BRAHMS: Neue Liebeslieder Walz- Britten Records in the American Cata- Orchestra, No
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
midway between the granitic massive- val Orchestra, Yehudi Menuhin, cond. prefaced the work with the Corelli Con- ness of Backhaus and the wry linearity of (in the Britten and Corelli), Michael certo grosso from which the theme of Kempff, and thoroughly comparable to Tippett, cond. (in the Tippett). Tippett's work is taken. Intellectual both. ANGEL 36303. LP. $4.79. stimulation and sensuous delight are The sound is fine, if a trifle low in ANGEL S 36303. SD. $5.79. equally abundant on this lovely record. level in the stereo pressing of the Bee- B.J. thoven disc. H.G. I was astonished to discover that there was no version of the Frank Bridge Variations among the fairly numerous CHOPIN: Concerto for Piano and BRAHMS: Neue Liebeslieder Walz- Britten records in the American cata- Orchestra, No. 1, in E minor, Op. er, Op. 65 logues. This witty, polished work, com- 11; Mazurkas: No. 54, in D, Op. (Hindemith: Sonata for Piano, 4 posed in the space of a few weeks when posth.: No. 46, in C, Op. 67, No. 3; Hands Britten was twenty- three, was the first No. 49, in A minor, Op. 68, No. his pieces to bring him into in- 1-Stravinsky: Pétrouchka: Suite of the 2; No. 5, in B flat, Op. 7, No. 1 ternational limelight, when it was per- Yaltah Menuhin and Joel Ryce, piano. formed at the 1937 Salzburg Festival. Tamás Vásáry. piano: Berlin Philhar- EVEREST 6130. LP. $4.98. It won him an immediate reputation for monic Orchestra. Jerzy Semkov, cond. EVEREST 3130. SD. $4.98. brilliance and precocity: some critics DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON LPEM detected a dangerous facility in it and, 19453. LP. $5.79. This fine husband -and -wife team brings with the characteristic English distrust DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON SLPEM to these works a full -bodied, colorful, of professionalism (nicely described by 136453. SD. $5.79. and predominantly lyrical approach. It John Osborne as an "incorrigible taste works ideally well in the lovely Brahms for the ungifted amateur "). many of the Tamás Vásáry is an artist from whom I miniatures, where the fire, tenderness, composer's countrymen gloomily pre- have come to expect great things, and and tonal variety of the performances dicted that he would sink in a mire of his playing here displays much ravish- almost compensate for the omission of superficial effectiveness. But the deeper ing sensitivity and poetic color. The read- qualities of the work have become more the score's optional vocal parts. 1 also ing of the Concerto, however, has a sur- apparent time. Both the genuinely like the spacious, rich -hued effect in the with prising lack of rhythmic élan and misses the parodistic Hindemith, for it underlines the work's expressive and broadly the sort of pristine spontaneity customari- the work are roots in nineteenth- century German ro- elements of given their due ly associated with Vásáry's work. (Per- in this superb performance, which is manticism rather than the more arid haps the pianist had ample reason to easily the best I have heard. and equally twentieth- century dryness so often feel dispirited by the shocking inade- the finest achievement of Menuhin and stressed by Hindemith players. And quacy of Jerzy Semkov's orchestral the Bath Festival Orchestra in my ex- though a bit more sharpness and clarity framework: the bloopy, murky sonori- perience. The performance is backed up might be in order for the Stravinsky, the ties and ragged articulation are far more by gloriously free recorded sound and present performance has many delectable suggestive of a third -rate provincial band some thrilling stereo. details and plenty of vitality. I look for- than of the august Berlin Philharmonic.) The other side of the disc will proba- ward to hearing more of these subtle Happily, Vásáry's performances of the and imaginative artists' work. bly prove even more rewarding in the long run. Michael Tippett. who was born four mazurkas have far more tensile The sound is highly agreeable, with grace, buoyancy, and executive polish. in 1905, is a less well -known composer the broad outlines and coloristic strokes This is a cool, almost Mozartean, way emphasized by more than usual room and a less obviously effective one than Britten, but to my mind he is the greatest of playing Chopin; and while some lis- resonance. It fits the style of playing teners may miss the more impassioned ideally. H.G. writing in England today. With a strong- ly individual idiom drawing rhythmic approach which an Artur Rubinstein, say, strength from intelligent adaptation of would bring to the same music, I find madrigal technique, with an imaginative the purity and finish of Vásáry's artist- E BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4, in approach to tonality, and with a mind so ry at its best completely beguiling. In- minor, Op. 98 far unfettered from convention as to be deed, I would almost say that this disc capable of inventing revolutionary yet is worth acquiring for the Mazurkas Hallé Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli, cogent forms and time scales, Tippett alone. In the Concerto, however, the cond. also possesses a gift for lyrical ecstasy editions by Stefan Askenase (DGG), Pol- VANGUARD EVERYMAN SRV 183. LP. of expression rivaled among contempo- lini (Capitol -EMI), Davidovich (MK- $1.98. rary composers only by Elliott Carter and Artia ), and Rubinstein /Skrowaczewski VANGUARD EVERYMAN SRV 183SD. Hans Werner Henze. All these qualities (RCA Victor) continue to rank highest SD. $1.98. are evident in the concise yet paradoxi- in my esteem. H.G. cally expansive Fantasia concertante, Sir John and his players offer a tradi- which he wrote in 1953 to mark the tional, generally solid performance of tercentenary of Corelli's birth. The CLERAMBAULT: First Organ Book this familiar work. No competition with composer himself directs a beautiful the more glamorous "name" orchestras performance, and Angel has sensibly André Marchai, organ. in the catalogue is indicated (Brahms MUSICAL HERITAGE SOCIETY MHS 640. Fourth is par for just about every great LP. $2.50. symphonic ensemble); but Sir John's MUSICAL HERITAGE SOCIETY MHS reading has good musical flow, a respect 640. SD. $2.50. for structure, and a rugged, honest quali- ty marking this conductor at his best. I first had the privilege of hearing André The orchestra's intonation is less than Marchai in July 1964, at Nadia Boulan- perfect. R.L. ger's International School of Music in the Palace of Fontainebleau. At the time, I felt that if there was a finer organist BRITTEN: Variations on a Theme of alive 1 had not heard him. Above all Frank Bridge, Op. 10 it was a quality of elevated, lively, and ¡Core lli: Concerto grosso in F, Op. unpompous spirituality -in a word, esprit 6, No. 2 -both in the man and in his playing that (Tippett: Fantasia concertante on a made his recital so memorable. Theme of Corelli This quality is amply demonstrated in the present recording of the First Organ Yehudi Menuhin, violin; Robert Masters, Book by Louis -Nicolas Clérambault violin; Derek Simpson, cello; Bath Festi- (1676- 1749). The work comprises two 78 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE www.americanradiohistory.com.