Children's Chorus of the Royal Opera RECORDING of SPECIAL
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"Special Merit" tag from an otherwise ex- rymose tendencies in the music. Overall, his pold Hager cond. EURODISC SQ 200152- ceptional recording. R.F. approach is closer to Michel Plasson's (An- 366 $9.98. gel S-3894) than to Georges Pretre's (An- Performance Lively HOFFMAN: Mandolin Concerto in D Ma- gel S-3736), which is more briskly paced. jor (see HASSE) Jose Carreras starts rather unpromisingly Recording. Good with Werther's opening "0 Nature. pleine Kristin Merscher was seventeen when she HUMMEL: Mandolin Concerto in G Major de grace," in which the requisite ardor is made these recordings. Felix Mendelssohn (see HASSE) effortfully expressed. He improves in thewas not much older when he wrote the first later scenes, and the dark timbre of his at-of these concertos. Where Mendelssohn MASSENET: Werther. Jose Carreras (ten- tractive voice helps in creating a manly fig-wrote Moho allegro con fuoco or Presto or), Werther; Frederica von Stade (mezzo- ure out of Goethe's at times annoyingly self- scherzando or Molto allegro evivace, soprano), Charlotte; Thomas Allen (bari- pitying hero. There is much here that this Merscher has taken him at his word. These tone), Albert; Isobel Buchanan (soprano), sensitive artist does very well indeed; itis are, to say the least, lively performances. Sophie; Robert Lloyd (bass), the Bailiff; unfortunate that so much of his singing This record is a memorial to French pian- Paul Crook (tenor), Schmidt; Malcolm above the staff lacks grace. Frederica von ist Monique de la Bruchollerie, who died in King (bass), Johann; others. Orchestra and Stade, on the other hand, solves all her vo- 1972. A scholarship from the proceeds of Children's Chorus of the Royal Opera cal problems beautifully. She is an absolute one of her recordings was awarded to Kris- House, Covent Garden, Sir Colin Davis pleasure to listen to, though a bit cool and tin Merscher, and this record was issued in cond. PHILIPS 6769 051 three discs $29.94, distant for my taste-too much the proper, conjunction with the prize. The award was © 7654 051 $29.94. dutiful wife to make her agonizing dilemma (pardon the pun) felicitous. This is youth- Performance Good fully believable. In the not -too -grateful role ful, high-spirited music making of the hap- Recording Excellent of the husband, Thomas Allen not only ex-piest sort-technically perfect and full of celsbutalso manages to sound young dash,fire, and brio. The sunny, eternal For reasons that may be worth exploring enough to realize the poet's intention. youth of Felix Mendelssohn shines through elsewhere, Werther seems to have overtaken Isobel Buchanan is a charming Sophie benevolently. E.S. Manon (a distinctly superior work) as Mas- who does not overdo her girlishness, and the senet's most popular opera. There are now smaller roles are well handled. The orches- MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto in E four stereo Werthers in the catalog, and, tra plays with passion and refinement, and, Minor, Op. 64. BRUCH: Violin Concerto what is quite gratifying, three of them are though I've heard more attractive tones in No. 1, in G Minor, Op. 26. Leonid Kogan commendable. children's voices, the present group does no (violin); Berlin Radio Symphony Orches- The new Philips set, a by-product of a re- serious damage. This is a good Werther, but tra, Lorin Maazel cond. Euuouisc- 88 cent Covent Garden production, benefits my preference remains Angel S-3736 with 466 MK $9.98. from a proved ensemble spirit and from the its perfect pairing of Nicolai Gedda and Performance Russian strong hand of its conductor. With all those Victoria de los Angeles. G.J. outstanding Berlioz interpretations to his Recording Good credit, Sir Colin Davis needs no introduc- RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERIT Perhaps it's just that I've heard too many tion as a masterly orchestral colorist who Nathan Milstein records, but I thought that can handle Massenet's subtly sensuous or- MENDELSSOHN: Piano Concerto No. 1, the performance parameters of the Men- chestral idiom with a sure and sensitive in G Minor, Op. 25; Piano Concerto No. 2, delssohn and Bruch concertos were clearly command. He also maintains enough firm- in D Minor, Op. 40. Kristin Merscher (pi- set and generally known. I was wrong. Back ness and propulsion to counteract the lach- ano); Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, Leo- in 1974 Leonid Kogan made his first (and, to my knowledge, only) recording of the Mendelssohn, released in the United States now for the first time, and what he gives us is a Russian concerto-big, throbbing, emo- tionally drenching, full of sobs, sighs, pas- sion, and great heroic gestures. Even the very opening comes at us like a Russian gypsy adagio. The Bruch is even stranger, sounding in ways like a sort of Russian Mahler. It is startling to hear such interpre- tations from a world -class musician in 1974. Were it 1949 it would be more comprehen- sible, for this is the kind of music making that develops in a land cut off from cosmo- politan influence, approaching the score as if it had just been discovered and turning inward to its own musical traditions as the sole interpretive tools. Strange. Still, Kogan is a colossal violinist and mu- sician (I cannot believe that Maazel is re- sponsible for anything more here than car- rying out Kogan's wishes), and this is violin playing on nearly the highest level. Further- more, Kogan has such force of character that while these performances cannot possi- bly convince anyone who knows the scores, they command interest and attention, and almost awe. We don't hear enough of Ko- gan by a long shot in this country and on records, and this disc tells us what we have been missing. A disturbing record, in more than one way. -James Goodfriend PURCELL: Choral Works (see Best of the Month, page 70) RAVEL: Histoires NatureHes (see Going on Record, page 58) 88 STEREO REVIEW.