Camerata 'Bern Plays the 6 -Mannheim School

THE music of the Mannheim School is Although Mannheim never produced a suave ensemble thatis quite devoted to more talked about than played, being Haydn or a Mozart, it did boast a group of playing this rarely heard but high -quality usually viewed as merely pre -Classical ex- highly talented composers whose music is music. -Stoddard Lincoln perimentation paving the way for the high well crafted, stunningly orchestrated, and Classical style of Haydn and Mozart. A de- spaciously proportioned. Filtz's cello con- THE MANNHEIM SCHOOL. Richter: lightful three -disc Deutsche Grammophon certo and Lebrun's oboe concerto, for exam- Sinfonia in B -flat Major; Flute Concerto in Archiv album remedies that situation con- ple, are among the finest works for their in- E Minor. J. Stamitz: Violin Concerto in C siderably by presenting a fine sampling of struments written in the Classical era and Major; Orchestral Trio in B -flat Major, Mannheim School and concer- ought to have entered the standard reper- Op. I, No. 5. Filtz: Cello Concerto in G Ma- tos that are far more than experiments. The toire long ago. jor. Holzbauer: in A program is well chosen and allows us to The Camerata of Bern is a handsome - Major: Sinfonia in E -flat Major, Op. 4, hear works by composers of the school's sounding outfit of about twenty-five musi- No. 3. Cannabich: Sinfonia Concertante in first generation ( and Franz cians directed by concertmaster Thomas C Major; Sinfonia in B -flat Major. Lebrun: Xaver Richter), by some of that genera- Fiiri. Their playing is precise, and, though Oboe Concerto in D Minor. Aurale Nicolet tion'spupils (AntonFiltz,lgnaz Holz- they make very little of Classical articula- (flute);Heinz Holliger (oboe); Manfred bauer, and ), and by a tion, their phrasing is neat and well molded. Sax (bassoon); Thomas Fiiri (violin); Chris- Mannheim -trained composer (Ludwig Au- The various soloists are all excellent and toph Schiller(viola); Thomas Demenga gust Lebrun) writing in the fully developed bring virtuosity and intelligence to their (cello); Camerata Bern, Thomas Rini cond. Classical style. readings. My overall impression is of a very Aaciiiv 2723 068 three discs $29.94.

in him a composer of passion and daring. TERSOUND 0 IM 36665, © HMT 36665, no like to hear more angularity, or, perhaps, Frederick Renz's ensemble isa brave list price. more spontaneity. The overallrecorded group that handles its period instruments sound is marvelous. G.J. with enthusiasm. While there are occasion- PerformanceIndividual Recording. Excellent al problems with intonation, ensemble, and ROSSINI/RESPIGHI: La Boutique Fan- balance, the overall effect is spirited and This is probably the most generous current tasque. Toronto , Andrew Davis lively. The singing, what with countertenors representation of Ravel songs on one disc, cond. CBS MASTERSOUND O IM 35842, © and the women's deliberately flat, white and it has much to commend it: subtle bal- HMT 35842, no list price. voices, sounds somewhat sexless.Renz's ancing of elements, fine instrumental per- own harpsichord realizations of the figured - formances, and, certainly, the many attrac- Performance Hard -ridden lines are rather too bland for the mu- tive qualities of Frederica von Stade's sing- Recording. Wide-ranging sic;I wish he had offered more arpeggia- ing-her musicianship, tonal purity, and id- A sophisticated if casual listener, hearing tions and "sprinkled" the chords a bit more iomatic handling of the texts. thestrains of La Boutique Fantasque, in the many declamatory passages. Still, There are a number of things, however, asked, "Slavic? A Russian ballet score? It this is a good and interesting release, one of that I miss here. A wider emotional and dy- has a French influence but it must be Rus- the first on Musicmasters, a new, sold -in - namic range is certainly called for, to say sian." La Boutique Fantasque was orches- storeslabel from the Musical Heritage nothing of more pronounced timbral con- trated by Respighi from Rossini's French - Society. S . L. trasts. To be more specific: the singer sug- period Sins of My Old Age for Diaghilev. gests the primitive elements in the Chan- But Russian? Well, Respighi studied with RAVEL: Sheherazade; Cinq Melodies Pop- sons Madecasses but fails to hint at the Rimsky-Korsakov. In fact, the more one lis- ulaires Grecques (excerpts); Deux Melodies fierceness in such a song as "Aoua!" In the tens and thinks about it, the more this score Hebraiques. Frederica von Stade (mezzo- Hebraic songs I miss the dimension of sounds like a tribute to the traditional Rus- soprano); Boston Symphony , Sei- earthiness. Much of the singing has a beau- sian ballet. It is, of course, a delight. jiOzawa cond.Chansons Madicasses. tiful, almost hypnotic quality-Ravel's ex- Andrew Davis offers a lively and hard - Frederica von Stade (mezzo-soprano); Do - quisite sonorities tend to dull the senses- ridden performance that pushes constantly riot Anthony Dwyer (flute); Jules Eskind and I am by no means ungratefulfor for brilliance and dynamism. The Toronto (cello); Martin Katz (piano). CBS MAS- streams of beautiful sound. But at times I'd Symphony, not especially known as one of

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