8, 16 ohms Impedance: 8 ohms ments. He did this to strengthen and Inputs: 1 for mag. phono or mic. Components: 10" bass speaker, high 2 for ceramic, crystal, tape or tuner frequency speaker, multicellular horn, diversify the fabric, of course, and of Volume: 3 individual volume adjustments 3000 cps dividing network Loudness: compensated loudness control Price: Only $99.00 course he meant them to be heard. In Tone: Treble,15 db boost or droop,10,000 cps the Weingartner record the piccolo Bass, 13 db boost or droop, 50 cps Crossovers: European, LP, old RCA, - which never was recalcitrant to new AES (NARTB, RIAA, RCA In blond or mahogany is orthophonic) recording - clear if not brilliant, Price: Only $129.00 but the contrabassoon can barely be detected and the trombones fit into the in a wall, without dis- ALTEC FIDELITY IS HIGHEST FIDELITY! mass like bricks tinction from the rest. The other two disks have spectacular zest in the timbre of these instruments and of

ALTE C® 9356 Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, California the whole orchestra. Weingartner with MARINO CORPORATION 161 Sixth Avenue, New York 13, N.Y. Continued on page 117

116 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com IN DEFENSE Continued from page 116 r I the, greatest insight and skill has fashioned the noblest Fifth, obscured and weakened by the engineering of his day, not called high fidelity; while Messrs. Kleiber and Dorati, plus high fidelity, give an illumination of the score high above the physical poten- tiality of the disk with the best performance. This example - and there are a hundred like it - is the fundamental argument for good reproduction against reproduction less good. In passing it may be observed that such examples, with their infinity of delicate mutations in comparative values, confront the 30 Watt record critic with a task of terrible Equalizer responsibility, one whose conquest Amplifier must often be impossible. When a Consolette Class A -1 Exclusive feedback circuitry composer stipulates a score, it is the Advanced Supra- Linear Williamson Circuitry Over 50 db. feedback obligation of interpreter and recording Virtually no distortion director both to animate it according $9950 $7950 to the composer's intentions. For conductor and engineer the same rule of conduct - no tricks, nothing misplaced or slurred, no erratic emphases, no condiments not in the recipe. For in High Fidelity the high does not mean frequency. Treble has its place, and there it must be kept. The balance of cycles is more important than their range. No frequency is better music than any other frequency. Here are the twins that are providing high fidelity enthusiasts The can scramble great- engineer the with their greatest thrill. The very finest equipment combining est performance. On occasion he has every desirable feature: Startling realism, high power, lowest done it from engineering arrogance, distortion, polished chromium chassis, attractive low prices. not having musical conscience. The Smart . . . both are ultra compact and precision crafted with evidence is that the musical conscience highest quality components. is ascendant now. When science AMPLIFIER: Famed KT -66 tubes, 60 watts peak! Incomparable multi - (measurement) surmounts art (per- section grain- oriented sealed output transformer with matched Highest quality components mounted on Bake- ception) that means farewell to old power transformer. lite terminal board. Plug -in filter condenser. 5 to 200,000 cycle fare- Plymouth, Old Nuremberg; and response. Less than 0.05% distortion at 15 watts. Hum and noise well to man: here comes Hydrogen. level virtually non -m ble. Preamp power supply. Matches Simply, inexorably, High Fidelity all speakers. is providing greatness for everyone's PREAMPLIFIER: Revolutionary Z -729 lowest noise input tube, plus ears to heed. Perception is in control premium 12ÁY7 and 12AX7. 5 to 200,000 cycle response. 5 inputs: of measurement. The wonder of the 2 low level, 3 high level. 16 equalization curves with separate bass and treble high -fidelity accomplishment is daz- rollof and crossover switching. Unusual compensation insures full correction for speaker, room and program zling because it has been so bright deficiencies. Independent recorder output. Variable loudness con- and swift. It is a pity that some com- trol. Lifetime sealed precision networks. plain of the dazzle and cannot see the Hear the Coronation Twins today! Trade inquiries invited. accomplishment.

Look for is at the Audio Fairs: CHICAGO - Palmer House - Room 859 INTEHELECTRONICS NEW YORK - Hotel New Yorker - 2432 GRAND CONCOURSE Rooms 549-55o New York 58, N. Y.

SEPTEMBER, 1954

www.americanradiohistory.com NEW JAZZ NtOred ft Continued from page 46 HI -FI AMPLIFIERS eomitale For examples of the new directions in jazz on records listen to: The Modern McGOHAN Jazz Quartet (Prestige LP i6o) and Volume Two of Shelly Manne (Con- AMPLIFIERS temporary LP c2511). WITH OTHER Jazz has also been showing up in LEADING the curricula of more and more BRANDS universities. Perhaps the most insistent voice urging recognition for jazz in the academies has been that of Professor Marshall Stearns, who has You'll be amazed at the clarity of taught courses in jazz at New York reproduction and the distortionless U -3 Economy Model. A low cost high - range of McGohan amplifiers ... fidelity amplifier. Peak power: 18 watts. University and the New School. He and you'll be pleasantly surprised 8 inputs; radio or crystal phonograph and magetic phonograph $42.75 also established the first important Re- at the price. want watt, a Estimated cost of hi -fi system including changer search center for jazz the Institute Whether you a 12 and speaker of your selection $130.00 - 30 watt or o 60 watt high fidelity 55 -PG DeLuxe Model. Most imitated amp- of Jazz Studies, which has already as- amplifier, you'll get o unit with lifier on the market. Peak power: 20 watts. Advanced circuit includes feed- sembled a library for jazz students and better response and lower distor- back magnetic pick -up pre -amplifier. tion, at lower cost, when you buy cathode coupled tone controls....559.50 a preliminary bibliography prepared Estimated cost of hi-fi system including changer a McGohan High Fidelity Amplifier. and speaker of your selection $150.00 by Robert Reisner (The first full -scale The WA -310 is typical of the ßC1 Record Comp tor, for L.7-3 or 51- is to be Pt $10.00 jazz bibliography scheduled quality and value of McGohan published this fall by the American amplifiers ... COMPARE IT See Us at the Chicago and Folklore Society. Compiler is Alan New York Audio Shows P. Meriam of Northwestern). Other teachers of jazz history are: Tremaine McDowell, chairman of the American Studies program at the Uni- versity of Minnesota; Nesuhi Ertegun at the University of California at Los Angeles; semanticist S. I. Hayakawa. George Wein will shortly begin a Power Output -12 watts course at Boston University; Sidney Frequency Response-20 to 20,000 Gross will teach jazz at Columbia this cps, ± 1 db. Intermodulation Distortion -Less than 1 2 in Tri -linear -Triode fall. There is the excellent practical I % at 12 watts. AMPLIFIER course for young jazz musicians at Harmonic Distortion -Less than I % at 12 watts, less than 0.5% at 10 watts. Wider Frequency Range North Texas State College and Teddy Five Position Selector Switch for radio auxiliary Higher Power Wilson and John Mehegan have taught or inputs and for LP, AES and Foreign record compensation Lower Distortion improvisation at Juilliard. Seven Inputs-hi and lo impedance New Grommes 216 RA Basic Amplifier Jazz, then, has stubbornly achieved radio, hi and lo impedance auxiliary An improved version of two of the most and three phono inputs for GE, popular amplifier circuits. Triode or TA- an important place for itself in Western Pickering and Audaz pickups Linear operation is obtained by a special switch. In the Triode position, it operates music. Its audience has broadened Calibrated Boss and Treble Tone as an advanced Williamson circuit. In Controls the Tri -Linear position, it becomes a and deepened; it is reproduced on Dimensions 2" long, 71/2" super -powered tapped screen circuit -1 deep, $99.50 records with increasing care and fre- 6" wide Ideal Pre -Amplifiers for Above Easy Mounting -Removable control Model 206 PA De -Luxe Pre- Amplifier quency; and it is reported on with panel spacer for custom installations Compact, simplified 4 -knob control. Rec- PRICE $115.75 list, ord compensator switch, other features growing accuracy in more and more $69.50 Audiophile net. $55.00 publications. When the town of New- Model 210 PA Custom Pre -Amplifier New custom equalizer. Step -type con- port, therefore, invited the jazz world trols; many more hi -fi features... .$99.50 jazz festival See Nearest Hi -fi Jobber or Send Coupon! to hold the first American there this past July, the town in its PRECISION alliance with jazz did place itself - to quote the New York Times again Sold by leading ELECTRONICS. INC. - high fidelity side the future." distributors from 9101 -Hto King St., Franklin Park, 111. "on the of coast to coast Please rush Free Bulletins on new Amplifiers Model 55 -PG Model U -3 D For more information about Model 216-BA DON McGOHAN Inc. advertisements in HIGH FIDELITY Name 3700 West Roosevelt Road use the Readers' Service Card Address Chicago 24, Illinois Cy Zone State...... ___.. facing page 120.

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Music Therapy, edited by Edward tally- determined musical hallucina- Podolsky, M.D. Cloth with bibli- tions, is also clearly discussed. ography. Philosophical Library, An interesting, but controversial New York, 1954. 335 pages. $6.00. article, on the physiological basis of the feeling of well -being and anima- Music, in the last fifty years, has been tion produced by music, is presented THE investigated as a relatively pure means by Marta Grunewald. Less contro- of emotional influence for many differ - versial, yet just as stimulating is TURNER eat approaches. This latest edition to Sidney Licht's psychological analysis the literature on the subject is a curi- of the elements in music, discussed L -100 ously uneven but interesting collec- by George Arrington. tion of articles, many of which have In contrast, Howard Hanson's schol- 1 been published elsewhere. It seems arly handling of the Objective Studies with the adjustable clip doubtful that anyone would be in- of Rhythm in Music is rendered sus- terested in all the articles because of pect, when he descends to subjective that grips from any angle ... the variation in psychological and invective against the partisans of jazz. musical sophistication. The division This brings up a major fault in this, between the practical and the theoreti- or any book yet published on music cal is just as pronounced but less therapy and a serious pitfall that con- avoidable. It is doubtful, however, tinually confronts those interested in that anyone interested in music therapy the field. Subjectivity is the hob- will not find some gems here which will goblin of music therapists and of make sifting rewarding. those who write on the subject. Most The handiest, low cost lapel mike for all tape recording uses . . . it The book starts wisely enough with music therapists enter the field under- weighs only 1 ounce and has an alli- the history and rationale of the thera- standably enough, because of an in- gator clip that really holds. The clip peutic use of music. Repetition is terest in music. Paperte, in her article is rubber padded and adjustable - holds the mike where you put it; probably unavoidable here but it does on Music in Military Medicine, cor- on draperies, clothing or recorder seem to be carried to extremes with rectly emphasizes the importance of case. Speech reproduction is crisp, the overture to every other article per- personality qualifications in therapeu- clear -cut with chest sounds damped is light grey plastic. Crys. his out. Case formed by little David playing on tically- engaged musicians, whose main tal and ceramic interiors available. harp to King Solomon. After dispos- problem is that they may subvert the Send coupon for full information. ing of like preliminaries, Ira Altshuler patients' need to their own emotional Model L -100 (with clip and 20 -ft. presents a restrained and informative expression. Music, being a reality - cable) List Price $12.50 summary of the entire field. A theo- avoiding device tends to attract the Model 100 (with clip and with 7 -ft. retical explanation for the ability of introspective, narcissistic person, one cable) List Price $8.00 music to by -pass intellectual barriers who is extremely sensitive to his own against emotional communication is needs, but sometimes unaware of in- given. The Iso Principle, that of dividual variations in others. The matching music initially to the mood projection of our own feelings and of the patient, and attempting mood tastes on to others may be discouraged THE I TURNER COMPANY modification gradually from that point, by a study on the Recognition of Mood is explained. The most interesting in Music by Psychotic Patients. Music

medical study is that of Hans Reese, termed "happy" by a group of normal 942 17th Sf. N.E. who gives an excellent presentation of controls was not always perceived Cedar Rapids, Iowa the relation of music to diseases of the thus by psychotics, nor was "sad" Please send me complete information L -100 and 100. brain. Musicogenic epilepsy, in which music always sad although the dis- on your new Models certain musical patterns (in one case, crepancy here was smaller. A study Name specifically the music of Stephen Fos- by Fisher and Fisher of the effect of Address ter) caused seizures, is discussed. The the Personal Insecurity of School Chil- City localization of music centers in the dren to unfamiliar music suggests that c brain, and the production of organi- Continued on page 120

SEPTEMBER, 1954 I19

www.americanradiohistory.com Ault BOOKS ROAD Continued from page 119 1 E 014 fro musical preference is not an abstracted aesthetic response but a reaction in- 00yoÑ AR 1110 fluenced by personal needs and diffi- y ill culties. In view of all this, it seems rather musical ' incongruous that Podolsky should magic have devoted sixty pages of an otherwise intelligent and informative book to a series of articles on music therapy HIGH FIDELITY -F.M. for various psychological states. Here 7/- Ca4 RECEIVER in identical format (belying multiple bylines) are presented discussions on the use of music in anxiety; anger; de- pression; emotional fatigue; emotional disturbances; grief; psychopathic personality; psychosomatic gastric dis- orders; and emotional high blood pressure. Definition: "Jealousy arises when A loves B and B identifies A as C." Science marches on. A listing of symptoms is followed by the specific musical antidotes and the result seems 2/o44 yet tew L/fL eit Jail to be a bastard offspring of a "Child's 2144144 AS YOU DRIVE. Garden of Psychopathology" and model 1811 full 12 watt AVAILABLE IN 6 OR 12 VOLT MODELS "Carrie Jacobs Bond's Musical Herbi- high fidelity amplifier FOR USE WITH ANY AM CAR RADIO OR ary". The consistency of approach moderate cost, you WITH HASTINGS HI FIDELITY POWER and concreteness in suggestion is com- NOW, at can own and enjoy a quality / AMPLIFIER. forting but misleading. We gained of musical recreation virtually THESE FEATURES. PLUS DOZENS OF OTHERS. ASSURE UNEQUALLED the impression that this section is for indistinguishable from the original PERFORMANCE. the bored clubwoman set, who can performance. Here is the ideal Covers 87 to 109 megacycles "heart" for your home music Full Armstrong circuit now dispense with liver pills and dis- system, capable of reproducing the Automatic frequency control, locks in sta- cuss the relative merits of Mozart's full musical range from vibrant tion signal bass through thrilling treble with 2 microvolt sensitivity. Full limiting action Sonata in A Minor and Mendelssohn's the full emotional depth and with 5 microvolts input Octet in E Flat in the treatment of Optimum selectivity for maximum image meaning of the original music. rejection. Adjacent channel 60 DB down post-prandial belching. Here is the finest audio achievement, 200 KC IF bandwidth However, consigning this section to designed to bring you the New crystal limiter - superior clipping ultimate in enduring listening pleasure. action the "Advice to the Lovelorn" columns, Electronic tone control - increases bass we still possess a useful, and at times with every desirable feature for response without attenuating highs Compact size: From panel 61/2" wide x stimulating, addition to the Music superb musical reproduction ...

4" high. Depth 71/2" for case plus 1" for Therapy Library. There are several Full 12 watts output Response, - 0.5 power cable input plug at rear and 11/2" db, 20- 20,000 cps. 3 Response Curves for knobs on front practical articles on the use of music to bring out the full fidelity in all types Chrome panel and metal knobs. Gray in specialized circumstances, in state and makes of records Microphone input Hammertone case for entertainment and recording Separate Rigid, rugged, non -critical construction hospitals, in operating rooms and in Bass and Treble tone controls Choice of Only highest quality components used. conjunction with electric shock therapy. regular or "equal loudness" control Fully guaranteed Inputs for GE or Pickering cartridge, And as a bonus to hi -fi fans, there is an CAR TUNER COSTS YOU tape, tuner, and microphone Removable article by Dr. George Arrington on panel for easy mounting... $9950 PLUS every other desirable feature JUST FOB BOSTON High Fidelity and Music Therapy. to create a new dimension Hosting High Fidelity Car Power Amplifier Although the therapeutic advantages in sound for your home. (for cars without existing AM Radios) $6350 are quite obvious and only casually SEND FOR IT TODAY! mentioned, the article could serve as This colorful folder that contains all the facts about this outstand- an excellent introduction to those un- ing Hi Fidelity FM Unit. Your aware of the basic facts of high fidelity copy is free and there's no obligation. sound. Hear the RAULAND 1811 The closing article on the limitations Amplifier at your Hi -Fi dealer, or write of research in music therapy is a for full details. sobering one with words of caution PRODUCTS, Inc. RAULAND -BORG CORPORATION Continued on page 122 171 Newbury St., Boston 16, Mass. 3515 W. Addison St., Dept. F, Chicago 18, III.

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Continued from page 17 Stacking FM Antennas Martin Bettan, Director of Sales and Engineering for RMS (antenna manufacturers) was kind enough to send us a copy of a letter he wrote to one of our readers, who was having trouble getting optimum results from stacked yagis. Since many other readers may find his letter helpful, here it is, in full: "If it is any consolation to you, in 9 out of to cases the installation man experiences the same results as you have - that is, a signal loss instead of gain because of improper stacking methods. "First of all, you are correct to question whether or not the antenna to begin with is 300 ohms. It actually is not. It is closer to 15o ohms, because each time a director or reflector is added to an antenna it lowers the impedance. In fact, we get it back to 15o ohms by the use of step up folded dipole elements. With a regular folded element it would be closer to ...and the little monster 45 ohms. "Using a 3000hm lead on a 15o ohm walked right oft antenna constitutes a 2: r mismatch I which is still within normal mismatch the drawing board tolerances. However, stacking the Conceived in the fertile imagination of Paul Klipsch, America's antenna halves the impedance, and leading designer of loudspeaker enclosures, and brought to life by then if incorrect stacking bars are used the advanced production facilities of CABINART, the Little Monster it lowers the impedance even further, astounded everyone who came into contact with it. Startled and awed by its almost -Klipschorn performance on light and middle bass, so that a mismatch as high as 4 or 5:i they were amazed at its complete freedom from boom and distortion. occurs, and such mismatch results in You too will be amazed ... RESPONSE LIKE THIS loss of signal. FROM A 20" CORNER HORN SPEAKER ENCLOSURE! "The only proper way to stack yagis Paul Klipsch had blueprinted a small corner horn enclosure . . . light enough to move anywhere in the home, compact is use enough by of a half wave harness of to fit in any space, versatile enough to complement any decor, 3/8-in. tubing which also acts as a match- and with performance enough to please the most critical ear ... ing transformer. Such considerations thus the Little Monster was born. Size ... 20 inches; weight . . 28 pounds; versatility it can be wall -mounted, corner -hung, as velocity ... the of propagation must placed on a table, a bench, a shelf, anywhere in the home; be taken into consideration when performance ... unbelievable! making stacking bars. If you wish to The Little Monster, fifth in the Rebel series and thus called the KR -5, experiment, use 604-in. as being half approaches Klipschorn performance on light middle bass ... is excellent for its size even on heavy pipe organ bass. The response wave, and then if you are going to is smooth and clean ... completely free from boom and distortion. use 300 ohm twin lead, multiply by The acoustical science as applied to musical instruments has been 65.8% for the wavelength after velocity incorporated within the Klipsch -Rebel series -so that of propagation has been taken into the enclosure itself assumes the characteristics of a musical reproducer. The KR -5 is thus scientifically engineered to provide consideration. the maximum performance possible from a 20" corner horn. "If you are going to use aluminum This latest Klipsch Design by CABINART is available in both finished and Utility (unfinished) tubing, then use a figure of 95% to models. Also available is a portable model in Leatherette. account for velocity of propagation. In Finished *48.00 u $33.00 this way you can construct a See the KR -5 at your local jobber, matching or write for complete information to Dept. en -J transformer -stacking harness combination that will permit you to get the G & H WOOD PRODUCTS CO., maximum signal gain out of the stacked array." 75 North 11 St., Brooklyn 11, N. Y.

SEPTEMBER, t954 121

www.americanradiohistory.com BOOKS

THE Continued from page z 20

that could have been restated more FIRS1 often throughout the book. Pepinsky warns against "intellectual dishonesty if only favorable responses are brought

MAJOR ADVANCE to the limelight." He also fears mis- CORNER SPEAKER SYSTEM application of experimental design and clinical observation without con- BIG IN A Decade if trolled experimentation. A well -designed study on the effect of music on VOICE the general activity of apathetic schizo- THE phrenics is a good example of a work- IN A LABORATORY of ELECTRONIC ing model of research in music. The SMALL findings consist of a definite but un- ENGINEERING fortunately transient response to stim- SPACE ulating music. presents Podolsky's compilation is recommended as a stimulant to music "Wiz qcotes1 (,`t therapists, a counsel to therapeutically - inclined musicians, and an introduction Only a big speaker system can authentically reproduce speaheii s-item'sr, to those of us who have regarded music big instruments. And only the as a solely aesthetic adventure. authentic Klipschorn offers you a big speaker system in a THOMAS H. GILMORE, M.D. small space. Exclusive Klipsch design A Guide To Longplay Jazz Records, makes use of room walls as well as every cubic inch inside by Frederic Ramsey, Jr., 263 pages, the system to reproduce the $4.40, Long Player Publications, largest, as well as the smallest, 1954. instruments. By mounting all New York, three of its carefully balanced speakers in specially designed Let us suppose that we attended the horns, Klipsch gives you over Newport Jazz Festival in July of this nine full octaves of true tones and timbre. year and were really knocked out by a young baritone sax player named Gerry Write for the neu' brochure Mulligan, who headed his own Quar- On the authentic Klipschorn. tet, and especially by one number he played: The Lady is a Tramp. The problems then are as follows: (I) how to find out which Mulligan record PRICED AT A MODERATE $295 contains The Lady is a Tramp, and (2) how to dig more of this Mulligan. THE Turning quickly to our trusty Schwann we find only the albums Mulligan has made under his own name and, of CATENOID course, no listing of the individual numbers in each album. But after five A THREE WAY CORNER minutes with Fred Ramsey's Encyclo- HORN SYSTEM pedia, we know just about everything .2).14.te / G.j Coartiateetd there is to know about Mulligan except the name of his attractive brunette wife Raid G¿ eotgl tees whom we also saw at Newport. For instance, using the Index of Song WRITE FOR INFORMATION TO Titles, we find that The Lady is a Tramp KLIPSCH . ASSOCIATES is included on the Gerry Mulligan HOPE, ARKANSAS LABORATORY of ELEC- Quartet, Fantasy label, 3 -6. Under TELEPHONES TRONIC ENGINEERING, { the heading, "Gerry Mulligan," there PRospect 7 -3395 PRospect 7.5515 INC. is a list of all the records he has made PRospect 1 -4538 PRospect 7 -5514 his Ten Quartet, All Stars 413 L ST., N. W., WASHINGTON, D. C. with -Tette, Continued on page 125

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www.americanradiohistory.com BOOKS Helen Noble worked for the Metro- Continued from page 122 politan Opera Company for over 3o {d eface kaone .. - years as sort of a super Girl Friday - and with Lee Konitz and a complete mostly to Edward Ziegler, the then list of all the numbers included in assistant general manager. Her mem- YOUR HI -FI the various Mulligan records. Finally, oirs are at once humorous and engag- with the aid of the Performer's Index, ing. She tells of typing in the next RECORDING SYSTEM we learn that Mulligan has also ap- room to where the basso, Ludwig peared on records with Allen Eager Hoffman, was doing his pre- perform- IS ONLY AS GOOD (Prestige 120); The Chubby Jackson ance vocal warmups. She answered All -Star Band (New Jazz tog); Kai his complaint that her typing bothered AS YOUR MICROPHONE! Winding (Prestige 109); and The Kai him with the counter complaint that Winding All -Stars (Roost 408). his singing bothered her. (Final re- It is hard to see how any jazz record sult; she stopped typing). buyer could do without Mr. Ramsey's Easily the most startling revelation %lsede iaei(aaztaat #atuJ/zed book. of the book is the story of the re- aze tlie Readaad etekly de However, there is one problem: putedly cold -as -ice Flagstad throwing With jazz records being released at the an astonishingly lavish party for ALL rate of about 5o to too a month it is the Met employees on December 1 z, GRADIENT't'300" inevitable that Mr. Ramsey's book will 1938 - the press was barred! be rapidly outdated. However, Mr. Anecdotes, anecdotes and more HIGHER FIDELITY MICROPHONE Ramsey's publishers have assured us anecdotes - but the stories are good is used by leading recording artists that he is already hard at work on a and perhaps, best of all, the great major- and Hi -Fi enthusiasts for consistently supplement. ity of them are new. All music lovers superlative reproduction: RoY H. HOOPES, JR. are familiar with books of anecdotes, half of which they have heard from a V'REDUCES REVERBERATION and pick- Life With The Met, by Helen dozen different sources before. No up of unwanted noises by 66%! Noble. 250 pages. Index. Illus- such problem here. Even the occa- SMOOTH FREQUENCY RESPONSE -40- I5,000 c.p.s. trated. Cloth. G. P. Putnam's sional oldie has a new twist. VW-DIRECTIONAL PICKUP Sons, New York. $3.75. WARREN B. SYER PATTERN -enables you to arrange the artists around microphone to obtain the best balance between the diff musical SOME THINGS waerll CAN'T BE IMITATED components. C1 C111 ' /VOICE -MUSIC SWITCH - for utmost flexibility in achieving highest quality recordings. HIGH OUTPUT -eliminates hum problems - by allowing recorder to be operated at normal gain settings. /MULTI- IMPEDANCE SWITCH for LOW, VARIABLE RELUCTANCE CARTRIDGE MEDIUM or HIGH IMPEDANCE -pro- E it the mush I It,II ÌI n IIu p11- i.tst ... in aim, st t j íIu11 IC. vides added Model ,.300" B formante of G -E's cartridge... Nothing less than this performance Flexibility. both Professional and will what from Broadcast are inimitable. ever satisfy you expect LIST PRICE popular appraisal for many years has favorite recordings. So, insist on the Model $135.00 established this reputation. Ask and finest...insist that the cartridge or sty- 533 Desk Stand you'll find G -E in almost every broad - lus you purchase is a genuine G -E! list Price \ \ I S15.00 DIAMOND STYLI protect your records...augment faithful reproduction.

LOOK FOR THE G -E General Electric Company, Section R5494 Electronics Pork, Syracuse, New York SHURE BROTHERS, Inc. MONOGRAM on the Microphones and Acoustic Devices Send me a copy of the following G -E booklets: carton containing your 225 West Huron St., Chicago 10, Illinois replacement stylus. G -E Diamond Styli (ERP -74) Cable Address: SHUREMICRO G -E High Fidelity Components (ERP -53A) i This symbol alone Please me FREE 1 send Microphone Catalog gives you the right to NAME 77A and list of Shure Distributors in my expect performance no i locality. ADDRESS other manufacturer has I Name yet equalled for the CITY STATE money. Both single Address and triple -play types are available. City State ELECTRIC HFG -9

SEPTEMBER, t954 125

www.americanradiohistory.com N E W gepro cer Jd YOUR HIGH FIDELITY SYSTEM eNsounds líke 5200 - The Master -Tone Series ..F COSTS of TWIN Separable Equipment & Speaker CABINETS LESS 0 Model 100A, Modern, Speaker Cabinet, THAN Mahogany, $90.00 Net. 1I n $ 60t Model 100E, Modern, Equipment Cabinet, Mahogany, Now you can $139.50 Net. Pair, $226.50 Net. enjoy high fidelity Available in Blonde Mahogany. without Also in Provincial Design o high prices Equipment (Fruitwood or Mahogany) Cabinet has _ o FOLD -AWAY DOOR EQUIPMENT CABINET Universal mounting accommodates (illustrated) any electronic components Exquisite authentic furniture designs ren- Open design assures adequate dered with magnificent artistry ventilation Convection cool: asbestos heat de- Precision acoustic engineering flector protects finish Highest grade Vs" select -grain wood stock SPEAKER CABINET throughout Non -vibration T -brace assembly and Hand -rubbed mirror finishes accoustical padding prevent internal reflections Compact: each Cabinet approximately 30" Exclusive CONCENTRI -VENT construc- Hx24 "Wx17 "D. tion (damped concentric vented re- May be placed side by side or separated flex) assures smooth low frequency into any convenient arrangement. response down to 30 cps. Write for free Catalog HF -9 STANDARD WOOD PRODUCTS CORP., 47 West 63rd St., N. Y. 23, N. Y. The Standard of Fine Woodcraft

What Is It? A new Argos sound enclosure- handsomely styled -built with "Craftsmanship in Cabinets" - FOR THE FIRST TIME . . . plus a Jensen speaker and tweeter. HowDoes It Work ?It usestheJensen over Duette' principle -which in effect gets double the use out of the internal air mass. It gives big- speaker fidelity in half the space. - FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY - SINGLE DIAMOND NEEDLE How Can I Hear It for Myself? Ask your Argos -or Jensen -Parts (any type) . __. .. NOW $12.75* Distributor. Your ears cannot be DUAL NEEDLE (2 diamonds) NOW OFF deceived. It does sound like $200. $25.00* COMB. DUAL (diamond micro -groove & sapphire standard) NOW $14.00*

tArgos AD -1 Cabinet...... $21.50 " postpaid -- Mail Orders Accepted ! Jensen KDU -10 speaker and tweeter components kit CHECK THESE FACTS BEFORE BUYING NEEDLES Total Under $60.00 Prices may nary West and South. DIAMOND needles outlast sapphires 90 to I ! One $12.75 Uncondi- tionally Guaranteed STYLO Diamond Needle gives you the equivalent *TM of and Licensed by Jensen Mfg Co. playing time of over $200 worth of sapphire needles!

STYLO'S EXCLUSIVE FEATURE: Platinum- rhodium plated shaft insures Also see new matching the life of the shaft to last as long as the fine diamondpoint ... will cabinets for Record Player and not corrode! Tuner or Amplifier. WRITTEN, UNCONDITIONAL GUARANTEE DELIVERED WITH EVERY STYLO NEEDLE! BUY YOUR STYLO NEEDLE DIRECT FROM MANUFACTURER AT THESE UNPRECEDENTED SALE PRICES!

DIAMOND STYLUS COMPANY NEEDLES OF AMERICA v Manufacturers of Stylo Needles l DEPT. HF -S 31 WEST 47th STREET NEW YORK 36, N.

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com TERMS

ON TRADE- SIR: appear to be a neat solution to many space HIGH INS This hi -ti outfit is in a trailer. The problems. We wish sometimes that our FIDELITY owners are Mr. and Mrs. Walter Har- rig were as small, neat and simple. tenberger of East Grand Forks, Minne- When you deal with sota. He is a school teacher and was SIR: World Radio Laboratories, you can easily afford the able to use high school facilities to I plan to install approximately four High -Fidelity build both the Aristocrat speaker compon- en- speakers with a 25 -watt amplifier in ents of your choice. closure and the control unit cabinet my summer home. The central room is (his own design). approximately zo by 16 and there are Speakers, amplifiers, The turntable (a Bogen) is above four bedrooms adjoining it, all of tuners, changers, pre - amps everything for the Heathkit pre-amp control unit. which are paneled with wood. I plan - the handyman, ama- Records are stored in the center section ro place two 12 -inch speakers in the teur, and serviceman! (its door is ajar in the picture). The large room, one in my own bedroom, main amplifier, a Heathkit also, is on and one perhaps in a mobile cabinet TRADE -INS We offer the the floor under the cabinet. to be moved around. I would prefer most liberal allowance on The owners' only regret is they can't to have the speakers in the walls by your present equipment. spare a corner for the speaker - it cutting out apertures for them, but Let us know what you have . . . you'll be amazed at won't fit the one occupied by the there is no opportunity to build cabi- our generous trade -ins. other cabinet. But on pleasant days nets in the walls themselves. I have they move the Aristocrat out in the heard that if a speaker could be ex- TERMS Pay as little as back yard where they can turn the hausted simply in another room this 10% down ... convenient volume way up. would be about as good an enclosure terms to fit your Hi -Fi bud- Robert J. McKeuzic as one might have. This would be get. No red tape -we finance Box possible., particularly with the speakers our own paper - 535 name your own terms! Crookston, Minn. in the large room. The cabinet that I have spoken of I One way to make your hi-fi system plan to make a labyrinth, or perhaps portable buy trailer for This does /rory - a it! Continued on page 130 rh world's supply lae, ,

Radio 341 5 W. Broadway Council Bluffs, Ia. Laboratories ftlaz;f4

1 World Radio Laboratories, Dept. H 1 3415 W. Broadway - Council Bluffs, la. 1 1 1954 WRI. Radio -TV Catalog 1 High- Fidelity Catalog 1 U. S. Radio Map --25c 1 1 Nome I Address 1 I City Slate Compact enough for a trailer, this phonograph system still produces very good sound,

SEPTEMBER, 1954 127

www.americanradiohistory.com PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY CALIFORNIA DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ILLINOIS continued In Southern California For the Ultimate in WASHINGTON, D. C. THE HI -FI CENTER HI -FI it's Components at net prices complete demonstration facilities components custom installation Custom cabinets DISTRIBUTORS OF EVERYTHING IN ELECTRONICS Listen Service on all electronics Leisurely PreRecorded Tape and Records and Compare in an at- Finest guaranteed equipment in Hi -Fi. ROgers Pork 4 -8640 mosphere which reflects the 2909 WEST DEVON AVE. CHICAGO 45 comfort of your own living room. custom hi -fi flecÚio,fzic L tpedde.0 6230 Commodore Sisal OrM Let MOM a, California 1642 Connecticut Ave., N. W. rnppr'ie Corthay Circle Theater) Tali 6218

RECORDING TAPE (PLASTIC BASE) WHERE ELSE WOULD THERE "WE HAVE IT" WASHINGTON Magnetic D. C. BE MORE RED A TAPE? Hi -Fi Components Exclusively 1200 ft. plastic tape with plastic reel included. Each reel individually boxed. Choice of nationally famous top quality brands such as: Reeves arthur nagel, inc. (SPN -12) 3.20; Webcor (2906) 3.20; Audio (1251) 3.23; Scotch (111 -A) 3.25; Irish, Professional Complete Selection HOLLYWOOD grade, (211 RPA) 3.30. I I I ELECTRONICS New empty plastic reels in boxes for easy la- Hi -Fi Equipment beling 8' -10e; 4 " -22c; 5 " -24c; T' -30e each. 7460 MELROSE AVENUE EMPTY BOXES, 3 " -3c; 4 " -Sc; 5"-5c;7"-10r. 918 E. 55th ST. CHICAGO LOS ANGELES 46, CALIFORNIA PLEASE INCLUDE SUFFICIENT POSTAGE BUtterfield 8-5050 COMMISSIONED ELECTRONICS CO. Write for free catalog WEbster 3.8208 2503 Champlain St., N. W., Washington 9, D. C. ILLINOIS "EVERYTHING" IN CHICAGO .. . VOICE AND VISION in high fidelity The Best in high Fidelity HI -FI SPECIALISTS From Primary Components to Completed Custom Installations COMPONENTS VISIT OUR NEW "AUDIO -PHILE HAVEN" Audio Workshop Inc. CUSTOM DESIGNING or sorik to 2734 W. Touhy INSTALLATIONS KIERULFF SHeldrake 3-3264 SERVICING Sound CS,p. Hi -Fi Consultations, Sales, 53 EAST WALTON CHICAGO 11, ILL. 15, Calif. 820 West Olympie Blwl. Los Angeles WHitehall 3 -1166 Richmond 7-0271 ZEnith 0271 Installations MASSACHUSETTS SOUND EQUIPMENT Contemporary American Furniture noic - 1e ^\W INCARTEN LECTRONI CABINET MAKERS TUE LISTENING PULT V2O1/ATORIES INC. Specializing in Hi Fidelity 161 Newbury Street, Boston 7556 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles 46, Californio New England's New Audio Center WAInut 5405 YOrk 3872 725 S. La Salle, Chicago 5, Ill. Components Systems Tape The ultimate in High Fidelity WE 9 -2868 Telephone COpley 7 -7530 for prompt free at net prices. deliveries in our area

C H I C A G O SPECIAL!!!

1 Now, for the first time, JUNIOR AIR -COUPLERS /T'S YOURS! for true bass reinforcement are vailable direct from the original designer-manufacturers, THE VERY BEST IN HIGH FIDELITY & Hi -Fi Equipment Records and at a nett, price. Described in the May - TO BUY HI -Fl June, 1953 issue of HIGH FIDELITY, these are NO NEED made of fine selected plywood and are ready to Hal Cox Custom Music SEE HEAR NOW BY MAIL - AND finish. Completely assembled except for speaker. 2598 Lombard ANYTHING YOU WANT AT PRICE $29.50 shipped express collect. No COD'S, ph 11.81. San Francisco 23, California de Haan Hi -Fi RAM COMPANY 1655 W. 79th St. ABerdeen 4-4200 WEst 1 -3134 NET )'RICE% WEst 1.3135 P. O. Box 221 Great Barrington, Mass.

NEW JERSEY for SUPERIOR High -Fidelity House 6. aNd V/C/ti/et (icago . SOUND and SERVICE the World's Finest Home Offering d'n. & .fom &in.f Q failaHon. Music Systems, created by experts ¡ Quality Ili -Fi Equipment with years of experience. gm taring . . . No Charge for Installation Liberal Avffi,,ud D.al Trade -In Allowance High Fidelity is our only business- Jensen Inquiries Invited Dept. H not a sideline. Complete stock of every JENSEN Studio Open Evenings worthwhile component at all times. FOLDED WINS CREATIVE AUDIO ASSOCIATES 536 South Fair Oaks, Pasadena 1, Calif. rj.e,.;tt.!A.v,,,,.o...oro.. .,L...d..a-aqTs 150 S. Harrison Street SY 5 -4118 RY 1 -8171 East Orange, N. J. Orange 6 -5229

I2$ HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com NEW JERSEY (continued) NEW YORK (continued) RADIO, FOR THE FINEST IN SOUND EONARD INC. SERVICE OR CrN.ndt Sf., Now York 7, 1M,AR FOR YOUR HI -FI EQUIPMENT N. Y. COrtbwdt 7-0315 Ittl- Specializing in Equipment ELECTRONIC CORP. Custom One of America's and Installations since 1947. Calls ! Leading made in N. Long 85 Monticello Ave. Y. C., Westchester, Audio Distributors 401 Anderson Ave. Island. Jersey City, N. J. Fairview, N. J. -First TT'ith the Finest" HE 5 -5800 CL 6 -9550 VECTOR LABORATORIES TWO CONVENIENT LOCATIONS 217 3rd Ave., N.Y.C. GR -1 -76$6 Authorized Distributors of: ACROSOUND HARMAN - ALTEC NEW YORK LANSING KARDON ASTATIC HARTLEY UNUSUAL PERSONALIZED AUDAX INTER - CUSTOM SOUND AUDIO DEVICES ELECTRONICS HI -FI SERVICE (AUDIO TAPE) featuring JENSEN WE OFFER You Your Entire Hi -Pi AUDIOGERSH KARLSON Selected British & American units Unit Custom Designed and Installed - AUDIOSPHERE KLIPSCH Repairs on Your Present Equipment. Special demonstration facilities REAM LEAK EC Cabinets to your specifications BELL LENCO ELECTRONIC CONSULTANTS IIERLANT 1.I V INGSTON 171 -08 Northern Blvd., Flushing 58, N.Y. CRAIG AUDIO LABORATORY 1 -2200 DAVID BOGEN LORENZ INdependence 12 Vine Street Rochester, N.Y. LIONEL BYALIN - Cabinet Maker BAker 1345 BOZAK MARKEL 5 Northern Blvd. Great Neck, N. Y. BROCINER MASCO "u stylus to a Klipschorn" GReet Neck 4 -9262 BROOKS MINN. MINING BROOK (SCOTCH BROWNING TAPE) BRUSH MEISSNER In Westchester it's CLARKSTAN NEWCOMB COLLARO ORRADIO W HAT CONCERTONE (IRISH TAPE) PEDERSEN makes you decide on your brand of magnetic CONRAC PENTRON recording tape? Advertising claims, or per. TEAR COOK formance ... 7 PERM -O-FLUX Timpani Hi -Fi Tape, the tape for discriminat- for high fidelity (:RESTW OOD PHANSTEIHL ing ears, invites you to try it, listen to it, com- R & R PICKERING pare it. 7 -in. Reel lists for $5.50. Trial offer: CONSULTATIONS COMPONENTS 4 reels, plus copy of the pamphlet "How to SERVICE CUSTOM INSTALLATIONS RUBBINGS PILOT select your brand of Tape" $10 postpaid. DUOTONE PREMIER 2475 Central Avenue Yonkers, N. Y. ELECTRO- PRESTO AETNA OPTIX Nww*j,NSÿ SPencer 9.6400 VOICE. FAIRCHILD Q.U.A.D. FERRANTI 11..1 PENNSYLVANIA RADIO FISHER CRAFTSMEN FREED - RAULAND -BORG TANNOY SPEAKERS PHILADELPHIANS: for EISEMANN REK.O -KILT AVAILABLE NEW YORK AREA 1. Unbiased Professional recommendations. GENERAL RIVEREDGE 2. Surprising Comparisons with ordinary ELECTRIC STENTORIAN BOHN offers complete custom high "bi-fi" G & R STEPHENS fidelity phonograph- radios. We 3. Free assembly and testing. GENERAL TANNOY feature T ANNOY loudspeakers 4. Trade-Ins, and guaranteed used equip- designed for ment. INDUSTRIES TECH -MASTER MUSIC LISTENERS. TELECTROSONIC )tear a typical home installation. 5. Records at savings. GARRARD GRAY THORENS TRU -VOX LECTRONICS CROMMES BOHN MUSIC SYSTEMS UNIVERSITY City Line Center GR. 7-9535 D. 550 Fifth Ave., N.Y.C. PL 7 -8569 H. SCOTT V -M 11. S. MARTIN WEATHERS CANADA HAM- R' HARFEDALE CRAFTER FTC. Design Service for Custom CANADA'S FIRST Write Leonard TODAY High Fidelity and Tele- HIGH-FIDELITY to: RADIO, PHONOGRAPH. RECORD AND receive your FREE 1955 Hi -Fi vision Installations. TELEVISION CENTRE Stromberg -Carlson "Custom 400" CATALOGUE ... off the Home or Business. Hallicrafters Hi -Fi, Short Wave as T -V presses soon! Fisher Radio - Concertone Tape Recorders All Makes of Hi- Fidelity Records Visit Leonard NOW ! INTER-PLAN en4to.n Sound o..Jd vialoa Ltd. Famous for: ?90 EGLINTON WEST TORONTO, ONT. 167 E. 53rd St. Phone HUdson 1 -1119 Competitive Prices i N. Y. 22, N. Y. PLaza 5-1240 Personal Attention Immediate Delivery FOR Your mail inquiries welcomed and will EXPORT MGRS. IN CANADA- receive immediate attention. American Selectifier Div., N.Y. There's one place where you can find - and Visit Leonard Radio at the Audio Fair hear all your high -fidelity equipment needs. of - HOTEL NEW YORKER Regency Div. I. D. E. A. We carry a complete stock ...come in, or write October 14 through 17 I R.A.C. Voltage Boosters I in, for a chat, a look, and a listen. Weathers Industries Inc. Rooms 536 -537

8LECTROTO10E RADIO, ALL THE I WORLD COMES TO: SOUND SYSTEMS EONARD INC. Crtl.ndt St., I NORPAT, Inc., 113 W. 42nd St, Y. cI 141 Dundas SI., West. TORONTO 9 Now York 7, N. Y. COrfl.ndl 7-0313

SEPTEMBER, 1954 I 2c)

www.americanradiohistory.com AUDIO FORUM NEVER BEFORE Continued from page 127 cushion it with glass wool. And in F.M. STATION SUCH my bedroom the speaker could be ATONER placed near the bed with the back . for budget- conscious part of the speaker projecting into an sound perfectionists! adjoining room without difficulty. DIRECTORY John Dougherty, M.D. 517 West Cumberland Knoxville, Tenn.

/f you are willing to mount speakers permanently in a wall, in the manner you 43,316 FREE HOURS! .Sercn Yet", of GOOD Hl :SIC,,,, have described, you should obtain very l00% good results. This is one of the acoustically FEAR 111.01111 WAI"l'S et I550 K(' furnishes about ideal methods of baffling; it "AUDIENCE'', a monthly music-arts magazine, the cleanest possible sound. By all means, carries complete NEAR listings -12 issues SI od.l AFM FREE FM GUIDE from go ahead with this plan. plan to KXKX We don't know where you 10.000 WA'rrs .t 97.3 FM room, mount the two speakers in the livinx No. 1 Nob Hill Circle SAN FRANCISCO PENTRON but you should be aware that the bass performance will be improved if you mount INTERMATCHED AM -FM TUNER then close together and drive them in TWO WITH "TAPE- MATE" FEATURES phase. Also, the bass will be doubled by Professional in qu:,;ily nl.lg itticc it in mounting any speaker near the junction of INDEPENDENT performance! This superb new tuner offers high fidelity features never before avail- a wall and ceiling or between two walls: FM STATIONS able in a unit so moderately priced. $89.95 it will be quadrupled by mounting it Separate AM -FM front ends. Low noise near a three -way junction i.e., two FM front end uses grounded grid triode - KCMS FM This applies to the RF amplifier ... Armstrong Discriminator walls and the ceiling. COLORADO SPRINGS . Automatic Frequency Control with lower bass, of course. push- button AFC defeat switch ... separate bass and treble controls ... cathode follower output. Many other professional SIR: features. KFML FM Perhaps you will be kind enough to UNIQUE "TAPE- MATE" FEATURES DENVER help me. Ever since I bought a manual 1. Permits program recording at the same time it is enjoyed as a high fidelity 3 -speed player about 6 months ago, I broadcast. 49% of Colorado's population have been very unhappy, and I can't 2. Tape recordings can be fed through the 54% of retail sales tuner and modified by its fine tone con- 66% of Colorado's wealth trol system -another Pentron first! MARKETPLACE lntermalched electrically, functionally and in appear- TRADER'S 104.9 98.5 ance with Pentron 's 9T -3M Tape Mechanism and HFP -1 or or PRE -7 Preamplifiers (illustrated below). Here's the place to buy, swap, sell audio equipment. Rates are only 30e a word (including address), and your ad- will 50,000 to 100,000 vertisement reach A vast new world of High Fidelity music listeners. Remittance must accom- listening pleasure on ... . pany copy and insertion instructions. "THE WORLD OF MUSIC"

Audio Sales Engineer experienced in high fidelity 101.1 MEGACYCLES component and complete installation sales. Wide experience from electronic- acoustic problems to mar- WRR-FM 68,000 WATTS keting techniques. Desires executive position with progressive company. Available New York City. DALLAS, TEXAS Make offer. Box AB, The Publishing House, Great Barrington, Moss. broadcasting the finest in music and drama to Scott 99 Amplifier. Excellent condition. $70.00. Norman F. Holt, Great Barrington, Moss. a select greater Dallas -Fort (Forth audience. DETROITERS Used high fidelity equipment bought, sold, and traded. Superior Television 4 Sound. Uni- versity 1 -1156. FM ANTENNAS. Brood band Yogis and standard mail coupon NOW! types. Wholesale Supply Co., Lunenburg, Mass. \ Conceived in high TAPE RECORDERS, Tapes, Accessories, unusual volves, fidelity The PENTRON Corp., Dept. HF -9 Messner, Box 66K, Peter Stuyvesant Station, N. Y. 9. Nurtured on a quarter 777 S. Tripp Avenue, Chicago 24, III. Fair trade -ins on your old equipment for brand new high fidelity components. CAMBRIDGE AUDIO million FM homes Rush FREE detailed literature on Pentron CENTER, 125 Cambridge Street, Syracuse, New York. High Fidelity Equipment. Maturing with an unequalled BROOK 12A3 preamplifier, HEATHKIT Williamson am- Name plifier, ALTEC 6038 speaker, D. Nebeker, 42 University, record in hi -fi advertising Address Salt Lake, Utah. City lone Want high quality coaxial speaker and Rek -O -Kut -State turntable assembly in "like new" condition. Write Hill, 439 Concord Avenue Canada: Atlas Radio Corp., Ltd., Toronto Occom Ridge, Hanover, N. H. Cambridge, Mass.

130 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com seem to get the answers here. LONG- PLAYING (33.'1 R.P.M.) HI- FIDELITY I When the stylus (GE sapphire) approaches the center of the record, the 100 reproduction gets so fuzzy that it's excruciating. I suspect a faulty car- ISTERPIECES $1.00 EACH! -BUT $1.00 FOR ALL EIGHT! tridge, but I'd hate to buy a new one if this one is OK. Is there anything I can do, short of throwing the player SCHUBERT out? This happens on every record, "Unfinished" Symphony (No. 8) new or otherwise. BEETHOVEN Benjamin Shapiro Ruins of Athens (March and Choir) 64 North Drive MOZART Piano Concerto in E flat New Brunswick, N. J. BAC H Toccata and Fugue in D Minor It is of course impossible to make a cer- WAGNER tain diagnosis of the trouble with your Die Meistersinger Prelude, Act 1 record player without examining it. The MOUSSORGSKY Night on Bald Mountain difficulty may be caused by a sluggish No Strings BRAHMS shutoff by mechanism; removing the turn- Academic Attached! No Need to Buy Any Festival Overture table you can see the little arm that moves Other Records Ever! fell Advantages of Trial Membership DUKAS over the trip dog on the spindle as the 8 masterpieces for only SI. Performed by Sorcerer's Apprentice ALLworld- famous artists. - recorded on pur playing arm approaches the record center. Custom est vinyl. Reproduced with a tonal fidelity encom- passing the entire range of human hearing (50 to rThe Musical Masterpiece Society, Int., Dept. If this little lever drags it could cause 119 1 15,000 cycles.) This amazing offer is made only 43 West 61st S , New York 23, N. Y. the stylus to hit on a cartridge pole-piece. to demonstrate superb quality of our recordings; Enclosed is $1 In fait payment for the recordings and to show you advantages of trial membership. of 8 masterpieces listed. Enroll me as trial member. If so, there is a height adjustment that Privileges: No purchase obligation ever? Advance HOW CLUB OPERATES --We advise you monthly notice of releases. 5 day free trial on any discs. of new releases. Those you want are sent you for I may reject records before or after receipt; may may prevent it from dragging. cancel membership at any time. FREE trial. After 5 days' listening -eel) the records For future l.p. discs I keep. I'll pay only $1.50 each plus shipping. Another possibility is that the stylus you decide to keep are billed you at the low membership price of $1.50 per disc (average playing time 40 Name arm is permanently bent so that it is too min. I. You save 35 the usual retail price! This "give- Address away" offer can obviously not be kept open indefi- City State close to a pole - piece, and the effect is nitely. MAIL COUPON NOW while supply lasts. LCanada. address 686 Bathurst St., Toronto 4, Oat Full money -back guarantee. aggravated by the natural tracking error as the center of the record is approached. You can straighten the stylus arm with tweezers to re- center it between the poles. 74ö If neither of these measures helps, we can ern goes c/unior iii' only recommend that you take the player N. Cabinets to a competent hi-fi service organization. There are several in your general area. Truly a chip off the old A -G block, the "Genesee Junior" features quality advantages of the famous regular Angle Genesee customized SIR: line. Designed for the space and budget -conscious audiophile with v UTC measured o the lead and speaker taste, these junior equipment and system capacity of a typical William- speaker cabinets come finished, unfinished or in "Do -it- yourself" kits. Ë son -type high fidelity amplifier load Contemporary: natural birch or tra- and found it to be "on the order of ditional mahogany. Other popular é finishes at modest additional cost. 3 .00zy mfd and greater." In their tests a. they found the cable capacities "to o Speaker cabinets as low as $59.50 run from 40 to 8o mmf /ft." and the completely finished. shunt capacities per speaker to "range With 15" speaker mounting cut out. 12-J adaptor available for 12" speakers. from 5o to 15o mmf." These stray 211/4" wide, 181/4" deep. 34" high. i capacities were found to be a contribu- mounting roilstlat.Pendinal. removable panels and shelves Equipment cabinets as low as $79.50 ting factor causing waveform distortion completely finished. franchises still available. at high frequencies. Chassis compartment 151/4" deep. 171/4" high. Note: A few dealer Player shelf 191/4" wide, 17" deep. Here's an easy way to eliminate 94% Record of this troublesome capacity: split details today. Please send me free complete information le` Send for full on the new "Genesee Junior". your paired cable leads to the speaker Please send name of dealer nearest me. and fix the wires 12 inches apart. I am a hi fi dealer. Please contact me about CORPORATION a "Genesee Junior franchise. Captain Ed Newman s is ,u Supply Sq., APO 406 Name 120 Norris Drive/ Rochester, N. Y. c/o PM, New York, N. Y. Address City Zone _ State Continued on page 133

SEPTEMBER, 1954 131

www.americanradiohistory.com MUSIC LISTENER'S e717 ;1lülúhlÚllllll WA91oIIICIIf;an1,i11íimllülEIlNil11 BOOKSHELF II1.111IIdiIIiI:Id011i'll 'ul ll 711111fÌUi,il[Ullllli man

THE SECOND SUPPLEMENT TO THE WORLD'S BINDERS FOR HIGH FIDELITY Magazine: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RECORDED MUSIC: Now we are ready with both Volumes 4A LATEST RELEASES Francis F. Clough 8s G. J. Cuming. and 4B binders in red leatherette, gold This is the continuation, covering the stamped on front and backbone to hold MUSIC IN THE RENAISSANCE: Gustave period from mid -1951 to the end of 1952 6 issues $2.75 each Reese. A comprehensive account of of the original Encyclopedia. The first music fifteenth produced in the and supplementary volume of a series intended THE RECORDING AND REPRODUCTION OF sixteenth centuries. The music of the to keep the original work up to date. SOUND: Oliver Read, Second Edition, 805 in period covered this volume exhibits No. 133 $9.25 pages, over 700 illustrations, cloth. A a brilliance and richness fully equal to complete and authoritative treatment of the parallel achievements of renaissance the entire subject of sound. Covers all literature and art. The original World's Encyclopedia of aspects of recording. No. 141 $15.00 Recorded Music (first supplement No. 46 $7.95 bound in) is still available. This volume includes all electrically recorded LOUDSPEAKERS: G. A. Briggs. Intended A GUIDE TO LONGPLAY JAZZ RECORDS: for those interested in the Loudspeaker Frederic Ramsey, Jr. Complete list- music up to the middle of 1951. No. 57 $17.50 and how it works and how results may be ings of all L.P. jazz records issued to improved. Non-technical terms through- date most of which are accompanied out. by notes containing helpful In- data. No. 56 $1.60 cludes index of titles with an excellent WILLIAMSON AMPLIFIER BOOKLET: D. T. cross -reference system. N. Williamson, 36 pages, 31 illustrations. Contains complete design data for con- HIGHLIGHTS OF COLOR TELEVISION: John No. 140 $4.50 structing this famous high -fidelity am- R. Locke, Jr. plifier. A clearly- written paper -bound booklet covering colorimetry, the N.T.S.C. color No. 94 $1.00 signal, the transmitter, color receiver and the shadow mask tri-color picture tube. THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC: Klaus Liep- HOME MUSIC SYSTEMS: Edward Tatnall mann. A practical guide to the under- Canby. 300 pages, illustrated. How to No. 134 $ 99 standing of music. Emphasis is placed on assemble high -fidelity equip- and enjoy INTRODUCTION TO COLOR TV: M. Kauf- understanding the elements and forma- ment at tremendous savings. Can help tive principals of music facilitated by de- man and H. Thomas. you avoid making expensive mistakes. Detailed attention given to the color tailed analyses of selected pieces of great No. 109 $3.95 music. A good addition to your reference television system, with emphasis on the library. receiver. A fine book for service tech- HIGH FIDELITY SIMPLIFIED: Harold Weiler, nicians, students and engineers who are No. 118 $5.00 209 pages, 104 illustrations. A most not familiar with the color television understandable discussion of the funda- process. mental theories of high -fidelity sound re- ELECTRONICS FOR EVERYONE: Monroe No. 135 $2.10 Upton. Contains the very latest electronic production. Working designs for speaker developments accompanied by illustra- enclosures. BURKE -BEETHOVEN DISCOGRAPHY: a Re- tions. Written for the layman, it leads No. 101. $2.50 print, in the form of a 16 -page excerpt from gradually from the elementary to the more the Spring 1952 issue of HIGH FIDEL- advanced phases of the subject. SOUND REPRODUCTION: Third Edition of ITY. G. A. Briggs' famous book. Many new No. 122 $ 50 No. 142 $6.00 chapters and 175 new and original illustrations. Mr. Briggs, aided by hundreds HERMAN MILLER FURNITURE BOOK: 116 MICROPHONES: Engineering Staff, BBC, of photographs and drawings, brings his pages of photographs and drawings that 114 pages, cloth. Covers the theory, de- usual flair for lucid, readable explana- offer a world of ideas for cabinets, furni- sign and characteristics of all standard tion to all the essential elements of high - ture pieces, and storage walls, many suit- microphone types. fidelity reproduction. able for custom hi -fi installations. No. 110 No. 123 No. 73 $3.25 $3.50 $5.00

HOW TO BUILD A RECORD LIBRARY: Howard Taubmann. Lists the basic works Book Department considered by the author as most impor- HIGH FIDELITY Magazine tant for both a starting library and a more Great Barrington, Mass advanced one. Every field of music. I enclose $ for which please send me the books indicated No.125 $1.50 by the circled numbers below. (No C.O.D.'s please.) *Send 25c for foreign postage registration. GOOD LISTENING: R. D. Darrell. A highly readable guide to the enjoyment of music 46 56 57 73 94 101 109 110 118 122 123 as directly related to recordings available 125 126 133 134 135 140 141 142 Binder 4A, 4B on LP. The last 37 pages are an index - NAME discography listing one recommended LP recording of every composition mentioned. ADDRESS No. 126 $2.75

132 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com AUDIO FORUM tem in the house, much less expensive, which works perfectly. Continued from page r ;o I have asked a number of engineers SIR: about my problem, and none of them Through my Altec 6o4C speaker can figure it out. I'm open to sugges- comes a weird and persistent whistle, tions from anybody. I've invested IF probably about 7,000 or 8,000 cycles. $677.89 in equipment which should Everything in the system is grounded; be enough for decent sound of some there are no AM or FM stations within sort, and am asking your staff and YOU'RE a radius of io miles; all cables are in- readers for a helping hand before I get sulated; the location of the various the final estimate from the junk dealer. components has no effect on the Bertrand S. Cheel whistle; and it not affected by any r 2 Hollis Drive INTERESTED control setting except that of the am- Ho- Ho -Kus, N.J. plifier input level control. The equipment in my system is of We wrote Mr. Cheel when his letter first quality similar to that of the speaker - was received, offering some suggestions IN I have a Fisher 7owr tuner and control which didn't work. Apparently this is a unit, and a Fisher 5o -watt amplifier. peculiar bug; we can't recall ever having These units have been checked twice run up against one like this. Perhaps a HIGH by the manufacturer and found to be in reader has -if so, would he be kind perfect condition. I have no doubt enough to let Mr. Cheel know about it, that they are; originally, I had an S. B. and how it was exorcised? Marantz preamp and a McIntosh 50- FIDELITY... watt amplifier - an extremely high - SIR: quality combination, you will agree - I have been watching the pages of which I returned because of the same HIGH FIDELITY magazine with con- whistle. To confound the issue fur- siderable interest, hoping for a com- th O/ ther, there is another high fidelity sys- Continued on page 136 YOU'LL WANT ind4Ó/1«taf the TO KNOW MORE fined/ea/thief/ye ABOUT THE evel deÁ nedt WEATHERS FM CAPACITANCE CARTRIDGE High Fidelity RECORD CHANGER Until recently the Weathers cartridge has been used chiefly by professional audio engineers and technical hobbyists. Now all music lovers can experience its full range, flawless reproduction. Compare the Weathers with Enjoy the freedom from record arty other cartridge, damaging pressures and heat regardless of price: generated by conventional pickups GREATEST COMPLIANCE 14 x 10 -6 centimeters per dyne which are 6 to 15 times heavier LOWEST DYNAMIC MASS: than the Weathers 1 gram pickup. 1 milligram Thrill to difference WIDEST RANGE: the that 15 to 20,000 cycles ± 2 db, equalized this outstanding pickup can make LOWEST TRACKING PRESSURE: Mail This Coupon Today in your high fidelity system. Ask 1 gram vertical stylus force LEAST CROSS MODULATION DISTORTION: r 1 your dealer for a demonstration. Well under 2% Includes a sable brush ahead of the stylus to clean ROCKRAR CORPORATION, Dept. MJ -1 215 East 37th Street, New Yerk 16, N.Y. away damaging dust and dirt . .. and a permanently installed movable guard which prevents damage to Please send me literature describing COLLARO the stylus plate. High Fidelity RECORD CHANGERS. Ask your dealer about these other quality Weathers products: NAME...... _...._.._. ._...._...... _...... _..... _. Reproducer Tone Arms Oscillator Stylus Plates Power Supply "Debonnaire" Hi Fi Record Pre -Amplifier ADDRESS...... _..... __. __.__. _._ ..._...... _ ...... _. Player Stylus Pressure Gouge High Fidelity Music Record CITY...... _...__...... _.__...... ZONE STATE Write for free catalog and technical information. 66 E. Gloucester Pike Bafrington, N. J. _J

SEPTEMBER, 1954 ;ì

www.americanradiohistory.com THE It may be quite impossible to find... It may be discouraging to think of the expense, custom made, for... Perfect Match That Speaker System of Your Dreams (with control and reproduction exactly matched to your own excelling the usual excellent as a charm) OF SPEAKER AND particular needs- bi fi But why not have it anyway, as hundreds have SPEAKER ENCLOSURE through your own interest and attention. It could be... the only way to bring it. Moderately priced parts and clear instructions from People who hear the British -built Hartley 215 for the first time are amazed by its superbly clean per- M. formance. Those who own and WALTER/ JONES live with it never cease to marvel. But neither have really heard the 215 at its absolute best ... unless rrrfu re. they've heard it operating from I C O R P R A T E D a Hartley BOFFLE Speaker N O Enclosure. make it an easy matter to understand, to know and to do. One of the principal features of the Hartley 215 Speaker is that it is free from resonance distor- There is such an untapped source of excellence in many good hi fi tion. The Hartley Borne was de- components that you can draw upon it by basing your speaker system signed to match this quality, and on the most efficient Crossover Networks known. (We make them.) is itself entirely free from acous- We will indicate how to place your single unit speakers for the effect tical resonances. that you alone need and all that extra value is yours for the taking. Customers may draw on our long experience and have that benefit Most speaker cabinets are actu- when they want it just for the asking. We want our parts on the ally tuned resonant systems. They - introduce response peaks, very best. and Our new Speaker System Folders of them on Crossover should not be used with the non - -two -one resonant 215. In the Hartley Networks and one on Air -Couplers and Speakers are full of illustra- Bofile, the 215 provides smooth tions, examples, non -technical explanations and suggestions, all response over the entire audible leading to a pleasant experience. spectrum. The folders are ten cents each. Our service is individual, so you may state your needs and address me personally. There is no doubt that a Hartley 215 will provide you with better Walter M. Jones, P.O. Box 277, Sheffield, Mass. sound reproduction ... but for the very best, hear its performance in a Hartley Bale.

The HARTLEY 215 LOUDSPEAKER is priced at $65

coft!%GfJ`L' (mNG HARTLEY BOTTLE ENCLOSURES ,e,e((í-lfiiiGtedele,e667Gk eiYeeete,/ ore mode in single -, dual -, and four. Centralab speaker models, and are priced Irons $50.75 SENIOR COMPENTROL JUNIOR COMPENTROL

with level -set 1/2 or 1 Meg. less Switch - - - - $2.50 Net Sold by There's nothing else like it! 1/2 or 1 Meg. with C2 -100 - - - Net Price, $4.50 franchised dealers Switch - - - - $3.00 Net or write to Dept. BJ -t Order from your Centralab distributor H. A. HARTLEY CO., INC. Write Centralab, Dept. 9391, Milwaukee 1, Wisconsin, 521 East 162nd St., Bronx 51, N. Y. for your "Compentrol Booklet ". 'Trade Mark for Centralab's Compensated Volume Control. -255

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com the audio exchange exchanges audio ADVERTISING INDEX the audio exchange exchanges audio the audio exchange exchanges audio the audio exchange exchanges audio Aetna Optix 129 Laboratory of Electronic Engineering... 122 the audio exchange exchanges audio Allied Rodio Corp 4 Lansing, James B., Sound, Inc. 86 Altec Lansing Corp 116 Lectronics 129 the audio exchange exchanges audio Angle Genesee Corp. 131 Leonard Radio, Inc 129 the audio exchange exchanges audio Apparatus Co. 134 Leslie Creations 85 Argos Products Co. 126 Listening Post, The 128 the audio exchange exchanges audio Arrow Electronics 123 London Records 81 the audio exchange exchanges audio Audak Co 105 Lyrichord Discs, Inc 84 Audio Devices, Inc Inside Front Cover the audio exchange exchanges audio Audio Exchange, Inc. 135 Magnecord Inc. 110 Fair Audio 124 Marantz, S. B 124 Audiogersh Corp. 13 Marion Products 83 Audio Workshop, Inc 128 McGohan, Don, Inc 118 Say why do you people ex- Tape AV Libraries 80 McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. 14, 15, 32 hibit at the Audio Fair? Mercury Record Corp 79 B & C Recording, Inc 85 Minnesota Mining & Mfg. Co. 29 Well we meet a lot of old Music Box 84 and we con- Beam Instrument Corp. 1 11 customers again, Bell Sound Systems, Inc. 104 Music Listener's Bookshelf 132 tact a lot of new, potential Bogen, David, Co., Inc 115 Musical Masterpiece Society, Inc 131 customers. Bohn Music Systems 129 Boosey & Hawkes, Inc 85 Nagel, Arthur, Inc o 128 Well who comes to see you? Bozak, R. T. Co 12 National Company 22, 23, 24, 25 o Brandywyne House 85 Newcomb Audio Products 10, 11 who have dealt Brociner Electronic Lab 8 Norpat Sales, Inc. 129 Oh, people o with us; people who hove con- o sidered dealing with us; and Records Omega Electronics 82 Capitol Back Cover, 71 many people who want the o Orradio Industries, Inc. 123 Centralab 134 new things they see at the Fair. Collaro 133 Columbia Records, Inc. 77 Pentron Corp. 130 would they deal Commissioned Electronics Co. 128 Permo, Inc. 124 Well - why all the way Concertone Recorders, Berlant Associates 92 Permoflux Corp. with you you're 108 - Aren't you? Contemporary American Furniture 128 Pilot Radio Corp 16 out in Queens -- Cox, Hal, Custom Music 128 Precision Electronics, Inc 118 Craig Audio Laboratory 129 Presto Recording Corp 103 No wo are exactly 30 minutes Creative Audio Associates 128 Professional Directory 128, 129 from the Hotel New Yorker by Crestwood Recorder Division 26 subway. So it isn't so bad. Custom Hi -Fi 128 RAM Co 128 Custom Sound & Vision, Ltd 129 RCAVictor Division 72, 73 Yes but I can get hundreds R -J Products, Inc 2 of places right in Manhat'an. Daystrom Electric Corp. 26 Radio Craftsmen, Inc 106, 107 deHaan Hi Radio Shack Corp. 136 -Fi 128 That's true but you see, the Diamond RaulandBorg Corp. 120 Stylus Co 126 AUDIO EXCHANGE is the TRA- Dublin's Record Market 84, 85 85 DING ORGANIZATION in the Reeves Soundcraft Corp. 113 Hi Fi field. RekO -Kul Co. 5 Electronic Consultants 129 Romany Records 85 Electronic Expediters 128 all my You mean I can give you Electro- Voice, Inc. 90, 91 old junk? Electro -Voice Sound Systems 129 Scheller, E. & R. 128 Elektra Records Schwann, W 80 85 take any of Scott, Herman Hosmer, No ' but we will Inc. 17, 19, 21 if Shure Brothers, Inc. 125 your Hi Fi equipment in trade Fairchild Recording & Eqpt. Corp 20 Sound Unlimited it is in good condition and ro Fisher Radio Corp 27 128 Standard Wood Products salable. Fleetwood Television (Conrac, Inc.) 114 Corp 126 FM Station Directory Stephens Mfg. Corp. 9 130 StrombergCarlson 99 Yes that's what I mean.

I come to see you G & H Wood Products Co 121 think will General Electric Co. 125 Tannoy, Ltd. 18 people! Goodmans Industries Ltd. 112 Terminal Radio Corp. 30 Gray Research & Development Co., Inc 7 Thorens Co. 100 That's swell! Traders Marketplace 130 Turner Co. 119 Hack Swain Productions 83 Hallmark Electronic Corp. 129 th nge exc anges audio Harmon -Kardon, Inc 109 United Transformer Co....Inside Back Cover the audio exchange exchanges audio Hartley, H. A., Co., Inc. 134 University Loudspeakers 6 Harvey Radio Co., Inc. 101 Utah Radio Products Co., Inc 102 the audio exchonge exchanges audio Hastings Products Inc 120 the audio exchange exchanges audio High -Fidelity House 128 V & H Sales Co 123 High House 84 the audio exchange exchanges audio VM Corp. 30, 31 Hollywood Electronics 128 Vector Labs. 129 the audio exchange exthonges audio Homchis, John P., Jr 85 Voice & Vision, Inc 128 the audio exchange exchanges audio Vox Productions, Inc 82 Interelectronics Corp. 85, 117 the audio exchange exchanges audio Inter -plan 129 WRRFM 130 the audio exchange exchanges audio WXHR 130 the audio exchange exchanges audio Jensen Mfg. Co 1 Weathers Industries 133 Weingarten Electronic Laboratories 128 KCMS, KFML 130 Westlab 129 THE AUDIO EXCHANGE, INC. KEAR 130 Westminster Recording Co. 74 159 -19 Hillside Avenue Kierulff Sound Corp. 128 White, Stan, Inc. 28 Jamaica 32, N. Y. Olympia 8 -0445 Klipsch Associates 122 World Radio Laboratories 127

SEPTEMBER, 1954

www.americanradiohistory.com AUDIO FORUM NEW! Continued from page 733 prehensive article on binaural sound. No such article has appeared. FM I am especially interested in finding "Realist" out whether corner loudspeakers can be integrated into a system, either by HIGH -FIDELITY using one binaural corner speaker with RADIO TUNERS another speaker placed against a wall X3995 or by using two corner speakers. If neither of these systems would be Designed by Radio Shack ARMSTRONG! AFC! TUNED RF STAGE! satisfactory, I wonder whether the bass to meet the demand for systems of the corner units could be used in the corner and the middle substantial quality range and treble speakers shifted to a at a direct -to -you position against the wall and out of the corner. Another problem of great sensible price! concern to me is the distance which should separate the two loudspeakers. t.Jitarrnitee- 5 microvolt sensitivity for 30 db quieting on FM tuner. 5 In Mr. Emory Cook's recent article microvolt sensitivity on AM tuner. Standard RETMA 90.day guarantee. in HIGH FIDELITY Magazine, he specified a separation of ten feet, which is hopelessly impractical in a large number of rooms, including my own living room, unless one corner speaker at least could be used in the binaural system. One further question: do coaxial or other "point- source" speakers work FM... better in binaural systems than do 5 uv sensitivity; tuned RF stage; Armstrong other two -way or three -way systems, circuit with double -tuned limiter. low -noise triode mixer; balanced AFC; 20 -2)000 cps the components of which are mounted ±0.5 db; Ice bandwith, 6 rubes (2 dual) plus tea.; AC power supply. Only close to one another but nevertheless 41/4 H x 91/2 x 61/4- D; ship. wt. 61/4 spread over a larger area? AM... J. Foy Guin, Jr. 5 uv sensitivity; tuned RF stage; 8 is bandband- - Russellville, Ala. with; superhet; 20 -5000 cps ±3 db. S tubes (1 AC power supply. Same size as FM tuner, We have found from our own experi- PLUS VALUES: ultra- compact to 6t anywhere; built -in tape output, phonoifunction ence that corner speaker systems can be switch, solid 1 -piece full-panel front. For binaural - purchase of both tuners saves used quite effectively. No deterioration you at least $100. Use with any amplifier, radio, TV, sound system. Both tuners from the wall- mounted setup was noticed. EXACT match! Exclusive at Radio Shack! Taking this one step further, it seems quite likely that one corner speaker and one wall ]Free NEW! speaker could be employed also. As for separation -if you can separate New 224-Page "ARCHER" Magnetic recording tape, 7" reel, the speakers by at least ten or twelve feet, 1955 Catalog, plastic base 1200 ft. x ' /a" , at the lowest price in the country! Exclusive at Radio Write Today! Shack. Guaranteed 1st quality. then that is the separation to use. If this isn't possible, use the maximum convenient separation you can obtain. In no case, how- FM TUNER _ $39.95 Q $185 ever, should the speakers be put in opposite AM TUNER $29.95 Q Order corners or on opposite walls. MAG. TAPE - ______$1.85 No. Q R -8101 We don't believe it to be necessary to Q CATALOG FREE use coaxial speakers or single -cone types. In all practical multi -element speaker sys- NAME tems the separation of the individual components is negligible compared to the separa- STREET RADIO SHACK CORPORATION tion of the complete systems of a binaural setup. TOWN 167 Washington St., Boston 8, Mass.

l 2,6 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com LINEAR SIAM ARO Mlr AMPLIFIER WITH COVER REMOVED

PRINTED CIRCUIT CONSTRUCTION SUITED TO 7" RACK PANEL MOUNTING uuIIIIIIfaNIINIIIIIINIlINI0111IIaM....11 44E44 0.0.0 PO.LP 4.4441PA nu.luuM1 uWITIIOOP R[D..CN, IIIIIIIIIII 1NT[P.0011UTUN OSTOPM,P I 1 I IIIIII 1 1111111 K POW" WW1 IIIIIIIIIII PPO'.SR .NP4r,U tl[PS1nK NMI P1 51740440 ,en OOMI[CnON iiÌiiliiiiiiilÌ M11...111 rD4, P 4 OUTPUT NIINIIIIIIIIIIYIIPí Il ...... 1IIIIIIII IUI ..MN° NEW HEIGHT OF FIDELITY amw.I..11MR1wR/0-.11m mom 11 IIIIII MfaII/AI11I M lMIlllll .1111.11111111M11111. 11111111 i11ó DPUU IImM 20 WATTS ==::IE:eiri.liiiiiil IIII IIII III iúiE.ii.ii I iiGiim.u.unni n1unM1 O 20 I100

1 400.74 04TPDT -w.TTS KIT FORM 100 1040 SIMc INTERMODULATION DISTORTION CURVE FREQUENCY RESPONSE CURVE

The Linear Standard amplifier climaxes a project assigned to our audio engineering group a year ago. The COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE problem was, why does a Williamson circuit amplifier which tests beautifully in the laboratory seem to have consider- LINEAR STANDARD WILLIAMSON TYPE able distortion in actual use? It took a year to fully determine the nature and cause of these distortions and the positive corrective measures. This new amplifier not only provides for full frequency response over the audio range but, in addition, sets a new standard for minimum transient distortion. Step function ::l:I'.,. An inherent weakness of the Williamson circuit lies (low frequency) °: i ï=: =O:II in the fact that its negative feedback becomes positive at transient stability. ..a/.1,.. subsonic and ultrasonic frequencies. The resultant insta- ::Ii'IilII . bility in use lends to parasitic oscillation at the high end ,. and large subaudio cone excursions both of which produce ,1,1,1, substantial distortions. The Linear Standard Amplifier uses Multiple Loop Feedback and network stabilization to completely eliminate these instabilities. The oscillograms below show comparative performance. The flat frequency response and extremely low intermodulation distortion provided by 36 db feedback, are self evident from the curves shown. Nigh frequency In addition to providing an ideal amplifier electrically, osculatioon stability. I considerable thought was given to its physical form. A Average speaker wiring number of points were considered extremely important: (1) capacity. Size should be minimum (power and audio on one chassis). (2) Each kit must have identical characteristics to lab model. (3) Rugged, reliable, structure is essential.

This resulted in a rather unique construction employing a printed circuit panel as large as the chassis with virtually all components pre-assembled and wired. The result is that each kit, which comes complete, including tubes and cover, can be fully pretested before shipment. Additional wiring involves only the connection of 17 leads to screw terminals for completion. Overload recovery transients.

LINEAR STANDARD TYPE MLF AMPLIFIER SPECIFICATIONS ...

Rated Power Output: 20 Watts Intermodulation Distortion: .___._..._._...... - 07 %1W, 1 %20W Frequency Response (controlled): 1 db 20 to 20,000 cycles Mum & Noise Level: 80 db below rated output Feedback:_ 4444. _.....__....____.36 db Output impedances (not critical): 4, 8, 16 also 2, 5, 10, 20, 30 ohms Tubes:...... _...... _... 1.13AIl. 2.6AÚ6, 2.5881, 1.5V4C Dimensions & Weight:._.._...__._...... _.._.5y4"x8 "x171/4 ",24 lbs. Net Price:_.. _.__.___ ...... _...... __.$108.00 150 VARICK STREET (/ NEW YORK 13, N. Y. EXPORT DIVISION: 13 EAST 40th STREET, NEW YORK 16, N. Y. CABLES: "ARLAI"

www.americanradiohistory.com Lend us your ears... Because you love fine music... because you vanced recording condi tions. In those cases where seek incomparable high fidelity ...lend us your the final product did not measure up to the high ears for a story significant to you -the story of standards set by both musicians and engineers, Full Dimensional Sound. the records were to be scrapped. Years before the present hi -fi tumult began, we The result was Full Dimensional Sound. The at Capitol determined to capture on records worth of our efforts in producing FDS records live music which would, when played at home, may be judged from a typical critical review re-live in all its original clarity, tonal balance by Francis A. Klein, Music Editor of the St. and fidelity. Louis Globe- Democrat: "Capitol's FDS is as live as the engineers are not on trick effects and special close to performance We depended likely to devices which give a temporary illusion of high get..." fidelity. We sought instead to record the music For your own discovery of this high fidelity exactly as performed by great artists of our and musical accomplishment, lend us your ears time, collaborating with sensitive producers once more ...listen to just one recording which and demanding engineers, under the most ad- bears the Full Dimensional Sound symbol.

Consult Your Record Dealer for Complete Repertoire of Capitol FDS Classics and Latest Releases

Incomparable High Fidelity All Full in Full Dimensional Sound Dimensional Sound records come to you in Inner Protective Envelope. 1