60 CENTS the Boston Symphony Orchestra

H ENSCHBL 1881 -1884

60 CENTS

GERICKE 1884-1889 1898 -1906

NIKISCH 1889-1893

Seventy -five Years of The Boston Symphony Orchestra

by JOHN M. CONLY 1919

FEBRUARY

PA UR 1893 -1898

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

This Issue. On the twelfth day of Christ- Volume 6 Number 2 February 1956 mas, as the song says, our true loves, the record companies, had sent us such an incredible profusion of disks for review that The Listener's Bookshelf, by R. D. Darrell something drastic had to be done, if De- 4 cember-January releases were not to be cropping up in July reviews. Further, most AUTHORitatively Speaking r 6 of the records were good and many of them important. Thus, after much thumping, Letters 2 I shaking and nodding of heads, it was decided to put off until March the Prokofiev discography originally scheduled for this Swap -a- Record 32 month, and in its stead to cover as fully as possible the midwinter flood from the Noted With Interest 38 diskeries. This is only the second time since Vol. 1, No. r, that HIGH FIDELITY has come out without a discography or part of one, and As the Editors See It 53 may be the last. As alert readers will note, Editor John A Subway Stop Named Symphony, by John M. Conly 54 disquisition on the Hub City's Conly's Seventy -five years of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. great musical organization is titled on the cover: "Seventy -five Years of the Boston Symphony Orchestra," and on the title - On Modifying the Senescence and Mortality of Disks, page, more piquantly, "A Subway Stop by C. G. Burke 58 Mr. explains Named Symphony." Conly Many are the hazards that beset your record collection. that the second title was suggested to him, after the cover had gone to press, by Doriot Anthony Dwyer, the BSO's charm- What Goes into Your Tutti, by Edgar Villchur 6 r ing first flutist, and that he liked it so well Analyzing the tones of an orchestra's instruments. he used it anyway. By coincidence, we seem - with C. G. A Half- Century Without Vitamins, by Harold C. Schonberg ....64 Burké s piece on record -treatment - to be starting a series on disk ailments. In hand An interview with Artur Rubinstein, pianist extraordinary. we have two more, each covering a different aspect, by James G. Deane and Fritz A. Music Makers, by Roland Gelatt 69 Kuttner. You'll be reading them. Record Section 73 -109 Records in Review; Dialing Your Disks; Building Your Record Library. CHARLES FOWLER, Publisher

JOHN M. CONLY, Editor Tested in the Home I I I ROY H. HOOPES, JR., Managing Editor Sherwood Forester Speaker System; Browning L -5oo SW Tuner; J. GORDON HOLT, Assistant Editor Electro-Voice Patrician IV; Recoton- Goldring Soo Cartridge; Pentron Emperor Tape Recorder; Jensen TV Duette; Shure ROY LINDSTROM, Art Director Music Lover's Cartridge; Scott als -A Tuner; Crescent 5oz Rec- Editorial Assistants ord Changer; Walco Replacement Styli; Sherwood S -r000 Ampli- MIRIAM D. MANNING; JOAN GRIFFITHS fier; Jensen Coaxial Speakers. ROLAND GELATI', New York Editor Audio Forum 133 Contributing Editors C. G. BURKE JAMES HINTON, JR. Trader's Marketplace 135 CORA R. HOOPES ROBERT CHARLES MARSH Professional Directory 136 WARREN B. SYER, Business Manager SF.AVER B. BUCK, JR., Circulation Advertising Index 139 Director High Fidelity Magazine is published monthly by Audiocom. Inc., at Great Barrington, Mass. Telephone: Great Barrington 1300. Editorial, publication, and circulation offices at: The Publishing House, Great Branch Offices (Advertising only): New York: Barrington, Mass. Subscriptions: $6.00 per year in the United States and Canada. Single copies: 60 cents Room 600, 6 East 99th Street. Telephone: each. Editorial contributions will be welcomed by the editor. Payment for articles accepted will be arranged Murray Hill 5 -6332 Fred C. Michalove, Eastern prior to publication. Unsolicited manuscripts should be accompanied by return postage. Entered as Manager. -Chicago: John R. Rutherford and Assoc- second-class matter April 27, 1951 at the post office at Great Barrington, Mass., under the act of March 3, iates. 230 East Ohio St., Chicago, III. Telephone: 1879. Additional entry at the poet office, Pittsfield, Mass. Member Audit Bureau of Circulation. Printed Whitehall 4-6715.-Los Angeles: 1052 West 6th in the U. S. A. by the Ben Franklin Press, Pittsfield, Mass. Copyright 1956 by Audiocom, Inc. The cover Street. Telephone: Madison 6 -1371. Edward Brand, design and contents of High Fidelity magazine are fully protected by copyrights and must not be repro- West Coast Manager. duced in any manner.

FEBRUARY 1956 3

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THERE are bleak days when I sour- pleasure in turning for a change from ly question the Onwards-and -Up- partial or complete music -book suc- wards -with- the -Arts role customarily cesses to some of the current failures. assumed by book and record reviewers Indeed the most preposterous of these y and generally accepted - or at least have a horrid fascination all their own. a I seldom protested - by most of their If can't recommend, for example, readers. It's the critic's obvious duty, Arthur M. Abell's Talks With the FOR the past four years the most as well as a pleasurable function, to en- Great Composers ( Philosophical Li- literate and informative writing on courage others to share his own most brary, $2.75 ) on any grounds whatever the subject of sound reproduction of I has appeared in High Fidelity Mag- precious discoveries. But, since all that merit, can hope that it will be read azine. Now, for those of you who glistens in the realm of art is by no more widely than it deserves- simply might have missed some of High Fi- means genuine gold, isn't it his equally as testimony to the fantastic lengths delity's articles and for those of you obvious duty to warn others of the and depths to which some writers and who have requested that be they and costume -jewelry he publishers can go. There is comparable preserved in permanent form, High counterfeits Fidelity's Managing Editor, Roy H. encounters far more frequently than nonsense appearing elsewhere - es- Hoopes, Jr., has selected 26 of them authentic treasures? I realize that so- pecially in the fields of bogus religi- for inclusion in a HIGH FIDELITY called "destructive" criticism is apt to osity and mysticism and on such sub- READER. The introduction was be resented, since few eager prospectors jects as flying saucers, psychic phe- written by John M. Conly. enjoy learning that the shining nug- nomena, organic gardening, and the gets they have laboriously unearthed like - but this is the most odoriferous ALTHOUGH the READER is not slice I intended as a "layman's guide" to are actually nothing but iron pyrites. of musical cheese have sniffed in high fidelity, it tells you everything But our faith in the ultimate rewards years. you need to know, and perhaps a of aesthetic adventuring must be It is also the most thoroughly aged, little more, for achieving good shallow indeed if it is so naïvely opti- for Mr. Abell's revelations on the sound reproduction. mistic as to believe that every discovery workings of musical inspiration (which will be a bonanza. Surely one of the for him involve a process of "contact- INCLUDED in the READER are articles by: hallmarks of maturity in artistic ex- ing the Universal Vibrating Cosmic Roy F. Allison Richard W. Lawton perience is coming to terms with the Energy" ) have been fermenting since Peter Bartók Theodore Lindenberg bitter truth expressed long ago in the the 189os. Most of his book is devoted John W. Campbell Thomas Lucci verses of the Elizabethan madrigal: to a blow -by -blow description of his L. F. B. Carini Joseph Marshall conversations with Brahms and Abraham Cohen Gilbert Plass More geese than swans now live, Emory Cook R. S. Rummell More fools than wise! Joachim, but Abell pads it out by "dis- Eleanor Edwards Paul Sampson In the particular area of books on closures" from Richard Strauss, Hum - Charles Fowler David Sarser music, many ordinary readers may be perdinck, Puccini, Bruch ( who speaks Irving M. Fried Glen Southworth at second hand for Wagner ), and Chuck Gerhardt Fernando Valenti taken in by specious aids to 'apprecia- Gus Jose Edward T. Wallace tion," romantically over -blown biog- Grieg. Why have such world -shaking F. A. Kuttner Harry L. Wynn raphies, and unverified hack reference pronouncements been withheld so ONLY $3.50 compilations, but ordinarily they are long? Well, it seems that Brahms and r spared the less innocuous examples of some of the others enjoined Abell from I HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE bad thinking and writing -such as publishing their "secrets" for fifty years Publishing House following their own deaths. One can Great Barrington, Mass. may be found in most guides to hardly blame them for making this Enclosed lease find á "better" singing and piano- playing. proviso; what surprises me is that they Please send me copies of And this is a pity in some ways, since THE HIGH FIDELITY READER one hardly can measure the greatness didn't insist on at least a hundred - or a thousand years. NAME of the finest books on music and musi- - I have no legitimate reason to doubt cians until one is equipped with a full - I ADDRESS length yardstick or is familiar with a that Abell conscientiously reports what full -frequency value spectrum which is was said -or at least what his credu- properly balanced at the low as well as lous mind thought it heard - at these NO C.O.D.'s please at the high end. conferences, but neither can I doubt (PUBLISHED BY HANOVER HOUSE) Anyway, there's a certain wry Continued on page 6

4 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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www.americanradiohistory.com BOOKSHELF WGMS Continuedfrom page 4 that any skillful ouija -board operator the Çood Music Station might well have elicited much the same mystical farrago from the "spirit world." Whether poor Brahms, Joa- chim, et al., are now revolving furious- presents ly or gratefully in their graves, I can't say. But they're certainly revolving.

Murkiness, Frou -Frou, Opera -Plots

A Glorious Hi-Fi Ascending from such abysmal depths, I feel almost comfortable when I reach such ledges of simple obfuscation and Weekend ne Washington inanity as, respectively, Ernest Chaus- son by Jean- Pierre Barricelli and Leo Weinstein (Univ. of Oklahoma Press, $4.00) and Opera Stars in the Sun by Mary Jane Matz ( Farrar, Straus & THE WASHINGTON Cudahy, $3.95) Despite a lack of outstanding stature, Chausson well deserves to be better known to American listeners; and, HIGH FIDELITY apart from some highly unidiomatic translations from his letters and cri- tiques, the first part of this recent study is a useful and reasonably straightfor- MUSIC SHOW ward account of the French romantic composer's ( unfortunately very pro- saic) life. But the second half, pur- FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY portedly concerned with analyses of the works, promptly gets tangled up in MARCH 2nd, 3rd and 4th the thickets of a private language which is as hifalutin' as it is essentially meaningless. The authors profess to be ON TWO FLOORS OF impressed by Chausson's "unwilling- ONE OF AMERICA'S GREAT HOTELS ness to transcribe intentionally the pal- pitations of the heart or the pulsations of an inspired soul." Unhappily, they themselves have no such inhibition. Mrs. Mati s book, subtitled "Inti- mate glimpses of Metropolitan person- alities," makes no such fancy-writing pretensions, but its gushy woman's- page journalism is no easier to take. Perhaps the more naïve of opera fans may be willing to interrupt their queue -standing and autograph- collect- ing long enough to read about some hundred stars' favorite hobbies and foods, but I can't imagine who else would want to. If you ever feel the urge, however, while listening to some ie SHOREHAM Met singer's records, to share his or her favorite ( non -musical) fare, you'll be glad to know that you now can do so EXHIBITORS: - thanks to the convenient "culinary index" to the some ninety recipes with For information on the Show that "handled publicity most skillfully" which these pages are appetizingly (according to High Fidelity Magazine) write, wire or call M. Robert garnished. Rogers, President, WGMS, Washington 4, D. C. EXecutive 3 -8676. Continued on page 9

6 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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www.americanradiohistory.com BOOKSHELF Continued from page 6 ALLIED recommends P1/01- 1 Several other recent opera books at neither ridi- least succeed in arousing FROM STOCK cule nor ire; and if indeed they fail to IMMEDIATE DELIVERY rouse any definite reactions whatever, on all PILOT HI -FI equipment that possibly can be chalked up to my complete disinterest in the conven- HERE'S TRUE HI -FI COMPLETE IN A CONSOLE tional re- telling of opera "stories" and Pilot "Ensemble" Features Matched Components singers' careers. I had hitherto deliber- ately avoided the immensely popular MODEL PT -1030. New deluxe console phonograph featuring perfectly matched true Hi -Fi components. Milton Cross story -book (of 1947), so Value- packed instrument contains Pilot AA -903 10 amplifier; Garrard RC -80 I am mildly surprised (or perhaps dis- Williamson -type -watt "Triumph" 3 -speed changer; G. E. triple -play mag- appointed) that its current revision, netic cartridge with sapphire styli; large, carefully designed speaker enclosure with 4 hi -fi speakers New Complete Stories of the Great (12' woofer for deep, impressive bass, mid -range Operas (Doubleday, $3.95), is neither speaker and 2 tweeters); 3-way dual -control presence network for fine acoustical balance. Beautiful as pretentious nor as dubious as I was cabinet on "ready -roll" casters. 28%' high x 25'4" prepared for. The plots are described wide x 16yß' deep. Shpg. wt., 115 lbs. $npnCOLO07 .7 somewhat clumsily, to be sure, but rea- 94 RZ 389. Mahogany. Net 94 RZ 390. Limed Oak. Net .... $299.50 sonably matter -of- factly - and certainly in immense detail: Cross takes some 642 firmly packed pages to run through Pilot HF -56 AM -FM Tuner, Preamp, 35-Watt Amplifier Combination works from L'A f ricaine to Die Zari- 76 Three components in a single chassis- sensitive berfiöte. The remaining few pages - FM -AM tuner, versatile preamp- equalizer and Williamson-type 35 -watt ht -fi amplifier. Features: on "How to enjoy an opera," a brief dual -cascade limiter- discriminator circuit, tuned RF history of opera, and a discussion of amplifier, AFC, flywheel tuning, built -in antennas, loudness control, full record compensation, separate opera ballets - are more questionable. bass and treble tone controls, tape output, but at least there's a fair three -page etc. Removable gold and maroon front panel. 7W x 14 % x 12'. Shpg. wt., 31 lbs. briefly annotated bibliography and an 94 SZ 378. Net $209.50 excellent twenty -page detailed index. which includes main arias and charac- ters cited as well as titles and com- Popular- Priced Pilot Amplifier and FM Tuner posers. MODEL AA -903 AMPLIFIER. Famous low -cost. Williamson -type 10 -watt hi -fi amplifier. Includes Nevertheless, it seems to me that the preamp and 4- position record compensator, with 1 3 high- impedance inputs. main usefulness of such a plot -book is magnetic phono and Response, ± 1 db. 1540,000 cps at rated output. captured about as well in the far Separate bass and treble controls; rumble filter; hum balance control. Attractive gold -finished chassis, 12' smaller, cheaper, and more convenient x 7' x 8 %' deep. Shpg. wt., 15 lbs. paperback, Stories of the Famous 98 SX 662. AA -903 Amplifier (less cabinet). Net $69.50 Milligan Operas by Harold Vincent 94 SX 379. Metal cabinet for above. Net.....$4.95 American Library "Signet," (New MODEL FM -607A FM BASIC TUNER. Moderately 50() -a revised edition, now cover- priced, yet deluxe in features and performance. Fea- tures AFC (with "defeat" for tuning weak station ing some 57 operas in 32o pages, of adjacent to strong one); built -in antenna; tuned RF the original "Permabook" published by stage; temperature compensated oscillator; sensitivity, 3.5 uv for 20 db of quieting. Attractive chassis Doubleday in 195o. Milligan goes and front panel; 674'x 10yS'x 7 %'. Shpg. wt., 10 lbs. into less plot detail than Cross and he 98 SX 697. FM -607A FM Tuner (less cabinet I. Net $69.50 indexes titles only, but at least he ar- 94 SX 382. Metal cabinet for above. Net $4.95 ranges his works in alphabetical order All prices net, F.O.B. Chicago 'mask by composer rather than title and his WE STOCK ALL PILOT EQUIPMENT EASY -PAT TERMS AVAILABLE narrative style is much smoother. Another popular opera -story special- ALLIED RADIO ist, Gladys Davidson, turns currently from plots to protagonists in A Treas- a4 «Plttas O i- t- mit. ury of Opera Biography (Citadel. ALLIED 100 -PAGE ALLIED RADIO, Dept. 49 -B -6 $4.00) : a collection of biographical HI -FI CATALOG 100 N. Western Ave., Chicago 80, Ill. sketches of some 119 stars of the Send for this invaluable Ship the following Pilot Hi -Fi Equipment: I will present and past which daresay guide to a complete, appeal to some fans. Everything smack- easy understanding of Check Money Order __for $ -. __enclosed. ing of criticism or controversy is, how- Hi -Fi, plus the world's _ ever, so carefully skirted that most of largest selection of Send me your free 100 -page Hi -Fi catalog. quality music systems approximate polite blurbs, Name _ the sketches and components, FREE and the inclusion of so many younger -write for it today. Address City Zone State Continued on page

FEBRUARY 1956 9

www.americanradiohistory.com rY a re Sorry ... it would have been interesting. Of all the fine speaker systems in the field, none came forward to accept our challenge to compete with the 4-D at the Chicago and New York Hi -Fi Shows. Now ... you be the judge ... see, hear and compare. The 4-D is audio reproduction developed to its highest degree of excellence. A six way system providing new 4 dimensional sound with power and clarity you must hear to believe. If you missed this amazing performance at the Ili -Fi Show, hear it now at your Stan White High Fidelity Distributor. You'll agree . the MIRACLE OF MULTI - FLARE 4-D will perform any system at any price. 4 -D Cabinets are finished in formica to any formica sample furnished Size: 67 x 40 x 24 inches. Net 1500.00 tHE If the 4-D, designed for large rooms, is too much speaker for you, Mach 1" see and hear the other outstanding systems in the Stan White line different for the one to meet all of your requirements. And be sure of this - A radically each one, from LeSabre at $69.50 to the Millennium at $1000.00 loud speaker features the exclusive MIRACLE OF MULTI- FLARE -and each is the most Structure outstanding performer in its price class. New Magnet the aid of Designed with LeSabre 69.50 Hi -Fi 339.50 at . wind tunnel data Opus I 99.50 Millennium 1000.00 Ilach 1 Esquire 199.50 4-D 1500.00 1

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HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com BOOKSHELF Continued from page 9

British singers is of dubious value to most American readers. Hit the Top Coda, In More Cheerful Vein

But even in my bleakest moods, depressed by my current explorations of in Listening Pleasure the lower depths and pedestrian plains of musical literature, I hate to maintain .amplifiers. This important basic book even a single "Bookshelf" column on NOW -Make YOUR system tells you about the Forms of Sound, such a negative note. And I hesitate The Characteristics of Music, the too from encouraging, even negatively, best the easy way! Physics of Music and so much more it's impossible to list the topics. any potential music -book reader to let material Stop wading through tons of Then the additional books you by at least to get information you want. Stop .... any month pass without may get include: High Quality Audio; know some new work of calling every friend and hi -fi fan you wanting to know every time you have a question. Maintaining High Fidelity Equipment; genuine interest and solid worth. After Stop investing hours and hours of time The Golden Ear; Audio Hints; Con- all, there always have been "more trying to puzzle out a difficult problem. structing Audio Amplifiers; The Audio Here, for the first time in ONE series Designer's Guide Book; Loudspeakers geese than swans" among books as well of beautifully bound Library books is and Speaker Systems; Loudspeaker as people: the truly miraculous thing all the Hi -Fi and Audio info' you've Enclosures. all over town, read dozens of is no matter how fast the geese chased that magazines to get. multiply or how harshly they gabble, And You Can Save 25'; the swans always survive. It you buy each of these 9 books indi- dictu, one of these is And, mirabile vidually as they are published, you will all to be found this month in (of pay $5.00 each . . but by becoming places) the opera -book lists - and a member of the GERNSBACK moreover in the usually hodge -podge AUDIO AND HIGH -FIDELITY LIBRARY PLAN YOU SAVE 25%. yearbook category, which I discussed, none too favorably, some months ago. How The Library Plan Works But the (British) Opera Annual, 1955-6, edited by Harold Rosenthal 1) You will receive the very latest ( John Calder, London; 21 shillings) is book by mail every three months as it TheGernsback Audio and High - off the press. Examine it IN as notable outside as it is within these comes Fidelity Library brings the top YOUR OWN HOME FOR to FULL categories. Audio Engineers and Technicians right DAYS AT OUR RISK! If you don't Although its surveys of the opera into your own home ....men who can like it, return it. what's right or wrong season in Europe, Soviet Russia, and tell you just with any Hi -Fi system .... men who 2) You only have to take four of the the United States ( including a piece can give you all the inside tips on tape nine Audio and Hi -Fi books to get recording turntables pickups by our own James Hinton, Jr., on Men - - - - one at the special low member's price speakers enclosures. amplifiers - - can save ottï s Saint of Bleeker Street) are un- Now you will know how audio circuits of only $3.75 per copy -you usually competent, the book's prime work, how to use them properly, how S 11.25 on the whole library! work best in which distinction lies in its extensive Mozart to tell which parts systems .... how to build, repair and Fill Out No -Risk Coupon Today! Bicentennial sections, its handsome maintain any system. At last you will printing and format, including no less have complete diagrams - the latest All you have to do is fill out this tips, the inside dope -in 9 handsome- coupon and mail it today. Just check than forty pages of photographs and You will have at ly bound books. the box that suits you best. Don't YOUR fingertips the FIRST and nine pages of color illustrations. The delay! Get your copy of BASIC Mozart ONLY COMPLETE library of practi- authoritative nature of the cal, detailed Audio and Hi -Fi know- AUDIO COURSE for a FREE home essays is accurately indicated by the how ever published! c aminatinn nowt names of such contributors as Edward NO -RISK COUPON Dent, Vittorio Gui, Karl Böhm, et al.. The First Book Is including (in the invaluable notes on Ready I GERNSBACK LIBRARY, INC. Now! ltr.a,iway, New York 7, N. l'. "Singing in Mozart's Operas ") Brown- Dept. 101, 25 West BASIC AUDIO COURSE, Enroll me now as a member or the GERNSBACK lee, Novotna, Kern, Ivogün, Hiini- by Donald Carl Hoefler, AUDIO AND HIGH- FIDELITY LIBRARY. Send well-known RCA record- me postpaid, for free examination, the deluxe, hard cover Mihacsek, Helletsgruber, Steuart Wil- .'dition of BASIC AUDIO COARSE. If satisfied I agree to son, and Patzak! And for good meas- ing engineer, gives you all remit the special member's price of $3.75 and will take al the lowdown on what least 3 more books as published. ure is an illuminating discussion there audio systems must do- D I want to know more about the GERNSBACK of the complete Mozart opera record- covers such vital subjects as AUDIO AND HIGH- FIDELITY LIBRARY. Send audio -frequency amplifiers, full information. ings by Andrew Porter. (The U.S.A. principles of audio- ampli- push -pull am- NAME price is not stated on the book jacket, fier design, Please l'rin] plification, inverse feed- but I assume that like its highly - back, volume compression, STREET praised predecessor, Opera Annual power supplies for audio I CITY STATE Continued on next page

FEBRUARY 1956 II

www.americanradiohistory.com BOOKSHELF

Continued from preceding page

1954-5- it may be had for $4.50, plus 15¢ postage, from The Central Book Co., 260 Broadway, New York City 7. It would still be a bargain at double that price.) And there is still another really unmatched for worthwhile value this month: Robert Magidoff's Yehudi Menuhin (Double - performance day, $4.50) -a fascinating study regardless of which is infinitely more substantial as well as more provocative than the PRICE! usual biography written during a musician's own lifetime. Whatever one may think of Menuhin the violinist, no one can read this sympathetic yet by no means uncritical account without a new respect for the awesome problems of infant prodigies in general and a vastly enhanced respect for one of the most sensitive and serious musical per- sonalities of our day. It's an absorbing story, written with exceptional skill, insight, and good taste, and it is augmented by one of the finest (unanno- rated) discographies I've ever seen in print one which includes not merely TB-I 8 TB-2 - Coaxial and Biaxial. all Menuhin's recordings, under both TWEETER ASSEMBLIES LP312 Fits across any American and British order -numbers, TB1 12" speaker. 12" LOUDSPEAKER T9 but also exact recording dates for every entry. Your Sound System GROWS UP.. . Never Grows Old Back to School

At least once (and sometimes often ) in every serious audio amateur's life there comes a dire moment when he ASSOC/A7E realizes bleakly that he doesn't reall, know what he's talking about when he glibly pronounces such shibboleths as "output impedance," "feedback," "cath- Wiwi/ ua// ode- follower," "intermodulation distortion;' and the like. He may be able to use the terms themselves familiarly and SPEAKERS TWEETERS COMPONENTS even correctly enough, but when he is Lorenz craftsmanship and know -how enables you pressed by a curious friend to explain to plan your present and future sound systems! them, he becomes suddenly disillu- Designed for expansion -to GROW UP with your sioned about the true depth requirements or you can expand and improve your of his ap- present system at little cost. There's no limit to your parently "expert" technical knowledge. music enjoyment! And he resolves then and L there to plug lRUpseua(1l the gaps in his theoretical education by LISTEN TO LORENZ . . . you'll understand why Lorenz Speakers are the choice of sound engineers a thorough study (or review ) of elec- and high fidelity enthusiasts -acknowledged favor- LOSS6f MWPM tronic principles. Perhaps his resolu- tucs ites for their crisp, clean tonal qualities that add the tion is miracle of life to the magic of music reproduction. strong enough to stimulate his Three generations of Lorenz research and technical signing -up for a "radio" course in Pi mastery ICH PASS FILTER guarantee Lorenz quality -performance. some nearby vocational school, or even kr with Lorenz Quality Speakers and Components one of the many institutes which are surprisingly low in cost. offer correspondence courses; but more Exclusive U.S. Distributors often (if he doesn't lazily postpone See and Hear them at your high fidelity dealer. Write for Catalog any direct action), he falls back on the purchase of a textbook or two and PRODUCTS, 23 Park Place, New York 7, N. Y. KINGDOM Ltd. WOrth 4 -8585 Continued on page 14

12 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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More people can now enjoy the reliable -'M' for mahogany and 'B' for blond. These quality and performance of the Collaro RC- require no carpentry whatever. They can be 54- because something has been done about fitted into most cabinets, or placed on open the installation problem. shelves, tables or any other convenient surface. The two new RC -54 series have power and sound leads wired and soldered in position. With woodworking, wiring and soldering eliminated -it takes no time at all to install with Automatic 45 rpm Both are supplied an RC-54. And of this you can be sure .. . Spindle Adapters and both offer a choice of there is no finer record changer than Collaro. pickup cartridges: either the G.E. dual -sapphire magnetic or Collaro Studio O dual - sapphire crystal. The 'C' Series are supplied with pre -cut, unfinished mounting boards, suitable for easy installation into record cabinets and consoles - without the need for intricate carpentry. The 'M' and 'B' Series are supplied with hardwood bases instead of mounting boards

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www.americanradiohistory.com BOOKSHELF Continued from page i 2 makes a more -or -less effective attempt at self -education. For many years two of the most popular sources of such home training H in electronics have been the preliminary chapters in the RCA Receiving - Tube Handbook and the ARRL Radio Amateur's Handbook, both of which are carried in current editions by every radio /audio "parts" dealer. Both of z these are excellent as far as they go, but generally the novice needs still easier, more detailed, preliminary instruction, and most advanced students will want far more extensive information. This wartime "speed -up" device has been adapted for home readers in bi a five -volume Basic Electronics by (Hi trig C6r1CliDr rlltlrlc tTle' Van Valkenburgh, Nooger & Neville, i Inc. (Rider, $2.00 per paperback volume; $9.00 the set), but this "course' is both so primerish in content and so ( Americas authoritative testing organization excessively crude in its appeal to the 0 devoted exclusively to high fidelity equipment reader's "intelligence," that it will have (I hope! ) only negative attractions for is The Audio League. Here are excerpts front any HIGH FIDELITY subscriber. In any The Audio League Report* on the PRECEDENT tuner: case, however, only the first two slim volumes here (Introductions to Elec- "Unquestionably the most sensitive FM tronics, Tubes, and Amplifiers) have receiver on the market. Its stability and any particular audio pertinence; the w others are concerned almost exclusively ease of tuning are outstanding. The limiting with radio and video matters. There characteristic is fantastically good. The are many fine, good, reliable electronics PRECEDENT is foremost in capture ratio, textbooks, but some of those most and possibly in stability and low distortion. widely known and used today are far from up -to -date either in specific con- It is built and designed U for long and tents or in materials- presentation style trouble-free life. It is beautiful. and organization. To the everlasting credit of the United States Navy, it "If money is no object, one can have an developed, during the late war, some FM receiver capable of the highest excellent adult instructional techniques. performance possible at the present state Chief Naval Radio Technician Henry V. Hickey's and Lt. William M. Val - W of the art, and not likely to be lines's Elements of Electronics (Mc- obsoleted or significantly improved upon." Graw Hill, $ .00) admirably exempli-

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'4 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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INDIVIDUAL INSPECTION OBUILT -IN PRESSURE LUB- ORESISTOR -CONDENSOR O TURNTABLE: l2^ diameter Eliminates REPORT and owner's manes!: - NETWORK: /z lb. cast aluminum RICATING SYSTEM: Over .7t shutoff noise whach is normallymolly attention has been given balanced, and 'zed grease-housing permanently Great dynamically induced through pickup to loud. details cisionmachined. Permanentlyently mounted on main spindle to to quality control ora weaker. true" center boring fitted with continuous, proper lubrication appreciated by the connoisseur; times. Knurled knob, easily phosphor bronze bushing. all PERFECTED TURRET -DRIVE including the most exhaustive accessible from top of unit for MECHANISM: large, true pulleys performance test- procedure lubricant NEW HEAVY -DUTY turning, forces additional actuate oversized live rubber inter devised by a gramophone when required. ever © MOTOR: 4 -pole shaded de- into spindle, wheel, which is unted on boll manufacturer. Accurate sign, specifically engineered for bearings and retracts upon shutoff. measurements of speed, wow, this unit. Entirely Garrard -built OVARIABLE SPEED CON - rumble, flash and heavy die cost housing. Dynamic - Ire, turn- flutter, TROT: Simple, loolproof SHUTOFF BRAKE: Stops in an oily boloncd armature. Rotor set when unit is insulation are contained eddy current brake permits in- table revolutions Into permanently accurate, sell. individual inspection card, stantaneous variation of on 3 switched off. centering, sell -lubricating phosphor enclosed with each Garrard speeds. Positive action at all times bronze bushings. through permanent magnet. which OEXCLUSIVE MOUNTING - Turntable and referring to that SYSTEM: Per interacts with revolving metal disc. SUSPENSION turntable only. Also furnished firmly to FREE- FLOATING ISO- No friction, no loss of efficiency. to be mounted are a comprehensive 24 page © LATED MOTOR MOUNT: motorboard in fined relationship to book -bound owner's manual A newly developed GARRARD tone arm. Entire motorboord (in. heavy -duty whereby the entire motor eluding turntable and tone arm) and a permanent, principle, SPEED SAFETY LOCK: Makes it in air by two sets of is then spring-suspended on bose stroboscope. Is suspended mandatory to shut unit off before tension springs. Special conical Gorrard spring, counterbalancing switching speeds. An important eliminates and other hardware provided. This unique mounting device, preventing iamming the barest possibility of vibra- even of idlers and operating mechanism. tion being transferred to the unit e HEAVY UNIT PLATE: En- Plate. tirely die -cast and aluminum. ' ... l;;.,: MAIN SPIN- NOISELESS Voltage: Dual range, 100 to 130 and 200 to 250 volts DLE: Rotaes on single, spe- SPECIFICATIONS: O 50 cycle molly available. Wow: less than 0.2% Flutter: less than 0.05% cially designed frictionless semi. (Goumcnt -Kole Wow and Flutter Meter Type 564) 3000 cycle conston elliptical bearing of phosphor non- enistem I eovency records at 33l/, 45 and 78 rpm. Rumble: Virtually bronze which eliminates noise and Cabin** space rpsrired: 16" bock to front is 1384^ wide is 21/2^ above rumble Is simple and inenpen- and pickup) and 31/2^ below top of motorboard. Weight: Net 16 lbs., to check and replace. levcluding live Gross 20 lbs.

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work with than any of the texts which I dutifully dog -eared in my own apprentice days. I recommend it heartily, both as an authoritative basic training course and as a valuable reference -addition to any serious audiophile's about which pickup is best. The Audio League,' America's authoritative con- library. And for many practical sumer research organization devoted exclus ively to high fidelity equipment, tested audiophile purposes, I recommend even more virtually every American and imported pickup. The verdict: highly the smaller Basic Vacuum Tubes and Their Uses F. The ESL Professional and Concert series are by far the finest by John Rider and Henry Jacobwitz (Rider, phonograph reproducing instruments. The smoothness and $4.50). For though this little book is clarity of these cartridges are unique. Even persons who confined to tube operation and cir- had never previously been exposed to high fidelity repro- cuitry alone, it is a superbly simple yet duction were struck by the superior definition of the ESL. illuminating introduction to their theoretical understanding and practic- Join the musicians, engineers, and music lovers who have switched to titis sen- able exploitation. Like Harold D. sational new electrodynamic cartridge. Write for details. Weiler's High Fidelity Simplified t'. O. Pox ; ;. Pleasanreille. N.Y. ( Rider, 1952 ), the Rider -Jacobwitz book is one of those miracles of attrac- FOR LISTENING AT I T S BEST tive, stimulating exposition which seem as if they should have been as Electro -Sonic Laboratories, Inc. easy to prepare as they are to read and study .... That the former ease is ESL 35-54 Thirty -sixth Street Long Island City 6, N.Y. wholly deceptive is testified to by the rarity with which such miracles appear. Soloist Series from Sia.a5 Concert Series $35.95 Professional Series arm and cartridge S106.50 For the genuineness of the latter ease, make your own test! &OttL2tM and your 41011 keaa..

Yes ... when you listen to your favorite symphony or soloist on the revolutionary, new Sound Sales Phase Inverter Speaker unit, you'll thrill AUTHORitatively Speaking to the smooth, clean treble, and be amazed at the firm, clear bass .. , you'll hear ALL the music! Edgar Villchur, whose tonal analysis of Introducing a new era in Hi -Fi sound reproduction, this "What Goes Into Your Tutti" begins on attractive unit out -performs enclosures two and page (r, is president of Acoustical Re- three times its size! Measuring only 29" x search, Inc., a position and an organization, 18" x 14 ", it supplies the answer he says, that sound more impressive than to your speaker problems, they are in fact. Acoustical Research's where space is at main stock in trade is the AR-1 acoustic - a premium. suspension speaker system, invented by none other than Edgar Villchur. He is also an instructor in the Division of General Education at New York University, where he teaches a course in high fidelity sound reproduction. Some readers will remember a series of articles on musical instruments he wrote a couple of years ago for Audio magazine. He lives in Woodstock, N. Y., This compact halfway up the Hudson River, and since unit combines a 12" dual Me AR factory is in Cambridge, Mass., and suspension speaker with an acousti- NYU in New York City, he has a triangular cally matched resonant enclosure, to act as commuting schedule which would drive a a true phase inverter. Rated at below 30 cps lesser man mad. Villchur not only thrives and above 13,000 cps frequency response, it has a power capacity of on it, he has time to learn tenor parts and better than 12 watts, with minimum distortion. In standard walnut veneer; other finishes on special order. sing in the Woodstock Choral Group.

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SIR: I read with great interest Ralph Elli- son's essay on living with music in your December issue. He is a gifted writer who does credit to his publishing house. It is with sadness that I beg to point to an error in the preface of this worthy piece. We do not now, nor have we ever published the works of Ralph Ellison. Alas, I must report that he is published by our good neighbor up the street Random House. Sherman P. L aire Harcourt, Brace and Co.

SIR: Having been a hi -fi fan for quite sometime - I started collecting LPs around 1950 - I have a bone to pick with hi -fi fanciers. I own several recordings of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. I am sorry to see Serge Koussevitsky laid by the wayside in this modern age of screeching "treble" and "dance hall" bass. Since most of the Koussevitsky recordings on LP were made from 78 rpm pressings, he didn't live long enough to be called a hi -fi conductor. Today he is strictly passé with record purchasers who are looking for sounds, not pure music. K L I P S C H Many of his LPs are still preferred fMORTMORM over new original LP recordings: his CORNER HORN recordings of Sibelius' Symphony No. LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEM 2, Copland's Appalachian Spring, Shostakovich's Ninth, Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, Rachmaninoff's Isle of the Dead, and many others. I say, long live the greatest of the For low or medium budget sound lo-fi conductors. systems the Shorthorn corner horn Morton Fader with Klipsch ortho 3 -way drive system approaches the Klipschorn system In West Chester, Pa. performance. Available as shown, with or without drivers, or in ut III ty model or unassembled kit form. SIR: I know just how Mr. Clancey feels Both the Klipschorn and Shorthorn ( "Letters," November 1955). I am a systems are fabricated under personal great admirer of tenor Jussi Bjoerling, supervision of their designer, Paul W. Klipsch. Write for the but I never have an opportunity to latest literature and prices on Klipsch loudspeaker hear him on radio or TV. systems. Continued on next page K L I P S C H AND ASSOCIATES HOPE, ARKANSAS TELEPHONES: PRospect 7 -3395 PRospect 7 -4538 PRospect 7 -5575 PRospect 7 -5514 www.americanradiohistory.com LETTERS Continued from preceding page

I have no intention of starting a fan club, but Mr. Clancey's idea of sending post cards to Voice of Firestone, Telephone Hour, etc.. is a good one and worth trying. "In unity there is strength." My Weede -Bjoerling cards are in the mail already. Leon P. Gtl_.otcr,fi Buffalo. N. Y.

SIR: November's page 55 has a misprint. The Bruckner Overture (with the Seventh; Epic Sc 6006) is the already - EDWARD recorded one in G minor, not another TAT NALL "similar effort," in D minor, as the "Breathtaking!" CANBY review might lead one to think. The long -play premiere of this overture on SPA stresses Bruckner's Mo- zartean leanings, and is the best recording soundwise. It could unhesi- tatingly be recommended if only it were available on a single disk (it THE /47- is coupled with the Loewe revision of the Bruckner Ninth which will always be open to debate). Since SPA has already tormented Mahler lovers by similarly charging II» the toll of a longer work in making IS H ER_ available their unique Mahler Tenth as done with the full blessings of i% Mahler's widow, why can't they now ei/ 'talc e)il"/ seek a happy remedy to both coupling ii gripes? SERIES 80 -C A single record could start with the Mahler Adagio, and turn over for the (([STARTLINGLY DIFFERENT," says Edward Tatnall Canby, Audio and then conclude (band Magazine. "Has everything, at a very reasonable price for Scherzo, top -quality hi -fi equipment. The easiest to read and operate I've ever two, side B) with the Bruckner Over- seen. The specs on performance are breathtaking and the over -all ture. (If SPA is opposed to the idea of operation is pretty closely comparable to that quality its electrical of selling records in mass quantities, of a professional broadcast console control board. This is the current standard for really hi -fi operation of controls in the home. Hum, then they should surrender their mas- distortion, et al are so low as to be inaudible and mostly unmeasur- ters to some other firm not in business middle price range." able in the lab. And all this, mind you, in the for health reasons alone.) Chassis Onli $99.50 Mahogany or Blonde Cabinet, $9.95 E. R. Petrich Seattle, Wash. Remarkable Features of THE FISHER 80 -C Professional, lever -type equalization for all current recording characteristics. Seven inputs, including two Phono, Mic and Tape. Two cathode - SIR: follower outputs. Complete mixing and lading on two, three, four or five channels. Bass and Treble Tone Conttols of the variablecrossoverfeed- Well, what am I supposed to do? back type. Accurately calibrated Loudness Balance Control. Self -powered. finished reading "From Magnetically shielded and potted translormer. DC on all filaments; I've just achieves hum level that is inaudible under any conditions. Inherent hum: Bach to Brubeck and Back" (Novem- n on -measurable. (On Phono. 72 db below output on 10 my input signal; better than 85 db below 2v output on high level channels.) 1 \l and her 1955). I am a poor little confused harmonic distortion: non -measurable. Frequency response: uniform, In to 100,000 cycles. Separate equalization and amplification directly from tape young man. I don't know beans about playback head. Four dual-purpose tubes. all shielded and shock -mounted. and certainly I could not refute Separate, high -gain microphone preamplifier. Push-Button Channel - music, Selectors with individual indicator lights and simultaneous AC (in -Of the older man's arguments. I am try- switching on two channels t for tuner. TV, etc.l Master N'olume Control plus S independent Level Controls on front pane!. l Controls plus 5 ing to grasp ahold and get a lot of push -buttons. Three auxiliary AC receptacles. stzE: Chassis, I2Ni" x 7¡" z 41/4" high. in cabinet, 13.11/16" x 8"x 51/4" high. Shipping weight, 10 pounds. this cloudiness out of my mind when Priers Slightly Higher Beat of the lloekics I try to understand music. And along me that WRITE TODAY FOR COMPLETE SPECIFICATIONS comes this old man and tells Brubeck does nothing but pound the FISHER RADIO CORP. 21 -25 44th DRIVE L. I. CITY 1, N. Y. piano and Desmond has a lousy sound.

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www.americanradiohistory.com I guess he is right. I'm young and impressionable, true. I like the Bru- beck sound. I enjoy the moods he creates in my mind. Oh, sure, the impressions Beethoven arouses in my mind when I play Egmont Overture. or Overture from Egmont or whatever it is (I don't read labels much, I guess) are much more grand in scope, and I'd never even attempt to compare Brubeck with him. But everything doesn't have to be a masterpiece, does it? I am definitely pepped up when 1 play Brubeck. l'in a cartoonist and I can really get the work out when Bru- beck is coming through my speaker. But I put Beethoven on, or Berlioz, and man, my production goes way 116WITH IXCLUSIV( down. I keep finding myself sitting in my butterfly chair listening closely Scope to what they put into the piece. And you can just imagine how much time AN EXCEPTIONAL, NEW THIRTY.WATT AMPLIFIER HANDLES SIXTY WATT '°AKSI I lose when I play something the length of Svmphonie Fwitarstique or Daphnis and Chloe. So please don't print any more ar- Low Cost! ticles telling me that Brubeck pounds Tap Quality! and Desmond irritates. I'm too susceptible. I get dissatisfied too easily. How do you think I ever got into hi-fi? Please leave Brubeck alone. Leave Chet Baker alone. Pick on Benny Goodman if you like, for I don't like THI, him. And go ahead and tell me how beautiful and wonderful and tremendous Bach is. And Beethoven. And Mendelssohn. And Berlioz. I'm susceptible. I'll love it. Jerry )'ours,{ 111S H 1L ll \\ Granite City, Ill.

SIR: 30 -Watt Amplifier About five or six years ago a friend gave us an album of children's records MODEL 80 AZ which were thoroughly enjoyed by our two little girls. When our little boy ANOTHER FISHER FIRST our great new 30 -watt amplifier with a Peak Power Indicator calibrated in watts to show came along in 1N52, one of the records PotrerScope, the peak load on your speaker system. The new FISHER was left out of the album and some- instantly 80 -AZ Amplifier is the first with a positive indicator to prevent 5oice how or other was broken. The girls coil damage. The Model 80 -AZ is magnificent in appearance and qudity. missed the album terribly and at the time tried, to no avail, to replace the Incomparable Features of THE FISHER Model 80 -AZ record but no one in Portland had High output - less than 0.5% distortion at 30 watts; less than 11.05',', at III watt, Handles 60 -watt peaks. Intermodulatian distortion less than 0.5% at 25 watts and even heard of the series. Now our 0.2% at 10 watts. Uniform response 10 to 50.000 cycles; within 0.1 db from 20 to 20,000 cycles. Power output is constant within I db at 30 watts, from 15 lv three -year -old boy dearly loves the 35,000 cycles. Hum and noise level better than 96 db below full output! Three two remaining records and plays them separate feedback loops for lowest distortion and superior transient respons:. Unique cathode feedback circuit for triode performance with the efficiency o constantly, apparently not realizing tetrodes. Output transformer has interleaved windings and a grain- oriented steel core. Three Controls: PowcrScope, Z -Matit and Input Level. Handsome, brushed - that he doesn't hear the complete brass control panel (with sufficient cable for built -in installations.) Tube Cou. album. Record three /four is the one plement: I- 12ÁT7. 1- 12AU7A, 2- EL -37. I- 554 -G. 1- l'uwserScope Indicator I- Regulator. R- and 16.ohnt outputs. Sim:: 15, c4tí v(,Th" high. WEIGHT: 22lbs we are in need of ... . The name of the album is King Price Only $99.50 Thrushbeard (Adopted from Grimms' Prier SliCht/I Ilirher West of for Rurkirs Fairy Tales). The records were made \VRITE. TODAY FOR CO:IIPLF'l'E SPECIFICATIONS by Bel -Tune Recording Corporation FISHER RADIO CORP., 21 -25 44th DRIVE L. I. CITY 1 N. Y. Continuer/ on neat page u11 I11111 u

FEBRUARY 1956 23

www.americanradiohistory.com 11//1111111 LETTERS Continuer/ from preceding page

no city or state mentioned. The drama- tization and direction of production 50 -Watt, All- Triode! were by Ted B. Sills, narration by Uncle Bob (Robert Bailey), musical score by THE LABORATORY STANDARD Raymond Sanns, orchestration by H. B. Gilbert, and sound effects by Alfred Span. I do hope that with this information you will be able to help me secure another record or album. Mrs. John [Aback 2447 N. E. Dunckley FISHER Portland 12, Ore. SIR: The recent output of Paganini record- AMPLIFIER '=`_` ings has given me much pleasure. I have always considered Paganini as a Of the very best! " -Iligh Fidel- Beethoven, for both men were great handle 100 ity Magazine. Will pioneers in their own way. The use watts peak. W'orld's finest all -triode amplifier. Uniform response of his melodies and techniques by within I db from 5 to 100,000 other great musicians is an example Less than 1% distortion at cycles. of his creative genius. There is a 50 watts. Hum and noise content 96 db below full output -virtually distinct sadness about the situation, non -measurable! Oversize compo- for not one of the recent recordings nents and quality workmanship in of the D major represents the complete every detail. Includes FISHER Z- \tAT1C, at no additional cost. score. That is one thing you failed to S 159.511 mention in your recent reports of these recordings. (There is altogether too much writing done without much be- FIf E ACCESSORIES ing said in these reports) .... The Epic production has a beautiful jacket MIXER -FADER Model 50 -M and some of the most interesting anec- dotes I have seen on a jacket. The NEW : Electronic mixing or fading of any two signal sources (such as microphone, phono, radio, etc.) No pictures also give it a special class of insertion loss. Extremely low hum and noise level. High its own. The recording, however, is a impedance follower output. 12AX7 tube. input; cathode hit different. The D major is cut Self- powered. Beautiful plastic cabinet. Only $1 9.95 (as usual) and the fine performance PREAMPLIFIER -EQUALIZER 50 -PR -C by Mr. Grumiaux (D minor) is marred WITH VOLUME CONTROL by a tubbiness that just about forces Professional phone equalization. Separate switches for the orchestra out of the background. HF roll -off and LF turn -over; 16 combinations of Not enough can be said about the phono equalization. Handles any magnetic cartridge. Angel recording. It is a terrific pro- Extremely low hum. Uniform response, 20 to 20,000 veles. Two triode stages. Fully shielded. Self -powered. duction and no recording I have heard Nerv, Low Price $19.95 can compare to the performances of and orchestra. Yet all efforts HI -LO FILTER SYSTEM Model 50 -F soloist are in vain, for this version is also cut. Lice?rouie, sharp cut -off filter system for suppression of turntable rumble, record scratch and high frequency I have heard the cut version so often distortion -with absolute minimum loss of tonal range. that I am beginning to wonder if Independent switches for high and low frequency Paganini really wrote it that way. (The cut -off. Use with any high- fidelity system. older Francescatti version -a best- Neu., Low Price $24.95 seller -- is also a cut version.) PREAMPLIFIER Model PR -6 I have not heard the recording by 1) A self- powered unit of excellent quality, yet moderate Ricci (London); but I am not too hope- cost. Can be used with any low -level magnetic car- ful, for Mr. Ricci has done quite a bit tridge, microphone, or for tape playback. Two triode ' of cutting in his previous works. stages. High gain. Exclusive feedback circuit permits long output leads. Fully shielded. Uniform response, I guess I'll have to stick with the 20 to 20,000 cycles. The best unit of its type available. Menuhin -Monteux recording on the Only $10.95 old 78 rpm disks. It is the only com- Priers Slightly Higher (Vest of the Rockies plete recording of the D major and WRITE TODAY FOR COMPLETE SPECIFICATIONS thank goodness that we still have a FISHER RADIO CORP. 21 -25 44th DRIVE L. I. CITY 1, N. Y. few musicians that play music as writ- 111111 tí 11111111111111111111111111 í11111L 1111111111 t 111111111 I! í11111111111l11 1111 !1111 t1 I! 11!!! 111 I! It tit ll ten. I have tried for quite some time

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www.americanradiohistory.com and without avail to get RCA to transfer this recording to LP. It is Menuhin at his best ... . Harry Goldman Glens Falls, N. Y.

SIR: ... I should like to ask your help in the following matter: A friend of mine has been trying for several years to replace a broken record from an album of Schubert Im- promptus recorded by Edwin Fischer on 78 rpm records. He has .written to RCA Victor, searched in record shops, and seemingly has lost all hope of ever replacing the record. He doesn't necessarily want the original record, only the Fischer recording on 78 rpm. The album from which the record came was RCA Victor DM -494; Schu- Fischer. The CONTROL bert Impromptus; Edwin MODEL 3,),-T MOST ADVAL'C1D PPOrESS'O'LAL TUNEP WITH COMPLETE AUDIO record that is broken is 16241 -A &

B - -- and on records in automatic sequence the sides would be two and eleven. On 16241A (2) is Impromptu Outperforms Them All! in C minor, Part 2, Op. 9o, No. 1. On side 16241B (II) is Impromptu in B -flat major, Part 1, Op. 142, No. ;. I hope that properly identifies the record. If you know of anyone who would be willing to have a 78 cut of the record, and mailed to Old Bob, or in ISHER any way help him in his plight it would be greatly appreciated. In case anyone finds it possible to FM -AM TUNERS act upon this request, he should write meters for lu to: Mr. Robert G. Jordan, 619 Brum- Hare America's only FM-AM Tuners with 'TWO their many unique features. 5a)'s a mel, Evanston, Ill. curate tuning - just one of '-1 set Series Su for hone demonstration John W. Johnstone, Jr. IHISI II-:i deader: up a FISHER No other dealer ssas willing to submit a competitive Evanston, Ill. agains ill performers. tuner :ter direct comparison to the FISHER. Thanks for a tine product!" - Lrl;n/ir¡It'd testimorlittl from .l. II'. Fin. I. /l.rrlun Sound .- lssceiates SIR: Outstanding Features of THE FISHER Series 80 Tuners has guts and Mr. Henry Pleasants s of Separate ... 11.. vu -T features esbrvnr sen.itivit p I I. r tor 211 dh quieting.I completely shielded and shock -mounted. .Separate tuning has I \ I :red AM front ends, is trying to say something that 3110 -ohm antenna in sots oeIt rs for FM and : \NI 72 -ohm, plus err/resit'e, balanced needed saying since L'Enfance du Christ. for increased signal -to -noise ratio. %SI selectivity adjustable: AM setsit is ity rahle. Distortion below II.UN%/ hexer than 1 microsult. Inherent hum non-on eonr ual However ... the first part of his article, fur volt nU ymt. 4 inputs. including separate tope playback p reamp-cg izcr. outputs. 16 tithes. is embar- Sic record equalization choices. Two cathode follower full of those naïve quotes, ISO- it: 13 tuhes.f 8 controls including )lass. 'Treble. Volume, Function, Equaliza- are in tion. Tuning. Loudness Balance. AFC. Self powered. Magnificent appearsice rassing. His conclusions the deep less knobs, b" isigh and s orkmanship. (atnssis Si /u:: 12t" .side. M'," the above. hut is desit.ued wide of i 811 r 4' high.i NOTE: Model SO-1( is identical to right direction, but painfully -t: -C. for use with an esrrnal audio control such as TII F. F ISii F.It Series 8a the mark. Why all the confusion over a defini- MODEL 804 FOR USE WITH EXTERNAL AUDIO CONTROL MODEL 80 T tion of jazz? There is a definition of $19950 jazz, of course, one that will satisfy everybody and hold water as a critical MODEL 80 -R yardstick. It has been known to people $16950

capable of reasoning for a long time. MAHOGANY OR BLONDE It can clear up the confusion Mr. CABINET: 51 795 Pleasants has manufactured for his Write For FULL Details article (by giving equal credence to FISHER RADIO CORP. all opinion) without difficulty. If the 21 -25 44th DRIVE triple -thinkers can't give it to Mr. LONG ISLAND CITY 1, N.Y. Continued on next page

FEBRUARY 1956

www.americanradiohistory.com LETTERS

Continneel from preceding page

Pleasants, I can. It is childishly simple.

Jazz is a folk music, period - - an urban kind of folk music for an en- larging urban kind of civilization. It is born out of those experiences, and such things are what it mostly ex- presses. It is music made up, out of the musical tools available to them, by itinerant musicians on the spur of the

moment as they perform - and the itinerant musician can be a Brubeck traveling by Stratocruiser, or a Lead - belly traveling by Red Ball boxcar express. It is a short -term. impro- vised musical outcry. It is a people's AM Quality Leader! music. Its beginnings were among the lowly of our economic life, but it continues to be the darling of the short of cash and the people who habitually feel more than they think. What is demanded of it is the release of ex- THE citement, the purging of the emotions There is real jazz and phony jazz, just as there is real folk music and phony folk music .... The real jazzmen sing with their instruments from the heart in whatever language they FISHER_ can muster, new or old, to anybody who will listen. The beat may be savage, the horn guttural in vulgar AM TUNER and bitter disillusionment, the saxophone may wail in unmistakable sor- MODEL AM -80 row (or ... joy) but the result is something not interchangeable and not SI IORTLY after the appearance of the famous FISHER FM -80 The Tuner, we received many requests for an AM counterpart of often forgettable. phony jazz- the same blue- ribbon breed. The AM -80 was engineered in response men are the slick musical entertainers to those requests and we are proud of it - as its owners will be. In who listen to the real jazzmen talk areas beyond the service of FM stations, users of the AM -80 will and then go home and practice until discover with delight that it has the pulling power of a professional they can approximate the sounds communications receiver, bringing enjoyable reception of ordinarily they've heard ... in order to cash in elusive, distant stations. The AM -80 offers broad -tuning for high on the desire of this citified age for a fidelity AM reception, as well as medium and sharp tuning for folklore of its own. No one who has suppression of interference where it exists; and it is a perfect com- heard and understood the original out- panion for the FM -80. The specifications below speak for themselves. cry can mistake the counterfeit emo- Outstanding Features of THE FISHER AM -80 tion for the real thing. Whatever its Features a relative-sensitivity tuning meter for micro -accurate station selec- virtues as entertainment. a musical tion Sensitivity: better than one microvolt! Three -gang variable condenser. One tuned RF and two IF stages. Three-position, adjustable band -width. enterprise like the Benny Goodman Frequency response (broad position) -3 db at S Kc. Audio section: band or the Glenn Miller hand cannot uniform response. 20 to 20,000 cycles. Built -in 10 Kc whistle filter. Dual antenna inputs. Loop antenna supplied. Three high -impedance inputs. be called jazz and the above will Cathode- follower output permits leads up to 200 feet. Completely shielded and shock- mounted construction, including bottom plate. Flywheel tuning. tell Mr. Pleasants why it can't. It is Slide -rule tuning dial with logging scale. Beautiful, brushed -brass control panel. Four controls: Power/Sensitivity. Function. Tuning, Output Level no good to simply decide to reduce all Control. Tube Complement: Total of Eight. 3 -61IJ6, I- 6ßF.6, 1 -6AL5, barriers and simply judge it as music. 2-6C4, 1-6X4. SIZE: 12%" wide, 4" high, 81/4" deep, including knobs. This would be the ruin of the Glenn Price Only $139.50 Miller kind of thing Miller has to be judged on performance. It is the Mahogany or Blonde Cabinet: $14.95 jazzmen who get judged on the basis Price Slightly Higher West of the Rorkirs of the goodness or not -so- goodness WRITE TODAY FOR COMPLETE SPECIFICATIONS of their music. FISHER RADIO CORP. 21 -25 44th DRIVE L. L CITY 1, N. Y. Jazz is not an art, and can never be luuuuuuuuuwu III 11111 11111111111111111111111l lllllli IlIli111111111111111111111111111111111111111 art. It is, however. the material of art.

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE.

www.americanradiohistory.com Art implies selection, refinement, dis- tillation, a realization crystallized by a genius welding the new raw clay over the old bones in a way to satisfy for all time. We want nothing changed in our masterpieces. Jazz ... should be an outcry - of joy, of anger, of sorrow, of something felt and experienced (intellectually as well as otherwise), or even a soft, gentle gasp of delight and wonder, or a fluid kind of contemplation of a wisdom gently said but some kind of raw statement, uttered at the moment of discovery. A great deal of fine artistry can be gotten out of this stuff. All that is necessary is that serious com- AMERICA'S TOP FM TUNER IN SENSITIVITY, APPEARANCE AND WORKMANSHIP posing artists know and respect the real jazz, and that the real jazzmen respect the composer's enterprise in using their raw material as legitimate and desirable when sincere. Gersh- 150,000 Witnesses win and Bernstein make music out of HAVE VERIFIED THE FM -80'S SUPERIORITY! jazz, and acknowledge their debt. The jazzmen need not be affronted, nor the classical critics feel cheated ... l Ray Elliunrth New York, N.Y. T' H E,

SIR: I was interested in Mr. Saroyan's comments ( "Living With Music," Septem- ber 1955] about printed programs and chronological presentation of com- FISHEK poser's work. I thought perhaps he, and your readers, might be interested in what we have accomplished here in FM TUNER F°8o the Midwest, where such things are little practiced and less appreciated. ll't,r /t /s 13cst I' L;1ß Sttfnt/tnds Our program "Symphonic Min- TF1oSF. Audio Fairs in New York, Chicl.go, utes" started out seven years ago as a who attended the Los Angeles, Washington, Boston and Philadelphia found that once spot for nothing. Interest -a -week only Fisher Radio Corporation had set up a battery of regular pro- developed, along with sponsors, and duction tuners so that you. the consumer, might operate them as )ou now the show is a daily fifty -five min- saw fit. in an obviously radio -difficult location. and with only the most elementary of antennas taped to the wall. More than 150.(100 feature of a local independent sta- ute people made these tests, and were astonished to find FM stat ons tion, WMRP ( 1510 kc. ). coming in perfectly from 'impossible' distances. This Missouri -show -me Among other features has been the style test has settled once and for all the question as to who makes To those who did not attend the Antic. order Mr. Saroyan de- the best tuners in America. chronological Fairs, we say: Try it before you buy it! Chassis Only available ,$139.50 sires. Insofar as recordings Mahogany or Blonde Cabinet, $14.95 to us have permitted, we have had weeks -long series of such composers Outstanding Features of THE FISHER FM -80

'1 \ \tl IInc to sensitivity, one to indicate center -of- channel as Sibelius, Mahler, Bruckner, Nielsen, nictcr.. indicate for m . -accurate tuning. Armstrong system, with two IF stages. dual Delius, Dvorak, and quite a few limiters r and a cascade RF stage. Full limiting even on signals as wee< as one microvolt. Dual antenna inputs: 72 ohms and 300 ohms balance.' others; chronological presentation of (exclusive!) Sensitivity: 11/4 microvolts for 20 db of quieting on 72 -oho input: 3 microvolts for 20 db of quieting on 300 -ohm input. Chassis the symphonies of the above ( sans completely shielded and shock- mounted, including tuning condenser, to eli- otherwise accumulated dust. Three Delius), as well as Beethoven, Schu- minate microphonics, and noise from controls - Variable AFC /Line -Switch, Sensitivity, and Station Selector bert, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Franz Ber- PLUS an exclusive Output Level Control. Two bridged outputs - low - impedance, cathode -follower type, permitting output leads up to 2111) fee-- wald, Vaughan Williams, Elgar, and II tubes. Dipole antenna supplied. Beautiful, brushed -brass front pane . Sell -powered. wFtnhIr: 15 pounds. cpAssls SIZE: 123/4" wide, 4" higl.. Kallinikov, to name only those whose Nys" deep including control knobs. total output of symphonies has been Price Lightly Higher We of the R - -t.. recorded.... WRITE TODAY FOR COMPLETE SPECIFICATIONS Vocal music hasn't suffered, either, FISHER RADIO CORP. 21 -25 44th DRIVE L. I. CITY 1, N. Y. 1111111111111IL Continued on page 29

FEBRUARY 1956

www.americanradiohistory.com Discs made from "SCÖTCH" Magnetic Tape masters earn Capitol's Full Dimensional Sound Seal!

Capitol Record's Full Dimensional Sound Review Committee. Left to right: Francis Scott; Roy Du Nann, Supervising Recording Engineer; Ed Uecke, Chief Electronics Engineer; Bill Miller and Bob Myers of the Capitol Artists and Repertoire Department.

You can thank the critical judgment of the five men netic tape the company uses for its original recordings is pictured above for the wonderful tone and fidelity of the the same favored by all leading record firms -"SCOTCH" Capitol records you buy. They have the responsibility Magnetic Recording Tape. Only "SCOTCH" Brand of listening to every Capitol Classical LP master record- makes its own magnetic coatings. This means all mag- ing before it is released to the public ... appraising each netic particles are alive, active- ready to record even disc's dynamic range, performance, background noise- the faintest sound with perfect fidelity. No wonder it's in fact, judging it on eight critical points. Only the the largest -selling magnetic tape in the world! recordings which meet all of this Committee's rigid standards receive Capitol Record's famous gold stamp - of- quality ... the Full Dimensional Sound Seal. Capitol Record's Full Dimensional Sound Review Committee is unique in the recording field. But the mag- "Scoici-I" Magnetic Tape

The term "SCOTCH" and the plaid design are registered trademarks for Magnetic Tape made in U.S.A. by MINNESOTA MINING AND MFG. CO., St. Paul 6, Minn. Export Sales Office: 99 Park Avenue, New York 16, N.Y. @ 3M Co., 1956.

28 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com LETTERS Continued froln page 27 BROCINER with a complete opera every two weeks, if possible, and outstanding PRINTED CIRCUIT AUDIO AMPLIFIERS singers, played a disk a day or so until their electrical recordings are fully aired ... . Vocal music in the form of lieder hasn't been slighted. On successive days, all the six volumes of the Wolf sets on HMV were played, and other lieder collections of like value (Husch's Schubert cycles and Kilpenin songs, for example ) were broadcast. Another scheme just getting into tentative script form is the performance, numerically, of the first hundred Victor albums of classics. What a galaxy of musicians! Kreisler, Back - haus, de Greef, Isolde Menges, Gran - forte, Fertile, Giannini, Rachmaninoff. Mark 30C Audio Control Center Toscanini, Coppola, Coates, Blech, Melchior, Mengelberg, just to name a .. distortion has been reduced almost to the vanishing point ... Strictly a top-qual- many in their best form. few, and ity control unit worthy of the very finest Up until lately, when printing costs associated equipment, and well suited to got the better of us, we printed daily the needs of the high fidelity perfection- programs that were distributed through ist,- 111,II FIDELITY Magazine the libraries and schools. We hope to Feedback type preamplifier with extreme flexibility of control and input- output facilities, Roll - do it again soon. functionally designed for ease and simplicity of operation. Separate Turnover and off controls. Exact compensation for all recording curves, rigidly controlled in produc- This letter may seem unduly proud. tion. Feedback-type bass and treble controls. Rumble filter and loudness compensation but we are proud, and we feel the front -panel controlled. Facilities for two phono inputs. Adjustable pickup load. Tape output jack. I.M. distortion virtually unmeasurable. Extremely low hum and noise level. justification is in the number of lis- Highly styled, legible front panel: maroon and gold cabinet. For use as remote control teners we attract and hold here. unit -self adjusting feature for cabinet installation. Size: 31/2" x 104" x 6". $88.50 Soon our station goes on 500 watts; not much, but enough more to take us Mark 30A Power Amplifier out of our town and send the program 30 watts of low- distortion power in a corn- to the nearby cities such as Lansing. pact, attractively styled, easy -to- install r.x package. Long life assured by novel chas- Detroit, Ann Arbor, etc. sis design providing perfect ventilation of "Symphonic Minutes" is on from components. I.M. distortion below Irk at 30 watts: at 20 watts; 1/10% at 12:05 till 1:00 P.M., Monday through 10 watts. 43 db. multiple -loop negative Friday. feedback. Wide -band phase compensation assures absolutely stable operation with all Barton Wintble types of speakers. Perfect freedom from Flint, Mich. transient oscillation and fast recovery time result in audibly cleaner performance. Genuine, licensed Ultra- Linear Circuit. Size 31/2" x 12" x 9" $98.25 SIR: There are now at least half -a -dozen ut Mark 10 Integrated Amplifier these subscription -type record issuing and Control Center outfits in operation. Their practice is, as you know, to issue, on an average. "ASTONISHED ME." one item every month. To control pro- H ll. Ilqe,ein, "The Nation- duction they send to each of their members an advance notice which de- A complete, truly high fidelity amplifier :It a moderate price. Features flexibility scribes the forthcoming release and a with simplicity of control. Accurate record compensation, adjustable for all recording reply card upon which the member curves. For all high quality phonograph pickups. Bass and treble controls. Rumble filter. Loudness-compensated volume control. Tape output jack. 20 db. feedback. 10 watts his rejection of the offer - may indicate at less than 1% distortion. Attractive maroon and gold finish. Compact: 41/2" x 11" x 8" ing. I am a member of a number of $75.00 these groups and from time to time Available at better high -fidelity distributors. (Prices slightly higher west of Rockies). Literature on request. receive records from all of them. Not I Dept. HFL I which I have F,31 O C N E R only do receive records BROCINER E. 32nd St. ru 344 desired, but I often receive records l -i E L E C T R O N I C S C O R P O R A T I O N New York 16, N.Y had notified these organizations not to Continued on next page

FEBRUARY 1956 29

www.americanradiohistory.com LETTERS Continued ficini precediIi pay,

send. Whenever this occurs, or when defective or damaged records require correspondence, the ensuing exchanges are likely to drag out for as long as five months. In fact, quite often there is no response at all until one is driven to recourse to aspersions on the pro- bity and intelligence of the outfit addressed. I should like to suggest, through the medium of your coluinns, therefore, that other members of these groups adopt my present practice of sending their rejection cards or notices, and other correspondence, to them by certified mail. The little extra cost can obviate endless annoyance. Al Franck Mineola, N. Y.

SIR:

When my husband and I were engaged, he sent me a home recording of the then popular song "Si ntphony "- New "Convertible" 20 -watt Amplifier and you know, "da- da- dee -dee -you are my symphony." Pre -Amp with controls, in one versatile unit, Now, eight years, S400, seven speakers and two amplifiers later, I only 1995 realize what a great compliment it was. So I wrote some new lyrics to it, espec- The new General Electric Convert- design, the amplifier and pre-amp may ially for him: ible is a dual -chassis design. In a be mounted independently in built -in "Symphony, symphony 'hi -fi' single, amazingly flexible and low cost systems. Or, as one complete unit, Get that low and high, How do you start? unit there's a powerful amplifier, with the handsome Convertible may be 20 watts of undistorted Friends walk in and debates begin output -plus placed on a bookshelf or table. 'Hear that violin and this bass part.' a pre -amp with seven panel -mounted Write today for new hi -fi ideas Symphony fidelity. controls. It gives you sound as it was and - the name of your dealer.Gencral Elec- Then we buy, and it's clear to me. meant to he heard. We've a De- got symphony, tric Company, Special Products High fidelity." There's New Installation Flexibility, too! partment, Section 115421i, Electronics Seriously, although the technical as- Wit h General Electric's dual-chassis Park, Syracuse, New Fork. pects still elude me, I've got the bug even to the extent of reading HIGH FIDELITY Magazine! We feel very fortunate, too, that at last St. Louis has a station putting our the highest quality ever heard in the city 93.7 2 1,- FOR TABLE OR BOOKCASE - KCFM, at melts, with 500 watts of power. Lt's been a struggle for Commercial Electronics OR CUSTOM INSTALLATION and Harry Eidelman to get it under- way, but they've done a wonderful job. Programing includes a program called "High Fidelity Magazine of the Air" with items and articles of unusual interest to hi -fi fans from your magazine. This certainly gives prestige to your publication, and sparks many a discussion at our house. Hi -fi has opened a new world of enjoyment for us, for which we are Progress Is Our Most important Product grateful. Esther L. McGowan GENERAL ELECTRIC Imperial, Mo.

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com Sr is Ine ómprr r,l" t 9r I ,91 mi. i'0

the last word in living room listening... AMPEX STEREOPHONIC SOUND

Once you've heard the Ampex 612 sound can come from such compact equipment. Complete with stereophonic tape phonograph system, you'll never be satisfied tape phonograph and two amplifier- speakers, it covers only with less. It's the latest and the finest in listening pleasure, four square feet of wall space for convenient placement in any makes previous high fidelity seem old fashioned. The startling living room. realism and magnificent quality of the 612 system brings a With true Ampex quality, the Model 612 plays full- track, half - new panorama of sound into your living room - new heights track or two track stereophonic tapes. Both the tape phono- in listening enjoyment that only a superb tape machine can graph and the amplifier- speakers are available in handsome achieve. hardwood cabinets with either blonde or brunette finish. See Not only does the 612 system capture all the depth and clarity and hear them today. Special stereophonic demonstrations Ask of stereophonic sound, but its small size is really unique. Even are being featured this month at your Ampex Dealer's. the most critical audiophile is astonished that such big, clean about the Ampex Time Pay Plan.

Dealers in principal cities (see your local Telephone Directory under "Recording Equipment") Canadian Distribution by Ampex American, 70 Grenville, Toronto, Ontario. AMPEX SIGNATURE OF PERFECTION IN SOUND Cs)RI'OIt,AI.I<)N 934 Charter Street, Redwood City, California.

www.americanradiohistory.com AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO THOSE WHO OWN The Julio¡, ur,i arc Ira, of records for trade: if any records listed here interest you. u-rite A RECORD CHANGER... directly to the person offering them and give him your trade list. The records listed below are stated to be in good condition; however, we cannot he held responsible for OR INTEND TO BUY ONE any records obtained through this column. Lists submitted for publication in this column must be limited to ten records for let's separate . fact from fancy .. trade and ten which are canted. Composer, on the subject of rumble and wow! title, performers, recording company, record number and speed must be supplied by the trader. Only 33%3 and 78 rpm records will be listed. We are astonished by the growing defiance of fact inherent in claims made for some record changers. . . namely, that they have NO RUMBLE OR WOW! Such patently inaccurate statements may Otto Flakowski, 831 Wolfram St., Chicago only serve to confuse you ... and most certainly cannot aid in your s4. Ill., has a collection of eight hundred selection of equipment. 78 -rpm records of which he will swap forty ( albums included) for one LP, preferably to someone in the Chicago area. Interested Let's get the facts right. All record changers and turntables ... persons should write for complete list. too ... HAVE SOME RUMBLE AND WOW CONTENT. At best, the absence of noise is an ideal to tempt new achievements towards perfection. The important question is ... HOW MUCH RUMBLE Gerald E. Hochman. 54th USAF Dispen- AND WOW IS PRESENT? Among changers, the differences are sary, Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Coraopo- at least great enough to spell listening pleasure or total dissatisfaction. lis, Pa., would like to trade the following LPs for progressive jazz, Broadway shows, The quietest record changer made today is the Thorens Concert or classical records: CD -43. In fact, it performs as well as many fine turntables. Its Gilbert & Sullivan: The Mikado. DOyly Carte Opera Company. VICTOR Lcr 6009. noise ratio is -48 db below program level and for this reason we two t2 -in. believe it rightly deserves its reputation the "ONLY TRULY as Borodin: Polovetsian Dances; 1ppolitoff- HIGH FIDELITY RECORD CHANGER." Ivanoff: Caucasian Sketches, Op. 1o; Enesco: Roumanian Rhapsody No. t in How does this vast difference come about? The answer lies in Thorens' A major, Op. t t. Wallenstein, Los use of a big, powerful Swiss-precision direct -drive motor with a Angeles Philharmonic Orch. DECCA DL separate gear for each standard speed. Rubber belts, pulleys and 9,2,, t2 -in. other elements common to rim or friction drive units are not present Drums of the Caribbean. AUDIO FIDEL- to cause undesirable noise or speed variation. The huge cast -iron FEY AFLP 902, 12 -in. frame and mechanical filter further act to reduce rumble content, and a flyball governor on the electronically- balanced main shaft provides freedom from undesirable wow. William D. Gaboriault, 18 Oaklawn Manor Dr., Apt. ;, Cranston. R. I., offers the following 78 rpm records for trade: ARE CONVENIENCE FEATURES IMPORTANT? Indeed they - Gaubert: Les Chants de la Mer. Gaubert. are . . . and it was Thorens of Switzerland who originated many Paris Symphony. COLUMBIA X1o9, 2 of h e now well-known functional advantages. No other changer records. has Thorens' simple three -speed selector with integral fine tuner Requiem Mass - Gregorian. Pius X for exact pitch adjustment ... and you can intermix automatically, School Choir. VICTOR nt 177. 10" and 12" records - with special switch for 7 ". The fine tone - Gabrieli: Processional and Ceremonial arm has adjustments for tracking weight and cartridge alignment. Music. Biggs. Harvard and Radcliffe VICTOR DM Pause and reject controls, manual -play switch, muting condenser .. . Choirs. 928. all these and more, are found in the Thorens. Boyce: Symphonies (complete). New York Sinfonietta. TIMELY 1 -K t "Original

recording, long a collectors' item." ) A majority of Thorens Changers are bought as a replacement. Why not choose wisely In exchange for the above records. Mr. the first time ... ask your dealer to demon- Gaboriault is interested in obtaining the strate a THORENS CD -43 Record Changer. following William Lekeu 78 -rpm disks: Adagio for Strings, Op. 3. Boyd Neel. Also manual and automatic players, and turntables. English DECCA D -x 236 Quartet in B minor. Polydor PD- 516555 Sonata in G. 0 H. & Y. Menuhin. HMV DB -3492 5. Music Boxes swiss Hi -Fi Components Joseph Gale, Assistant Editor, N. . Music MADE Spring -Powered Shavers and Arts, 4 t 5 Westminster Ave., Elizabeth, THORA Lighters CD -43 N. J., urgently wants the London complete YORK price $93.75 net Continued on page 34

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com AS CO ... sound consultants to the great names ill music, creates a perfect installation for eele/raled Metropolitan Opera Star

(Rend& X[((

FAIRCHILD Model 111 ... and it takes the -To rromatic- Tl -R NTA BLE \eu .I Turntable for the liant-, built m Fairchild professional pushbutton selection of standards.' \ iLral mad- operation, ahenc. of r.I ro inerd noie. coin. to plrle arr..0 -ti, il -Hein', Continu Asco's "Audiomat" Bell I)ri,e. I(.rlenise Idler l're..ure Beira -r. Turret Control choose the fine components and main_ other ¡v:u tre.. J99.511 Model 2811 TR1NSClill'TII)N Ali)1 that will reproduce the The arm that -ail lis'- r,,'r re. quirent 101 of -prole-Mimi- repro durs' with .vlu -ive fcatun. superb sound of Mme. Tebaldi's never a, ailaile in popularlprired Iranrription arm.: perfect Irark of all record -. quirk cartridge London ffrr recordings ... as rhmige. no open circuit hum when changing cartridge.. etc. Arm drop meant to be heard limit adjutnienl panent. -tylu, they are damage. 11 ode/ 280.-1 1 rrrnling. up to 12" I. $33!95 220 Type (:ARTRII(:E latex refinement in the rartridge de.igu Fairchild ha. supplied lu the Rertirdin_ 3 Ifroadra -ling in. du-trie- for oser 21 sear. Linear Speaker by rest e and freed from rea nant peak. pros ide unhelies:ddy accurate rep rod11 r t ion of the mast delicate lone- well a. nta..i,e Components L full arrhe.t re ouuá Prequeurs 2 db, 20 to 17.010 cp..

Node! 220:1 - - for mirrog moose FAIRCHILD i1.1'1 records. $37.10 \lodel 2111 PREAMPLIFIER -Evl ALILER Set. nest .laud:erd. jilt il. Ilassle pertormaot r. IIr.ii,ilin. beau), of appra rani e and i rnllw;uthip. "Hal inc,' Altar- Toue Control i- iie -t of all ill .-re and ue. Ca, input circuit, gis es highest eninurleeat iss lead moise. I )ne -knot rquali ter gis es aril,' correct u-quaiir:d ion quirkl) and aulonmt *98!)5 icall, . Model 275 1,5 ß'a11 PLOWER AMPLIFIER i1, -i_ued to lie the ultimate in

pu mpl i lier -: True c -err hall reali -ni a. I.iesPli titiller the

-t 1111111111i . in 11nri:u a'r. hera11 - of it- trruun.L.u- nooer re.nou -e 1(till onlpul as ai Ldd, t Lele

211 Io :J...,. 'O,uuu . -p-. ai . I \I . un ti/di dumping rout nl al.epi- it lu an, quality .peak,r -`I trou For the custom installation engineered by Hi -Fi experts who know how and care enough to do the job right, The (4,%/ , ;u (II -PI of budget who else bat Bich. -p:u'i.ae - eRorlle. reali -nt regardless ... Please send me an illustrated brochure on (roto a 11 !Vs multi -boro .s tent ASCO Custom Installations to Fit Every stilli four ..epocale driver-. C. - Bridget. a 1 nl 2 woofer driving ll ft. Solaro! Corp. ha-- horn. I mid -range ASCO Name minis aletti - St.. 30 watt horn driver. 1 high Ire 115 Wca Volt N.T.C. Address 5 Peak quenry watt horn driver. 3rd Ikon 2-1750 fill Willis. ll Zone pawn handling spari).': FLOOR City State Mode/ 1330 ;339.511

FEBRUARY 1956 33

www.americanradiohistory.com SWAP -A- RECORD

Continue(/ from page 32

Parsifal and Lekeu's Quartet in B minor, 1ó iiialler nn POLYUOR 516555/7. ithrt.. In exchange Mr. Gale is prepared to offer six new LPs of the donor's choice for each selection -a dozen in all - from a collection of more than 2,000 LPs.

Harold L. Dvorin. 1 o t ;ti S. Hoxie Ave, Chicago 17. Ill., wants the following: Hindemith: Der Harmonie der Welt. DECCA UL 9765. Hindemith: Concert Music; Mathis der Maler. COLUMBIA ML 4816. Bartók: Two Rhapsodies; Two Images. BARTOK 307. Stravinsky: Danses Concertantes, etc. CONCERT HALL 1129.

Mr. Dvorin offers for trade the following: Stravinsky: Petrouchka. Ansermet, Suisse Romande Orch. LONDON LL -I30, 12 -in. B. Wagenaar: Symphony No. 4. Haeffner, ARS Orch. ARS 21. 10 -in. D. Moore: Symphony in A; R. Thomp- son: Symphony No. 2. Dixon. ARS )rch. ARS 45. Copland: Music for the Theatre; Moross: Frankie and Johnnie. Hendl, ARS Orch. ARS 12.

Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 3. Rach - maninoff, Ormandy, Philadelphia Ord1. VICTOR UM 710. Beethoven: Symphony No. 5. N. del Mar, London Symphony Orch. MAR. 81-

Russell W. Brickell, 137 Grove Sc, Mc- Cloud, Cal., has the following for trade: Brahms: Serenade No. 2 in A, Op. 16. Swoboda, Concert Hall Symphony Orch. CONCERT HALL E. -i, Honegger: Concerto da Camera. Nicolet, Parolari, Winterthur Symphony Orch.; Barraud: Sonatine for Violin and Piano. Reyes, Menasee. CONCERT HALT. L -17. The very best in Buxtehude: Three Cantatas for Solo Voice, String, and Organ. Vonlanthen, Custom Television Meili, Reichel. Cosa iitcc HALL E-5. Mozart: Serenade No. 7, in D. Rybar, Busch. Winterthur Symphony Orch. CON- by TECH - MASTER CERT HALI. E -1. Schubert: Symphony No. 6, in C major. FOUND IN THE FINEST INTERIORS Desarzens, Winterthur Symphony Orch. CON(.IiRT HALL E -14. The Student Prince; 7'he Chocolate

Soldier ( excerpts 1 . Stevens. Eddy. CO- As the custom installation signifies the ultimate LUMBIA ML 4060. in well -chosen decor ... so the name Tech -Master stands for the utmost in Wagner: Die Götterdämmerung; Sieg- fried's Rhine Journey; Custom Television. The reputation established with the manufacture of Siegfried's Funeral Music. Stokowski, Philharmonic Symphony the renowned Model 630 chassis is further enhanced by the outstanding Orch. of N. Y. COLUMBIA ML 4273. Tech- Master Audiophile and Sound Theatre. Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor. Rodzinski, Philharmonic- Only Tech- Master has these outstanding plus features: World- famous 3 tube synchro -lok Symphony Orch. picture circuit for constant picture stability. 30 tubes fully used. "Full Frame Mounting" of N. Y. COLUMBIA AIL 4016. ... just a simple cutout is required for installation. High fidelity picture as well as Rimsky- Korsakoff: Scheherazade. Or- exceptional audio reproduction. mandy, Philadelphia Orch. COLUMBIA MI. 4089. Shostakovich: Symphony No. r in F See your Custom hi-fi dealer today . . . or write major, Op. io. Rodzinski, The Cleveland TECH -MASTER CORPORATION Orch. COLUMBIA ML 4lot. 75 FRONT STREET, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK 0 Continuel/ on page 3 (I

34 HIGII FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com ORGANIZING THE CONTROLS .... the key to high fidelity

Every control on a well designed. honestly considered high fidelity instrument has a specific useful function, related to each of the other controls. this of the Prelude, Harman -Kardon's new 10 watt printed circuit amplifier, illustrates Operation (tuner, point well. With the function selector, choose the type of program material you plan to listen to phono, tape or T.V.). Select the correct record equalization settings for the particular record to be played, using the separate low frequency turnover and high frequency roll -off controls. To minimize turntable rumble operate the rumble filter slide switch. With the loudness contour selector in the uncompensated position, turn the loudness control to a reasonably high level. This permits you to make the remaining adjustments while listening at your own maximum efficiency. Adjust the separate bass and treble tone controls to correct for the characteristics of your loudspeaker and for the acoustic characteristics of the room. Choose settings which, in your total system. create the proper sense of aural balance. Now reduce the loudness setting to a level, lower than the normal listening level in your room. Note that the full bodied, lifelike quality you experienced at high listening level has disappeared. This is typical of human hearing since it loses sensitivity to very low and very high pitched notes as the sound level is reduced. With all other controls unchanged, switch quickly through the four positions of the loudness contour control until you find the one which most nearly duplicates the full bodied sound you enjoyed at high level. Turn the loudness control up to the level at which you wish to listen. The controls are now properly organized and your system should perform at its very best!

FEATURES: Turnover Selector Switch includes position which provides correct preamplifier equali. ADDITIONAL controls. zation for tape playback head (requires no extra tape preamplifier) - Tape Output. unaffected by tone $5500 when cage is removed available to drive tape recording head - Safety Interlock Power Cord disc6nnects power - Printed circuit throughout, employs dip soldered copper -clad laminated phenolic plastic board,± easily available Slightly 1 db 20-20.000 for service Output level: 10 watts at 3% IM. Peak Power: 15 watts - Frequency Response higher - Phono Hum: c.p.s. Hum: Min. Volume Hum: 80 db below 10 watts. Aux and Tuner Hum: 60 db below 10 watts. in Mr Control: Tape. RIAA west 50 db below 10 watts - Rumble Filter: 6 db per octave cut below 50 cycles - Turnover x 6%" AES, LP -Tube Complement: 2.12AX7, 2.6V6GT, 1.5Y3GT - Dimensions: 12 %" wide x 41" high deep - Finish: Control Panel: Brushed Copper; Cage and Knobs: Matte Black.

WRITE FOR FREE COLORFULLY ILLUSTRATED CATALOG A-13

harman kardon I INCORPORA TED 520 Main St. Westbury, L. I.. N. Y.

FEBRUARY 1956 ìS

www.americanradiohistory.com NOW SWAP -A- RECORD HEAR Continued frone page 34 Mr. Brickell would like to obtain any of THIS the following: Bartók: Suite from the Miraculous Man- darin. MERCURY MG 500 38. for Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra. MER - t.CRY MG 50033. improved high fidelity Fauré: Sonata No. t in A, Op. 13. WESTMINSTER 5156. MacDowell: Concerto No. 1, in A GOODMANS minor, Op. 15. WESTMINSTER 5190. LOUDSPEAKERS Miss Jacqueline Crawford, 115 W. 6th St.. between an ordinary in the New Lansdale, Pa., wants to trade the following LPs for chamber, folk, jazz, Bach, Bartok. perrurmance ano a Segovia, Gieseking, and Ferrier recordings: truly fine - 'Friction- Loaded' Virgil Thomson: The River; Billings - distortion Luening: Tune on a Hymn. ARS 8, 12 -in. AXIOM Enclosures Haieff: Concerto for Piano and Orches- free recording. tra; Ward: Symphony No. 1. ARS 9. Copland: Music for the Theatre; Moross: Frankie & Johnny. ARS t 2, I 2-in. Your tape recording or PA Bergsma: String Quartet No. z Shep- equipment herd: Triptych for Soprano and String can reproduce a Quartet. ARS 18, 12 -in. much (rider range of voice Bloch: Trois Poèmes Juifs; Herbert: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra. ARS or music -if you use these 24, 12 -in. microphones! Carter: Sonata for Piano; Sonata for Axiom 22 Mk II Axiom 150 Mk H Cello and Piano. ARS 25, 12 -in. Randall Thompson: Symphony No. 2; Moore: Symphony in A. ARS 45, 12 -in. Piston: Symphony No. 2. ARS 1, to -in. Hanson: Symphony No. 4. ARS 6, to -in. Griffes: Poem for Flute and Orchestra; A dynamic semi- direc- Foote: Suite in E major, Op. 63. ARS tional microphone with 22, 10 -in. excellent response to 10,000 cps. Widely used by performers, bands Richard Brumer, 2150 Wallace Ave., New and York 62, N. Y., wants to trade the follow- recording artists. Ideal as a moderate - ing LPs and is particularly interested in cost replacement for conventional obtaining in exchange any of the Beethoven tape recorder and PA microphones. concertos, and symphonies 6, 7, and 9: Multi-impedance switch gives you Beethoven: Wind Trio in C major. the versatility of three microphones Kamesch, Kautsky, Hadamousky. WEST- in one. Supplied with 15' microphone MINSTER WL 5262, 12-in. cable. Rich satin chrome finish. List Beethoven: Trio in B -flat major. Four- price $49.50. nier, Janigro, Ba.Iura- Sko

STER VV'L 5 1 31 , t 2 -in. Martinu: Concerto Grosso. Vienna Sym- phony Orch. WESTMINSTER WL 50 -4. Mozart: Divertimento in E -flat major. Axlom &0 Axlerro Pougnet, Riddle, Pini. WESTMINsTt:R u Complete do- it- yourself construction 5195, 12 -in. The only uni- directional Mozart: Divertimento No. 17, in D details - available on request crystal microphone made! major. Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet, Her- Super -cardioid polar pat- mann, H. & O. Berger. WESTMINSTER 'X L tern reduces pickup of 5276, I 2-in. Mail this Coupon...Today background noises and reverberation r - - -- 1 Brahms: Trio in E. -flat major. Barylli, Koch, Holletschek. WESTMINSTER V('L by 73% to provide clear noise -free ROCKBAR CORPORATION Dept. NB -2 5146, 12 -in. recordings. Frequency response to 215 East 37th St., New York 16, N. Y. Schubert: Trio No. 1 in B -flat. Fournier, 10,000 cps. Has moisture -proofed Please send me: Janigro, Badura -Skoda. WESTMINSTER WI. "Metal Seal" crystal and internal ID Complete information about GOODMANS 5188, 12 -in. sponge -rubber floating mount for High Fidelity Loudspeakers. Schumann: Kreisleriana. Demus. WEST- long operating life. 15' cable, satin E Complete details the new about 'friction- MINSTER 'XL 5142, I 2-in. loaded' chrome finish. List price $46.00. AXIOM Enclosures. Beethoven: String Trio in E -flat major. NAME Pougnet, Riddle, Rini. WESTMINSTER WL 5226, 12-in. ADDRESS //a ./:,,.lr/ Beethoven: String Trio in C minor. CITY ZONE STATE Pougnet, Riddle, Pini. WESTMINSTER WI. 5219, 12-in. SHURE BROTHERS, INC. L J 225 West Huron Street, Chicago 10, Illinois

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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ELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS DIVISION SONOTONE CORPORATION ELMSFORD NEW YORK

www.americanradiohistory.com UNEXCELLED LISTENING QUALITY

Wide, Wide, Hi -Fi World With apologies for slightly modifying the title of a well -known television program, we note with interest that UNEXCELLED high fidelity is a world -wide phenomenon. From Johannesburg, South Africa. we have received Vol. I, No. H of HI -FI lli -Fi News. the Journal of the High

Fidelity Society of South Africa . . . and from several thousand miles the CENTER! other direction. we have received the bulletin of the Society of Music En- thusiasts in Toronto, Canada. Though literally a world apart. both groups are Now enjoy the very active. with regular meetings, excellent guest speakers, demonstrations, COMPONENTS and of course. highly active open -discussion periods. According to A. S. Brown, editor of the South African Ili Fi Ns ws, his TURNTABLE IN THE NEW COMPONENTS group was founded in September 1954. Twelve people attended the first meet- MASTER CONTROL CABINET! ing; Johannesburg now has a paid gt- membership of 155 and there are groups in Durban 170 members) and Audio engineers and armchair engineers with the new Components Pro -Ette in Pretoria. agree: The Components Professional Master Control Cabinet. Besides provid- In Toronto, the SME group con- Turntable provides the finest listening ing ideal mounting for the Professional tinues to make excellent progress. quality in hi -fi today. Rumble down 70 turntable, the Pro -Este is designed to Membership is well over the hundred - db or better , wow and flutter 0.05% accept most .. tuners, pre -amps and ampli- mark, and attendance at meetings or less . . . 3 -speed accuracy at least fiers - on any and all sides. Special rail 0.25% . no other turntable matches and accessory hangers make it easy. averages nearly 200. The Society's this performance! And now you can en- Available in blonde or mahogany, or activities helped make possible the joy the ultimate in listening convenience unfinished. first Toronto Audio Fair; the second See the Professional and the Pro -Este at your hi -fi dealer's! one will have taken place by the time you get this issue of Hicin FIDELITY. Maybe we should say: small. small, NEW! "QUIET PLEASE" T NEW! 4 -SPEED MODEL hi -fi world. RUMBLE TEST RECORD! of "PROFESSIONAL" TURNTABLE Measure your turntable for rumble with The three standard speeds, plus the in- Swap Stamps? this unique quiet groove disc made pos- creasingly popular 16% rpm. These new sible by Components spectacular new recordings provide up to 11/2 hours or We received a card from Dr. George more of playing per side. Some speed as Hydrofeed recording process. Only 89C used in new automobile record players. Wentz, Jr., Box 26, 417 N. Comanche, at dealer's or $1.00 post paid from Costs only slightly more than standard San Marcos, Texas. saying, "Stamp Components Corporation. Components 3 -speed Professional turntable. dealer will swap fine LI. S. & Foreign FOR FURTHER INFORMATION WRITE DEPT. II stamps. Want an REL Precedent tuner (or equal), professional tape recorder, and other hi -fi items." COMPONENTS Dr. Wentz added a note. "Please C O R P O R A T I O N post this on your bulletin board, or give to some interested person." Well, D E N V I LLE N E W J E R S E Y Continued on page 40

38 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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1101 SOUTH KILBOURN AVENUE CHICAGO 24, ILL. www.americanradiohistory.com NOTED WITH INTEREST

Continued from page 3 H MUSIC LISTENER'S this column is sort of our Bulletin Board ... and we wouldn't be surprised if there were several interested persons among our readers. Who BOOKSHOP knows?

A TIME -SAVING SERVICE TO OUR READERS. WE ATTEMPT C. DJ., M.D. TO SEND YOU THE BOOKS YOU ORDER BY RETURN MAIL. Which simply means that in Atlantic Just send the coupon with your remittance. City, N. J., there is an active physician (that's the M.D. part) who is also an MUSIC LOVERS' ENCYCLOPEDIA: com- piled by Rupert Hughes; newly revised active classical disk -jockey, and has BEST SELLERS and edited by Deems Taylor and Russell been for the past six years. It started Kerr. 930 pages. Contains a series of back in 1949, when one of Dr. Victor New HIGH FIDELITY HANDBOOK: The essays contributed by eminent authorities Ruby's patients the program direc- Irving Greene and James Radcliffe. on - such subjects as: acoustics, counter- tor of Atlantic City's WMID men- 250 illustrations, diagrams and plans. point, the conductor and his art, harmony, A complete practical guide for the jazz, orchestration, recorded music, etc. tioned that the station needed a man purchase, assembly, installation, main- Extremely valuable reference work; com- to present classical music. Dr. Ruby fidelity tenance, and enjoyment of high pact and easy to use. volunteered ... and is now beginning music systems. No. 152 $3.50 the seventh year of his Sunday Con- No. 200 $4.95 cert Hall. The program hasn't missed RECORD INDEX - 1954: Complete alphabet- a Sunday yet, and three years ago READER: edited by ical listings by composer or collection -title THE HIGH FIDELITY Dr. Ruby started another program Roy H. Hoopes, Jr. Introduction by of all the classical and semi- :lassical, jazz and spoken word record John M. Conly. An anthology of out- reviews contained over the same station. This, too, is in HIGH FIDELITY Magazine in 1954. standing articles originally appearing still going strong. On the air, Dr. Discographies included. S0c each. in HIGH FIDELITY Magazine cover- Ruby uses the pseudonym Victor the high fidelity ing various aspects of HOME MUSIC SYSTEMS (Revised Edition); Travis. phenomenon. Among the contributors Edward Tatnall Canby. 302 pages, il- In November of last year, Dr. Ruby are Charles Fowler, Roy Allison, lustrated. This popular guide to high was called in on another emergency Peter Bartok, Emory Fernando Valenti, fidelity has been completely revised. Home operation: to write a music column Cook, and David Sarser. Music Systems explains the operation of a for the Atlantic City Press radio -phonograph, where to buy the while the No. 155 $3.50 separate parts, and how to house them. regular columnist was on vacation. One chapter is devoted to suggested com- Dr. Ruby did a fine job; wish we had RECORD ANNUAL first HIGH FIDELITY -A binations of equipment. room to quote at length from the volume of record reviews -classical mu- No. 151 $3.95 column because he gave his answer to sic and the spoken word -from HIGH a question which is so often asked of FIDELITY Magazine. Edited by Ro- THE FABULOUS PHONOGRAPH: Roland land Gelatt. Gelatt. A history of the phonograph trac- enthusiastic music lovers: "Why do you spend so much time No. 201 $4.95 ing its progress from Thomas Edison's promoting curious tin -foil apparatus to the astound- phonograph records ?" This is a paring high fidelity sound systems of today. ticularly pertinent question for Dr. As one of this country's outstanding mu- Ruby, because medicine is his voca- sic critics, Roland Gelatt has a keen ap- BINDERS FOR HIGH FIDELITY Magazine: preciation of the phonograph's importance. tion; music - and promoting phono- Red Leatherette, gold stamped on front As a sensitive social historian, he has a graph records - strictly an avocation. and backbone. Each binder holds 6 issues. discerning eye for the flavorful fact, or The essence of Dr. Ruby's answer is now in stock for Volumes 3, Binders are the pungent quotation that sets a scene contained, we think, in the following Sb. and illuminates an era. Sa, and paragraphs: Binders $2.75 each No. 154 $4.95 "The age of superspecialization in which man now lives seems to restrict Department Book him more and more to a small field of HIGH FIDELITY Magazine Great Barrington, Mass. activity and knowledge. It is a pity that so many go through life missing I enclose $ for which please send me, postpaid, the books indicated by many of the pleasures that are all about the circled numbers below. (No C.O.D.'s or charge orders, please.) them. The wondrous beauties of na- Foreign orders sent at buyer's risk. Add 55c for postage on foreign orders. ture, of art, of music are within the 151 152 154 155 200 201 reach of almost everyone. In many cases all that is needed is a key to o- Binders: 3, 50, 513. Record Index 1954 E pen a seemingly impregnable door . . "In the specific case of music, NAME . phonograph records can be such a key. ADDRESS For as wonderful as live performances CITY ... ZONE STATE Continued on page 42

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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t he t;unous 99... a complete amplifier, nov, V.i(h t' ice .Speial provisions for playback of pre -recorded tape the power -a brilliant 22 watts. through your 99 -B. with Complete equalizer -preamplifier with five- position rec- Continuously variable LOUDNESS compensation. ord compensator. Equalizes virtually all records. volume -loudness switch. gives perfect tonal balance at all listening levels. New adjustable rumble lìlter and record scratch filter TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS reduce record noise and rumble. Input selector switch for two magnetic pif kups, crystal or constant amplitude pickup, three high -level inputs, and NARTB tape playback - frequency response Rat from 20 cps to 30 kc - hum better than 80 db below maximum output - Two magnetic inputs. switched on panel, allow use of harmonic distortion less than 0.8% - first -order difference -tone intermodula- lion less than 0.3 °c -- class A circuits throughout - easy panel mounting - both changer and turntable. beautiful accessory case $9.95' 'Slightly higher west of Rockies.

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't?B-WARY h) i 41

www.americanradiohistory.com NOTED WITH INTEREST Continues from page 4o

are, the limitations imposed on the average man by his way of life do not allow him to attend enough live concerts really to get to know music HI -FI SPEAKERS by in the fullest sense. Most people do For the Finest in not reside in the large metropolitan centers where good live performances Sound Reproduction can be heard daily. And even those who do, in most instances, cannot or do not take advantage of their situation because of other commitments ... nstit ut ip "That is why, in this writer's opin- andnd institutional homeh shohe ion, the development of the phono- Eyer Y O Speaker graph record is one of the momentous Installation"TEMPO"TEM P perform;` FI events in the history of music." an F Oxford optimum En9inQered for OXFCRDÑ cost, response Mot nd ot minimum rongehrfny e Call to Photographers SPEAKERS the e lin9 t throughout Last summer, we sent questionnaires ore weinpbofh onr to many of our readers to help us un- of p duc fidelity derstand their interests and give them high more of the type of information they Write for free illustrated literature! wanted. Among many other things, we discovered what we have suspected OXFORD ELECTRIC CORPORATION for some time: that photography runs a close second to music in terms of Distributor 556 Sales Division: West Monroe Street, Chicago 6, Illinois hobby interest. Of our readers, 66.5% Export: Roburn Agencies, New York City In Canada: Atlas Radio Corp., Ltd., Toronto said music was their hobby; 47.8% listed photography. We were discussing this phenomenon with some friends of ours who are associated with the Nikon Camera Ti SOUND REPRODUCING':, Company which, as 47.8% of you I,L EQUIPMENT know, manufactures a definitely hi -fi \ miniature camera. During the conversation, we got to wondering about many things ... such as how many of A top -grade High Fidelity Amplifier the non -photographers in HIGH FI- and Remote Control Unit from DEUrY's readership might be on the the world -famous Pye Research verge of becoming seriously interested Laboratories in Cambridge, England. in photography as a hobby, and wheth- Smooth, highly flexible controls and er or not the interest in quality in facilities for record player, tape musical and sound reproduction mat- recorder, microphone and radio tuner ters would also apply to other prod- inputs. Frequency response substan- ucts, such as cameras. tially flat from 2 to 160,000 c.p.s. The upshot of the whole discussion Infinite damping factor. Intermodula- was that Nikon decided to test HIGH tion distortion under 1% at output of 25 watts. FIDELITY as an advertising medium ... and probably many of you noticed their advertisement in our January Proctor issue. Now we are all watching with see REMOTE CONTROL UNIT. HF2SA considerable interest to what happens. If our survey results hold up, Provost Nikon should be pleasantly surprised. POWER AMPLIFER. HF25 Time for Hi -Fi PYE LTD., CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND Hard on the announcement by Ampex U.S.A. BRITISH RADIO ELECTRONICS that a time payment plan had been DISTRIBUTORS 1833 JEFFERSON PLACE, N.W. WASHINGTON 6 D.C. worked out with dealers to facilitate CANADA PYE CANADA LTD. AJAX, ONTARIO Continued on page 44

42 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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330 AM -FM (Binaural) Tuner, $169.55' ONLY really wide -range AM, plus super -selective FM

Now you can receive the full II) kc frequency range New wide -hand FM design gives super- selectivity to broadcast by the better AM stations. Entirely new IF and let you separate stations so close together you would detector circuits make this possible for the first time. ordinarily pass right over them. Wide -hand design insures drift -free reception. New AM detector insures distortionlcss reception even if stations modulate to 100% . Conventional detectors give TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS distorted AM above moderate modulation percentages. FM Section: 3 mv. sensitivity for 20 db quieting - 2- megacycle wideband detector - 80 db rejection of spurious cross. modulation response by strong local signals - automatic gain control - equipped for multiplex. AM Section: 10 kc whistle filter extended frequency response to 10 Three- position IF- bandwidth switch for perfect AM 1 mv. sensitivity - - kc - ferriloopstick antenna - output jacks for binaural - beautiful accessory reception under any signal conditions. case $9.95` 'Slightly higher west of Rockies.

The 311 FM Tuner, $99.95 There are NO weak stations with this new tuner Terrific 3- microvolt sensitivity makes distant stations TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 2-megacycle wideband detector 2 stagas of lull limiting 80 db rejection sound as clear and strong as those nearby. - - of spurious response from cross.mccuiat:on by strong local signals - low. impedance output - equipped for multiplex - beautiful accessory case $9.95' 'Slightly higher west of Rockies. New %% ide -hand FM design gives super -selectivity. to separate stations so close together would you ordinarily 310 FM BROADCAST MONITOR TUNER pass right over them. For perfectionists and connoisseurs, H. H. Scott offers the Wide-hand circuitry insures rock- steady. drift -free re- 310 FM tuner. High Fidelity Magazine says: -The 310 ception. so you never need readjust tuning. .. is a tuner that seems as close to perfection as is practical at this time." Price, including case $149.95 East Automatic gain control always keeps tuner perfectly Coast; $ 157.45 West Coast. adjusted. no matter how the signal varies.

PIONEERS IN SOUND Recognition of leadership includes: First -choice rating of amplifiers in the SATURDAY REVIEW HOME BOOK; amplifier ratings as "finest on the market" by Harold Weiler, author of HIGH FIDELITY SIM. PLIFIED; Medal of Merit at International Sight and Sound Exposition. Cott385 PUTNAM AVE. CAMBRIDGE 39, MASS. Export department: TELESCO INTERNATIONAL CORP., 270 Park Avenue, New York 17, N. Y.

FEBRUARY 1956 43

www.americanradiohistory.com How To Select A FINE NOTED WITH INTEREST Continued from page 42 High Fidelity Loudspeaker your purchase of Ampex equipment comes the announcement from Heath Let Your Ear Decide, Not Your Eye! that its equipment may now be pur- Standards for use as a yardstick are still nonexistent. chased on a io% down, 12 months to Printed claims and specifications in the loud speaker field are more often based on wishful thinking rather pay program. Aside from routine than the objective findings of the laboratory. Racon, the oldest loudspeaker manufacturer in the United States credit clearing, the only provision is with the newest in fine high fidelity loudspeakers, has you buy just one suggestion to offer -- insist on a direct "A -B" that must equipment having listening test with a Raton loudspeaker and any seem- a cash price of $90.00 or more. ingly similar one. You will be pleasantly surprised at not only the better performance but the price savings which average 10 -:35%, depending on model. TITH Staff Portrait NEW DESIGN These radically new "HI -C" (high compliance) loudspeakers employ a new principle of cone suspension (patent Although all TITH reports carry the applied for) which results in large motion, lowered reso- initials of the staff member responsible nant frequency and for the first time introduces pneumatic damping for a smoother response characteristic. for the opinions expressed, their faces Ask your sound dealer to put these speakers through their paces. Closely observe the clean, uniform cone are seldom seen in print. Maybe movement, right down to four cycles, a test which proved the eye opener at the recent N. Y. Audio Fair. they're shy, retiring scientists; maybe Available in three fifteen inch models: triaxial, dual cone and woofer. Model 1511TX tri -axial illustrated. they would prefer not to be recognized a !frite For Free Literature in dark alley at night.

Performance Data 15- HTX -15" TRI -AXIAL ACOUSTICAL EXCELLENCE RESPONSE: 20- 20.000 cps. POWER: 25 watts IMP.: 8 ohms RES. FREQ.: 24 cps. FLUX: 14,500 gauss. CROSSOVER: 2000 and 5000 cps aÍic 1261 Broadway, WEIGHT: 23 lbs. f. New York 1, N. Y. PRICE: 5109.30 IN CANADA: DOMINION SOUND EQUIPMENTS LTD. audiophile net Branches in all principal cities. Recently, a manufacturer sent us a photograph for publicity purposes; it was immediately pounced upon by (ti some of the TITH people and pro- claimed to represent a manufacturer's MUSCLES DON'T MAKE MUSIC idea of two TITH'ers examining his Greet music, superbly rendered, draws life equipment. and warm beauty from the teamwork of the true artist's heart and hands. Precise coordination Back Copy Dept. of mind and body - not muscular power - is the secret of WANTED: No. 4, as usual; by Howard artistic accomplishment. Wood, 652 -A Natoma St., San Fran- cisco, Calif. Newcomb compact ampli- Nos. 26 and 28; by Tom Hammeral. fiers and tuners give you that all- important elec- 857 McKinley Ave., Akron 6, Ohio. Nos. 6, and 7; by Carl Bau- tron i c teamwork- designed- 3, 4, 5, in. They have no over - man, Box 375, Hiram, Ohio. Irowred, "inflated" parts Nos. i through zo; by R. H. Smart, nor trick gadgets "hung 8 Marlborough St., Brighton, South Great performance is faithfully recreated in on" f or sales -talk purposes. Australia. Since Mr. Smart cannot get the full brilliance of original rendition by elec- circuit through cabi- dollars in Australia, he will swap 1rpAlfslworlt iotiakfldl(ty tfgDdsysfstts. Newcomb hi -fi system books about Australia, or what have components are tailored to true balance, to inter-relationship you. and interaction as precise and coordinated as the fingers and No. 13; by W. L. Kennedy, 321 feelings of the musical artist. Only through such thorough Vine St., W. Lafayette, Ind. integration can you be assured the utmost in listening pleasure. for the best in home hi -fi, look to Newcomb FOR SALE: Nos. I through 35; by r NEWCOMB, Dept. W -1 R. W. Rhodes, 103 Del Ray Ave.. Ask your dealer to demonstrate 6824 Lexington Aye., Hollywood 3$, Calif. the new Compact Serles of OEnclosed Is 25c for booklet "HI -FI Is Chattanooga 5, Tenn.; first offer over amplifiers and tuners for Everybody. LISend name nearest Newcomb dealer $15.00, shipment in any manner at and details on Newcomb Compact. buyer's expense. N EWCOM B name the Nos. 1 to present issue, except No. Sound of Quality Since 1937 address _. 4; by Robert M. Grubbs, 2539 Broad - city state Continued on page 46

44 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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www.americanradiohistory.com NOTED WITH Acou sti - INTEREST Continued from page 44

magic way. Indianapolis 5, Ind.; $15.00 plus postage. Complete set through 1954 for $20; Have you or complete set through 1H55 for $25; by Dr. V. Arnett, 172 East 54 St., got the New York 22, N. Y.

Nos. 1 through 36; by Dr. A. E. Cronkite, 14 S. W. 1ith Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; highest hid. Blues ?' Nos. I through 36; by A. Z. Skeld- ing, 162 Hamilton Rd., Hempstead, L. I., New York; $lo if picked up. you're a high-fidelity fan, Si s shipped. II then you undoubtedly suffer Complete through May 1955; by from the B -T Blues. New standards of excellence Dr. A. Ettinger. 137 Academy St.. You want to hear a record as it was in kit cabinetry Poughkeepsie, N. any reasonable Y.; originally recorded ... so you set NO RISK HOME TRIAL offer. the equalization control on your Complete set except May and De- amplifier to the curve at which the It's true record was made . . . and then -a speaker enclosure you may test cember 1954; by James P. O'Neill. in your own home with your own equipment you're stuck! The record doesn't -and in money saving KIT form! 117 North Rosborough Ave.. Ventor, sound quite right to you, because N. J.; $20 plus postage. the acoustics of your room are dif- SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE ferent from those of the studio, or Acousti -Magic incorporates a highly refined, Nos. I, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 17, perhaps your individual taste re- TUNABLE labyrinth design which allows in- 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 31, and 32; by M. E. quires a little less highs -or a little stallation of any speaker with more lows. space for Boyd, 903 Salmon Drive, Dallas 8, future expansion to a multiple system. Using Now you have to adjust the bass only an average $50. speaker, Acousti-Mogic Texas; soc each. and treble controls to get the kind will faithfully reproduce the tremendous pedal 2. 3, 5, 7, Nos. 6, and 8; by W. L. of reproduction you want. and, be- tones of the mighty organ. Correct acoustical Kennedy, 321 Vine St., W. Lafayette, cause they're not calibrated, you loading enables you to FEEL fundamental have to readjust them every time bass to 30 cycles and below. Ind.; highest bidder. you play the same record - that's SUPERIOR KIT DESIGN the B -T Blues. Acousti -Magic is prefabricated entirely of Alta Fidelidad, S. A. The new Munston "i0," with 3/4" plywood. Professional lock -mitre joints 'Dynamic B -T' (Bass -Treble), join the furniture plywood exterior panels - Slow, but sure, describes the beginning does away with the B -T Bluest but you use NO CLAMPS or NAILS in the as- of hi -fi in Colombia, South America. Dynamic B -T gives you separate sembly. EXCLUSIVE Acousti -Magic construc- turnover and rolloff settings dis- tion we with MACHINE SCREWS allows effortless And have it straight from the hi -li tinctly marked on the bass and assembly with only o screwdriver in 2-4 hours. pioneer down in Barranquilla. Carlos treble controls, respectively, for all Over one hundred pounds of the very finest Granados who runs the Casa de los of the latest equalization curves. materials. Both controls are also completely Discos there started trying to interest calibrated through their entire SUPERIOR STYLING local music lovers in hi -fi back in 1951 range, so that if it is necessary to Acousti -Magic gives you styling and quality adjust the controls after the equal- to complement by importing and displaying such the finest home. The EX- ization setting has been made, it is CLUSIVE CONVERTI -BASE gives you highboy items as Stephens speakers and en- a simple matter to note on the rec- or lowboy styling in an instant -and either closures, Brook amplifiers, Garrard ord the exact setting of the controls way you will see nothing but furniture. There changers and GE cartridges. Residents which pleases you best, for future are no gimmicks -you don't paint it, you reference. don't cover it -it's all genuine furniture ply- listened but apparently weren't con- wood -more of it than any other kit speaker vinced right off that a system as enclosure. such Sr. Granados was playing was any m u nston ACT NOW -MAIL THIS COUPON! better than what they were used to. Order Acousti -Magic in either hardwood 10 -WATT AMPLIFIER Besides, no cabinet! the saine old Mahogany or Oak. When you receive your ... WITH BUILT -IN PREAMP kit, assemble it without glue and test it for story. two weeks. It must give complete satisfaction But Sr. Granados didn't give up. He -sound and If sight! not, disassemble it and decided that rather than let all this return it for a full refund. For 12" or 15" Speakers 8 Multiple Systems equipment rot in his store he'd give it away. So he sought out some of the Acoustical Development Corporation better record collectors and music Box 572, Hempstead, N. Y. lovers in the area, offered to install

I Prefer Acousti -Magic systems in their homes, and expected in OAK 564.75 in MAHOGANY $59.75 nothing more in return than that they My speaker Speaker would listen at least one hour each day s system is Size s for a couple of weeks. Results? Sr. Send Illustrated Brochure See the net' Munston "10" at your Granados says: The first impression r local Hi -Fi dealer's. or write for Name on most of them was that the music ' complete information. Address didn't sound right - the highs were ; MUNSTON MANUFACTURING, INC. City Continued on pate 50 Beech Street, Islip, L.I., N.Y.

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Sit down, stretch out, relax ... enjoy the convenience of chairside, remote control TV tuning. In Fleetwood systems, it's completely electronic remote -no motors, no ratchet devices. See your favorite program, change channels as the mood moves you ... even adjust the picture texture to your taste -all without ever leaving your chair. This picture texture or definition control is a new custom feature on the new

See Fleetwood at the Los Angeles Hi Fi Show, Room 515, Alexandria Hotel, Feb. 8 -1I

ARIZONA CALIFORNIA (continued) ILLINOIS KENTUCKY AUDIO SPECIALISTS COAST ELECTRONIC SUPPLY CO. ALLIED HIGH FIDELITY STUDIOS J. M. HISLE & ASSOCIATES 333 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix "STAIRWAY TO SOUND" 100 N. Western Ave., Chicago 80 405 -9 S. Upper St., Lexington 4166 Broadway, 11 Phone: AMherst 5 -0447 Oakland Phone: HAvmarkct 1 -6800 Phone: 2 -7884 Phone: OLympic 3 -7138 ALLIED HIGH FIDELITY STUDIOS HIGH -FIDELITY HOUSE 2025 W. 95th St., Chicago 43 CALIFORNIA 536 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena 1 Phone: BEverly 8 -1067 LOUISIANA WHITE ENTERPRISES Phone: RYan 1 -8171 ELECTRONIC EXPEDITERS, INC. CUSTOM ELECTRONICS, INC. 6039 W. Washington Blvd., SOUND SHOPPE THE HI-FI CENTER 4215 S. Claiborne Ave., Culver City Phone: DU 9 -1719 2909 W. Devon Ave., Chicago 45 New Orleans 25 Phone: CAnal 4120 1910 16th St., Sacramento 14 Phone: RO. 4 -8640 "THE BARTHOLOMEWS" MUSIC, INC. Phone: Gllbert 3 -6660 522 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale 3 NEWARK ELECTRIC COMPANY BOWER'S MUSIC Phone: CItrus 3 -8873 223 W. Madison St., Chicago 6 MAINE 810 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro Phone: STate 2 -2950 RAY'S RADIO & TV AUDIO VIDEO SERVICE Phone: TE. 2-4536 7518 Melrose, Hollywood 46 VOICE & VISION, INC. Corinna Phone: 3 -7349 WE MONTCLAIR ELECTRONICS Rush Ave. & Walton PL, Chicago 11 HOLLYWOOD ELECTRONICS 12005 W. Pico Blvd., Phone: WHitehall 3-1166 W. Los Angeles 64 Phone: GR. 7 -0731 7460 Melrose Ave., Hollywood 46 ALLIED HIGH FIDELITY STUDIOS MASSACHUSETTS Phone: WEbster 3 -8208 HI -FI HAVEN 602 Davis Street, Evanston CRAMER ELECTRONICS, INC. DAvis 8 NEWARK ELECTRIC CO. 442 S. Greenleaf Ave., Whittier Phone: -8822 811 Boylston St., Boston Phone: OXford 414112 Phone: CO. 7 -4700 4736 W. Century Blvd., Inglewood Phone: ORegon 8 -5344 WHITTIER HI FI ORchard 7 -1127 INDIANA 1342 Carnell Street, Whittier THE AUDIO WORKSHOP Phone: OXford 6 -4682 THE GOLDEN EAR, INC. MICHIGAN 2211 Camino Del Reposo, La Jolla 15 E. 16th St., Indianapolis AUDIO HOUSE, INC. Phone: GLencourt 4 -5378 Phone: MElrose 5 -4915 19771 Conant at State Fair E., BUSHNELL ELECTRONICS THE GOLDEN EAR, INC. Detroit 34 Phone: TWinbrook 3 -3358 CONNECTICUT 610 Main Street, Lafayette 12026 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles 25 PECAR ELECTRONICS Phone: BRadshaw 2 -7537 DAVID DEAN SMITH Phone: 2 -2917 262 Elm Street, New Haven 11 10729 Morang, Detroit 24 ELECTRONIC SERVICES Phone: UNiversity 5 -1101 Phone: TUxedo 2 -9985 6941!2 La Tijera Blvd., IOWA AUDIO WORKSHOP, INC. WEST MICHIGAN SOUND CO. LosAngeles 56 Phone: ORchard 4 -4774 WOODBURN SOUND SERVICE 1 S. Main St., West Hartford 7 1932 Peck St., Muskegon HENRY RADIO Phone: ADams 3-5041 218 E. College St., Iowa City Phone: 2 -5910 11240 W. Olympic Blvd., Phone: 8 -0151 Los Angeles 64 Phone: Bradshaw 2 -9921 GRanite 7 -6701 FLORIDA KANSAS MINNESOTA MIDWAY ELECTRONIC SUPPLY GRICE RADIO & ELECTR. SUPP., INC. PHIL WOODBURY SOUND AUDIO KING COMPANY 2817 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles 16 300 E. Wright Street, Pensacola 1103 Commercial, Emporia 1827 E. Lake St., Minneapolis - Phone: REpublic 1 -2451 Phone: HEmlock 3 -4616 Phone: 20 Phone: PArkway 9 -7451 Free booklet of installation ideas available from

www.americanradiohistory.com 9LEIwood .... Iwo to-- wwtnut, wcdv CUSTOM

Fleetwood models now on display at your dealers'. TV Ask for a free demonstration soon. Notice the superb picture quality, audio outputs for playing through a hi fi system, and, of course, the fact that Fleetwood receivers are designed to install any- place you want them - in the wall, bookcase, room divider, or specially built cabinet. Get your copy of the free booklet, "A Fleeting Glance at Fleet- wood" for installation ideas. At your dealers' or write to the manufacturer. 9fEfiood Manufactured by C O N R A C e INC J Department A Glendora. California

Export Division: bazar ó Hansen, Ltd., 301 Clay Street, Son Francisco 11, Calif., U.S.A. Conroe is the Canadian name for Fleetwood television.

MISSOURI NEW YORK (continued) PENNSYLVANIA VIRGINIA DAVID BEATTY CUSTOM HI -FI & TV SUTTON AUDIO SYSTEMS AUDIO LABORATORIES, INC. AUDIO CONSULTANTS, INC. 1616 W. 43rd (Westport Rd.), 970 First Ave., New York 22 808 Mohican St., Bethlehem 76 N. Glebe Rd., Arlington 3 Kansas City 11 Phone: PL. 3-7224 Phone: UNiversity 7 -3909 Phone: JAckson 5 -3355 Phone: JEfferson 1 -3110 TERMINAL RADIO CORP. DANBY RADIO CORP. ADWESTCRAFT THE HIGH FIDELITY SHOWROOM 85 Cortlandt St., New York 7 19 So. 21st St., Philadelphia 3 1107 Mulberry Rd., Martinsville 6383 Clayton Rd., St. Louis 17 Phone: WOrth 4 -3311 Phone: Rlttenhouse 6 -5686 Phone: 6294 Phone: PArkview 1 -6500 JERRY FINK CO. TEN CATE ASSOCIATES 644 Clinton Ave. S., Rochester 20 6128 Morton St., Philadelphia 44 8 NEW JERSEY Phone: BRowning 3503 Phone: GErmantown -5448 WASHINGTON THE JABBERWOCK CONCERTO ROOM, INC. OLYMPIC ENGINEERING CO. 104 Somerset St., New Brunswick 642 Grant St., Pittsburgh 19 2008 Westlake Ave, Seattle 1 Phone: CHarter 9 -1900 OHIO Phone: ATlantic 1-2312 & 1 -2313 Phone: ELiot 4650 JOHN J. CASEY CO. AUDIO CRAFT CO. UNIVERSITY HI -FI SHOP 205 W. Englewood Ave., 2915 Prospect Ave., Cleveland 15 4111 University Way, Seattle 5 TE. 6 -7761 Phone: CHerry 1.5560 W. Englewood Phone: SOUTH CAROLINA Phone: ME. 6000 PIONEER ELECTRONIC SUPPLY CO. HI -FI SOUND & RECORDS 2115 Prospect, Cleveland 15 NEW MEXICO 621 -23 Harden St., Columbia Phone: SU. 1 -9410 Phone: 6-3538 THE HI -FI HOUSE WISCONSIN SOUND ENGINEERING & EQUIPMENT CO. RICHARD J. SAUER 3011 Monte Vista, NE, Albuquerque CUSTOM ELECTRONICS, INC. THE AUDIO SHACK 1000 S. Main St., Dayton 9 Phone: 5 -1695 1208 Milwaukee Ave., Janesville Phone: ADams 3158 TENNESSEE Phone: PLeasant 4-7657 CUSTOM CLASSICS BLUFF CITY DISTRIBUTING CO. THE HI -FI CENTER, INC. NEW YORK 13421 Euclid Ave., E. Cleveland 12 234 East St., Memphis 2 2630 N. Downer Ave., Milwaukee 11 BRoadway 6 -4501 BUFFALO AUDIO CENTER Phone: GL. 1 -0256 Phone: Phone: WOodruff 4 -3344 161 Genesee St.. Buffalo 3 COUNTERPOINT Phone: MOhawk 1368 20971 Westgate (Westgate Shopping NEWMARK & LEWIS, INC. Center) Fairview Park 26 TEXAS THE HOUSE OF HI FI Phone: ED. 1 -6448 CANADA TOWN NORTH MUSIC CORP. 43 Main St., Hempstead, L. I. & TELEVISION, INC. R. S. T. LABS Lovers Lane at Inwood Rd., AVENUE RADIO Phone: IVanhoe 1 -6890 5328 W. 14511 Granger Rd., Maple Heights Dallas 9 Phone: ELmhurst 6477 4114 St. Catherine St., W., Montreal GLenview 4236 THE AUDIO EXCHANGE, INC. Phone: MOntrose 2 -3213 Phone: HERRING SOUND EQUIP. CO. 159 -19 Hillside Ave., Jamaica 32 CLIFFORD PAYETTE LIMITED W. Lancaster at Burnet Sts., RADIO Phone: OLympia 8 -0445 3 Fort Worth 3 Phone: FO. -1877 730 St. James St., W., Montreal HOUSE OF HI -FI OKLAHOMA Phone: UN. 6-6681 TRUETT KIMZEY COMPANY 605 Plandome Rd., Manhasset, L. I CUSTOM -CRAFT ELECTRONICS ALPHA ARACON RADIO CO., LTD. Phone: MA. 7 -1376 3515 W. Vickery, Fort Worth 7 1314 S. Peoria, Tulsa Phone: FAnnin 6145 29 Adelaide St., W. Toronto 1 HARVEY RADIO CO., INC. Phone: LUther 5 -5148 103 W. 43rd St., New York 36 GULF COAST ELECTRONICS 1123 6th Ave., New York 36 1110 Winbern St., Houston 4 Phone: JUdson 2 -1500 OREGON Phone: JUstin 1551 HAWAII LAFAYETTE RADIO CORP. OTT'S RADIO, TV & HI FI WRYE CO., LTD. JOHN J. HARDING CO., LTD. 100 Sixth Ave., New York 3760 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd., Portland 2410 W. Alabama, Houston 6 141 Kapiolani Blvd., Honolulu 12 Phone: REctor 2 -8600 Phone: Fllmore 5341 Phone: JA. 3 -7874 Phone: 991481 - 991593 your Fleetwood dealer or write: Conrac, Inc., Glendora, Cal.

www.americanradiohistory.com NOTED WITH INTEREST CRITICS ACCLAIM Continued from page 46 BEAM

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This review by one of America's leading high fidelity authorities is typical of the unparalleled praise FM -AM HI -FI TUNER given throughout the Here is quality FM (response ± 0.5 db, world to British -made 20 to 20,000 cps) and improved AM, Beam *Stentorian both most perfectly realized for finest been full speed ahead ( aided, Sr. Speakers. The reason: Beam Stentorians reception in a unit only 4 " high -at a Granados says, by Life's Spanish Edi- provide very reasonable price. Outstanding fea- quality, de- tion which carried the "fabulous write - tures: Sensitivity, FM -3 microvolts for sign and perform- 20 db of quieting; AM microvolts up" on high fidelity ) ever since. ance and finish far in -5 excess of other units for 1.5 volts output; separate RF stage Pictured here is the interior of La of comparable size - on FM and AM: discriminator with Casa do los Discos where hi -fi started regardless of price dual limiters: cathode follower with 2 in Barranquilla, Co!onlbia, S. A. class! outputs; AFC: flywheel tuning, FM Superbly smooth re- di -pole antenna, etc. sponse, patented cambric cones with lower Defining Hi -Fi bass resonance, more uniform output, vari- NEW! HI -FI SOUND FOR TV! able impedance (4 -8 -15 ohms), die cast Now, make your TV sound "comoo frames are a few of the features that Altec -Lansing has laid down five rules - alive". Just plug the new RAULAND make Beam Stentorians the most praise- TV55 Tuner into the unit above and of -thumb to help determine is, enjoy TV sound through your hi -fi system. what worthy speakers in America today. Hear Exclusive with RAULAND. See it -- and what is not, Ici -fi. Says Altec: them at your audio dealer's soon) Use them hear it soon, singly or in banks as extended range, mid (1) separate speaker ( >) cabinet; three range or woofer units, record crossover selections; (3) sepa- MODEL HF 10124U (Universal) 10" diameter; corn- rate bass and treble controls; (4) gen- posite cambric cone; Response, 30-14,000 cps; Bass Resonance, 35 cps; Power Rating, 10 watts; uine two -way speaker (i.e., uses divid- 2 lb. Alcomax 3 magnet, 12,000 gauss; 1" dia. voice coil, optional variable impedance 4,8,15 ing network); and (5) at least two ohms; Die -cast frame. $16.95 for a speaker cubic -feet cabinet. MODEL HF 912 -U (Universal) 9" dia.; composite cambric cone; Response, 40- 13,000 cps; Bass Resonance, 45 cps; Power Rating, 7 watts; 2 lb. Alcomax 3 magnet, 12,000 gauss; 1" diameter High -Power FM voice coil, variable impedance 4,8,15 ohms; Die cast frame. $13.95 20 -WATT HI -FI AMPLIFIER If you live within an 8o- to too -mile MODEL 812U (Universal) 8" diameter; composite cambric cone; Response, 50- 12,000 cps; Bass radius of Urbana, Illinois, you have Resonance, 65 cps; Power Rating, 5 watts; 2 lb. Designed for those who appreciate the Alcomax probably discovered by now the very 3 magnet, 12,000 gauss; 1" diameter finest in Hi -Fi reproduction -the very voice coil, variable impedance 4.8,15 ohms; Die - frame. best for less. Features: Full 20 watts strong signal down at 9o.9 on your FM cast $12.95 output; response, ± 0.5 db, 20 to dial. This is the University of Illinois' Whitehall Bookshelf Enclosure complete with 40,000 cps; 6 response curves (compen- 812U Fitted ;37.00 unfinished wood. station WILL, which increased power ABOVE MODELS WITH sation for all record types): 5 inputs SINGLE IMPEDANCE IS OHM for VOICE COILS, 31.00 LESS complete hi -fi versatility; separate bass, December ist from 6o to a whopping MODEL B13U IS SUITABLE ION AUTO INSTALLATION treble controls; contour and volume 30o kilowatts" This makes it one of STENTORIAN T.10 TWEETER controls; variable - Response, 2,000 damping control; the three most powerful FM stations 16,000 cps; 1" diameter aluminum voice coil, rumble filter, plus many other deluxe 15 ohms; Power Rating, 5 watts; 2 lb. 8 oz. Alco- max 3 magnet, 14,000 gauss. features. In compact cabinet, 4" high. in the country, according to a recent $19.95 release. STENTORIAN CX 3000 CROSSOVER - Half pi match. ing network for 15 ohm tweeters and woofers. HANDSOME "SPACE- SAVER" DESIGN you a Imput impedance, 15 ohms. Crossover at 3.000 If want program guide. drop cps. RAULAND $9.25 matching "Space- Saver" a units are decorator -styled in smart char- card to Pat Jordan, Station WILL, H.F. 1214 - New super 12" extended range coal block with marbleized gold finish, Urbana, Ill. speaker 25-14,000 cps; also ideal as wide range control panels in soft brushed brass. No or woofer unit; die -cast frame, 5E /z lb. magnet, cabinets required-fit beautifully any- 39 cps resonance, 15 ohms, 15 watts. $49.50 where. (Extension shafts available for behind -panel mount.) How Tape Is Made STENTORIAN T -12 I 1814 Super Woofer Super Tweeter - $58.50 I 1801A - $179.00 Hear these For Literature and Detailed Specifications, write: Speaking of tape, did you ever won- RAULAND Hi -Fi BEAM INSTRUMENTS CORPORATION units at your der how it's macle? If so. Orradio 350 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK, N. Y. dealer's, or write Industries have the answer in a new. for full details In Conodo: Cossor Ltd., 8230 Mayravd St., Montreal 9, P.O. illustrated folder. Write them for it. Charter Member: Institute 91 With Fidelity Manufacturers, Inc. RAULAND -BORG CORPORATION -- Dept. 8, Opelika, Ala. T /M Whiteley Electrical Radio Company World farrow spool,,. moLers for 3515 W. Addison St., Dept. F, Chicago 18, Ill. 30 yrors.

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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FEBRUARY 1956

www.americanradiohistory.com l 1

15 -in. System Reproduces Music with Life -Like Fidelity Your first "look" and "listen" quickly confirm the exquisite beauty and deluxe performance of the CENTURION! This 4 -way reproducer gives you design features of the ELECTRO -VOICE GEORGIAN, but on a smaller scale at more modest cost. Exclusive E -V "W" single path indirect radiator folded-horn fully utilizes the walls at the corner of the room to extend bass reproduction down below 35 cps. Multiple drivers and crossover points properly divide the audio spectrum into four sections, with smooth transition from one to another for most effective reproduction and balance Selected hardwood veneers are hand- rubbed to lustrous of bass, mid -range, treble and very highs. Level controls permit easy finish on all exposed sides. Brushed-Grass grille gives adjustment of "presence" and "brilliance" to room acoustics. rich accent. Makes a striking appearance in any home. Size: 39 in. high, 29 in. wide, 211/2 in. deep. Look and Listen...at your E-V High-Fidelity Distributor.

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www.americanradiohistory.com AS THE EDITORS SEE IT

FOR OTHER FOLK, the poet may have had it right the room. A full fifteen -watt amplifier, with two stages when he said that the saddest words of all were these: it of treble cut-off - no other tone controls. A fifteen -inch might have been. But for seasoned devotees of high speaker, with an aluminum dome in the center. None of fidelity, four other words would have to be substituted: my acquaintances had anything remotely like it. The it used to be. neighborhood got pretty sick of Le Sacre du Printemps. Perhaps these are the saddest words because they are But it still can give me a fleeting touch of that wonderful also the fondest. I am a record reviewer - for another time. (I wonder what it really did sound like.) magazine - and in consequence I have a record collection Next, Fritz Heitmann playing the organ works from larger and more heterogeneous than most (though it is Bach's Clavierübung, on Capitol -Telefunken - and my small and narrow beside some I know of). Lately a colleague voluminous correspondence with the amiable Jensen execu- has kindly applied himself to organizing this collection, tive who had unwarily reported on bass -reflex theory in heretofore in disarray, and in so doing has confronted me the Radio Yearbook. Midnight sawing and cursing in with various aspects of my past. There seem to be, in the apartment kitchen, and the sliding port -panel that my possession, certain elderly recordings that I might wouldn't slide, and the final thunderous triumph. reasonably be expected to dispense with. But I feel a Haydn's Military Symphony by Scherchen, and the an- reluctance (an in- variable reluctance) to do so. guished realization that my single- voice -coil speaker This has nothing to do with musical values. There is couldn't bring the triangles out properly. The new two - no suggestion that I should give up my Schnabel Beethoven way loudspeaker, far beyond the means of any young sonatas, or my Supervia Carmen arias, or my Schumann - newspaper reporter in his right mind. The raucous racket Heinck Trauen durch die Dämmerung. that came forth when it was hitched to the poor public - In question, rather, are some early LPs of no great dis- address amplifier. The desperate raid on the savings ac- tinction now, and a few 78s which overlapped the micro- count, and the mighty, twenty -watt THING that wouldn't groove era. Their hold on me, and my attachment to pass square waves but would pass Haydn's triangles. The them, derives almost wholly from their significance in neighborhood got pretty sick of the Military Symphony. my arduous progress toward perfect musical delectation Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury, and the Mystery in the living room - which I seem to be as far from as of the Bodiless Basso, which initiated a long preoccupa- I ever was. tion with equalization. Festoons of little resistors strung Take the Beethoven Seventh Symphony conducted on between pintip plugs and sockets, and the ritual of substi- British Decca 78s by Anatole Fistoulari. I still think this tuting one array for another when a Columbia or a West- was a noteworthy recording, in its day, but that is not why minster followed a London or an RCA Victor, always ac- I I have clung to it, even when something more nearly companied by an enormous throbbing jar because had definitive, and higher in fi, came along. Rather, this was forgotten to turn the volume down first. But how im- the set which involved me in my last great test with my pressive to visiting neophytes, and how delightfully and imported 78 -rpm record changer. The latter treasure I completely mine! Essentially, of course, the new, expensive had acquired two years earlier. The salesman told me it control -unit, with sixteen equalization- settings etched was the utmost, and I stubbornly believed him for many into its brushed gold scutcheon, is the same thing, only months, despite the discovery that the machine had a much better - but somehow there is less thrill in the pot -metal frame, which began to warp almost at once, listening. and that its variable speed was altogether too variable, Varèse's Ionization. The irresistible need for a corner - changing with each additional record. In part out of affec- horn enclosure, and the immovable obstacle of the corner - tion for this monster, I resisted LP when it arrived. Fistou- less apartment. The move, at long last, to a house. The Iari's Seventh was the last recording I bought before corner horn sounds fine. On the other hand, it does not yielding, and, in a feverish effort to prove my hopeless have, anywhere in its bland facade, a handmade sliding thesis, I completely dismantled the changer, to check its panel that won't slide, and you can miss these things. every ailing part. Finally reassembled, by dawn's early And then, there are the records whose past associations light, it lurched and lagged just as it had before. When are their own - they were so thrillingly vivid once. On the sun rose, it shone on an imported record changer in 78s, the Bach Concerto for Violin and Oboe by Danish our ashcan. I had become a three -speed man. HMV, and the Deutsche Grammophon Freischütz. On And here is Stravinsky's own performance of the Sacre LP, the early Handel Concerti Grossi, by London, and d, Printemps. Alfred Frankenstein says it's still the best the Haydn Bear Symphony by Haydn Society. It should reading, and maybe it is. But no one now would think be occasion for joy, of course, that almost any new re- of it as a hi -fi marvel. Yet it was, so to speak, the cap- cording now is their sonic equal. But, for that very reason, stone of my first complete high fidelity system: A vari- I don't play the old favorites readily these days. I'd rather able reluctance cartridge, with needle -talk audible across remember them. J. M. C.

FEBRUARY 1956 53

www.americanradiohistory.com SEVENTY -FIVE YEARS OF THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

A Subway Stop Named Symphony

by JOHN M. CONLY

IN THE COLUMBIA ENCYCLOPEDIA, that inviting comparable to the Common, the codfish business, the trove of tastefully assorted facts, various great American Public Garden, and possibly the illuminated weather -indi- cities are described in brief, apparently by people who live cator on the Hancock building. Along with this goes a (or have lived) in them. Though fond and proud, most bland air of proprietorship toward the Orchestra, es- of these descriptions share a certain sameness. New pecially noticeable among elder concert subscribers. These York, Chicago, San Francisco, St. Louis - all are por- things infuriate certain other Bostonians, who know and trayed as vital foci of great transportation networks, world- esteem the Orchestra in its larger, outer -world aspect. wide commercial activity, lively cultural and educational But - and this is more important - they don't infuriate interest, and rich recreational traffic. But there is one the members of the Orchestra. Indeed, quite the contrary. passage in one description that has no counterpart in Here is the way it is put by Harry Dickson of the first any other. violins, who also has served, with distinction, as sub- "The spiritual mantle of Boston," the writer says, "spreads stitute- conductor of the Boston "Pops ": "The Sym- over many nearby cities and towns." phony musician in Boston has a unique position. People The italics are mine. Possibly no other American city, introduce you quite proudly as a member of the Boston through whatever spokesman, could advert to its spiritual Symphony Orchestra, even people who never attend a mantle without seeming a little ridiculous, but Boston concert. It's considered a high honor." can. It has one. The mantle may be too tenuous now, Therein may be a clue to the connection - and there and it may spread too far, to suit old Bostonians, and is one - between the Orchestra's excellence and its Bos- some new Bostonians may think it figmentary. It has not ton origin and nurture. In Boston it is still felt important saved the city from shabbiness and congestion. But it to be part of something; it lends to a man's stature. And, is there, and under its spread have grown, and still grow, of course, an orchestral musician, to be any good, must many unique and treasurable things. Not the least of have that very same feeling. Otherwise his job can be these is the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which will be dullness itself, and his performance of it lifeless. seventy -five years old this season. The Boston Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1881 The Orchestra exists in two sets of dimensions. Seen by Major Henry Lee Higginson, a remarkable man. Des- from outside Boston it towers imposingly, as one of the tined by background for banking, he conceived in his very greatest instruments of artistic utterance ever de- youth a passionate fondness for music, and went to Vienna veloped by any civilization on earth. This is no extreme to study the piano. While there he incurred an arm in- statement. Symphonic music is one of the highest points, jury, which ended his piano -playing. He returned to if not the highest, achieved by Western culture in all America and (after time out to fight in the Civil War) its attempts at expression. And never has anyone been to banking. He applied himself to such effect that, at more ardently, constantly, and intelligently devoted to forty- seven, he was able to make his devoir to music by making symphonic music than this starting and financing an orchestra. He paid its deficits band of 104 people. every year thereafter (save one, when his brother did) By contrast, from certain viewpoints until the year before his death in 1919. Apparently this within the city, the Orchestra is seen was pure devotion, to music and to Boston's people; he simply as a Boston institution, worthily never bid for acclaim. Willing to accept Back Bay gentry's

www.americanradiohistory.com extra cash, he always put a portion of the season tickets American Federation of Musicians. Major Higginson had up for sale at auction (a pair once brought $1120, base - spurned the advances of the earlier Protective Union of price being $12 each); the rest were sold at the box office Musicians, but the AFM was something quite different. at very low prices. The latter drew speculators, of course: The BSO management finally repelled its attack, but at in 1888, a line of men and boys began waiting for the the cost of thirty -one musicians, mostly string players. $7.50 season tickets five days before the box office opened, When, by 1921, Monteux had filled the gaps in the ranks sleeping, by night, with their heads on each other's shoul- with his own choices (including Richard Burgin, concert- ders. (Since its inception, the Boston Symphony Or- master then and now, and certainly one of any conductor's chestra seldom has had any trouble filling a hall.) Music most felicitous finds), Boston had almost a whole new lovers balanced the benefits and abuses, and did not Symphony. blame Major Higginson. And the new Symphony had a new repertoire. It had to In another way, too, he welded the community to the have. The classical masters, up to and including Brahms, Orchestra. He hired conductors, gave them a free hand, could be forgiven for being German, but Wagner and and stood by them staunchly while they wooed and won Strauss could not. Monteux knew what to do about this, - or lost - Boston's favor, and while they themselves and was happy to do it. He was, after all, the man who assayed Boston. On this basis, conductors came and went. had caused a riot in Paris with the first performance there Among them were Georg (later Sir George) Henschel, of Le Sacre du Printemps. He brought forth Ravel, Mus- who drew fire for his attachment to the pernicious modern- sorgsky and Stravinsky, and sought nearer home, too. ism of Brahms and Wagner; Wilhelm Gericke; Artur As Louis Speyer says: "People do not remember, but Nikisch; Emil Paur, Max Fiedler, and Karl Muck. It was up to the conductor to sell his interpretations and innova- tions, up to the audience to accept or reject his wares. The management - Major Higginson - merely judged the outcome. In nearly forty years of this laissez -faire procedure, Boston acquitted itself surprisingly well, its only tragic botch being the short- sighted failure to hold Nikisch against the lure of Budapest. A listenership developed that was truly interested and judicious, though it bore one odd imprint of Major Higginson's musical judgment: in taste, it could have passed for a German audience, never having heard a conductor who wasn't German, or music not cast in the German mold. But this was to change, and promptly. Along with Major Higginson's resignation -- whereafter the Orchestra formally became a corporation - came World War I. Conductor Karl Muck was interned as an enemy alien, and all German instrumentalists not yet naturalized were forced to quit the Orchestra. They left important seats empty, and the new trustees went talent- hunting. The visiting Frenchman Henri Rabaud became director, and other Frenchmen began to appear in the empty seats. WARPEN B. SVER Louis Speyer, who has been the English horn player for Man with a priestly junction: musical director Charles Munch. thirty -seven years, can remember this, and for good reason. "The funny thing," he says, "is that I came to this Monteux, as well as Koussevitzky, played much Ameri- country to stay three weeks, playing in the band of the can music." Garde Republicaine, for a French fund drive. We were a But a certain special flair was needed to abate the dis- success, so we stayed all summer. In Boston, Judge Frede- trust with which Boston (being full of Bostonians) still re- rick Cabot [then president of the trustees] heard us, and ceived its new fare and its new Symphony. The man with offered me a contract. Some others of us, too, were signed the flair was found. Boston had bungled its chance at up, I think six or seven, though I am the only one still Nikisch. It made no such mistake with Serge Kousse- here. And so my three weeks became thirty -seven years, vitzky. It entangled him fondly and held him for twenty - and now I am a Bostonian, though not a very proper five years, from 1924 to 1949, when he retired, to die Bostonian." two years later. It was during this period that the Or- This process (which could be described as raiding, but chestra acquired its enormous outside prestige, and against no one minded, in the flush of Allied victory) finally netted no mean competition. It was a day of great splendor for about thirty -five French musicians, Speyer recalls, and American orchestras. Stokowski headed the Philadelphia; distinctly changed the character of the Orchestra. It was Toscanini was still with the New York Philharmonic-Sym - further altered by French conductors, for after a year of phony. The latter dominated radio, the former was pre- Rabaud came Pierre Monteux, and by yet another factor eminent in recording. The Boston broadcast and recorded, - the hungry arrival on the scene of the newly formed too, but more sparingly. The very fact that it was not

FEBRUARY 1956 55

www.americanradiohistory.com In more mundane terms, he describes his greatest responsibility as keeping the programs and performances good enough to deserve well of the people of Boston. He likes to deserve well of record buyers and radio listeners, too, but adheres to the opinion that what is good enough for Boston is good enough for anyone, including RCA Victor and NBC. The latter do not take this amiss. (It is true that the BSO has been somewhat neglected on records in the microgroove era, but this can be accounted for by RCA Victor's desire to make the most of the last active years of Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony.

WILL RAPPORT The BSO being a spirited outfit, it did not spurn some in early 1955, from SYMPHONY'S LUGGAGE. These scale -model miniatures flirtatious advances, London -Decca. represent the packing-cases and wardrobe trunks the BSO and this may have helped hasten a handsome new Victor must take on every tour -88 pieces, occupying 1985.7 cubic contract, signed last summer. Its results will be a new feet, and weighing 8 tons. The replicas are an aid in load flow of Boston recordings, covering a broad repertory. planning; actual pieces are color -coded to guide freight crews. made desirable by the rapid technical obsolescence of older records these days. Already in evidence are a magnificent Daphnis and Chlöe, a splendid Tchaikovsky Pathé- overavailable, so to speak, may have enhanced its appeal. tique conducted by Monteux, and, to launch the seventy - People strove for tickets to its concerts, in Boston and fifth anniversary season, a pairing of the Beethoven Fifth on its extensive tours, and it came to be characterized as and Schubert Unfinished.) the Orchestra that made the most beautiful music in the The Bostonian orientation of the Orchestra seems to sir world. well with its personnel. They are conscious of their stand- However, its repertoire continued to be made in and ing in the wide world of music (a lot of them are engaged for Boston. Paradoxically, this had a liberalizing effect. in extracurricular musical undertakings), but they do not America -at -large just had discovered symphonic music, let this lessen their appreciation of a gracious way of liv- and its taste was a beginner's taste - Beethoven, Brahms, ing, which is what membership in the BSO amounts to. Tchaikovsky. Most other orchestras were influenced by "This is not a job," says violinist Harry Dickson. "It's this, but Koussevitzky kept on averaging three new more like belonging to a family. Even socially we are works every two programs (fewer on tours, but simply be- closely knit. There is less jealousy than anywhere else cause new works often required extra instruments, expen- I've ever worked, and everyone appreciates everyone." sive to transport). He was giving the Boston listeners "The high morale and spirit of the players," answers something they still have, which is valuable and rare. young Noah Bielski, latest addition to the violins, when Thomas D. Perry, Jr., the Orchestra's present manager, asked what lured him away from higher pay in New York describes it: "Though Bostonian, and some of them TV and radio work, "and the wonderful, almost unbe- elderly, they have no misgivings about their ability to lievable support by the people of Boston." As an after- like new things. . . . They've had twenty -five years of thought (he is something of a sound -enthusiast), he musical adventure with Serge Koussevitzky, and it's made adds a credit for the acoustical magnificence of three - them about as open -minded as an audience can be." tiered, richly gilded, fifty -five -year -old Symphony Hall. Enduring evidence of this lies in the fact that for a full Musicians like to hear themselves, just as writers love to half-century the Boston Symphony Orchestra has regularly dwell on their words in print, and as aircraft designers and effortlessly sold out, in advance, its season concert revel in test -flights. series tickets. There has been, on the part of the buyers, It was something just outside Symphony Hall that no cautious inclination to hold back and shop later, con- specially appealed to Doriot Anthony Dwyer, youthful cert by concert. Critics elsewhere have deprecated this by first flute of the Orchestra, daughter of a flutist -mother, referring to "that most solemn of Back Bay rituals -- 'Symphony'."* But if it is a ritual, it would seem to de- Thomas D. Perry, Jr. Gail Rector rive from a very vital rite, easy to describe but hard to perform without some thousands of trained participants - namely, the knowledgeable enjoyment of music. Of course, the rite needs the right man to preside over it. The man who does this now is Charles Munch, the Orchestra's musical director since 1949, and it is interesting to note that he once described his job as that of a priest.t

This and most other historical references throughout this article are drawn from The Boston Symphony Orchestra - 1881 -19J1, by M. A. DeWolfe Howe, revised and extended in collaboration with John N. Burk (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1931). tin t Am A Conduetor, Oxford University Press. New York, 1955.

56 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com pupil of GeorgesBarrère and William Kincaid, and one of most promising applicants are notified, assembled, and the few women ever to play in the Boston Symphony Or- auditioned (from behind a curtain) by a jury which always chestra. "What surprised me most, when I came here," she includes Mazzeo, Richard Burgin, and the principal of selects from four says, ' "was that they have a subway stop named Symphony." the section with the vacancy. The jury Leonard Burkat, Munch's imperturbable young secre- to seven fortunates for the next stage of elimination - - tary- assistant, holds the theory that BSO players fit their another audition, this time attended by Charles Munch. milieu so happily (as they seem to, in a degree that makes He may also interview them personally, make them play an observer think at first there must be something phony as he conducts, make them sight -read. The lucky winner about it) because the jobs themselves, long established usually is in a state of near -prostration by the time he is and multiplicate, have the power now to attract, unerringly, selected, but none ever complains. He has come into what the right people. "Either that," he offers, "or the character Henry B. Cabot, president of Symphony's trustees, calls of the people alters to fit, just as seems to happen to "the most attractive musical job in America." new recruits in a baseball club." Certain it is that new No one in the Boston Symphony Orchestra makes less recruits in the Orchestra very soon exude an air of be- than $7,000 a year at regular orchestral work, according to longing, and even refer unself- consciously to the Or- Mazzeo, and the most important members make sub- is secret. chestra as "Symphony," as older Bostonians do. ( "I stantially more - how much more necessarily hear Heifetz is coming to town. I wonder if he will ap- The work week is not a tough one, averaging slightly over pear with Symphony. ") four concerts (not counting rehearsals) as against, say, Whichever of the two Burkat theories is correct, the about five at the New York Philharmonic- Symphony. The man who keys its operation is Rosario Mazzeo, who has work year varies, among the personnel, from thirty -seven played bass clarinet in the Orchestra since 1932 and has to forty -six weeks. When the regular thirty -week winter been personnel manager as well since 1942. These are two season ends in April, the seats are hurriedly cleared from man -sized jobs, which makes it all the more astounding Symphony Hall's parquet to make room for refreshment that Mazzeo is also a noted bird- watcher and photographer, tables, and Arthur Fiedler begins conducting nine weeks a director of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, a skilled of the famous "Pops" concerts, begun in 1885, under mountain -climber, and president of the Cambridge Society Fiedler's direction since 1930. (The Boston Pops Tour for Early Music. It is Mazzeo who has seen the BSO as- Orchestra, which Fiedler takes afield in early spring, is a sume its latest national complexion. First German, then separate group, not staffed by BSO personnel.) After the French, it is now American. This is partly the doing of Pops come three weeks of open -air, free, Esplanade Con- the American Federation of Musicians, which the BSO certs on the Charles Embankment, supported by volun- finally joined in 1942, and which restricts recruitment to tary contributions (some from business firms) and also musicians who are, or are becoming, citizens of the United led by Fiedler. Thereafter comes Tanglewood (the sum- States or Canada. But, as Mazzeo adds, it would have mer Berkshire Music Festival), which occupies most of happened anyway, since American musical training is the Orchestra six weeks. There has been, some summers, an now the equal of any in the world. Many foreign musi- overlap between the Esplanade (first half of the week) cians, of course, apply for BSO jobs. "Every day I have and early Tanglewood (latter half) concerts, forcing some letters from Europe," says Mazzeo. "We can't negotiate of the personnel to traverse weekly the abominable route with them, of course, but we can and do pass them on to between Boston and the Berkshire Hills, and making the union." them ardent rooters for the Massachusetts East -West Thru- As might be imagined, there is nothing hasty about the way slowly approaching completion. Most of the first - way the Boston Symphony Orchestra takes on a new mem- chair players take vacations during the Pops -Esplanade ber. Mazzeo has his own ways of keeping track of musi- period. The entire schedule gives the BSO the longest cians throughout the country who seem likely candidates. active season of any American orchestra. In 1956 it will Usually they themselves initiate a correspondence, at some be even longer, since when Tanglewood is over, the Or- point in their passage through lesser jobs. This is all very chestra will leave on its second European tour (the first informal, until a vacancy occurs in the BSO. Then the was in 1952), to play in Edinburgh, Continued on page 128 Richard Burgh; Rosario Mazzeo Doriot Anthony Dwyer Louis Speyer

PHOTOGRAPHS BY WARREN B. SYER

FEBRUARY 1956 57

www.americanradiohistory.com by C. G. Burke

This article is adapted from an essay to be published this month as part of a neu' McGraw -Hill HIGH FIDELITY anthology, Building Your Record Library.

0k Modiiyixg 16e Sumo awl Mot1aftq of Dicke

WHEN MOTIONLESS glossy as a seal, and while at all. Stylus- friction in their grooves generates electri- revolving iridescent as a starling with the spring sun on cal charges that attract and grimly hold particles of dust, his back, the round wafer of vinyl whose single spiraling lint, and soot difficult to dislodge once they have found groove on each of its sides imprisons masterpieces has the rest; and the point of a sensitive pickup jostling these beauty of immaculacy in fact, and of Olympus in antici- invaders sends unwanted impulses to the amplifier, whence pation. The polished skin contains a miracle delicately they are translated by the speaker as alien noises. Further- incised, and the concealed miracle, not the skin, is what more, such particles, when they are hard or sharp, mar we choose when we buy a record. the soft walls of the grooves under the grinding pres- Unfortunately, with a skin as thin as this and as frail, sure of the stylus. In the grooves they will stay and will indented permanently by a fingernail, scarred for life by become embedded with repeated grinding unless they are a slap from the edge of a piece of paper, ulcerated by a promptly removed. But since we do not throw away drop of diluted alcohol, the latent life beneath, the mir- disks like a discus, whatever the provocation, but con- acle of the music microscopically incised, makes a pained done and ever cherish their blundering fragility for the and painful outcry when the skin is hurt. The most tri- sake of the wonderful drug they contain, we may as well fling indentation on the surface of a record can be heard make the best of them and keep the drug undiluted. as a little mutter in the loudspeaker, and a superficial The disk after all is still expensive, and we are all reluc- scratch from the fingernail or from the stylus when the tant to obtain little when we spend much. Having spent pickup is carelessly handled can produce a hundred per- our dollars for a certain quantity of music printed in a cussive clicks in rhythmic competition with the music disk, we wish the expenditure for the music to be final. being played. If the record still faithfully fulfills its musical duty after The bravely- labeled, darkly- shining, iridescent phono. two hundred playings we may regard the music it has graph record, so vulnerable to skin afflictions, is an ex- brought us as cheap indeed. pedient, like the shift of gears in an automobile, toler- Records are capable of playing two hundred times ated until something better is contrived, because it works without serious inadequacy at the tooth, but twenty times in spite of its impropriety. The disk, with an effective is a more frequent span for a record's life in customary circumference constantly shrinking in play, its spiral use. Everyone can obtain the longer duration if he ob. twisting in an inexorably- continued reduction of lineal serves a certain procedure and enforces certain prohibi- speed, results from a compromise with physics, and is re- tions. The following conditions and measures are proper tained in commerce because it is cheap and easy to multiply. to extend the musical life of discal phonograph records: Bad in principle, the disk is deficient in operation. Association exclusively with instruments mechanically ac- Its sliver- thinness invites warping. The spindle -hole, curate and correctly adjusted. The turntable employed which must be in the exact center if fluctuations of speed should revolve in a plane which reveals to the eye no and consequently of pitch are to be prevented, very seldom deviation from the horizontal. The stylus should be made is near enough to the center to obviate a to- and -fro move- of diamond. The arm or crane should be as light as pos- ment of the pickup arm. The vinyl or similar material, sible consistent with adequate length and freedom from soft and elastic to reduce the hiss of friction, is intoler- excessive resonance. The force of the stylus in rest on ant of heat, easily marred by mishandling, and shares the record should be maintained at as low a point as can with its shellacked predecessor susceptibility inflicted by be contrived without detracting from the quality of re- the reproducing stylus. It has one physical advantage production. that the shellacs tragically had not: it is hard to break, Most arms have provision for the adjustment of stylus - and to shatter or fracture or crack a vinyl disk one has force, and there are a number with all the required fea- to try. tures. At least five companies make solid and accurate It sometimes seems a wonder that we tolerate disks turntables. It is imperative to use diamond styli because

58 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE.

www.americanradiohistory.com every other known material wears out far too quickly, site points of its edge and flipped over by action of the with the and wear of a stylus -a broadening of its point, the middle fingers serving also as point of pivot creation of a flattened facet with a pair of sharp edges - indices. accelerates the abrasion produced in the groove of a record, If the record is dirty - and after it has been housed an abrasion that in turn accelerates the wear of the stylus. in any large American city it will be - it should be cleaned, The results of wear are a steady deterioration of sound, lest the superficial dirt, particularly soot, be ground into especially of high- frequency sound, and a corresponding the groove. When it is returned to its jacket it should increase of unwanted noise. It is a truer economy to use be handled in the same manner as that of its removal, precise and durable equipment than to replace one's records. the fingers aloof from the engraved surfaces. Finally, The optimum stylus -force varies somewhat according to it is prudent that a naked record never come into con- the type of pickup used, but in general a force of from tact with another, or with anything but its cover, the three to four grams is enough for good reproduction, mat on top of the turntable, and the stylus after that has and the Weathers pickup properly mounted betrays no been gently lowered to play. detrimental effects when used at a force as low as a gram Exclusion of childhood. As long as the national senti- is and a half. ment is pleased to believe that juvenile harm harm- Currency has been given to a belief that abrasion of less, a neutralized zone at least ten feet from records and stylus and record increases rapidly both above and be- phonograph should be established in every music room; low some generally unstated optimum point. Through and tomorrow's citizens, if they wish to listen, can be the microscope this increase may be observed at stylus - chained at the prudent boundary. forces above six grams, but the microscope in the exam- Periodical examination of arm and stylus. Any stylus inations of the writer does not confirm the belief that operating in friction against a record will be worn in the reduction of force below six grams is invidious. Most process. This includes styli of diamond: no material is of the difficulty encountered when a very low stylus -force immune to wear. A one -mil diamond point of careful is used results from improper mounting of the turntable manufacture can be relied on for from six to eight hun- or arm. These must be insulated - by springs, rubber dred hours of use under good conditions, and a greater cushions or suspension - against external vibration, or longevity is frequently attained. It is wise to have a stylus the stylus will be jarred from the groove. Similarly, the scrutinized microscopically every hundred hours after it turntable must be level and the arm free of effective verti- has been in use three hundred hours, since abrasion in- cal and lateral resistance if the stylus is to trace the groove jurious to records but not yet apparent to the ear may be with a maximum of efficiency and a minimum of damage. revealed by the microscope. Similarly the stylus -force Care in handling. Neither the hand nor any part of the should be measured frequently and adjustment made on hand should come in contact with the engraved part of a the pickup arm when necessary. record's surface. If this injunction is disregarded a thin Storage of disks. All plastic and shellacked disks, hav- film of oil will mark the point of touch, and frequent ing large areas in proportion to their thickness, are sub- touches will make the film a thick one. Records are ject to warpage. The larger the area, the more apparent invariably supplied with protective jackets, generally the warpage. Fortunately warpage can be controlled by poorly designed for their purpose.* Good or bad, a pro- proper regular storage, and cured by an easy corrective tective cover of some kind must be used, since the soft measure. Pressure will control it, and controlled weight vinyl will be dented by slight contact with a hard surface. will cure it. This does not mean that records should be Veteran collectors have learned to handle records auto- stored in vertical stacks. Vinyl is too soft to endure the matically with an instinctive solicitude for their frailty. weight of a considerable stack without damage to the Pressure is brought against the edges of the stiff jackets disks near the bottom, particularly when temperatures to force the open ends to gape, permitting the delicate are high. Instead records should be aligned side by side contents to slip out without damaging the recorded sur- on horizontal shelves. They should be retained in their faces. The slipping record is stopped by the palm of the envelopes and kept snug against each other - snug, but hand beneath its rim, the middle finger against its lower not tight enough to make withdrawal of an envelope label, and thus it is carried for placement on the turntable. difficult. Partitions distributed about eight inches apart The playing grooves are not touched, and after repetition will keep the sidewise pressure of the records within safe the manual operation becomes spontaneous reaction. In and manageable limits. Arranged like this, rectified by turning a record to play the reverse of the side exposed each other, disks will be constrained against warping. on the turntable, the disk should be Care must be taken to place the lifted by the index fingers at oppo- shelves away from any considerable source of heat including rays *The best containers for long -playing records at this moment are Epic's inner cardboard envelope of sunlight. Ten and twelve- fitted into an external somewhat softer cardboard jacket, convenient, simple, dustproof inch disks ought not to be and durable arrangement; and Angel's double envelope of which the inner has wooden rod intermingled. as backbone. It may be remarked that most of the other "protective' inner envelopes, of cello- Badly warped records can be phane. pliable glass, tissue -paper, glassine. etc.. are nuisances obviously designed by people straightened by the following meth- who never play records. When record, after an effort, is extricated from one of these dia- od: place the disk to be treated, in phanous chemises, it is resistant to reinsertion and the chemise itself prefers to crumple and its jacket, between two pieces of tear rather than be slid back into the outer jacket.

FEBRUARY 1956 59

www.americanradiohistory.com glass at least one foot square, and with the lower square dandy as thick soles in a thick carpet; and as all the unwanted resting on a smooth flat surface and the upper square oc- truck is evicted from the observe of the record it comes cupied by a rather heavy object of fair dimensions - speedily to rest with a deep new accumulation on the re- the Columbia Encyclopedia, say - allow the sandwich verse. The reverse then being brushed, the obverse wel- to stay undisturbed for a few days. The warp will be comes home its old and new guests with greater magne- ironed out by this therapy. tism than before; and the process can be repeated indefi- Cleanliness. Disks may be cleaned of most of their su- nitely, making one side momentarily immaculate, the other perficial dirt by the application of slightly dampened furry with microscopic matter. One can sense in the air cheesecloth, gently glided over the surface circularly near the record a tingle, as of imminent lightning. with the grooves, from the circumference inward. This A number of liquids and emulsions are compounded operation will clean a record temporarily without harm to neutralize static electricity in disks. Most of them are if the circular motion is truly gentle, and will also pre- quite efficient in this primary task. Records anointed vent the generation of superficial electricity during a play- with at least three of these preparations retain an im- ing immediately following the cleaning. munity to the generation of new charges for an extended The electricity generated by the stylus in contact with period, in one case for eighteen or twenty months. Un- the revolving plastic groove is one of the major minor fortunately all those put under close examination had an irritants of long -playing reproduction. The charge has additional property less engaging: they clogged up pick- considerable attractive force, and gathers to the record's ups with sticky, iotas of their own substance, eventually surface particles of matter floating in the air. Its pull restricting response. As a whole the static with its con- garners lint, dust, tobacco ash, traces of paper, soot, comitant noises seems preferable to a pickup that stammers. powder, and most especially dog and cat hairs. All this Some fluids which do not bedeck the stylus with gum put refuse, adhering as if glued to a surface so slick that it a visible film upon the disk; and five of the five prepara- would seem nothing could stick there, becomes a continu- tions tried by the writer did one or the other. ous obstacle to the pickup stylus which in bumping into A tiny device known as the Mercury "Dis- Charger" - - the soot, etc. relays the little shocks to be magnified by not made by the manufacturer of the celebrated "Olym- the amplifier and speaker into vivid snaps, clicks, clucks. pian" series of records - , a small tube containing a radio- and poppies. These exacerbating intrusions continue active element, can effectively protect disks against accumu- until the record ceases to give music, but so pertinacious lations of static for an indefinite period. This instru- is the static attraction that microscopic culprits remain ment, of negligible weight and not much more than half in adherence after the turntable has been halted. They an inch long, is designed to be hooked or otherwise at- can be ejected only by action taken to neutralize the charge. tached to the tip of the arm carrying the cartridge. In Other action can quickly become amusing and then in- that position, it ionizes the atmosphere in its immediate furiating. A brush will remove those deleterious particles vicinity while the disk revolves beneath the stylus. The (although most brushes will scratch records and should not little thing works: it neutralizes the electric charge, and be used). An artist's broad brush with bristles of the the record does not attract new bits of dirt to make new finest red sable, soft as a fledgling's belly and expensive noises. The effect is not lasting until the record has been as platinum, flicked lightly over a disk will not harm it subjected to the treatment two or three times, but the little and will otherwise produce the same effect as any other tube retains most of its power for years. brush. The sweeping motion generates electricity as abun- One can find written in the lore of the phonograph objections to the use of a brush or cloth of any kind on JACKETS BY RODRIGUES vinyl surfaces. These objections are not inclusively valid. A soft brush of the kind mentioned above, and possibly of other, less expensive kinds, and a dampened soft cheesecloth, tenderly applied, will not be injurious to records unless one tries to make them so. The foregoing parade of facts and counsel contains no information absolutely new, but none either that is not verified by experience. Many of the procedures recommended are adopted by neophytes in record -collecting without any advice at all, and many people, indifferent to the finer qualities and the poorer qualities of reproduction, will find here much ado about nothing important. But others need help, if only as a corrective to bad advice. The phonograph is easy to play, but like all me- chanisms its parts and accessories need care. Most people have not the good fortune to be able to replace a worn record by a maiden. They want the Beethoven Quartet, the Mozart opera, the Strauss tone -poem, as alive at the fiftieth playing as at the first. Possibly these notes will occasionally help that to happen.

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com What Goes Into Your Tutti

by EDGAR VIELCHUR

BETTMANN ARCHIVE The author heads a loudspeaker firm named Acoustic Research, Inc. - very appropriately, since obviously mach (lower case) acoustic research went into this article on how various musical instruments' tones are formed.

THE MOURNFUL sound of the oboe, the twang of the bodies themselves - draw their sustenance. Since the reson- guitar, and the blare of the trumpet would seem to have ators can only be activated at or near their natural frequen- little in common with one another. But the formation of cies, and since it is impossible to provide independent the characteristic timbre of various musical instruments stimuli for each of the resonant modes of the instrument, (and of the human voice mechanism), while employing the wave form of the initial vibration must contain all of different physical elements, is almost invariably the same the fundamental and harmonic frequencies ( integral multi- in basic method. ples of the fundamental frequency) corresponding to the This method of tone production may be analyzed into instrument's various resonances. The resonatórs lock the three stages, of which the player has normally only a dim uncertain fundamental frequency of the primary tone to the awareness. The first is the creation of some sort of vibra- desired note; they also select and emphasize certain of the tion as a primary tone; the second is the shaping of the tone overtones to give the sound its characteristic timbre. color by mechanical or acoustical resonators; and the third Once the resonating elements of the instrument have step consists of a build -up of volume through increasing the been energized the frequency and harmonic structure of the efficiency of radiation into the surrounding air. tone is formed. The subjective terms used to describe musi- The vibrations of the reed in a clarinet mouthpiece, or of cal timbre such as nasal, brilliant. or metallic correspond to the swirling air currents at the embouchure of a flute, a cold, objective wave form analysis concerning the distri- divorced from the air columns which they engage, are ex- bution and relative intensity of the different overtones, the amples of primary tones. The sandpaper-like stimulation of intensity of the fundamental, and the attack and decay violin strings by the rosin -coated bow is another. In each characteristics of the sound. of these cases, a steady mechanical or pneumatic force is The primary tone is thus swamped by the resonators, but broken up and converted into an oscillatory one, and the there is a residue of bow scrapes, blowing noises, and strike fundamental frequency of vibration, a characteristic that we tones. The first two are almost but not entirely eliminated perceive as pitch, is flexible enough to be able to accomo- by expert musicians, and are more prominent when less ac- date itself to control by the resonators. The primary tone complished players perform. A small amount of this in- also includes a diffuse spectrum of overtones, or higher fre- harmonic noise is often considered to have other than quency components sounded simultaneously with the funda- nuisance value, since it may give the listener a more poig- mental, whose formless distribution is of a type associated nant awareness of the physical medium, like the edges of more with noise than with musical sound. Strange as it may brush strokes in a water -color painting. Inharmonic effects seem, the stimuli from which the final tone colors are de- are purposely introduced into the orchestra by instruments rived are themselves rough and unmusical in character. such as the bass drum, the cymbal, and the triangle, in Sound may be represented graphically by plotting the whose vibrations so many harmonically unrelated frequency course of the vibration on a horizontal time axis. The re- components are present at the same time that no definite sultant diagram predicts the quality of the sound and is sensation of pitch is created. called the wave form, although the graph represents an ab- The third element of musical instrument design, that of stract concept rather than visual reality. Primary tones providing sufficient coupling between the vibrating ele- usually have a jagged, saw -toothed wave form, a shape that ments of the instrument and the air, involves increasing the implies a sprawling supply of discordant overtones and effective radiating area of the instrument. A small vibrating which does not represent musically pleasing tone color. A source like a stretched string needs a better bite of the buzz -saw, in fact, produces a similar type of sound. acoustic medium than it can get directly - since the amount This noise -like, unmusical primary tone turns out to be of sound energy radiated is dependent on how much air can just what is needed. It is the energizing well from which be moved. The coupler may be mechanical, like the sound - the resonators - strings, air columns, and the instrument board of a piano stimulated into vibration by the strings

FEBRUARY 1956 6r

www.americanradiohistory.com connected to it, or it may be an acoustical device like a horn, produce violent vibration and a rough, howling sound re- in which vibrations at the narrow throat are tightly engaged ferred to as the "wolf note." This defect is especially preva- to all of the air at the wide mouth. The coupling device is lent in cellos and is sometimes present in otherwise excellent passive; additional energy is not introduced, but more effi- instruments. The designs of the violin, viola, and cello have cient use is made of the energy that is already there. not been changed from those left in the seventeenth century by Antonio Stradivari, who made about r,roo instruments, some six hundred of which are extant; but the wolf prob- MEMBERS of the viol group - the violin, viola, violon- lem has never been completely solved. Countermeasures in- cello, and double bass - are essentially the same except for clude the use of damping elements at strategic points on size and frequency range. In all of these instruments the the body in order to subdue the violence of vibration, and, primary stimulating tone is provided by the friction be- when the wolf resonance is a sharp one, adjustment of the tween strings and the roughened surface of the hair bow. body to make the wolf note fall in between notes of the The moving bow displaces the string laterally, until the scale. elastic restoring force of the stretched gut becomes greater The viol body resonators serve double duty as acoustic than its frictional coupling with the bow. At this moment coupling devices. The lower the frequency range of the the bow releases its hold and allows the string to spring instrument, the greater is the required size of these couplers, back. Momentum carries the string beyond its former rest since the radiation of sound in the bass region involves mov- position, displacing it in the opposite direction. When the ing large quantities of air. The lowest frequency produced combined effect of the increasing lateral tension and de- by the double bass, approximately forty-one cycles per creasing momentum becomes less than the force of friction, second, is little more than one fifth of the corresponding fre- the bow grabs again, carrying the string on another forward quency extreme on the violin, and the lower pitched instru- journey. The operation is like that of a high -speed ratchet ment requires much larger radiating surfaces. mechanism with an imperfect forward grip, and just as un- Wind instruments of the reedless category - the flute, musical. But the initial saw -toothed vibration is applied to piccolo, recorder, and the flue pipes of the organ - derive an exceptionally rich multi -resonant system. their primary tones from a stream of air directed against The stretched gut string is an ancient musical device, a hard lip. This airstream may be introduced in a direction with a natural frequency of vibration determined by its across the resonating air column, as in the first two instru- length, mass, and elasticity. It can be tuned by varying the ments mentioned, or in line with it, as in the last two. In tension at its supports or by changing the length of string either case, eddies of air are formed, alternately on each side left free to vibrate, and it resonates at many different har- of the lip, and these flip back and forth at a frequency de- monics in addition to its fundamental. The existence of termined by the velocity of the airstream and the thickness these harmonic resonances results from the fact that the of the lip. Each flip imparts a shock to the imprisoned string is able to vibrate as if it were column of air, and the nature of this clamped in the middle - in thirds. primary "edge" tone conforms to that of fourths, fifths, and so forth - at the same our classic model; it readily shifts its time that it vibrates from its end supports. fit's fundamental frequency to get into step The primary tone thus simultaneously with the resonance of the air column, and energizes both the fundamental and an it contains a full spectrum of overtones. extended series of harmonic vibrations. Edge tones are common natural phe- The properties of a stretched string do nomena. The whistle of the wind across not, however, completely explain the tonal the branches of trees and the singing of splendor of a well -played violin or cello. telephone wires are examples; the wails A string borrowed from a Stradivari vio- associated with the rise and fall of pitch lin may produce strident sound in a cheap are caused by an increase or decrease of instrument. The belly and back of the wind velocity. The miniature whirlwinds viol body break up into complex patterns formed at the lip of an organ pipe have of resonant vibration which emphasize actually been photographed by the physi- certain of the string harmonics and at- cist Carrière, who used smoke to make tenuate others, while the imprisoned air BETTMANN ARCHIVE the motion of the air visible. and f -holes form a relatively low- pitched Air columns, like strings, have both acoustical resonator. Although this resonator, like an empty fundamental and harmonic resonances whose frequencies jug, is of the Helmholtz type, without overtones, the reso- are inversely proportional to length, with the difference nance is not a sharply tuned one and it reinforces a broad that the air column vibrates longitudinally instead of band of lower frequencies. The vibrational response of the transversely. The pitch of a reedless woodwind is not de- whole instrument to stimulation at different frequencies is termined exclusively by the characteristics of the air column. the main point of difference between a good viol instru- however, but can be influenced by the natural frequency ment and a poor one. of the edge tone. The flutist is able to humor the exact There is one resonant mode of the viol -type instrument frequency of his notes by controlling his breath against that may be a source of annoyance rather than musical the edge of the blow hole, and "overblowing" can raise pleasure. The lowest frequency resonance of the body can the natural edge tone frequency to such an extent that it

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www.americanradiohistory.com may mesh with a harmonic of the air column instead of the The primary reed vibration is much louder than the flute's fundamental. It is this last facility that makes the three - edge tone, and it is capable of producing very unlovely octave range of the flute possible. The independent edge quacking noises when unskilled players allow the reeds tone frequency of an organ pipe is also important; unless to escape from the dominance of the air column. The it is close to the resonant frequency of the air column, combination of reeds and air column, properly coupled, too much time will be required for the necessary excitation is capable of haunting musical effects. Reed woodwinds energy to build up, and the pipe will not speak promptly. have an important position in musical literature, and the One of the tasks involved in voicing flue organ pipes is organ includes reed-actuated as well as flue pipes for tonal the correct adjustment of edge tones. variety. Older organs used reeds which cut off the air flow sharply, stimulating the higher harmonic orders of the air column and creating a fiery tone. Later a smoother APECULIAR problem is created in organs whose cutoff and softer tone were favored, but there has been a pipes are distributed in different parts of an unevenly recent revival of interest in the earlier design. heated building - some of the pipes are liable to go out of tune on a cold day. The resonant frequency of a column of air is directly proportional to the velocity of sound in BRASS instruments consist of a long, coiled pipe (an the confined medium, and this velocity varies with tem- uncoiled tuba is about eighteen feet long), generally of perature. A drop of 200 Fahrenheit will lower the pitch by progressively increasing diameter; a cup- shaped mouth- about half a semitone. piece; and, except in bugle -type instruments, facilities for The organ has separate pipes for different notes, whereas changing the effective length of the air column by means the flute resonates the same air column at different fre- of valves or sliding pipe sections. The player matches quencies. This is done by changing the effective length the primary vibration of his lips to different resonant of the column through a system of holes, providing acous- harmonics of the column - the fundamental is not gen- tical short circuits at predetermined points along the erally a useful resonance - by controlling lip tension. (If resonating path. The edge tone for all notes must be you are interested, the second harmonic has a frequency formed at the same lip, and the playing of musical passages ratio to the fundamental of two to one, and the resonant with "flutelike" purity of tone calls for considerable skill frequency jumps an octave; the third harmonic has a fre- on the part of the player. The tone of a woodwind is quency ratio to the second of three to two, and the pitch partly determined by the material of the pipe, which vi- interval is a fifth. The higher the harmonic order, the brates sympathetically with the pulsations of air within it. smaller the geometric ratio to the preceding harmonic Instruments made of hard woods, silver, and even gold or and the smaller the corresponding pitch interval.) platinum have been used in the search for satisfying tonal The flared shape is used in brass instruments for effi- quality. cient coupling between the source of sound energy and Reed woodwinds like the oboe and clarinet, and brass the air. Any one cross -section of the horn is only slightly instruments like the trumpet, tuba, and trombone also different in area from the cross- section immediately adja- make use of the air column as a multi- harmonic resonator, cent, and each layer of air is therefore coupled to its entire but the primary stimulation is produced differently. The adjacent layer. The result is that the player's lips are player blows directly into the column, and the steady pres- tightly engaged to all the air in the horn, effectively insure of his breath is periodically throttled, in the one case creasing the small radiating area of the mouthpiece to by a reed or set of reeds, and in the case of brass instru- approximately that of the large opening. ments by the vibration of his own lips. The air column Stretched strings act as resonating elements in struck thus receives a succession of sharp, saw -toothed puffs, instruments like the piano and clavichord and in plucked and responds in the same way as it does to the edge tone, instruments like the guitar, harp, and harpsichord. The locking the fundamental frequency of reed- or lip- vibration initial stimulus may still be considered a primary tone, but and selectively emphasizing harmonic overtones. The one whose duration is only a fraction of a cycle -period. sound is almost always coupled to the outer air through a The piano has a separate set of strings for each note, flared opening. The timbres created are so distinctive which are sounded by a felted hammer. When a key is that the adjectives "reedy" and "brassy" have become depressed, the string damper is removed; and the appro- general terms in the descriptive vocabulary of musical priate hammer is launched towards its string like a pro- sound. jectile from a sling. By the time the key has reached its The conversion of the steady air stream to a pulsating one bed the launching device has lost all contact with the depends on the fact that a current of air flowing between hammer, leaving it free at the point of striking and allow- flexible elements will cause the internal pressure to drop ing it to rebound immediately. The hammer remains and the passages to close. This restricts the air -flow, poised a short distance from the string until the key is raises the pressure again, forces the wall elements to released, at which time the damper is re- applied to the spring open once more, and the cycle of events starts all string unless the sustaining pedal is down. over. This effect takes place between double reeds in the It should be clear from the above action that the pianist, oboe and bassoon, between a single reed and mouth- unlike the players of viol instruments or woodwinds, has piece in the clarinet and saxophone, and directly between no control over the tone of a single note other than deter- the musician's lips in brass instruments. mining when, how hard, and for how Continued on page 125

FEBRUARY I956 63

www.americanradiohistory.com Artur Rubinstein looks back upon .. . A Half-Century Without Vitamins

by HAROLD C. SCHONBERG

ARTUR RUBINSTEIN, a man who gives seurs, and Gaisberg was impressed. "You the impression of bounding around theroom must make records, you must make records," when he is merely sitting on a couch, has he insisted. Rubinstein didn't want to make probably given more concerts, covered more records. He was still thinking of the phono- ground, lived more lustily, and made more graph in terms of banjo sound. Gaisberg, money from records than any pianist active one day, inveigled him into the HMV today. He looks back, rather fondly, on a studios at Hayes, Middlesex. This was splendidly misspent youth and looks with around 1928 or 1929 - Rubinstein is unequal fondness to the future, wherein he certain of the year. Gaisberg persuaded him expects - among other things - to record to try something, and Rubinstein selected what Chopin he has not recorded (which is Chopin's Barcarolle, which was played right very little), the major works of Schumann, DRAWING BY HAROLD SCHONBERG back to him from the wax. "I was amazed, a large grouping of concerted works, and I had tears in my eyes. My God! It sounded other music he admires. like a piano." He went back next day and recorded the He came to records late in his life. Josef Hofmann, Barcarolle officially. Thus it all started. for instance, made some tests for Edison in 1888. Wilhelm At that time, Rubinstein had been playing in public Backhaus has many acoustic disks to his credit, and Percy some thirty years. Like nearly all great pianists he had Grainger's career on records goes back to 1915 or there- been a child prodigy (no relation to Russia's great Anton abouts. Gieseking recorded for Brunswick (or, rather, Rubinstein). He gives his birth date as January 28, 1889. performances of his were released on the Brunswick label, Some of the older encyclopedias put that date back a few in this country around 1923), and both Novaes and Cortot years. Born in Lodz, Poland, he was the youngest of seven were represented by Victors of 192o vintage. Rubinstein children. Joseph Joachim, the greatest classical violinist could have recorded in America in 1919. At that time he of the century, interested himself in the child and helped came here for a tour and made friends with a lady very pay for his studies on the condition that his parents not much admired in operatic circles. It was her first trip to exploit little Artur as a prodigy. In Berlin he studied America. She spoke no English, and everybody came to under Heinrich Barth (piano) and Max Bruch (composition), Rubinstein (a man who has eight or nine languages fluently among others. At eleven he made his debut in Mozart's at his disposal) for their dealings with the diva. He ar- A major Concerto (K. 488). He has retained his liking ranged an audition for her with Gatti -Casazza, and the for the work; has recorded it twice. As a youngster he lady was subsequently engaged by the Metropolitan Opera. was known as a Mozart player, something he definitely Then a Victor man came around. "If you persuade her to is not known as today. "In those days," he says, "I record for us," he whispered in the pianist's ear, "I'll played Mozart so clear, so simple! Now I find him hard let you make five records." Rubinstein was insulted. He to play. The difficulty is to keep from making him too big." refused to be bribed. Besides, he had no liking for the Like many young men of artistic bent, Rubinstein found twanging banjo sound that passed in those days for piano himself in Paris after his physical and artistic adolescence. reproduction. He flung himself into the modern school. In 1904 he be- He did make some piano rolls. "Such fakes!" he says. gan playing Debussy and was hissed for his trouble. "You play a horrible, smeared scale, like so." And he Throughout the next two decades he interested himself lets his fingers scrabble on his knee. "You are mortified in composers like Prokofiev, Scriabin, Szymanowski, Ravel, and ashamed. They tell you not to worry. They take little Dukas, and Villa -Lobos, to his great artistic satisfaction papers and they cover up the holes. They move the holes and to the distress of his finances. He came to America up a little. Such a wonderful scale now!" in 1906 - fifty years ago - making his debut with the About ten years after attempted bribery and piano rolls, Philadelphia Orchestra under Fritz Scheel. He made a Rubinstein was in London, where he met the famed HMV big success with everybody but the critics, who scorn- impresario Fred Gaisberg ( "that wonderful fellow "). fully looked on him as a mere virtuoso. "I played two Rubinstein admits that he wonders why Gaisberg was in- encores at my debut in Philadelphia," he recalls. "The terested in him: "I was very low in British critical opinion audience wanted them and I played them. I did not at that time." But Rubinstein's public, though not too know I was breaking a custom. Scheel was very mad at large, consisted of artists, society people, and connois- me. I was so scared."

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www.americanradiohistory.com During those years Rubinstein scarcely set the world on he now has four children - "might suffer for my sins. fire. He admits that he was often technically sloppy in And I didn't want people telling my child, after I died, his youth. The Slays and the Latin countries adored him, 'What a pianist your father might have been!' I started to technical sloppiness and all. As he figures it out, he was restudy, to work hard, to apply myself. It showed im- taken to the bosom of the Slays because they were condi- mediately." tioned to wrong notes. Anton Rubinstein, their idol, had Rubinstein returned to America in 1937 and created a demonstrated to them that delivery and interpretation were furor that shows no signs of abating. His success came as more important than a few missed notes squirming on the no great surprise to the record- buying public. His HMV platform. In that respect, Artur was a real descendant of performance of the Tchaikovsky B -flat minor Concerto Anton. And the Latin nations loved him because he had had been released here in July 1933,* and his performances temperament. But the English and Americans! "Ah," of the complete Chopin scherzos, nocturnes, and polo- says Rubinstein, sorrowfully, "that was a different story. naises were released soon after by Victor. (His prewar They liked exact playing. They paid for their concert version of the mazurkas, a phonographic landmark, had and felt they were entitled to all the notes. Since some- to wait until 1940 for domestic release.) Rubinstein admits times I played only thirty per cent of the notes, they felt that these records did his cause no harm in America. cheated. The critics found me out." Pianists resident here, great ones like Josef Lhevinne, Rubinstein in those years was unperturbed. "To hell "made tremendous verbal propaganda" about Rubinstein's with the German pianists and their exact fingers. Tern - Chopin and Tchaikovsky. With Rubinstein's American perament! I was spoiled, I admit it. But as I never have reputation firmly fixed after his triumphant return in 1937, played in Germany since 1914, I at least escaped their he became a frequent visitor to the Victor studios. criticism." Rubinstein made a vow in 1914, after seeing "I adore making records" he says. "It thrills me. I some of the atrocities in Belgium, that he never would have a feeling of perpetuation." He is nervous in the play in Germany. He never has since. His dislike for studio, just as he is nervous before a concert. The nervous- many Germans, especially Nazi -tainted Germans, has not ness ceases when he sits down to play. "There are two kinds simmered down. In 1949 he was one of a group of promi- of shakes. One kind is necessary to get you into the blessed nent musicians who protested the proposed engagement state of nervous preparation. You can't become inspired of Furtwängler with the Chicago Symphony. He claims without it. Once on stage I am completely relieved." that there are only two places on the globe he has not The other kind of shakes? "The paralyzing kind. If you visited in the last forty years: Tibet, because it is too high, have that, the only advice I can give is don't play in public." and Germany, because it is too low. In the recording studio he is the admiration of all the Anyway, Rubinstein admits, he was occupied with too Victor officials and engineers. "He has everything under many things to waste much time practicing the piano. control, always," says one recording director. "And when "I adored books, pictures" - his homes in New York he hears the playback he plays the performance over, and Paris are embellished with Vuillards, Rouaults, and other such little objets d'art "wine, women. I couldn't *The Tchaikovsky set, one of Victor's all -time best sellers, had been preceded - 2, in America by Victor album M -80, the Brahms Piano Concerto No. released sit eight, ten hours a day at the piano. When I had to here in July 1930. This was the first example of Rubinstein's playing on the Victor label. He was under contract to HMV until 1938. In 1940 he entered play I would give the music a quick look. I lived for into a contract with Victor. The first all- American Rubinstein album was M -858. Beethoven's lea Adieux Sonata, which he recorded on Dec. 31, 1940 every second. Do you know the preciousness of one second in New York and which was released in January 1942. of your life? That's gone for good. You cannot recapture it." (In an interview with a reporter from the New York Evening Post in 1939 he gave the following advice to hu- Inanity: "What good are vitamins? Eat a lobster, eat a pound of caviar. If you are in love with a beautiful blonde with an empty face and no brain at all, don't be afraid. Marry her! ") One time in Cuba he stayed on for an extra week to study the cigar business; he is a connoisseur of tobacco. The natural concomitant was that he didn't waste any time practicing scales. "Take Godowsky. I was awed. It would take me five hundred years to get that kind of mechanism. But what did it get him? He was an unhappy, compulsive man, miserable away from the keyboard. Did he enjoy life? That made me think a bit. A pianist isn't a steel factory, like Pittsburgh." To this day Rubinstein doesn't spend more than three hours a day at the keyboard. "It's useless. The brain doesn't work after that." He feels that, the way he operates, he can make music a new experience every time he approaches it. "Like marriage." It was his marriage in 1932 that "reformed" him. "I became conscious that my wife and child" - "He is a natural pianist, with the hand of a natural pianist.

FEBRUARY 1956 65

www.americanradiohistory.com without ever touching the piano. While he is actually that the wrist could have a chance to relax. Liszt himself recording, he is strictly business. I don't see many of was a great pianist and knew how to space his writing the gestures in the studio that he uses in the concert hall. no matter how busy the hands are. Bach is very diffi- I'd say it's the 'B' version of his concert act. He's a lot cult. Mozart is very difficult. In Mozart everything has of fun to work with. Talk, talk, talk. But he works hard to be exact, more than in any composer." too. He won't stop until he gets the effect he wants. He It is difficult to conceive of anything Rubinstein cannot has tremendous energy and, believe me, he is never tem- play. Of all living pianists he probably is the most versa- peramental." tile. From Beethoven onward, the world of piano literature is his. He is today's unparalleled Chopinist. His Beethoven is glittering and exciting: witness his fiery ALAN KAYES, of the RCA Victor staff, calls Rubin- new recording of the Appassionata. (He has never recorded stein the soul of courtesy and co- operation. "In the a late Beethoven sonata.) He is at home with Schumann, recording studio he works with less inhibition than nearly Liszt, Brahms, the Spanish composers, the French impres- any artist I have known. Nothing bothers him. I remember sionists, modernists like Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Szy- a session in the mid -West in 1947. Rubinstein was stay- manowski. His technique, when he wants it to be, is ing at a hotel where an alumni gathering was going on. transcendent. He is a natural pianist, with the hand of a Nobody got any sleep that night. What a racket! Then natural pianist. He has a broad palm, spatulate fingers, a the next day there was some sort of air show. Planes thumb that can bend far below the right angle granted to kept sweeping in every twelve minutes during the re- ordinary mortals, a little finger almost as long as his cording session, and every twelve minutes we had to middle one, and a mighty stretch that can encompass stop. Rubinstein was absolutely unruffled. I was amazed." C to G of the octave above (a twelfth). His tone is his George Marek, manager of RCA Victor's Record Albums competitors' despair; nobody today can coax a more Department, calls Rubinstein a dream to work with and virile, resonant, and colorful sound from the piano. Ru- plans to record him heavily in the near future. Rubinstein binstein's tone recalls Rachmaninoff's in its singing in- is playing a concerto series this month in New York - tensity, and perhaps Rubinstein patterned it after his great seventeen works for piano and orchestra in five concerts - colleague "I always envied Rachmaninoff his tone," and RCA is going to put some of those works on LP. he is frank to admit. But the pianist Rubinstein admired Several solo disks will also be forthcoming - one de- more than any other was Busoni, and that despite the voted to Spanish piano music, one to Liszt (the Funérailles, fact that Busoni and he had little in common musically two Hungarian Rhapsodies, and shorter pieces), and one or interpretatively. "I wouldn't want to play the way he to the Chopin impromptus. did and yet it was magical. Such incredible personality!" Rubinstein wants very much to finish off his recordings of all the major Chopin works. He already has recorded on LP all the concertos, scherzos, nocturnes, THAT word "personality" means a good deal to Ru- polonaises, preludes, mazurkas, and waltzes. Which leaves binstein. He once was talking about his younger colleagues, the B minor Sonata (he has recorded the B -flat minor), and after paying tribute to their skill he threw up his the études, ballades, and a handful of miscellaneous works. hands. "They come out on the stage like soda jerks," He also is eying Schumann intently. "Now I am bound he complained. Nobody has ever accused Rubinstein of to dig deep into Schumann." He also would like to do coming out like a soda jerk. When he approaches the some chamber music, including the three Brahms piano piano it is a genuine Event. He is the boss, the sachem, quartets, Schubert's E -flat Trio, and the Fauré Piano the grand duke, the magician. He puts on a show, some Quartet in G minor. of it calculated, some of it part of his very being. His Of the many recordings to his credit he likes best his talons rise high in the air and his fuzzy crown of hair fairly recent version of the Chopin E minor Concerto, with bristles as his head rears back. His nose points for the Wallenstein and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. For this stratosphere like the prow of a jet going upstairs. After he admits satisfaction: "It sounds right to me." Of his five minutes the audience is his. Even when he plays badly prewar recordings, he is proudest of the three -volume set - and one sometimes wishes that his three -hour prac- of mazurkas, but considers his re- recording on LP superior tice sessions had been extended a little more; say three interpretatively. He thinks Chopin is one of the most and a half hours - his grand manner has a habit of over- difficult composers to play, but nowhere near as hard as powering anything so silly as rational listening. Not long Beethoven or Schubert, and he cites the fugue of the ago he played the Saint -Saëns G minor Concerto with Hammerklavier as perhaps the most difficult thing in the the New York Philharmonic Symphony, and one had repertoire. the uneasy feeling that he was making it up as he went "Because," he explains, "the approach is unpianistic. along, that he hadn't looked at the music for a generation Your unpianistic composers like Beethoven and Schubert or so. Which may well have been the case, but some- are the hardest to play because they ask for things that the how it didn't much matter. One bemused critic was over- accomplished pianist -composer would not dream of de- heard mumbling something about the missing notes. manding. Take the accompaniment to Schubert's Erlking. "But," he finished, "wasn't it a beautiful performance ?" Your right wrist can drop off. When Liszt arranged it he When Rubinstein is in top form he is excelled by no split those repeated patterns between the two hands, so living pianist. He has enough Continued on page 126

66 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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FEBRUARY 1956 67

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HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com musc makers by ROLAND GELAIT

WHATEVER DAVID OISTRAKH'S December 9, when he and accompanist soloist with the orchestra and had views may be on the one -party system, Vladimir Yampolsky taped sonatas of stayed over to attend the Oistrakh re- he does not seem to favor monolithic Prokofiev, Leclair, and Locatelli. Vic- cording session. Stern and Oistrakh doctrine in his recording commitments. tor put the record on sale a week later. had met in Europe several years before Abroad, this violinist has made rec- In the meantime, Oistrakh had been at and were renewing acquaintanceship ords for EMI in England and Sweden, work again in Symphony Hall, record- in the United States. They had even for Deutsche Grammophon in Ger- ing on December 14 with the Boston talked of making a record together, many, for Chant du Monde in France, Symphony. There was time on this and at 4:oo P. M. on Christmas Eve occasion for only half an LP to be the opportunity for an Oistrakh -Stern made: the Chausson Poème and Saint- collaboration had arrived. The two Saëns Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso. violinists declared themselves willing; At that. it took four hours before these Columbia's David Oppenheim was two pieces were done to Munch's and willing; Ormandy was willing; and Oistrakh's satisfaction. certainly the men of the orchestra On Saturday, December 24, while (who make about $19.30 an hour at the rest of us were engaged in last - recording sessions) were willing. minute shopping and Christmas -tree The piece chosen was not Bach's decoration, Oistrakh and Columbia's Double Concerto, which Oistrakh in- engineers went to Philadelphia for tends to record someday with his son, what proved to be a surprisingly fruit- but a Double Concerto in A minor ful recording session. The schedule by Vivaldi. This too was recorded with- Oistrakh watches Munch's baton . . . called for two concertos: Mendels- out any difficulties. Only two corn - and for the State Music Trust in Soviet sohn's in E minor and Mozart's in plete takes were necessary, though the Russia. Here, during the course of a work had not been rehearsed or even six -week visit, he made records for played before by the orchestra. After RCA Victor in Boston and for Colum- the Vivaldi, Oistrakh was still asking bia in Philadelphia and New York. "What next ?" Whereupon the Phila- Perhaps a philosophy of "share the delphia Orchestra's music librarian wealth" underlies this phonographic produced some more scores and Ois. promiscuity. At all events, it has en- trakh went to work on the Bach E abled Mr. Oistrakh to be heard on major Violin Concerto. At 8:45, after records with a variety of orchestras four concertos and no dinner, the and conductors. Soviet violinist decided to call it a day. "Is it really true," he asked incredu- The next week he was in New York lously, "that Jascha Heifetz is not per- to give the first American performance mitted to record with the Philadelphia of Dmitri Shostakovich's new Violin ... shares portables ¡Ott) Ormandy .. . Orchestra and the New York Phil- Concerto, Op. 99, with Mitropoulos harmonic?" Dorle Soria, to whom D major (No. 4). No one could know and the Philharmonic- Symphony. This the question was addressed, acknowl- how long the session might run, but edged that this was so. Mr. Oistrakh it looked to be a lengthy one, for the shook his head. "Poor Heifetz" was violinist had not played either of the all he said, leaving unspoken his evi- concertos before with Ormandy and dent disapproval of this seeming lack the Philadelphians. However, as some- of liberty. For a moment, Mrs. Soria times but seldom happens at recording thought she ought to explain the ad- sessions, things went smoothly and vantages of exclusive recording con- quickly. By four o'clock in the after- tracts; but time was short, more press- noon, the two concertos had been dis- ing business needed to be discussed, posed of, and Oistrakh asked "What and she decided to let Mr. Oistrakh next ?" draw whatever conclusions he wanted. At this point another violinist en- The first Oistrakh recording date in tered the picture: Isaac Stern, who America took place in Boston on had been in Philadelphia that week as ... trades sour looks with Mitropoulos.

FEBRUARY 1956 69

www.americanradiohistory.com too he recorded - on the morning of he was no Oistrakh. The build -up had October 1917 and they were not the Monday, January 2. David Oppen- been too spectacular. We had been first such to be undertaken by "a great heim, remembering the speedy achieve- led to expect a performer with the orchestra "; the Berlin Philharmonic, ments in Philadelphia, anticipated a technical abandon of Heifetz, the under Nikisch, had been in HMV's short session lasting no more than tonal charm of Kreisler, and the musi- recording studio four years earlier. two hours. It was not to be. Despite cal subtlety and imagination of Szi- Dates are pesky things. Later in the a week's previous preparation, there geti: in short, a violinist the like of narration we are told that "the great were still many rough spots in the which the world has never seen. Ois- tenor Ferruccio Giannini ... made the performance of this difficult concerto. trakh, in fact, turned out to be an ex- first operatic recording produced by The second movement, a scherzo, was ceedingly competent musician, tech- the Victor Talking Machine Com- taped fourteen times before it re- nically gifted, artistically sober, but in pany in 1899." Inasmuch as the Victor ceived the nihil obstat of Oistrakh and no way the superior of several violinists Talking Machine Company did not Mitropoulos, and the other three now resident in the United States. exist in 1899 (it was formed in 1901), movements also had their stumbling The truth of the matter is that we this statement cannot be entirely valid. places. Indeed, the work was just have almost an oversupply of talented Giannini's first operatic disks were barely finished in time to clear Carne- violinists in this country. When an made for the Berliner Gramophone gie Hall for the "Telephone Hour" Oistrakh visits us, he is only one Company, not in 1899 but in 1897, rehearsal. among many. Certain parts of the and no one (probably not even Gian- Four days later, Columbia's LP of repertoire, notably the twentieth-cen- nini himself) would ever have des- the Shostakovich Violin Concerto was tury Russian school and the eighteenth - cribed him as "a great tenor." pressed and ready for distribution. century Franco-Italian school, suit his As for Koussevitzky's "recording of Mr. Oistrakh was able to take a copy detached and understated style of the billionth Victor record" in 1946, of it with him when he left for home playing better than others; but not the unwary listener might conceivably on January 7. Only one person took a once on the three occasions I heard conclude that 999,999,999 different rather jaundiced view of this produc- him (at his debut recital in Carnegie Victor recordings had preceded this tion feat, and that was a gentleman by Hall and as soloist with the Philadel- particular one of Sousa's Stars and the name of Igor Stravinsky, who has phia Orchestra and New York Phil- Stripes in the company's history, where- been waiting more than a year for harmonic- Symphony) was I over- as of course the Stars and Stripes was Columbia to issue one of his own re- whelmed by his interpretative powers. recorded in honor of Victor's billionth cordings. O! most wicked speed, to His playing was always accomplished, pressing- which is quite a different post with such dexterity to another's always in good taste, and usually thing. And what kind of history is it score. rather dull. But this, I should warn, is to state that an already published LP definitely a minority view. of Schubert's Unfinished was "recorded THE SHOSTAKOVICH Concerto on the occasion of the seventy-fifth got a generally bad press in New IN CONNECTION with the seventy - birthday of the orchestra" when that York and David Oistrakh a uniformly fifth anniversary of the Boston Sym- birthday won't take place until Octo- rapturous one. I hope I am not being phony, RCA Victor has issued a record ber 22, 1956? merely ornery in suggesting that the entitled A Musical History of the Boston When a record company delves into new piece of music may have been Symphony and Boston Pops. It costs 98¢ history, it ought to get the facts underrated and the violinist overrated. and is in the nature of a "sampler" straight. This "musical history" might About Oistrakh I am reminded of the LP. Obviously, RCA published it with have been a fascinating and instruc- story told by Moriz Rosenthal, one the idea of promoting new recordings tive record. What RCA has produced of Liszt's most celebrated pupils and made in Boston and not with the intent is, alas, neither. a great Chopin specialist, concerning of educating the American public. To his first encounter with Paderewski. this, I suppose, one can hardly object. LEST I FINISH on a captious note, For years and years Rosenthal had But there is that word "history" in let me hasten to add that the Boston been hearing people rave about Pader- the title - "a branch of knowledge," Symphony itself never sounded better ewski's piano recitals. According to says Webster, that records and ex- than it did in mid January under the reports, no one had ever played with plains past events" - and as history guest conductorship of Ernest Anser- such scintillating technique, such sing- RCA's History shows some limitations. met. Bartok's Music for Strings, Percus- ing tone, such flaming passion. Rosen - The malefactions begin on the sion, and Celesta, precise in execution thal's curiosity was definitely aroused, jacket, where it is stated that the "Bos- and lyrical in mood, was the pièce de and finally he chanced to be in London ton Symphony's career on records dates résistance of a program that included a one day when Paderewski was giving back to 1916, when its first discs were cogent, powerful Jupiter Symphony a recital. Needless to say, he went. made for the Victor Talking Machine and a finely controlled Bolero. After the concert his friends wanted to Company." In the spoken narration Before the concert, M. Ansermet know what Rosenthal thought of the by Milton Cross, however, the listener told me about some of his forthcom- other artist. "Magnificent tone!" he is told that the "first experimental re- ing disks and about the binaural sys- exclaimed. "Impeccable virtuosity! cording of the voice of a great or- tem that Decca- London now employs Gripping interpretations! But" - chestra" was made in September 1917. at all his recording sessions. He is and here Rosenthal's eyes betrayed "Which of these two statements ac- usually not given to speaking in su- just the slightest twinkle - "he's no cords with the facts ?" the listener perlatives, but he used them copiously Paderewski." might ask, and the answer would have in describing the sound of these bi- For me, the visitor from Soviet to be "Neither." The first Boston naural recordings. When, oh when, Russia was a first -class violinist, but Symphony recordings were made in shall we get to hear them?

70 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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R E L E A S E S

ORCHESTRAL VIOLIN PHILHARMONIA POP CONCERT (KARAJAN) 5th GREAT DAVID OISTRAKH ANGEL RECORDING Dazzling, foot -tapping, nostalgic performances of the Khatchaturian Violin Concerto (recorded in London) hest -loved sic heard s r nights at festivals, band Dedicated to ()istrakh and conducted by the composer, concerts or "under the potted palm ". Aram Khatchaturian. h'Iiilharmonia. Skaters Waltz (Waldteufel), Radetzky March (Johann One 12" record Angel 35214 Strauss Sr.1, Tritsch- Tratsch Polka and Thunder and Other Angel -Oistrakh Records: Beethoven Violin Con- Joy- Lightning Polka (Johann Strauss Jr.), Espana and certo 1351621, Bruch (; minor and l'rokofiev D major euse Marche (Chabrier), Light Cavalry Overture (Von Concerti (35213 ), Cesar Franck and Szymanowski Son- Suppé I. Polka from Schwanda ( Weinberger ), Orpheus in atas (35163) ; Lalo Symphonic Espagnole (35205). the Underworld Overture (Offenbach). Also on Angel: Khatchaturian Concerto played by Igor One 12" record Angel 35327 (son -of- David) Oistrakh (35100). BEETHOVEN KARAJAN CONDUCTS JOHANNA MARTZY PLAYS BACH No. 2 in D and "Coriolan" Overture Symphony major SONATAS AND PARTITAS FOR VIOLIN SOLO I l.ilharmunia. Album 2: Sonata 2 in A minor, Partita 2 in D minor One 12" record \o_i l 3 1196 One 12" record Angel 35281 OTTO KLEMPERER CONDUCTS MOZART Previously released: Album 1 - Sonata in G minor, "Jupiter" Symphony in C major, K.551 and l'artita in 13 minor (35280). Symphony in A major, K.201 l'liilharmonia. One 12" record Angel 35209 OPERA and VOCAL SPECIAL ALBUMS DONIZETTI: LA FAVORITA (Highlights) a great opera swig by young GIESEKING and PHILHARMONIA WIND QUARTET "Le più belle pagine" from Mozart Quintet in E flat for Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, rising Italian singing stars: Vittoria Garofalo (Leonora), Bassoon and Piano, K.452 Dino Forniiehini (Fernando), Otello Borgonovo (Al- fonso), Paulo Washington ( Baldassarre), Silvana Zanolli Beethoven Quintet in E flat for Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, ( Ines), Angelo Mercuriali ( Don Gasparo 1. lia:. and Piano, Op. 16 Orchestra and chorus directed by Glauco Curiel. with Walter Gieseking four virtuosi of the Philharnlonia: Booklet -wide essay, story, Italian texts. Sidney Sutcliffe, oboe; Bernard Walton, clarinet ; Dennis Brain, French horn; Cecil James, bassoon. One 12" record Angel 313222 One 12" record Angel 35303 DUETS: ELISABETH SCHWARZKOPF and IRMGARD SEEFRIED UNESCO ALBUM at the PIANO Luigi Dallapiccola: Canti di Prigionia (Songs of Prison) GERALD MOORE Chorus and Orchestra of Accademia Nazionale di Santa Two great sopranos in a beautiful and precious recording. Cecilia, Rome Conductor: Igor Markevitch. Monteverdi: Four Madrigals and I:anzonets. Maurice Delage: Quatre Poìntes Hindous and Carissimi: Detesta la cabra sorte in rumore. Berceuse Phoque (Seal Lullaby) Lungi amai, Il ratio core. A pug d'un verde alloro. Soprano: Martha Angelici. Conductor: André Cluytens. Dvorak: Moravian Duets. 13 settings of :Moravian folk - songs 11875.61, a charming all much enjoyed and Comargo Guarnieri: String Quartet No. 2 admired by liralmis. Pascal Quartet. One 12" record Angel 35228 Booklet with photographs, texts, translations. Note: 1st UNESCO- sponsored Angel Record includes One 12" record Angel 35290 Quincy l'orter String Quartet No. 6, Caturlá s Suite No. 1 for Eight Wind Instruments and l'iano, and Roldan's ON THE JAZZ BLACK LABEL Ritiiica No. 1 for Wind Quintet and Piano (35105) FRENCH TOAST Another Paris import on Angel's international jazz series. PIANO Featuring the Orchestras of Christian Chevallier, Guy ARRAU PLAYS BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO No. 4 Lafitte, and Andre "Pepe" Persiany. Notes by Jonah Claudio Arrati s first Angel recording. Jones. Conductor: Alceo Galliera. l'hilharmonia. One 10" record Angel 60009 One 12" record Angel 35300 Note: III other allmms in Angel's jazz series include and holy Danes (60000), GIESEKING PLAYS MOZART PIANO SOLOS Svend Asmussen His l' l:uu Le Jazz Ii(.t: par Django Reinhardt et Q.11.1'.1'. (6(1003), 7th of 11 records, devoted to Mozart's music for piano 61111111i). ( (60011). solo, previously available only in gala Limited Edition. Jonah \\ ails 161111115 and I1¡;oiçüs ;uitar Album 7: Sonata No. 3 in 11 flat, K.281; 9 Variations on a Minuet by Duport, K.573; Little Gigue in G major, K.571; Sonata No. 19 in I', K.517a; 12 Variations on an Allegretto in B flat, K.500; Rondo in A minor, K.511; 6 \ ariatilllls in F on Paisiello s Salve tu, Domine, K.398. One 12" record Angel 35074 Note for Mozart Year: Now also available are the 1st b records of the series: Angel 35068, 69, 70, 71, 72. Sya5

ANGEL RECORDS, E:LI:CFRIC & MUSICAL INDUSTRIES (U.S.) 11'1)..:58 \VEST 18 ST. NE \\ YORK CITY a subsidiary of Electric & Musical Industries Ltd., Mayes, Middlesex, England

72 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com RECORDS

Records in Revier

Reviewed by PAUL AFFELDER NATHAN BRODER C. G. BURKE RAY ERICSON ALFRED FRANKENSTEIN ROLAND GELATT JAMES HINTON, JR. JOHN F. INDCOX ROBERT KOTLOWITZ

JOHN S. WILSON

Classical Music, listed by composer 73 Dialing Your Disks 98 Advertising Index 74 Folk Music I00 Building Your Record Library 85 Music Between 103 Recitals and Miscellany 94 The Best of Jazz I07

BACH variation of the Passacaglia. Otherwise he Concertos for Harpsichord and Orchestra: plays straightforwardly and with skill. The CLASSICAL No. I, in D minor, BHA/ 1052; No. 2, coupling he employs in the opening of the in E, Blf'V 1053. Passacaglia gives it an eerie sound; as the piece proceeds he changes registration with Musica Helms Elsner, harpsichord; Pro every variation, and one finds one's attention AUBER Orchestra (Stuttgart), Rolf Reinhardt, cond. drawn to the resources of the instrument Overtures: Le Domino Noir; Le Cheval Vox P1.95 10. 12 -in. $4.98. (the organ of the Cloister Church at Sorö, de Bronze; Fra Diavolo; Le Muette de Denmark) rather than to the music. N. B. Portici The D minor is one of BSCh'S finest harpsi- (Saint- Saëns: Samson et Dalila: Bac- chord concertos, with a vigorous and pas- chanale sionate first movement, a brooding Adagio, BACH ¡'Thomas: Raymond: Overture and a lively finale. The E major is less in- Six Organ Sonatas, BIPV 525-530 teresting but still well worth an occasional Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux, Jean Fernando Germani, organ. hearing. Both works are given full -blooded Fournet, cond. RCA VICTOR LIIMV Got. Two 12 -in. S9.98. performance here. The soloist has a hearty EPIC LC 3174. 12 -in. $3.98. style and her instrument (a Neupert) makes These sonatas, says Schweitzer. are "the This disk might be described as a French lovely sounds. In the first movement of the Gradus ad Parnassum for every organist. pop concert. Fournet's readings are clear D minor it is sometimes swamped by the Whoever has studied them thorot.ghly will and forthright, but his Auber lacks the real strings when it is playing important material. encounter no further difficulties in either excitement stirred up by Albert Wolff in but this imbalance clears up later in the same ancient or modern organ literature, having his recent London recordings, and there movement and does not reappear. The or- already met and conquered them all in are some strange excesses of tempo, both chestral basses occasionally have a rather these sonatas." But they are, of course, slow and fast, in the Thomas overture. Re- gruff, indeterminate sound. Whether this is far more than mere exercises for hands and production is extremely clean and wide - a fault of the players or of the otherwise feet. For here again one may enjoy the inex- range. P. A. excellent recording, I cannot say. In any haustible inventiveness of Bach's mind as case, it is not consequential enough to pre- he creates six different works each of which BACH, JOHANN SEBASTIAN vent this disk from offering serious competi- deals with only three voices - usually two Chaconne (arr. Busoni ); Partita No. I, in tion to its only available rival employing lively ones on top and a slower one for har- B-flat; Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (arr. the harpsichord - the Haydn Society ver- monic underpinning. While they may not Hess); Sheep May Safely Graze (arr. sion with Vider$ as soloist. N. B. have the emotional power of the chorale Petri); Adagio, from organ Toccata in preludes and the greatest of the preludes C (arr. Hess) and fugues, their variety and superb con- BACH: Organ Works - See page 76. make them very good listening Anatole Kitain, playing "The Siena Piano- struction forte." indeed. Germani plays them well, and his instru- ESOTERIC ESP 3001. 12 -in. $5.95. BACH ment is clearly recorded. While he usually Prelude and Fugue in E minor (BW'V 533); The lutelike and harplike soundsproduced keeps the three voices distinct an indis- Fantasia in G major (BWV 572); Pas- - by the "Siena Pianoforte," a reconstructed pensable requisite for this music there sacaglia and Fugue ira C minor (BWV - early nineteenth- century instrument, are at- are times, as in the first two movements of 582) tractive and well reproduced on this record. No. 2 or the last of No. 4, when the middle If you do not have an ingrained distaste for Anton Nowakowski, organ. voice is not clear enough. This is probably the type of transcriptions offered here, as TELEFUNKEN LGM 65030. 10 -in. $2.98. the fault of the registration chosen in those this reviewer does, you may find this disk movements, but it is doubtless the instru- appealing. The sounds are engaging in Nowakowski favors heavy registrations. so ment that must be blamed for the indistinct themselves, but the connection with Bach that the lines are sometimes unclear and oc- rumbles sometimes emitted by the pedal. is rather remote. N. B. casionally are really blurred, as in the last N. B.

FEBRUARY 1956 73

www.americanradiohistory.com BARANOVICH vantage against the other versions of the interesting and excellent of the type. No. 3 The Gingerbread Heart sonatas. It may also be true that the sonatas has conventionally accurate sound. C. G. B. tLhotka: The Devil in the Village too, in the Solomon -Piatigorsky playing Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, Kreshmir and the consistently good sonics accorded BEETHOVEN to it, present a somewhat higher average Baranovich, cond. Orchestra of the Zagreb of Sonatas jor Piano: No. 4, in E-fiat, Op. 7; National Opera, Fran Lhotka, cond. merit than the average of any other set. No. 28, in A, Op. roi Bogin- LONDON LL 1235. 12 -in. $3.98. The Starker and Serkin- Casals editions are hurt by some reticence of the piano, Kurt Appelbaum, piano. These two little suites from ballets by con- whereas the new offering and the Zecchi- WESTMINSTER 18056. 12 -in. $4.98 (or $3.98). temporary Yugoslav composers are spright- Janigro records are admirable in a union of Early in 1962, Mr. Appelbaum continuing ly and energetic and tuneful, with a good players which permits no undue deference - an unimpetuous rate of production will share of what it used to be fashionably cliché to either. In any comparison the Schnabel- - have completed his recording of the thirty - to call "motor impulse." The one is mildly Fournier disk of Sonatas No. and 5 3, 4. - two sonatas of Beethoven. The fourteen Stravinskyan (Petrouchka), the other more in old but entirely acceptable in sound in- - vouchsafed have been worth a wait. All are the nineteenth- century tradition, IVa /pur- variably claims affectionate attention (Vic- characterized by the basic virtues of clarity gisnacht included. Well enough made, they tor LCT 1124). and strength, for this is a composer's pianist are not works of serious pretensions or Mr. Piatigorsky certainly sounds the to whom the most flashing devices very rememberable ideas, but they may gravest quality, the deepest black, of the of the keyboard are distasteful unless they are hold some passing interest for musicians living cellists who have acquired fame. relevant. The musical design remains con- who wonder what contemporary composi- When this fine linearity is associated with sistently more apparent than the runs and tion is like in Yugoslavia. J. H., Jr. the ebullient animation of the Solomon arpeggios which embellish it. This finality suppleness, there is a piquancy of opposites and preservation of pattern can be particu- married of giddiness and severity in im- - larly admired in Op. 101, never more trans- BARTOK patient agreement, of the saraband and the parent; while the thicker but more facile Divertimento for String Orchestra - See mambo fused. Stimulating. On the major thought of the earlier sonata has a rather Müller: Sinfonia. matters of shape and pace there is no con- matter -of -fact statement neither improper flict. C. G. B. nor displeasing. The piano sound is invul- BARTOK BEETHOVEN nerable to honest objection in both sonatas. Music jor Strings, Percussion, and Celesta C. G. B. Sonatas Cello and Piano: No. 2, G tKodály: Wry Jdnos, Suite jor in minor, Op. 5, No. 2; No. 3, in A, Op. 69 BEETHOVEN London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Maurice Gendron, cello; Jean Françaix, Sonatas for Piano: No. Solti, cond. 8, in C minor piano. ( "Pathétique"), Op. r3; No. 23, in F LONDON LL 1230. 12 -in. $3.98. LONDON OTL 93036. 12 -in. $4.98. minor ( "Appassionata"), Op. 57 This is the sixth recording of each of these No. 3 deviates from its expected course into Artur Rubinstein, piano. works to be released on LP. It would take determined delicacy in the first movement and RCA VICTOR LM 1908. 12 -in. $3.98. many hours to assess it in detail against its into sport a little breathless in the finale competition, but it makes a very favorable Both sonatas exist in old recordings on The concept belittles it, but the playing impression so far as the Bartók is concerned. of separate disks of this pianist, and the Path!. the concept is assured. No. 2, music les The Kodály is extremely full -bodied and tique has earned warranted admiration for often played, has not had to suffer a re rich in sound, but by virtue of that very the way in which an immaculacy of pianism examination and is stylized in a less brillian fact much of the lightness and is used to promote sentiment without tres- nimbleness but more current manner. The very distinc of this comic score is missing. A. F. pass out of pattern. The present record fol- sound of the latter is enormous and dry lows that design but is immensely more with a minimum environmental influence of effective in the most lifelike piano sound BEETHOVEN: Lieder von Gellert, Op. that Victor has ever pressed into a disk. 48 -See Schubert: Schwanengesang. The Appassionata thunders an even more ADVERTISING INDEX compelling facsimile of the grand piano in breadth and depth. It is hard, however, not BEETHOVEN Acta Corp. 104 to regret the absence of dishevelment from Sonatas jor Cello and Piano, Nos. I-5 Angel Records 72 the supernatural poise of the performance. Variations jor Cello and Piano: on Han - Audiophile Records, Inc. 103 A feeling of security emanates from these del's "See, the conquering hero conies," Capitol Records 89 heroics so glossy, whereas other pianists G. 157; on Mozart's "Bei Männern," Chambers Radio Corp. to8 (including a number with less command- G. 157; on "Ein Mädchen oder Weib- Columbia Records 87 ing skill) blunder into an impendence of chen," Op. 66 Dauntless International _ 97 apposite danger. Nevertheless, grand Gregor Piatigorsky, cello; Cutner Solomon Decca Records, Inc. 95, 99 pianistics, superb recording, and the best (in the Sonatas), Lukas Foss (in the Varia- Duchin, Maurice, Creations Inc. tot Pathétique engraved. C. G. B. tions), piano. Elektra Records 108 RCA VICTOR LM 6120. Three 12 -in. $t t.98. Epic Records 102 BEETHOVEN Leslie Creations 108 Sonatas jor Piano: No 17, in D minor

Here in one album is Beethoven's music Lippincott, J. B., Co. .. . 77 ( "The Tempest "), Op. 3r, No. 2: No. 21. for piano and cello. The sonatas have not London International, Inc. 102 in C ( "Waldsteiti'), Op. 53 hitherto been neglected records, on the ag- London Records 91 Jacob Lateiner, piano. gregate of performances reaching twenty - Music Box 109 WESTMINSTER 18086. I2 -in. $4.98 (Or $3.98). nine with this edition's increment of five. Nuclear Products Co. 107 The three sets of variations have been rela- Perspective Records ... to8 This Waldstein, admirable in nimble manipu- tively disdained, though all exist in satis- RCA Victor Division 93 lation and in the subtle mutations of its factory versions. This is the only disk in Record Market io8 themes, is corroboration of the talent of a the catalogue to offer all three on a single Record Review Index 106 young pianist obviously destined to become side, or indeed on a single record, a fore- Robins Industries Corp. to8 a great interpreter of Beethoven. That the runner that did this having been taken out Sonotape Corp. tog writer prefers several versions of less episo- of circulation. Unicorn Records too dic appeal and more gradual dramatic de. The variations occupy Side 6, the reverse Vanguard Recording Corp 104 velopment means no more than that con- of the First Sonata. They are attractive Vox Productions, Inc. roo cepts differ. In the D minor Sonata, how- enough, in the crisp, sprightly way Mr. Walco (Electrovox Co., Inc ) 105 ever, a certain constraint may be the in- Foss hits the piano against the very dark Westminster Recording Co. 107 evitable lot of listeners hearing contrivances background of the cello, to give this edition Williams Co. _ 108 - the protracted pause, the barely audible of the sonatas and variations a certain ad- pianissimo - more distracting than il-

74 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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luminating. In both, the calm naturalness splendor and sound of good clean force, is "Warwick Symphony Orchestra" (Phila- of the piano sound risks being overlooked not, on the obverse, of the same imperial delphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski, among more excitable records, like Miss kidney. It does not give out conviction, cond.). Katharine Cornell in a group of starlets. and this may be attributed to laisser-faire CAMDEN CAL 212. 12 -in. $1.98. C. G. B. in the strong accents of the first two move- This is ideally contrived to justify a little ments. And then there is the matter of the tract. illuminates what is vaguely implied repeat of the Exposition in the first move- It BEETHOVEN brave fidelity." It ment, essential in this short allegro for the by the phrase "high Symphony No. r, in C, Op. 21 by default. stability of the whole and invariably taken illuminates Great Fugue, in B flat, Op. 133 Stokowski who conducted for the in public performance. Dr. Munch, no The in 1927 even then had Orchestra of the Vienna Staatsoper (in the doubt at the solicitation of the engineers 78 -rpm originals some quality as a musical voluptuary Symphony), English Baroque Orchestra (in (the side lasts nearly thirty -two minutes shown perhaps fond of a blended scent the Fugue), Hermann Scherchen, cond. without the repeat) cuts it, thus aligning unduly attar, musk, chypre, WESTMINSTER 18034. 12 -In. $4.98 (or $3.98). himself with Prof. Hans Wolf and Prof. from his orchestra: benzoin, coriander, paprika, garlic, and a Dr. Willis Page in a lonely élite of conduc- A good tape has endless fecundity. The in- brilliantine in a symphonic enlace- tors for LP willing to consider the repeat dash of viting, unruffled performance of the First as he had studied Huysmans hard. expendable. C. G. B. ment, if Symphony is that which appeared in 1952 None of that here, in this beautiful Seventh, as fourth side to Dr. Scherchen's version of BEETHOVEN a masterpiece of enlightened energy in the Ninth. It seemed then the most desir- Symphony No. 7, in A, Op. 92 direction and devout loyalty in shape. The able record of No. 1, and seems better now in a somewhat brighter transference from the tape. Its merits entitle it to pre-eminence with a not dissimilar Karajan interpretation Wunderkind Among the Goldberg's (Angel 35097) and a brash, impatient excursion on Epic 3095 by the Englishman John Pritchard supported by the hottest, most definite sound in the nineteen recordings. Dr. Scherchen is probably the ideal conductor for an expanded projection of the Grose Fe,ge, which was the original, shelved finale of the Thirteenth Quartet, but in this opinion the record attains incomplete success. The grief is one of those trifles which loom large because of their position - in this case the failure of the first violins. carrying the transfigured fugal subject, to dominate during the twenty -odd bars of the crescendo that closes the work. A trifle, surely; but those violins have to establish rhapsodic triumph as the only valid conclu- sion to the wonderful, uncouth paean. Here it is rather a conjecture than an establish- ment. Everything preceding is drawn with remarkable fineness and clarity, the four voices in fact more distinct than they are in the usual performance with only one man to a voice. C. G. B. Young Glenn Gould communes with Bach, then dances it off during playback.

BEETHOVEN A REMARKABLE performance by a cuted correctly and - what is even more Symphony No. 5, iu C minor, Op. 67 young Canadian pianist whose name important - so naturally and easily as }Schubert: Symphony No. 8, in B minor and deeds were hitherto unknown to this to leave no doubt that the embellish- an part ( "Unfinished ") reviewer. According to the jacket notes, ment in question is integral of he hails from Toronto and is in his early the music. Everything is beautifully Charles Boston Symphony Orchestra, twenties. The Goldberg Va riations, it is per- phrased and even the most contrapuntal Munch, cond haps superfluous to say, are no easy nut sections are cleanly and clearly articu- RCA VICroR LM 1923. 12 -in. $3.98. for a performer to crack. They demand far lated. There is little or no pedal, and is usually supplied in the way no smear. The tempos There is a rich, somber glory in the Unfinished more than consequently insight, historical knowledge, for some the variations Symphony, as the conductor has prepared of musical chosen of - strike the orchestra and the engineers have en- and fleet -fingered technique. These such as Nos. 23 and 29 - might a a fast, graved it, that will keep the appeal of this thirty different elaborations of profusely one as being little too but Gould varied, virtuosity that disk green until the next era of the phono- ornamented theme are extremely plays them with such graph. Close, powerful timpani, black satin each one having a character of its own. they are almost convincing. Similarly, succumb a basses, and beautifully organized trombones Pianists are usually liable to Variation 25 might seem bit slow; the them in a tends sag in one or two spots; and horns work a dark tapestry of subtle to the temptation to color line to tints sumptuously correct for the grave way that is possible only on a piano; but there is no denying the deep feeling movement allowed by the conductor. Not and they are seldom comfortable with that Gould sustains throughout this one of the fierce performances (Leinsdorf, the ornaments. Gould, however. realizes section. Toscanini), and not one of the long -ex- that this is harpsichord music par ex- Taken as a whole, this is an extraordi- tended, melting exhalations (Jochum, Leh- cellence. While he gives each variation its nary performance that leaves one eager mann) either, but something between, im- own character. he does not superimpose to hear what else this very gifted player mensely satisfying in conjunction with the any pianistic "effects" within the course can do. appropriateness of the coloration. This de- of a variation. NATHAN BRODER partment, examining hastily notes on twen- He has apparently had the good sense edition published by ty -three versions, would not say that any to use the excellent BACH: Goldberg Variations Although he does exists capable of giving a balanced musical Ralph Kirkpatrick. Glenn Gould, piano. experience equal to that conveyed by the not observe every embellishment indi- COLUMBIA ML 5060. 12 -in. $3.98. newest. cated there, those he does play are exe- Beethoven's Fifth, in spite of orchestral

FEBRUARY 1956 75

www.americanradiohistory.com Ill't OItU,

richness of the Philadelphia phalanx serves imitate exactly the best thing he ever did. Sayao. Yet 1 doubt that many will want to to fulfill the music and not to distract from C. G. B. pass up this more serenely interpreted disk it; and the individual strokes not found in BERLIOZ by the Spanish soprano, who has been ex- the score are few, tasteful, and beneficient. Les Nuits d'Età, Op. 7 cellently supported by Munch, the Bos- It is a manly and compelling performance, tDebussy: La Damoiselle élue tonians, and the Radcliffe students, with a decidedly the best that the present writer Victoria de los Angeles, soprano; Boston deep -voiced assist from Carol Smith and has ever heard; and few music -lovers, even Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch, cond.; superbly balanced sound from the recording those most distressed by the standard with Carol Smith, contralto, and the Rad- engineers. P. A. Stokowski image, will deny that it is good. cliffe Choral Society (in the Debussy) . But the sound was too old to resurrect BELLMAN RCA VICTOR LM 1907. 12 -in. $3.98. properly, and the LP is atrocious in its Nine Songs- See Dowland: Seven Songs. multitude of bad noises, impossible to hear Victoria de los Angeles has a beauty and BERLIOZ: without wincing. It is the most eloquent purity of voice, plus a sincerity of purpose Roméo et Juliette; -Romeo interpretation in the least bearable sonics. and sensitivity of interpretative style, that Alone; Grand Fête at Capulet's House; Those who can stomach it do not need make her performances of almost every- Lore Scene -See Chausson: Poème, high fidelity. thing irresistible. Doubtless there will be Op. 25. In making the disk available Camden people who may prefer Berlioz's lyrical BOCCHERINI has recognized an obligation and given a song cycle in the more excitingly sung Quartets: in B flat, Op. r, Ne. 2; in E flat, service. Sunken treasure naturally gathers interpretations by Eleanor Steber or Suz- op. 40, No. 2; in Eilat, Op. 5R, No. 2; barnacles. But students can divine a won- anne Danco. By the same token, Debussy's in B minor, Op. 58, No. 4 derful Seventh under this distortion, and ethereal little cantata may be preferred by perhaps Dr. Stokowski can be induced to some in its fine performance by Bidú New Music Quartet. COLUMBIA ML 5047. 12 -in. $3.98.

When volume is restrained the string quartet Bach on Ancient Organ as such is as convincingly true as anything Pipes in the Columbia catalogue. A strong output HERE IS A TREASURY of the greatest from the strong recording brings an acoustic music ever written for the organ. In re- enforcement bigger than truth and falsi- other fields choral music, chamber music, fies the objective raciness of interpretations clavier music - Bach was a culmination gauged to the captivating emptiness of but not an end. As the eye scans these music made to please knowing tastes -- mountain ranges, the summit created by for there is no more meaning here than there Bach is followed by other peaks, some not is in a cold brook or the practiced tremor of as high, others even higher. But in the range a pleading underlip. Partial sonata -form of organ music, from the towering moun- bending to the nature of the phrases, airy tain of Bach there is a sharp descent to a harmonies, more repetition than exploita- flat plain broken only by an occasional hill. tion: the foam of the wave that carried Despite all sorts of technical improvements Beethoven. Not much in words but seduc- and changes in the instrument. no one in tive in sound, and warmly recommended. the last two centuries has found anything The appetite is best whetted with the first essential and new to say with it that was not movement of Op. 4o, No. 2. C. G. B. said or implied by the Allrater of organ composers. There is hardly another area BOCCHERINI of musical creation where one man's pre- Quintet jor Flute and Strings, in Eilat eminence has remained unchallenged for Sonata for Cello and Piano, in A so long. Trios for Two Violins and Cello, op. 35: Practically all of Bach's important organ No. r, in F; No. 2, in G works may be found here. Present are the Richard Adeney, flute, and members of six sonatas (on ARC 3013 -141; the magnifi- Helmut Walcha London Baroque Ensemble (in the Quintet); cent preludes and toccatas and fantasies Antonio Janigro, cello, and Eugenio Bag - with their fugues (ARC 3015 -20); the great The recordings were made from 1947 w noli, piano (in the Sonata); Walter Schnei- Passacaglia and other large miscellaneous 1952 on one or the other of two instruments: derhan, Gustav Swoboda, violins, and Senta pieces (ARC 3021); the complete Part Ill the organ built at the end of the seventeenth Benesch. cello (in the Trios). of the Clarier- Uebung (ARC 3022-24), in century by Arp Schnitger for a church in WESTMINSTER 18050. 12 -in. $4.98 (or which the four Duetti are played on a harpsi- Hamburg and now in the north German S3.98). chord; the entire Orge/büchlein (ARC 3025- village of Cappel, and the smaller of the The covering title is "Chamber 26); the eighteen chorales "of various kinds" two organs at St. Jakobi in Lübeck. These Music of Boccherini, Volume I." The record is a and the six "Schübler" chorales (ARC 3027- seem to be ideal instruments for Bach. Each redistribution along rational lines per- 29); and three extended individual works of the stops has an attractive character of of formances that formerly occupied parts of (ARC 303o). Lacking are the Eight Little its own, they permit a sharp differentiation four different disks. In their first guise all Preludes and Fugues, the six Concertos of the voices in a transparent texture, and received tender comment here, corroborated after various masters, some trios and mis- even in the powerful passages of the more by a hearing of the new version, improved cellaneous chorale preludes, and a number monumental preludes the sound remains by a clearer bite in the strings as sounded of early or doubtful works. clear. along the RIAA curve. Gentle, intimate Walcha has long been admired as a per- It is difficult to single out any of these music, played as if for simple diversion, former of Bach. He is here his usual steady, disks for special recommendation. It seems and recommended for the second time. The dependable self. His playing is sensitive pretty safe to say that no matter which one little quintet is probably the best appetizer. and intelligent, his registrations varied and you may start with whether it contains C. G. B. tasteful, his technique big enough to en- some of the grand preludes and fugues or a BOW LES compass the manifold problems of this group of the miraculous little chorale pre- A Picnic Cantata music with apparent ease - as in the mov- ludes - you are not likely to remain satis- ing setting of An IVaaerflüssen Babylon with fied with only that one. Martha Flowers and Gloria Davy, sopranos; two parts in the pedal (BWV 563b), to name NATHAN BRODER Mareda Gaither, mezzo- soprano; Gloria only one example. There are times, in some Wynder, contralto; Alfred Howard, percus- of the toccatas and fantasies, when a little sion; Gold and Fizdale, pianos. BACH: Organ Works more fire and abandon would have been welcome, but even here Walcha's steadiness Helmut Walcha, organ. ¡Poulenc: Sonata for Two Pianos wears well and seldom descends to mere ARCHIVE. ARC 3013 -3o. Eighteen 12 -in. Gold and Fizdale, pianos. placidity. 55.98 each. COLUMBIA ML 5068. I2 -in. $3.98.

76 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com Four girls pack up a lunch on a Sunday, composer's original version of the score. drive out to a park, eat their hot dogs and Now along comes Knappertsbusch, not pie, loll around reading the paper, and drive with the recording but with the best so far. Here's the book you've home again well pleased with their day's There is less heaviness, more flexibility and in doings. The heroines of James Schuylei s true Viennese spirit in his reading than been asking for ... poem bear no names, but one of them must any of the others. My only quarrel is with surely have been called Gertrude and an- the rather fast tempos in portions of tilt other Alice B. Paul Bowles's musical setting finale; elsewhere everything seems just right is a kind of cross between Les Noces and Four Purists among the Brucknerites, however. Saints in Three Ads. The singers belong to may be dissatisfied because Knappertsbustli the scoop -and -wobble school, but they join uses the disputed, somewhat curtailed, and in the fun and games with great gusto, and reorchestrated edition of Ferdinand Loewe the general results are altogether delightful. - at least, that is what it sounds like, The Poulenc sonata is a new work in the though the liner notes impart no informa- light, gracious, tuneful style of which that tion in this connection. In two pressings composer is past master. A. F. I heard, the wind instruments come through at times with a distorted warble; the sound BRAHMS is not too bad, however, to mar an other- Symphony No. r, in C minor, Op. 68 wise admirable set. Knappertsbusch keeps things Hague Philharmonic Orchestra, Willem van Whereas moving so nicely in the symphony, he prac- Otterloo, cond. tically falls asleep in the Siegfried Id111!, EPIC LC 3155. 12-in. $3.98. which is given a dreamy, uninspired read- This is not a conventional version, and ing. P. A. the bald contrasts of massive blocks and tenuous mortar realizing the architecture of CAIX D'HERVELOIS the first movement, very deliberate, will Two Suites- See Marais: Five French evoke a ruminated approval rather than a Dances. quick enthusiasm. Driving the contrasts CHABRIER deeply, the conductor makes the poco Joyeuse marche - See Saint -Saëns: Danse allegretto a diffident wisp, not unappealing, macabre. to be crushed by the rolling chorale of the the High Fidelity finale. Interesting and very well recorded, CHAUSSON that volume should be with the proviso Poème. Op. 25 RECORD ANNUAL high, and higher for the second side than tSaint- Saëns: Introduction and Rondo the first, the level having dropped from one Capriccioso, Op. 28 1955 to the other. C. G. B. tBerlioz: Roméo et Juliette: Romeo Alone; edited by Roland Gelati BRAHMS Grand Fite at Capnlet's House; Lore Scene volume Symphony No. 4, in E minor, Op. 98 Don't fail to get the first record re- David Oistrakh, violin (in the Chausson (containing High Fidelk) Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Paul Paray, views from July 1954 through July and Saint -Saëns); Boston Symphony Or- cond. 1955) in what is planned as a perman- chestra, Charles Munch, cond. MERCURY 50057. 12 -in. $4.98. ent and continuing series - the only RCA VICTOR LM 1988. 12 -in. $3.98. one which will keep you up -to-date The French conductor's records with this with the thousands of long -playing David Oistrakh's first American recording orchestra for this company are now a dozen. records released every year. with orchestra may be put down as a smooth - He has chosen music he can play and has the reviews that one running effort, if not an overwhelming These are had good luck in the recording. He has reader called "marvels of literacy" musical experience. The Chausson Pointe - strong convictions, which do not always delightfully readable as well as fair and moves along with greater evenness and for- convince. (Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, accurate audio and musical criticism. ward motion than in any recorded version I in a lively canter as he reins it, will certainly the re- know, and the Saint -Saëns Introduction and Edited by Roland Gelatt, seem hopelessly wrong if it does not seem views have been entirely rearranged Rondo Capriccioso is flawlessly played. What a dazzle of right.) The aggressiveness of and organized for easy reference. In both lack, however, is needful subtlety of concept in the Brahms Fourth is asserted by permanent form they will be a treasur- nuance and depth of feeling on the part of as a square -cut, heavily accented delivery of ed addition to your library as well an the soloist. Though pure technique and the two terminal movements, massive blocks invaluable shopping guide. tone enormously, they in forceful motion; and revealed by brilliant silken contribute aren't everything. Victor has not heightened ( from Albeniz to Zeller) sonics in which the orchestra sounds as if IComposers attractiveness of this record by filling are arranged alphabetically; per- in tiered formation, nothing panoramic the side with excerpts from Berlioz' formers are indexed. about its straightforward thrust into the the reverse Roméo et Juliette already represented in the ear. This is not balance as we recognize catalogue as part of the complete version More information about more it but it is perhaps better, in a splendor of any and as a contributory side to a Romeo and records for less money than in other brass and full identity of the woods beyond record review collection only $4.95. Juliet sampler. If it was impossible for Ois - - a concert -hall experience of the throttled trakh to record something for the other side, Published by J. R. Lippincott. instrumentation of the music. It is the Victor might at least have given us a new most startling version, and perhaps also FOR YOUR COPY by the orchestra. There must be SEND the best. C. G. B. recording something in the "icebox." NOW BRUCKNER Needless to say, Munch and his men do a Symphony No. 4, in E flat ("Romantic") fine job, and the reproduction is excellent HIGH FIDELITY Magazine tWagner: Siegfried Idyll - always a welcome quality in an Oistrakh The Publishing House disk. P. A. Great Barrington, Mass. Knap- Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Hans Please send me, by return mail, a copy pertsbusch, cond. CHOPIN of The HIGH FIDELITY RECORD LONDON LL 1250/51. Two 12 -in. $7.96. Mazurkas and Polonaises ANNUAL- 1955. $4.95 enclosed Sorry, no C.O.D.s For some years now, I have been waiting Mazurkas: No. 32, in C -sharp minor, Op. for the recorded version of Bruckner's Fourth 5o, No. 3; No. 20 in D -flat, Op. 30, No. 3; NAME Symphony. Up to now, it was a tossup be- No. 7, in F minor, Op. 7, No. 3; No. 15, ADDRESS ... tween Abendroth on Urania and Van Otter - in C, Op. 24, No. 2; No. 47, in A minor, loo on Epic, both of whom employed the Op. 68, No. 2: No. 27, in E minor, Op. 41.

FEBRUARY 1956 77

www.americanradiohistory.com No. 2; No. 41, in C -sharp minor, Op. 63, a drier treatment of the scherzo - the per- and persuasive work in the Ives tradition - No. 3; No. 17, in B -flat minor, Op. 24, formance as a whole is absorbing. the tradition of the hymn and fuguing tune, No. 4. Polonaises: No. 4, in C minor, Op. Shostakovich went to Leipzig in í95o to the folk -song andante, and the jig -scherzo. 40, No. 2; No. 5, in F -sharp minor, Op. 44; attend a celebration of the tricentennial of The Fiddler'sJig is a trifle. Schoenberg's Beg- 6, No. in A - flat, Op. 53 Bach's birth. This experience may have in- leitmusik, or Accompaniment to a Film Scene, is Witold Malcuzynski, piano. spired him to compose the Twenty -four a kind of sinfonietta (not, apparently, com- ANGEL. 35284. 12 -in. $4.98 (or $3.48). Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87, which were posed for any specific motion picture) deal- completed in August 1952 and given their ing with "Threatening Danger," "Fear," Mr. Malcuzynski favors a great deal of first performance that fall by the composer. and "Catastrophe." The music is rather rubato in the mazurkas. In most cases the Critical reaction in Russia was mixed; New mild in view of its subtitles, but it provides effect is intensely interesting; in some cases York critics dismissed the three excerpts an easy approach to the twelve -tone idiom. too much rubato actually changes a 3/4 Mr. Gilels plays here as trivial. This seems The performances are good, the sound rhythm to a 2/4 rhythm. The fingerwork mediocre, but no other recordings of these is and clean strong; the tone is never ugly interesting things are likely to appear for and is exceedingly lovely in soft passages. a long time. A. F. All in all, Malcuzynski makes little tone - poems of the mazurkas, whereas Novaes DEBUSSY and Rubinstein keep them more direct and La Damoiselle due-See Berlioz: Les dancelike. The playing of the polonaises Nuits d'Eté. is more strict rhythmically, equally virile and strong. Malcuzynski brings out inner DEBUSSY voices but is not always careful about sound- Petite Suite (trans. Büsser) -See Rous- ing all the notes in a chord minor de- -a sel: Bacchus et Ariane, fect. The recorded tone sometimes gets weak at the top of the piano. R. E. DEBUSSY CHOPIN Quartet in G minor Nocturnes, Nos. 1-20 tRavel: Quartet in F Jan Smeterlin, piano. Curtis String Quartet. WESTMINSTER 18049. 12 -in. (or EPIC Sc 6007. Two 12 -in. $9.96. $4.98 $3.98). Mr. Smeterlin has a fair reputation in this Emil Gilds Brusque, heavy-footed, and rather acidulous - country as a Chopin interpreter, and his sounding performances of two works that over -all performances of the lacy, light -in- a harsh judgment on pieces that are conserva- demand finesse, understatement, and suavity mood nocturnes have an attractively unsen- tive and not world- shaking but are decidedly in their execution. The same timental clarity, with enough shading to listenable and- well -made. The big double coupling can be heard more advantageously in recordings make them interesting. But he is ill at ease fugue in D minor and the quiet, poignant by the Budapest String Quartet (Columbia) in the nocturnes that are artfully simple, prelude in C are fine compositions. I, for or the Stuyvesant String Quartet (Philhar- dramatic, or heavily somber. His playing one, hope Mr. Gilels will record more of them. monia). R. G takes on a kind of neuroticism, almost as if he were not fully in control of the music. The piano tone is excellent but smacks There are punched bass tones, fading inner a little of the studio in the way it clings to DOWLAND voices, stresses on weak tones (and the re- itself instead of projecting straight out. R. E. Seven Songs (arr. Dorumsgaard) verse), rushings into new phrases. Nocturne fBellman: Nine Songs (arr. Dorums- No. 4, in F, for example, lacks the tranquillo COUPERIN gaard) Messe solennelle (For Parish quality, as marked; No. 13, in C minor, Use in Richard Lewis, tenor (in the Dowland). Churches) misses its essential sweep and breadth. Aksel Schi(dtz, baritone (in the Bellman): Others - Nos. 12, in G; 16, in E -flat, 19, Gaston Litaize, organ. Jacqueline Bonneau, piano. in E minor - come off quite well. The tone LONDON DTL 93039. 12 -in. $4.98. LONDON TW 91067. 12 -in. $4.98. is clean but rather dry, and it does not flow freely from one note to the next as it must This is the more elaborate of two organ Carl Michael Bellman, one of Sweden's in these works. R. E. Masses that Couperin wrote at the age of great poets, set some of his verses to music, twenty -one. It consists of a series of either borrowed or invented by himself. CHOPIN couplets or verrets, mostly designed to be The present group of his songs are from a Sonata in B flat minor, Op. 35 interpolated among the sung portions of the cycle that appeared in 1791. They are simple tShostakovich: Preludes and Fugues, service. The music is rather uneven in quali- and charming. In style they remind one Op. 87: No. 24, in D minor; No. r, in C; ty, but at its best it is of an astonishing sometimes of Haydn, sometimes even of No. 5, in D richness for so young a composer. Much of Schubert. One or two are declamatory and Emil Gilels, piano. it is contemplative in character, but there the rest are melodious. I cannot tell you are also couplets that are active and vigorous what most them are about because they ANGEL 353o8. 12 -in. $4.98 (or $3.48). of and others that are majestic. If in some sec- are sung in Swedish, no translations are This is the Soviet pianist's first American tions the melody seems to wander a bit, supplied, and my knowledge of the language recording, made in New York on October others are tightly constructed. The disk is practically restricted to "Skoal!" Nor t9 and 2o, 1955. The works played here is especially welcome because it represents can I judge the extent of Dtrumsgaard's also formed part of his New York recital a little-known aspect of this master's output. contribution. Nevertheless, in Schitttz's

in Carnegie Hall on October 1 t. The re- The organ of St. Merry in Paris sounds bet- smooth and effortless performance they corded performance of the Chopin sonata ter here than under the hands of Marie - are delightful. (the one with the Funeral March) is more Claire Alain in her Bach recordings. Even The Dowland songs are all on a very high poetic and less driven than the performance the high reeds are less shrill, perhaps be- level, and they are pleasantly sung, but the in Carnegie Hall, but it embodies the same cause they are seldom employed at full accompaniments have been rather heavily large-scale approach to the work. The play- volume. N. B. elaborated by D¢rumsgaard and bear little ing is often exciting in detail, with technical resemblance to the originals. N. B. brilliances in the scherzo and in the mur- COW ELL murous finale, and an exquisite tone in the Symphony No. so; Fiddler's ,Jig DUKAS tSchoenherg: Begleitmusik, Op. 34 middle section of the Funeral March; but The Sorcerer's Apprentice -See Saint - it is the sense of sweeping line, of unity, Vienna Orchestral Society, F. Charles Adler, Saëns: Danse macabre. of a constant movement forward that dis- cond. tinguishes Mr. Gilels' playing. the level If UNICORN 1008. 12 -in. $3.98. DURANTE of penetrating ideas about the music is un- Divertimento in F minor- See Pergo- even - there could be more variety in color, Cowell's symphony is a relaxed, mellow, lesi: Concertino in G.

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ELGAR WESTMINSTER 18002. 12 -in. $4.98 (or liner notes concerning this recording and Three Bavarian Dances, Op. 27; Chanson $3.98). its part in the renascence of West Ger- de Nuit, Chanson de Matin, Op. r 5 many's interest in the music of Gershwin. In the reference books Geminiani is usually J. F. I. London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian characterized as lacking in individuality and Boult, cond. GERSHWIN important chiefly because of his treatise on Blue; Concerto for Piano and LONDON LD 9193. to -in. $2.98. Rhapsody in violin playing, one of the earliest of that Orchestra, in F If Elgai s reputation were based solely on kind. It is perfectly true that these concerti Julius Katchen, piano; orchestra, Manto- works of this stamp, he would be classed grossi are not in a class with those of Bach vani, cond. as one with Hamish MacCunn and Edward and Handel, nor are they equal to the best LONDON LL 1262. 12 -in. $3.98. German. They are light, tuneful, expertly of Vivaldi. But to ignore them entirely would be to miss some lovely music, digni- orchestrated pieces, and would sound very Rhapsody in Blue; Concerto for Piano and fied but dry, melodious, and skillfully engaging at a Prom concert on a soft mid- not Orchestra, in F; An American in Paris; put together. I found them all attractive, summer night in London. For that matter, Suite from Porgy and Bess (arr. Morton was especially impressed by the grave they sound engaging here; the playing and and Gould); Preludes for Piano; Piano solo and poetic second slow sections of Nos. 2 recording is first -rate. R. G. from Porgy and Bess and 3, the fine fugue of No. 3, the charm- FAURE ing gigue in No. 4, and the expressive se- Morton Gould, piano; orchestra, Morton Pelléas et Mélisande, Suite, Op. 8o - quences in the last section of No. 6. Scher- Gould, cond. See Roussel: Bacchus et Ariane. chen performs them with precision, warmth, RCA VICTOR LM 6033. Two 12 -in. $7.98. and vitality. N. B. FRANCK Whoever had the idea of turning over these Grande pièce symphonique See two popular Gershwin scores to the hands of - GERSHWIN Mantovani should be made to listen to the Reubke: Sonata for Organ. An American in Paris; Porgy and Bess, result of his brainwave for a week, with no Symphonic Suite (arr. Robert Russell FRANCK possible chance to escape. That should Three Chorals; Prelude, Fugue, and Varia- Bennett ) "lam" him. Two more precious perform- tion Philharmonia Orchestra of Hamburg, Hans - ances cannot be imagined, for in addition Ernest White, organ (Möller organ at the Jurgen Walther, cond. to tampering with the score of the Rhapsody, Church of St. Mary the Virgin, New York M -G -M E 3253. 12 -in. $3.98. the conductor has redistributed the orchestral parts and you know where with City). Nothing delights this reviewer more than - - DISCURIDSITIES BCC 7280. 12 -in. $5.95. results that can easily be imagined. The to discover a recording that he fears will phrases are grotesquely distorted, and the The first and third Chorals are fantasia -like be hopeless turning out in fact to be not whole performance sounds as if it were in their treatment; the middle one takes the only acceptable but positively good. This regulated by traffic lights, being strictly of form of a chaconne or passacaglia on a German version of Gershwin's An Ameri- the stop- and -go order. Katchen has little theme not unlike that used by Bach in his can in Paris is a case in point. Expecting a option but to go along with this rhythmi- Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor. White heavy -handed, echt Deutsch treatment, I cally distorted affair, though his own per- plays these works with taste, though there was treated instead to a spirited and rhyth- formance, technically efficient, is not above are moments when more interpretative ex- mically secure performance that bounced some reproach where matters of phrasing citement would have been welcome. His along with enough Franco-American esprit are concerned. London, of course, has registration is always varied sufficiently to to rank it with many performances by lavished beautiful sound on this absurd hold the listener's interest, and he never American orchestras, under American con- concoction. interrupts a musical idea by choppy phras- ductors, now to be found on records. In the curiously titled RCA Victor album ing or shifts of stops. The organ tone, while Walther occasionally lingers over small The Serious Gershwin, which does not include well reproduced, with not too much rever- either the Cuban Overture or the Second beration, is a bit weak in the bass. Compet- Rhapsody, but does include the Gould -ar- ing versions of these works are not at hand ranged suite from Porgy and Bess, we are for comparison, but the present disk should also offered performances of the Rhapsod) do very nicely for those who want this and the Piano Concerto - with Gould as lovely music in their libraries. P. A. conductor and pianist. These are consider- FREDERICK THE GREAT ably more valid realizations, even though they expose the pianistic limitations of Sonatas for Flute and Harpsichord: No. 2, Gould as a Gershwin exponent. Both in C minor; No. 5, in A Sonatas for Flute and Harpsi- orchestral scores go much better. The tQuantz: American in Paris and the Porgy and Bess chord :: No. 2, in B-flat; No. 4, in D: Suite, have good momentum and rhythmic No. 5, in E minor security. Clean, but extremely shallow sound John Wummer, flute; Fernando Valenti, is not much help here. J. F. l harpsichord. WESTMINSTER 18070. I2 -in. $4.98 (or GRIEG $3.98). Music for String Orchestra The royal sonatas are neatly put together From Holberg's Time, Op. 4o; Two Lyric out of rather undistinguished materials. One Pieces, Op. 68, Nos. 4 and 5; Two Elegiac wonders how much their smooth construc- Melodies, Op. 34; Two Melodies After Original tion owes to Quanta, the king's teacher Songs. Op. 53; Two Norwegian Melodies. and author of a great treatise on flute play- Op. 63. Eduard Grieg ing and performance in general. Quanta's Arthur Winograd String Orchestra, Arthur own sonaras are much more interesting. Winograd, cond. melodically, rhythmically, and contrapunt- interior details a trifle too affectionately, but M -G -M E 3221. 12-in. $3.98. ally. Wummer plays all of these works with otherwise the work is altogether firmly and his customary skill and fine tone, enhanced skillfully managed. Not quite so successful This happily inspired disk contains all of - as always with this artist - by a complete is the handling of the music from Porgy the enchantingly beautiful music that absence of breath noises. A few whiffs of and Bess, which has a tendency to sound Edvard Grieg wrote for string orchestra. pre -echo on the Quanta side. N. B. slightly confused in tempo, and has some- Despite the fact that these tuneful, haunt- thing less than ideal clarity of instrumental ingly harmonized, often folk:ike pieces are GEMINIANI voices. Even so, this is far from a negli- eminently suited to the medium of the Concerti Grossi, Op. 3 (Complete) gible version. string orchestra, they are all reworked English Baroque Orchestra, Hermann Scher- M -G -M's sound is extremely good, and a Grieg, inasmuch as the composer trans. chen,cond. word should be added about the interesting crihed them either from songs or piano corn-

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positions. No matter; they are among the interpretation than Miss Engdahl's is diffi- tration on the disks, but the absence of loveliest creations in the entire string reper- cult to imagine. So is a recording of the Lindsay's text from the sleeve is highly toire. piano with a finer scale of nuance. A. F. regrettable. A. F. Arthur Winograd's readings are careful, perhaps a bit reserved, but in the best taste. HARRIS HAYDN The playing too is fine, but as usual M -G -M's Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra Concertosjor Clavier and Orchestra, in D; studio sound is too for a cramped group of Johana Harris, piano; M -G -M Symphony in G; in F this size. P. A. Orchestra, Izler Solomon, cond. Concertino for Clavier and Orchestra, in C Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight Robert Veyron- Lacroix, harpsichord; Vienna GRIFFES Staatsoper Orchestra, Milan Horvat, cond. Nell Tangeman, mezzo -soprano; Johana Roman Sketches; Three Tone Pictures; WESTMINSTER 18042. I2 -in. $4.98 (or Harris, piano; Samuel Thaviu, violin; Theo Fantasy Pieces $3.98). Salzman, cello. Lenore Engdahl, piano. M -G -M E 3210. 12 40. $3.98. The D major Concerto is of course the M -G -M E 3225. 12 -in. $3.98. "Op. 21," all dash and confidence, the one The Fantasy is a beautifully written piece. that works overtime in public concert as The fastidious, lyrical impressionism of It is based on folk themes, which Harris the single Haydn representative of the form. Griffes is matched here by a performance does not always handle well but which he The work in G has been recorded to less of marvelous sensitivity, penetration, and handles superbly in this instance. Excellent, advantage by the Haydn Society. The F technical resourcefulness. The titles of the big, and important as the Fantasy unques- major Concerto is not the same as the F pieces amply characterize the music, much tionably is, it is surpassed by the "cantata major Concerto on Period 556. This and which is well known. First the of of of lamentation" on the other side. This the effervescent Concertino are new to rec- Roman Sketches is the famous White Pea- work, a setting of Vachel Lindsay's poem ords. cock; then come Nightfall, Clouds, and of the same title, embodies the same mar- All four have the dart and color of a The Fountain of the Acqua Paola. The velous length of line that is to be found in rainbow trout but are less useful. They Three Tone Pictures are The Lake at Eve- Harris' famous Third Symphony, but decorate existence now even more than and ning, The Vale of Dreams, The Night treated much more lyrically and quietly as they did when their type was a true reflet Pieces Winds. The three Fantasy are called befits the ensemble and the subject. Won- tion of an aspect of an era. If a shrewd and Barcarolle, Notturno, and Scherzo. A better derful singing and playing and a fine regis- disgusting editor had called them, respec The Fourth Modern Messiah Comes from Boston

BOSTON, a city of many singularities, looks very much as if a substantial group of some of which her people are willing to friendly neighbors, luckily carrying viols, recount, was a center of true intellectual happened into the recording sessions, stayed and cultural drive until about 191o. This to lend a hand, and somehow blundered often took crazy directions, but was vital into a glossy perfection of tone and a re- for two centuries and a half. Among her markable unity of spirit and enunciation. great pre -Curley institutions are the Library, No other recorded Messiah matches this the Museum, the Symphony, and the Handel orchestral unction. and Haydn Society. The soloists are competent singers, with Founded in 1815, a few months after the the prettiest moments coming from the most respectable rascals of Massachusetts soprano, and the well -trained chorus is had seen their treason - which for the rest flexible beyond the demands of the con of their lives they tried to have called by a ductor. Not that the conducting is of the softer name - aborted by Jackson at New hangdog sort we have to submit to in most Orleans and by the Treaty of Ghent, this of our churches. It is admirably lyrical and choral Society has managed to maintain not wanting in tempest, but has a content- itself until now in the forefront of musical ment in tempos and dynamics obtained organizations in its city and state, hand in- static for the variable requirements of the hand with the Symphony latterly, in spite husky, holy melodrama. A Godly subject of intermittent frustrations and vicissitudes. is usually deadly to conductors, who have It is as much a Boston institution as the discovered that pursed lips and a steady Common, and is praised by thousands who beat give less offense than rapture. In Mr. have never heard its work. Stone's behalf let it be insisted that he has Its first concert was devoted to Handel, LENSCRAFT PHOTOS. INC. infused an extraordinary quota of feeling to Haydn, and to George I. Webb. In its Adele Addison: "... prettiest moments." into a Messiah re-created in a region where third year the Society gave the first complete rapture has always been proscribed. Messiah heard in the United States. Messiah, of Franz's adaptation, with a discreet and Pure, sweet, trouble -free sound has been Elijah, and The Creation have been its staples occasional interpolation of winds not pre- given to the performance, reverberant with- ever since. This is the way of venerable scribed in the original. A harpsichord, in- out excess, and particularly kind to the choral societies. dispensable for proper performance, and long lyrical line. Volume is low in the grooves In view of the multitude of competing the organ, helpful to any performance, are and will have to be augmented above the editions, and the magnificence of several, both used. Overwhelmingly the orchestral usual degree. the project of recording a new Messiah - body is of strings, which is what Handel In sum, a good Messiah, galvanic for whose first appeal one is bound to suspect established for Messiah. No other edition Boston. Let us not, however, condone the must be parochial, whatever its merit - employs exactly the scoring here, the great- excising because the residue is good. No demanded pride, confidence, and courage. est similarity being in the London version matter what is removed from this oratorio, However, those qualities are common to conducted by Sir Adrian Boult, a more mas- it is no less wonderful than what remains. good forgers and poor poets. Let's listen sive production. C. G. BURKE to the records. Credit for the orchestral playing on these The Unicorn edition frankly admits the disks is given to the Zimbler Sinfonietta, HANDEL: Messiah omission of a dozen numbers from the ora- an expert splinter of the Boston Symphony Adele Addison (s), Lorna Sydney (a), David torio, a practice commonplace in public Orchestra. Here we have something heart- Lloyd (t), Donald Gramm (bs); Chorus of performance and in all the recorded editions warming, in the nature of a barn -raising, for the Handel and Haydn Society (Boston) except three, although the excisions are the deep ruddy velvet of the strings here is and Zimbler Sinfonietta, Thompson Stone, not identical with those in any other re- beyond the capacity of a reduced group like cond. corded version. The scoring is an adaptation the Zimblers to produce without help. It UNICORN UNS I. Three 12-in. SI 1.98.

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Lively, "Soda Jerk," "Thruway," "Strip- LONDON LL 1268. 12 -in. $3.98. redolent of contem- per," and "Vegas," When Edouard Lalo's ballet Namouna had Messrs. Westminster would porary pep, its Paris premiere in 1882, it was said that by encomiums and have been engulfed the musicians could not play it and the is still time for an buried in gold. There dancers were unable to perform to it. This do that. The only time that editor to sounds like another example of Parisian was in an account of the Haydn made Life critical politics which it was for the of his cadaver. - - decapitation music is certainly not difficult to compre- shrewd educative editor, we Lacking the hend, nor could it have been at that rime, accept the four lovely designs shall have to and most of the movements in the two They are earnestly recom- as designs only. suites that Lalo made from the score are to everyone wary of "significance." mended very balletic in character and rhythm. Noth- a delay of brilliance Played with calculated ing very great here, to be sure, but some solidly registered with- until the time for it, entertaining, above -average ballet music, out strain, conductor and soloist in accord expertly performed by a man who has a with a minimum of and the harpsichord flair for such things. P. A. metal, the four delectations find in this disk a home of refined and subtle pleasure, fit for homes where refinement is a pleasure. LALO C. G. B. Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21 HAYDN David Oistrakh, violin; Philharmonia Or- Smaller Pieces for Clavier chestra, Jean Martinon, cond. JAMES ABRESCM Andante rarté in F minor; Arietta and Varia- ANGEL 12 -in. $4.98 (or $3.48). a revelation in Haydn 35205. tions, in A; Arietta and Variations, in E -fiat; Nadia Reiseisberg: Capriccio in G; Fantasy in C; Theme and Oistrakh's account of the Symphonie espag- terpretation of this attractive work, though Variations, in C. nole is smooth -textured and very clean, but they may lack just a bit of the fire to be it sometimes lacks the necessary Spanish Nadia Reisenberg, piano. found in the earlier recording by Franz fire and rhythmic kick. Its main virtue is WESTMINSTER 18057. 12 -in. $4.98 (or Holetschek and the Barylli Ensemble for that it includes all five movements, whereas $3.98). Westminster. other versions - Menuhin's excepted - What makes the present disk more desir- omit the third movement. This makes All are new to LP except the F minor An- able to me, at least is the music of recording run to two full sides. dante and Variations. The others have been - - Oistrakh's matching interest on the other side. Again, you want the work complete, this is an excluded hitherto presumably in deference If don't let the word "youth" fool you; M /adi acceptable version. P. A. to the traditions of public performance. eminently was written only one year before the Con- They do not roll enough thunder to make a certino and is marked by many of the LASSUS big hall gape. But they are packed with same fine qualities as the latter. The crystal - Missa Puisque j'ay perdu See Pales- fancy and invention allied to taste, and - reproduction affords an opportunity trina: Misse Veni Spouse Christi, strew bright patterns in resourceful altera- clear Philadelphia wood- tions lively with unexpected notions. to hear the polished in tonal beauty. The West- No other Haydn record of the solo piano winds all their LHOTKA minster disk contains, instead, two more strikes the memory as comparable to this The Devil in the Village - See Barano - serious works for violin and piano -the one in the precise mirroring of small piano - vich: The Gingerbread Heart. by sound, or in the unruffled, obstinate refine- Dumber and Sonata - both played Walter Barylli and Holetschek. Actually, ment of the feathered filigrees whirled into LISZT by Miss Reisenberg. you won't go wrong with either record, as a classic geometry Hungarian Rhapsodies, Nos, 3, 4, and 6 Why have we had no other Haydn from her, each offers the chance to hear worth -while and why no Mozart? music by a neglected master. P. A. Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of Lon- Unluckily a fly is in the unguent. The don, Hermann Scherchen, cond. record is long - fifty -six minutes - and WESTMINSTER W -LAB 7007. 12 -in. $7.50. the groove is fine, its walls thin. Sonic JONGEN This is the second of Westminster's Labora- seepage, pre -echo and echo, is constantly Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 127 tory Series disks to be devoted to a group It is a concurrence mocking the audible. Edvardo del Pueyo, piano; Orchestre Na- of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies presented the playing, and it may be fatal delicacy of tional de Belgique, Fernand Quinet, cond. in the composer's rarely heard original or- to the pleasure of many listeners. Many LONDON W 91081. to -in. $2.98. chestration. In this respect, it is interesting who close their ears to the intrusion can to hear the dulcimerlike Hungarian cimbalom hear a great record. C. G. B. The spirit of César Franck must hang over will in the Rhapsody No. 4. Scherchen avoids the town of his birth, Liége, Belgium. all mannerisms in interpreting this music. JANACEK Joseph Jongen (1873. 1953), another native His straightforward treatment is always clear; Concertino for Piano, Horn, Clarinet, of Liége, not only studied in Belgium but and though it may occasionally lack excite- Bassoon, Two Violins, and Viola spent nearly all his life there; and the ment, it is never dull or routine. The record's Mladi (Youth Suite) Franck-Chausson style is very predominant outstanding feature, however, is the defini- in this, his only piano concerto. The work Rudolf Firkusny, piano; Mason Jones, tion of its sound, which is clean, extremely is well put together, with a nice balance horn; Anthony Gigliotti, clarinet; Sol faithful, yet not too brilliant for complete between the purely musical and the purely Schoenbach, bassoon; Jacob Krachmalnick naturalness. To one pair of ears, this is the display elements. It is also very pleasant and David Madison, violins; Samuel Lif- most successful of the Laboratory Series to hear once or twice, but is neither very schey, viola (in the Concertino). Philadel- thus far, even if the Sixth Rhapsody is split profound nor very strong on originality. phia Woodwind Quintet and Leon Lester, between record sides. P. A. The performance seems adequate, though bass clarinet (in Mladi). tonal range suggests that it is COLUMBIA ML 4995. 12-in. $4.93. its limited not very new. P. A. MALI PIERO As I reported in the March 1955 issue, the Quartet No. 4 Concertino by the late Czech composer KODALY tProkofiev: Quartet No. 2, in F, Op. 92 Bartók: Music Leos Janácek, written when he was seventy- [(dry 'duos, Suite -See Quartetto Italiano. with many for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta. one, is full of youthful vitality, ANGEL 35296. I2 -in. $4.98 (or 53.481. but palatable rhythmic and highly original LALO melodic ideas that remind one by their Malipiero is quoted on the jacket of this re- Namouna: Ballet Suites .Vos. r and 2 strength and folkishness of Bartok. Fir - cording as saying that his Fourth Quartet kusny and six members of the Philadelphia London Philharmonic Orchestra. Jean Mar - is an interlude in the sequence of his seven Orchestra give a remarkably polished in- tinon. cond. works for four strings. Its mood is quieter

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and more nostalgic than that of the others, Moniuszko's Halka, or even three notes As said before, the casts of both sets but it is an equally masterly expression of from it, was a real distinction in this coun- know their business, and though the engi- the same distinguished, aristocratic style. try. But now two full -length recorded per- neering of neither version is any better It recalls the Italian madrigalists the formances of of the opera are to be had, both than the depressing average of all save a sixteenth century, brings in touches of folk issued by Colosseum, one taped in Poland, few exceptional Soviet-area recordings, it song and folk dance as it proceeds along its the other in Russia. ought to be possible to endure the lumpy copiously inventive way, and is, in general, It is difficult for a non -Slav to evaluate bass and splintery highs and general as felicitous and beautiful a quartet as the the relative artistic merits of the two. Both whangy distortion in the interests of hear modern literature affords. Its performance performances, though they differ somewhat ing a work that has as much merit as by the Quartetto Italiano is completely in choice of tempos and in other matters Halka does. All told, the Polish sound. authoritative and the recording is excellent. while not good, seems easier to compen- The performance of the Prokofiev work, sate to a listenable point; but that too may based on Caucasian folk themes, lays special be a subjective and hence variable matter. emphasis on the exoticism and pungent The opening ensemble is as good a place color of the music somewhat to the neglect as any for prospective buyers to check of its strength. A. F. characteristics. Text in translation, with (in the Polish set) a copy of the text as MARAIS sung. J. H., JR Five French Dances; Suite in D minor tCaix d'Hervelois: Two Suites MONTEVERDI and MARENZIO Paul Doktor, viola; Fernando Valenti. Madrigals on Texts from "Il Pastor Fido" harpsichord. The Golden Age Singers, Margaret Field WESTMINSTER 18o88. 12 -in. $4.98 for $3.98). Hyde, dir. of style, have the solid ring that comes of WESTMINSTER WLE 105. 12 -in. Of the French dances by Marin Marais, routining in established conventions; $5.75. three are particularly attractive the charm- - neither is well enough engineered for re- Il Pastor Fido, a tragicomic pastoral play ingly melodious L'Agréable; Le Matelotte, corded quality per se to make much differ- by Battista Guarini, was first published in which manages to be jaunty in a melan- ence. By rule of thumb, the Polish per- í59o. It became enormously popular, and choly sort of way; and the cheerful La Basque. formance ought to be the authoritative one, its vogue did not end until late in the His Suite includes a fine set of variations even though the Moscow cast average out eighteenth century. Many composers, in- on La Follia, followed by a gay little move- somewhat better vocally. And, though it cluding Schütz and Carissimi, set various ment tantalizingly called L'Américaine. One may be blind prejudice that makes it seem of its lines to music, and Vivaldi published wonders what Marais had in mind in choos- so, it is the Polish performance that has, a collection of sonatas called Ii Pastor Fido. ing that title (this music was written in the long run, the better feel musically It was a very interesting idea on West- around 1700). The two suites by Louis de and more real dramatic conviction. minster's part to present six passages from Caix d'Hervelois are noteworthy for the Halka, which had its premiere in 1847, the play as set to madrigals by Claudio songlike character of some of the melodies, is - like most East European operas of its Monteverdi on one side, and the same six such as that of the little set of variations that time -a blend of the academic usages of as set to madrigals by Luca Marenzio on begins the Suite in A major. All of these the early nineteenth century and deeply felt the other. It gives us a good opportunity pieces, which were written for the gamba, national colorations. In the course of grow- to compare the styles of two of the great are nicely played by the able Doktor on a ing up musically, Moniuszko acquired a masters of the form at the end of its develop- viola and discreetly accompanied by the sound Berlin -made technique, along with ment in Italy. dependable Valenti. N. B. a vast admiration for Cherubini and a con- Marenzio is the older of the two, and his tempt for what he regarded as the insin- music is more elegant, the polyphony more MONIUSZKO cerity of Meyerbeer. Hans von Bülow was finely wrought, the expressiveness a little Halka (in Polish) not far wrong about the notes in it when impersonal though at the same time intense, as in Cruda Amarilli. Antonina Kawecka (s), Halka; Felicja he described Halka as being a French opera Monteverdi's music is more passionate, Kurowiak (s), Zofia; Waclaw Dominiecki written with a German Kapellmeister his bass line tends to be more a harmonic support than an inde- (t), Jontek; Juliusz Bienkowski (t), a technique. But it is something rather more pendent voice, and his Peasant; Marian Woznicko (b), Janusz; than that, too. For Moniuszko was basically expressiveness is more direct, more "modern," Antoni Farulewski (b), the Bagpiper; Ed- both a nonurban Pole and an honest man, as in the moving Ah dolente partita or the chromatic mund Kossowski (bs), Stolnik; Josef and there is about Halka a kind of passion- O Mirtillo. The five singers, including the Michalla (bs) , Dziemba. Chorus and Or- ate, peasantlike sincerity that goes far to director as first soprano, perform with ex- chestra of the Polish National Theater show why his admirers call him "the Polish cellent ensemble, good intonation, clear (Poznan), Walerian Bierdiayew, cond. Verdi." enunciation, and attractive tone. Highly COLOSSEUM CRLP 188 -189P. Two 12 -in. The story is simple - so simple, in fact, recommended. N. B $7.96. that when the music does not carry it in terms of emotional reactions it seems a MOZART Halka (in Russian) little dragged -out in the telling. Halka is Divertimento No. t5,, in B flat, K. 287 a peasant who has had a Natalia Sokolova (s), Halka; Irena Maslen - girl baby by her nikova (s), Zofia; Georgi Nelepp (t), feudal overlord, Janusz, and is so naïvely Six from the Vienna Octet. LONDON LL 1239. 12 Jontek; Jan Dolgy (t), a Peasant; Pavel in love that she cannot quite comprehend -in. $3.98. Lisitsian , why he fails to marry her (the charming (b) Janusz; Grigori Korotkov This is one of three Mozart divertimentos album notes explain that in those times (b), the Bagpiper; Mikhail Soloviev (bs), scored for two violins, viola, two horns, such a marriage was a "physical impossi- Stolnik; Stanislaw Krasovski (bs), Dzi- and bass. The strings are often multiplied bility"). Jontek, a young peasant boy who emba. Chorus and Orchestra of the Bolshoi with good effect, and the bass is almost loves her, tries to explain the facts of life, Theater (Moscow), Kiril Kondrashin, invariably taken by cello and bass viol. but she will not understand and keeps cond. Not in this record. The cello is not used, embarrassing everyone, particularly Janusz, COLOSSEUM CRLP 188 -89. Two 12 -in. and the omission makes surprisingly little by singing insanely allegorical $7.96. songs about difference in the apparent texture. her betrayal. She is, in fact, the maddest Another surprise is the absence of mul- The old order changes, and in these LP of all operatic heroines; she has only a few tiple rivalry in the recording of one of the days the hearable operatic repertoire still lucid bars during the whole opera, which best and best known of all the divertimentos. continues to expand in all directions. ends with her drowning - herself in the The only other version is an excellent one Now it is apparently Poland's turn for at- Vistula just as Janusz and his noble bride on Vanguard 444, in which the strings are tention, at least insofar as there is a turn, come out of the church to the strains of increased to the proportions of a small operatically speaking, Poland for to have. what the notes describe as a "semi -gay" orchestra. This writer in general favors the Time was when to have heard Stanislaw wedding chorus. multiplication of strings for this type of

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divertimento, and particularly for No. 15, it is really only a memory now, for the old it is "difficult to understand why the singer half of whose six movements are built like Glyndebourne recording shows its years, should suddenly cease to be the sympathetic a miniature violin concerto. especially as Victor's transfer to LP was and noble Donna Anna and become trans- The general favor does not hold here something less than a perfect job. Sonically, formed into a mere Madame This or Madame against the flexibility, the tonal ripeness, the new set is good, the balance certainly That, angling for applause." But given such the bland friendliness of the expert group equal to the best of its rivals. It should be a performance as we can hear on the antique known as the Vienna Octet, whose three noted that in this performance the piano Lilli Lehmann record, I find the argument or four annual records continue to show un- is used to accompany the recitatives, whereas refuted. As for Verna, she plainly has too assailable musical sense and sensitivity the harpsichord is favored by London, much on her hands even to think of angling more and more clearly with a steady improve- Epic, and the Haydn Society. for applause. But then, Donna Anna is ment in the reproduction granted to them. To my mind Giuseppe Taddei is easily not one of the happily realized roles in any Horns, violins, and double bass are not the best of the five singers who have re- of the sets. easily captured, but this disk presents the corded the title role so far. To begin with, Gavazzi is even more unsatisfactory. Her hard combination in a kind of washed juici- the voice is right -a real baritone with singing is at best not neat, and she meets ness, like melted fudge, and nearly as sweet. smooth, elegant tone, and brilliance when her Waterloo in the tremendous "Mi:radi.' A hint of wire in the principal violin is needed in the upper register. He produces It is all she can do to get through the num. easily eliminated by the tone controls, after more beautiful sounds than John Brownlee, ber at all, and near the end she follows a which the instrument contributes a smooth his nearest rival; and he possesses an even custom more familiar in Rossini or Verdi of blandishment, especially in the fourth and greater ability to act with his voice. The taking time out to prepare for the final sixth movements. The player is the Vienna Serenata is sung in a mezza vote that must be windup. Needless to say, with these two Philharmonic concertmaster, Willi Boskov- the despair of all heavier -voiced Dons, and voices in the cast, the big ensembles are sky, who has participated in hundreds of in "Finch'ban del vino" he is able at least bound to suffer. recordings but seldom as advantageously to suggest articulation of the slurred eighth The Zerlina of Elda Ribetti is very much as here. C. G. B. notes, which most singers simply disregard. better, though hardly as fresh and winning His part in "La ci darem la mano" is as as that of Hilde Gueden in the London re- MOZART polished as any since Scotti's; his secco reci- cording. Both her arias are nicely sung Divertimentos: in E fiat, K. 1'66 ;; in B flat, tative is a delight throughout. And for (though the first part of "Batti, batti" seems K. 1'86; in B flat, K. 240; in E Jlat, once the voices of Don Giovanni, Leporello, fast and the last part slow) and she joins K. 289 the Commendatore, and Masetto are all very nicely with Taddei in "La ci darem la Wind Sextet from the Vienna Philharmonic quite distinct and properly contrasted. mano." Orchestra. I would place Italo Tajó s Leporello next To sum up: the one great virtue of this is with WESTMINSTER 18ot t. rz -in. $4.98 (or to Corena's in the London set. He, like performance its central character; (some- Victor's Busch set disqualified by old re- $3.98). Taddei, is a singer of imagination times it almost seems too much) and he cording, the best sum of unequal parts This kind of music is one of Westminster's also does a good deal by vocal coloring. seems to me to be London's Krips. specialties, and no one does it better. Lus- But it is less of a voice than Corena's, and PHILIP L. MILLER cious playing; limpid, exultant, exact, un- his work is more contrived. Cesare Valletti MOZART manacled reproduction. A great unimpor- at first than he does sounds more imposing Mass in C minor (Unfinished), K. 427 tant disk that every lover of superb trifles in the vast reaches of the Metropolitan. should own and every manufacturer should He is good in the recitatives but seems over- Teresa Stich -Randall (s), Hilde Rössl- study. C. G. B. awed by his two big arias. His " Dalla sua Majdan (ms), Waldemar Kmentt (t), pace" is easily outdone by Dermota in the Walter Raninger (b); Vienna Chamber MOZART London set, even more so by Simoneau in Choir and Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Don Giovanni the Epic; and "Il mio tesoro" sounds, un- Rudolf Moralt, cond. Maria Curtis Verna (s), Donna Anna; Carla fortunately, just like the taxing thing it is. EPIC LC 3577. Two 12 -in. $7.96. Still, his intentions are good. Susca is a Gavazzi (s), Donna Elvira; Elda Ribetti (s), We do not know why Mozart left this Mass (t), properly crusty Masetto; Zerbini's Commen- Zerlina; Cesare Valletti Don Ottavio; unfinished. He had nine years to live after (b), Italo datore has dignity and the unearthly quality Giuseppe Taddei Don Giovanni; commencing it, but the Credo was never (bs), it needs in the later scenes. I like the Tajo (bs), Leporello; Vito Susca finished and the Agnus Dei never started. Antonio Zerbini (bs), Commenda- impression of stage distance as he breaks Masetto; In this form it is in upon Don Giovanni's laugh in the incomplete often performed, tore. Cetra Chorus and Symphony Orchestra and has been recorded by the Haydn So- Italiana Max cemetery scene. of Radiotelevisione (Turin), ciety, without giving musical affront; but Rudolf, cond. people accustomed to the liturgical formality CETRA C 1253. Three 12 -in. $14.94. of the Solemn Mass may well feel distress If ever one were to hear a completely satis- at a partial statement. In the first year of factory performance of Don Giovanni, no the present century Georg Aloys Schmitt further proof would be needed that one's brought forth a version completed by him- time had come and passage into the next self, which used sections of earlier Mozart world had been accomplished. The best church music in the empty places in the that can be said for this fifth integral re- Gloria, with the Agnus Dei sung to the cording is that it has some points of superi- music of the Kyrie of this same C minor ority over the other four. By this time, in- Mass. About four decades later, Bernhard deed, enough distinguished individual char- Paumgartner modified the Schmitt pro- acterizations have been assembled in the cedure by an edition which filled the Gloria various sets to make a fine composite per- with music entirely from one earlier Mass, formance, but this kind of juggling went The real weaknesses of the set are on the that in C, K. 262. The Agnus Dei -Kyrie out with the coming of LP. distaff side. Neither Maria Curtis Verna nor device of Schmitt was retained. It is this Max Rudolf, the Cetra conductor, has Carla Gavazzi is happily cast, a fact that Paumgartner edition that Epic has recorded. done nothing finer, certainly, on records. becomes painfully evident in their big arias. Success in performance of the Mass must His conception of the score is clean and That they have fine natural voices is obvious always depend in disproportionate measure straightforward, less polished and imagina- enough, but more than that is needed for on the quality of the solo sopranos, the tive - less romantic, if you will - than that this music. Verna's unsteadiness mars the tenor and bass being allotted nothing very of Krips, more poised than Swarowsky's, first scene, but even more the great outburst extensive. No doubt that an infirm Et better rehearsed than Moralt s. Only occa- of "Or sai chi l'onore.' Her "Non mi dir" Incarnatus Est, a precarious rocket -flight sionally I would take exception to his may be called, at best, a noble attempt. I for high soprano, will infect the memory of tempos, and complaints on this score are was reminded of Ernest Newman's complaint what follows, and that a clumsy Laudamus counterbalanced by the enjoyment of hear- about the second part of this aria, where he Te, early in the work, will have a discom- ing so clearly so much orchestral detail. If quotes Berlioz's condemnation of it as "in- fiting effect beyond its own duration. For- there remains the memory of Fritz Busch, decent buffoonery." According to Newman, tunately, both recorded performances are

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honors, however, to the Epic ladies. They value, Epic's being smoother but blunter, No. 19, the thornier fruit, is laudable if one are invulnerable in this respect, with the both showing unbalance. As a whole, Epic's does not regret a feeling of restraint, a fear remarkable readiness to evince the best that is more desirable, meaning soprano plain of total immersion, that withholds the play- we have been able to infer from their many and soprano mezzo. It ought to be, after ers from the deeper plunge and the longer previous records. Miss Stich -Randall is in five years. And if one wants Mozart pure -. curve. The registration of both is suavely process of becoming a great singer, and her C. G. B. competent. C. G. B. deeper -toned colleague is endowed with a MOZART flexibility of voice and style which has made Quartets: No. 19, in C, K. 465; No. 21, in MOZART her almost indispensable in a bewildering D, K. 575 Quartets: No. 20, in D. K. 4991 No. 21, contradiction of musical roles. in D, K. 575 The solo sopranos prevail for Epic, and Amadeus Quartet. Barchet Quartet. so does the chorus, more responsive and RCA VICTOR LIIMV 32. 12 -in. $4.98. Vox PL 873o. 12 -in. $4.98. more apparent. Contrarily, the orchestra is Disdaining the authorization of incipient weak in utterance and dissipated in the romantic license in these scores, the Amadeus Lofty exhibitions of classic playing at its comparative prominence given to the nevertheless attain pre- eminence through best, superb in articulation, explicit in chorus, while the older performance had the fine interadjustment of their four voices. shape, and aloof in sentiment, push this the instrumentalists in the spotlight - too This transcends the mere balance we all disk into prominence in spite of some sonic much, compared to the chorus - clarifying hope for in quartets: it is an illumination complications. If the sound as such is the unusual color written into this Mass. of the beautifully mannered polyphony too liked, K. 499, in the healthy expression here Sonics play no great part in determining often blurred or swollen in performance. of music needing directness and strength to point its own half -sick sunniness, ought to be the preferred edition. The classicism of the later work in this performance is laudable but a bit chilling. The sound is very powerful. It needs Mozart's Final Four, Chicago Style careful reduction to whatever the optimum point may prove to be on hearers' phono- these four symphonies. Or in any four sym- graphs. This will erase a certain adenoidal phonies. quality in the violins, but will tend to separate them from the deeper strings. Where these records are at their best is No precisely where fine editions already abound: doubt this results from a vaulted environ- in the Linz Symphony, with five other ad- ment, which to many people is desirable. mirable versions, and in the G minor, with It is excellent sound for those who like the seven. The Linz has its most effervescent type. C. G. B. performance here, no doubt of it; darting MOZART brightly and quickly without the drag of a good bass, and helped by the cleanest Serenade No. 9, in D ("Post-Horn"), sound; but the greater sentimentality of K. 320 Bruno Walter and the steadier strength of Barylli Quartet with String Bass and eleven Sir Thomas Beecham, both muscled in the players (wind and timpani) from the Vienna low instruments and just as valid as effer- Philharmonic Orchestra. Fritz Reiner vescence, seem preferable to this writer WESTMINSTER 18033. 12 -in. $4.98, (or $3.98). (Columbia SL 224; Columbia ML 500!). other versions expand the THE KNOWING KIND of music -lover The G minor is brilliantly defined and ner- Two string body, anticipates the records of this conductor vously apprehensive in the purest and richest and there is the obvious advantage in that of providing bulk to the imposing as the knowing rabbit anticipates the first recording of the four symphonies. It may counter tender succulent shoots of spring lettuce. have an appeal as great as any other version's, cluster of wind instruments. Given that advantage, those honorable versions The conductor an orchestral jewelsmith but it is noncommittal when compared to are - nevertheless in no position to dispute leader- at home in a company that includes names the dramatic fever of the Leinsdorf record RL ship with the discerning love and studied like Rodzinski, Beecham, Stokowski, Kara - (Columbia 307o) or the studied malaise the jan, Ormandy, and Szell one of the ablest of the Furtwängler (RCA Victor LHMV 1010). craft of Barylli group. - Great music need not be translated out of men living as translator of the inclusive Let's call the Reiner record one of the three music some repertory, worldly, experienced in the best best and regret that it did not overwhelm us. into other kind of significance. Pon Serenade is great music company and the best traditions, innocent The Jupiter is underrecorded, has a su- The -Iforn for the ears but is not history or tragedy or a of eccentricity, and a perspicacious, pain- perb minuet and a stunning finale under documentary something. It veers here and staking student of scores, was the inexorable Dr. Reiner's stick, and fails the fluency de- choice of RCA Victor to inject some splen manded in the andante cantabile, played slow there close to burlesque, restrained by the surest musical that ever was from a dor into her rather bleak catalogue of Mozart and sounding sticky. No. 39 has andante con instinct definite trespass. The pomposity all symphonies. It must be known to her that moto trouble, slapped out fast and literal of those wind instruments is invariably re- Dr. Reiner's obvious talents have always been not to a listener's unqualified delight; but lieved by a delicate rejoinder just before seconded by first-class contemporaneous en- the rest is beautifully drawn, and a resurgence we are ready to laugh; and as we smile in- gineering - perhaps because he has in- of power in the bass is not unwelcome. stead, a curtain of reflective loveliness resisted on it - and that he has been associ- Reproduction as a whole is less seizing bukes the smile and makes us think that we ated with a lower percentage of really poor than in recent Reiner records, but the are records than any other conductor who has Mozart orchestra is not one to startle in thinking. record is splendid, one the most made enough records to count. In entrust- phonographic terms. The echo is a little This of successful presentations ing the last three symphonies and skip- overlong in the four symphonies; and the of this kind of - music with an assortment of dominant winds. ping the Prague and No. 37, which was ,Jupiter, besides having the weakest sound In spite of the individuality of the written by Michael Haydn - the spectacu- instead of the strongest, is acrid, though not colors, a mellow fusion has been achieved by lar invention called the Linz to the newly deplorably, in the violins and high woods. the joint of players and engineers, and blossoming orchestra from Chicago and her C. G. BURKE effort no record comes to mind with brass and redoubtable chief from Hungary. Victor had MOZART: .Symphonies: No. 36, in C wood spreading a more even glow. This secure title to confidence in the results. ("Linz"), K. 425; No. i9, E gives a nourished finality to the harmonies. Which are decidedly good, and in final in flat, No. 40, in G minor, K. 55o; and a dark background against which the summary disappointing. Probably disap- K. 5431 No. 41, in C ( "Jupiter'), K. 55r. instruments in solo excursion are brightened. pointment is inevitable when a revelation is The phrases are fully enunciated and the expected. Perhaps it is asking too much to Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, tempos nervous although slower than usual anticipate a clean sweep of all the opposi- cond. tion (an aggregate of lifty one versions) in RCA VICTOR LM 6035. Two 12 -in. S7.98. Continued on page 86

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building your record library number twenty -nine FRED GRUNFELD CHOOSES A SHELF OF BASIC AMERICANA i

SERIOUS MUSIC in America is usually regarded as an onward notions of harmony and dissonance occupies the lot [jest peak and upward affair, showing steady improvement over the better in our native musical topography. That he is mentioned here part of two centuries. The small colonial acorns are supposed twice is justly his due as the most stouthearted composer of to have reached something like fulfillment in the Copland oaks the age. Vladimir Cherniaysky conducts a chamber orchestra in and the adjacent stand of Piston hickory and pale -white Thomson a superb collection of his smaller pieces, all written before World birches. But this is a misleading picture. Only the quantify of War I - Hallowe'en. Central Park in the Dark. Oser the American music can be charted as one continuously rising curve. Pavements (all part of Balanchine's lresiaua ballet). On the Qualitatively we have had music of native worth at every stage second side Elliot Magaziner and Frank Glazer give a tine fiddling of our history. All that has happened with the passing of time performance of the Second Sonata and of the Largo for violin, is that the juices have swapped around some -as with Huck piano, and clarinet, with David Weber. ( Polymusic ton, ). Finn's favorite Missouri victuals -and our music has taken on "Do you think any of my music will live ?" George Gershwin a more distinct flavor of its own. often and anxiously asked his friends. The sages along Tin Pan A shelf of Americana should properly begin with Indians; any Alley had a saying: "George's tunes will live just as long as number of line ethnic recordings do justice to various aspects George is alive to play them." That compliment to his eloquence of the red man's art. One notable collection is Folkways' American at the keyboard was hardly calculated to reassure Gershwin the

fndian Music of the Southwest ( P 420). composer. Hearing him play his own Broadway songs, one can Some of the earliest European settlers produced music that easily see why his presence seemed essential to success. He had those who stayed behind would consider worth listening to. rhythm, and under his hands a simple tune like "Do Do Do;' or Among the Moravian brethren of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and "Clap Yó Hands" were in truth the Katherine minuets and Salem, North Carolina, a musical missionary, Johann Friederich contredanses of our country and century. Nine of these memorable Peter (1746-1813), composed six delightful string quintets in Gotham Liebeslieder of the mid -twenties are collected on one the Southern settlement during the 178o's. The First and Sixth ten -inch disk; all have Gershwin at the piano, and several are of the set are creditably recorded by the Moravian Quintet in done together with Fred and Adele Astaire. The sound, of course, the New Records Series on the instrumental music of colonial is somewhat the worse for wear, but the spirit remains intact America (2013). and that is more than warrant for its welcome (Heritage 0073). The suite that Richard Bales arranged from Music of the Gershwin's own recording of the Rhapsody in Blue (cut to fit American Revolution brings together five works that George on two sides of the original 78 disk), with Paul Whiteman Washington heard, including two by Francis Hopkinson (1737- conducting the orchestra, is a raggle -taggle document of enormous 1791), a signer of the Declaration and the first man to serve historic worth and capable of generating large amounts of nostal- as Secretary of the Navy. All of this is listenable and evocative, gia. No other edition can hold a candle to it. The reissue also but the major attraction of this record is the overside, Symphony offers An American in Paris in the performance led by Nathaniel No. 3, by Charles Ives (1874-1954), the founding father of Shilkret and supervised by the composer (RCA Victor LPT 29). modernism in America. Bales leads the National Gallery Orchestra Gershwin's songs have also endured even when George was no in smooth performances and sound adequate for the purpose longer there to play them; we can take it for granted, I'm WCFM 1). sure, that Porgy and Bess is with us to stay as the strongest and Had there been a Mozart in Hopkinson's generation or even most stageworthy of American operas, notwithstanding Virgil Thomson's assertion is a Czerny in the next, Stephen Foster ( 1826 -1864) might have that it "crooked folklore and halfway become America's Schubert; he had the melodic gift but lacked opera." The production for records organized by Goddard the training and tradition to make the most of it. Yet De Lieberson and conducted by Lehman Engel, with Lawrence Camptorsn Races and Oh Susanna were to a burgeoning Winters, Camilla Williams, Inez Matthews, Warren Coleman, America of the 1840s and 185os what Heideurlisleia and and Avon Long, is both musically and technically a phonographic Die Forelle were to the sleepy Austria of the 1820s. There masterpiece (Columbia SL 162, three 12-in.) are no really satisfactory issues of the Foster songs. The most If Thomson himself is to appear on the Americana shelf, he would be best represented a acceptable collection is the Roger Wagner Chorale's ( Capitol with halfway opera of his own, P 8267). Four Saints in Three Acts. Parts of the Gertrude Stein libretto "Pigeons on the grass alas and a Edward MacDowell ( 1861 -1908) was caught up in the turn - - magpie in the sky;' for of- the -century preoccupations with historical tableaux and pretty example -have already been assimilated into the quasi folklore scenery. Still his music has far more strength, fundamentally, than of the intellectuals. Thomson does an authoritative job conducting that of the dandified professors who replaced him. MacDowell's the work in a 1947 recording ( reissued as RCA Victor L(:T 1139 ). Aaron Indian Suite is now a period piece, but Howard Hanson and the Copland also fares best in a Victor Treasury release, a Eastman -Rochester Symphony bring life and a taut power to the coupling of El Salón México and Appalachian Spring. played score, and the sonics are impressive (Mercury 40009). by the Boston Symphony under Serge Koussevitzky, the conductor who put Copland on map ( RCA Victor LCT 1134 ) . Some of the squareness and the manliness goes out of American the Leonard Bernstein's Jeremiah Symphony, abounding in the passionate music in the works of Charles Tomlinson Griffes ( 1884 -1920), earnestness of youth, has only a the Impressionist -on- Hudson who spent the best years of his handful of rivals among native symphonies. In one of the Camden bargain records, Bernstein life teaching in a boys' school in Tarrytown. New York, and conducts the work with the St. Louis Symphony and Nan creating strange, exotic visions -The Pleasure Dome of Kuhl,: Merriman as soloist, together with the dances from On the Khan. that miracle of rare device (a sunny pleasure dome with Tot n. some of the sprightliest music ever written for the lyric caves of ice); The White Peacock. a bird of the inner theater, and the repetitive ballet Facsimile (Camden CAL 196). eye; and Japanese and Scottish songs. Leonid Hambro performs Though not as facile as these gentlemen, Wallingford Riegger - Griffes's parti- colored Piano Sonata and the finely wrought now over seventy - has more to say and more incisive ways Roman Sketches with a fluid sense of line, contour, and shading; of expressing himself. His Symphony No. 3 of the 1940s the piano sound is exceptionally clear (Walden 100). brandishes a hard fist and brews extraordinary sonorities. Howard Charles Ives, patriarch and rebel, the homespun genius whose Hanson and the Eastman- Rochester provide an energetic per- thoughts dwelled not on the faraway places but on the trans- formance; the overside offers a reading by Dimitri Mitropoulos cendental philosophy of Emerson and on the nature of the and the New York Philharmonic- Symphony of Peter Mennin's Yankee universe -this rocky New Englander with his strange pleasant Third Symphony (Columbia ML 49o2).

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Vienna Kammerchor, Hans Gillesberger, Frances Yeend, soprano; David Lloyd, cond. tenor; Mack Harrell, baritone; Temple Uni- UNICORN UNLP 1013. 12 -in. $3.98. versity Choir, Elaine Brown, director; Phila- delphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. Fine, representative Masses by two great COLUMBIA ML 5043. 12 -In. $3.98. masters. The Palestrina is quire typical of its composer in its lovely lines that flow At the time this recording of The Bells was along in transparent polyphony without made in 1954, I heard the same forces per- ever coming to a full stop within a musical form the work in Carnegie Hall. It seemed paragraph. Here is "endless" melody in then about as good an interpretation as every one of the four parts. Lassus, as was this music was ever likely to get. It had the to be expected, favors more contrast. He benefit of the Philadelphia Orchestra's tonal juxtaposes more chordal writing against splendor; the clean, agile singing of the his polyphonic passages and employs com- Temple University chorus; and the superb plete cadences in the course of a movement. artistry of the three soloists. Hearing the Both men, like other composers of their performance again on records, it still seems time and later, take special pains to write incomparable. Although there is some loss particularly beautiful settings of the Bene- of impact in the recorded choral sound, dictrrs. The performances are cool but there is a compensating gain in the greater Rachmaninoff: a fine set of The Bells. spirited, not emasculated. The tone of prominence accorded the solo parts. Miss the a cappella chorus is pleasant (though it Yeend's voice is at its vibrant best, and she for the most part, in this most careful cal- could have been recorded a bit more clearly). proves on this occasion how musically she culation. Nothing is casual in a performance Except for one or two uncertain attacks in can sing in congenial material. Mr. Lloyd's of plotted relationships of force and timing; the Palestrina, the singers stay well on pitch. and Mr. Harrell's voices, which seemed rather and this studied respect produces an effect The Lassus seems to have been recorded on light in the concert hall, project beautifully of memorable holiday where other per- a lower dynamic level. N. B. on the recording, and their diction and formances state an evanescent gaiety lovely phrasing are a constant joy. Eugene Or- but renewable. PERGOLESI mandy is thoroughly at home with the lush, Sound as such is dramatically real and Concertino in G brilliant score; he allows it a full quota of detailed, intimate, for the proximity of [Durante: Divertimento in F minor color and drama. If the work is still not to a sixteen players; but the pair of violins will ¡Vivaldi: Concerto for Two Cellos and listener's taste after hearing this version, it

give metal except on the best or worst re- Orchestra, in G minor (Pincherle 41 1 ) never will be. No text is provided for this producers. C. G. B. sung -in- English version of The Bells. Where Orchestre de Chambre Gérard Cartigny. the soloists are concerned this does not Gérard Cartigny, cond. matter; it does for the choral portions. MUELLER LONDON DTI. 93044. 12 -in. 54.98. Sinfonia for Strings and Flute For all its sumptuous sound, the perform- [Bartók: Divertimento for String Or- All three compositions are for strings. ance of The Isle of the Dead is less praise- ch.stra Whether the Concertino was actually written worthy. Mr. Ormandy exaggerates all the by Pergolesi is doubtful; in any case it is little crescendos and decrescendos to the de Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Edmond an agreeable work, mostly late baroque in point where the waters around the isle Stautz, cond.; André Jaunet, flute. style but with elements of the rococo in the begin to sound like surging waves rather 1183. LONDON LL i2 -in. $3.98. first Allegro. There is a lyric slow move- than quietly lapping currents. R. E. ment, in which a solo cello is prominent, Paul Müller of Switzerland is a fairly ob- and a sprightly, contrapuntal final gigue. A scure composer, but his Sinfonia for Strings RACHMANINOFF stronger impression is left by the Durante, 28 and Flute stands up extremely well along- Sonata for Piano, No. r, in D minor, Op. whose pithy and individual quality raises side the great and famous Divertimento of Warren Perry Thew, piano. it above the level of the conventional or- Bartók with which it is coupled. This M -G -M E 3247. 12 -in. $3.98. chestral concerto of its time. No continuo Swiss work is in the neo- baroque style, instrument is employed here in any of these with a magnificent adagio and outside move- Originally issued on a Rachmaninoff So- works. Performance is satisfactory on the ments of extraordinary ingenuity and in- ciety disk (Rs 6), this performance is now whole, but the Vivaldi has more brightness terest. The Bartók is one of that master's reissued by M -G -M . The sonata is moody transparency in the version by the Virtu- most powerful creations, and De Stautz and and too long for its slight material, but it osi di Roma on Decca DL 9684. N. B. gives it an altogether masterly performance. has some moments characteristic of Rach- The recorded sound of the strings is, to be maninoff's more inspired style, and Mr. POULENC very indeed. The sure, a little harsh, but this is in character Thew plays skillfully Two Piamos See A has and brightness with the music. All in all, a most attractive Somata for - Bowles: piano tone more ping disk. A. F. Picnic Cantata. than in the original pressing. The latter coupled with the sonata, as the M -G -M PROKOFIEV release does not, a brief curiosity: Rach- PALESTRINA The Prodigal Son maninoff himself accompanying Nadejda Stabat Mater; Mass, "Assumpta Magnificat; in his setting a Russian folk New York City Ballet Orchestra, Leon Plevitskaya of est Maria" R. E. Barzin, cond. song, Powder and Paint. Choirs, Paul Boepple, cond. Dessoff VOX PL 9310. t 2 -in. $4.98. CONCERT HALL CHS 1231. 12 -in. $4.98. RASSE A somewhat anemic performance and re- one Palestrina's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, in C The Mass, based on of cording of an exciting, at times profound, his own motets, is among the loveliest of score that deserves much better treatment Robert Hosselet, violin; Orchestre National many works in that form. The other two from all concerned. A. F. de Belgique, René Defossez, cond. compositions (the Magnificat is the one for LONDON INTERNATIONAL W 91063. 10 -in. eight-part chorus) are also very fine. Un- PROKOFIEV $2.98. fortunately, the firm, nicely modulated tone Quartet No. 2- See Malipiero: Quartet important of the large chorus is often slightly veiled This attractive but not too con- No. 4. certo by the Belgian composer François by a thin film of noise - possibly tape hiss; Rasse (1873- ) reveals a work of pleas- and there is some distortion in loud pas- QUANTZ ingly melodic, late -romantic characteristics, sages. Worth having until a better record- See Sonatas for Flute and Harpsichord - mostly derived from Chausson, Saint -Saëns, ing of this music comes along. N. B. Frederick the Great: Sonatas for Flute and Glazunov. The recorded sound is a bit and Harpsichord. conservative by contemporary standards. PALESTRINA P. A. Missa Veni Sponsa Christi RACHMANINOFF 'Lassus: Missa Puisque j'ay perdu The Bells; The Isle of the Dead Continued on page 88

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www.americanradiohistory.com Ml 5077 °"" ;A1AS1'E1-t\V'OIt . SHOSTAKOVITCH VIOLIN CONCERTO DAVID OISTRAKH PHILHARMONIC DIMITRI-SYMPHONY MITROPOULOS ORCHESTRA OF NEW YORK,

OISTRAKH -SHOSTAKOVITCH PREMIERE !

Columbia Records presents the first Other new Columbia "Lp" Masterworks Records available now: recorded performance of Shostakovitch's Starring Richard Tucker: One of the fabulous tenor voices of our time in an outstanding collection of French and Italian arias. ML 5062 great new violin concerto with David Bach: New, high -fidelity versions of the famous Philadelphia Orchestra Bach Oistrakh, for whom the piece was transcriptions. Eugene Ormandy conducts. ML 5065 expressly written; the Philharmonic - Kostelanetz Plays "Tosco": The Maestro's latest "opera- for -orchestra -- a brilliant reading of I'uccini's violent, tempestuous score. CL 767 Symphony Orchestra of New York is Brahms: "Double" Concerto in A Minor for Violin, 'Cello and Orchestra. conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos, who Isaac Stern and Leonard Rose are soloists with Bruno Walter and the introduced the composer's Tenth Philharmonic- Symphony Orchestra of New York. ML 5076 Bach: Little Organ Book. E. Power Biggs plays the 45 Choral Preludes that Symphony on Columbia last year. make up this work. Album includes special 28 -page booklet with notes by Mr. Biggs. SL -227 (2 -12" records) COLUMBIA °l RECORDS

FEBRUARY 1956 87

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RAVEL Epic has been responsible for issuing some of these pieces. They are extraordinary little Piano Music (Complete) superior records of French orchestral music. tone -pictures, some of them gentle and disk is a prime example. songlike, others gay and carefree, still others Vlado Perlemuter, piano; Concerts Colonne of which the present is the first time that both suites of ex- passionate and powerful. Orchestra, Jascha Horenstein, cond. (in the This and Perhaps the most remarkable of the sona- two concertos). cerpts from Albert Roussel's exciting colorful ballet Bacchus et Ariane have been tas in this album is the brilliant one in G Vox DL 153. Three 12 -in. $19.50. recorded together. One is often reminded major, Longo 349. But each of the others Perlemuter plays certain quietly wistful of Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe in listening to has its own particular charm: the per- pages - like the opening of the Sonatine this wonderful score, which is performed centage of duds in Scarlatti's keyboard - extremely well, but that is the best one with clarity, breadth, and drama by Martinon. works is very low. Valenti, as usual. plays can say for this pretentious release. No one Fournet's reading of the Debussy Petite Suite with vigor and drive, with understanding, would ever gather from these disks that is the best I've heard on disks, and his and with impeccable technique. There Ravel was the supreme master of the musical Pelléas et Mélisande is surely the equal of are times when one finds oneself wishing raised eyebrow; Perlemuter just plods duti- any of the other five extant LP versions. P. A. that this artist made more use of the delicate fully through the music, missing not only qualities of his instrument. And either it its irony but its effervescence and its subtle was too late for him to adopt Kirkpatrick's SAINT -SAENS understatement as well. The pianist is not pairwise arrangement of the sonatas or he Danse macabre, Op. 40 helped by a recording which manages the doesn't agree with it. These, however, in Samson et Dalila: Bacchanale rather extraordinary feat of sounding both view of Valenti's achievement, are relatively Dukas: The Sorcerer's Apprentice tubby and tinny at the same time. A. F. t minor blemishes, if they are indeed blemishes tChabrier: Joyeuse marche at all and not matters of taste. N. B. RAVEL: Quartet in F- See Debussy: Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of Lon- Quartet in G- minor. don, Argeo Quadri, cond. SCH M I DT WESTMINSTER W -LAB 7009. 12 -in. $7.50. Symphony No. 4, in C REUBKE Sonata for Organ on the 94th Psalm Clarity of recorded sound seems to be the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Rudolf Mor- tFranck: Grande pièce symphonique prime purpose of this disk; and clarity it alt, cond. certainly achieves, though sometimes at EPIC LC 3164. 12 -in. S3.98. Virgil Fox, organ (recorded at the John the expense of musical values. The two out- Hays Hammond Museum, Gloucester, When Anton Bruckner died in 189(', the standing numbers are their/rare marche and Mass.). gold- winged baroque angels with whom he Bacchanale from Sanson et Dalila, both of LM 1917. 12 -in. went down the RCA VICTOR $3.98. which incorporate clarity with plenty of held daily conversation block and took up their abode with a Virgil Fox's recording of the Reubke Sonata excitement. The Sorcerer's Apprentice is on young man, recently arrived in Vienna, is the best now available. He quite literally the routine side; for a supposedly mint - Franz Schmidt. Such, at least, is pulls out all the stops in an effort to squeeze perfect "laboratory" issue, it had an annoy- named the impression one gathers from Schmidt's the full drama out of a highly dramatic ing swish most of the way through my re- Fourth Symphony, though this work was not work, and being an imaginative colorist he written until 1934, five years before its com- arrives at an appropriate and interesting poser's death. Only Bruckner's legitimate reading of the music. RCA Victor has given heir could have written this intensely vision- the performance immaculate engineering, ary, grandly scaled, brass -colored piece, and from the wispiest to the most thunderous only one who was truly his inheritor could tones. on the old master's formula Mr. Fox's lively version of the Franck have improved as Schmidt does here. Although the work piece cannot obscure its longueurs, and the is Brucknerian in spirit and timbre, its work is better served by the more stylisti- structure is considerably more sophisticated cally correct, if also more placid, perform- than that of the older composer, and it ance by Clarence Watters for Classic. R. E. sustains its slow -paced length with unflag- RIMSKY -KORSAKOV ging interest. The performance is excellent, a but serv- Scheherazade the recording bit coarse- grained iceable. A. F. Vienna Staatsoper Orchestra. Michael Gie- Quadri: "clarity and . . . excitement" len, cond. SCHOENBERG GRAND AWARD 33 -302. 12 -in. $2.98. view copy. The Darse mth!hrr is taken at Begleitmusik, Op. ;4- See Cowell: Sym- a ridiculously slow tempo and thereby loses phony No. to. There are already nineteen recorded versions all its drama, though every note on every available of this marvelous score, most of instrument comes through perfectly. P. A. which offer considerably more acceptable SCHUBERT performances of the work than this roughly Lieder SAINT -SAENS played, poorly recorded, and generally pe- Im Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. An die Musik: Fischerweise: Geistrrtanzr destrian effort. At the low price of $2.98 hat gelogen: Nacht und 28 - See Chausson: Poème. Abendrot: (Die) Liebe a buy, but an addi- it may seem good for Trdnme: Rastlose Liebe: Schlummerlied ( "E, tional cent the excellent Westminster ver- mahnt der Wal/ "1: Seligkeit: (Der) Tod und SAINT -SAENS sion (WL 5234), superb in sound and boast- alas ¡Wilt-ben: (Dein) Unendlichen: Wanderer, Samson et Dalila: Bacchanale See ing a stunning performance by the same ( ?) - Nachtlied: Wehnut: Widerschein: Wiegenlied under Quadri, is obtainable. The Auber: Overtures. orchestra ( "Schlafe. Ablate- back of the record sleeve contains an im- soprano; Leo Taub- posing list of credits and some high- sound- SCARLATTI Lucrezia West. mezzo- mann, piano. ing claims for the recording; however, the Sonatas, Vol. WESTMINSTER 18090. 12 -in. 54.98 (or latter are not substantiated by this release. Valenti, harpsichord. J. F. I. Fernando $3.981. WESTMINSTER 18068. 12 -in. S4.98 (or $3.98). ROUSSEL Cursory research indicates that four of these Bacchus et Ariane, Suites Nos. s and 2, Westminster's noble project of recording songs had not previously found place on op. 43 all the sonatas of Scarlatti proceeds steadily. an American LP. About 450 of Schubert's fFauré: Pelléas et ifélisande, Suite, Op. 8o Each new volume only increases one's amaze- boo -odd songs remain to be recorded, and tDebussy: Petite Suite (trans. Henri ment at the inexhaustible fecundity of that the participants in the fifteen on this disk Büsser) master's mind. No two sonatas are ever are to be thanked for not making the exist- Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux (Paris), alike, and Scarlatti is always finding new ing ruts deeper, with the venial exception Jean Martinon, cond. (in the Roussel); Jean ways to exploit the capacities of the harpsi- of three. beautifully presented. the Fournet, cond. (in the Fauré and Debussy). chord. But much more important than are the musical values Continued on page 90 EPIC LC 3165. 12 -in. $3.98. instrumental effects MAGAZINE 88 HIGH FIDELITY

www.americanradiohistory.com "Lizzie Borden took an axe, And gave her mother forty whacks, And when she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty- one."

From the notorious double-axe murder of Lizzie dancers for interpretation. Fall River Legend Borden's parents in 1892 has come a familiar folk - could stand by itself -and has -in a concert hall. rhyme ... and a fabulous ballet. Fall River Legend. That's why Capitol Records has recorded this Produced by the famed Ballet Theatre, it spot- American Classic in flawless "Full Dimensional lighted the extraordinary talents of choreographer Sound." It is powerful, dramatic music and Agnes De Mille and composer Morton Gould. Joseph Levine, conducting the Ballet Theatre it with the deftness and com- Now performed some 70 times a season by Orchestra, plays Ballet Theatre, its enormous popularity is a prehension that come only from long familiarity. feather in each of their respective caps. But the If your collection includes a single piece of 2nd side: premiere high- fidelity outstanding score deserves wider currency. A provocative and meaningful modern music, this performance of Leonard Bernstein's ballet score, FACSIMILE. simple ballet score leans and depends upon the album should join it.

Capitol's "Full Dimensional Sound" symbol denotes an exceptional performance. flawlessly recorded. It is the purest high fidelity achieved by the recorder's art.

FEBRUARY 1956 89

www.americanradiohistory.com In solo or in chorus, Negro altos and In my Sibelius discography [HIGH FIDELITY, claims. Text of the inclusions in German mezzos seem to have fruitier voices than November 19551 I noted that Sixten Ehrl- (and in very small type) can be found on their white cousins. Perhaps that is in- ing's was the only extant recorded version the jacket. Sound: sometimes coarse - herently physiological, but more likely it is of the Sixth Symphony and that it would grained, but full and clear. J. H., JR. (in the case of mezzos) the natural result of do until something better came along. That song generally confined to the less artificial "something better" has now come along, STRAVINSKY and stringent reaches of the feminine throat. and with it Anthony Collins has completed Petrouchka By whatever cause, Miss West has a natural his Sibelius cycle. His reading of the Sixth Philharmonic- delivery of ripe tones a little too sweet to Symphony is a model of clarity. proportion, Symphony Orchestra of Lon- be called dusky, and a musical taste that and Nordic spirit; and, like most of his don, Hermann Scherchen, cond. permits her to sing unawed and unpretend- other disks in this series, it has been ad- WESTMINSTER W -LAB 7011. 12 -in. $7.50. ing an array of songs both simple and devi- mirably recorded. From the point of view of sheer sound, this ous in which she invariably seems an or- Since the fourth movement of the sym- is far and away the best of the eleven Pe- dained mouthpiece . Disarming art highly phony has been placed on the second side trouchkar now available on LP; the per- recommended here, especially in the un- Mercury got Ehrling's all on one side - - formance, too, is very good, though at troublesome and pearly sound managed there isn't too much space left; consequently, times one feels as if the instruments were for the singer and pianist by the engineers. only four of the nine movements of the more intent on having their pictures taken C. G. B. Pelléas et Mélisande Suite are included - than on contributing to the effects Stra- No. 2 (Mélisande), which is played far too SCHUBERT vinsky intended. The record is accompanied rapidly, and No. 7 (Mélisande at the Spinning - Schwanengesang with a slightly weird pamphlet by C. G. 1-Beethoven: Lieder von Gellert, Op. 48 Wheel), No. 8 (Entr'acte), and No. 9 (The McProud, which contains much information Death of Mélisande), all of which are per- Inez Matthews, mezzo -soprano; Lowell about hi -fi recording, some information (not formed with a fine sensitivity. Still, for completely accurate) about the trumpet, Farr, piano. nearly complete suite, the best disk remains PERIOD 717. 12 horn, and trombone, and a fantastic analysis -in. $4.98. the Blomstedt recording on Urania. P. A. of Stravinsky's score wherein rhythmic and This voice, softly gleaming like waxed and instrumental changes are pointed out in a STRAUSS, JOHANN weathered paneling, adorned by a short - detailed, split-second timetable. A. F. Die Fledermaus (excerpts) phased vibrato so adept as to seem intrinsic, has found in the temperamental discrepan- Uta Graf (s), Rosalinda; Hedda Heusser SULLIVAN cies of Schubert's last fourteen songs and (s), Adele; Rita Pich (s), Ida; Nata The Tempest: Incidental music in the masculine worship of Beethoven's Tuscher (ms), Orlofsky; Johannes Bartsch Henry VIII: Incidental music theism a Eisenstein; Albert Kunz (t), Alfred; double opportunity to make its (t), Vienna Orchestral Society, F. Charles Adler, opulence properly felt. In fact, the dark Richard Miller (b), Falke; Mathias Schmid cond.; Patricia Brinton, soprano. (b) , Frank. Radio Zurich Chorus and throb in the music written to Gellert s words UNICORN UNLP 1014. 12 -in. $3.98. as Miss Matthews sings it underlines the Orchestra, Walter Goehr, cond. communication of a conviction beyond the MUSICAL MASTERPIECE SOCIETY M 2022 - The incidental music to The Tempest, Sir reach of most instruments less artful. And OP 3. 12-in. $2.75. Arthur Sullivan's earliest known score, was even if in certain of the Schubert songs written in Leipzig around í86o and was - With the complete Angel and London per- of which no fewer than ten are dogmati- first heard in London in 1862. It immedi- formances of Fledermaus sounding in the cally masculine declarations, with a man as ately established Sullivan's reputation. Eng- ears, it is not easy to work up enthusiasm protagonist - we demur at an unsexing of lish critics, rather hopefully, hailed him as for any recorded version of lesser stature; their quality, we do not cavil at the singing another Purcell or at least an English Men - yet under these very special circumstances, as such. Kriegers Ahnung, Am Meer, and delssohn. Such hopes were, of course, never Der Doppelgänger are moving and beauti- fulfilled, and whatever genius Sullivan had ful although misdirected. Ständchen would remained dormant until awakened by the lyrics William Schwenk Gilbert, almost not suffer with more leisure, and Der Atlas of ten years later. Why such expectations is still impossible for a soprano. The others should have been aroused by this work is incur no major objection, except from those rather difficult to fathom. It is a good serv- to whom a lovely voice is in impropriety iceable score, well organized and pleasantly in the later Schubert. melodic, but it lacks what Mendelssohn The accompaniments are generally ade- brought to Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's quate, and the recording lasting more - Dream, the element of magic, the ability than an hour for the two sets of songs - to create and sustain a mood, particularly is of obvious merit. Soprano and pianist one of fantasy. It is quite conceivable that both embrace the intensities from whisper it sounds and plays well in the theater, to alarum, and the engineers deliver the though I have never heard of its being so sweep without blur or explosion. German used in the past thirty years. text and English translation are furnished. The three short excerpts of incidental C. G. B. music to henry VIII came some eighteen SCHUBERT years later and betray the composer's affilia- Symphony No. 8 in B minor ( "Unfinished" tion with the Savoy operas. The March -See Beethoven: Symphony No. 5. might easily come from lolanthe, while the "Graceful Dance" and "Water Music" be- SCHUMANN long to the tea -lounge or concert -in -the -park Album für die Jugend, Op. 68 (excerpts) Lucrezia West: ripe tones for Schubert. program. - See Tchaikovsky: Children's Album. Adler does everything possible to infuse the Musical Masterpiece Society abbreviated some life into these scores; quite successfully, SHOSTAKOVICH performance stands up remarkably well. I should say, for the orchestral work is Preludes and Fugues - See Chopin: Sona- Uta Graf has a good deal of voice and flair, first -rate. The soloist does not sound com- ta in B flat minor, Op. 35 the rest of the cast make their points with pletely at home in the Tempest songs, how- good average style and vocal abilities, and ever. Her voice is basically a good one, SIBELIUS Walter Goehr conducts an energetic and but is used here with too much caution and Symphony No. 6, in D minor, Op. ro4 well -controlled ensemble. Although the restraint. At the top and the bottom, Uni- Pelléas et Mélisande Suite, Op. 46 (four spoken lines are not in question in a one- corn's recording is excellent; but the middles movements only) disk truncation, a great deal of the musical have a tendency to flatten out, and the over- London Symphony Orchestra. Anthony score has been retained - enough to make all sound has a hollow, empty-hall ring to Collins, cond. this really more a shortened full perform- it. J. F. I. LONDON LL 1277. 12 -in. $3.98. ance than just the "excerpts" the jacket Continued on page 92

90 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com La FORZA

ica oFSTIN- Complete Recording

CASI OM WOO UNDO MA (MO PAM SOMAAA0 u,0.1 MI Moil MOW°

0[11.14

(AMMO

Don Alvaro . MARIO DEL MONACO Preziosilla Gll LIETTA SIMIONATO l.eonore RENATA TEBALDI Trahucco PIERO DI PALMA Don Carlo ETTORE BASTIANINI Calatrava Silvio Maionica Padre Guardiano CESARE SIEPI Curra Gabriella Carturan Fra Melitone FERNANDO CORENA Alcade Ezio Giordano Chirugo Eraldo Coda

CHORUS AND ORCHESTRA OF L'ACCADEMIA DI SANTA CECILIA, ROME (Chorus Master: Bonaventura Somma) Conductor: FRANCESCO MOLINARI-PRADELLI XLLA-37 4-12" records $19.92

"'When it comes to the cast. too, there is much talent to admire: take the lesser parts first. This Preziosilla is much more the right thing . . . and so is the Melitone which Corena relishes .. . Siepi as Padre Guardiano is very magnificent indeed ... Mario del Monaco ... does magnificent things-the terrific B in the battle scene and the sheer animal thrill of his acuti. He sings with great generosity ... words as ever are very clear-for instance the cry of "Un reprobo in the last heart searching trio. The baritone is new to me, and a mighty voice it seems to be. And Leonora? Tehaldi never lets you down. In sum, then, a superb recording and a true account of a grand work." Philip Hope-Wallace; The Gramophone, December 1955

FEBRUARY 1956

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SURINACH impatiently accorded the shadowy demise consequence, either in musical or dramatic Ritmo ,/ortdo; Tientos: Tres Cantos Bere- of an overkind, ancient aunt. But Miss value, a statement that also applies to the beres Dorfmann does not give this drama to Fistoulari version on London LL 636/37, Chamber ensembles, the composer conduct- these little dramas, and on reflection it with which this new edition comes into ing. must be admitted that there is no reason direct competition. for her to do so. She was not frightened by As Sadler's Wells' chef d'orchestre, M -G -M 1 3268. 12 -in. $3.98. that wild ride. Robert Irving works closely with the or- Three aspects of Spanish folk music as Let it only be said then that these inter- chestra of Covent Garden, but on this handled by an extremely adroit, original, pretations are propelled by an airy, spotless occasion something appears to have hap- and learned composer, Carlos Surinach. pened to the rapport between orchestra and Ritmo Jondo, the longest of the three works. conductor. The performance could not is a ballet score in Flamenco style for justifiably be called poor, but it certainly eighteen instrumentalists and three hand - lacks life, lift, crispness, and definition. clappers. It has all the usual folk elements The direction at times verges on the per- - immense rhythmic propulsion, over- functory and would surely not pass muster whelming animal lustiness, and a barbed. in actual performance. The tempos are all reinforced, made sharper, fierce edge - danceable enough, it is true, but the per- and more incandescent by virtue spicier, of spective of the theater, which was so notice- the and simplicity with which these purity able and impressive in Irving's Su-an Lake. elements are handled. Tientos (Essays), for is noticeably absent. But then he had at English horn, harp, and timpani, and the his disposal the Philharmonia, a far su- Tres Cantos Bereberes (Three Berber Songs), perior orchestra. The engineers have sup- for flute, oboe, clarinet, viola, cello, and plied acceptable but not very plump sound. harp, turn to other aspects of Spanish folk A rehearing of the Fistoulari effort re- music. They are more primitive and more inforces the opinion that it remains one of Oriental in source and feeling. Surinach's the best ballet recordings available, not clean, open, aerated sonority is perfect for Arria Dorfrnan : un frightening gallop. only for the sumptuous London sound, recording. Engineering and performances but for the beauty of the orchestral perform- are both magnificent. A. F. technique of pianism above their require- ance. J. F. I. ments, with the piano sounding appropri- SWEELINCK ately crisp, not to say a little brittle. THOMAS Harpsichord Music C. G. B. Raymond: Overture-See Auber: Over- Fantasia oóromatiea: Toccata (New ed., tures. No. 24); Toccata (No. 23); Fantasia in TCHAIKOVSKY Echo Stile (No. 14); Variations on: Von der Quartet No. 2, inr F major, Op. 22 VERDI Fortuna nerd' ich getriebrn: Mein junges La Forza del Destino (excerpts) Armenian State String Quartet. Lehen hat city End: Est-ce Mars: Balletto del ANGEL 35238. 12 -in. Act I: alle pellegrina e orfano (Leonora). Grandit a. S.4.98 (or S3.48) Act II: Son giunta.' . Madre. pietosa Helma Elsner, harpsichord. The second of Tchaikovsky's three quartets Vergine: La Vergine degli Angeli (Leo- Vox PL 927o. t2 -in. $4.98. was written in the early weeks of January nora; chorus). Act Ill: La cita i inferno 1874. Its composition gave him little . O tu che in seno agli angeli (Alvaro): This Dutch master was one of the links be- trouble; and, like other works that sprang Solenne in quest' ora ( Alvaro, Carlo) . . . the Baroque. tween the Renaissance and effortlessly from his mind, he considered it llorir.' tremenda cosa.' ... (orna fatale . . . His keyboard music is one of the bases upon one of his finest scores. Few people today E s'altra prora rinvenir potessi? (Carlo; which was established the great line of Ger- share his enthusiasm for a work so somber Surgeon). Act IV: !erano Alvaro (Carlo, man organ and clavier music that culmin- in character, so uneven in structure, in Alvaro ) ; Pace. pace (Leonora); Finale ated in Bach. Outstanding among the fan- which the few moments of genuine inspira- (Leonora, Alvaro. Carlo, Padre Guardiano). tasies and toccatas here is the Chromatic tion are overpowered by pages of indifferent Fantasy, a big work with a fugue like struc- Zinka Milanov (s), Leonora; Jan Peerce and repetitive writing. The two inner ture. Of the variations, those on the 1 t ) , Alvaro; Leonard Warren ( b) , Carlo; movements are the most attractive, with the descending scale -line of Mein iunges Lehen Raymond Keast Surgeon; Andante holding some fine stretches of (6), Nicola are probably the most interesting. This will Moscona ( bs) , Padre Guardiano. Robert emotional music. But this is hardly enough not, perhaps, be found to be very endearing Shaw Chorale and RCA Victor Orchestra, to sustain a score that is generally arid and music, but it has a healthy solidity and Renato Cellini and Jonel Perlea, conds. uninteresting. In this performance. the vigor, especially in the variations. Miss RCA VICTOR I.M 1916. 12 -in. S3.98. first to reach us on LP, the Armenian Elsner plays it well and with a considerable players prove themselves a variety of registration. N. B. to be well -inte- What RCA Victor has done here is to pick grated, musical with group, playing bal- up Leonori s great scenes from Zinka Mila - anced assurance and polish. The recording nods [954 recording, entitled Milanov TCHAIKOVSKY is from a London session of December Sings, and build a set of Children's Album, op. 39; The Seasons. excerpts around 1954, and the sound is well up to Angel's them with quite variable artistic results. Op. 374 (excerpts) - very best. J. F. I. Her singing in [Schumann: Album ¡fir die Jugend, Op. the earlier recording, and in the duplicated bands 68 (excerpts) here, is of a seam- TCHAIKOVSKY less resplendance as impressive as it is un- Ania Dorfmann, piano. Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 likely- seeming; a Milanov performance RCA VICTOR LM 1856. t2 -in. $3.98. without a few loose vocal ends simply does Royal Opera House Orchestra ( Covent not have a homey sound. The Act I aria, Easy but musically secure pieces like the Garden), Robert Irving, cond. sung with a more familiar if less purely two Albums, not made for public perform- RCA VICTOR 12 LM 6034. Two -in. S7.98. beautiful quality, is added in the highlights ance but for intimate association with reshuffle; but the duet between Leonora hearers of the most malleable age and con- A few months ago we had a "complete" and the Padre ( which, after all, does hold dition, create a multitude of varying stand- Sleeping Beata) from Mercury that was the emotional and musical climax of Act ards, in accordance usually with the really complete. in that it used the whole II) is cut out, leaving the lovely surround- strength or durability of the earliest im- score as originally written by Tchaikovsky. ing sections still lovely but juxtaposed in pressions. To at least one very immature This new version, also labeled "complete,' a way that kills dramatic sense. The mag- and incompetent pianist Schumann's Wild is so only in that it accords with those por- nificent finale of the work is also a new Horseman was a fascination of pure terror, tions of the score currently used in the Milanov record, of course; her fine 'Pace. and the obsequies for Tchaikovsky's doll Sadler's Wells Ballet production. However, were more poignant by far than the grief what has been omitted is music of little Continued on page 94

92 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE.

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t Please send rie RCA Victor's ".fleet the Girls- Shoal-use Rerord. I enripse 2.19' in coin lo corer handling and mailing rlurges. Al Cohn Orchestra 12' $3.98 -EP $2.98 & $1 49 l2" $3.98 - EP 92.98 & $1.49 12" $3.98 -EP $2.98 @ $1.49 Worth $1.49... Only 250. Send NAME coupon for "Meet the Girls" Showcase ADDRESS Album...a 45 EP of .Origin,/ Cast Albums S1.08 excerpts from each Nationally Advertised Prices of the 9 albums. CITY >ONE_STATE_ LI; 1,1a, - I3,irr Ilpirec April I. 19.56

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pace" is held over. The contributions of Pour le piano: Bruyères; La Fille aux cheteux FOUR CONCERTOS FOR TRUMPET, Jan Peerce and Leonard Warren, with de lin. Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit. WOODWINDS, AND STRINGS Jonel Perlea conducting, are thus the prin- Gina Bachauer, piano. cipal additions, and owners of the Milanov Torelli: Trumpet Concerto in D; Vivaldi: RCA VICTOR LHMV 3r. 12 -in. $4.98. Sings disk can decide for themselves Concerto in G minor (Pincherle 383); Locatelli: Concerto No. 2, from L'Arte whether the new attractions are sufficient to The deservedly admired Greek pianist is del Violino, Op. 3; 11 Pianto d'Arianna. warrant so much duplication. primarily a colorist with a formidable tech- As sound artistically as usual, Mr. nique. With exceptional delicacy of touch, Maurice André, trumpet (in the Torelli); Peerce is far from being the owner of a she produces a shimmering, glistening tone; Huguette Fernandez, violin (in the Loca- voice big and dramatic enough to do Alvaro and her facility helps her breeze through telli); J.-M. Leclair Instrumental Ensemble, in the opera house; and though the engineers even that most difficult of piano pieces. Jean- François Paillard, cond. can ease him of some strain in a recording, Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit, with the utmost HAYDN SOCIETY HSL 147. r2 -in. $5.95. they cannot make the quality either good poise. The music here is ideally suited to Somebody or right. As for Mr. Warren, he is a full - her talents; as a matter of fact, she has goofed when the title for this scale Carlo -type baritone in any context, made something of a specialty of the Ravel disk was selected. Only the Torelli is a and he sings with fine tone; but he gives work and of Liszt's music. trumpet concerto, and only the Vivaldi employs an essentially dull, complacent reading of a Like Gieseking, Miss Bachauer seems to woodwinds. A violin is the solo in- part that is nothing if not made vividly evoke music from the keys rather than to strument in the two Locatelli pieces, and dramatic. The conducting is competent, strike the keys themselves, and her Debussy the Vivaldi is a concerto grosso. the quality of sound good. No texts, but comes close in quality to Gieseking's, This is an engrossing and varied group. notes. J. H., JR. though lacking some of the latter's vigor The Torelli shows how a clever composer and orchestration. In the Ravel she cannot could maintain interest even within the match Gieseking's Ondine (neither severe technical VILLA -LOBOS can limitations that hampered Casadesus) but is otherwise the peer of both the trumpet The Baby's Family of that time. The Vivaldi, artists in this softer- textured interpretation. written for the Dresden orchestra, is a fine, José Echaniz, piano. The Ecossaises have a darting birdlike quality; full -blooded work ranking with that mas- WESTMINSTER 18065. 12 -in. $4.98 (or the Barcarolle is well-proportioned and ter's best. The selection from Locatelli's $3.98). lovely, with its continuously singing tone Op. 3 reveals the violin concerto well on and lightness. its way to its classic form. Melodically Villa- Lobos baby actually has two families. and In one of those strange errors recording harmonically the work is one composed of eight dolls and one of unusually expres- companies sometimes make, Miss Bachauer sive, and there are nine toy animals. The doll set was written considerable technical is listed on the jacket, in the notes by Alfred demands on the soloist, which Miss Fernan- in 1918, is well known, and has been re- Frankenstein, and on the record label as dez meets with the required bravura. The corded several times. The animal set was playing Debussy's Danseuses de Delphes, but Plaint of Ariadne, which is the last work in produced three years later, is little known, the Liszt turns up in its étude place. It Locatelli's Op. 7, is one of those program- and has never been recorded before. This adds variety to the repertoire and is superbly matic instrumental pieces that were not is odd, for the animal series is incomparably played. R. E. the finer; indeed, under the spell of Echaniz' as uncommon in the Baroque period as may superb performance and Westminster's ex- be supposed. It is a fascinating attempt to SIR THOMAS BEECHAM express in orchestral terms the grief of the cellent recording, one feels this to be one "Sir Thomas" of Villa- Lobos' most important works. It abandoned heroine, though one needs the is the kind of thing that led a Parisian critic Méhul: Overtures to: Timoléon; Le Trésor Ariadne's thread of the annotations to fol- to call Villa -Lobos an intelligent, inquiring supposé; Le Jeune Henri. Boccherini: Over- low it in detail. Generally good perform- savage inventing the art of music as he goes ture in D. Grétry: Pantomime from Zimire ance and recording. N. B. along. A good many years have passed et Azor. Beethoven: Coriolan Overture, since 921, but Villa -Lobos has never sur- Op. 62. Brahms: Tragic Overture, Op. 81. ORAZIO FRUGONI passed these sketches so far as harmonic Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Thomas Spanish Piano Music pungency, electrifying rhythm, and folk- Beecham, cond. freshness Albéniz: Prelude. Sous le Palmier, Cór. loric are concerned. So, at least, COLUMBIA ML 5029. 12 -in. $3.98. it seems when Echaniz plays them. The Boba, Seguidillas, Op. 232, Nos. I, 3, 4, 5; Cuban pianist suggests, among other things, The record, affectionately given the generic Malagueña: Tango in D. Granados: Al- that these toys are, like the katchina dolls title Sir Thomas, as one would commemorate legro de Concierto: Andaluza (Playera). of the Southwest or the clay dolls of some lovingly the fierce and familiar complex bee Turina: Exaltation. Falla: Andaluza: Ritual Mexican Indians, the descendants of ancient who stings but makes honey, is assured of Fire Dance. gods, and that something of their hypnotic, an enthusiastic welcome from all those ad- Orazio Frugoni, piano. supernatural power for good or evil lingers mirers of the conductor who admire most VOX PL 942o. 12 -in. $4.98. in the Brazilian composer's ostensible pic- his address in music more like the first five tures of the child world. A. F. pieces above than the last two. (His Coriolan Mr. Frugoni's somewhat hard and brittle is a fast one, and the excellent Tragic Over- style of playing proves effective in the VIVALDI ture in his playing is not salient in the light shifting, subtle rhythms of these Spanish Concerto for Two Cellos and Orchestra, in of the brilliant competition from three works. Most of the items are thrice fa- G minor - See Pergolesi: Concertino other specialists.) miliar. A real rarity is Granados' Allegro in G. But the delicate little Pantomime by de Concierto, a student work somewhat Grétry is a misty plaint of scented charm naïvely Chopinesque, but not without WAGNER as it emerges from the fastidious instru- charm and a light Spanish flavor. Bright, mental adjustments the Siegfried Idyll Bruckner: Sym- of conducting clean -cut sound. The record liner does not -See baronet; and the positive shaping phony No. 4. of the list the works played; they are described Méhul tunes, which are certitude itself, in notes, but not in the order in which they out of a hand -wrought orchestral texture of are played, which makes it necessary to gleaming precision, is one of the few recent look at the disk label constantly to see what RECITALS AND examples of the special Beecham talent for the music is. A minor point, surely, but an jeweling light music. Two of the Méhul irritating one. R. E. MISCELLANY overtures have never been recorded before, nor has the lively Boccherini Overture COR DE GROOT (Italian symphony). Piano Music from Spain Proficient registration, although GINA BACHAUER not of the same type for all these works, with the Albéniz: Sevilla; Cadiz; Castilla; Malagueña, Piano Recital unusual feature of heavy bass combined with Op. 165, No. 3; Rumores de la Caleta. Falla: Chopin: Trois Ecossaises. Liszt: Paganini distinct articulation. Orchestral quality of Spanish Dance No. r (from La Vida Breve); Etude No. 2, in E -flat. Debussy: Suite, first order. C. G. B. El Paño Moruno; Cancion; Pikes espagnoles;

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Ritual Fire Dance (from El Amor Brujo L Mompou: Gitano; Prélude; L'Ilomme ,1 l'Aristo. "Show off" that new phonograph Cor de Groot, piano. EPIC Lc 3175. 12 -in. $3.98. Competent performances of fairly standard with these new DECCA ALBUMS! items. The Dutch pianist brings a conventional, Chopinesque, but attractive lyricism to phrases that Spanish pianists treat with ... here are eight wonderful ways to do it. greater rhythmic crackle and bite. El Paño Moruno and Cancion, from Falla's Serer Popular Spanish Songs, were arranged for piano solo by the composer's pupil Ernesto viellien Halftter; with the last two Mompou pieces. they represent the nearest things to novelties here. Incidental intelligence: Like many of his recording colleagues in Europe, Mr. Dc Groot will come to this country next season for his first American tour. R. E.

GIOVANNI MARTINELLI String Enchantment: Woman Of Paris: In- Sings by Request Al /red Newman & troducing Miss Vicki Orch.; "Nocturne," Benêt; "Pigalle," Giovanni Martinelli, tenor. "Waltz," "Molly On "The Heart of Paris RCA CAMDEN CAL 274. 12 -In. $1.98. The Shore," others. "C'est La Vie," etc. (DL 8194, ED -769) (DL 8233, ED -782) The choice of repertoire in this Martinelli reissue was made largely by readers of this magazine who sent their suggestions to RCA in response to an item in "Musk- Makers" (June 19551. This LP and another Martinelli reissue ("Giovanni Martinelli in Opera and Song," RCA CAMDEN CAI. 283, will be the subject of an essay -review by Desmond Shawe- Taylor in a forthcoming issue. Meanwhile, those who helped com- Men: Songs For and pile this "By Request" collection will want About Men; Burl to know of the disk's release. R. G. Ives; "John Henry," others. (DL 8125, "DL" indicates ED 2235 -6 -7) 33í/s Long MODERN AMERICAN COMPOSERS, Playing Records VOL. 1 "ED" indicates 45 RPM Soloists and chamber ensemble of the New Extended Play Recordings Symphony Orchestra, Camarata, cond. LONDON LL 1213. 12 -in. $3.98.

For an English orchestra to start a modern American series under an English label may be news of a sort, even if nothing much can be -said in -favor of the works chosen for the first record in the group. Robert The Hi -Fi Nightin- gale: Caterina Valen- McBride's Pumpkin Eaters Little Fugue and te; "This Must Be Workout for Small Orchestra are light and Wrong," "The Way trivial, while Ulysses Kay's Round Dance You Love Me," etc. Polka is one of the least distinguished (DL 8203, ED -771) and Andrés Segovia: works of a gifted man; all these, however, Masters of the Gui- are Beethoven compared to the overblown tar; Compositions of television commercials by one Walter Francisco Tarrega & other side. To provide as Fernando Sor. Mourant on the (DL 9794) many of the grisly details as are necessary, these compositions are entitled In the Vall ) of the Moon, Air and Scherzo, and Sleepy Hol- low Suite. Performance and recording are as good as the music deserves. A. F. The Golden Moment: ERICA MORINI Camarata & Orch.; Recital "Che Gelida Mani - Violin na," "Flower Song," Erica Morini, violin; Leon Pommers, piano. others. (DL 8206) WESTMINSTER 18087. 12 -in. S4.98 (or Genius At Work: $3.98). The Conley Graves Recorded Trio; "Prelude II - in Europe by Deutsche This is a collection of typical encore pieces Fugue," "Laura," 8220, Grammophon some these are old- fashioned others. (DL Gesellschaft - and even of ED 2316-7-8) -Polydor Series. for such purposes - but no matter what Erica Morini does, she does with care and impeccable artistic taste. Certainly, there is much love lavished on the performances on DECCA® RECORDS this disk, and the violinist's warm, smooth The Moment of Impressions of tone, as well as that of her expert accom- Truth: the Bull Ring. Re- a New World of Sound panist, has been most faithfully preserved corded in Spain. "You Can Hear The Difference!" on exceptionally quiet record surfaces. P. A. (DL 9806)

FEBRUARY 1956 95

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MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR LEONARD PENNARIO comparable works one turns with relief to Concert of Sacred elleesic Concertos Under the Stars the fastidious, less flamboyant art of Nicanor Zabaleta, who records Cyril Jenkins: Light in Darkness: Lead, Liszt: Liebestraum. Bath: Cornish Rhapsody. for Esoteric. Mr. Salzeda is most Kindlt Light: Weep You More, Sad Foun- Addinsell: Warsaw Concerto. Beethoven: entertaining and re- warding in his own harp exercises, which tain.[: Fiera Raged the Tempest. Liszt: Arc Adagio sostenuto from Sonata in C -sharp might conceivably appeal to lovers Verum. Brahms: Sapphic Ode: )low Lorelt minor (Moonlight), Op. 27. No. 2. Wild- of "Music Between." The sound is Is Thy Duelling Place (from A German man: Swedish Rhapsody. Rachmaninoff: almost too good every tone emerges a Requiem). Elgar: As Torrents in Summer. Prelude in C -sharp - little larger minor, Op. No. 2. 3, than life. Purcell: Nymphs and Shepherds Thy Work Is Litolff: Scherzo from Concerto Symphonique. R. F.. d Lantern. Dett: Lirtsn to the Lambs. Leonard Pennario, piano; Hollywood Bowl PAUL SCHOEFFLER Mormon Tabernacle Choir of Salt Lake Symphony, Carmen. Dragon, cond. Opera Arias City, J. Spencer Cornwall, cond. Alexander CAPITOI. P 8326. 12 -in. $4.98. Schreiner and Frank W. Asper. organists. Wagner: Die Walküre: Act Ill: from Leonard Pennario lavishes his lithe, virile Leb nob! (Wotan) through Magic Fire COLUMBIA MI. 5048. 12 -in. 53.98. Musk. pianism and outstanding technical skill on Parsifal: Act I: from Mein Sohn Amfortas an odd here. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, widely mixture The three rhapsodies (Titurel ) through Nein! Lad ihn ,menthüllt.' known for its nationwide Sunday morning (the Warnau and Cornish being of film origin, (Amfortas). Verdi: Simon Boceanegra: Act broadcasts, which date from 1929, commands the Swedish of comparable style) probably Ill: M'ardon le tempia (Boccanegra). I admiration for its massive, homogeneous never had it so good. The Beethoven, Liszt. Vespri Siciliani: Act II: O to Palermo. tone, excellent diction, and straightforward and Rachmaninoff works are played against Meyerbeer: L'Africaine: Act II: Figlia dei interpretations. The music on this disk an orchestral background conceived by the Re (Nelusko). Wagner: Die Meistersinger: is generally disappointing. The title not- conductor. There remains only one un- Act II: Was duftet doe-h der Flieder (Sachs). withstanding, the selections are not all adulterated piece of any interest: the frag- Paul Schoeliler, baritone; Vienna State Opera sacred three works are very definitely ment by Henry Litolff, a well -known nine- Orchestra, Felix Prohaska, cond. secular and the four long original pieces teenth- century pianist and founder of the music VANGUARD VRS 469. 12 -in. $498. by Cyril Jenkins. a Welsh -horn composer. editions that bear his name. His Scherzo have as their only major merit great technical is typical in its bustling, sporty Already long established in Germany and gaiety, fast and skill in choral writing; otherwise they are unrelenting for the soloist, Austria, and particularly in Vienna, Paul splashily pretentious. melodically commonplace. sen- effective. Mr. Pennario gives it Schoef8er first came to this country and to the a very timental if sincere. The works by Elgar works, in engaging way. The or- the Metropolitan in 195o. He was then chestral performances are properly lush, but and Dert. and the chorus from the Brahms fifty -three - not ancient, as baritone years Requiem, provide the most satisfactory listen- not indecently so. and the sound is genuinely are reckoned, but well beyond the full glow full -dimensional. ing. Resonant, clear sound for the choir R. E. of youth, with a voice beginning to pass and for the organ as long as it is dealing its peak and a figure beginning to thicken with nonpolyphonic music. R. E. about the middle. He was received with politeness rather than enthusiasm. but in DAVID OISTRAKH the intervening five years politeness has Violin Recital ripened into deep respect, respect into warm acceptance; for he has always been an Sonata for Violin and Prokofiev: Piano. artist - not great, set against the highest 1, in F 80. No. minor. Op. Leclair: Sonata standards, but thorough and usually satis- Violin for and Piano. No. 3, in D. Loc:relli: fying. As heard at the Metropolitan - Sonata for Violin and Piano in F minor and, well- reproduced, in this Vanguard mis- (Au Tnmbeau'': (ar[. Ysaye). cellany - the voice is not characteristically David Oistrakh. violin; Vladimir Yampol- very rich or very responsive to expressive sky, piano. nuances of color. It is a reliable voice. RCA VICTOR I.M 1987. 12 -in. 53.98. firm and of good size; dry, but strong and unproblematic. Here it sounds to best RCA Victor stole the march on its competi- advantage in the Wagner excerpts -- which, tors by making the first domestic recordings except for the Parsijd, have been recorded of this season's two Russian musical visi- before by Mr. Schoeffler, singing neither tors. Emil Gilels and David Oistrakh. In notably better nor less well. for London and so doing, it has managed to turn out two Remington. In the Verdi and Meyerbeer of the best disks that either of these artists excerpts, all sung in rather unflowing has ever made anywhere. One of Oistrakh's Italian, the musical intentions are good, failings often has been his inability to get Pecuario mixes a Hollywood pot pourri. the results somewhat vitiated by the essen- beneath the surface of a composition. but tial unmalleability of the voice. here he does some wonderfully expressive CARLOS SALZEDO Reproduction of the voice is quite good; things with these three fine sonatas. Out- Harp Recital the balances, with the orchestra pushed standing is his treatment of the slow move. Handel -Salzedo: The Harmonious Black- back in perspective, and rather gently con- ments, as well as his smoothly integrated ducted in smith. Corelli -Salzedo: Giga, from Sonata any case, are debatable but at double- stopping in the Leclair. The high in A for Violin and Continuo, Op. 5, No. least consistent. No texts, rather unhelpful quality of the reproduction not only reveals notes. 9. Massenet -Salzedo: Menuet d'Amour. J. H., Jr. the beautiful Oistrakh tone in all its true Salzedo: Scintillation; Ballade; Petite Valse; light but also finally does complete justice La Désirade; Traipsin' three Arkansan'. SIENA PIANOFORTE. to the work of his long -time collaborator. Recital by Marisa Regules Vladimir Yampolsky. P. A. Carlos Salzedo, harp. M8R(.URY M(; H0003. 12 -in. S3.98. Turina: Danzas gitanas. Albéniz: Leyenda ( Prelude): Cordoba: Seguidillas. Villa -Lobos: ORIGINAL DON COSSACK CHORUS Salzedo make his sound Mr. can harp like The Baby's Famih, Book I. Mompou: Favorite Encores wants almost anything he it to, and he Scènes d'enfants. Don Cossack Chorus; Serge gives the instrument a workout on this Original Jarof. Marisa Regules, piano. cond. disk, which is entitled Scintillation -The Harp in Fidelity. In ESOTERIC ESP 3002. 12 -in. 55.95. CONCERT HALL CHS 1230. to -in. S3.98. High the title piece he produces some thrumming, throbbing The "Siena piano," resembling in some de- This is strictly for admirers of the Don masses of tone in rhumba rhythm that are gree many instruments with plucked strings, Cossacks. They give here a familiar exhibi- quite fascinating. He can also play music is a congenial medium for the performance tion of their throbbing low bass tones and as music, too, as he does in the Handel, of Spanish music. It bestows valuable high wiry ones, their sudden alternations of Corelli, and Massenet items (the last based fortissimos and pianissimos. R. E. on a duet from the opera Thérèse), but for Continued on page 98

96 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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AUDIO FIDELITY RECORDS presents TALBOT BROTHERS CALYPSO iThe BRAVE BULLS!.._'ä,.;í,.,,rr,, THE BRAVE BULLS Bermuda's greatest tourist attraction in Lo Fiesta Brava new high fidelity recordings. Music of the Bullfight Ring Featuring the "BANDA TAURINA" of the Plaza VOL. 2 AFLP 903 10 -inch $4.00 r Mexico, world's largest bullfight arena. A Hi -Fi pre- VOL. 3 AFLP 1807 12 -inch $5.95 sentation of the complete musical background of an afternoon at the bull -fights including the traditional FIESTA Pasodobles, the fanfares. etc. Complete with book of 24 full -color illustrations from BAWDY SONGS and BRAVA famous Bullfight Posters with full explanation in Eng- lish and Spanish of an afternoon at the bullfights. BACKROOM BALLADS RECORDED IN MEXICO A Study in HI- FIDELITY Sound To those of you of good appetite and strong stomach, Audio Fidelity AFLP 1801 12 -inch $5.95 here is your dish! Here are the rollicking songs and ballads of tough. hard -living and hard -drinking men -CHA MARIMBA MAMBO y CHACHA and their wholesome. winsome wenches, Oscar Brand. Thrill to the greatest and the latest dance rhythms with a 6 man Marimba with Orchestra. folk singer. A Study in H1- FIDELITY Sound VOL. 1 AFLP 906 10 -Inch $4.00 H1 -FI Fons . This is a Total Frequency Ronge Recording 12 -inca $5.95 *000 nacen ato 1 Audio Fidelity AFLP 1802 12 -inch $5.95 VOL.'2 AFLP 1806 These records are available at your favorite Audio or Record Shop

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clarity and transparency, with different tonal effects provided by different registers, Dialing Your Disks though the color variations are not as wide All LP disks are recorded with within one register as they are on a modern treble boost following values in the table below. ROLL - piano or even on a guitar. After a while, and bass cut, the amount of which often OFF 10.5: LON, FFRR. tz: AES, RCA, - - however, I found the Siena piano's constant varies from one manufacturer to another. Old RCA. 13.7: RIAA, RCA, New RCA, twang and its thumping bass tiresome and To play a disk, the bass below a certain New AES, NARTB, ORTHOphonic. 16: even painful to the ear. Miss Regules, an turnover frequency must be boosted, and NAB, LP, COL, COL LP, ORTHOcoustic. Argentinian pianist, plays with clean, rhyth- the treble must be rolled off a certain nlun- TURNOVER -40o: AES, RCA. 5ooC: mic forcefulness, and the Spanish- Brazilian ber of decibels at 1o,000 cycles. Recom- LP, COL, COL LP, Mod NAB, LON, repertoire is decidedly attractive and not mended control settings to acomplish this FFRR. 5ooR: RIAA, ORTHOphonic, too hackneyed. R. E. are listed for each manufacturer. Equalizer NARTB, New AES. Soo: NAB: 630: control panel markings correspond to the BRS. Soo: Old RCA. CESARE SIEPI Opera Arias NEW RECORD LABEL iI OLD Verdi: Don Carlo: Ella giammai m'amo. Turnorer Kollolf II Record No. or Dale: Tama. r, I?,JIud l.,'abrtcco: Allied 500 16 Tu so! labbro. Ernani: Inlelice! Amer. Rec. Soc. 400 l2 e to crederi. Simon Boccanegra: Il lacerato Angel 50011 13.7 spirito. Gomes: Salrator Rosa: Di sposo di Arizona 500R 13.7 To 1955: 400, 12.7 padre le gioie serene. Meyerbeer: Les tAtlantic _500R 13.7 Huguenots: Seigneur, rempart et seul sou - Audiophile 500 12 tien: Pill. Pall. Robert le Diable: Nonnes _Bach Guild II 5008 13.7 No. 501-529500, 16 qui reposez. Halévy: La Juive: Si la rigeur. *Bartok 500R 13.7 No. 901 -905, 308, 310. 311: 5008, 13.7 No. 906 -920, 301 -304, 309: 630, 16 Cesare Siepi, bass; Orchestra of the Aca- Bethlehem 500R 13.7 - - - demia di Santa Cecilia (Rome), Blue Note Jazz 500R 13.7 Alberto To 1955: 400, 12 Erede, cond. Boston _5000 16 LONDON LL 124o. 12 I -in. *Caedmon 50OR 13.7 No. 1001 -1012: 630, 16 $3.98. Canyon 500R 13.7 To No. 06160: 400. 12 This is a re- release Capitol __5111111 13.7 To 1955: of performances recently 400, 1.2.7 issued, Capitol -Cetra 500R 13.7 1955: 400. 12.7 and reviewed, on two ten -inch disks Cetra-Soria 500C 16 ( LD 9168 and LD 9169) . Cesare Siepi is Classic Editions 500R 13.7 in characteristically warm, mellow voice and 500R _Coloeseum 13.7 - To January 1954: 500. 16 sings with good control, but gets above the *Columbia 50011 13.7 To 1955: 51100, 16. level of rich -sounding concert readings 50011 and Concert Hall I 10.5 To 1934: 500C, 16. onto the level of notable dramatic art only *Contemporary 5008 13.7 No. 3501, 2501. 2502, 2505. 2507. 2001. 2002: 400, 12. No. 2504: 500, 16 in the more familiar Verdi excerpts. Still, Kook (SOOT)T) --_- 5011 12-15 the Meyerbeer and Gomes and Halévy Coral 500 16 repertoire heard here is not easy to come Decca 500R 13.7 To November 1955: 500. 16 by on LP at all, much less in performances Elektra 50011 13.7 No. 2 -15. 18 -20. 24 -26: 630, 16. No. 17. of such vocal richness, so well 22:400. 12. No. 16, 21. 23. 24: 500R, 13.7 recorded. EMS 500R 13.7 There is no really significant difference Epic 500R 13.7 between the technical qualities of the Esoteric I 500R 13.7 No. ES 500. 517. EST 5, 6: 400, 12 50011 Folkways 13.7 ' To 1955: 500C. 16 *Good-Time Jazz 5110R 13.7 No. 1. 5-8: 500, 16. No. 3, 9 -19: 400. 12 Haydn Society 500C 16 Dialing Your Disks Clarification HMV 500R 16 Apparently the new "Dialing Kapp 50011 13.7 No. 100 -103. 1000 -1001: 800, 16 Your Kendall 500 16 Disks" chart ( on this page) has been *London, Lon. Int. 500R 13.7 To No. 846: 5000, 10.5 both a boon and a source of confusion Lyrichord 500 16 to HIGH FIDELITY readers. So in answer McIntosh SOOR 13.7 to those few bewildered readers who *Mercury 5008 13.7 To October 1954: 400, 12 haven't yet queried us about this, and MGM 500R 13.7_ who have been unable to glean the Montilla _50011 13.7 information from the note New Jazz SOOR 13.7 at the top of the chart, a few words Nocturne BOOR_ _13.7 No. LP 1.3.5, XP1 -10: 400, 12 of explana- Oceanic 500C 16 tion. L'Oiseau-Lyre 500R 13.7 To 1954: 500C, 10.5 In the bass turnover column, Soo *Overtone 500R 13.7 No. 1-3: 500, 16 stands for straight 50o -cycle turnover, Oxford 500C 16 with linear bass boost down to 3o 50011 Pacific Jazz 13.7 No. 1 -13: 400, 12 cycles. Philharmonia 400 12 5ooC stands for Soo -cycle turnover tPolymusic 500 16 with bass boost continuing down to Prestige 50011 13.7 100 cycles and leveling out below RCA Victor 5008 13.7 To September 1952: 500 or 800, 12 Remington 500 16 that. This is the old Columbia LP Riverside 5001 13.7 To 1955: 400, 12 bass curve, also referred to as 500 - Romany 50011 13.7 modified. Savoy 50011 13.7 5ooR, if you haven't guessed it al- Tempo 500 16 ready, stands for 50o -cycle turnover Transradio _500C 16 with the RIAA characteristic; that is, Urania 50011 13.7 No. 7059. 224. 7066, 7063. 7065. 603, with bass boost continuing 7069: 400, 12. Others: 5000, 16 down to 50 Vanguard 50011 18.7 No. 411- 442, 6000 -6018, 7001 -7011. 8001- cycles and leveling out below that. 8004: 500. High- frequency rolloff values in Vox 50011 13.7 500, 16 unless otherwise specified. the chart represent the number of Walden 50011 13.7 decibels attenuation at 10,00o cycles. *Westminster 500R 13.7 To October 1955: 500C, 16; or if AES specified: 400, 12 Record equalizers are marked either *Currently re-recording old masters for RIAA curve. as shown on the chart, or as the letter tBinaural records produced on this label have no treble boost on the inside band, which should be abbreviations in played without any rolloff. shown the note above the "Dialing Your Disks" columns.

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www.americanradiohistory.com New World, though twelve -inch and the two ten -inch records, Recent announcements that Camden planned accorded Stokowski's the Monteux version of the Franck Sym- but a considerable difference in price. to discontinue using orchestral pseudonyms almost as good. The J. H., JR. appear to have been slightly premature; phony in D minor is for in this new album of eight symphonies latter, in fact, is as good a performance of in SWEDISH CONTEMPORARY MUSIC we still have to cope with our old friends this popular work as one can now find The brilliance of the Kousse- Larsson: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. "Warwick," "Centennial," et al., though for the catalogue. Italian has been a byword in the Blomdahl: Pastoral Suite. Fernström: Con- some mysterious reason Monteux and the vitzky world for almost two decades, and certino for Flute, Women's Chorus, and Or- San Francisco Orchestra (once known as record an exciting and wonderfully chestra. "Wide World ") have managed to emerge from it is still most likely will played performance. Stokowski offers a André Gertler, violin; Erik Holmstedt. behind the veil. Others they do or not fine -sounding Pathétique, which is slightly flute; Stockholm Radio Chorus and Or- follow, though whether will make difference to the knowledge- spoiled by his overdramatization of the chestra, Sten Frykberg, cond. little able listener anxious to acquire these per- music. A genial and altogether acceptable LONDON TW 91091. 12-in. 54.98. by formances of the pre -high -fidelity era. Jupiter comes from Vienna, directed some slight By far the best of the three works in this Time may have dealt rather harshly with Bruno Walter, but plagued with anthology of modern Swedish music is the the sound of some of these recordings, but hall -echo. Less inviting are Stokowski's wonderfully played Pastoral Suite by Karl -Birger Blomdahl, even this has been partially remedied by bloated Brahms; the Beethoven Eighth, by which - despite its title - is a big, finely Camden's engineers in a sort of updating but overenergetic resonant piece full of highly original har- process. The most successful renovation is Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony, monic and coloristic ideas. It is for strings alone. The Concertino by John Fernström is a light, entertaining affair full of Oriental effects; unfortunately, the notes do not con- Xiaíe m ie neatt earn c+n_ tain the slightest indication of what its text is all about. The Violin Concerto by Lars -Erik Larsson is a somewhat academic composition, though pleasantly melodious, and is beautifully played by Gertler, for whom it was written. The recordings are excellent. A. F

SWISS CHAMBER MUSIC

Regamey: String Quartet No. 1. Honegger: Petite Suite; Dante de la Chèvre. Moeschinger: Sonata for Violin and Piano, No. 1. Winterthur String Quartet; George Aurele Nicolet, flute; Hansheinz Schneeberger, violin; Pierre Souverain, piano. LONDON LL 893. 12-in. 53.98. An interesting if not overwhelming anthology of modern Swiss chamber music. Constantin Regamey seems to be one of the neo- Bartókians who are now catching up Detail from n painting by Paul Klee with Bartók's early style. His quartet is a vigorous, grandly scaled, and brilliant affair, i with a rather wonderful slow movement. too! The other big work on the disk, the sonata "B" is for BARTOK, by Albert Moeschinger, is more conservative in idiom, though the annotator's in- Bach, Beethoven and Brahms are ac- superb volumes, each impeccably re- sistence upon parallels with the Franck knowledged masters of music in the corded in Europe by the famous sonata is surely exaggerated. Schneeberger great European tradition. Now, Decca Deutsche Granunophon Gesellscha /t: Chil- and Souverain give the piece the full peaches - proudly presents the major solo piano VOLUME h From "Mikrokosmos." "For dren." Sonatina. (DI. 9801) and -cream treatment, ably assisted by Lon- repertory of Béla Bartók, a modern VOLUME u: From "For Children. " -6 Ruma- don's recording engineers. The two master in that same great musical tra- nian Folk Dances - Fantasy 1l -7 Sketches, Honegger pieces that complete the collec- dition. Newly recorded in flawless high Op. 9- Improvisations. (DI. 9802) tion are trifles, but delectable ones. The fidelity, these definitive piano works VOLUME III: Hungarian Peasant Songs -Sona- for Piano (1926) Rondos- Rumanian is a for flute, violin, and piano have been authentically and sensitively ta -3 Petite Suite trio Carols- Suite. (DI, 9803) was written for children and produces performed by Andor Foldes, consid- which VOLUME IV: Out Doors-10 Easy Pieces-Al- a maximum of tuneful effect with a minimum ered by many to be the foremost inter- legro Barbaro-9 Little Pieces -3 Burlesques, of technical demands. The Danse de la preter of Bartók's music. Here are four Op. 8e. (DL 9804) Chèvre is a virtuoso study for flute alone; it is marvelously well played by Nicolet. A.F. TWO MORE EXCITING EXAMPLES OF DECCA'S New World of Sound/ TREASURY OF FAVORITE SYM- PHONIES MOZART: Mass In C Minor, MOZART: The Abduction From K. 317 ( "Coronation "). agyZI The Seraglio. The N. V. Times Beethoven: Symphony No. 8, in F, Op. 93. Soloists: Stader, Wagner, says: . remarkably fine Krebs, Greindl; Choir of St. both as recorded sound and Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4, in A Hedwig's Cathedral, Berlin. as a musical performance... (-Italian"), Op. 9o. Schubert: Symphony Symphony No. 38 in D Ma- under Mr. Fricsay's direc- jor, K. 504 ( "Prague"). tion." Soloists: Stader, No. 8, in B minor ( "Unfinished "). Brahms: Berlin Phil. Orch., Igor Greindl, Streich, Häfliger, Symphony No. 1, in C minor Op. 68. Markevitch, Conductor. Re- others; RIAS Symphony corded in Europe by Deut Orch., Chorus. Recorded in Dvorak: Symphony No. 5, in E minor Deutsche Grammo- sche Grammophon Gesell. .r. .E `I Europe by ( "From the New World "), Op. 95. Franck: schaft. (DL 9805) phon Gesellschaft. (DX -133) Symphony in D minor. Mozart: Symphony No. 41, in C ( "Jupiter"), K. 551. Tchai- kovsky: Symphony No. 6, in B minor ("Pathétique"), Op. 74. DECCA®gjo&l get RECORDS Various orchestras and conductors. RCA CAMDEN CFI. 104. Six 12-in. $10.98. a New World or Sound

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and a Schubert Unfinished, from the same or- Lecuona: rVla/aguena. Brahms: Waltzes in chestra and conductor, which lacks grace E, B minor, and A -flat, from Op. 39. and is light in sound. Gluck: rllrlodie, from Orfeo ed Euridice. In general, this collection can be recom- Schubert: Valses nobles. Satie: GJmno- FOLK MUSIC mended to all, except those primarily in- pédie No. 2. Gould: Guaracha. Shaw, tere.ted in Iii -fi. six The records, with ex- Clifford: Third Street Rhumba. by Howard LaFay planatory booklet, are presented in a box album; each symphony is available singly Arthur Whittemore and Jack Lowe, two on individual records, the numbers of which pianos. may be found in the LP catalogue. J. F. I. RCA VICTOR LM 1926. 12-in. 53.98. WHITTEMORE AND LOWE Attractively efficient performances of pleas- Dances Twoo Pianos BAWDY SONGS for ant music that could have been assembled AND BACKROOM Strauss, BALLADS Johann, Jr.: Waltz Fantasy. Bach: under any other name just as easily. Try Sicitiano, from Sonata for Flute and Clavier playing the Reger waltz for a musician Roll Your Leg Over; No Hips At All; One -Eyed in E-tlat. Reger: Valse d'Amour, from friend to see if he can guess the composer's Reilly; Blow The Candle Out: Sam Hall; The Line kleine Ballet Suite. Dvorak: Slavonic name. My belief is that he won't - it's Chandler's Wike; Her Name Was Lil: Bell Dances. Nos. i, 6, 8, and Io. Copland: such an unlikely work to come from this Bottom Trousers; The Sergeant; Old Joe Clark; Celebration Dante, from Billy the Kid. composer's pen. R. E. Around Her Neck She Wore a Yellow Ribbon: Our Goodman; Rollin' Down the Mountain. Oscar Brand, folk singer. w\ toe AUDIO FIDELITY AFLP 906. to -in. S4.00. A conventional gambit in reviewing such \\s m\\sc\es records is an arch warning that "this is not \\e for sensitive ears." Well, with all archness nelien omitted, this is not for sensitive ears. Mr. eyou\\ -... Brand, a balladeer well -represented on LP, has elected to sing these bawdy songs sans the customary clean -up - save where the bluntest Anglo- Saxonisms require euphem- \.\\ ism. Brand's interpretations are uneven. Where he maintains a straightforward naiveté - ...and VOX as in the delightfully ribald Chandler's Wife - -- he is at his entertaining best; but often he seems to be straining for "apt" vocal characterizations, most of which don't quite dynamic sound! come off. However, his percentage of hits outweighs the misses. He is aided throughout by clean, natural reproduction. Rich in color and excitement -these pieces are made - to -order for the hi -fi fan. No la- dee -dab stuff here, but music with dimension, performed by artists who respect FATHER SYDNEY MacEWAN Scotch And Irish Songs and understand the "moderns"... andrecordedby VOX. The Dashing White Sergeant: Gales) Bay: SYMPHONY NO. 8 IN C MINOR (Version of 1890) The Meeting of the Waters: See Amid the Jascha Horenstein conducting the Pro Musica Symphony, Winter Snots: Molting the Barley: Lewis Vienna 2.12" PL 9682 Bridal Song: The Ronan Tree: Come to the r METAMORPHOSES Manger: The Lark in the Clear Air: Kelly, the Boy from n FOUR LAST SONGS Killan Christel Goltz, soprano -Pro Musica Orchestra, Vienna - COLUMBIA ML 5067. tz -inch. 53.98. Bamberg Symphony- Heinrich Hollreiser, conductor Some dozen years ago, Sydney MacEwan, PL 9400 VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D MAJOR an accomplished young Scotch -Irish tenor. CARD GAME (Jeu De Cortes) smashed all box office records on a concert DUO CONCERTANT tour of Australia. Shortly thereafter he astonished Ivry Gitlis, violin -Charlotte Zelka, piano- Concerts the musical world by abandon- ing his singing career to enter a Roman Colonne Orchestra -Bamberg Symphony -Harold Byrns 8 Catholic seminary. Now, as a parish priest Heinrich Hollreiser, conductors PL 9410 in the Scotch village ; of Lochgilphead, he JaNaeEK', SINFONIETTA still makes an occasional concert tour (in- TARAS BULBA, Rhapsody for Orchestra cluding one to the U.S. last season) or an Jascha Horenstein conducting the Pro Musica Symphony, occasional record - the proceeds going to Vienna PL 9710 charity. r Father MacEwan's voice retains the SONATA FOR 2 PIANOS AND PERCUSSION clarity and flexibility Ii that distinguished his BARIÓK MUSIC FOR STRINGS, PERCUSSION AND CELESTE earlier professional appearances. However, .1 Alfred Brendel, Charlotte Zelka, pianos -Pro Musica Cham- his concertized versions of these songs are ber Orchestra, Stuttgart-Rolf L------Reinhardt, conductor marked by excessive smoothness and a con- PL 9600 sequent loss of vitality. While the orchestral accompaniment is less than inspired, excellent engineering enhances Father Mac - for Ewan's performance. sound Ultra High Fidelity FRANKIE AND JOHNNY reasons 236 West 55th Street, New York 19, N. Y. And Other Folk Song Favorites Frankie and Johnny; My Bonny Lad: Widdi- sombe Fair: Red Rory Bush: Richard of Taunton

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Dean; Who Killed Cock Robin; The Bold Fisher- Under the direction of Robert DeCormier, man; Red River Shore; The Praties They Grow these New York amateurs sing with the A Hit In Any Room Small; 'Twat in the Broad Atlantic. finesse of professionals. The Yiddish folk songs on this release are the most effective, Sung by Ed McCurdy. notably the very fine arrangement of Roz- DUCHIN'S Exciting Br -LINE Bt.-t. to -in. $3.85. hinkes Mit Mandlen (Raisins and Almonds). Another sterling folk song sampler by the The rather thick, undefined reproduction ubiquitous Ed McCurdy who switches does not show the singers to best advantage. Record Cabinet labels as often as France switches govern. ments. This time he is featured on the LAS MUSAS LATINAS Protects & Catalogs initial release of a brand new company, Zarzuela by Manuel Penella with Luisa de By -Line. As is his wont, McCurdy gets Cordoba and Mimi Aznar. maximum mileage from his somewhat gritty 200 Records! voice, neatly adapting it to the varying Orquesta de Camara de Madrid, Enrique humors of the songs he has chosen. The Navarro, cond. end product is a well- conceived, well -exe- MONTILLA FM 61. 12 -in. $4.98. cuted, well- engineered disk. value, only A one act zarzuela literally bursting with Top HAUL ON THE BOWLIN' melody and recorded in crystalline fidelity. (And Other Shanties and Foc'sle Songs) The plot is fragile, concerning three penni- 10.98 Freight Prepaid Vol. 1 less artists - one French, one Italian, one Spanish who, after imbibing freely, are ¡laid on the Bowfin'; Row, Bullies, - Row; The individually inspired by the Muses of their Coast of Peru: The Black Ball Line; The Ship respective countries. In the course of these in Distress; The Gauger; Blow The Man Down: events, a bit of good -natured and very Do Me Ama; Santa Anna; The Flying Cloud; tuneful fun is poked at the musical clichés A Hunderd Years Ago. of all three nations. Enrique Navarro con- Sung by A. L. Lloyd and Ewan MacColl. ducts his forces with verve and the singing Accompanied by Alf Edwards, concertina. is of a superior order. STINSON SLP 80. 10-in. $3.00. MATADOR OFF TO SEA ONCE MORE Spanish Bull Ring Marches and Pasodobles (And Other Foc'sle Songs and Shanties) Vol. 11 Marcha Granadera; Isba; Legionarios y Regulares. La Perfecta Casada; Dem; Viva la Blood Reel Roses; Dieman's The Van Land. Jota: España Cani; Puñao de Rosas; Pepita Greenland Whale Fisher): Paddy Do, le; Johnny Crece; Flores de España; Ecos Españoles; Brisas Todd; Lord Franklin; Reuben Ranzo: The Cruel del Ebro. Ship's Captain; Handsome Cabin Bo); Sally Racket; The Dreadnaught; Of To Sea Once Spanish Air Force Military Band, Madrid. More; Stormalong. Commander Manuel G. de Arriba, cond. DECCA DI. 9792. 12-in. $4.98. Sung by A. L. Lloyd and Ewan MacColl. Accompanied by Alf Edwards, concertina. Music of the bull ring skillfully played and STINSON SLP 8t. t0 -in. $3.00. recorded with lucidity. Although Matador's engineering lacks the super-brilliance of A vocal recreation of a bygone age sea- of Audio Fidelity's The Brave Bulls (AFLP 18o1), faring harder, more boisterous, more -a the sure, intelligent conducting of Com- dangerous age that boasts some remark- - mander Arriba imparts a musical fluency not ably salty singing by A. Check off these terrific features L. Lloyd, who was found in the competition. You will never recently sought out by John Huston to hear marches and pasodobles played this FASHIONABLE fill the role of the Shantyman in his newly . . . well at a corrida, which is perhaps all the filmed version of Moby Dick. Perforated black wrought iron Lloyd's more reason to esteem this disk. partner, Ewan MacColl, also pulls a strong sparked with gleaming brass, vocal halliard. superbly NANIGO (The Soul of Afro -Cuban crafted and con- The shanties and ballads, all possessed of Music) structed. a rich nostalgia, date from the waning days of sail and the first grinding decades of Oggere; Lacho: Facundo; Chivo Que Rompe PRACTICAL . . . steam. Since the disks originated in England, Tambo; La Cumparsa; Mi Ochun, Ecue; Divided shelf neatly catalogs it is hardly surprising that the material is Macongo; Ya Negro Murk; Negra Triste. every size record and album, culled almost exclusively from British Interpreted by Ruth Fernandez, with Obdulio protects valuable records. Holds sources. Morales and his Native Cuban Orchestra full size radio The occasional concertina accompani- -phonograph too. and Chorus. ments suggest the atmosphere of the foc'sle, MONTILLA FM 54. 12 -in. $4.98. VERSATILE . . . as does the monumentally disorganized Ideal for rumpus room, patio, choral background. The sound is marred An exploration of the Afro -Cuban idiom by den, living room. by some fuzziness and a variance in dy- Ruth Fernandez, a memorable performer on namic levels between bands; none of it, Montilla's version of Cecilia Valdes. While 29"x20 "x13" however, is fatal to enjoyment. Miss Fernandez' contralto is at its rich best, Send check or money Anyone who prefers songs of the sea her choice of songs is not unexceptionable. order to: without the customary latterday sugar- Too many of the folk themes have been coating will do well to investigate these musically masticated by a motley array of Maurice Duchin Creations, Inc. records. Latino songsmiths, with unhappy results. Dept. H2, 230 Fifth Avenue Miss Fernandez is well- supported by the New York 1, New York THE JEWISH YOUNG FOLKSINGERS accompaniment of Obdulio Morales, and Montilla provides satisfactory sound. Oy A Liebe: Rozhinkes Mit Mandlen; In A There are notes in Spanish and English, Shtetl; S'Falt A Shnei; Dire Gelt; La Carmag- FROM DUCHIN'S but the songs receive only a vague sentence nole; En Mi Viejo San Juan; Didn't My Lord WROUGHT or two by way of explanation. If you no EVERY Deliver Daniel; Frankie Slide; Hava Na Gila. IRON IS entiende español, you may have to enroll with ANGLE Robert DeCormier, Musical Director. Berlitz to find out what Miss Fernandez is BEST! STINSON SLP 67. to-in. $3.00. singing about.

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OHIO VALLEY BALLADS traditions that have shaped the musical life Bruce Buckley, with guitar of the Tyneside. Clayton collected these songs himself on a swing through the The Roo an County Cretr: Pearl Bryan; British Isles; this close tie between singer Sidney Allen: Sam Bass. Lula Viers; The EPIC RECORDS and song breeds an expressive interpreta- Rarden Wreck of 1893: John Henry; Molly tion. Despite a certain harshness of texture, bring you a Bonder the sound is satisfactory. world of music FOLKWAYS FP 23 -2. 10 inch. SEVEN TELEFUNKEN RELEASES OF Bruce Buckley, a graduate student at Indi- GERMAN MUSIC ana University, has a bland, pleasing baritone and a highly developed ability to shape The 85 selections contained on these seven his style to the demands of the individual releases provide a substantial run -down of song. The ballads he has chosen - all German traditional music. However, most indigenous to the sprawling Ohio River of the songs receive the kind of over -or- Valley - are strongly colloquial in flavor, chestrated treatment that polishes away virtu- although most hark back to Anglo- Irish- ally every trace of folk origin. The engineers Scotch antecedents. The majority of Buck - contribute an unadorned, unembellished, ley's versions are new to the record cata- well -balanced naturalness of reproduction. to inch disks Me- logue. Many of them, such as Sidney Allen, Telefunken calls these The Rouan County Creo', etc., afford fas- dium Play and they aren't kidding: playing cinating glimpses into the violent back- time averages a mere 15 to 20 minutes per waters of American history. Outstanding record. As a result, the selections tend to be fragmentary sometimes to the point of conics and detailed notes round out a dis- - The album notes, which tinctly superior release. near obliteration. incline toward the lyrical, are singularly WATERS OF TYNE uninformative and unhelpful. No texts; no English North Country Songs and Ballads translations. From Cleveland... Evaluations of the individual records Waters of Tyne; Billy Boy; Collier,, Rant; Keel follow: first performances Roui; Lam/win Worm; When This Old Hat Was Neu; Geordie Hinny; Cushie Butterfield: MIT KLINGENDEM SPIEL (With Ring- Willow Tree; Blaydon Races; Ca' Hau'kie; ing Sound) on Epic Matt Bonny Lad; Heh You Seen Wor Jimmy: Musikkorps Der Schutzpolizei, Berlin. Banks of the Dee. Obermusikmeister Heinz Winkel, Dir. by one of Sung by Paul Clayton. TM 680:2. to -in. $2.98. STINSON SLP 70. to -in. S3.00. Bar none, this is the best brass band sound America's greatest Paul Clayton's selections are representative on records, with the oompah of the tubas both of the older folk and newer music hall and the tinkle of the glockenspiel perfectly orchestras!

In just 38 years the Cleveland Or- chestra has come into being and developed into one of the finest orchestras in the world. For the past 10 years this development has been under 1111' 6Z?jYY61,' the baton of George Szcll who conducts these first releases for Epic: Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor; I Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in D Minor one of the great ,finished"). Hear both these most rtru%y inspiring" polar symphonies recorded in Epic's Review of things on records" Recorded Music High Fidelity unique Radial Sound. LC 3195 V---- Symphony No. 7 Haydn: 88 ( "Paris ") in C . Major; Symphony No. 104 in I) Major the counter -tenor Rodrigo: ORIGINAL CAST ( "London'). Precision playing by the artistry of Alfred Deller' PRODUCTION fabulous Cleveland strings. LC 3196 CONCERTO Purcell: Weill: Deluxe package FOR GUITAR AND with illustrated brochure. COME YE ORCHESTRA THE THREE ("Concierto de Aranjuez ") Each 12" Long Playing Record ... $3.98 SONS OF (with Narcisco Yepes, guitar) PENNY the Cleveland Orchestra is now heard Falla: OPERA exclusively on Epic. ART Alfred Deller. John NIGHTS IN THE (DREIGROSCHENOPER) Original cast production Whitworth, counterten- GARDENS OF SPAIN ors; Margaret Ritchie, of 1929. Featuring Lotte (with Gonzalo Soriano, piano) Lenya, THE NEW LABEL OF GREATNESS soprano; Bruce Boyce. Erika Helmke, baritone; St. Anthony Madrid Chamber Or- Kurt Gerron, Erich \`I II/ Singers and L'Ensemble chestra (augmented), Ponto, Willy Trenck- and Lewis - Z.Z. LONG PLAYING Orchestral de L'Oiseau- conducted by Afoulfo Trebitsch Lyre conducted by An- Argenta. Ruth band conducted by = EPIC= thony Lewis. Theo Mackeben. London International I 2" Telefunken -I0" L'Oiseau- Lyre I O" TW 91019 -$4.98 LGM 65028- S2.9Sff'' 131.53001-S2 OS l A PRODUCT OF CBS Y }e -- - -- 7

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projected and flawlessly reproduced. Ober - by the soloists. The University ambiance of only six tunes in the album leaves a con- musikmeister Winkel's direction of these is enhanced by a slight lack of choral pre- siderable amount of unused record space. swinging march tunes is firm and compe- cision that is most student -like, although R. K. tent, but the performance of the Berlin shockingly un- Teutonic. Strangely, the Schutzpolizei Band transcends mere com- disk does not contain that loveliest of stu- HAROLD ARLEN AND COLE petence. This is without question the best dent songs Ich habe mein Herz in Heidelberg PORTER of the batch. Verloren. Composers at Play Arlen: Lets Fall in Love: As Long as I Lite; O DU WUNDERSCHONER DEUTS- BEKANNT UND BELIEBT (Songs Ill Wind; This Is Only the Beginning: Happy CHER RHEIN (Songs of the Rhineland) Known and Loved) As the Day Is Long; Stormy Weather. Porter: Anything Goes; Two Little Babes in Benno Kusche; Kurt Adolf Thelen, vocalists. Renate Holm and Benno Kusche voca- the Wood; The Cocotte; I'm a Gigolo; Be Like Orchestra and Chorus. Willy Mattes, cond. lists. Fred Weyrich and Chorus. Hermann the Bluebird; Thank You So Much Mrs. TM 68022. I0 -in. $2.98. Hagestedt and his Orchestra. TM 68041. Io-in. $2.98. Lownsborough Goodbye. Catchy, evocative melodies full of the sunny "X.. LVA 1003. 12 -in. 33.98. side of the German character. Very fine These are mostly "pops" songs of the more vocal work by Kusche and Thelen, but the genteel type, with a strong international ALAN JAY LERNER orchestral accompaniments occasionally salon flavor; they are not distinctively Ger- Performs His Own Songs smack of over -saccharine "arrangements." man, they just happen to be sung in Ger- man. The orchestra performs with the sheen Almost Like Being in Love: Lore Song: A Jug of a good dance band. Renate Holm and of Wine: Economics; There But For You, Go I: UBER DER HEIDE (Over the Heath) Benno Kusche do a polished job on the Lore of My Life; Here I'll Stay; Wanderin' LIEDER DER HEIMAT (Songs of the vocals. Star; Green Up Time; Progress; Susan's Dream: Homeland) Heather on the Hill; I Talk to the Trees; Mr. Benno Kusche; Renate Holm, vocalists. Right. Choruses and Orchestra. Hansgeorg Orto, HERITAGE o600. 12 -in. $4.98. dir. TM 68o3o. to -in. $2.98. THE MUSIC BETWEEN Cole Porter's voice is sharp and tiny, and its accents are Ivy League rum gin -and- Again Benno Kusche turns in some fine vermouth. In a quiet way, the voice is vocal work as does Renate Holm. This almost perfect for these songs that he re- time the orchestral support is unimpeach- THE SONGS OF ADLER AND ROSS corded, with his own piano accompani- able. Unfortunately, excessive fragmenta- Various singers and orchestras. ments, back in the Thirties. The composer tion tells here to a greater extent than in the EPIC LN 1122. Io -in. $1.98. is most interesting, however, for his tempo other disks. The majority of the songs are ideas; he sings an Anything Goes that is a nostalgic, but it is impossible to establish Six tunes from The Pajama Game and Damn good deal slower than what were used to. a mood in the minute or so allotted to each Yankees, served up by Dolores Hawkins His other five choices are less well- known, selection. and the Mello- Larks, among others. The but at least two of them - Two Little company does its work in competent and Babes in the Wood and The Cocotte- are RUND UM'S HOFBRAUHAUS (Round conventional pop fashion, but the inclusion bound to delight you with their matchless the Hofbrauhaus) Various Performers. 1 TM 68032. Io -in. $2.98. A sprawling mélange of Bavarian melodies, the best being a delightfully beery rendition Response to recent Audiophile ad: of the rollicking In Munchen stehts a Hofbrau- haus. Elsewhere, Rudi Knabl and his folk Gentlemen: musicians perform well, as does the yodeler We can't figure out what you are selling' but it must be Anni Fahrnberger. However - and this is overpriced" if a large however - the labels, at least on you can afford to run that kind of an ad. Anyway, send us a descriptive my copy, are reversed, the Side t label being booklet, if its free. affixed to Side 2 and vice- versa. Combined Very dubiously yours, with the unhelpful notes and German titling that is not unambiguous, the consequent (Nome sent upon receipt of a $3.00 bill) confusion approaches the traumatic. We're not selling anything really - we're trying to sell records. It is.*** WENN DIE GLASER KLINGEN (When At least most people think so. the Glasses Clink) Studentenchor Und Grosses Unterhaltungs- But there's one thing about Audiophile Records: - they are Orchester. Hans Mielenz, cond. Georg truthfully and candidly represented and nearly all who hear Lohmann, bass solo. them recognize their uniquely good quality of sound. TM 68o38. Io-in. $2.98. Join our list of confused customers write we Thoroughly beguiling drinking songs in - us and will the best Weinstube tradition. Georg Loh - be glad to send you a free booklet. Very few dealers would mann's otherwise rich bass develops a have Audiophile Records in their store - so we will wobble once in a while, but the chorus be glad to ship from the laboratory if your dealer is the performs with distinction. proud type. WAS STUDENTEN SINGEN (Student Songs) Willy Langel, tenor; Karl Golgowsky, baritone. Studentenchor. Grosses Begleitor- AUDIaHILE RECORDS xric. chester. Hans Mielenz, dir. TM 68040. 10 -in. $2.98. SAUKVILLE, WISCONSIN Sturdy, full -throated singing by the uniden- tified student chorus, plus some solid efforts

FEBRUARY 1956 103

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NEW FROM UNICORN! lyrics. Harold Arlen's songs, which Arlen Your Troubles in Dreams: The Little Things MUSIC TO SHAKESPEARE'S TEMPEST himself sings on the other side of the record, in Life; I'm Gonna Get You; Thanks to You: are a little more rich -blooded. Their beau- Ho Hum!; One More Time: Fool Me Some Sir Arthur tiful melodies are no match for the composer's More; It Must Be True; That's Grandma; Sullivan voice - even as it was in 1933.34, when Them There Eyes. the recordings were made. Arlen the song F. Charles Adler Bing Crosby. writer wins hands down. conducting "X" LVA 100o. 12 -in. $3.98. Vienna Alan Jay Lerner is another story. A writer Orchestral of warm, often subtle lyrics, he can also Society TENIPEST sing with a voice that is sure and expres- RUSS COLUMBO sive. He is given first -rate co- operation by Love Songs Here is Sullivan at his best . as a "boy wonder" composer. For while in his 'teens, the corn. Kaye Ballard and Billy Taylor, and together Call Me Darling; Sweet and Lovely; Just poser produced this remarkable accompaniment. they happily run through the best portions Friends; Where the Blue of the Night (Meets no mean task for a grown -up. For those who Love Life, Brigadoon, and a few other prefer the schmaltzy Sullivan, Henry VIII is rec- of the Cold of the Day); You Try Somebody Else: ommended. scores. R. K. You're My Everything; All of Me; Time on UNLP 1014 12" LP $3.98 My (lands; Save the Last Dance for Me: BROADWAY GOES HOLLYWOOD Living in Dreams; Auf Wiedersehen. My Dear; SYMPHONY IN C MAJOR, Op. 16, No. 3 Oh! What A Beautiful Mornin'; People Will Paradise. Say We're in Love; I Love Paris; Stranger in Russ Columbo. Luigi Boccherini Paradise; Hey There; I'll Know; hello, Young "X" LVA 1002. 12 -in. $3.98. We Kiss in a A Wonderful F. Charles Adler Lovers; Shadow; conducting Guy; Younger Than Springtime; Old Devil GENE AUSTIN Vienna Moon; I Get a Kick Out of You. All-Tinge Favorites Orchestral Jack Pleis, his piano, orchestra, and chorus. Society l're Got a Feeling I'm Falling: My Melancholy DECCA DL 8167. 12 -in. $3.98. Baby; St. James Infirmary; When Your Lover Has Gone; If I Could Be With You (One )lour form and substance are stated so plainly Fairly standard approaches to melodies that ... Tonight); St. Louis Blues; Ain't Misbehavin': as to make any extended analysis unnecessary." were part of some of Broadway's biggest After You've Gone; Mood Indigo; Please JULES WOLFFERS musical comedy hits. As often as not, Mr. Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone: Hoir UNLP 1017 12" LP ;3.98 Pleis's chorus gets in the way of the tunes with its lugubrious keening, but the vigor Am I to Know ?; All I Do Is Dream of You. Ask your dealer to order /rom of the melodies themselves is usually suffi- Gene Austin. QUARTO, 53 State St., Boston 9, Mass. cient to get everybody out of serious trouble. "X" LVA tool. 12 -in. $3.98. R. K. Most of these recordings date from the UNICORN RECORDS MAURICE CHEVALIER late Twenties and early Thirties, and they Rendez -vous d Paris, No. 3 75 State St. Boston 9, Mass. serve as perfect examples of what popular Vient dans mon hélicoptère; Deux amoureux singing in this country was like at the time. sur un banc: Mon p'tit moustique; Loin du It seems immediately apparent, listening to pays; La chanson des lilas; Cut l'amour, mais Columbo and the young Crosby, that vo- VANGUAR D oui; Un gentleman; Rendez -vous d Paris; calists cared a good deal less for their ma- recordings for the connoisseur Chapeau de paille. terial. Columbo, in particular, is frankly and sounds unaware of what he is Chevalier, with the orchestras of corny fAit Maurice singing. Crosby crooned, and that was an Fred Freed, George Ghestem, and Paul HI -FI SHOWPIECES end in itself. On the other hand, Gene Durand. Austin had a voice, placed high and sweet, LONDON wB 91080. so -in. $2.98. ROSS' and with it he managed an appearance of ARIO Chevalier's happy knack of quickly estab- sincerity that was downright endearing, if conducts we can believe our eyes and ears today. AHpgS: lishing a friendly rapport with his audience is the most engaging thing about this in- Frank Crummit, of course, was the perennial formal session of Parisian songs. He per- college boy, singing engaging limericks mits us to share in his affection for the without a worry in the world. There hasn't -ARIA" famous straw hat and to feel and under- been anyone like him since his death. Gen- I. erally speaking, this is fascinating period - stand his chagrin at discovering that, on Broadway, electric signs that start with stuff and it's immeasurably helped by the DANCES "Chev" do not end in the expected "aller" improved sound. R. K. (complete)VRS -473 for Orchestra Orchestra0 but in "rolet." And when he invites us to State Opera a rendezvous in Paris, we feel like making LENNY DEE Vienna One of the a beeline to the nearest air line. This peren- Deelirious Greatest Recordings of our time! nially youthful artist is in exceptionally DECCA DL 8165. 12 -in. $3.98. Prokofiev: good voice on this record. J. F. I. NEVSKY More hopped -up organ solos from a gentle- ALEXANDER who has become enormously popular Marro Rrssi. cnnd,:ctcr Ana Maria Iriarte, soprano FRANK CRUMMIT man Chorus & Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera VRS -451 The Gay Caballero in his chosen field. Slick stuff, and tricky "An absolutely astonishing recording ... Percus- too. R. K. sion in tremendous... Dynamic range is among A Gay Caballero; I Learned About Women the greatest on records." from Her; Little Brown Jug; Frankie and RADIO AND TELEVISON Nr.uvs Johnny; My Grandfather's Clock; Down by FAMOUS GIPSY MELODIES Elizabethan Music in Definitive Performances the Railroad Track; Abdul Abdul/m.1 Amir; Kocze Antal and his Gipsy Orchestra. the ençllsh maòrfcal school The Grandson of Abdul: Minnie Skarinsky LONDON LD 9190/91. Two 5o -in. $2.98 ALFRED DELLER, director Vol. I Skavar; Roll Them Roly Boly Eyes; How Come each. The Deller Consort, BG -553 You Do Me Like You Do: Would You Like "A distinguished musician in a distinguished To Take a Walk (with Julia Sanderson). Another round with Kocze Antal, in which repertoire. -PAUL HUME, WASHINGTON POST he displays his usual gifts - all authentic, Previously released: Crummit. Frank mostly tearful, and well recorded. R. K. Elizabethan and Jacobean Music 8G-539 "X" LVA 5005. 12 -in. $3.98. Music of Henry Purcell BG547 Tanis: Lamentations of Jeremiah BG -551 ELLA FITZGERALD All 12" long playing $4.99 BING CROSBY .ad for .ernpl.t. revele. Young Bing Crosby Sweet and Hot RECORDING SOCIETY INC. VANGUARD the lt Might As Well Be SSG 5511 str..t. a.. Ink O. N. Y. I'm Coming Virginia; 01 Man River; Wrap Thanks for Memory:

104 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com Spring; You'll Never Know; I Can't Get April Showers; Hallelujah, I'm a Bum; If Started; Moanin' Low; Taking a Chance on You Knew Susie; Margie: What a Perfect Lore; That Old Black Magic; Old Devil Combination. Come Back To Me; Between the Moon; Lover, EPIC LN 1128. to -in. $1.98. Devil and the Deep Blue Sea; You'll Have To Swing It. Immortality, even in the record business. was surely never so unjustly earned. If Ella Fitzgerald. Jolson's schmaltzy singing and Cantor's DECCA DL 8155. 12 -in. $3.98. exuberant pipings are to be considered A practical lesson on how a great jazz sufficient qualifications for election, they singer can command a fantastic variety of had better make way for Milton Berle and voices and inflections and use them all with Jerry Lewis, who are both certainly as well astonishing skill. There's very nearly a qualified. The record is strictly for the different Ella for each of these dozen tunes. singers' fans. J. F. I. Any way she chooses to present herself, she winds up a truly remarkable woman. WAYNE KING R. K. Waltz Dreams Wayne King and His Orchestra. THE MUSIC OF RUDOLF FRIML DECCA DL 8145. 12 -in. $3.98. the new Nathaniel Shilkret and his orchestra, with A dozen popular waltzes played by the ü- .! soloists and chorus. waltz king and his entourage in imper- RCA CAMDEN CAL 252. 12 -In. $1.98. turbable fashion. For Wayne King royalists Mainly because they came quite late in only. R. K. RECORD Friml's career as an active composer, and then achieved such enormous popularity, MARCHES AND POLKAS the scores for Rose Marie and The Vagabond Various bands. the King have had a tendency to obscure TELEFUNKEN TM 68o33. 10 -in. $2.98. ACCESOIV beauty of his earlier contributions to the Broadway stage. More s the pity, for The Several Teutonic musical organizations, in- Firefly, High Jinks, and Katinka contain, cluding Berlin's police band, in a grabbag of BAR among them, some of the most tuneful and polkas and marches. The results, as you'd musicianly operetta music ever written. expect, are literally bands and bands of Camden has thoughtfully restored them to wonderfully resounding oom -pahs, blown the catalogue in this reissue of sides made with little delicacy but great spirit. R. K. Put it on your PX counter! in the Thirties. Admittedly, the sound is This all -iu -one record accessory counter anything but hi -fi, but this should not deter MERMAN AND GERTRUDE ETHEL display has everything your customer anyone interested in the music, particularly NIESEN needs to improve the sound ... extend when it is as well presented and sung as it On Stage the life of his records. Famous Walco is here. J. F. I. 1 Gotta Right to Sing the Blues; How Deep I, Stati- Clean, anti -static record spray the Ocean: I'll Follow You; Satan's Li'l Lamb; and Discovers, plastic protectivesleeves Wal- GYPSY MELODIES Smoke Gets in Your Eyes; Harlem on My Mind; for records-plus two entirely new Jealousy; Supper Time; When Love Beckoned co products that arc absolute "musts" Edi Csoka and his Gypsy Orchestra. (on 52nd Street); Katie Went to Haiti. for every serious record collector: the VANGUARD VRS 7035. to -in. $3.95. \Valco Balanced Sound Kit, for turn- Ethel Merman and Gertrude Niesen. table and tone arm accuracy and Dis- One of the virtuosos of the gypsy fiddle "X" LVA 10o4. 12 -in. $3.98. cleen, the soft -as -sable Walco record hard at work again here, showing off once brush that's unconditionally guaranteed more his intense affinity for his particular ETHEL WATERS not to scratch delicate record surfaces. brand of folk music. R. K. Frankie and Johnny; Georgia on My Mind; Jeepers Creepers; They Say; Lonesome Walls: WALCO STATI -CLEAN HOLIDAY IN NEW YORK Stop Myself from Worrying Over You; Down An anti- stotic record spray; elim- thon a in My Soul: If You Ever Change Your Mind; inates destructive dust less Rod Gregory, piano; Frank Carroll, bass; penny per disc. Bob Rosten, drums. Y'Had it Comin' to You; Old Man Harlem: `i J Goes Must Come GRAND AWARD 33-317. 12 -in. $2.98. Bread and Gravy: What Up Down. WALCO Miffed Soum/Aßl1 Professional cocktail -lounge playing at its Accurate turntable level; precision "X" LVA 1009. 12 -in. $3.98. deftest, with the trio collaborating on some stylus pressure gouge. ., of the nicest songs we have around. Rod Another trip down yesteryear's well -worn Gregory, at the piano, can hold his own paths, this time with three ladies whose neatly with his competitors in the field, careers are still going strong. The Merman WALCO ZP:a and he and his teammates help to bring a of the early Thirties, at least on the four C {«' pleasant feeling of élan and even eagerness songs she sings here, was a more "interpre- Camel's hair record brush; clips to tone orm brushing away dust to their work. R. K. tative" worker than she is today; she went ahead of the needle. in for octave-zooming, while singing sadder ballads than she became accustomed to GORDON JENKINS WALCOLL Heartbeats later. Gertrude Niesen sounds much the .j same; her special gifts have always been the Plastic protective record sleeves; Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra. ability to color her voice with varying protect against dust, moisture, DECCA DL 81 t6. 12 -in. 53.98. metallic intensities plus the faintly humorous fingermarks. her dramatically on oc- Mood music that sticks to tradition like trick of rolling is pudding to the ribs. Quiet, monotonous, casion. Help your PX to a big share of the Ethel Waters, on the other hand, has no fast- moving accessory market with a and nearly perfect for an undemanding con- special gifts. All she can do is sing, and a Walco Record Accessory Bar. Write versation. R. K. complete joy it is to hear her. Then, just as now, she Walco today for details. sometimes seemed to stop over a word in EDDIE AL JOLSON AND CANTOR the lyrics, as though she were tasting it. LSLIJ PRODUCTS, INC. Dept. PX The Immortals is somehow almost always and the effect 60 Franklin Street, East Orange, N. J. Rock -a -Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody; exactly right. R. K.

FEBRUARY 1956 1 05

www.americanradiohistory.com HELEN MORGAN AND FANNIE Miss Sanders also respects her melodies and BRICE the words that frame them. Her accom- Torch Songs paniment, too, is intelligent; its played by an unobtrusive trio and is as good as any Morgan: Body and Soul; Why Was I Born ?; singer could ask for. R. Mean to Me; Frankie and Johnny; Something K. to Remember You By; Can't Help Loviez' Dat Man. Brice: When a Woman Loves a Man; SATURDAY MATINEE I'd Rather Be Blue; Cooking Breakfast for Adolph Green, Betty Comden, Harold the Man I Lore; Second -Hand Rose; If You Rome, et al. RECORD Want the Rainbow. HERITAGE 0061. to -in. $3.98. "X" LVA 1006. 12 -in. $3.98. Some of the choicer items from Heritage's Few people will temember Fannie Brice as musical show series put together on a single anything but one of the funniest women to record and aimed at the young. Participating INDEX have appeared on the American stage. Yet are Adolph Green and Betty Comden, hard there was a time, back in 1928.30, at her at work on their material from Peter Pan; career's lowest ebb, when she recorded a Harold Rome, doing the same for Fanny; few sad little songs. These "X" has reissued Alan Jay Lerner, Ira Gershwin, and Kurt as torch songs. For the most part they are Weill doing a song apiece or together from of all second -rate ditties from movies in which their own shows. R. K. Miss Brice appeared, and they are not improved by the air of indifference that per- JERI SOUTHERN vades her performances. The Southern Style On the other side, one of the really great High iidelitg I'll Take Romance; Let's Fall in Lore; One torch singers of the same era, Helen Morgan, Day I Wrote His Name Upon the Sand; I'll wrings every last ounce from some fine Wear the Green Willow: It's De- Lovely; My RECORD REVIEWS songs, in that tremulous, tear -raddled wisp Letters; Too Marvelous for Words; The Gypsy of a voice that delighted everyone back in in My Soul; Debonair; I Don't Know Where to for the Twenties and Thirties. The record is Turn; I Hadn't Anyone Till You; Scarlet certainly valuable for bringing back into Ribbons. 1954 circulation such satisfying samples of this singer's inimitable art. Unfortunately, the Jeri Southern. available transfer from old 78s is one of this label's DECCA DL 8055. 12 -in. $3.98. least satisfactory efforts - high in surface The Southern style is a noise and squeaks, and extremely variable simple one, and it may be that its just a little too simple. in the quality of its sound. J. F. I. The accents are even throughout, the tone NOW THE ROSE TATTOO too. Perhaps what is missing is a touch of venom. Certainly, though, Miss Southern Music from the movie soundtrack, Alex offers sweetness in abundance, and she North, cond. knows how to accompany herself on the A complete index, alphabetical COLUMBIA CL 727. I2 -in. $3.98. piano very capably. R. K. by composer or collection -title, Another skillfully crafted movie score from Alex North, a composer who stands at the DICK STEWART of all the classical and semi- top of his trade. Strung together on a Dick Stewart Sings single LP, it has a tendency to monotony classical, jazz and spoken word - Ht -Fl RECORD R -40 I. 12 -in. 54.98. much of it is darkly colored and languid - record reviews contained in but accompanied on screen by the volatile Dick Stewart has a well -controlled but small HIGH FIDELITY Magazine blandishments of Anna Magnani it may do voice that is very nearly swamped by the its task perfectly. Good sound and per- instrumentalists. Too often his accom- during 1954. Discographies in- formance. R. K. panists seem at cross -purposes with him. On At Long Last Lore, cluded. A "must" reference. for example, Stewart FELICIA SANDERS AT THE BLUE is wringing his heart out while the boys in ANGEL the background are apparently taking short, Come Rain or Come Shine: Speaking of sharp satirical thrusts at the melody. R. K. ONLY 500 EACH Love; If I Love Again: It Might As Well Be Spring: I Wanna Be Loved: Baby - VICO TORRIANI Send for your copy NOB Did You Hear ?: Something Cool; My Funny Valentine; You Make Me Feel So Vico Torriani, with orchestras of Raymond Young: When the World Was Young; Old Legrand and Jack Ledru. Devil Moon: The Song from the Moulin LONDON W 91083. IO -in. $2.98. Rouge. HIGH FIDELITY Magazine Dept R13 Vico Torriani is lighthearted in the best Publishing House Felicia Sanders. Mediterranean way, and offers a voice that COLUMBIA CL 12 -in. sounds professionally trained in bargain. Great Barrington, Mass. 654. $3.95. the In addition, his album is noteworthy for at Felicia Sanders is the young lady who pro- least a few lines of refreshingly Enclosed find Please vided the vocal part of Percy Faith's popu- candid annotations about the accomplishments lar recording of The Song from the Moulin of both send me a copy of: the singer and the company that has Rouge. She makes her living by singing recorded him. His material ranges widely; 1954 Index O in some of the smaller supper clubs around some of it, like Grandos and Vaya con Dios, the country and is most at home, it seems, is very well- known, indeed, and he handles NAME in New York's Blue Angel. There she is it with sophistication very much appreciated and it's not difficult - in fact, Mr. Tor - riani probably would be very much at home ADDRESS to understand why. Given a voice that is in a Parisian music not particularly distinctive, she has learned -hall. R. K. to groom it carefully. She knows how to build slowly to a crescendo and scale off WINTERTIME SUITE neatly to a pianissimo. Elementary accom- Richard Ellsasser, playing the Organ of the No C.O.D.'s, please plishments, yes ... but far from ordinary; John Hays Hammond Museum. few popular singers ever reach this level. M -G -M w 3284. 12-in. $3.98. io6 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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The contrasts of nature have provided musi- phone; Dick Voigt, piano; Bobby Morgan, cal ideas to composers for hundreds of bass; Lyman Drake, drums. Rid Your Records of Dust years. It's doubtful, though, that there COLUMBIA CL 736. C2 -in. 37 min. $3.98. ever has been a piece of music devoted to always use Modern: Johnny Eaton and His Prince - winter as lengthy as this one, which Richard tonians Ellsasser plays on a famous American pipe organ. Composed by Michael Carr, the suite My Funny Valentine; Sanctification; Nut, masters offers a conventional catalogue of Christ- Cake; Pick Yourself Up: All the Things You 1WflC mas card scenes, from the old- fashioned sleigh Are; Babbittry; The Nearness of You; Wholll The Best...The Dry Method ride to Jack Frost. Ellsasser, however, is G; When Johnny Comes Marching Home. music; he gives it the undaunted by the Johnny Eaton, piano; Dick Lincoln, vibra- by an electronic device called NO SPRAYING works, aided phone; John Solum, flute; Eddie White, the Accentor, which can double Dynamic bass; Alan Bergman, drums. NO WASHING the volume of the pipe organ. R. K. COLUMBIA CL 737. 12 -in. 37 min. $3.98. 4,0 NO RUBBING Student dance bands have been a familiar GEORGE WRIGHT part of the college scene for a long time, Organ Recitals but jazz bands playing for more than their Brush while George Wright, organ. members' amazement are relatively new. is generally favored form of record is rotating Hi -Ft RECORD R 701 -2. Two 12-in. $4.95 Dixieland the each. collegiate jazz expression and, since they play Dixieland, Eli's Chosen Six may he The An effective easy -to -use Mr. Wright is a leading practitioner of an considered a representative collegiate jazz Polonium record brush that will pay does art that may vanish in the not -too -distant band. But Yale can boast of stronger ma- Strip for itself many times over the trick - future - playing one of those mammoth terial than the average college group: a in the protection it will give Wurlitzer pipe organs in a vast motion-pic- lusty trombonist (the strong point of most your prized record collec- ture theater. He handles the instrument as college bands), a satisfactory trumpet man tion. easily as if it were a toy, which in a sense it (normally a college weak point), and a is; and the facility with which he slithers clarinetist -soprano saxophonist of admirable Expensive compared with around the manuals and keyboard, his sense ease and proficiency. $1785 other products... but inex- of color and rhythm, are nothing short of On almost every score, Johnny Eaton's pensive when noise -free wonderful. The organ imitates everything Princetonians are a thoroughly unrepresenta- and longer lasting records - maracas, tambourines, bells, harps, celes- tive college group. Their forte is modern are considered. tas - so that the record liner is forced to jazz and they play and think with a skill Buy STATICMASTERS at your Hi -Fi dealers or assure the listener that the "bird sound in and imaginative perception which ought to ,. order direct... sent postpaid -cash with order. 'Quiet Village is the real thing. Mr. give pause to almost every professional Wright's style, alternately jaunty and lush, modern jazz group. Although they lean to calls for nothing but admiration in the the improvisational attack favored by Dave NUCLEAR PRODUCTS CO. popular fare he has chosen to record; unlike Brubeck, they develop their ideas more in 10173 E. RUSH ST. EL MONTE, 8, CALIF. some other organists, he doesn't make the the manner of the Modern Jazz Quartet. mistake of trying to carry it over into a In most of their playing there is a readily Bach chorale -prelude. Admirably full close - assimilable rhythmic surface while below up reproduction of the organ tone. R. E. this surface they are cerebrating madly. They skirt the edges of derivation, building the slightly familiar into something that is YOUR FATHER'S MOUSTACHE IN quite definitely their own and playing with HI -FI a stimulating combination of force and grace. Eaton is someone to watch, in college or out. SAN FRANCISCO M 33002. 12-in. $4.98. No matter what its title may state, this MOREY FELD'S STRAIGHT -AHEAD record is all music. To pin it down, it's SIX mostly music from the turn of the century, Jazz Goes to B'way crisply boomed through a single Telefunken Strike Up the Band: Yesterdays; I Didn't mike by a well -knit group of musicians Know What Tinte It War; Lovely to Look At: who seem to be having the time of their All of You; It's All Right with Me; Somebod, lives. Most of them also work for the San Loves Me; Dancing on the Ceiling; Who Care.: Francisco Symphony, but conditions there, There's a Small Hotel. though considerably more disciplined, were probably never quite so jovial. R. K. Peanuts Hucko, clarinet, tenor saxophone; Eddie Costa, piano, xylophone; Morey Feld, drums; Billy Byers, trombone; Don WHAT IS HI -FI? Elliot, mellophone; Billy Bauer, Al Casa - .1 journey [chino the menti or Barry Galbraith, guitar; Arnold scenes with Kurt List, Westmin- THE BEST OF JAZZ Fishkin or Jack Lesberg, bass. tier's musical director, describes KAPP KL 1007. 12 -in. 41 min. $3.98 high fidelity and the making of high fidelity records. Informa - in years have not often by John S. Wilson Show scores recent tive, interesting, of permanent provided the kind of tunes that jazz groups value to every record buyer. For like to chew on contentedly. Nor have jazz your free copy, send a card to: groups, intent on playing so- called "origin- WESTMINSTER RECORDS COLLEGE JAZZ als," openly recognized the newer musicals. (DEPT. HF Dixieland: Eli's Chosen Six Most of the show tunes in this collection are 275 Seventh Ae.. New York 1, N. Y. the ones that have been jazz fodder for many Original Dixieland One Step; Basin Street years. The only newcomers are from the Blues; Ramble; Wolverine Blues; Muskrat persistently melodic Cole Porter All of Ugly Chile; Weary Blues; Bull-Dog Blues; - You from "Silk Stockings" and It's All Right Bermuda Buggyride: That Da -Da Strain; St. with Me from "Can- Can." Feld's various lames Infirmary; That's a Plenty. groups tackle them in a diluted modern Lee Lorenz, trumpet; Roz Rudd, trombone; manner - rhythmically swinging and some- Pete Williams, clarinet and soprano saxo- what cool on the solos. It's an in- and -out

FEBRUARY 1956 I07

www.americanradiohistory.com RECORDS

collection but it is definitely in when Pea- and free fingered pianist. Freeman doesn't Record Market nuts Hucko is to the fore with his free- really assert himself until the fourth number wheeling Goodman -like clarinet which he on the side, Let's Do It, a fine instance of alternates with surprisingly modern (and his rolling, whirligig style. But he is at his surprisingly good) tenor saxophone. There best on But Not for Me, a slow ballad per- are also several helpful appearances by Eddie formance which exhibits a different, more Costa on xylophone and piano and by all fertile Freeman, playing in a guttily tender three of the guitarists. manner, abetted by magnificent muted accompaniment by Braff. Send For Our BUD FREEMAN WONDER VALUE Newport News; At Sundown; Exactly Like THE HARRIS -LEIGH BAROQUE You; Let's Do It; But Not for Me. BAND AND BRASS CHOIR CATALOG Jazz 1755 OF LONG PLAYING Ruby Braff, trumpet; Bud Freeman, tenor CLASSICAL RECORDS saxophone; Ken Kersey, piano; Al Hall, High Street Steps; Miss Pope of Drury Lane; One Of The Largest Select,ons bass; George Wettling, drums. Blue Bell and Crown; Royal Horse Guard Blue; In The Whole Country 44: Cool, Easy and Serene; Soho Square; Rambler; Write Dept.H 7 Stop, Look and Listen; Hanid; Dave's Blues: Whitefriars; Love in a Village; Mr. Diggs; CHAMBERS RADIO "CORP. I Remember You; Perdido; You Took Advan- Lady Louisa; Savoy Stairs. 97 Chambers St., New York 7, N. Y. tage of Me. Bob Montesi, John Bello, trumpet; Billy Freeman; Wettling, Dave Bowman, piano. Byers, Sonny Russo, trombone; Dan Cowen, BETHLEHEM BCP 29. 12 -in. 37 min. $4.85. french horn; Tom Parshley, flute; Joe Soldo, clarinet; Leon Cohen, oboe; Mitch Leigh, The native styles of that group of jazz bassoon; Art Harris, harpsichord- piano: Doc musicians who came out of Chicago in the Goldberg, bass; Jim Chapin, drums. LP INDEX TABS Twenties was designed for use in a crowd. KAPP KL 101 1. I2 -in. 32 min. $3.98. As a consequence they may be heard in The ideal filing system for your LP gaggles, swarms, prides or herds but rarely This interpretation of the eighteenth century in jazz terms is collection. Names of the loo most in trios and it's just as well. Bud Freeman's fun all the way through. trio But it's more than a mere novelty because recorded composers printed on selections on this disk indicate why. Even with as sterling a threesome as Free. Art Harris and Mitch Leigh have concocted sturdy index tabs to be attached to man, Dave Bowman, and George Wettling, several pieces which have lasting validity as your LP sleeves or cardboard there isn't much substance to this trio work. jazz (count Mr. Diggs, Lady Louisa, and dividers. Also many miscellaneous It's a thin, watery mixture which drains Savoy Stairs among them), they have brought together an excellent group for these per- categories, and a generous supply of readily off the ribs. The larger group, how- formances, and they have provided a show- blank tabs. Sr.00 postpaid from ever, is a delightfully meaty project. Truth to tell, Freeman is far from being a major case for Bob Montesi, a trumpet player Perspective Records, 55o Fifth contributor to this meatiness. That is done whose bright, clean, brassy tone is ideally Avenue, New York 36, N. Y. primarily by Ruby Braff, in brilliant form, suited to the caper at hand and who also and secondarily by Ken Kersey, a moving proves to have a strong, driving jazz sense. There is a fine mixture of material - swinging uptempo affairs, ballad types played LP RECORDS with lilting beauty, mood pieces, and a few excursions that are scarcely jazz at all: a ARE DUST AND STATIC FREE FOLK delicate and briefly satirical minuet, Blue with the MUSIC Bell and Crown, and a blowsily merry report on Love in a Village. The recording is un- STATI -MUTE SAMPLER usually good. Clips On Negligible Weight ELEKTRA Issues I High Fidelity 10" Long Playing record COLEMAN HAWKINS Lasts Indefinitely featuring selections from twelve of our folk releases. The Hawk Talks The American Record Guide Recommends the Each Folk Music Sampler Is pressed Mati -Mule: on pure vinyl. triple Inspected and Lucky Duck; Spellbound; I Can't Get Started; carefully packaged in a dustfree "1 d it ucces folly for months ... pref- plastic envelope, which in turn I. Lonely Wine; Ruby; Trust in Me; If I Could liquid t inns . . erable to applico no usual protected by a hard jacket. Be With You; The Song from Moulin Rouge; Loll.of dust ... - Aug. 1956 issue. This nique Elektra release it specially upriced at $2.00 (postpaid) Midnight Sun; Amber; Lost in a Fog; Carioca. WILLIAMS CO. and is available only from: DECCA DL 8127. I2 -in. 35 min. BOX 348 $2.95 $3.98. WHITE PLAINS, N. Y. Potdpaid ELEKTRA RECORDS is 361 Bleedsr St., N. Y. C., N. Y. Hawkins one of the great, consistent figures of jazz who has been largely overlooked in recent years in the rush to record tenor saxophonists whose playing would GIBSON GIRL TAPE SPLICERS * benefit immeasureably by some study of Hawkins' use of the instrument. A man of splices in a wink! ,....'- YOUR dramatic concepts and a rich, virile tone, NO SCISSORS' Hawkins has moved with the times without NO RAZOR BLADES. deviating in the slightest from the basic MUSIC principles of the jazz tenor saxophone ®ì 41 048411 BOr which he established thirty years ago. The ROBINS INDUSTRIES CORP. GIFT! performances on this disk can scarcely be Model TS -4 58.50 List ruled superior Hawkins. But at least they Model TS -4DLX (illust.) $11.50 List are Hawkins and the failings are rarely his Heavy Duty Models for Industrial Use fault. On several numbers he is encased in and Special Purpose Tapes This is one of the nicest record stands we have seen, for every lover syrupy strings, on two he is whined at by a of recorded music. The gill lot you or your musical friends! T5 -250 for I " Tope $55.00 Net perfect steel guitar (it's catching Hawkins whines TS -50D for I_" Tope - $55.00 Net 10 handy compartments hold 200 long-playing records el either site, - T5-625 for " Tape -- $55.00 Net also 78 rpm albums. Sturdy black wrought iron with rubber bps. 25" back), and all but the first and last selections T5 -750 for °á" Tapa - $55.00 Net x 22" 10 ". Shipped completely assembled, express collect. You can't are in that slow tempo that is considered TS -1000 for 1" Tope - $55.00 Net possibly bey mall with BACK GUARANTEE. Please emit with . 89.95 suitable for "moods." (Why don't we ever At your dealer Or write to u.. for information. LESLIE CREATIONS Bea 8516 Dept. 2n Phila. 49. Pa. get "Mood Music for People with Terrible

IO8 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com RECORDS

Tempers " ?) The result is that Hawkins amples of his direct and imaginative play- works under wraps most of the way but ing and the disarmingly easy, relaxed manner his is a fighting instinct and he constantly in which it is done. These selections were EVERY DAY breaks through tempo and background to recorded at various times between 1937 and play with that stirring and imaginative 1949 and the surfaces vary in quality. EVERY WEEK virility which has always been characteristic of him. THE JOHNNY SMITH QUARTET EVERY MONTH Django; Wait 'Till You See Her; 0500 Blues; THE MODERN JAZZ QUARTET More Bass; Un Poco Loco; Easy Living; Old music Concorde Girl; Little Girl Blue; Tired Blood; Spring Is more and more discriminating Here. listeners, owners of high fidelity equip- Ralph's New Blues; All of You; I'll Remember ment, looking for perfect copies of Long April; Gershwin Medley (Soon; For You, For Johnny Smith, guitar; Bob Pancoast, piano; Playing Records, are discovering the Me, Forevermore; Love Walked In; Our Love George Roumanis, bass; Mousie Alexander, outstanding personal mail order record Is Here to Stay); Softly As in the Morning Sun- drums. service of rise; Concorde. RoosT 2203. 12 -in. 35 min. $3.98. Milt Jackson, vibes; John Lewis, piano; The recent recorded work of Johnny Smith Kay, drums. Percy Heath, bass; Connie has concentrated on his finicky picking at THE MUSIC BOX 7005. 12 -in. min. PRESTIGE 36 $4.98. pallid ballads, a medium of expression which A mail order service which by the Modern Jazz Quartet is not to be discounted completely but which unique The two LPs guarantees that: which preceded this one have contained gets awfully tiresome in unrelieved doses. some suggestion of the merit of this group, There are samples of this side of Smith but this disk reveals them as they really are: in this new collection (Wait 'Till You See * Every record mailed is a brand a great beacon of warmth in a sea of cool Her, Little Girl Blue) but it is presented in new, factory fresh, unplayed copy. jazz. For all the monkish solemnity with perspective along with Smith's abilities as a Every record mailed is most care- which they sometimes approach their work, brightly swinging guitarist, as shown on * fully inspected for visible imperfec- the Quartet is essentially a direct and swing- Tired Blood, 0500 Blues, Old Girl and Un tions. Every possible flaw is care- as almost every selection on this Poco Loco. For further variety, there is evi- ing group fully on the finest Vibist Milt Jackson has dence that Smith's approach to a ballad can spot checked, disk demonstrates. and records that do not and now has the com- be lively and imaginative (Easy Living). He equipment, developed steadily conform to our rigid standards are bination of strength, delicacy, and taste re- also undertakes an interesting tour de force rejected. quired to hold up his important end of on John Lewis' Django, playing both the and vibes parts, and while the Smith the foursome. The rhythm section seems piano Every record is dusted, cleaned and measure up to the Modern * more aptly balanced since Connie Kay has Quartet can't enclosed in a polyethylene envelope, per- taken over the drums. And John Lewis, the Jazz Quartet on its own material, this to protect it from possible dust a variant the mind behind all this, continues to be an formance is provocative on damage, while in transit. amazingly rational and unpretentious pianist original one. This is one of the more adven- whose playing is utterly jazz even while turous disks issued by a modern guitarist. * Every record is carefully packed, to part of his thinking is firmly rooted in the reach you in absolutely perfect classics (there is a fine sample of his sur- condition. prisingly low down piano behind Jackson's Every order over $6.00 is mailed solo on Softly As in a Morning Sunrise). * POSTAGE FREE anywhere in Except for I'll Remember April, these are all U. S. A. On orders of less than mature, reasoned, and delightfully rhythmic the $6.00, please add 401 to cover mail- performances. I'll Remember April misses ing charges. only because Kay turns to that bane of modern drumming, the persistent riding * Our service is fast, prompt and cymbal, which is blessedly absent from the courteous. other selections. * All records are sold at the manufacturer's suggested list price only. DJANGO REINHARDT Django's Guitar * We can supply you with any LP, is You Rascal You; Improvisation No. 3; Blues 1 on any label, IF it currently Clair; Tea for Two; Bouncin' Around; Sweet available. Georgia Brown; Naguine; I'll See You in My * THE MUSIC BOX is devoted to Dreams; Echoes of Spain. mail orders exclusively. The gen- ANGEL ANG 60011. ro -in. 29 min. $2.98. eral public do not have any access to our stock, which is handled only The master of the jazz guitar is heard on this by two people. disk in an unaccustomed setting. Instead of the quintet or sextet with which he * When ordering, simply list the usually worked, he is accompanied here by the finest in records needed, plus your check or one or two other musicians at most and, on pre- recorded money order to cover their cost. To three occasions, plays unaccompanied. This tapes. avoid delay, list substitutes, since serves a dual purpose: there is, obviously, Write for we will never make substitutions, more Reinhardt per selection than in the iJ listing. without your written permission. numbers and he is faced with chal- Sorry ... no C. O. D.'s. sextet SONOTAPE lenges which didn't necessarily crop up when he worked with larger groups. The CORPORATIO1 challenge, for instance, of achieving a jazz 185 Madison Are. performance on an unaccompanied instru- Net, York 11,, A ) ment is one that he meets brilliantly and variously. On Naguine he develops a melodic ¡IC 4D3S5k 'BON line which is inherently swinging, while on Tea for Two he makes silence swing, using MAIN STREET the breaks between phrases to provide a compelling sense of rhythmic movement. GREAT BARRINGTON, MASS. The other selections are well chosen ex-

FEBRUARY 1996 IO9

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110 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com Equipment reports appearing in this section are prepared by members of HIGH FIDELITY'S staff, on the basis of actual use in conjunction with a home music system, and the resulting subjective evaluations of equipment are expressed as the opinions of the reviewer only. Reports are usually restricted to items of general interest, and no attempt is made to report on items that are obviously not designed primarily for high fidelity applications. Each report is sent to the manufacturer before publication: he is free to correct the specifications paragraph, to add a comment at the end of the report, or to request that it be deferred (pending changes in his product) or not be published. He may not, however, change the report. Failure of a new product to appear in TITH may mean either that it has not been submitted for review, or that it was submitted and was found to be unsatisfactory. These reports may not be quoted or reproduced, in part or in whole, for any purpose whatsoever, without written permission from the publisher.

Sherwood Fore-ter 5 -in. tweeter both face forward. This ar- get one with short -wave bands besides, rangement gives the illusion of good pro- you'll have an extra feature ar.d probably Speaker System jection and presence and minimizes the very some extra enjoyment, because short -wave slight caused by the horn. The reception opens up many areas of explora- SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): a coloration three -speaker system featuring low distortion and horn -sound is further hidden by the fact tion. ample power- handling capacity. Uses a 12 -in. that the crossover frequency Soo cps - The Browning L -5oo is an excellent AM woofer, 8 -in. mid -range unit, and 5 -in. tweeter with brilliance level control. Cr ver frequencies: is relatively low for a three -way system. I broadcast band tuner. Sensitivity is fine; 300 and 5.000 cps: 12 db /octave dividing network. believe this aspect of design is a definite it includes broad as well as sharp IF tuning; Impedance: 16 ohms. Power capability: 30 watts continuous program input. Frequency response: advantage, and contributes materially to the it incorporates that essential accessory to 42- 13,500 cps at -5 db. Intermodulation distortion: smoothness of response throughout the broadband IF, a whistle filter. It has a built - less than 0.6% at 10 watts (meas. at any frequency from 55 -500 cps mixed 4:1 with any frequency from audible range. in antenna which performs well indeed. It 2kc.- 20kc.) Shipping weight: 85 lb. Dimensions: Correct location of the speaker was found has a minimum number of cor.trols, and is 35, in. high, 25% wide, and 14a. deep. Finishes: contemporary blond or mahogany. or to be not only important but almost critical. French provincial. Also available as a kit. Prices: Because the woofer sound comes out at the $129.00 to $189.00. MANUFACTURER: Sherwood Electronic Laboratories. Inc., 2802 West Cullom rear of the enclosure, the cabinet should not 18, Ave., Chicago III. be plastered against a wall. Corner position- Considering the price and size of this unit. ing, pulled out about 6 -in., seemed to give two features are outstanding: weight and best results. a very is performance! It looks like a unit which All in all, nice job, and one that could be shoved around with one finger; easy to listen to for long periods of time at it cannot. It is solid - apparently through- a stretch. - C. F. out. Tapping the various panels produces a MANUFACTURER'S COMMENT: Since the Forester horn cabinet makes use of the walls of the room in forming its mouth extension, we are advising in our instructions to locate the rear side 4 to 12 inches from a corner or the shortest wall of the room. Other tests we have made show that low intermodulation distortion is greatly responsible for The L -5oo provides broad AM coverage. the reactions of "smoothness" and "easy to listen to for long periods' mentioned above. In the Forester system, the low level of tntermndulation distortion is due to the 300 cps, 12 db/octave elec- designed to connect directly to a hi -fi am- trical filter and careful acoustical separation of the plifier or control unit. component speakers. The cone -type mid -range and tweeter speakers The added feature of short -wave coverage comprise an excellent acoustical balance for the opens, as I said, a good many doors. The horn -type woofer, and thus eliminate any need for a mid -range level control. short-wave bands are lots of fun. Since I feel that most readers of HIGH FIDELITY would be interested in using SW only for reception of broadcasts (on 49, 31, 25, and 17 meters) I would be much more enthusi- Browning L -500 SW astic about this unit if bandspread could 't' uner have been provided. As it is, the five bands are compressed into less than a quarter -inch SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): a of dial scale each. Tuning is difficult, but compact AM broadcast band and short -wave tuner practice helps. and there is The Forester: an outstanding performer. covering from 550 to 1650 kilocycles and from 6 to some tendency 18 megacycles (49 to 17 meters). Incorporates to drift during early warm -up. automatic gain control. variable bandwidth IF, Whether these criticisms of the SW ar- pleasingly dead sound. And the perform- 10 kc. whistle filter, built -in ferrite antenna, tape recorder as well as standard output. Controls: rangement are significant or not depends ance is smooth and well -balanced. Highs -off and volume; tuning; selector on switch (AM on what you intend to do with the short- are not excessive, even with the level control broad, AM sharp. shortwave). Dimensions: 9 by 4 7/8 by 8 inches. Weight: 8 lb. Prices: L -500 wave section. If you just want to have some on the tweeter wide open. Bass holds up (chassis only) blonde or mahogany cabinet, $87.50; fun, you'll have it with the L -5oo. It's well to about 45 cycles; below that, a con- $12.00 extra. MANUFACTURER: Browning Labora- tories, Inc., 750 Main St., Winchester, Mass. sensitive hot and covers enough of siderable amount of bass boost can be added - - the spectrum so you can explore widely. by a tone control before distortion sets in. There are many areas in this country where As far as the AM broadcast section is Design of the unit is unusual. A 12 -in. FM reception is not available at all or not concerned, that's fine. Compactness, ex- woofer feeds into a horn, said to be 51/2 ft. sufficiently active to warrant the purchase cellent sensitivity and good ficelity are at- long, which exhausts to the rear of the en- of an FM or FM -AM tuner. Then the closure. The 8 -in. mid -range unit and the need is for a good AM tuner. If you can Continued on next page

FEBRUARY 1956 IlI

www.americanradiohistory.com Continued from preceding page anywhere allowed by space - some of its difficulty, in view of the construction of the potential low bass will be inaudible. Patrician, by people who possess an ear- tractive features, as is the price. The tape But many people do not like, or chink lier model.) output, by the way, is parallel to the main that they do not like, the oblique delivery The two drivers, and their associated output: both are therefore affected by the of a bass that does not slap them frontally horns, designed to reproduce the frequen- volume control. - C. F. from a hole in the facade, that glides per- cies 600 to 3,500 and 3,500 to 20,000 cycles vasively along the walls and floor. Yet this respectively, have not been changed essen- MANUFACTURER'S COMMENT: Besides adding shortwave to the high fidelity system, the L -500 is is the way that bass normally behaves: it tially. The crossover is half -section, attenu- now extensively used in conjunction with an FM is sinuous and follows a contour, while ating the frequencies beyond the critical tuner to receive binaural broadcasts. It is the twin in price and appearance of the FM -only L -300 re- the higher frequencies are missiles which points at the rate of 12 db per octave. viewed in this column a few months ago. bounce sharply away from an obstruction. The four upper -frequency horns (two in Everything has been permitted in the re- cyclic duplication) deliver their sound for- production of sound, and it is certainly per- ward through ornamental cloth above the missible for people to prefer a direct to a panel concealing the bass horn. They ac- sidelong delivery of bass. Those who do complish enough dispersion for this not Electro -Voice Patrician IV may as well discontinue reading this account to be a problem, but since they are at some SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): a now. In the opinion here, the indirect low distance from the controlling bass, the lis- 4 -way speaker-system in a very large housing whose bass, when produced by a horn of the Klipsch tener must be at a minimum of fifteen feet lower two -thirds contains a Klipsch-type folded a - corner horn. Frequency response: 25 cycles to well type from the cone of matching woofer, from the Patrician if he is to hear a properly beyond audibility. Power capacity: 40 watts pro- has a minimum of complications and a re- blended sound, and five or ten feet more is gram material, 75 watts peak. Impedance: 16 ohms. Components: 18WK lowfrequency driver; two markable semblance of smoothness. To beneficial. (Enticing photographs printed 8288F mid -range drivers with A8419 ligneophenolic the ear alone its transient sonance is im- to promote the sale of the instrument in- horns; T25A high- frequency driver with 6HD diffraction horn; T35 very- high -frequency driver maculate, and below 3o cps - as low as one clude a rapt young lady placed where she and diffraction horn, and X2635 4 -way crossover can fondle it; and those who dare not do network. Individual level controls for mid -range, high frequency, and very- high-frequency drivers. this wonder if she was deaf a priori or a Dimensions: 62 -in. high by 39 wide by 29 1/8 deep. pastrriori. ) Weight: 317 lbs. Price: complete system in ma- Dept. of Fuller Three separate controls provide individual attenuation, continuously from full output Explanation to silence, for the upper -frequency drivers. We have had several letters taking us to These are a necessity in multi -way systems, task for our TITH report on the Static - but it ought to be understood that their master System (December High Fidelity). function is not the compensation of recording No objections to what we said about the curves, an obligation reserved for a control Staticmaster, but our remarks about unit, but the adoption of the multi -way sys- chemical sprays and such sounded in- tem to the acoustics peculiar to the place consistent with previous TITH reports* where it will be used. The upper-frequency on these products. On rereading the units in the Patrician, wide open, give an paragraphs under fire, we realize we output larger than life, and in most circum- should have been more specific. stances will have to be partially closed by Let's make the point clear: used cor- the controls. Granted that some people rectly (according to manufacturer's in- like the effect of nearness or presence pro- structions) the chemical products fill a duced by an exaggeration of the frequencies very definite need, and our opinion of an octave or two above middle C on the them remains as stated in various TITH piano; others will wish the entire output to reports which have appeared in earlier be as even as can be arranged. Experimenta- issues. Used incorrectly, some may tend tion and manipulation will accomplish a to accumulate unduly on record surfaces, smoothness over the entire range, in any and this extra accumulation will come off anticipated environment. The best judge of The E -V Patrician: durable and versatile. on the stylus. It is harmless; you simply the proper setting of these controls is of need to clean the stylus from time to course the aural bias of the owner. Once set, hogany or blonde Karin*, $772.50. Interior work- time. In very bad cases, enough excess it is wise to leave them in the position ing parts available also, as model 103C -115 Patri- chemical may collect, particularly on cian Utility System, $528.00. - Also available, model 115 Klipsch-type horn, $180.00. Model styli of lightweight cartridges, to make 115 horn also available knocked down for home the stylus ride up a bit. occurs, construction as model KD -1 pre -cut construction If this kit, $99.00. All components may be purchased the spray is being incorrectly used .. . separately, or together (without bass horn) as and that means: spraying is being done 103C package, total price $348.00. MANUFACTURER: Electro -Voice, Inc., Buchanan, Mich. too often, or too heavily, or is not being wiped after application, as recommended This examination was at chosen until the instrument is undertaken the by some spray manufacturers. moved to request the writer, an admirer another location a of of certain Everybody understand now? or change of amplifier principles of the Patrician's design. or pickup is made. The flexibility offered The fourth model is similar to its pre- ...Quiet." June 1955, "Kleen -Disk," April by these controls makes available in effect 1955, " Stati- Clean." May 1954. decessors in fundamentals but differs from a speaker-system for every taste, including them in details. The Klipsch -type folded some not likely ever to be encountered. corner horn has been increased in capacity But the appeal of the Patrician is to an by one -sixth, with a fortification of the need go in music - the response is still elevated musical taste. With its elements lower octaves noticeable at once. In this clean although beginning to weaken. in balance, actuated by record, pickup and large chamber the imprisoned air, displaced It is in the range from about 15o to loo amplifier of equivalent high quality, it is by the pumping action of the diaphragm cps - that ambiguous section where bass capable of a musical utterance superior to of the t8 -inch, specially- designed woofer, is becoming pale and treble has not yet ac- anything the majority of people have ever is forced through tapered channels over an quired color - that owners of previous heard in reproduction. angular route until it is pushed out through Patricians will hear the most striking im- To this writer, the sonic spectrum as a vertical sluice in the rear. Thence it is provement. The reproduction allotted by divided and then blended by the Patrician guided in two columns to freedom through the crossover network to the range 200 to is delivered in a discrimination of orchestral vertical sluices in either side. The walls of 600 cycles, formerly to a 12 -in, cone- speaker timbre, without unwanted stresses or harsh the room, if the instrument is in a corner, and now to a pair of compression drivers undertones, not surpassed by anything in then provide an additional prolongation of fitted to wood -and -plastic megaphones. his experience. The enveloping bass, solid the pathlengths of the horn and resultant has lost a certain dryness and become alive. but fluent, gives a structural strength to low bass -fundamentals. If not in a corner - (This is a change that can be effected at no the reproducer being designed for placement great cost. but with considerable physical Continued on page r 14

112 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com s

!i: !Ili um 1111 ilia ii EN H11111111. 1111111111 IN 111111 `u 111111 ;u li u !ill iu irl 1 i

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How Hi is Fi?

spirits of dark- Illuminated Dial Pointer; striking gold - Don't miss the third edition of Bogen's Let Moussorgsky's finish cage. R;60 chassis, $119.50. Metal Fi- ness twirl out of your custom Bogen popular booklet, "Understanding High enclosure, $7.00. FM tuner only (FM50), delity". Get this 56 page "easy-to- under- hi -fi for the first time, and you'll at $79.50. understand what happens on stand" illustrated primer on hi -fi -while it last New Bogen DB1.10 .15IV Amplifier. De- lasts. Send only 25c to Dept. WB, David Bald Mountain every Saint John's DB2O (the scended from famous Bogen Bogen Company, Inc., 29 Ninth Avenue, Night. In the very midst of a Black "Champ'). Response, 15- 40000 cps ± 0.5 New York 14, N. Y. Mass in your own living room, you'll db; distortion within 0.5' Gt 15 watts. Features: built -in Speaker Selector quite likely rise, join the assembly Switch; visual indicator on Variable of witches, and ask the first dance Damping Control; Tape Monitor; Two with Satan's uncomely sister. .1- Position Filter Switches; Separate GCS Control; Position Record Equalizer. New Bogen Raso FM -AM Tuner. New DB130 Chassis, $115.00. Enclosure, $7.50. styling, new design. Response, 15 -15000 cps ±u.5 db; superb selectivity! FM sensi- For a rate experience in listening, hear HIGH FIDELITY Because It Sounds Better tivity, 9.5 ine 0e 70 olun output. Features: these two perfectly matched Bogen units new calibrated "Zero -In" Tuning Meter; at your favorite hi -fi Sound Salon now.

www.americanradiohistory.com TESTED IN THE HOME pliance - both lateral and vertical - is rela- fleeting shimmer that is given by further tively quite high. These factors result in extension of the range. Continued from page I 12 low minimum tracking force, wide fre- With two sapphire styli the Recoton- quency range, and low stylus and record Goldring costs less than Sto; with sapphire wear. According to work -bench checks the emission of any music, without calling on stylus for 78s and diamond microgroove our sample cartridge, frequency response of stylus, less than separate attention to bass as an aggressive $24. You can get cartridges the 500 was quite even from 20 to that element. The instrument is enormous, heavy, 3,000 are better in very subtle ways, but you have to and very expensive. It can roar with the pay substantially more for them. In terms mightiest; but it is even more impressive of what you receive per dollar when it is gentle. spent, the 500 is a noteworthy bargain. Durability? Well, one Patrician or another, in heavy employment here for four years, subjected to the attack of fifty- and seventy -watt amplifiers, has suffered injury in only one part, a driver not used in the Pentron Emperor two latest models. Recorder Model HF Versatility? With certain tumultuous or- -400 chestral records any speaker or speaker-sys- SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): a two -speed single be -case portable tape recorder. tem can imposing, even when it is bad. Speeds: 3.75 and 7.5 ips, selected by panel knob. This instrument, whose balanced proclama- Frequency response: 40 to 12.000 cycles at 7.5 ips, 40 to 6.000 cycles at 3.75 ips. Record -playback tion of the full orchestra is so certain on the Styli in the Recoton- Goldring are separate head half track (full track on special order). details within the whole, presents chamber Flutter: less than 0.3% at 7.5 ips. Signal-to -noise and easily replaceable. ratio: 50 db. Rewind and lost- forward time: 70 music with a startling sense of exact proxi- seconds for 1,200 feet. Record level indicator: mity and the piano with the tapering reten- illuminated VU meter. Power output: 10 watts. Inputs: two, for Microphone tion of its bass that makes hearers and Radio. Controls: tingle. cycles, rising slowly to a 4 -db peak at single lever for Play /Record, Fast Forward, and Rewind; Is this an encomium? Hardly; there 12,000 interlocked Record button; speed change - cycles, after which it dropped quite (3.75 and 7.5); volume and amplifier AC power; are imperfections in the Patrician as there rapidly. Now, a 4 -db peak is really mild tone and motor AC power. Outputs: two, to Speaker are in all reproducers. But relatively they and external Amplifier. Microphone: Shure "Rex" compared to some cartridges, particularly crystal. Tubas: are neither many nor flagrant. 5879, 6SL7, 6V6, 12AU7, 2 -6AQ5, At any rate since the rise is slow. It can be compensated 6X6GT. Weight: 33 lbs. Dimensions: 18 1/8 in. it is the preferred reproducer of this writer. wide by 173á deep by 103y high. Price: $249.50; for easily and precisely by turning down the $259.50 with full-track heads. C. G. B. MANUFACTURER: - treble control slightly. Such performance The Pentron Corporation, 777 South Tripp Ave., Chicago 24, Ill. MANUFACTURER'S COMMENT: EIerlrn -Voice is is excellent; it is exceeded only by a very grateful for acknowledgement of its Patrician design few units, all of which are much effort. and is exceedingly happy with what higher in Not very long ago there were only two kinds it con- price. siders acclaim. of tape recorder available, and a purchaser Output voltage of the Soo, while lower had to make up his mind to get either a lo-fi than other variable- reluctance types, is ade- model or a professional unit. There was quate to drive all modern preamplifiers practically no middle -of- the-road, and the Recoton -Goldring without a step -up transformer. Hum level idea that not all high fidelity enthusiasts 500 is extraordinarily low, possibly because of were enthusiastic enough to spend $t,000 Cartridge a push -pull coil arrangement and mu -metal for a tape recorder had not yet achieved wide shielding. Recommended termination is recognition. SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer) triple. 47,000 ohms. play variable-reluctance phono pickup cartridge. As with all VR cartridges, But repeated efforts to produce profes- Compliance: 4 times 10-s centimeters per dyne. this is quite critical; a higher value increases sional- quality recorders at moderate prices Moving mass: 3.5 milligrams effective. Response: the high- frequency peak, and a virtually flat from 20 to 16,000 cps (33 1/3 rpm). lower value showed that it simply could not be done, Stylus force: 6 to 7 grams normal; 3 to 4 grams in produces rolloff. Length of the shielded without at least some sacrifices. The very transcription arm. Recommended load: 47,000 cable to the preamplifier ohms. Output: 10 millivolts. Styli: independently must be kept to a nature of the tape recording medium de- driven and independently replaceable. Prices: minimum also. mands extreme precision in every phase model 500 -SS (two sapphire styli), of $9.90; model The cantilever- stylus -armature construc- the 500 -SD (sapphire 3 -mil and diamond 1 -mil stylus). mechanical and electrical design, and $23.40; model 500 -DD (two diamond styli). $36.90. tion is inherently capable of more rough precision manufacturing costs money. So in MANUFACTURER: Recoton Corp., 52 -35 Barnett treatment than Ave., Long Island City 4, N. Y. most moving -coil mechan- tape recorders, as in many other things, a isms, so this cartridge can probably be used buyer still must be willing to pay premium The Recoton- Goldring model 500 magnetic in changers without trouble. All you have prices for premium quality. Today, there cartridge was developed in England and is to do is keep the stylus centered between the is a tremendously wide selection of recorders being made there. When it was first re- pole pieces. As a further protection against leased (about a year ago) it was received damage, a downward force of io grams or with unstinted praise by English technical more will push the stylus upward, and the writers and reviewers. It is now readily protector plate will then absorb any more available in this country, and we have been force. When the force is subsequently de- looking forward to an opportunity to work creased below io grams the stylus will with it. We should say that it merits high spring back into operating position. A praise indeed, although possibly not the nice feature. The cartridge will fit just unqualified panegyrics bestowed on home about any American -made arm; it is fairly to choose from, and a prospective buyer can grounds. short and has standard Va-inch mounting acquire a toy or a recording studio, or any- Operating on the same variable- reluctance centers. But the styli are farther back on the thing in between, depending on how much principle as the GE, Audak, and Pickering cartridge body than they are in domestic he is willing to pay. cartridges, the Soo has two sets of pole - cartridges, so you have to push the car- The Pentron HF -400 falls pretty well into pieces on opposite sides of the turnover tridge fully forward on its slotted mount the middle category; it bears all the design cartridge. The two styli, completely inde- or - if this is impossible with your arm - earmarks of a unit intended to meet nearly pendent, are of the cantilever type and are decrease the distance from the arm pivot to everyone's requirements. For the strictly set in rubber -like blocks that provide res- the turntable center slightly to obtain op- amateur recordist, it offers convenience and toring force and resonance damping. Styli timal tracking. simplicity in a single self -contained pack- are individually replaceable by the user; Listening quality is very good, smooth age, and for the more ambitious user it replacement styli are supplied with new and free of strain even on heavily -recorded provides facilities for easy connection into mounting blocks attached. Both micro- passages. Without treble tone-control cut, a high fidelity system, plus one or two pro- groove and standard styli are available in the sound is bright, although not with the fessional features. sapphire or diamond. ragged brilliance caused by sharply -peaked The HF -400 is one of the few non -pro- Each stylus and its cantilever supporting response. With a slight treble cut the fessional recorders that is equipped with a arm are minute in dimensions, so that the balance is just about right, and only on moving mass is effectively very low. Com- direct comparison is detected the lack of a Continued on page I rG

I14 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com We beg your pardon!

A short time ago we announced the creation of a new series of Altec Lansing loudspeakers, representing an entirely new concept in loudspeaker design. The use of multiple concentric compliances permitted stepped sections of the cone to radiate different frequencies, thus achieving a smoother, more extended frequency range than that previously attainable from a single cone loudspeaker. We announced that the guaranteed frequency range extended to 13,000 cycles.

This is no longer true. And because it is not true we do beg your pardon. Because of improved production techniques and production controls we are pleased to announce that the 408A 8" bifiex speaker now has a guaranteed range from 60 to 16,000 cycles, the 412A 12" speaker from 40 to 15,000 cycles and the 415A 15" speaker from 30 to 14,000 cycles. These ranges, measured in Altec's anachoic chamber, are guaranteed by the manufacturer.

We suggest that you hear these remarkable speakers at your earliest opportunity. Ask your Altec dealer for a demonstration of their range and fidelity today.

408A 412A 415A

5 ", 25 watts, 30 to 1 .1,00u yoles, $60.00 8 ", 15 watts, 60- 16,000 cycles, $24.(M 12 ", 20 watts, 40.15,000 cyües. $4S W ALTEC FIDELITY IS HIGHEST FIDELITY

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FEBRUARY 1956 II,

www.americanradiohistory.com TESTED IN THE HOME the cable length to two feet brought an im- will be much better than that from most TV mediate improvement, but there was still speakers, many of which are aimed off to Continued from page 114 an audible loss in the cable. The External one side instead of toward the front. Amplifier connection on the HF-400 is, The small switch on the front of the grille VU meter for record level indications. Un- apparently, of very high impedance, so the serves a double purpose. In one position, like the usual "magic eye" or neon flasher cable should be kept as short as possible. indicators, a VU meter shows the presence Results of tests through the large system, of low -level sounds going onto the tape, which is notorious for showing up any besides giving a very accurate indication flaws that exist in equipment, were a little of normal or overload levels. A little above less impressive than I had hoped. The the mid -position on the meter scale there low end was not very much better than be- is a zero mark that indicates the maximum fore; my ear would estimate that not much permissible record level, and above this below 7o cycles was coming through. Also, point the scale is marked in red as a grim re- while the flutter was extremely low, and well minder that that way lies overload. This is below the rated o.3 per cent maximum, a nice feature, and it works very well on the wow was audible on sustained notes. On HF -400. This recorder, however, seems to A -B tests, the balance between the original have quite an amount of overload latitude, and the HF -400 recording was very nearly and even on some occasions when the needle identical, although the tape showed some pinned at the top of the scale there was evidence of harmonic distortion. very little audible increase in distortion. Hum was somewhat of a problem through Pinning of the meter, though, is neither the large system, but this is one of the most recommended nor necessary, since the back- difficult things to lick in moderate- priced ground hiss level on the HF -400 is low tape recorders, and only in the most expen- Low-fr TV speakers can be replaced by enough that the slight additional signal sive units is it ever really reduced to in- the wide -range Jensen TV Duette. audibility. Summing up, the HF -400 by itself seems to be a very good portable machine, albeit it enables you to feed TV sound through a little on the weighty side. (Some other the regular TV set speaker. Turned to the manufacturers have blithely labeled units right, it connects the Duette - and the three times the weight of this one "portable. ") comparison is startling. Turned to the left. Used as a self-contained unit for general - it connects the Duette speakers to an external purpose music recording, and for reproduc- screw -terminal block on the back of the tion of commercial recorded tapes, it will Duette, so that this system may be used as a probably suit the needs of most recordists. speaker for a phonograph, radio set, or what It is much better than most medium -priced have you. recorders. -J. G. H. Connections are very simple to make, and the instruction book is completely clear. MANUFACTURERS COMMENT: By introducing the l'entron Emperor. we believe we are fulfilling the You connect two of the three wires from the needs of many who desire a high -quality depend- Duette to the able recorder TV set speaker's terminals, at reasonable cost. This judgement disconnect one The HF-400 features a VU level meter. has been confirmed at the recent high fidelity of the old wires to the speaker shows. where several thousand people were polled and connect it to the third wire in the Duette regarding the Emperor model. We received nothing but compliments. and the general feeling is cable. That's all. volume gained by driving it into overload that we have every desirable feature incorporated Sound is clear and wide range. Bass is will do nothing more than in this l'entron. Aside from the sound. which magnetize the amazed everyone. we received most compliments entirely adequate, though no one should record head. on the VII meter. 10 -watt push -pull amplifier, the expect pedal automatic organ notes out of a speaker A second feature that I have yet index counter. and our instantaneous to see on braking system. Incidentally. l'entron does not chis size. However, as with the standard a professional recorder, and which might take issue with any of the statements made in this Duettes, the bass can be boosted, via tone be an asset to some of them, is a revolution review, for we recognize the wisdom of a fair impartial examination of recording equipment. As a counter. This isn't a new idea for home representation of one viewpoint on Pentron equip- machines, but it is a welcome ment we can only agree that this review is a valu- convenience able contribution to the understanding and appre- whenever it appears on one. The counter, ciation of our recording equipment. which registers rotation of the supply reel, proved to be remarkably accurate, and I Latii found it quite easy to pick out a sentence or musical phrase from almost any place f in the tape, simply by noting the counter Jensen TV Duette indication at that spot and then rewinding to it from the end of the reel. SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): A wide- range. compact speaker system designed for Using the recorder by itself, with its use primarily with TV sets to improve sound re- separate roving tweeter attached, my first production. Two models, each in blonde and mahogany finishes. are available. The DU -400 control adjustment, surprisingly far without impression was of disbelief. The machine employs special 6 x 9 -in. woofer plus a 3 -in. cone put out sound at least three times as big as tweeter; the DU -500 has the same woofer but uses getting into trouble. horn-type tweeter. Slain either model, 24 in. We hope Jensen will sell a few million the case it is housed in, with a crispness and wide, 22 in. deep, 8y in. high. Legs (detachable) of clarity that surprised me! Nothing really increase height above floor to 173. in. The DU500 these - and in so doing, introduce TV in blonde oak is equipped with brass hairpin lega; viewers to the pleasures hi -fi F. massive, and by no means as good as what the mahogany finished DU -500 and both models of sound. -C. might be expected from a large speaker of the DU -400 are provided with wood legs. Sa- lactor switch: both models are equipped with a system, but with a spaciousness and body selector switch which permits using 1) original TV that belied the size of the speakers used in it. speaker; 2) Duette; or 3) output from external amplifier. Prices: DU -400, either finish. $49.50; Sound from commercial recorded tapes DU -500 in mahogany. $82.50; in blonde oak, Shure Music Lover's was far better than that from a phonograph $85.50. MANUFACTURER: (Jensen Mfg. Co.. 6601 S. Laramie. Chicago 38, III. of comparable size, and the low end was Cartridge quite evident even if somewhat ill- For a defined. the man with regular television set, SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): model Playback of tapes recorded on the HF -400, this is one of the niftiest ideas that have come ML44 is dual -stylus Ceramic phono cartridge that however, exhibited a slightly less satisfactory along in a while. can be used with any type of phono input circuit. quite Jensen redesigned Compliance: 1.5 x 10-6 centimeters per dyne. bottom and a little weaker high end. the shape of its well -known Duette (des- Response: 30 to 15,000 cycles. Output: 0.4 volt When the External Amplifier output was cribed in the TITH section some months without conversion network; 25 millivolts with network. Laud Impedance; 22,000 ohms to 1 meg- connected through a six foot shielded cable ago) into a sort of low end -table. You can ohm. Tracking force: 5 to 8 grams. Prices (list): into the rest of my system, however, the use it as such or, as shown in the illustration, ML44(ss), two sapphire styli, $13.95; ML44(ds), extreme highs virtually gave up. Reducing put a standard television on it. The sound Continued on page 118

IIÓ HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com "BUILD - IT - YOURSELF" AND ENJOY

0 Heathkit FM TUNER KIT Feature, brand new circuit and physical design. Matches WA -P2 Preamplifier. Modern tube line -up provides better than 10 uv. sensitivity for 20 db of quieting. Built -in power supply. Incorporates automatic gain control- highly stabilized illuminated tuning dial- pre -aligned IF and r"Illator-atio transformers and front end tuning unit. Uses MODEL FM -3 t,11Q7A Cascode RF stage, 608 oscillator- mixer, two Healhkils. (iCI36 IF amplifiers, 6AI.5 ratio detector, 6C4 audio amplifier, and 6X4 rectifier. Shpg. Wt. 7 Lbs. $2450

Heathkit 25 -Watt HIGH FIDELITY AMPLIFIER KIT Features a new-design Peerless output transformer and KT60 output tubes. Frequency response within ±I db from 5 cps to 160 Kc at 1 watt. Harmonic distortion only 1% at 25 watts. 20- 20,000 cps. IM distortion only 1% at 20 watts. 4, 8, or 16 ohms output. Hum and noise. 99 db below rated output. Uses 2- 12AU7's, 2- KT66's and 5R4GY. Attractive physical appearance harmonizes with WA -P2 Preamplifier. Kit combinations- Opj1=1P.INf W -5M AMPLIFIER KIT: W -5 COMBINATION AMPLIFIER 111IN= , 111=111tl11IIIÎIIiIIÌI_IÌII--- Consists of main amplifier and KIT: Consists of W -5M am- =111= clll=lII-llfltllltl1 power supply, all on one chas- plifier kit plus Heathkit Model II)Ú-1ÌI% IIIIÌI. sis. Shpg. Wt. 31 Lbs. Express WA -P2 Preamplifier kit. Shpg. $7950 ptII1111011 Illllllllí $5975 only. wt. 38 Lbs. Express only. I I II 11111I tÌIj111Ìt; =111IÌIfN1Ì I IIIIII IIIIÌI I Ì ' fIs-111'1111ÌI1Tigdñsüi.:' - x111111 Heathkit HIGH FIDELITY PREAMPLIFIER KIT ig^l . ;I:.. 4-_, r Designed specifically for use with the Williamson Type Amplifiers, the WA-P2 features 5 separate switch :selected input channels, each with its own input control -full record equalization with turnover and rolloff controls- separate bass and treble tone controls -and many other desirable features. Frequency MODEL WA-P2 response is within ±1 db from 25 to 30.000 cps. Beautiful satin -gold finish. Power requirements from the Heathkit Williamson Type $1915 Shpg. Wt. 7 Lis í) 0 ,_',.,r Q Heathkit Williamson Type HIGH FIDELITY AMPLIFIER KIT This amplifier employs the famous Acrosound TO-300 "Ultra Linear" output trans- © former, and has a frequency response within ±1 db from 6 cps to 150 Kc at 1 watt. Harmonic distortion only 1% at 21 watts. IM distortion at 20 watts only 1.3 %. Power output 20 watts. 4, 8. or 16 ohms output. Hum and noise, 88 db below 20 watts. Uses 2- 6SN7's, 2- 5881's and 5V4G. Kit combinations: W -3M AMPLIFIER KIT: Consists of W -3 COMBINATION AMPLIFIER main amplifier and power sup- KIT: Consists of W -3M amply for separate chassis con - plifier kit plus Heathkit Model struction. Shpg. Wt. 29 lbs. $495 WA-P2 Preamplifier kit. Shpg. $6950 Express only. Wt. 37 lbs. Express only.

Q Heathkit Williamson Type HIGH FIDELITY AMPLIFIER KIT This is the lowest price Williamson type amplifier ever offered in kit form. and yet it retains all the usual Williamson features. Employs Chicago output transformer. Fre- quency response, within +1 db from 10 cps to 100 Kc at 1 watt. Harmonic distortion only 1.5 ". at 20 watts. 1M distortion at rated output 2.7 %. Power output 20 watts. 4. 8, or 16 ohms output. Hum and noise, 95 db below 20 watts, uses 2- 6SN7's, 2- 5881's, and 5V4G. An exceptional dollar value by any standard. Kit combinations: W -4AM AMPLIFIER KIT: Consists of W -4A COMBINATION AMPLIFIER main amplifier anti power sup- KIT: Consists of W -4AM amply for single chassis construc- plifier kit plus Heathkit Model tion. Shpg. Wt. '28 lbs. Express $3975 WA -1'2 Preamplifier kit. Shpg. $5950 only. WI. 35 lbs. Express only.

Q Heathkit 20 -Watt HIGH FIDELITY AMPLIFIER KIT The World's This model represents the least expensive route to high fidelity performance. Frequency Finest response is ±1 db front 20- 20.000 cps. Features full 20 watt output using push-pull OI.6's and has separate bass and treble tone controls. Preamplifier and Electronic main amplifier on same chassis. Four switch -selected inputs, and MODEL A-98 separate bass and treble tone controls provided. Employs miniature Equipment tube- tviies fur low hum and noise. Excellent for home or l'A in Kit Form :yqlic,i n,n. Shpg Wt 23 Lbs. $3550

2,4) yea ,fie i.4 one es. s t ,,i,Qá, . . HEATH COMPANY Ileathkit constr. Imo r manuals are lull of big. clear pictorial diagrams that show the A Subsidiary of Daystrom Inc. pineement of each lead and part in the circuit. In addition. the step -by -step procedure describes each I lease of the construction eery carefully. and supplies all the information you need to assemble the hit properly. Includes in formation on resistor color- codes. BENTON HARBOR 8, tips on soldering. and information on the tools you need. Even a beginner can build high quality Heathhils and enjoy their wonderful performance. MICHIGAN

FEBRUARY 1956 I1]

www.americanradiohistory.com TESTED IN THE HOME stylus arms are mounted side -by -side, with function of a volume control.) one stylus for microgroove records and one The 3i I -A includes a signal strength Continued from page z r 6 for 78s. You rotate the changeover lever meter of excellent sensitivity. You tune as in conventional cartridges, but neither for maximum deflection; the scale is loga- the cartridge nor the styli turn with it; in- rithmic and reads from o to 10. With an diamond microgroove stylus and sapphire 78 stead, one stylus arm is lifted from the car- 8- element Yagi aimed at one of the strong stylus, $38.95; ML44(dd), two diamond styli. is $57.90. MANUFACTURER: Shure Brothers. Inc., 225 tridge drive lever and the other deposited stations around here, the meter read 8.5 to West Huron Street, Chicago 10, III. in its place by an ingenious lateral -shift 9.o. Rotating the antenna away from the mechanism. Rugged and seemingly fool- station dropped the meter reading to o.5 One of the major advantages of the new proof, this system permits easy stylus re- but the station was still audible and limiting hi -fi ceramic cartridges, and one that is an placement and retains the good features of was good. On very weak stations, which important selling point, is that they com- fixed -stylus design. nevertheless were strong enough to limit, bine high output with a frequency charac- Compliance is high enough and tracking the meter just wiggled a bit at the bottom teristic that is inherently a close approxima- force low enough to compare well with end of its scale; its deflection would not be tion to flat from a normal record. According- average magnetics. With a 5o,000 -ohm ly, you can connect one directly to a high- termination and 5 db tone -control boost at zo cycles, workbench checks showed the response to be flat within t2 db from zo to 9,000 cycles, with rolloff beyond that. Compared to most ceramics there was a notable absence of peaks and dips. Sound was eminently acceptable, smooth and not at all harsh from overbrightness: well - balanced. - R. A. MANUFACTURER'S COMMENT: Many magnetic cartridges. as well as the Shure ML44 ceramic The Scott 3i r -A: high selectivity and cartridge. are capable of superlative performance; however. the ML44 has certain advantages for the sensitivity over the entire FM band. average high fidelity enthusiast. as follows: I) l'he MI.44 is not affected by the hum field from the changer motor. or the power transformer in the nearby amplifier. or flourescent lamp ballasts. sufficient on such stations to permit orienting Placement of the system components is less critical. the antenna for optimum reception. To The ML44 does not magnetic attrac- 2) exhibit a wide range The Shure Music Lover's cartridge. tion to steel turntables; the needle force remains make the meter serve such of the same for the first and tenth record in a record signal strengths, a sensitivity switch would changer stack. 3) The relatively high output of the ML44. even be required, on this as on other tuners. level input circuit on a preamplifier or stn. when the magnetic input adapter is used. can he The sensitivity on this unit is excellent; instrumental in diminishing the effect of filament plifier. This is a genuine advantage, if hum and tube noise by several db. I wonder a bit what the effective advantage you're only trying to obtain an inexpensive 4) The ML44 is not affected by any reasonable is of Scott's 31o, which costs $.5o more, lateral drag exhibited by some pickup arms and improvement in sound from a conventional record changers. so far as sensitivity is concerned. As has phonograph by replacing the minimum - In other words, while the ML44 achieves a per- been pointed out in this magazine before, formance equal to that of better magnetic pick- have what seems to quality crystal or ceramic cartridge normally ups it does so in a simpler and more reliable man- today's best FM tuners supplied with it. ner than do most magnetic pickups. be maximum usable sensitivity; I suppose a But high fidelity amplifying systems are microvolt more - which the 310 boasts - just about universally supplied with input might make a worthwhile difference in some circuits for magnetic cartridges, and the cases, but personally I think I'd rather spend variable equalization controls are ordinarily the difference for an extra stack on the an- effective only on these phono inputs. Ad- Scott 311 -A Tuner tenna. Will Scott please clarify this point mittedly, magnetic cartridge preamp circuits in the "Manufacturer's Comment" section? the and are superfluous a SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): was found to be exceptional add to cost, if compact, FM -only tuner of advanced design fea- This tuner ceramic cartridge is used. Also, some of turing high sensitivity and selectivity. Sensitivity: in its ability to keep strong stations out of the new ceramics and crystals (among them 3 microvolts required for 20 db of quieting. Dbnen- the hair of weak ones on adjacent channels. slans: including cabinet. 13 in. wide by 4 7/8 high the Shure ML44) are legitimately entitled by 1054 deep. Detector band width: 2 mc. Outputs: In tuning, it was noted that stations come connection to tape high fidelity label. The fact remains two. both low impedance, for in very suddenly, hang on a second as the to the recorder, and to a power amplifier or preamp -con- that a variable phono equalizer is still re- trol unit. Priem $99.95; case $9.95 extra. MANU- dial is rotated, and then drop out abruptly. Putnam Ave, the most from records, and FACTURER: H. H. Scott. Inc., 385 is in contrast to the more usual slow quired to get Cambridge 39, Mass. This on most amplifiers you won't get variable appearance and disappearance. The result equalization if you plug a ceramic cartridge The first thing that strikes you about this is that there is a minimum of slop -over from into a high-level input. Its pretty difficult tuner is its sleek appearence; next, you'll a strong station and therefore you can pull to talk the owner of such an amplifier into notice the tuning knob. It is a tuning dial, in weak ones which, in crowded -channel using a ceramic cartridge when, for the same as opposed to the usual knob and tuning price or a little more, he can buy a magnetic scale. It appears to be a single knob but cartridge and take advantage of his equalizer is actually two concentric knobs. The larger knobs. Even if ceramic cartridges were one is attached directly to the dial scale. markedly better than magnetics, then, The left -hand half of the circle is calibrated there would be serious sales resistance. in megacycles; the right -hand half is divided Shure has solved this problem neatly and into 40 marked and equally- spaced units. a use the efficiently by including, at no extra cost, This side you for precise logging of areas, would be interfered with if not en- "magnetic" adapter network with each stations. tirely eliminated by lesser tuners. is the larger cartridge. This converts the output of the The small knob geared to No comments on fidelity: it was excellent, to fine tuning. The ratio is 5 ML44 to a constant -velocity characteristic, one, provide as it should be. Drift: not observable after the same as that of a magnetic cartridge, to I and this "low gear" tuning feature is first five minutes or so. AFC is not pro- be tuned in and at the same time reduces the output definitely needed; stations can vided. a 5° the smaller so that it is equivalent to a magnetic. Using and out with wiggle of The automatic gain control is unusually a light is behind the clear - the adapter you can plug directly into knob. A pilot effective in the 31 I. Once you set the level magnetic input circuit; without the adaptor plastic dial, so that the etched figures of the control to the desired loudness level, you are from behind. you can use a high -level input or drive an tuning scale illuminated can tune up and down the band without re- amplifier directly. The adapter has clip -on Two markers at the left and right edges of the adjusting it, almost regardless of signal connections and fits easily into a cartridge dial are calibration points. strength. at the left the panel is shell along with the cartridge. The small knob of All around, and price duly considered, a This cartridge has a replaceable stylus a combined on -off switch and volume con- Continued on page rao assembly on which two completely separate trol. (It's marked LEVEL, and it serves the

I 1 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com the best extended range speakers made hear the name

JIM LA NSING 4-12afu i

They are the best because they are made right. All of the requirements for

making a perfect extended range cone type loudspeaker are known to many people. But only in Jim Lansing Signature Speakers are all of the requirements for perfection met. Doing all things exactly right produces Signature Sound - honest bass, precision mid -range, smooth treble, superlative transients. It is reassuring to find that this is every note a perfect quote what a growing nimber of people want. They tell us that most of our customers have owned other speakers. After prolonged comparison, they switch to

Signature Speakers as a permanent investmeit in perfect listening.

www.americanradiohistory.com TESTED IN THE HOME 1 2 -in.) can be intermixed in a stack and was probably due to the fact that the Walt» the arm will come down automatically at stylus was new and unworn, whereas the Continued from page r 18 the right diameter for each. A good turn- original one had been used quite a bit. over cartridge (Sonotone Titone) is sup- Which is about all we can say ... and plied; this requires a large value of which is probably enough. What more terminating resistance for bass re- mighty slick piece of equipment. - C. F. full does one need to know other than that a response, and if the input resistor on the placement is actually a replacement and MANUFACTURER'S COMMENT: The 310 -A in the amplifier to be used with the is bent tuner we know how to produce. regardless of Crescent not a substitute? - C. F. price. It was designed particularly for monitoring less than r megohm it is worth while re- is actually MANUFACTURER'S COMMENT: The best and rebroadcasting applications, and is possible considerably better than is needed for the average placing it. It worth while replacing the guarantee of good -as -new performance from a re- home application. The 311 -A, on the other hand. styli, too, with sapphires or diamonds, for placement part is to obtain the identical part used represents the best tuner we can produce to sell those in the original equipment. This is particularly true under $100. Actually. this unit turned out some- supplied are of the precious-metal of phonograph needles. where manufacturing toler- what better than we expected ... the result ofa type. ances are held to within plus or minus .0001 -in. It may be to readers very fortunate choice of design parameters. Com- is of interest to know that paring the 310 and the 311. the 310 has about A two -pole motor furnished on the Nalco originated the present -day jewel -tipped 50% more sensitivity and an interstation noise sot; this is adequately shock-mounted and phonograph needle and is the world's largest sup- suppressor (squelch circuit). It in also a little plier of styli to the biggest phonograph and car- more selective. but the 311 is no good that it is tridge manufacturers in the industry. :lore often difficult to notice this difference. than not, the needle that comes installed in a cartridge was made by Walco. which means that a Walco replacement needle is generally the exact replacement part. We do not recommend retipping old needles, as the metal and spring assemblies in most styli can become fatigued after countless millions of vibrations. and a new needle tip in an Crescent 501 Record old shank is still apt to he an old needle with at- Changer tendant frequency loss distortion. gives reasonably smooth drive. But it SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): a record changer that will intermix 7, 10. and 12 -inch cannot be used with a magnetic cartridge records of the same speed in any sequence. Equip- because the hum pickup would he exces- ped with turnover ceramic cartridge. Turntable: 9 Sherwood S -1000 in. diameter; rubber mat; rim drive. Motor: 2 -pole sive. The literature supplied with the shaded-pole type; can be replaced with 4 -pole motor. changer states that four-pole motors are Dimensions: 13 in. by 11%; 5 11/16 in. required Amplifier above mounting board and 2 7/16 below. Pries: available for field replacement. SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): a $46.00. list. MANUFACTURER: Crescent Industries, Generally. we should say that the Cres- Inc., Home Instrument Division. 5900 Touhy preamplifier- control unit and power amplifier, com- Ave., Chicago 31, Ill. cent would be ideal for modernization of bined in one small, attractive cabinet. Power output: 20 watts continuous. 40 watts peak. Intermodulation aged radio -phonographs or as part of a Performance of the Crescent Sot we distortion: 2% at 20 watts. 60 and 7,000 cps mixed secondary hi -fi system. Provided proper 4:1. Output taps: 4, 8, and 16 ohms. Power res- worked was substantially better than pense: 20 to 30,000 cps 1 db at 20 watts. Fre- with styli are used in the cartridge this changer t quency response: 7 to 100,000 cps 1 that of most inexpensive changers. Controls t db at 1'4 won't butcher good records as some low - watt. Controls: bass ( +16 to -19 db, 40 cps); are and seemingly foolproof; there treble ( 20 to -20 db. 15,000 cps); simple cost units will, and sound from the car- + equalization: are only two, and they are mounted con- (LP. RIAA, London, and European); rumble filter; tridge is quite acceptable. Another model. variable damping factor; scratch filter. All input centrically. Operation was quiet, and the jacks and speaker output terminals are conveniently the 505, is identical except that it has a change mechanism seemed unlikely to dam- accessible from the rear. Dimensions: 14 in. long good looking metal hase and sells for SSo.00, by I0.t deep by 4 high. Weight: 20 lb. Price: records. The turntable is fitted with a in black and gold cabinet; $104.50 gold - age list. -R. A. $99.50 in smooth rubber mat instead of the usual tooled leatherette. MANUFACTURER: Sherwood Electronic Laboratories, 2802 West Cullom Ave.. cork composition or flocking - which Chicago 18, III. makes it easier to keep records ( particularly This amplifier deserves three significant LPs) clean, since the mat can be wiped off compliments: the sound from it is undistin- easily. Walco Replacement Stylus guished; it has a multitude features; and Speed selection is accomplished with a of for this combination, the price is excellent. rotary switch that has positions marked N, Some time ago, Walco asked if we would do First: the sound is nice and clean; noth- 33 1/2, 45, and 78. The N position disengages a TITH report on one of their replacement ing special about it, you the rubber idler from the drive pulley. styli. As you know, they make replace- and don't want anything special. range Since the pulley is of quite small diameter, ments for practically every cartridge which Tone control is more than adequate; equalization matches well. it would be easy for rumble- causing depres- has a replaceable stylus. Most of these are The sound wears well; ample power is avail- sions to form in the rubber idler if it were crystals and ceramics; a few magnetics have not disengaged when the changer was replaceable stylus assemblies. able. Second: the features; there are many. so Please note that there is a difference between retipping and replacing. Companies let's be as brief as possible. A rumble filter which retip diamond (or sapphire) styli use the same shank and /or assembly which you send them. Walco makes available complete replacements. The diamond or sapphire itself is, in such cases, only part of the problem. A major part is the damping blocks and the assembly itself; this must exactly match that of the original manufacturer or response will be altered. Use of inadequate damping material might, for example, result in peaked response. Frankly, none of the HIGH FIDELITY staff The Sherwood S -s000: 20 watts output. The Crescent Sot automatically plays has laboratory equipment of a quality to a stack of intermixed record sizes. test thoroughly anything as hard to mea- is controlled by a slide switch toward the sure as a stylus. However, Walco sent us a left of the front panel. Workbench tests turned off. Although the changer switches replacement for a G -E cartridge, so we lis- showed it produced I. t db cut at 200 cps, record in a tened to the and to the replacement; itself off after playing the last original 12.5 at 30, and 19 db at 20 cps. A scratch stack, this control is not switched auto- we ran a frequency response test on both, filter (also slide -switch operated 1 cuts equally must be and we watched distortion on an oscillos- matically to the N position; it sharply beginning at about 4,000 cps. Tone three tests done manually. Seems to us that, under the cope. None of the revealed any control ranges meet manufacturer's specifica- have been safer if difference observable either by ear or by circumstances, it would tions above, and response is flat in their Inside anything, the replacement the changer didn't switch itself off. instrument. If "flat" positions. The tone controls are the speed control is mounted an on -off- stylus had slightly bettcr low frequency calibrated on the front panel to indicate reject knob that is standard in operation. response below too cycles than the original, Records of any standard size (7, 10, and and also above lo,000 cycles. The latter Continued on page 122

120 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com symphony in sound

Sound by Stephens is always noteworthy when selecting the finest in superlative speaker systems. Designed, constructed, and tested by the pioneer sound engineers in high fidelity equipment, the name Stephens stands for true fidelity with music listeners the world over. Each pictured note represents quality speakers and components that will insure the listener a true symphony in sound. Stephens TruSonie speaker systems are scientifically developed to reproduce brilliant, artistic sound reproduction without fidelity loss or distortion. From the designer's table to your home or business, Stephens speaker systems will provide flawless and trouble free operation throughout the years. Consult your Stephens dealer as to a recommended Tru-Sonic speaker system for your particular needs.

For name of dealer nearest you, write:

STEPHENS MANUFACTURING CORPORATION

I F R I A 8 5 3 a W A R N E R D R I V E / C U L V E R C I T Y . C A L O N

CABLE ADDRESS: "MORHANEX" EXPORT ADDRESS 458 BROADWAY. NEW YORK 13. NEW YORK

FEBRUARY 1956 I2I

www.americanradiohistory.com section Hypes- formula high -frequency horn. LC mounted TESTED IN THE HOME crossover networks are used, and each speaker concentrically, and thus have the has high -frequency balance control on 36-inch advantages of two -way systems but are easy cable. Continued from page 120 Impedance: 16 ohms. Power toting: 25 watts. to install and baffle. All have audibly rising Prices: H -222, $54.50; H -520, $79.50; H -530, $129.50. MANUFACTURER: Jensen Mfg. Co., 6601 response in the range from about 2,000 to amount of boost or droop; the indication South Laramie Ave., Chicago 38, III. 5,000 or 6,000 cycles, and accordingly is approximate. Loudspeaker design is a tricky business, as achieve a remarkable projection of sound, as Equalization (four positions) is accom- any hi -fi initiate knows. It is a field in which well as a brilliance that row M listeners may plished by push buttons, and will be correct the most respected experts may (and often for phono cartridges requiring a 47,00o -ohm do) hold diametrically opposing views on load. Constant -amplitude type pickups any aspect you may bring up. For instance can be connected to the phono input jack - you may decide that it's best to cover and correct equalization secured provided a the entire audio range with a single voice - single wire inside the chassis is cut. There coil driver, which can be made to drive a is a back -of- chassis level control for the single cone or two cones with a mechanical phono channel; levels for the other three crossover; the latter is often represented as a channels should be set at the equipment coaxial speaker, but it isn't, strictly speaking. connected to these channels (as FM tuner Or you may prefer to divide the range be- or tape recorder) to secure proper opera- tween two or more individual units: mount tion of the loudness control. them concentrically, and you have a true The loudness control is unusual; it coaxial or triaxial speaker; you may alter- gives flat response at about its one o'clock natively keep them physically separate and position. Turning it to the left reduces the baffle them individually. Again, you may volume and brings in the loudness contour; decide to design a mechanical- crossover to the right of one o'clock, the control (twin -cone) unit with an combined indi- Jensen model H -52o I5 -inch coaxial. operates as an uncompensated volume con- vidual high- frequency unit, and come up trol. The thinking behind this arrangement with a pseudo -triaxial speaker. All variants is worthwhile. Sherwood figured that most not care for on a long -time basis. Brilli- people played their music at a reasonably ance can, of course, be adjusted to some ex- loud level most of the time and that this tent by the high -frequency balance control condition should be achieved with the knob supplied with each speaker, but the charac- in 'ts zero (one o'clock) position, and that teristic sound remains. then there should be no compensation. The woofer resonance frequency of the However, there are times when some people H -222 was, according to our checks, about may want it really loud; then the control (o cycles. This is about average for a t 2 -inch has some reserve beyond its Pat position. quality speaker. It was 6o cycles for the Good idea! Incidentally, the loudness fea- H -5zo also, and this is slightly high for a ture can be switched out completely by the t 5- incher. Both speakers can obviously take front -panel control at the extreme right, hard usage; they aren't at all delicate, as which also serves as an on -off switch. many speakers are. They have fairly heavy There is a tape output connection, ap- magnets and are quite efficient, which indi- pearing at low impedance. It is affected cates good transient response and means only by the scratch filter, and then only that they can be driven for all normal ap- when the selector switch is turned to phono. The H -222 has a 6o -cycle resonant-e. plications with amplifiers of moderate power. Tone and volume controls do not affect the Bass response in a bass -reflex cabinet was tape output. This output is disconnected when the selector control is turned to TAPE, have their boosters. Most users believe but not, of course, when the selector is in that a is likely any one of the three other high level posi- coaxial speaker to be better than tions or in PHONO. a single -cone unit, and that a true coaxial is better than a mechanical- crossover design. We played around a bit with the damping factor control, but because our speaker sys- Some prefer a separate two -way system to a coaxial, and some the other way around tem is relatively good, could hear no sub- -- stantial change. Normal damping factor is but there is no denying the coaxial's ad- +7. Available also are +2 and 2. vantages in space economy and mounting One word of warning: the unit runs hot. ease. Give it plenty of ventilation. No matter which method of fabrication is used, there are inevitable compromises So, all in all, a fine unit. Well -designed, lots of features (which means plenty of that must be made. To obtain a woofer that flexibility) and good performance. Cer- will reproduce the lowest audible frequencies without distortion, it must have a low tainly one of the best of its type. - C. F. resonance frequency; if it has, it cannot be The deluxe model H -53o with crossover. MANUFACTURER'S COMMENT: Although the S -1000 very efficient over the upper bass range, and has versatility with its many features, a great portion of the time that went into its design was spent it is likely to be limited in power- handling in obtaining the utmost simplicity of operation. It ability. You can have high efficiency and audibly flat to about cycles with the was felt that an amplifier's controls should he 55 flexible enough to meet any situation. hut at the extreme ruggedness, then, or fully extended H -222, slightly lower for the H -52o. same time they should not be confusing to the new- low- frequency response but not all three. The H -53o is the deluxe, heavy-duty ver- comer to high fidelity. The convenience of the push- - button record equalizers, for example, appeals to You have another dilemma, too, in the lower sion of the H -52o. It has a much heavier the most untrained housewife. In addition, should treble range. Here you can keep the re- magnet, and a cast -metal high- frequency the user forget to press one of these buttons to select proper equalization, the phono preamplifier sponse fairly level to satisfy the audio per- horn rather than the molded plastic horn in will automatically he compensated for the most - fectionists and those who like seats well the two less- expensive models. Bass reso- used RIAA curve. This ease of operation is typical throughout the S -1000 amplifier. back in the concert hall (relatively minor nance was somewhat higher, and efficiency groups, we are told), or you can let the substantially higher. All models are well response rise in this "presence' range and worth careful listening and serious consider- please what is probably the majority of ation if you're planning to get a dependable, listeners. well -built speaker system in the medium - Jensen Coaxial Speakers Jensen, long a leader in the speaker busi- price range. - R. A. ness, has aimed for the average hi -fi enthusi- SPECIFICATIONS (furnished by manufacturer): MANUFACTURER'S COMMENT: The H -530 has a Models H -530, H -520, and H -222 are 15, 15, and ast with this "H" series. They are all true flatter response in the high- frequency range. There 12 -inch (respectively) true coaxial speakers. Each coaxials, consisting of cone woofers with is no prominence in the presence range, due to the has a highly -efficient woofer cone crossing over at deluxe tweeter used. 2,000 cycles to compression driver, loaded by 6- compression -type high- frequency units

I22 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com you are face-to-face with a

rxoe ':,a ... -. 'N

awa.

Model AF -860 FM -AM TUNER

Behind it is more than 35 years of specialized experience

The design and construction factors of a Pilot is one of the oldest, respected names tuner are much too complex for the average in electronics. Two generations have learned buyer to evaluate. Yet. he must have some basis to regard it as a synonym for product quality for making his choice. Simply labeling a prod- and progress leadership. To the field of high uct - 'Armstrong Circuit' or 'Foster- Seeley' fidelity. Pilot has brought a rich storehouse of -is only part of the story. And you can't rely specialized knowledge and experience, and has upon the 'skin-deep' beauty of a showy exterior, applied it to the task of creating better ways for alone. How then to choose? better listening in the home.

Most of us are neither chemists nor phar- When you stand before a Pilot Tuner, you macists - and we are unequipped to analyze are face to face with an instrument expertly the simplest drugs we use daily. But, we have engineered to provide you with the finest in learned to place our confidence in the reliabil- FM and AM reception. ity and skill of recognized drug firms who, by and by their devoted study of our problems PILOT FM and FM-AM TUNERS demonstrated experience, have earned the right to our trust. AF-860' (illus.) 5179.50 AF -724 FM -AM $89.50

AF-850 FM-AM 154.50 FM -607A FM only 69.50 The approach to the selection of a radio tuner - or other electronic product - is a AF-825' FM-AM 129.50 'built -in phono preamp. compelling parallel. TUNER CABINETS (optional) Cordovan Mahogany $15.95 Limed Oak 516.95 prices slightly higher west of Rockies

See your Dealer for a Pilot Hi.Fi demonstration, or write for complete details to Dept. NB -2. the RADIO CORPORATION 37 -06 36th STREET, LONG ISLAND CITY 1, N. Y.

FEBRUARY 1956 122,

www.americanradiohistory.com rfninal oUND- Mom= uAES Bogen New, Matched Magnecord F35 -B TAPE RECORDER

Smartly styled, truly portable ... a fine instrument that faithfully records every sound, every voice! Compact, ultra lightweight, in tan cowhide. Tape speeds 33/4 "g 71/2 ". Control knob has safety interlock to prevent acci- dental erasing. Built-in illuminated VU meter, power amplifier speaker. Ceramic microphone, reel and con- tainer. SPECIFICATIONS: Frequency response at 33/4" 2db 50-5000 cps, extended range to 7000 cps; at 71/2 ", + rldb, 50 -10000 cps, extended range to 12000 cps. Re. wind time 40 seconds. Signal to noise ratio 45db, 1/2 track. Flutter 0.3 %. Monitor phone jack on front. Printed circuit recording amplifier. High impedance microphone rx input, high level radio -phono. lack for external speaker. Low impedance cathode follower output for external BOGEN R 660 FM-AM TUNER hifi system. 6" s 9" speaker. Panel size 81/2" x 15 ". $379.00 Basic FM -AM tuner designed to provide radio reception for a high fidelity system which already has a lull complement of controls. Cathode follower output (1.5V) permits placement at a distance from the main amplifier. naade Aat 2/(«t4í MULLARD SPECIAL QUALITY NI -FI AUDIO TUBES Separate output to tape recorder (1.5V). Provisions for use of 300 ohm balanced or 70 ohm unbalanced FM antenna; also built-in power line antenna for strong FM signal areas. Built -in ferrite loop AM antenna connection for external. Tuning meter, AFC, AFC -defeat, illuminated dial pointer, all make for easy, accurate station tuning. Pilot light. FM frequency response 15-15,000 cps ±r /2db; AM, 50 -5000 cps -.3db. Distortion 0.08% at 1 volt. 12" wide, 11" deep, 43/4" high. Shpg. Wt. 13 lbs. BOGEN R660 (less cabinet) $119.50 ACM. Mahogany metal cabinet (shown) s 7.00 ACB. Blonde metal cabinet s 7.00

EF86 - High gain ECC83 - Direct- E134 - World's E137 - Quality EL84_Most pow- pentode for pre- ly interchangeable finest audio output plug -in replace- erful miniature amp and input and a plug -in re- pentode. Designed ment for 616 and output pentode for " - stages, where hum placement for a for all applica- 5881. GUARAN- audio. Two EL84's and microphonics 12AX7. Especially tions which re- TEED TO IMPROVE in push -pull yield must be kept to designed and con. quire peak powers YOUR PRESENT up to 20 watts BOGEN DB130 AMPLIFIER minimum. More ef- strutted to elimi- up to 100 watts. AMP AT with minimum LEAST dis- This amplifier offers 30 watts of output power together ficient plug in nate microphonics. 25 °C! $3.50 tortion. $2.40 for $3.95 with preamplification for magnetic cartridge and record replacement $2.30 FACTORY MATCHED FACTORY MATCHED Z729. $2.75 equalization. Inputs for tuner, high level and low level ECC81 /I2AT7 2.50 PAIRS 8.95 PAIRS 8.95 magnetic cartridges, tape recorder, crystal cartridge, other sound sources. Controls: On -Off; Volume; Bass ECC82 /12AU7 215 ( +15 to -15db); Treble (+15 to -15db); loudness compensation (0, -5, -10, -20db); 4- position input selector for phono, radio, tape, "aux "; 7- position equal- JIM LANSING 12" SigNateete izer for EÚ78, ÚS78, AES, RIAA, COL LP, NAB, POP. 2 AC power outlet receptacles. Input selector indicator. Damp- EXTENDED RANGE SPEAKER ing factor indicator. Speaker selector switch for more than one speaker. Tape Model D123 monitor switch for monitoring while recording. Fre- response ±0.5db "EVERY NOTE A PERFECT QUOTE "... This magnificent, compact speaker is dis- quency 15-40,000 cps. Distortion 0.5% tinguished by crisp, clean reproduction of bass tones and exceptional high end at 30 watts.15 "wide, 10"deep,43/e"high. Shpg.Wt. 24Ibs. response! 3" voice coil of edge -wound aluminum ribbon results in unmatched BOGEN 08130. (less case) $115.00 transient response. "Step -down" frame configuration and close -tolerance manu- BCM. Mahogany metal cabinet, legs (illustrated)..$ 7.50 facture result in a depth of only 35/e ", making it exceptionally adaptable for BCB. Blonde metal cabinet, legs $ 7.50 wall mounting! Power rating 20 watts, impedance 16 ohms, free cone resonance 40 cps. Net $54.50

JIM LANSING Stg rotate TWEETER Model 075 Complements the performance of any speaker! The 075 adds brilliance and dimension in the high frequency band, and radiates efficiently from 2500 cps to beyond the limit of audibility. Unique diaphragm structure, compact massiveness, precisely machined surfaces produce a smooth, clean response! Net $54.50 BOGEN B50 -16X ALL -SPEED MANUAL PLAYER JIM LANSING Seeptateete JIM LANSING "Signature" Manually operated, plays discs up to 16" diameter, at 2 -WAY SYSTEM, consisting all 4 standard speeds 78, 45, 3343 and 16 RPM, or any DIVIDING NETWORK other desired speed from 29 to 86 RPM. Speed is pre- of the D123 Speaker, 075 cisely regulated with a single control. Heavy -duty, match Model N2500 - Designed to propeiiy 075 Tweeter and N2500 Divid- 4 -pole, constant- velocity motor and weighted, balanced Tweeter to other extended range speakers. Features a ing Network will provide a turntable of 113/4" diameter reduce "wow" to less than 1 -pad attenuator attached to the Network by a cable, 0.5 %; "hum" and "rumble" are similarly negligible. which allows its location at the most desirable point dual speaker system of out- Turntable covered with serrated rubber pad. Stylus pres- This a for in the enclosure. provides means balancing standing quality at a re- sure adjustable. "Feather drop" pickup arm action pre- the volume level between tweeter and bass speaker. markably low price! vents stylus or record damage. Arm comes with plug-in Net $15.00 head for easy changing of cartridge and styli. Supplied only $124.00 with vibration isolators. Space required: 15" wide, 117/e" collect. deep, 233" above and 1N" below motorboard. Weight shipping charges Il lbs. Prices are net - deposit, balance or 25% BOGEN B5016X. With GE Send full remittance $5 .00, full Send for Terminal's triple play magnetic cartridge. On orders under se Any COD. Please - d FREEI $48.65 shipping 1956 AUDIO GUIDE P55. remittanceenwilDeefunded. t e rr Women base as illustrated 16" x 13" x 2 "._$4.80 overpa y against You are fully protected GUARANTEE. arrives in damaged loss it any part 90 days. any financial defective within condition or becomes transit every item is insured in and Every shipment aiu actu CORP. GUARANTEED by mina l Radio is FULLY Terminal Radio. 85 COURTLAN D STREET, NEW YORK 7, N. Y. WOrth 4 -3311

124 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com YOUR TUTTI PRESENTS i LANGEVIN Continued from page 63

long the key is depressed. This fact has been established experimentally by comparing the oscilloscope wave forms r How good \\I of single tones struck by recognized concert musicians with the wave forms I will your of tones of equal amplitude produced by mechanical means. It is valid, how- 1 ever, to speak of a complete perform- new tape ance as having a "singing" or a "brittle" tone. Such musical effects are created by \ recorder be? the phrasing and relative intensity and duration of the various notes, rather than by direct control of actual timbre. The clavichord strikes its strings with a piece of brass called a tangent, giving the sound a more metallic 4' timbre with a larger percentage of Designed high -order overtones and a more pro- by COOK nounced strike tone than the piano has. One of the answers lies in the quality The distinguishing feature of the clavi- for use at the of the magnetic recording head -a chord is that the tangent marks off the basic and important part of all N.Y. Audio Fair recorders. The better the head, the length of string left free to vibrate at Over 70 watts at extremely low better the performance you can the same time that it strikes, and the distortion, the only truly class A expect. A Shure magnetic recording key never loses control of the tangent. high power unit in manufacture.* head insures a unit constructed to The player can thus introduce vibrato Bona fide 3 -stage current /voltage close tolerances ... precision speci- and nuances of pitch from the key- feedback network dynamically fications ... optimum performance board. This is not true of the similar adjusts response to any speaker, of your recorder. sounding harpsichord, but the latter the closest approach to a feed- has special features of its own. "Stops" back speaker ever achieved. With An outstanding example is the resistor load, response exceeds are provided, associated with each "Micro- Gap," a new, high quality FCC f -m specs -8 and 16 ohm magnetic recording head specifically manual, that engage or delete different output. sets of resonating strings for the vari- designed for use in professional studio Stable, conservatively rated at 50 and fine quality home tape recorders. ation of timbre. watts; new, heavier 316B output It provides excellent response over The human voice mechanism could coil. Design by Cook, built by an extremely wide frequency range be classified as a double -reed wood- Langevin for lifetime use. ... long operating life at maximum wind, without overstretching the point. *4- 6550's; for efficiency. For home recordings of high tube capacity A steady flow of air from the lungs is Class A design costs us more, professional stature, or for precision data recording equipment, the periodically throttled by the vocal brings you unparalleled performance at this economical low price. "Micro -Gap" cannot be excelled. cords to produce the familiar saw - toothed wave form, and the resonating net The "Micro -Gap" is the latest of the cavities of the human pulmonary sys- 168.50 (incl. tubes) Shure family of fine -quality mag- tem pick off certain harmonics and available only from netic recording heads. When a tape form the overtone structure of the recorder manufacturer announces a vocal tone. Muscular variation of the model equipped with any of them, vocal cord tension controls pitch. Langevin you can be assured of the high qual- The crooner rejects the classical use ity of the tape recorder for the ... of the body resonators and of the full choice of a Shure head is proof that for years ... makers of the manufacturer is giving you the singing voice, substituting a sort of premium broadcast equipment very best. moan that does not have the necessary volume for a public performance, but r Mr. Al Schneider, Chief Engineer is of the proper strength to serve as the Langevin Manufacturing Corp. 47 -37 Austel Place input stimulus for a public- address sys- 6/.044 Long Island City 1, New York cx,° complete information on tem. The microphone, electronic am- Please send the Cook -Langevin Ultimate. plifier, and loudspeaker must be con- Ship the Cook -Langevin Ultimate as sidered integral elements of the soon os available. 523 dep. enclosed. Balance C.O.D., crooner's tonal apparatus. Without express. Pioneers in Magnetic Recording these the effect would be comparable 1 enclose 5168.50. You pay express. Since 1939 to that of a piano without a sound - board. Whispers, sighs, and quiet SHURE BROTHERS, Inc. on next page 225 West Huron Street, Chicago 10, Illinois Continued

FEBRUARY 1956 I25

www.americanradiohistory.com YOUR TUTTI Continued from preceding page

tones whose timbre and whose style of New PENTRON delivery are quite different from those of the full voice are magnified to concert hall volume, a feat that would have been impossible before the age 40-eil'ah4efi of amplification. (Is this progress? ) Electronics has, as a matter of fact $,X3 AL. LllláMK opened up a wealth of possibilities for Tape Recorder the design of new musical instruments These possibilities have in general been greeted with favor by the engi with

. neering fraternity and, as often as not with horror by musical scholars. In any case it is unlikely that the old - Unimagic I fashioned acoustical devices described above - of wood, brass, and precious metals - will be rendered obsolete in Control Again the Audio Fairs confirmed that anything like the near future. the experienced listener and music

lover value, above all else in a music system, WITHOUT VITAMINS REALISM Continued from page 66 that effaces the presence of equip- temperament to inflate a dirigible, ment and completely re- creates the but it is a temperament invariably music. under musical and intellectual con- last Time and again, visitors were heard trol. He remains virtually the survivor of the romantic school of to say: "The best sound is where pianists. Only Novaes, who has been they are using Bozaks." before the public nearly fifty years.

Designed on proven, straightforward is active with him. (Backhaus, an- veteran, is not one the principles built one-by -one with other grand of - romantic pianists.) Rubinstein's play- painstaking handcraft tested ruth- - ing more than that of any pianist ex- lessly and tested again easier than pushing buttons - presses a joie de vivre, a healthy ap- - properly mounted and powered, used proach never touched by a neurotic Pentron's new Unimagic feather -light His musical arc with true wide- range, low- distortion quality. conceptions selector lever does everything. The always eminently sane: no excessive program material, Pacemaker's 2 hi fi speakers, auto- rubato, no monkeying with tempos matic index counter, instantaneous BOZAK LOUDSPEAKERS and rhythms, no yearning for the In- braking, brilliant functional styling, are The Purest Voice finite, no apparent inner struggles. and other features add up to the is a man. As he plays, for a fine Music System. He civilized so he is. He can even laugh at himself, recorder you've dreamed of ... See More than that - the Bozaks are de- the sign of a civilized man. He de- it today! signed for Systematic Growth. Start lights to tell the story of his great PENTRON modestly, if you wish, with a single medical examination. Last year, at the agitation about the PACEMAKER B -207A; grow as you can, without the height of effects of tobacco on the throat and discarding a single Bozak, into the lungs, he came down with a hoarse realism $19995, unequalled of the B-310 - throat and immediately thought dire Accomplishment in the the Supreme thoughts. Off he went to a prominent othets, Reproduction of Sound. doctor in Los Angeles. This doctor, SI33 IS to Sí49.50 says Rubinstein, was a dour, grave The R.T.BOZAK SALES Co. man who seldom opened his mouth. He poked the pianist all over, took gallons of blood and volumes of X- rays. He inserted various instruments within the Rubinstein body, saying BOX 966 DARIEN CONNECTICUT not a word, and soon the patient was near nervous collapse. "Come back PENTRON CORPORATION 786 Tripp Ave., Chicago 24, III. Continued on page 128 Canada: Atlas Radio, Ltd., Toronto

126 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com available at all fine HI -FI A TURNTABLE FOR THE HOME. BUILT TO Centers including: FAIRCHILD'S STUDIO EQUIPMENT STANDARDS!

NEW YORK CITY Satterfield Electron, Arrow Audio Center Madison, Wise. ASCO Sound Corp. Center Electronics SOUTH BEND, IND. Electronic Workshop Radio Distributing Co. Federated Electronic Sales Al Smith's Hi Fi Studio Goody Audio Center Hedslrom Ili Fi, Marion Harvey Radio Hedstrom Hi Fi, Muncie Heins & Bolet Streight Radio & TV, Gary Hudson Radio & TV Corp. The Golden Ear, Lalayeue 48 W.48 St. & 212 Fulton St. Electronic Supply, Leonard Radio Kalamazoo Sun Radio & Electronics Co. James Black & Sons, Terminal Radio Corp. heeling, W. Va. Thalia Hi-Fi Audio Center Brooklyn High Fidelity Center ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI Aeolian Company of Missouri NEW YORK STATE Commercial Electronics Audio Exchange, Jamaica High Fidelity Showroom Westlab, Inc., Yonkers Newberry Radio Company Hi Fidelity Center, White Pls. Don Cook's Electronic Equip. The Pine Shop. Glen !lead Co., Independence House of Hi-Fi, Manhasset David Beatty Custom HiFi. Island Radio, Hempstead K. C. Il Garstang Company, Belle ALBANY, N. Y. Music, Unlimited, Denver, Cul. Commercial Sound Systems Wells Music, Denser, Col. Ostisonde Inc. Mid State Dist., Des Moines. l.i.

ROCHESTER, N. Y. HOUSTON, TEXAS terry Fink Co. Wrye Company, Ltd. Craig Audio Laboratory Auaio Center Audio Service, Binghamton Home Music Associates. Buffalo Audio Center, Buttalo Dallas House of Harmony, High Fidelity Inc., Austin Schenevtady Thompson Auaio Center, Custom Music Beaumont L. Orange. N. J. Audio Associates, Ft. Worth Texas Sound Studios, BOSTON, MASS. San Antonio DeMambro Radio Supply Co. Custom Electronics, The Listening Post Inc. New Orleans. La. A. Marks Company Audio Electronics, Tulsa, Okla Radio Shack Corp. (Also in Radio and Sound Clinic, Providence. R. I.) Oklahoma City Lafayette Radio (Radio Wire TV) HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. Lowe Associates, Brookline Hollywood Electronics California Sound Products FAIRCHILD PHILADELPHIA, PA. Magnetic Recorders Co. Radio Electric Service Co. Weingarten Electronic Sales Danby Radio Corp. Pacific Hi Fi House Lectronics Tul TURNTABLE Almo Radio Company LOS ANGELES, CALIF. airchild, now in its third decade of Automatic Idler Pressure PITTSBURGH, PA. Crenshaw Hi Fi Center Kierulff Sound Corp. flats on idlers ever! Concerto Room, Inc. supplying equipment to meet the Release -no Wolk's HiFi Center L. A. Portable Recording the Midway Electronic Supply Co. Unless you remember to "turn switch Grove Enterprises, Roslyn most exacting standards of record- Universal Radio Supply Co. to the olJ position ", most turntables (prob- BALTIMORE, MD. ing and broadcasting studios through - ably yours) will develop "flat" spots on PASADENA. CALIF. in greatly Wholesale Radio Parts Co. out the world, presents for the first the idler. This naturally results High Fidelity House Audio Associates deteriorated performance. With the Fair- Radio Electric Ser. Co. Dow Radio, Inc. time a home turntable of compatible Pressure Release such Wilmington, Del. HighFidelily House child Automatic excellence. damage is impossible. Since pressure is WASHINGTON, D. C. SAN DIEGO. CALIF. applied to idlers only when motor current Electronic Wholesalers, Inc. Breier Sound Center You would naturally expect superlative is on, you can safely shut off the "411" Shrader Sound, Inc. Shanks & Wright any remote point example, at Custom HiFi Radio & TV Co. Uackney Electronics, performance in a table from Fairchild. from - for Hi Fidelity Wholesalers Fong Beach and the new "411" gives it. Vibrationless the main control or by clock switch for Audio.V twin Co., operation makes possible utilization of the lazy listening. CHICAGO, ILL. Santa Barbara full dynamic range of modern LP record- Allied Radio Corp. Custom Music, Riverside Turret Control Newark Electric Co. Hollywood Hi-Fi Shop, ings; its rumble content is actually lower Voice & Vision Inc. San Bernardino than that of most records. The Turro- The "411" takes full advantage of all the Electronic Expediters House of Sight & Sound, noise is smooth performance inherent in silent. Universal Audio Equip. Van Nuys matic's absence of reproduced - Atronic Corporation Audio Workshop, La Jolla matched only by its complete acoustical Flexible, endless -belt drive. But also, step Hall's HiFi, China Lake The New Sound, Champaign silence you will only know by the soft pulley type idlers in an ingenious turret Valley Electronic, Burbank - illumination that it is running! Flutter and mounting provide: CLEVELAND, OHIO being 1. Instantaneous, silent. fool -proof Counterpoint, Inc. SAN FRANCISCO. CALIF. wow are no longer a consideration, Audio Craft Co. Columbia Music Co. completely imperceptible (typical meas- speed shift Custom Classics The Hi Fi Shop urements: less than 0.07% RMS at 78 and 2. Greatly increased driving surface for The Listening Post less than 0.1% at 33). positive non -slip drive. DAYTON, OHIO San Francisco Radio & Dayton Sound Assoc. Supply Co. OTHER FEATURES: Klopl's Piano Zack Radio Supply Co. Shop isolation from frame The Camera Center, Canton Paramount Radio & Sound, All bearings poured babbitt precision rifle- drilled TWO STAGES of motor Customcrafters Audio, Cinn. San Jose Joe highest polish. (Babbitt running on polished, and turntable. Anderson Hi Fi, Columbus Allied Radio, San Jose hardened steel is still the smoothest, most quiet, Polished aluminum turntable. non - magnetic. Coast Electronic, Oakland and most durable bearing devised.) Thos. Tenney.Music, Heavy cast -iron flywheel for greatest stability DETROIT, MICH. Thrust bearing is ROTATING polished steel Berkeley 5 and smoothness of motion. K. L. A. Labs. ball turning on nylon seat . self -adjusting, Audio House. Inc. self- aligning, practically wear -free. Built -in "45" center raises or lowers quickly and Pecar SEATTLE. WASH. e°811y' Electronics Main bearing sealed to shaft -no one (including Electronic Supply, Sound g High Fidelity Center you!) can mar its mirror-like surface after as- Clearance provided for playing 16" transcrip- Battle Creek Olympic Engineering sembly and final test. ' tions with appropriate arm. McCallum & Dean, C & G Radio Supply, Tacoma Birmingham Cecil Fames Co., Salem PRICE: 599.50 Audiolikilr Net

Callada: H. Roy GRAY I.ID., Toronto 13 N. Y. Export:CBS INTERNATIONAL, New York, N. Y. FAIRCHILD Recording Equipment Co., Whitestone,

FEBRUARY 1956 I27

www.americanradiohistory.com WITHOUT VITAMINS build your own Continued from page 126 FORESTER tomorrow," said the doctor finally, 3 -way and Rubinstein tottered home. He looked at his will to make sure it Low Distortion was in order, and gave himself up to SPEAKER his particular gods. Back he went the next morning, determined to be brave, SYSTEM come what might. "Tell me, doctor," for as little as $129.00 he said. "Tell me the worst. I am Is it cancer ?" The doctor -.. with I M distortion below that of systems cost- prepared. ing more than $350.00. Intermodulation distortion Centralab's NEW looked at him. "Mr. Rubinstein," or "blurring" of the most -listened -to middle and he said, "the only trouble I can see is high frequencies is prevented by complete elec- Fastatch® Senior trical and acoustical isolation of each speaker. that you talk too much." This results in less than 0.5% IM distortion to Cornpentrol® Kit Only once, according to his friends, provide exceptionally clean middle tones and has Rubinstein been held speechless, clear highs with no harshness. and that notable event occurred within The Forester system PUTS MORE TWEET contains 3 low the bosom of his family. He had re- distortion speakers. IN YOUR TWEETER... turned from a concert tour, had burst (A) a 12' woofer, and had been embraced 30-300 cps, with a 1 into the house, lb. magnet; (B) an by his five -year -old Eva. "Daddy," 8' mid -range unit, more woof she said, "play me some music." 300 -5000 cps. with in your woofer Rubinstein was touched and deeply a 14.6 oz. magnet and (C) a 5' tweeter, moved. He sat down at the piano, 5000 -18,000 cps How do you titillate your vowing to himself that he would play with a 2.15 oz. mag- tympanum? With tones true but net and lightweight, tempered? Or do you show no pity for her as he had never played for a spiderless cone. for the plaster and want 'em true mortal. He brought his hands up These three speak- front View but thunderous? high. "No, daddy," Eva said before ers are controlled by Either way, Centralab's new a 6- element, 300:5000 cps, 12 db /octave cross- Fastatch Senior Cornpentrol Kit he could bring them down. "Not the over network. The entire cabinet measures 32' is for you. For, quick as a wink, piano. The phonograph." high, 25' wide, 14W deep. you can assemble the ultimate in a compensated control, to improve the tonal performance of your COMPLETE SYSTEMS hi -fi amplifier or pre -amplifier. SYMPHONY SFI Spkrs., network, cabinet drawings... S 19.50 You can get any shaft -length SF1 SFK Spkrs., network. cabinet kit 3129.00 you want. It's a SNAP to do It: Sri, SFP Spkrs., network and assembled s/," Continued from page S7 unfinished plywood cabinet 515100 Snap front unit . .. SFIC Spkrs.. network, in finished bleached 1111*****mo (with shaft cut to length) Soviet Russia, mahogany cabinet (illustrated) $119.00 To rear unit ... Dublin, and perhaps 1110.01Newcw. (with shaft cut to length, depending on prevalent temperatures Add the knobs ... MODERNIZATION SYSTEMS - and there's your in the Cold War. Human interest note: compensated control wives hope to make For use with your present 1 2" speaker, instead sixty orchestra of the Sherwood Woofer. A special Printed Electronic the European trip. Circuit*, pre-wired to the rear unit, automatically bolsters frequencies During its regular September -April SF2 Same as SFI, less 12" woofer. S 49.50 Sri/ SFK Same as SF! SFK, less 12' woofer S 19.00 otherwise often lost. Two additional Season, the BSO always has toured SF2 SFP Same as SFI SFP, less 12" woofer 5121.00 high -boost plates are included in A week the kit, in case your taste demands assiduously, and still does. even further emphasis of the highs. per month, on the average, is spent on CROSSOVER NETWORKS (16 ohms) If you like to tinker, ask your the Eastern Seaboard outside Boston, For your own speaker system. Centralab distributor for a Centralab and annually at least one wider sweep, C2 -200 kit. If you're not a do -it- SF 035 300, 5000 cps, 12 db octave S 19.50

yourselfer, ask your service man to through the South or the Great Lakes 5 X2 200 cps, 12 db, octave S 26.00 S 055 install a Fastatch Senior Corn- area, is made. Assistant manager Gail 500,'5000 cps, 12 db, octave S 11.50 pentrol for you. S X6 600 cps, 12 db /octave S 16.90 *Trademark Rector handles tour arrangements, S XI 800 cps, 12 db /octave S 15.50

while his opposite number, assistant S X36 3500 cps, 12 db /octave S 6.50 manager Norman Shirk, attempts to K See the Forester Speaker System at your C2L0 rent Symphony Hall, in the Orchestra's hi -fi dealer or write for free descriptive $4.1.7^ s absence, to levure- groups, conventions, catalog. Construction manual also avail- and the like. The transportation of able at 50e. equipment is in the hands of Harvey Other Sherwood products include:

1. Genereux, property man, who rides Low Distortion Amplifiers from $99.50 Send for mpentrol booklet.) rite the same train with the instruments and FM -AM Tuners from $1 39.50 Cent ra l a I¡ Dept. 92813 and music. There have been few foul - Milwaukee 1. Wis. ups, though on the 1952 European tour a truck containing the music S/%rilrooli got stuck at the end of the annual Bordeaux -to -Paris bicycle race, ar- Dept. 2H 2802 W. Cullom Ave. Ce1114410 Contrnued on page 13o Chicago 18, Illinois

I28 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com 7th STREET

w Visit 2 HARVEY's 4eth STREET Z 3 brand -new W á AUDIOtorium J, a 465 BEET

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E 612 -SS at 1123 AMP X Avenue of the Amer' casI (6thI Nothing Ave.) STEREOPHONIC SOUND SYSTEM has been spared to make this new extension of HARVEY'S, First true dual- channel stereophonic tape system designed seer wally for which odloins the old store, a hi -fi shopper's paradise. the home, the 612.55 combines the new Ampex 612 stereophonic tope exclusively to high fidelity, Devoted phonograph (playback only) with two complete and independent Ampex 620 it has more display demonstration area . more amplifier- specker systems for unrivaled reproduction of stereophonic tapes. facilities ... more conveniences The space effects mode possible by Ampex stereophonic sound cannot be hi'f, lovers. of every sort for duplicated on single -channel systems in any price range. The 612 will also play the conventional half -track and full -track tapes with customary Ampex playback quality- Tape speed is 71/7 in. per sec.; frequency response extends from 40 to 15,000 cycles. Standard 7 -in. RMA reels. Complete with custom THE NEW designed cabinets, as Model 612 -SSF .. $69900 PAMPHONIC Sr. Also available in a completely portable system, with Samsonite cases, as Model 612-SSP 5694.00 SPEAKER SYSTEM Embodying severol new and unconventional design THE New features, the Pamphonic Sr. Reproducer is o de luxe two woy speaker system with 1500 -cycle crossover in on exceptionally rigid enclosure. The treble unit is a special elliptical cone speaker with aluminum voice DYNAKIT Mark II the coil; woofer is a 15 -in. unit with o flux density S0 -WATT Amplifier Kit of 16,000 gauss. The cabinet. constructed of one. inch wood and internally braced, employs a tuned vertical bassrefle chamber for exceptionally smooth Here is mething altogether new - lowfrequency response and has the treble speaker e® compromise "dream" amplifier in eosy to build oriented for rear -wolf reflection to assure unusually kit form at a popular price) The DYNAKIT wide and even high frequency dispersion. The speaker units, dividing net- Mark II employs a special new circuit work and enclosure were conceived from the ground up to function as on conjunction with o newly developed transformer of unique construction. integrated system, rather thon just o woofer and a tweeter in on allpurpose Its beautiful simplicity - it has only three tubes plus rectifier and includes cabinet. Together they cover the entire audible range of frequencies and printed circuitry -makes it easy for the home constructor to reproduce the are capable of handling power levels in excess of 15 warts. impressive performance characteristics of its laboratory prototype with 549500 only three tools: soldering iron, pliers and screw driver. Available in mahogany or walnut finish

Rated power output is 50 watts (continuous); intermodulation distortion is less than 1% at rated power; harmonic distortion is less than 1 % at any PRINTED -CIRCUIT - MINIATURIZED frequency from 20 to 20,000 cycles within 1 db of rated power. Frequency response is within 2.5 db from 6 to 60,000 cycles, -.1 db from 20 to 20,000 cycles. Square wove response is essentially undistorted from 20 to 20,000 cycles. Output stage hos the new 6CA7's in push -pull; output `Preamp with Presence' impedance is 8 or 16 ohms. -et described by C. G. McProud in Max Audio Engineering. 3 equolisa- controls, and Complete, with tubes, output transformer and instruction, $6975 lion Choices, presence control, volume and loudness Boxendall -type bass and treble controls. Basic kit containing the 1.0 henry encapsulated choke, the printed ricu ;t THE Panel completely drilled, and the 5'50 4 metal chassis ports. The complete kit of parts, including the basic kit and oll other carts Stan White and tubes as specified by author. $3550 MODEL 4330 With complete, simplified instructions. _.

THE 1111-Fi, New FAIRCHILD Complex multi -flare horn system with 220XP PHONO CARTRIDGE four separate driver units. Bass horn (30-150 cps) has equivalent axial with elliptical length of 14 feet. Mouth area is 7 microgroove stylus square feet, is and substantially increased with proper room placement. A stylus with an elliptical cross section can Lower mid -frequencies are handled by two 8" speakers (150.600 cps) follow the violent rig -cogs of the modern LP located on each side the with of cabinet, a phase shift network between record groove with considerably greater accuracy than one with o circular speakers for three -dimensional effect. Higher mid -frequencies (600 -3000 cross section. The new Fairchild 220XP cartridge features for the first tors cps) are handled by a multi flare horn with an equivalent length axial of on elliptical diamond stylus in the 1 -mil microgroove size for matchless 6 feet. High frequencies (3000. 18,000 cps) ore handled by a multi -Aare tracking on LP's. Combined with the additional new Fairchild features of horn with on equivalent length of 4 feet. Frequency response is substantially reduced dynamic mass, increased compliance and toroidol damping, the flat 30 to 18,000 cps. Power handling capacity is 60 watts. Available new stylus design enables the 220XP cartridge to deliver a completely in four finishes - mahogany, blonde, walnut, and ebony, distortionless replica of the signal recorded in the groove, so that for the with three coats of lacquer, hand rubbed. $33950 first time the music can be heard _ as it was actually recorded ___ _. _..... 56000 Other units in stock priced from 549.50 to $1,500. _ in high is Everything worthwhile -fidelity equipment IN ESTABLISHED 1927 STOCK at Harvey's -our demonstration facilities are second to none! Orders shipped some day received. HARVEY RADIO COMPANY, INC. TIME -PAYMENT PLAN AVAILABLE TRADE -INS ACCEPTED 103 W. 43rd Street, New York 36 JU 2 -1500 Prices are net, F.OB. NYC - subject to change without notice.

FEBRUARY 1956 I29

www.americanradiohistory.com SYMPHONY Exciting High Fidelity Firsts! Continuedfrom page 128 In these superb matched instruments -enjoy the foremost advances in High- Fidelity- start- rived in Paris a day late, and almost ling realism - lowest distortion - precision caused a cancellation. The musi- craftsmanship -gleaming polished chromium chassis. The FIRST really cians themselves travel however they want to. Rector's office makes reser- STATIC -FREE, DUST -FREE vations for them on request. This volume of music -making pro- NOISE -FREE CARTRIDGE vides good livings for the Orchestra's members, but not for the Orchestra itself. AMPLIFIER Thomas D. Perry, Jr., the manager, sums the situation up in two sentences: "To mount a Boston Symphony Or- chestra concert costs $8,500. Selling one out, ordinarily, brings in $7,100." Multiply that by about 220, the number of concerts given in a year, and the operating deficit is the result. This is made up partly by +i0 income on en- dowments, partly by contributions, and partly, says Perry, "by God, I 510950 RS' scientists have brought you new magic - the B&O A+ professional anti -static guess." Tanglewood loses money, Greatest amplifier buy today! COMPLETELY cartridges for ABSOLUTE FIDELITY. NEW, NEGATIVE FEEDBACK (Pat. Pending). NON -RINGING CIRCUITRY -over SO DB feedback. CUSTOM Now you can enjoy static -free, dust- CRAFTED - sealed transformers, encapsulated free, noise -free reproduction, longer networks, finest molded components on Bake- lasting records and prolonged stylus lite terminal board. DISTORTION -FREE - less life with a brilliance never before than 0.05% at 30 watts. POWER RESPONSE dreamed of! ±0.1 DB 16 to 35,000 cycles at 30 watts. Sur- even though over loo,000 people passes FCC requirements For FM broadcasting. Audiophile Net: 5 to 200,000 cycle response. 40 WATT WIDE - Dual Sapphire $ usually pay admission fees, because 9.78 RANGE OUTPUT TRANSFORMER, sealed multi- Single Sapphire 9.30 the vast, handsomely landscaped es- Single Diamond 21.30 ple section windings, thin strip core. FOOL- Micro Diamond Si. Sapphire 21.78 tate, with its enormous music shed PROOF DAMPING CONTROL for startling speaker performance. BUILT -IN POWER for and numerous buildings, must he preamplifiers and newest electrostatic tw maintained during forty -six weeks of idleness a year. Perry, a Hoosier of Bostonian family, was propelled into his job, he says, because he is a music -lover without Coronation 85 talent (though he sang in the Bach B CONSOLETTE PREAMPLIFIER - minor Mass chorus once at Tangle - EQUALIZER wood, under Koussevitzky). The problem of the BSO, or of any other great symphony orchestra, as he sees it, is this: "We're a public service in- P -12 A+ - the only anti -static crystal stitution. Our duty is to give music cartridge - it out -performs all other to people who need music, of whom ceramic and crystal cartridges - no matter what the price. there are more and more, and to keep it good. What confuses some people $7950 Audiophile Net: Is that we sell out; we're a 'hit show,' to the "CORONA- P -12 /RS A+ (Dual Sapphire) $ 7.25 Incomparable companion TION 400 ". EXCLUSIVE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK P -12/RG A+ (Micro Diamond and thus they think we should make CIRCUITRY. Over SO Da- virtually eliminates St. Sapphire) $21.75 money. But we cannot raise prices distortion. Surpasses FCC requirements for FM and still serve our whole public. And. Broadcasting. 5 to 200,000 cycle response. CUSTOM CRAFTED-polished chromium chassis, FREE! 1956 /ell -tone Cata- if it comes to that, Harvard always has satin gold front panel. Encapsulated precision log. The above are only samples of networks, molded components on Bakelite the many terrific values in the a full enrollment, and no one criticizes new panel. CONTROL, continuously vari- 1956 Fen -Tone Hi -Fi catalog includ- LOUDNESS ing mikes, tape decks, cartridges, Harvard for not showing a profit." able. FIVE INPUT SELECTIONS, 16 PRECISION record changers, silent listening After the retirement of Major Hig- PLAYBACK CURVES. FULL 20 DB DISTORTION - devices, etc. FREE Bass and Treble corn ion. Phenom- ginson, the financial strong man of enal lowest noise Z -72P input tube HUM IN- the BSO was trustee- AUDIBLE with all controls on full. Highest FENTON COMPANY treasurer Ernest gain. Built-in power for motion picture photo- 15 Moore Street, New York 4, N.Y. B. Dane. Henry Cabot says he can cells, FM phono cartridges, condenser micro- remember Dane's contributing, one phones. Ultra compact, easy front mounting. No" nr ,,,tor ,lnr,st d..ul, r.' Sold through better year, more than $loo,000, out of his Audio Distributors. II ,,,,- n,.,, I ,ll I;,r See own pocket. But with Dane's retire- yours today! INTERELECTRONICS West of Rook:e.s, ment, this ceased. The Orchestra prices slightly higher. 2432 Grand Concourse cannot depend now on enormous New York 58, New York See us al thé los Angeles Hi -Fi Music Show, Room 456 personal donations. This is, says Mr.

1 3T HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com Cabot, as it should be, but there what the Orchestra meant to the city should be other sources. soon enough if they lost it, he says, One of the sources, Mr. Cabot him- but without such drastic stimulus they self and his fellow- trustees began are hard to move. Detroit and Pitts- tapping in 1934, when they founded burgh businesses have done much PRESS COMMENT the Friends of the Boston Symphony better, he points out, though - corn - Orchestra. The function of the Friends fortingly? - New York and Philadel- is simply to help support the Orchestra phia are as bad as Boston. through contributions (which ranged So far, although individual Friends this year from Si to $15,000), in number 4,000, business Friends num- return for which they receive nothing ber only 9o. Actively engaged in but a free tea in the springtime trying to raise this quota, acting on and music for Boston. The Friends leads from Trustees and other advisers, came through with $155,000 in 1954- is Carlos Pinfield, who probably typi- 55, which left, still, a deficit of nearly fies what BSO performers feel toward "The AR -1W woofer gives the cleanest $i 00,000. the BSO. Last May, after forty -three bass response I ever have heard." Cabot, whose family is the one cited years' service in the first violins, he in a famous verse which also mentions retired. The Orchestra has one of the AUDIO (Edward Tarnall Canby) the Lowells and the Deity, explains best retirement policies in the world .. the highs impressed me immediately his exertions for the Orchestra by of music -- or of business, for that as very lovely, smooth, unprepossessing, musical (for music) and unusually natural. No saying: exciting, it's very good matter. The retired member receives "It's super -hi-fi screech and scratch ... As to the a keyed, in effect, to the cost fun, and it's a privilege, even in the pension lows ... I was no end impressed, from the lowly job of raising money." And he of living - half what he would re- first time I ran my finger over a pickup stylus has a very clear idea of where the ceive were he still actively in his job. and got that hearty, wall- shaking thump that money should and could come from. So Mr. Pinfield could have relaxed and betokens real bottom bass to the time when enjoyed himself. Instead of which he I had played records and tapes on the speaker The present -day equivalents of yes- for some months on end." terday's princely patrons and Major returned, only a few weeks after his are the retirement, with the suggestion that Tr1r Higginsons, he points out, lllion (B. H. Haggin) businesses. For the nonce, they he go back to work, this time without city's . achieves the seemingly impossible; a are not behaving with princely enough pay, soliciting contributions from Bos- real and clearly defined bass in a cabinet only generosity to suit him, and he is a trifle ton businesses. He is still at it, and 14 by 113/4 by 25 inches in size." peeved with them. They would realize Continued on next page RADIO - 1:1.1:1:71IIIN11:s (J. M. Krech) ` NNiN\ \kw+Wk w\+t \t1 \\"\xO!..L:v \\ti \43.s M ÿa \ \ \,.,....". ?h,i " .. reproduced the full range of bass, ;-!, ; i rï i ii Ke*A"ïï ïïïrli iiï ;;;R iiiii I , even the pedal Tones of the organ, cleanly ::. and spectacularly ... shook the concrete re- enforced floors of the Hotel New Yorker..."

0111 . S. Lanier) .. TheSatuxlj'Re(11eto (R. goes down into the low, low bass with j "... Are all diamond needles i #" exemplary smoothness and :ow distortion. It 00 ; is startling to hear the fundamentals of low really alike? organ notes come out, pure and undefiled, : ;A: i:1' from a box that is two feet long and about . t. /; Don't be misled. There's a tremendous difference in 5 iii a foot high." i; 0' diamond needles. just because it's a diamond doesn't ISR: ; ;; :' mean you get protection for your records. Real protec- $ ; [fifth :fidelity (Roy Allison) 44. tion depends on radius control polishing of the dia- .3j >,. .9;1j mond. "...a woofer that works exceptionally ii well because of its small size, not in spite :10 .1 That's why Duotone puts the polisher's certification :1 of it ... I have heard clean extended bass i f' 1 ! 0 and picture right in the needle package. So you can be 'r like this only from enclosures that were at t 1' 01 sure of a tip polished to the highest degree for absolute i h least six or seven times its size ?' 14' concentricity. +.'4 i. '¡ 15,000 rotations in polishing, never less, for the :; ÿ AUDIO t THE LEAGUE REPORT 1 °' Duotone diamond! Because even the slightest micro- (Oct., 'S5) Pleasantville, N. Y. will on your y '1 I scopic burr feather -cut the delicate groove "Speaker systems that will develop much records. t less than 30% distortion at 30 cycles are 1, Í j i Don't be misled by the easy term "diamond." Look for y, Keyport,ort, N. J., Manufacturer and Supplier.Su Tier. Exp.Ex 1qs t I or birch, is $185. Suggested driving power, .¡I! Div., Ad Auriema, Inc.. New fork. %j;i at least 30 watts. Literature on request from g Dept. H. tk ;essamiuse3333 --..2...... stsirs1. > _, =ïi { ' t ,...lN////// e %iI/ /niiyriwwij."" Iir %..m..i..r _E .. " ACOUSTIC RESEARCH, INC. ?t?\IIA"d t1" \N"'.111"\\\ "\i\ \\NN\Cì! \\\\\\\\"N \NNVi`""%% Ai\\ s Frame design after an original in the Met ropoliton 3rusc u' 23 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge 38, Mass.

FEBRUARY 1956

www.americanradiohistory.com the famous SYMPHONY eri tap Continued from preceding page first increasingly successful. "It's a new t HIGH FIDELITY idea to Boston businessmen," he says, "and they want some answers. And things they deserve them. That's my job. Cl p01bee7 It's the toughest one I can think of, but I asked for it." last! Despite its omnipresent deficit, the Orchestra has proceeded confidently We about its business of providing more freely confess that when we began planning the Tannoy high- fidelity and better music, in all ways. To mark Domestic Sound System, we did not its seventy -fifth anniversary, it com- contemplate designing and manufacturing missioned (together with the Kousse- our own phono- cartridge. After all, vitzky Music Foundation of the Li- there were several excellent cartridges brary of Congress, on a half- and -half already on the market. basis) fifteen new works by composers We changed our minds when the first all over the world, with grants of $2,000 power amplifiers and 'Autograph' per work. Among the composers are pre -amplifiers began to emerge from the Schuman, Milhaud, Ibert, Petrassi, Bar- assembly lines. It was evident that the almost uncanny faithfulness of the ber, Bernstein, Copland, Hanson, Mar - amplifying chain, ending with the now Sessions, and Villa- Lobos. tinu, Piston, world -famous Dual Concentric Speaker, such tra- And it has not abandoned justified the use of a cartridge of more ditions as the "Friday rush" for 251 than ordinary' freedom'. seats at sixty cents each, in which Our engineers therefore set about the task process each buyer (to prevent resale) of designing a cartridge which was free must come into the hall and eat his to extract and pass on, everything from lunch at the cafeteria. the recorded groove without any spurious It is tenacious of its personality, effects or blanketing resonances. The result is the.Tannoy Variluctance which is hard to describe but easy to Cartridge... a precision transducer which recognize, by ear and otherwise. In- would be completely wasted on any but professional the very finest of high -fidelity quality at nominal cost reproducing equipment. The world- famous FERROGRAPH magnetic tape recorder, designed and developed primarily for professional use, has been re- styled for YOU - the discriminating audiophile, the progressive educator, the efficient businessman, the music lover. Standard equipment with the British Broad- casting Corporation, it is a byword with cultural, educational and scientific users throughout Europe. The FERROGRAPH is unconditionally guaranteed to meet the most critical performance requirements. Two models of this versatile dual- speed, TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION dual track recorder are now available in LIMITED QUANTITIES, with tape speeds of Every cartridge hand-made and laboratory rested. 33/4" and 71" or 71/2" and 15' per second. Upper frequency limit > 16,000 cps. Both models feature the employment of a deed, it is so distinct that composer - No resonant peaks. synchronous hysteresis capstan motor providing unparalleled long -term speed stability, critic Virgil Thomson was able, four- No undamped resonances In sub -supersonic range. thus avoiding pitch errors on playback. teen years before the fact, to pick Simple turn -over mechanism. Stylus assemblies completely Independent. Charles Munch, then in Paris, as a Instantaneous replacement of styli without use FERROGRAPH RECORDERS of man who certainly would some day tools. AND TAPE DECKS also Optimum lateral to vertical available for custom lead the BSO. Thomson cannot com- compliance ratio. installation or rack pletely define his conviction; the crit- Very low effective dynamic mass. mounting to meet your ical quality in his analysis would Output 20 mV at 12 cm per second. special requirements. Termination load : 50,000 ohms. seem to be "elegance." His hunch is Custom Model 3A /DT Tracking weight: 6 grunts for all discs. (illus.) with tape that the succession next will descend speeds of 71/2 and on Herbert von Karajan. But no one 15" /sec. need feel hurried: at sixty -four, Write for performance Munch seems good for most of T,lNNOV VARILUCTANCE specifications and the name another pair of decades. of the franchised dealer in your area. PhonoCartridgc As for the Boston Symphony Or- IERCONA CORPORATION chestra, it seems certainly good for TANNOY (Canada) LTD. TANNOY (America) (Electronic Division) another seventy -five years, at the very 1551 Fifth Ave., Dept. H-2. New York, N. Y. 36 Wellington St., East 3R Pearl St. least. Toronto 1, Ont.. Canada New York, N. Y.

l3 : HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com Sign of the Best! .. . AUDIO FORUM

STROM BERG -CARLSON e PP

SIR: "bright" speakers in a relatively live I would like to suggest the following listening room. SPECIALIST idea for anyone having trouble getting The port dimensions given will his spouse to allow a large enclosure probably require modification to suit in the living room. the speaker that will be used. It is also "one- stop" source This baffle gives excellent results, suggested that a little more acoustic your and can be hidden in a corner behind lining be used than that shown in the of Hi -Fi supply the other furniture. The sound is di- diagrams. All the internal surfaces of rected toward the corner and ceiling, the enclosure should be padded. ° Your Stromberg-Carlson dealer before bouncing back into the room. ° ° is an expert -fully equipped, The bass response is the best I have ready to demonstrate, suggest and SIR: heard, and if there is a loss of highs, install the exact components you need About a year ago, I built a six -foot for a Hi -Fi outfit perfectly fitting your - to- --1 air coupler cabinet for a t2 -inch needs. And not the least sign of his speaker. The room in which the cabinet dependability is the fact that he sells T is placed was once our garage. It backed by Ie" SPEAKER "Custom 400" equipment- has cement -block walls, a concrete his own guarantee and that of a brand floor, and a plastered ceiling. The only which has been famous in Sound for window is a very small one located over sixty years! next to the ceiling. The chairs and Send the coupon below for free davenport are made of woven cane literature and the address of your ACOUSTIC you can make PADDING with soft seats. There is a fiber rug on nearest dealer -where one stop and get the best! the floor, but there are no drapes or anything else of soft material. By the is it the SIDE VIEW above description of this, best room for the speaker? AMPLIFIERS Since there is little soft material in the room, would drapes help? If so, where should they be placed? Preston K. Hayes

524 S. Allen Street SPEAKERS State College, Pa.

Your listening room, as you described it, PONT would be about as far from ideal as it TUNERS is possible to get. A listening room should rRONT vlEw have as much thick absorbing materials lining its surfaces as is needed to reduce the sound of a hand clap to a dull smack. CABINETS If a single hand clap shows any tendency SIDE SIDE to echo at a particular pitch, or to pro- 32 32 duce any trace of a buzzing sound, the room needs acoustic treatment. You should by putting a heavy start CHANGERS carpet on the floor, from wall to wall, PONT with Ozite underlining beneath it. Then the effect is mellowing and pleasant. hang folded velour drapes along both walls that are adjacent to the speaker. The cabinet is made of 3/4 inch ply- STROMBERG -CARLSON : wood, braced, and screwed and glued Any further treatment that is needed may A Division of General Dynamic, Corporation together. he added to the other walls, or may he Special Products Division Leon Miller supplied by overstuffed furniture in the 1219 Clifford Avenue Rochester 21. N. Y. 1942 East Walnut Lane room. Please send me your Hi -Fi literature and the name of my nearest dealer. Philadelphia 38, Pa.

SIR: NAME True, there will be a loss of highs Will you continue to cater to the man from an arrangement like this, but as ADDRESS with the 20,000 cps audio system and Mr. Miller suggests, this may be a definite advantage when using certain Continued on next page

FEBRUARY 1956 133

www.americanradiohistory.com AUDIO FORUM KIWI/ Your Continued from preceding page It'words VIM IIg! 10,000 cps ears? Do you still go along No more brushing, spraying with the character who has an oscillo- or wiping records scope tied to his system and who says with pride "Look at that fidelity!" Use the new Us general publicans have made the D I S- big discovery; that a clean 8-to-9,000- cycle high and 7o -to -8o -cycle low re- 4 ' II A It G F. It sponse will satisfy those who like Now t 00% better music, whether they are listeners or than ever! performers. This is not meant to Imitated but not include key-janglers, sound effects duplicated. listeners, or the cat who digs three This hours of the Flying Dutchman tiny plastic device contains just to s radioactive material which con- hear the fine reproduction of the stantly ionizes the air in its vicinity, splash when Senta jumps into the sea. 'rowing off the static electricity generated by your records. If this sounds a little extreme, make Static electricity causes records to this simple test: invite a real musician attract and hold dust. Use of the to your home -one who makes a liv- Disc -Charger* eliminates the static electricity stylus to pick ing at it. Put on any record and allows the of the up the dust and clean the record in a instrument he plays, and ask him to few plays. Records now no longer at- fiddle with the tone controls until it tract dust and stay clean and noise free.

sounds right to him. Then take a look ! z gram -- clips to any pickup arm. at what he has done. In nine cases out See your local distributor, $450 of ten he has cut down most of the or shipped postpaid, only .. highs. MERCURY SCIENTIFIC Who says that music can't be taped PRODUCTS CORP. at 33/4 ips? I have a recorder that by 1725 W. 7th ST. LOS ANGELES 17, CALIF. real actual measurement gives me from 8o .Pat. App. For high fidelity to 8,5oo cps, give or take 3 db. I have had musicians from the St. Louis Sym- music phony Orchestra record on this machine using a good mike, and have made easy- heard them comment that "That's the way it sounds to me." I have had You no longer need to under- sound engineers from both of the city's stand the complications of high hi -fi stations make the same statement fidelity sound systems to have - "If I didn't see it (33/4 ips tape) I the very finest music in your wouldn't believe it!" One accused me of using a souped -up model, which I home. .. \lusiCraft experts will recommend the best combina- wasn't. r tion of components in your price The reason for this letter is to ask why people don't know about this. range and demonstrate them in You devote a long article to clean an atmosphere like that of your crescendos can the average music own living room. - lover tell the difference between a We will handle all or any part clean and a dirty one? And how is he 11A of a high fidelity installation ... to find out whether he can or not? from supplying a single compo- On the strength of what they have nent to designing special cabinet heard in my home, over fifty record work or built -in construction collectors in this city have abandoned records entirely in favor of tape. The detail. We are also prepared to tapes are made from borrowed records, work with your architect or in- BRAINARD TUNERAMPLIFIER as well as from two FM stations that terior decorator. broadcast good music. None of these Every feature the experts specify, plus the exclu. sive Brainard Acoustic Balance Control. For people will ever own a record again. complete specifications write to Engineering Why doesn't everyone know about Department for Catalog H -2.

this? Anyone who thinks that the ELECTRONICS difference between the 15,00o -cycle 48 East Oak top of a good record and the 8,50o- Chicago 11 DElaware 7 -4150 cycle top of my recorder is detectable COMPONENTS AND COMPLETE INSTALLATIONS Brainard IN ALL PRICE RANGES Continued on next page 8586 Santa Monica Blvd. /Los Angeles 46, California

134 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com AUDIO FORUM TRADER'S MARKETPLACE Continued from preceding page TAPE RECORDERS, professional quality. Transport, giZ cm $175; heads, $75; amplifier, $150. Write for specifi- without an "a-b" comparison is vastly cations. E. J. Lesher, 2730 Heotherway, Ann Arbor, Mich. mistaken. You have to listen and listen carefully. And furthermore, in BEST BUY IN HI -FI FRAZIER -MAY SPEAKER SPECIAL. Blonde Dutchess 8 -50, $115. Special 8 -50 Utility Model, S110. Blonde most cases an unbiased audience asked Dutchess 8 -58 (Improved tweeter), $145. Some with slight surface blemishes. Write for details. Paul A. to choose between a recording and a Schulz, 6630 Del Norte, Dallas, Texas. tape without knowing which they are listening to will as likely choose one RECORD COLLECTORS Put your name on my list of Rare record catalogs, old phonograph material! as the other, and will even more often George Moran, Lodi, Wisconsin. be unable to detect any difference - at all. 6 ELEMENT BROAD BAND FM antennas. All seamless aluminum, $10.95 ppd. Wholesale Supply Co., And to compare an 8,50o- cycle -re- Lunenburg, Mass. sponse with a record that has been played a half dozen times or so; well, KARLSON 15 -in. enclosure, custom finished in beaui- fol knotty pine worth $150.00. Sen $80.00. there is no comparison! F.O.B. Windsor. Kendall Jones, Windsor, N. Y. John Goldston Westminster Place BOZAK SPEAKER 207A LIKE NEW. F. E. MARTIN, 442I 200 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK, N. Y. St. Louis 8, Mo. 55 -C "FLAT SIX" HI -Fl ENTHUSIASTS! Get our terrific low prices before We're afraid you are greatly over -esti- buying any HI -Fl, TAPE RECORDER and ELECTRONIC AMPLIFIER equipment. Rush your list for our low prompt quota- mating this deception that is being tions. No obligations. Stan -Burn Radio 8 Electronic Gromnies high -fidelity amplifier. Out- Co., 558 -H Caney Island Ave., Brooklyn 18, N. Y. perpetrated upon the high fidelity en- put: 12 watts. IM distortion less than thusiast and music lover. t %. Response ± 0.5 DB, t 5 to 30,000 RECORDS FROM YOUR TAPES Ideal gifts, perfect It is to a music -lover, with separate money- makers? Hi -Fi reproduction all speeds, any quite true that, CPS. Built -in pre -amplifier quantity. Musical groups, weddings, speeches, etc. the key- janglers, the oscilloscope - roll -off and turnover controls. Loudness Write for free folder and prices, Recorded Publications control. Calibrated bass and treble con- Labs., 1560 -1572 Pierce Ave., Camden 5, New Jersey. watchers, and the noise -record enthusi- trols. Feedback throughout; 4 loops de- asts may seem like a thoroughly used. $79.50 net. BERLANT "Concertone" Model 1601 stereo- binaural but you can't criticize Electronics two channel tape recorder. 7.5-15 ips. Stacked heads. mented bunch, Division of Precision New October '54. Cost $495, asking $325. Russell FREE! NEW 1956 CATALOG Cowles, 2318 Park Avenue, Minneapolis 4, Minn. GROMMES 9101- HF King Are., Frankks Park, Ill.

INVENTORY SALE -latestmodels, leading makes Apologia-- - guaranteed brand new. Send us your list of wanted equipment for price quotations. Monmouth Music House, Box 432, Freehold, N. J. In the December Audio Forum's reply to a radio interference problem from Jorge A. Rodin, M.D., it was suggested that he put a small "THE capacitor of too to 500 microfarads value across his pickup cartridge. FABULOUS PHONOGRAPH" Anyone who tried this may have by Roland (;elall wondered why his system ceased to work, but we can explain it on the For the first time - the complete story of the phonograph its inven- basis of a typographical error. tion and development. As one of The values given should, of this country's outstanding music course, have been identified as critics, the author has a keen appreciation of the phonograph's micro -microfarads. Our apologies TELEFUNKEN ELITE aesthetic role - and as a historian to those readers who were misled. he traces the phonograph's de- ¡FMI PORTABLE H/ -f/ velopment from Thomas Edison's curious tin -foil apparatus to the SYSTEM astounding high fidelity sound someone for wanting perfection. Even systems of today, FM, Stondord and Short Wove broad- if his entire spare time is devoted to Roland Gelatt, New York editor casts . . plug -in for phono, tape re- of HIGH FIDELITY Magazine, put testing or demonstrating his system. corder and additional externol speaker. years of research into the making he is still, we would guess, ultimately of this sensitive authoritative book. after the same thing that the musician Published by J. B. Lippincott is supposedly after ... true high fi- Send 34.98 for your copy TODAY. delity. TELEFUNKEN HIGH FIDELITY Magazine But it is equally evident that, to a The Publishing House, listener whose ears are good up to 10 Great Barrington, Maas. HIGH FIDELITY or cycles (you'd be surprised Please send ene, by return mail, a copy of u,000 SYSTEMS "The Fabulous Phonograph." $4.96 enclosed how many are), there is a noticeable Immisd by sorry, no C.O.D.'S. difference between a clean 8,000 -cycle AMERICAN Dept. 35 NAME Avenue response and a clean 15,00o -cycle re- ELITE. INC. t Park N. Y 16. N. Y. ADDRESS sponse, on really good equipment. Write for details Continued on page 137

FEBRUARY 1956 135

www.americanradiohistory.com PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY CALIFORNIA MASSACHUSETTS PENNSYLVANIA DELAWARE VALLEY HDQTRS. NEW ENGLANDERS FOR RCA HI- FIDELITY HIGH -FIDELITY HOUSE Your search for a complete Custom Sets Components Color TV Iügh Fidelity music system will end Radio Victrolas Tape Recorders with one visit to Records Cabinets Kits Corn - Most complete stock of Audio pare all leading makes Terms components in the West THE LISTENING POST Trade -Ins. Unlimited Parking. 161 Newbury Street, Boston Mon., Wed., Ft i. ere.A. I: BEE catalog. Phone: RYan 1 -8171 COpley 7 -7530 SHRYOCK R1D10ELITV co. 922 536 S. Fair Oaks, Pasadena 1, Calif. First. in Boston to serve the High Fidelity BON WIT T EL I ER BLDG. Midway 2 1970 field exclusively. WYNNEWOOD, PA_ (Philadelphia Suhwh)

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the finest in [Ii-iFii AIREX In PITTSBURGH and the i- fentll rill fJ gc y07Cia: RADIO CORP. TRI- SSTAAT"E AREA "The Electronics Supermarket" HIGH FIDELITY COMPONENTS 171 Washington St., N.Y.C. 7 CO 7-5218 ( 1I1 OIL--TL SEND FOR OUR FREE SOUND HI -FI CATALOG WOLK'S HIGH FIDELITY CENTER C O R P O R A T I O N right next to B " "olk's Kamera Exchange Includes a full line of hl -fi equipment. Send us your requirements. 306 Diamond Street Pittsburgh (22), Pa. 120 W. Olympic BIYt1. L.A. 15. Calif. II 7.0271 Express 1 -0220 CANADA CANADA'S FIRST No lemons here! HIGH -FIDELITY RADIO, PHONOGRAPH, RECORD AND HOLLYWOOD ELECTRONICS CRAIG AUDIO LAB TELEVISION CENTRE HI.FI COMPONENTS EXCI USIVELY thoroughly bench tests all units Stromberg -Carlson "Custom 400" Brociner - Freed- Eisemsnn - Bogen tcaturinc before selling. Lowest net prices. Fisher Radio - Concertone Tape Recorder All Makes of High Fidelity Records We pay shipping within U.S.A. e,..laos Sawa 12.tdvaion fT,t 12 St. Rochester 7, N. Y. 7460 MELROSE AVENUE Vine 390 EGLINTON WEST TORONTO, ONT. Los Angeles 46, Calif. WE 3 -8208 n stylos to Klip +thorn" Phone HUdson 92117 ILLINOIS CABINET MAKERS DON" I' E.CPER I.i1E.VT . . . IN CANADA J - CONSULT A SPECIALIST IN There's one place where you can find - and hear - all your high -fidelity equipment needs. We carry complete stock ... come in, or write TRUE HIGH FIDELITY in, for a chat, look, and a listen. WV IRCITr. IN THE DESIGN NEW YORK CITY AREA AND CONSTIUCTION Of PIMA. PUIN,TUIE POI HI.11DAl1TT Specialist in the best in sound. LECTRO -ÚO10E ^ CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN fUIl1U1URE CO. SOUND SYSTEMS 725 LA SAILS H. CHICAGO BOHN MUSIC SYSTEMS CO. PL 7 -8569 550 Fifth Ave., N. Y. 36 141 Dundos St., West, TORONTO OHIO GREAT BRITAIN EVERYTHING IN HIGH FIDELITY IN CINCINNATI AND Tilt. BRITISH III -FI TRI -STATE AREA ALLIED HIGH FIDELITY The widest selection of all top makes of 3 STUDIOS British High Fidelity reproducing equip- 100 N. Western Ave.. Chicago 80. III. * COMPETENT ENGINEERING ment available. We ship to any part of the world. Send for Special Export Catalogue. HAymarket 1 -6800 * COMPONENTS AT NET PRICES '62025 W. 95th St., Chicago 43, III. * SERVICE ON ALL I11 -FI COMPONENTS BEverly 8 -1067 aziata í.1/ 901C. g za 602 Davis St., Evanston, III. C41411.0.., ELECTRICAL CO. LTD. DAvis 8.8822 SHeldrake 3 -6233 2259 Gilbert Ave., CA 1 -3153 - Cincinnati 2, Ohio 352 -364 LOWER ADDISCOMBE ROAD, "A Component or a Compute System" CROYDON, SURREY, ENGLAND

136 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com FORUM AUDIO I VOW ULTIMATE PERFECTION Continued from page 135 IN TONE ARM PERFORMANCE f Ortho-sonic v/4 that musicians STYLUS Most of the criticism TRACKS COURSE Or ORIGINAL RECORDING direct at high fidelity in general is based on unfamiliarity with it. They listen to a record played on a peak) pickup, feeding through a distorting amplifier, and conning out of a speaker The with its high end souped -up with violent peaks, and their first impulse is VITAL ENGINEERING bound to be to cut down the treble. first successful PRINCIPLE SOLVED ! It is a known fact that distortion becomes increasingly unpleasant to the FLAWLESS REPRODUCTION ATTAINED. electrostatic speaker Stylus moves in straight :ine from ear as the frequency range is extended edge to center as in original record- upward, so where such distortion exists ing. there is bound to be a preference for INSPIRED DESIGN: Increases record other life . fits smallest cabinet . 500 cycles to beyond limited -range response. On the plays all size records ... no scratch- hand, a speaker that really lets you ing possible .. . all popular cart- have it in the "presence range" and ridges fit. the limit of audibility history of Hi -Fi off above that is bound to Never before in the then falls development has the introduction of show little or no difference between a a single component created such really wide -range signal and one that wide interest, laboratory and edi- on req'uest torial endorsement. Get ORTHO- literature is limited to 8,000 cycles. SONIC V/4 with its 10 incompar- We think you will find that your able features which eclipse conven- musician friends are directing their tional tone arms. ONLY S44.S0. criticisms at medium fidelity rather AT BETTER HI-FI DEALERS EVERYWHERE JansZen Laboratory inc. than at high fidelity. A truly smooth, twit,. For lll,st rated Li 1er,,tnry low -distortion, wide -range system has 69 Harvey St., Cambridge, Mass. INSTRUMENTS, Inc. never been criticised by a musician or ORTHO -SONIC 66C Mechanic Street, New Rochelle, N. Y. Phone UNiversity 4 -2241 a music- lover, because it produces a I very accurate replica of the real thing, and they certainly have no objections to that. But if you restrict the range Su.1,JfA Pa of such a system, the immediate re- ORDER NOW! action is that it becomes dull and life- LOWEST PRICES! High Fidelity less. You can undoubtably justify medi- DIAMOND ocre reproducing equipment on the grounds that it costs less than the finest NEEDLES .P 1 systems, and for those who can't hear the difference it is plainly a waste of money to buy the best. But the argument that a compromise system is just as good as a top - quality one is, to ''Our skilled diamond craftsmen convert your someone who can hear the difference, present needle to a genuine, simply not valid. unconditionally guaranteed diamond- tipped needle! Send or bring your replaceable needle,

check or money order for Sto. - FREE! SIR: Specify either 33 or 78 rpm. I have made a somewhat perplexing If desired, new shaft supplied, 52.75 additional. discovery, and wonder if there is any significance or explanation. NEWARK'S 1956 CATALOG I am using a GE cartridge and a and see the newest developments in tuners, amplifiers, tope recorders, diamond needle, and I have discovered record changers and speakers. 260 that as time passes and my needle pages of everything you need in High worn, there is a definite in- Fidelity, Radio, TV and Electronics. becomes crease in needle talk. When I replace my old needle with a new diamond, the needle talk becomes negligible. DIAMOND STYLUS CO. ikwAnI a DEPT. HFM I have access to microscope ELECTRIC COMPANY As do not 47 STREET I cannot tell whether the needle shows 31 WEST Dept. H -1 223 W. Madison, Chicago 6, III. N. Y. 36, N. Y. wear, but I can tell that both needles WEST COAST BRANCH 4736 W. Century Blvd., Inglewood. Cant Continued on next page

FEBRUARY I956 I 37

www.americanradiohistory.com AUDIO FORUM When it sounds like this a Listening quality Continued from preceding page IS (.'Ueryt111/1g ! have been at least eight months old, Impartial Lab reportr on th< mu and am sure they have had more Audak lli -Q7 magnetic car - tridc< than 1,000 hours' use. A leading recording stu- I wonder if anyone on your staff dio: "because readings amongst showed an amazing total or your correspondents has lark of distortion, check - encountered similar conditions, and tests were repeated 3 I would appreciate your opinion about times." Consumer sheet: this matter. Gt,oJ frequency Mary Jane McCloskey ...instead of this and transient re- 740 V2 E. 14th Apt. 5 i sponse. Practically no high frequency Eugene, Ore. distortion. Low intermodulation distortion." Needle talk is the result of the stylus making poor contact with the groove, may he Ideal ai those rrportr an. i1 hr long and n ¡lo I -i'. Listening quality is expected to increase as the stylus or damp- everything and the uco Aud,ix Hi- ing material deteriorates. Q7 has it to a degree not equalled by any other pickup. But- HEAR it 'our- Your diamond stylus should be re- self ... there is no other placed after about 80o plays, since by the time it starts to rattle around in the groove it will have already started to damage the record.

Aisow"ie SIR: NEW COMPASS- PIVOTED I am planning to put together a high ARM fidelity radio, phonograph, and tape &bed*The ULTIMATE in Loudspeakers and Systems Universally acknowledged as the most recorder installation in my house. efficient arm-barring none. No re- Seed for Free brochure peine complete detaiIs to Detk A6 straint. No frontal oscillations. No There is one special requirement. I UNIVERSITY LOUDSPEAKERS, INC.. WHITE PLAINS. N. Y. springs. No fatigue. Highest tracing am wondering whether I could success- efficiency. Equipped for stylus -pressure fully use the amplifier as a hearing -aid, adjustment ... (New adapter makes this superb Audax arm usable with practi- by installing a microphone and a set cally all cartridges.) of headphones, and wiring the living Do YOIJ Like room for two or three headphone con- To Waste nections. alone What type of microphone and head set would you suggest for this service Can You AFFORD Any help would be appreciated. To Throw Money L. H. Nielsen 26 Broadway Away? New York 4, N. Y. If not, there are some things you should know before buying any If your phono preamplifier unit is equipped STYLUS -BALANCE piece of high fidelity equipment, re- "the most accurate gauge anti:able for home to take a microphone input, you could gardless of where you plan to pur- use..." (HIGH FIDELI TY Magazine) easily undertake to use the system as a chase. With the scales and gauges available hearing -aid. After heretofore, it has been impossible three years in the audio field, to Plug any high -impedance check stylus -pressure closer than 2 or 3 microphone during which time we have become grams -that is 5o% off -correct. This into the receptacle provided, and use any one of the largest distributors of means walls, deformation of groove- number of earphones connected across the components in the nation, High - echoes, ghosts and other distortion. Stroboscope -like, STYLUS-BALANCE amplifier's t6 -ohm speaker terminals. Fidelity House has published Bul- accurately indicates correctness or in- While using the hearing -aid, you will letin G. correctness of stylus -pressure. Precision - have to cut out the speaker system to pre- This bulletin contains some start- calibrated like a pharmacist's balance. Works with any arm or cartridge. vent feedback into the microphone, so a ling information, much of which Gold Finish. Net 54.80 (add 2s1 if double -pole double -throw switch should be has never before been put into shipped from N. Y.) connected between the speaker and the print. It can help you to prevent costly mistakes amplifier in such a way that when the and you will find it of $z.00, 22 -page, 1956 most fascinating reading. We sug- FREE copy switch shuts off the speaker, it replaces it reference guide, "ELEC- gest you write for your copy at TRONIC PHONO FACTS" -by with a 25 -watt resistor of the same im- Maximilian Wei!- at your dealer, or once. Bulletin G is absolutely free. write us. pedance as the speaker. The headphones should be rated at boo HIGH -FIDELITY HOUSE AUDAK COMPANY ohms or more, to prevent additional load- Dept. H602 50o Fifth Ave., dept. H, New York 36 ing of the amplifier. 536 South Fair Oaks, Pasadena, California Fine audio-electronic apparatus ever 30 years

138 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com INDEX ADVERTISING Two important steps

Acoustic Research, Inc. .131 Lansing, James B., Sound, toward achieving Acoustical Development Corp. 46 Inc... 119 Acta Corp. Indexed on 74 Leslie Creations Indexed on 74 better sound ... Aires Radio Corp. 136 Lippincott, J. B., Co. Indexed on 74, 135 Allied Radio Corp. 9, 136 Listening Post, The 136 Altec Lansing Corp. 115 Living Language Course 140 American Elite, Inc. 135 London International Indexed on 74 Ampex Corp. 31 London Records Indexed on 74 the maraniz Angel Records Indexed on 74 Asco Sound Corp. 33 Magnecord, Inc. 39 138 power amplifier Audak Company Moronic, S. B. 139 Audio Devices, Inc. Inside Front Cover McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. 17, 18, 19 40 WATTS Audiogersh Corp. 7 Mercury Scientific Products Corp. 134 Audiophile Records, Inc. Indexed on 74 Metzner Engineering Corp. 8 Microlab Devices, Inc. 20 Bard Record Co., Inc 137 Minnesota Mining & Mfg. Co. 28 Beam Instrument Corp. 50 Munston Mfg., Inc. 46 Bell Sound Systems, Inc. 68 Music Box Indexed on 74 Bogen, David, Co., Inc. 113 MusiCraft 134 Bohn Music Systems Co. 136 Music Listener's Bookshop 40 Book -of-the -Month Club, Inc. Back Cover Bozak, R. T.. 126 Co...... Newark Electric Co. 137 Brainard Electronics .. 134 Newcomb Audio Products Co. 44 British Industries Corp. 15 Nuclear Products Co. Indexed on 74 Brociner Electronics Corp. 29 Ortho -sonic Instruments, Inc. .137 Capitol Records Indexed on 74 Oxford Electric Corp. 42 Centralab ...128 Chambers Radio Corp. ..Indexed on 74 Pentron Corp. 126 Classic Electrical Co., Ltd 136 A power amplifier which Collaro ..13 Perspective Records Indexed on 74 Columbia LP Record Club .. 5 Pickering & Co., Inc.. 2 meets the unusually high Records, Inc.. .Indexed on 74 Pilot Radio Corp. 123 Columbia standards now Components Corp. 38 Precision Electronics 135 performance Concertons Recorders, Berlont Presto Recording Co. 47 recognized in the Associates 110 Professional Directory... 136 Conrac, Inc.. 48, 49 Pye, Ltd. 42 Contemporay American Furniture Co. ...136 maraniz Cook Laboratories ... . 125 RCA Victor Division ... ..Indexed on 74

Craig Audio Lab...... 136 Racon Electric Co., Inc...... 44 Creative Audio Associates 136 Radio Engineering Labs., Inc. 14 audio consoleife Customcrafters ... ..136 Rodio Electric Service .. 136 Custom Sound& Vision, Ltd 136 Rauland -Borg Corp. ... 50 Record Market.. ..Indexed on 74 Dauntless International Indexed on 74 Record Review Index ...Indexed on 74 Decca Records, Inc. ...Indexed on 74 Reeves Soundcraft Corp. 45 Diamond Stylus Co. ... 137 Rek -O -Kut Co. .Inside Back Cover Duchin, Maurice, Creations, Inc. Robins Industries Corp. ....Indexed on 74 Indexed on 74 Rockbar Corp .. ..13, 36 Duotone 131 Rogers Amplifier 132

Electro -Sonic Laboratories, Inc. . 16 Santa Monica Sound 136 Electro- Voice, Inc...... 52 Scott, Herman Hosmer, Inc. 41, 43 Electro -Voice Sound Systems 136 Sherwood Electronic Labs., Inc. .128 Elektra Records...... Indexed on 74 Shryock Radio and TV Co. 136 Epic Records Indexed on 74 Shure Brothers .. 36, 125 Ercona Corp. 16, 132 Sonotape Corp. .Indexed on 74 ... combine them for Sonotone Corp. 37, 67 Fairchild Recording & Eqpt. Corp. .. 127 Sound Sales 16 superb sound qualify Fenton Co. 130 Stentorian Speakers 50

Fisher Radio Corp.. . 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 Stephens Mfg. Corp. 121 Fleetwood Television (Conrac, Inc.) 48, 49 Stromberg- Carlson 133 POWER AMPLIFIER

General Electric.. 30 Tannoy, Ltd...... 132 Superior performance Gernsback Library, Inc. .. 11 Tech- Master Corp. 34 and Construction Goodman's Loudspeakers .36 Telefunken 135 net $189 Gray Research and Development Co., Inc. 51 Terminal Radio Corp. 124 Greystone Corp.. 140 Tetrad Co. ..71 Thorens Co. 32 AUDIO CONSOLETTE Hanover House 4 Trader's Marketplace ...... 135 Harmon -Kardon, Inc. 35 New Tape -Monitoring switchf

Harvey Radio Co., Inc. ... . 129 Unicorn Records Indexed on 74 Finest performance and construction University Loudspeakers, Inc. 138 Heath Co. 117 Hum-free operation High -Fidelity House ...... 136, 138 Hollywood Electronics 136 Vanguard Recording Society, Inc. net $162... Indexed on 74 without cabinet $147 Interelectronics Corp. 130 Vox Productions, Inc. Indexed on 74

JansZen Laboratory, Inc. 137 WGMS 6 See your audio dealer or r Jensen Mfg. Co. 1 Walco (Electrovox Co., Inc.) Indexed on 74 write for specifications 7 Westminster Recording Co..... Indexed on 74 Kierulff Sound Corp. 136 White, Stan, Inc. 10 Kingdom Products, Ltd. 12 Williams Co., The Indexed on 74 maraniz company Klipsch & Associates 21 Wolk's High Fidelity Center 136 44-15 VERNON BLVD. LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y.

FEBRUARY 1956 139

www.americanradiohistory.com NOW- Through The Miracle of Long Play Records FRENCH Comp1ete or SPANISH LANGUAGE COURSE Slashed from 29' to $9'-s!

ALSO: ITALIAN or GERMAN if you prefer I

Thanks to the miracle of long a child first learns to speak Eng- playing records, you can now lish, or the way you would learn learn to speak French or Spanish a foreign tongue if you lived from NATIVE instructors, quick - abroad! You associate the foreign ly-at home and in your spare words you see and hear with their time-and not for the $29.95 this English equivalents -and in prac- Course has always cost, but for tically no time at all you find only $9.95 -a saving of 820.001 you're able to speak yourself! Or you may learn Italian or The best proof of this "Liv- See These Remarkable German for the same low price. ing Language" method is the fact that in World Why is this remarkable saving possible? Because War II the Army had to teach overseas-bound sol- Advantages of Learning the now the "LIVING LANGUAGE" Course, originally diers to speak and understand foreign languages in in French or Spanish, consisting of 40 lessons a hurry. There was no time for 3- or 4 -year courses. "LIVING LANGUAGE" Way! which formerly occupied 20 standard -size 78 RPM Men had to be trained in weeks or months. Your records, has been reproduced on only 4 long-playing The best language experts were put to work on this Home Is Your Classroom! 331 RPM records! This is the identical course for problem. After months of experimentation, they final- When you learn to speak French, Span- which thousands have long paid $29.951 Not a word ly devised a method used by the "Living Language" ish, Italian or German the "LIVING changed -not a syllable left out! But because of the Course. In fact, the very man who headed the LANGUAGE" Way, you don't have to miracle of long- playing records, we can now offer U.S. War Dept. Language Section -Mr. Ralph R. trudge off to school. You simply relax it at a two- thirds reduction -only $9.95 and on Weiman -also developed the "Living Language" in an easy chair at home, start the rec- a no -risk, free -trial basis! Course. That is why you can be sure, when you ord, open the manual . and you're take the "Living Language" Course that you are learning! It's easy, it's pleasant, it's No Rules! No Schools! Just Relax and Listen! receiving one of the best methods of speedy comfortable ... and it's - fast! you Whether plan a trip abroad or want to speak language instruction ever devised! Set Your Own a second language for business and cultural re- Hours! wards, there's no easier, faster way than the FREE 7 -DAY TRIAL OFFER! SEND NO MONEY! Learn strictly at your own convenience "LIV- . whenever ING LANGUAGE" method! You learn naturally, Because we are so confident that you will find you have the opportunity. just as you would if living in a foreign land. this Course delightfully pleasant and effective, we You learn when it suits you best -and make you this remarkable offer. for as long or short a time as you wish. You simply turn on a record, relax in your easy We want you to prove to yourself how amazingly Most people find it best to spend no less chair and listen to the recorded voices of people than 15 minutes a day on the Course conversing in their native tongue! You hear words, easy it is to learn a foreign language the "Living Language" way -at our risk! Here's all you do. . but you can set your own time, and phrases, sentences, clearly spoken in faultless ac- decide the length yourself. cents by expert instructors. And as you listen, you Simply fill in and mail the Coupon below and we look at the Conversation Manual provided, to see will ship you the entire "Living Language" Course Choose Your Own "Classmates"! the words you hear. You get the double impact of of 4 long -playing 331/2 RPM records, together with You can leans by yourself -or in the corn both seeing and hearing. the companion Conversation Manual, and the Com- pany of friends, neighbors, business asso- In a few days, you understand key words -you mon -Usage Dictionary containing over 16,000 basic ciates, or members of your family. It's become familiar with common -use phrases. The terms and essential words -on a 7 -day free trial basis! entirely up to you. And no matter how language GROWS on you. Soon, you could go Send no money -not a cent! After receiving the large or small your "class" is, the cost abroad and actually converse with the people al- Course, start using it just a few minutes a day. If is still the same -just $9.95, a savings most as if you were one of them! And because you in 7 days you do not find that you are already of $20.00! now have the basics of a second language, you can learning to speak this foreign language -if you are aspire to higher positions in business. And an this not convinced the Course is even better than we say Your Instructors Never Lose Patience! for just $9.95 -and about 15 minutes a day! -return it and owe nothing. Otherwise, we will bill They are always at your beck and call. you only $9.95 plus a few cents postage and han- Because your entire Course is on records, Why You Learn So Quickly dling charges-a full 2/7 reduction from the original they "repeat" any words, phrases or even This "Living Language" Way! cost of $29.95, and a saving to you of a full whole lessons-ai often as you want. The reason this "Living Language" method $20.00. And you need remit only $2.00 monthly. 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Otherwise you may bill me -not the usual on 33'"3 RPM price of $29.95 -but only $9.95 plus shipping, L.P.'s- 3345 RPM discs of unbreakable peats in print each recorded which I may pay $2.00 monthly. vinylite. You learn to speak lesson -so that you constantly CONVERSATION a foreign language by listening see the words and phrases you to thousands of words and hear. And the Common Usage Cheek FRENCH SPANISH Important! MANUAL phrases. Records can be played Dictionary provides over 16,000 Hen ITALIAN GERMAN - over and over. words and phrases! Name COMMON USAGE (please print) DICTIONARY- Address Full 529.95 Value City and Zone Praline. at TWO- THIRDS SAVE Enclose only $10.00 with this coupon REDUCTION! MORE to save shipping charges. Immediate THE LIVING LANGUAGE COURSE r refund and return privilege guaranteed. You save $20.00 100 Avenue of the Americas, N.Y. 13, N.Y. $11.95 in Canada: 1184 Casllefield Aso, Toronto 10, Ont. Om In Canada: 1184 Castlefeld Ave., Toronto 10, Ont.

140 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com What a wonderful way to begin your `Dream' system

Sooner or later you will begin to plan your choice. In fact, with your problem so simpli- 'dream' high fidelity system. It will have none fied, you can actually begin today. Let us show of the weaknesses of your present one - and you how Rek -O -Kut Turntable and matching you will carefully avoid repeating the same Turntable Arm can be the wonderful start of mistakes. your 'dream' system.

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How comforting it will be to know that in TURNTABLE ARMS selecting your turntable and arm, no such Model 120 (for records problem exists -that there is only one first up to 12 ") $26.95 Model 160 (for records choice possible -that one manufacturer is so up to 16 ") 29.95 far ahead of the field, there is hardly a second

See your high fidelity dealer, or write for complete details to Dept. SB -2

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www.americanradiohistory.com An Excellent Way to Test Your Understanding of Music

Will you accept LwuTouT CHARGE the Music -Appreciation Recording of

Brahms VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D MAJOR WALTER GOEHR, on :urtnot the 1.0 \: DON Sy' \1PIIO \Y ORF11RSTRA Endre Wolf,

ON TWO RECORDS (a 12 -inch and a 10 -inch disc)"

First play the 12 -inch PERFORMANCE record and Then play the 10-inch ANALYSIS record -and see how much -and what -you hear in it... see how much you may have been missing

*IMPORTANT, PLEASE NOTE: Unlike most \btstr- Appnrrnroos Ru ones -sec below), this recording, because of the length of the Bra li nn' Concerto, is on two records -a 12" disc with the uninterrupted performance only, and a 10" disc

presenting the anals sis, written and conducted by Thomas Sherman, Musical Director of Music A PPP i ei snos Rurotes.

SPONSORED BY THE BOOK -OF- THE -MONTH CLUB PLEASE RETURN ONLY IF YOU HAVE A 33, 3 R.P.M. RECORD PLAYER

HIS SEW tnr A is designed for those who en- R P.M. on Vinylite. They are of two kinds: joy good music but who are aware too tir-1 a so- called Standard Record -a twelve- MUSIC -APPRECIATION RECORDS R10-2 often. that they do not listen to it with com- disc-which presents the uninterrupted c/o Book -of- the -Month Club, Inc. plete understanding and appreciation. There is pertonnance on one side, featuring orchestras 345 Hudson Street, New York 14, N.Y. no doubt about the reason: most of us are not and artists of recognized distinction and on properly primed about what to listen tL'r. the other side an illuminating analysis of the Please send me at once the Music- Appreciation record- Mnsrc- APPRrCIAruO] Rif onus meet this need - music with the themes and other main features ing of Brooms' Piohn Concerto in D major, without for a fuller understanding of music -better played separately. with reaming explanatory charge, and enroll me as a Trial Subscriber to Music- than any means ever devised. This enjoyable comment. so that you learn what to listen for. APPRECIATION Rrrosns. with the privilege of canceling at form of self-education is comparable to the This standard record is sold for $3.611 to sub- any time. I understand that as a subscriber, 1 am not Music Appreciation courses given in many scribers only. When the selection. because of obligated to buy any specified number of records, but may universities. its length, requires two records as in the case take only those I want. Also, I may cancel my subscrip- of Brahms' Tiolin Concerto -a 12 inch record tion after hearing the first recording, or any time there- YOU SUBSCRIBE BUT TAKE ONLY THE giving the performance and a 10-inch record after at my pleasure, but the gift offer is free in any case. RECORDS YOU WANT ... A new \tnsu:- giving the analysis -the price is $4.:NI for the APPRtcunos Rn usu is issued -for subscrib- two. (A small charge is added to the prices ers only -every month. You receive a desk ip- above to cover postage and handling.) tive Announcement about each record. written l(r. by the noted composer and music commenta- TRY A ONE -MONTH SUBSCRIPTION - tor, Deems Taylor. After reading this An- WITH NO OBLIGATION TO CONTINUE )lis (PLEASE PRINT) nouncement you may take the record or not. . \\ !is not make a simple trial to see it Y 014 are not abli united to take any specified these ref orris are as pleasurable and as en- number 01 records. And you may stop the sub- lightening as yon may anticipate) The scription at any time! Itoaints recording will he sent to you at once -n'itbtud Jot se. You may end the subscrip-

TYPES RECORDS . All Munsnc- PovtRn zoRr s". TWO OF tion immediately after hearing this record- CITY...... -.-...... uRmo .STATE APPRlcIA los Rum,. are high -fidelity. long - ing or you may cancel any time thereafter. MAR 60 playing records of thc highest quality -33/3 In any case, the gift recording is yours to keep.