JUNE 1966 60c H BGH FI 0 ELITY

SPea kers

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THE STORE -HOW TO PLACE THEM IN THE HOME

111100=-

B ernstein HIS FIRST OPERA RECORDING: VERDI'S FALSTAFF, WITH FISCHER -DIESKAU

Prokofiev AN APPRAISAL OF HIS OPERAS BY A DISTINGUISHED ITALIAN CRITIC

www.americanradiohistory.com because it is the next best speakers, or $299.50 with 10- thing to our grand grands. At inch speakers. a small fraction of the size The 85 includes a powerful and cost. The 95 baby grand transistor amplifier, an auto- is only $369.50 with standard matic turntable and a mag- speakers, or $399.50 with op- netic cartridge to match. The tional larger speaker systems 95 has a sensitive FM- stereo for even finer bass. The 85 is tuner in addition. Everything only $269.50 with 8 -inch you need for fine stereo. The Fisher baby grand. CIRCLE 27 ON READER -SERVICE CARD

www.americanradiohistory.com OVESSES N140 CNM101NMMESiDENTS wl !If TOEIlNENMAP. iNTElN.TiONNI,iNC., LONG 1l1.NNOEITT,M.r. .. r

PLACE 4¢ STAMP ucl+v HERE At Fisher we don't equate .oeä"4.>. performance with size. Every 'TF =Ç system must ° ¿_^¡ á Fisher stereo ClCjkly ó LI of fnmcR FISHER RADIO CORPORATION be capable producing {S.8 1:1 2,c N sound as big as the music. Y "N. 11-35 45th Road O > ÿ Y °= "_A 3.4 wE Long Island City, N. Y. 11101 Without compromise. And OCAON mC Ht ÉEao it on. IA.' p every time you turn O m iEi°vttuDl a, mre-°a E 9 ..> The Fisher baby grand is C p a,,C' 9 z < J the most recent proof of this. We call it our baby grand

www.americanradiohistory.com How to get big sound out of a small Fisher:

www.americanradiohistory.com CIRCLE 27 ON READER -SERVICE CARD

JUNE 1966 1

www.americanradiohistory.com Nine out of ten musicians prefer the natural sound of Pickering.

Microgroove discs are recorded by magnetic processes. Naturally they sound better when reproduced with a Pickering Micro- MagneticTM; there's a natural compatibility. From the tiniest peep of a piccolo to the mightiest roar of an organ, Pickering produces sound as natural as the original performance. That's why musicians prefer Pickering. And so does everyone else who can hear the difference. Pickering makes it easy to get natural sound in any stereo installation. There are four Pickering Micro- Magnetic pickups, each designed for a specific application. The V- 15AC -2 is for conventional record changers, where high o-ltput and heavier tracking- forces are required. The V- 15AT -2 is for lighter tracking in the newer automatic turntables. The even more compliant V- 15AM -1 is ideal for professional-type manual turntables. And the V- 15AME -1 with elliptical stylus is the choice of the technical sophisticate who demands the last word in tracking ability. No other pickup design is quite like the Pickering Micro -Magnetic. The cartridge weighs next to nothing (5 grams) in order to take full advantage of low -mass tone arm systems. Pickering's exclusive Floating Stylus and patented replaceable V -Guard stylus assembly protect both the record and the diamond. But the ultimate test of a cartridge is the human ear. Find out for yourself. Listen caref lly to a Pickering. You'll hear the difference. For those who Can hear the difference. Pickering & Co. Plainview, L.I., N.Y. CIRCLE 46 ON READER -SERVICE CARD 2 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com Page 40 Page 51 HIGH FIDELITY

Music and Musicians 14 Notes from Our Correspondents: Vienna, New York, Paris 39 Contemporary Opera and the Foundations: an editorial 40 The Shed at Norfolk: New England's oldest summer festival Harris Goldsmith 44 The Unknown World of Prokofiev's Operas Giuseppe Pugliese

Sound Reproduction

32 News & Views: audio, audio everywhere... . 35 Equipment in the News 51 Loudspeakers -Their Choice and Installation Norman Eisenberg 61 Equipment Reports Ampex PR -10 -4 Tape Recorder Dynaco PAS -3X Preamplifier Audio Dynamics ADC 404 Speaker System Hcathkit AR -13A Receiver Kit

Reviews of Recording 22 The Sonic Showcase 24 Jazz 69 Feature Record Reviews Britten: Curlew River (Peter Pears, et al.; instrumentalists; Benjamin Britten, Viola Tunnard, musical directors) Ives: Orchestral Works (Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Morton Gould, cond.; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond.) 74 Other Classical Reviews 94 Repeat Performance 97 The Lighter Side 101 The Tape Deck

J U N E 1 9 6 6 VOLUME 16 NUMBER 6

Published at Great Barrington, Mass. 01230, by The Billboard Publishing Co. Copyright 0 1966 by The Billboard Publishing Co. The design and contents of Nigh Fidelity Megarine am fully protected by copyright and must not be reproduced in any manner. Second -class postage paid at Great Barrington end t additional mailing offices. Authorized as second -clan mail by the Pest Office Department, sOttawa, and for payment of postage in cash. Nigh Fidelity 'Musical America Edition published monthly soc.pl December when it isi published semi- monthly. Subscription Anywhere on Earth 39. National and other Editions published monthly. Subscription Anywhere on Earth $7. Ind.aed in the "Reader's Guide to Ultra- fun." Change of address notices and undelivered copies (Form 3579) should be addressed to Nigh Fidelity, Subscription Department, 2160 Patterson Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211.

www.americanradiohistory.com For your sound approach to quality... HIGH FIDELITY

look!

listen! Cover Design: Roy Lindstrom

Roland Gelatt Editor in Chief

Joan Griffiths Executive Editor

Norman Eisenberg Audio Editor

compare! Sue Severn Managing Editor

Peter G. Davis 'I' /NA, Assistant Editor

Shirley Fleming Managing Editor Musical America Section

Leonard Marcus Special Projects Editor

Roy Lindstrom Art Director

Nathan Broder R. D. Darrell ro III 1

911. 9fi 98 TO 'OZ Ipd 116 1:11 Alfred Frankenstein `. . ... Conrad L. Osborne 11 I I .1 .1 a Robert C. Marsh Contributing Editors

Claire N. Eddings e Director of Advertising Sales :e esse esse Walter F. Grueninger Circulation Director KENWOOD SOLID STATE STEREO RECEIVERS Warren B. Syer Publisher Once you've seen and heard the wonderful SOUNDS OF KENWOOD you'll want to make comparisons with other units. Listen to the unusual quality of KENWOOD. A D V E R T I S I N G Compare total music power...sensitivity...wide frequency range produced by Main Office: Claire N. Eddings, The Publishing House, Great Barrington, Mass. 01230. Tele- silicon power transistor amplifiers... and many more important engineering fea- phone: 413 -528 -1300 tures that add up to outstanding musical performance and trouble -free reliability. New York: 165 W. 46th St., New York, N. Y. 10036. Telephone: 212- 757 -2800. Seymour Only by making comparisons for quality, features and price will you find that Resnick, Andrew Sponberger. Chicago: Taylor /Friedman, 333 N. Michigan KENWOOD provides a truly superior selection of hi -fi stereo receivers. Visit your Ave., Suite 314, Chicago, Ill. 60601. Tele- phone: 312- 332 -7683 nearest KENWOOD franchised dealer, and he'll be glad to demonstrate your sound Los Angeles: The Billboard Publishing Co., 9000 approach to quality. Or write us for free, colorful brochure. Sunset Blvd., Suite 710, Los Angeles, Calif. 90069. Telephone: 213-273-1555. Pete Heine, Dick Blase

London: 15 Hanover Square, London W.I. sound approach to quality ..the KENWOOD Telephone: Hyde Park 3659. Andre de Vekey Tokyo: Japan Trade Service, Ltd., 2 -1 -408, 3 -Chome Otsuka, Bunkyo -ku, Tokyo, Japan. 3700 So. Broadway PI., Los Angeles, Calif. 90007, AD 2 -7217 212 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010, MU 3-1115 Telephone: 944 -0805. Kanji Suzuki CIRCLE 35 ON READER -SERVICE CARD 4 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com NEW! FROM COMMAND RECORDS Special Stereo Offer Your Choice of Two Special Edition Samplers WITH BRAND NEW, NEVER BEFORE HEARD SELECTIONS!

NEW POPULAR SAMPLER STEREO Containing 12 Complete Selections 15 FROM 9 BRAND NEW COMMAND ALBUMS Here is your opportunity to savor the full range of Command artistry. The NEW Popular Sampler contains 12 unbelievably exicting SELECTIONS FROM 9 NEW COMMAND ALBUMS! Selections from these new albums do not appear on any previous Command Sampler Editions. Now you can enjoy a brilliant collection of the Newest and best from Command ... with no sales talk ... no selling message ... just complete, uninterrupted Music by incom- parable artists recorded with Command's dedication to absolute technical perfection! A TASTE OF HONEY /THE DISCOTHEQUE DANCE ALBUM =892 SD SABOR A MI (Be True To Me) /LOVE SONGS MEXICO /S.A. Tony Mottola =889 SD MATCHMAKER (From "Fiddler On The Roof ") /YOUNG LOVERS ON BROADWAY The Ray Charles Singers =890 SD SOWS IIIITCC 1. THUNDERBALL (From "Thunderball ") /THE MAN FROM O.R.G.A.N. Dick Hyman =891 SD COTTON FIELDS FEVER Doc Severinsen, His Trumpet and His Orchestra =893 SD THE CINCINNATI KID 1966 - MAGNIFICENT MOVIE THEMES Bobby Byrne and His Orchestra =894 SD RED ROSES FOR A BLUE LADY /PERSUASIVE PERCUSSION 1966 =895 SD TENNESSEE WALTZ /FEVER Doc Severinsen, His Trumpet and His Orchestra =893 SD BRASILIA/ LOVE SONGS MEXICO S.A. Tony Mottola =889 SD PICK A BALE OF COTTON /THE FOLK ALBUM /The Robert De Cormier Singers =897 SD MEDI- TACAO/ ROMANTIC ACCORDION Charles Magnante =888 SD KING OF THE ROAD/ THE DISCOTHEQUE DANCE ALBUM =892 SD PLUS COMMAND CLASSICAL SAMPLER 5

7 COMPLETE SELECTIONS FROM 7 DIFFERENT COMMAND CLASSICAL ALBUMS This magnificent album will open your eyes to 35mm magnetic film. Great care was taken to the broad scope and magnitude of Command select complete movements for your greatest classical recordings ... will reveal to you the possible enjoyment, no expense has been spared Noi advances Command en- to make that this album reflects the Coin unparalleled technical certain ( 1. \Il , ,.\\11'11 R \., gineers have achieved in master -recording on integrity and leadership Command enjoys today. 7 Cl)\IPI.1.11. sl F l"Ilu.\5 rR0\I 1I1r. 1-01.1 A% I\(: \L\-E\ CU\I\L\\U CI-\IC, BRAHMS - Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98, 3rd Movement. Steinberg ... Pittsburgh Symp. Orch. 11030 BEETHOVEN - Sonata 29 (Hammer -Klavier) Daniel Barenboim 11026 FAURE - Nocturne. Virgil Fox plays the John Wanamaker Organ. 11025 BEETHOVEN - Symphony No. 1 in C, Op. 21. 3rd Movement. Steinberg . . . Pittsburgh Symp. Orch. 11024 BEETHOVEN - Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, 1st Movement Op 67. Steinberg ... Pittsburgh Symp. Orch. 11031 SAINT -SAENS - Minuet & Gavotte. Op. 65 Hambro & Zayde 11013 VERDI - String Quartet in E Minor. 4th Movement. Steinberg ... Pittsburgh Symp. O ch. 11027 Albums FREE! COMMAND FULL -COLOR BROCHURE These Are Not Available In Stores Command Records proudly presents the Brilliant Command illustrated color brochure with the complete listing of all Command Popular and The complete albums from which these selections were Classical Record Albums and Tapes. Here, truly is the complete source chosen are available at record stores. However, to obtain your on the most perfect recordings ever produced. You will want to refer to it again and again. Yours FREE! Command Sampler Albums (which are not sold in stores), simply mail coupon today. You may select either the Popular or the Classical Album for only $2.98 each. (Command Stereo COMMAND RECORDS DEPT. HF-6 1 Albums are sold nationally up to $5.79 each.) If you wish, you Post Office Box 2567 can take advantage of an additional saving by ordering both Church Street Station, New York, N.Y. 10036 albums for only $5.00. Your albums will be shipped postpaid Gentlemen: Please seld me the Command Sampler Albums I have Command pays all postage and handling. And, you may checked below. I understand Command pays all postage and handling - costs. Full Money Back Guarantee. Allow at least 2 weeks delivery. order as many albums as you wish, but don't delay ... mail your order today! Quantity Album Price Total Popular Sampler 15 (Stereo Only) @ $2.98 Classical Sampler 5 (Stereo Only) @ $2.98 Special Offer (Both Albums) @ $5.00 ENCLOSED IS (Check or Money Order) WORLD LEADER IN RECORDED SOUND Name 0111114,1142,41,4 Records (Please Print) Address A subsidiary of ABC- PARAMOUNT RECORDS, INC. LCity 7one State

CIRCLE 13 ON READER -SERVICE CARD JL N1 'n,r, 5

www.americanradiohistory.com EXPERTS' CHOICE; The editors whose job it is to know- recommend DYNACO

STEREOPHILE OVER ?2R CDMPdlëllls ERR memos WED RV COetBIBS gEfFAPo.L. RIe. al al aalr IwR1 N\Ia - magazine's In this perfectionist -NEW FIRST selection of Recommended Com- EDITION! ponents in each issue, Dyna pre - NUM amps, amplifiers, and the Dyna- tuner have consistently dominated the stereoph HOW TO BUY: Groups B and C in all applicable ile Sneaker categories. In their own words: I.. .h Y-Fili, I "Component categories are as follows: Class A - Highest in price and prestige value, top lase Recorders quality sound; Class B - Sonic quality about equal to that of Cartridges Class A components, but lower EDITOR'S cost; Class C Slightly lower - CHOICE: in - TOP 50 quality sound, but far better than SYSTEMS home high- fidelity; Class average HI -FI BUYERS GUIDE 1966 D musical sound, better - Good, The top three Shoppers Special than the average component sys- recommendations are clear: tem but significantly less than Maximum Fi - the best sound attainable." PAS-3, 2 Mark Ells, FM -3 Music Lovers - PAS-3, Stereo 70, FM -3 Most Fi Per Dollar - Popular SCA-35 and FM -3 Scie POPULAR SCIENCE - 1963 and 1964 "The Low -Down on Hi-Fi Stereo" in September 1963 picked the Dyna PAS -2 preamp and the Stereo 70 amplifier for their top -most system at $700 "selected to please the true hi -fi buff" with the further comment "It was the IDEAS FOR 1O0R SHOP unanimous opinion of the panel that you could spend well over $1000 and ,1110 ROME not get any better sound from your records." 0:06"" 8°4 y'! How to Drive in a Crisis The "Low -Down on Hi -Fi Stereo Tuners" in September 1964 picked the Dyna FM -3 in both major categories. It was one of the three assembled tuners over $150 selected as `outstanding buys," and one of two tuners which were ranked as "definitely the best of the under -$150 kits."

,.,,,...... ,.... IMYtiMn R.N...N.V

FM -3 SCA -35 PAS -3X Stereo Stereo Stereo FM Tuner Amplifier Preamplifier Kit Kit Kit $99.95 $99.95 $69.95

Complete specifications and test reports are available on request.

DYNACO INC. 3912 POWELTON AVENUE, PHILADELPHIA 4, PA. CIRCLE 19 ON READER -SERVICE CARD 6 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com DYNACO IS BEST for quality, performance and value!

HI -FI TAPE SYSTEMS 1964 "Editor's Choice Of Hi -Fi Sys- tems" : "Maximum Fi - The Modern Hi -Fi & Stereo Guide '64 Dyna ... (FM-3, PAS -3 and 2 "Experts Choose The Most Sound Mark IIIs) ... is the least ex- For The Money" with the Dyna pensive way to obtain state -of- SCA -35 in 3 out of 6 systems, and the -art performance. Music the PAS -3 with 2 Mark //l.c, and Lovers - The Dyna ... (FM -3, the FM -3 separately picked in two PAS -3 and Stereo 70) . . . has other systems. been recommended by more ex- perts, and their nephews, than any other hi fi system. We don't INllmlfl aplt kil reports hesitate to join the parade know- VC MSC 10 dirk ing that we run no risk whatever 1 *, Rec Ill reviews that anyone will be unhappy with the expenditure. Most Fi Per Dollar -This makes it three 61CIGió®q in a row for Dyna but we won't apologize. The SCA -35 is the finest low powered amplifier on the market, delivers 16 watts from 20 to 20,000 cycles at less than 1% distortion and below 3 or 4 watts the distortion is un- measurable."

Many audio magazines have published detailed test facturers. Never before has such a modestly -priced selec- reports on Dynaco amplifiers and tuners which have tion been so widely recommended and acclaimed. verified their consistent ability to meet or exceed specifi- cations. But specifications alone are never able to fully The Dynaco components below are available as easy -to- define comparative performance in the home, and such build kits for the do- it- yourself enthusiast, or completely reviews never make comparisons. The interpretation of assembled at slightly higher cost. Pick a combination those statistics is left to the purchaser. The magazines to suit your power requirements and your budget. Com- quoted here are some of the independent publications parable standards of excellence, differing only in power which have chosen specific Dyna music systems in output, are assured. Unsurpassed sound, regardless of combination with ancillary equipment by other manu- cost, is a Dynaco tradition.

2 Mark Ills Stereo 70 Stereo 35 60 watts/ 35 watts/ 17.5 watts/ channel channel channel Kits Kit Kit $79.95 each $99.95 $59.95 T-7-71 a

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www.americanradiohistory.com ROBERTS UU 1 TE NOME 11 1IU "STEREO 8" TRACK MUSIC CARTRIDGE Magnetic Educator 11-i III L LII Sir: Glenn Gould's article "The Prospects of Recording" [April 1966] is sure to create Hun:1 CAR with the NEW a considerable amount of controversy among your readers. The provocative marginal comments from the galaxy of ROBERTS music experts that accompanied the ar- ticle is proof enough of this. I felt that MODEL the essay was a wonderful and well - PLUG - AND -PLAY reasoned exposition of the problems and ATTACHMENT challenges facing musicians and record- ing companies in the future. Besides giv- 8 ing valuable insights into the practice of present -day recording techniques, Mr. Gould casts light on the differences of execution and approach between re- corded and live performances. Regard- less of how one reacts to Mr. Gould's conclusions, one cannot help but be l c ps prodded into reevaluating past ideas and .... 8 concepts as well as seriously pondering on what the future has in store. By in- stilling these reactions Glenn Gould has certainly earned the title of "magnetic _II educator." Norman C. Chapman Calabasas, Calif.

Sir: The goal of art is perfection -and, as $9995 Glenn Gould points out in his revealing and sensible essay "The Prospects of Recording," recordings are a great gift IN WALNUT to the musician in realizing this ideal. CABINET Mr. Gould's determination to give no pub- lic recitals and to concentrate only on re- cording reflects his pursuit of perfection. This voluntary retirement from the con- OJUST POP CARTRIDGE IN - AND PLAY cert stage was most certainly not a sud- No threading - No knobs - Turns itself on den decision on his part; the seeds were when cartridge is inserted undoubtedly planted several years ago when, as I recall, he expressed a pro- O TOP ARTISTS -TOP ALBUMS -TOP LABELS found dislike of applause as an unruly OThe world of stereo music at your fingertips interruption in the moods and thoughts created by the music. MUSIC LEVEL OUTPUT ADJUSTABLE - While reading Nathan Broder's review Connects to virtually any stereo phono- of two recent recordings of Bach's Art graph or amplifier of the Fugue in the same issue, I was reminded that Gould's organ version O REMOTE CONTROL OPTION (Columbia ML 5738/MS 6338) -for me for instant selection of any stereo track the most sublimely stimulating recording of this masterpiece -is still incomplete. OSOLID STATE preamplifiers I am impatiently waiting the second disc in this project. David W. Harris R Collingwood, Ont. Canada

ROBERTS SIR: DIVISION OF RHEEM MANUFACTURING COMPANY By what I am sure is sheer coincidence, 5922 Bowcroft Street, Los Angeles, California 90016 your April issue contained a convincing Continued on page 10 CIRCLE 50 ON READER -SERVICE CARD ti HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com The lively sound! The more -than -you -pay-for big speaker performance of University's lively new Ultra -D. Enjoy it - the lively Sound. Put it anywhere - everywhere ! Nc matter where, the Ultra -D fits! Enjoy it - isten tc the lively sound of the Ultra -D at your University dealer today. Bring ycur favorite record, t)o! Listen to something you know - you'll agree University Sounds Better!

Send for the all -nem catalog of the world's largest (and liveliest) selection_ of high fidelity speakers and systems. It's FREE, and well also in :lude "P -S -E Technigrams" University's master blueprint for superior stereo speaker systems. Address inquiries :o desk F -61.

ULTRA -D SPECIFICATIONS: Components EISTEN -UNIVERSITY SOUNDS BETTER - 10" ultra -linear high compliance woofer, 4" UNIVERSITY SOUND direct radiator mid- range, 31/4" direct radiator DIVISION O L T V SINO AL EtC. INC. tweeter. Response -35 to 19,000 cps. Size - 23 13/16" h. x 11N3" w. x 93/4" d. Finish Oiled Walnut. 9500 W. Reno Oklahoma City, Oklahoma CIRCLE 63 ON READER -SERVICE CARD JUNE 1966 9

www.americanradiohistory.com LETTERS

Continued from page 8

illustration of a tape editor's power over what the listener finally hears when he puts needle to vinyl. Glenn Gould, in his remarks on the practice of tape splicing, cited the A minor Fugue from his record- ing of Bach's Well- Tempered Clavier, CECIL E. WATTS Book I as an example of a superior re- cording obtained by combining two medi- RECORD CLEANING EQUIPMENT ocre takes in a manner imperceptible to the listener. This same performance of the A minor Fugue is the only one of the THE IMPROVED PREENER twenty -four fugues in Book I that critic Dust doesn't lust tail" on records - it's attracted to Nathan Broder singled out for special them by static electricity. By using the improved praise in his review PREENER you can reduce the cause (static electricity) of Gould's recording and eliminate the effect (dust) plus protect the mirror- (on page 90 of the same issue). Indeed, like finish of your records. Leaves no trace of film or Broder residue to clog the stylus. The Preeners exterior plush pile praises Gould specifically because penetrates each groove, removing all dust, grit and "all the wealth of detail is clearly pre- STATIC from the playing surface. Only $3.50 sented with no faltering in the constant motion." Certainly the "wealth of detail" was provided by the pianist; but a good deal of the credit for the "constant motion" must go to Gould's collaborator, the tape The original DUST BUG editor. I think that The this sort of manipula- Regardless of what spins your records, PARASTAT tion takes us a long way from what even when playing "those special ones" The most versatile and sophisticated in- Bach you refuse to stack on an automatic turn- strument for the care and cleaning of rec- (and other composers) had in mind table or changer - the Dust Bug cleans ords available today. Cleans, restores and when they wrote their masterpieces. them and keeps them clean during play. destaticizes. A must for the serious disco- Eliminates static electricity problems phile. The most effective system yet de- Brent A. Reid while also cleaning. Fits any turntable. vised for cleaning stereo records played Mounts in seconds. Only $6.00 with elliptical styli. $15.00 (and worth it) Vancouver, B.C. Canada Want to get more out of your records? Reduce surface noise? Learn professional secrets of record care? Send only 25c (to cover handling and mailing) for your personal copy of HOW TO CLEAN, MAINTAIN and PROTECT RECORDS by Cecil E. Watts. Available from your hi -fi dealer or write directly to: Unkind Cut ELPA Marketing Industries, Inc., Dept. 112HF6, New Hyde Park, N. Y. SIR: In your April issue, Bernard Jacobson, CIRCLE 21 ON READER -SERVICE CARD reviewing the new recording of Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra by George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra, noted with some rancor a cut of 130 bars of the fifth movement of the work, adding "This was presumably done in order to accommo- date a generous fill -up in the shape of Before you send money to any Janácek's delightful brass -happy Sin - fonietta... . Why should Mr. Jacobson presume that record club, join the best one Columbia Records should be so crassly commercial and insensitive to artistic taste as to make such a cut simply to for 3 months, free! accommodate another work on one of 111111111M11= MINN =I MI In MO MI =MIMI its records? It is unfortunate that, when an alternate reading of the score is pre- Citadel Record Club sented, a critic should automatically 545 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10017 question the integrity of the record 1 company. Please enroll me for 3 months, without charge or The explanation for Mr. Szell's cut 1 (which is in album obligation, as a member of the Citadel Record Club. mentioned the notes) Prove to me that it is the one club with every single is simple. Bartók sent Mr. Szell the orig- 1 in advantage and none of the disadvantages of all the inal score manuscript form for his comments and advice, and Mr. Szell others. I understand that I am entitled to all mem- made various suggestions, including the bership privileges, including large discounts on in the last movement. He always 1 records of all labels, without any obligation to buy cut in anything, ever. performs the Concerto for Orchestra 1 1 this form. At the time of the recording, 1 it was suggested that he might record the Name work in full, according to the printed 1 score, but he objected to this, pointing out that the record would not then be Address a true reproduction of his reading of the Bartók Concerto. 1 A close examination of the score City State Zio would show that it would be impossible HF 668 , for Columbia to have made this cut `m ------melt simply by removing the 130 bars in CITADEL RECORD CLUE Continued on page 12 CIRCLE 11 ON READER -SERVICE CARD HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com WHY AW'' SPEAKERS AND TURNTABLES ARE RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE (although many equipment reviews describe them as the best*)

AR speaker prices range from $51 to $225. Our most expensive model, the AR -3, has been rated by professional equipment review- ers above all other speakers, including those costing more than three times as much. The $78 AR turntable has been rated above all other turntables, including those costing more than twice as much. The high quality of materials and workmanship that goes into AR products allows us to guarantee our speakers for 5 years and our turntable for one year, with all repair costs covered. Even freight charges, and the cost of a new carton when necessary, are reimbursed. What makes this combination of high quality, reliability, and low cost possible?

RATIONAL AND SUPERIOR DESIGN + Ten years ago AR changed the face of the speaker industry with its acoustic suspension system, ending the era of giant speaker cabinets. A few years later AR introduced the dome tweeter, used subsequently by half a dozen speaker manufacturers. The basic design concepts of the AR turntable have now appeared in the turntables of most of the other leading brands.

A catalog of AR products is available for the asking.

*Lists of the top equipment choices of four magazines are available on request . All four chose the AR turntable, and three of the four chose AR-3 speakers.

ACOUSTIC RESEARCH, INC., 24 Thorndike Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141

CIRCLE 3 ON READER- SERVICE CARD JUHE 1966 11

www.americanradiohistory.com This is our idea LETTERS of a well rounded Continued from page 10 question, since the SzeII performance in- speaker. volves repetition of eight bars plus an additional repetition of one bar four times, together with a huge orchestral ritardando- something that cannot be achieved in any editing cubicle. Surely Mr. Jacobson did not also presume that Columbia rewrote the score and per- suaded George SzeII to go along with its economic machinations. Paul W.,Nvers Producer, Columbia Masterworks New York, N.Y.

Mr. Jacobson replies: "Three years and a half spent, some time ago, working for Forget the frills of a tion, plus broader sound record companies perhaps made me too hand- rubbed walnut fin- propagation across the heady to question their integrity where ish, statuesque original- entire spectrum. All in cuts are concerned, and I accept Mr. ity and language like all, it rounds out the Myers' rebuke on this point. But I did that! When you buy a most significant ad- not .suggest that this particular cut was effected speaker, you're buying vances in stereophonic by tape editing, and if what 1 performance. Sound! reproduction! The fact said gave any such impression 1 am happy The Royal Grenadier that we've added a flaw- to have the opportunity of correcting 9000 is our idea of a less imported marble top that too. The fact remains that no ade- true -to -life speaker sys- is just so much more quate justification is offered either in tem. Its revolutionary icing. For color litera- Mr. Myers' letter or in the album notes. die -cast divergent acous- ture and nearest dealer. 'Apparently, Bartók gave some latitude to tic lens assures fuller write: conductors, allowing then[ to make E1EMPIRE deletions' can hardly be described as frequency and separa- S41 RA1N,T Y[..11.1Drw CITY. D.Y. a confidence- inspiring pronouncement. That Bartók asked for advice does not mean he was bound to accept it, and Mr. Myers says nothing of the com- CIRCLE 22 ON READER -SERVICE CARD poser's reaction to this suggestion. It would seem likely in a case of this kind that the advice desired would relate to matters of orchestration, not of form: and in the absence of any statement that Bartók specifically approved this cut, 1 rind recording can only continue to deplore it."

tnr n u: u -date your intenino Correction: The 4 -track tape cartridge please write player pictured on page 59 of last month's 1`t issue. mistakenly attributed to Craig, is actually a product of Automatic Radio. for a free Editor

High Fidelity, June 1966. Vol. 16. No. 6. Published monthly by The Billboard Z1Zt>'OdllL t01y Publishing Co.. publisher of Billboard, Vend, Amusement Business, American Artist. and Modern Photography. High Fi- delity /Musical America Edition published monthly except December, when it is pub- copy of this lished semimonthly. Member Audit Bureau of Circulations. Editorial correspondence should be ad- dressed to The Editor, High Fidelity, Great Barrington, Mass. 01230. Editorial con- 120 issue tributions will be welcomed. Payment for page articles accepted will be arranged to prior publication. Unsolicited manuscripts should WRITE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS HERE, CUT AND POST THIS ADVERTISEMENT be accompanied by return postage. or write a separate letter Subscriptions should be addressed to High Fidelity, Great Barrington, Mass. 01230. Subscription rates: High Fidelity /Musical America: Anywhere on Earth, 1 year $9. N ::tional and other editions published records monthly: Anywhere on Earth, 1 year $7. Change of address notices and undelivered copies (Form 3579) should be addressed to and recording High Fidelity, Subscription Fulfillment Dept.. 2160 Patterson St., O. 16 Cincinnati, BUCKINGHAM PALACF RD LONDON SW I ENGLAND 45214.

CIRCLE 49 ON READER -SERVICE CARD 12 CIRCLE 36 ON READER -SERVICE CARD 3

www.americanradiohistory.com Prepare for another surprise.

What was the last product that astonished you? The We call the Model Twenty -one an FM Receiving Polaroid Land camera? Color television? James Bond's System. Besides being a self -contained FM radio with Aston- Martin? its own speaker, it has outputs for external speakers

Perhaps it was the KLH' Model Eight -the miniature ( including a special matching KLH accessory speaker) , FM radio that filled a room with music rather than with for making tape recordings, or connecting as a tuner to equipment. a separate sound system. You can shut off its internal When we introduced the Model Eight in 1960, it speaker when you want the tuning dial at hand and the astonished all sorts of people. And lots of people bought sound from across the room. Or you can play an exten- it, including many who already owned ambitious sound sion speaker simultaneously in another room. systems. It won't do everything. You can't make it stereo or The astonishment hasn't worn off yet. We still get plug a record player into it. (See one of our complete thank -you notes for Model Eights in use since 1960. high -performance music systems for that.) It will just And used Eights often command almost -new prices. give you pleasure out of all proportion to its size and The new KLH.Model Twenty -one is that same sur- cost. prise all over again. It is the solid -state successor to the If you didn't believe you could ever again be aston- Eight. It sounds the same, exactly the same. It is a bit ished by a high fidelity product, make sure you hear the smaller and a shade more sensitive to the weakest FM Model Twenty -one. stations on the dial. It costs half as much as the Eight, For more information, write: KLH, 30 Cross Street, exactly half. Cambridge, Mass. 02139, Dept. 901. ,

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er ...... ,.e,aa... www.americanradiohistory.com NOTES FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS

Bernstein's First Opera Recording: Verdi's Falstaff, with Fischer- Dieskau

As t CAME OUT of Vienna's tensions, the Falstaff project seemed miraculously

Südbahnhof one day last spring, easygoing. At the first session, Act I, Scene 1 was on VIENNA I saw a familiar face staring at the schedule. Bernstein was in the Sofiensaal half- me from a poster: tousled hair, an -hour early, sitting at a piano in a corner of the sage, quizzical eyes. "Zu Gast in room, playing the third movement of Mozart's B Wien: Leonard Bernstein," the flat Concerto, K. 450, which he was taping between printed legend read, and, discreetly, in the lower work on Falstaff. The players of the Vienna Phil- right -hand corner, was CBS Records' trademark. harmonic began to drift in, some of them greeting Actually, posters weren't necessary to make Maestro the Maestro, who nodded, or waved if he had a free Bernstein's presence here known: he was conduct- hand at the moment. Fischer -Dieskau appeared, all ing Verdi's Falstaff at the Staatsoper to sold -out smiles, followed by Erich Kunz (Bardolf), Murray houses, there were television interviews, articles in Dickie (Pistol), and Gerhard Stolze (Doctor Caius). the press, parties. And, in the midst of it all, he was As the engineers did some last -minute adjusting of finding time to make not just one recording, but the microphones, the conductor ran through a bit three. of the scene with the orchestra. When they reached From the point of view of Bernstein's world- the baritone's falsetto line "lo son di Sir John Fal- wide audience, the most important result of the staff," half the orchestra players sang it, in wobbly Vienna sojourn will be his recording debut as a sopranos: the other half broke up. The session got conductor of opera, with the Staatsoper Falstaff cast down to business, and after another run -through and headed by Dietrich Fischer -Dieskau in the title role. some more shifting of microphones, a take was made. "It was the combination of the two things, the re- Later, when I was introduced to Fischer -Dieskau cording and the theatre performances, that brought and told him that I had come to report on the re- me here," he told me, when I managed to have a few cording sessions, he said, shaking his head: "How minutes with him in the living room of his hotel very difficult for you! Nothing is happening." suite. "I love conducting opera. I'm right up there on the stage with them all the time." Falstaff Without Fuss. Nothing was happening Obviously, he also loves the job of recording but the creation of a complete opera recording. opera. To anybody familiar with recording- session While out in the hall the Continued on page 16

14 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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If you refuse to compromise with less than professional recording ability ... won't take second best to full concert playback sound ...you won't be happy with anything but a Magnecord! As a matter of fact, many Magnecord owners have tried (and been disappointed in) as many as three other recorder brands before writing us about their ultimate satisfaction with Magnecord quality. Naturally, we are delighted at the ever -increasing number of demanding high fidelity owners who are now trading up to Magnecord. If your present tape recorder isn't meeting your demands, write for our new brochure featuring the Models 1020 and 1024. Or you can demand to see and hear them at your dealers! agnecord NOTE: Demand the easy credit terms now available from your Magnecord © DIVISION OF THE x 6çóR o9. loó dealer! Your unsatisfactory tape recorder may make the down payment. óóBó

CIRCLE 41 ON READER -SERVICE CARD JUNE 1966

www.americanradiohistory.com NOTES FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS Continued from page 14

orchestra and singers and conductor (and this could be a hint to other com- were proceeding almost gaily, back in the panies). control room the Decca /London team, headed by Erik Smith, was worrying Bernstein Says Yes, Will there be other about the quality of the sound. How Bernstein opera recordings? When I much orchestral detail? The beauty of asked this, the subject smiled broadly. the Falstaff score lies in the infinite The Vienna Opera wants Bernstein back. little details, brief instrumental comments On the piano in his hotel room were that are sometimes lost in the opera the score of Mefistofele and Le Pro- house but must be captured on records, phète, two of the many operas that the without losing the over -all ensemble. Staatsoper management has suggested. This concern explains the fact that during But a more serious candidate is Der the apparently effortless first session Rosenkavalier, which Bernstein would there were finally three takes of the like to do for the Staatsoper with Luchino scene, though to a listener in the audi- Visconti as stage director (Visconti di- torium the first might well have seemed rected the Falstaff and was making plans just about perfection. By the end of that for a London production of Rosen - session, Mr. Smith and his associates karalier while he was here). If Bernstein ere as happy as the performers. came back to Vienna for another opera, The Falstaff recording will be a Co- would he also record it? "I've got the lumbia (CBS in Europe) album, made bug now." he answered. The reply seemed on Decca /London equipment by Decca/ sufficiently affirmative. London people. In return for its collab- In the dressing room at the Sofiensaal, Our new collection is now oration, Decca /London will have the just before I left Vienna, I was saying services of Bernstein -otherwise exclu- goodbye to Fischer-Dieskau. I asked him available ... sively a Columbia artist --for two rec- if there was anything he particularly ords: the Mozart Concerto (which he wanted me to say about his feelings con- equipment cabinets speaker plays and conducts) coupled with the cerning this Falstaff recording. "Just write Linz Symphony; and Mahler's Das Lied that it's all wonderful fun," he said. enclosures consoles cabinets von der Erde, which Bernstein also pro- Then, pointing across the room to Bern- grammed in concert here, with Fischer - stein, he added, "With him." More smiles. galore. Danish and Provincial Dieskau and the American tenor James WILLIAM WEAVER King. The good humor of Falstaff spilled styles in new decorator finishes. over into the Mozart sessions. After a sticky passage in the slow movement, see your dealer or write for free brochure while waiting for the engineers to check some equipment, Bernstein amused him- Soprano Raskin self by banging out the opening bars of the opera. The violins took it up for a NEW YORK And the Fine Art moment. and there was a flash of Ver- Of Das Lied dian wit that illuminated everyone's working afternoon. Between the Vienna Philharmonic and Leonard Bernstein A warning h: s been circulating around there seemed open, warm admiration, New York concert circles of late that, visible in the smiles which gleamed from unless you happen to be a very, very podium to the serried music desks and celebrated European artist, you'd better hack again. ( "Viel mehr ,Iyaaaa." Bern- think twice before you plan a Lieder re- 546 S. Meridian Indianapolis, Ind. stein says to the tuba, then to the whole cital. And the singers seem to have taken orchestra, "Also ... let's make it. ") He it all to heart: not only have the number is proud of having, for Falstaff, achieved of Liederabende dwindled year by year, a sound that is more Italian than Vien- but successful ones have been the excep- nese; the atmosphere in the recording tion. Happily, there are some singers un- sessions was distinctly U.S.A. daunted by the portents-conspicuous The first session demanded the pres- among them being the American so- ence of only four of the principals. From prano Judith Raskin, whose Lieder re- the second session on, the scene was cital here last December was, from all more crowded, with the arrival of Regina reports, a critical delight. Although Miss Resnik (Quickly), armed with various Raskin's credentials are impeccable (a knitting bags and thermos bottles; the former member of the New York City Italian contingent. comprising Rolando Opera, a lyric soprano in excellent stand- Panerai (Ford), Ilva Ligabue (Alice), ing with the Met, the recipient of flatter- Graziella Sciutti (Nanetta); the Spanish ing notices for her performances in a tenor Juan Oncina (Fenton), to whom goodly number of oratorio and opera re- the conductor spoke in a kind of West cordings on Decca, RCA Victor, and Side Story polyglot: " Mucho cuidado, Columbia -not to mention being the Jean...." With nine and ten singers in mother of two bouncy teen -agers), they ensemble, with sound effects. with two do not necessarily point to inevitable guitarists sitting in the center of the triumph in the fragile business of Lieder stage to play Alice's lute number. the singing. So. in order to observe Miss ctivity reached the brink of confusion - Raskin at work, I dropped in at Colum- but never fell over it. And the schedule bia's East 30th Street studios one evening was tight: only nine three -hour sessions while she was recording an all- Schubert for an extremely complicated work. Of recital. (An apt companion to her recent course. the recording benefited from the weeks of preparation in the opera house Continued on page 18 CIRCLE 7 ON READER -SERVICE CARD 16 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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Compare the flat response of the SR -900B at full 100 - tended bandwidth, it also is far more reliable and cooler in watt power with the response of other receivers at one operation. It installs in any position, in any enclosure - watt! You'll hear the difference. Make the test with a without fans or worry about heat breakdowns. Hold your "tough" record that has peak -after -peak of murderous per- hands over the SR -900B and any other receiver while cussion and brass. The opening of the last movement of they're operating. Harman -Kardon's SR -900B is the cool Tschaikowsky's 4th Symphony is a good one. Receivers one -and the one that sounds best. Make the test today that clip off response at low and high ends gush out sound at your Harman -Kardon dealer. You'll find that the SR -900B that smears together. The SR -900B virtually eliminates meets all your most critical requirements -and then some. phase distortion and holds the important overtones that Harman -Kardon, Inc., 401 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. 1 9105 are the difference between instruments. You'!! hear the "Slightly higher in the West Enclosure optional. difference between oboe and clarinet, cello and viola on the same pitch -even the bite of the bow on string. All are part of the complete musical experience, the extra realism of Harman -Kardon sound. harman kardon The SR -900B with diffused- junction germanium output A subsidiary of The Jerrold Corporation transistors not only produces very low distortion and ex- LEADER IN SOLID -STATE STEREO COMPONENTS CIRCLE 30 ON READER -SERVICE CARD JUNE 1966 17

www.americanradiohistory.com NOTES FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS Continued from page 16

Mahler /Mendelssohn set, the new disc this is not an easy matter -his simplest will also be issued on the Epic label.) songs usually present the biggest chal- lenges for an interpreter." This particu- Schubert by Raskin. When I arrived, the lar interpreter has met challenges before soprano was just launching into the now, and her admirers have no doubt of haunting and haunted strains of Auf- her continued success. P.G.D. I6sung. The first take was too melodra- matic for accompanist George Schick's taste. "After all," he reprimanded, "this is Schubert, not Wagner." Miss Raskin seemed relieved. "Well, that's good; as French Audio Fair long as it's Schubert, I can do it." An- PARIS other try produced more satisfactory re- Comes of Age sults -the soprano scaled her voice down considerably, but without sacrificing the The eighth tragedy of the song's final cadaverous annual international "Festi- val du Son," held as command: "Gels' unier, Welt." Com- usual in the pleasant old Palais d'Orsay hotel, may be municating the elusive message of a Lied remem- bered as the one that finally before a bare microphone can sometimes did the FREE' trick -i.e., hauled the French pub- be a difficult proposition. When Colum- lic, no longer bia's recording producer Paul Myers skeptical although still clutching its pocketbook, felt that more spontaneity was in order, into the mod- ern world of high he collected all those who happened to fidelity. The increase STEREO in the number of visitors was be handy, from the piano tuner to the clearly evident, was singer's husband (New York psychiatrist and so their new serious- ness: an hour after Raymond Raskin), to form an im- closing time on the last evening of the INFORMATION promptu audience -or cheering section, five -day show the crowd was still milling through the as Dr. Raskin put it. five floors of exhibits. The demonstrators The finished disc will be a judicious FM Station Directory of equipment had the snappy selection of the familiar and the less air of men who were at last in business. The directory lists 1571 FM sta- frequently performed songs. At first only Schubertian rarities were to he included, "Festival du Son ": Business. tions in the United States and but later Miss Raskin decided on some Much of the credit for this achievement songs that have been old friends of hers must go to Canada. All the stations broad- the Syndicat des Industries for years. "Woltin, Der Neugierige, Electroniques in are de Reproduction et d'Enregistrement, casting stereo listed. Stiindc /ten . . . they have all been part which of my life ever since student days; it's organizes the festival and which through the sometimes true they have been recorded often in the lean years since 1959 has never relaxed Test Reports past, but I wanted to do them my way, its standards for the equipment displayed and demon- Test reports full of facts. The test too, before branching out into the eso- terica." Miss Raskin feels that projecting strated. Some credit must also go to the French national radio network, which reports were made by independ- the words of a song is of vital impor- tance- especially when singing for an has had the courage to build its FM stereo stations ahead and ent laboratories. Tests cover tun- audience unfamiliar with the German of time to language. "It's not enough just to cap- insist on educating its listeners. Indeed, ers, preamps, power amp, pre- the ture the mood of the song: each word importance of radio in recent de- velopments is amps. Read the facts from test must receive proper weight and inflec- underlined by the fact that this year tion within the musical phrase. Believe the Berlin and Cologne experts. stations me, when the composer is Schubert and the British, Yugoslav, Jap- anese, Italian, Swiss, and Swedish net- works joined the French broadcasters Big 36 -Page Catalog as official participants in the festival. Foreign manufacturers- American, You get a 36 page catalog. It British. German, Japanese, Swiss, Dan- tells you about tuners, power ish, Norwegian, Belgian, and Dutch - still accounted for two thirds of the - amplifiers, preamplifiers, pre equipment exhibited and still tended to amp /power amplifier combina- establish the criteria by which festival visitors judged French products. But a tion and tuner preamps. significant number of domestic firms were on hand with complete high - fidelity systems, offered at prices that ALL FREE seemed very reasonable to customers previously resigned to the necessity of paying duty on everything. The official figures on trends revealed a phenomenon which, since a third of McIntosh the exhibitors were French, may or may PLEASE SEND ME YOUR CATALOG McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. not be international: the rapid conver- Chambers 5t. Binghamton, N. Y. 13903 sion to transistors apparent during the past three years seems now to be slow- NAMEE ing down. Only forty -four per cent of the amplifiers and preamplifiers pre- STREET sented were transistorized, and only sixty CITY - - per cent of the FM stereo tuners. A lot ZIP_ _ _ _ _ STATE Continued on page 20 4 Pahl) Raskin: impeccable credentials. CIRCLE 44 ON READER- SERVICE CARD I8 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com YOU DON'T HAVE TO TREAT YOUR AR TURNTABLE GENTLY.

We published this picture in our first ad for the AR turntable, to illustrate its mechanical stability. Equipment reviewers, in addition to reporting the lowest wow, flutter, rumble, and speed error of any turntable they had tested, raved about its insensitivity to mechanical shock and to acoustic feedback.*

But a few complaints of sensitivity to jarring trickled in. Investigation showed that under special conditions the complaints were justified: when a floor was exceptionally springy or when the AR turntable was placed on a shaky surface (factors introducing a horizontal shock component) the much -vaunted resistance to jarring disappeared. We advised the users who had this problem to place their turntables on sturdier pieces of furniture, and went back to the lab.

For more than a year now we have been using an improved suspension design. As before, when the turntable is placed on a solid surface you can pound directly on its base or stamp violently on the floor without making the needle jump grooves. The difference is that the newer model, designated by serial number prefix XA or TA, ** will take considerable mechanical abuse when the mounting conditions are less favorable.

Literature on the AR turntable, plus a survey of the hi -fi equipment recommendations of four magazines (the AR turntable was the top choice of all four), is available on request.

'Reprints on request. **The new suspension would not make any difference at all in most cases. However, if you are interested in converting your old AR turntable to the new XA model (cost $15 plus freight), please write us for details.

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www.americanradiohistory.com NOTES FROM REDUCED TO $3.95 OUR CORRESPONDENTS Continued from page 18

of small and medium -sized loudspeakers HURRY! HURRY! were on display, but my impression was that most of the attention went to the big ones. The customers appeared In to be our stock room you'll find spending a good many man hours get- only a few hundred copies of ting that hall -in- your -head sound from the HIGH FIDELITY / MUSICAL headphones. Commercially recorded mu- sic on tape, a fairly recent AMERICA Special Issue, thing over Directory here, made an impression. So did or- though it was published as re- gans. which were part of the festival for cently as December 15, 1965. the first time, and were played better than acceptably by the demonstrators. Thousands of copies already serve concert managers, musi- "Festival du Son ": Entertainments. The new seriousness was evident in the at- cians, librarians, dyed in the tendance at the series of morning lec- wool listeners. Some read it to tures on technical questions. And not increase their income, others to all of the questions were technical: Charles Bruck, the permanent conductor broaden their horizons. of the Orchestre Philharmonique, joined with The 402 page issue includes avant -garde composer Michel Philippot (who is also one of the pro- such features as these: ducers of musical programs for the French radio) to animate a discussion MUSIC and MUSICIANS: Horo- of "truth" and "poetry" in the high fi- witz, Musician of the Year . . . delity realm. Today and Tomorrow by Martin The recording industry, which has al- ways seemed to me rather overlooked - Mayer . . . The 1964 -65 Music although not underheard -at these fes- Season by Peter Davis ... They Ain't What They Used To Be . . . tivals. got a better break this year. In addition to the award of Grands Prix Musiquiz . . . The Casadesus Collection of Ancient Instruments du Disque by the Académie Charles Cros, ... Reports of North American Artist Managers. which is always the first item on the DIRECTORY: NORTH AMERICA. first day. and the usual announcements of Detailed information concerning new records, there was a public taping Orchestras ... Opera Companies ... Concert Series and Concert of the Tribune des Critiques de Disques, a lively program on the French Managers . .. Music Festivals ... Publishers of Music ... News- radio. papers (Music Critics) Music Five critics participated. and had the ... Magazines ... Music Schools and rare pleasure of hearing themselves ap- Departments . . . Music Contests, Foundations, Awards . . . plauded by a partisan audience. The sub- was Professional and Service Music Organizations . . . Record Com- ject the various stereo versions of panies Best Recordings Die Fledermaus. ... of the Year ... Artist Managers .. . As always, there were live programs Survey of North American Cities. to balance the recorded kind and to serve as a basis of comparison. Denise DIRECTORY: FOREIGN. Publishers of Music . . . Music Contests Monteil, Georges Liccioni, and Robert ... Orchestras ... Opera Companies ... Concert Managers and Massard (all of the Palais Gamier) sang a sampling of numbers intended to trace Artist Managers . . . Music Festivals . . . Music Magazines . . . the history of opera from Gluck to Professional and Service Music Organizations . . . Radio and Puccini. There were recitals and con- Television Music Departments. certs in the Grand Salon by, among others, violinist Ruggiero Ricci, pianist ALSO -An index by category of hundreds of concert artists and Andor Foldes, guitarist Narciso Yepes, much fascinating artist advertising. the string quartet of the French radio, and Roland Douatte's Collegium Musi- ORDER YOUR COPY AT ONCE! cum. One night everybody stayed until one in the morning, listening to and ti watching flamenco singers and dancers HIGH FIDELITY /MUSICAL AMERICA Edition and a group of popular artists. Publishing House ROY MCMULLEN Great Barrington, Mass. 01230 Send me a postpaid copy of your current HIGH FIDELITY /MUSICAL AMERICA Directory Issue for only $3.95 (regularly $5) which I enclose.

NAME

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STATE & ZIP 666

20 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com The shrimp.

Introducing the littlest good speaker 7 in the world. 6^' \- 13" Little speakers are not new. A good little speaker is. And a good speaker that is also the littlest high -efficiency speaker ever built is almost sheer magic. Or Fisher engineering. In an incredibly tiny box, Fisher engineers have incorporated a 6 -in. bass speaker with a 2 -Ib. magnet structure and a free -air resonance of 35 cps, a 21 - in. treble speaker with a unique plasticized surround and an R -C crossover network. The Fisher XP -33 is small in price as well as size. Only $49.50. Great values like this are to be expected from Fisher. For music lovers with more room, larger Fisher speaker systems are available for even finer performance. For more information, in- cluding a free copy of the 80 -page Fisher reference guide to high fidelity, use card on magazine's front coverflap. The Fisher XP -33

,. 4.03 . . «.G ,,,..o CIRCLE 27 ON READER -SERVICE CARD

JUNE 1966 2

www.americanradiohistory.com NEAR IT >)Iou cale 4 SPIAK /ft 6.,-

"Persuasive Percussion- 1966." Com- to Ride. All Day and All Night. In both mand All- Stars. Command RS 895. disc and tape editions the stereoism is $5.79 (SD). extremely marked (an informative dia- Ars longa, vita brevis.... It's a shock gram of the spaced -out recording setup, to be reminded that almost seven years which has the strings off in a separate have . . passed since the first of the "P . room, is provided), the reverberation is Percussion" spectaculars took the audio minimal, and the sonic qualities are world by storm. The new one boasts rather hard as well as brilliant. As usual, shrilly of its added technical attractions: the stereo disc modulation level is con- 35 -mm magnetic film masters and "Di- siderably higher than that of the tape. mension-3" elimination of the hole -in- And even when they are equalized, the the- middle. But while the sonics them- tape's high end isn't quite as sharp, al- selves are bigger, brighter, more glassily though its mid and low ranges are sharp and vividly "present" than ever warmer -in this case further enhancing before, and while the pseudo- center chan- the innately rich brass choir sonorities nel enlarges ping-pongery to ping -pang- which are the program's most distinctive pongery, nothing- including the once attractions. REPEATING revolutionary use of a black -and -white MAGNETIC TAPE abstract jacket design -is really novel "All -Time Favorite Marches." Ithaca Col- any longer. Command's noted team of lege Band, Walter Beeler, cond. Golden MAGAZINE star players is as expert as ever, but the Crest CR 4073, $5.98 (SD). departure from the firm of its founder, "Marches from the Movies." Band of the Converts most standard tape Enoch Light, seems to have included Grenadier Guards, Capt. Rodney Bash - recorders to continuous op- also the withdrawal of this series' original ford, cond. London PS 434, $4.79 arranger, Lew Davies. And while suc- (SD). erating message repeaters. cessor Jack Andrews is professionally My purpose in coupling these releases is Loaded for 3, 5, 8, 12, and skilled, his scoring fanciness not only not to compare performances -the expert makes that of Davies seem straightfor- Mr. Beeler's amateur players are by no 15- minute capacities at 33/4 ward in comparison but seldom musters means inferior in precision and intona- ips. Repeats message, les- valid musical justifications for its over - tion to the celebrated British ensemble, contrived ingenuities. To though son, or recorded be sure, there they can't approach the latter's other mate- are occasional imaginative moments (in far more refined and varied tonal color- rial as long as desired. Ideal Bye Bye Blues /Rain, Everything's Com- ing -but to contrast repertories and the ing for sleep learning, language Up Roses, and a Never on Sunday sound each has been given. Here the that stars Tony Mottola on mandolin), Ithacans appear strictly as a marching study, or wherever a repeated and I perked up my ears in delight over band, playing standard selections which message is of value. Packed every bass trombone solo by Paul represent both such popular favorites as Faulise. But it's evident here that the El Capitan, Father of Victory, and Under in clear plastic dust -proof, shoes of Light and Davies aren't easy the Double Eagle, and such bandsmen's stand -up cases. -if at all possible -to fill. favorites as the gratefully idiomatic Chi- cago Tribune by Chambers, His Honor "Think Young." Camarata and His Or- by Fillmore, I! Bersagliere by Boccalari, chestra. Coliseum DS 51001, $4.98 plus several less distinctive marches by (SD). Also 4 -track 7.5 -ips tape, CLL Losey, Brockenshire, Hall, Seitz, and Ben- 93001, 34 min., $7.95. nett. The British bandsmen, on the other What Camarata's big orchestra, including hand, disport themselves mainly in rather strings and at least eight of the former fancy transcriptions of Hollywood tunes, ten "Tutti's Trombones," does here is to topped by a fine Col. Bogey (River Kwai) demonstrate how much more musical in patrol style, an ultrabrilliant Guns of interest there is in some of the current Navarone, and a delicately bright Chil- teen -age hit tunes than most of their dren's Marching Song from The Inn of rock -and -roll or folk -rock versions would the Sixth Happiness. Most of the other ever have given one to realize. Indeed a pieces are of little musical consequence couple of the tunes in this program are (they're also sometimes surprisingly slap- made to sound simply magnificent in dash in performance). There is even quite "straight" but superbly sonorous more marked contrast between the honest, performances. I found myself going back transparent, robust Golden Crest stereo to repeat again and again the delectable recording and London's supercrystalline, I'll Never Another You, a ultrastereoistic, and spectacular first name in automatic audio Find buoyant otherwise Sunshine Lollipops and Rainbows, and engineering. The latter actually utilizes an imaginative Goin' out of My Head. the now familiar Phase -4 techniques, al- Ol4I4T140/V/CS, /ivc. Though most of the others are less ef- though the American edition is not so S /NO EL EC THON/CS L00 OlV /S /ON fective, there are at least some fine labeled and costs a dollar less than Phase - P.O. Box 864 TOLEDO, OHIO 43601 moments in Ferry 'Cross the Mersey. 4 stereo releases normally do. Cast Your Fate to the Wind, A Ticket R. D. DARRELL CIRCLE 14 ON READER -SERVICE CARD 1') HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com Bravos for the Dual 1019 from these lead- accurate and res JIteI in substantial reduc- ing audio publications are, understandably, tion in measured distortion of the outer music to our ears. Come sight -read with us! çroove wall channel at very high velocities."

Hi /Fi Stereo Review ( Appassionato): "I found the Audio (Con brro): `Removes any vestige of Dual 1019 to be exact y is represented -without a doubt dou:t that maÿ hale lirgered ... no gulf at all one of the finest record- playing mechanisms I have used. exists batween manual and automatic." High Fidelity (Con forza): "Offers a level of superior un- American Record Guide (Con Anima): "The Dual compromised performance that - regardless of type, manual 1009 is superb, but the 1019 beats it on every measurement or automatic - marks it as a splendid piece of equipment." ... If it is presently the highest -pr ced automatic at $129.50,

Radio -Electronics (Amabi /e): "Rumble . . . as good a no matter. Quality always costs - and this Dual is worth every figure as I have seen for any turntable - and better than 1 last penny!" have seen for any automatic ... Flutter ... the equal of virtu- Fugue for our own. horn (Serioso): Complete reprints of these ally anything on the market ... Pitch purists will never have impressive test reports are yours for the asking. But why a quarrel with Dual ...A gentler entrance into a record groove wait? Ask your franchised United Audio Dealer to audition cannot be imagined." the Dual 1019 for you in his showroom. Like Electronics World ( Animato): "The anti -skating force so many owners, you'll enjoy unlimited adjustment, when set according to the instructions, was quite encores in your own home. 77! MADISON AV( IOW v00! N I 10011 CIRCLE 62 ON READER- SERVICE CARD JUNE 1966 23

www.americanradiohistory.com Minutes of the last meeting, 33:54 of them, to be exact. George Finola: "Jazz of the Chosen cated by Blue and Brokenhearted, but Few." New Orleans Originals 1M- this band still has some work to do be- GETZ /GILBERTO '2 STAN GETZ -JOAO GILBERTO 65-4, $5.00 (LP). New Orleans Jazz fore it can fully live up to its intentions. RECORDED LIVE AT CARNEGIE NAIL Museum, 1017 Dumaine St., New Or- leans, La. 70116. Chico Hamilton: "El Chico." Impulse There is a disarmingly unprofessional 9102, $4.98 (LP); S 9102, $5.98 (SD). charm about this disc which permits one For the past decade, Chico Hamilton has to overlook its awkward moments and managed to discover a succession of to react with a special warmth to its strongly individualistic musicians to good spots. George Finola, a twenty -year- serve as a front line to his suavely power- old self -taught cornetist, is assistant di- ful drumming. The Hamilton group as rector of the New Orleans Jazz Museum. of August 1965, when this set was re- The "chosen few" whose music is of corded, included three striking musicians particular interest to him are Bix Beider- who can rank with the best in any of his becke, Frankie Trumbauer, Eddie Lang, earlier groups. The most striking, and V/ V6-8623 Miff Mole, and others of their circle in the one who carries the bulk of the load. the last half of the Twenties. His interest is Hungarian guitarist Gabor Szabo.-His Friday night, Oct. 9, 1964. is not in actual re- creation or imitation - work is striking not only because it Carnegie Hall. he simply works in the same general swings with an imposing forcefulness, style. With a group of contemporary but because of the very unusual tone he Hundreds turned away outside. that inside. New Orleans musicians, which includes uses -a dark, heavy, ringing sound Thousands turned on Raymond Burke (clarinet), Armand suggests nothing so much as that tradi- Stan Getz and Quartet Hug (piano), and Danny Barker (gui- tional Magyar instrument the cymbalom. play an incredibly moving tar), Finola has chosen to play such Szabo's playing is surging and vital in a program. Joao Gilberto period pieces as Hot Lips, My Pet, Blue most unexpected treatment of Marcheta, and trio present lively and Brokenhearted, and My Melancholy but it does not come off as well in his bossa nova program. Baby. As a group, the band has mo- moderately slow version of People. Ham- Verve makes this album. ments of uncertainty in ensemble attack ilton uses the powerful and vibrant at- The title is and occasional unsteadiness in some tack of his bassist, Albert Stinson, as a guitar with ex- GETZ /GILBERTO #2. tempos. The attractively relaxed Blue lead and foil to Szabo's and Brokenhearted hints at the kind of tremely interesting results all through the The catalog number is performance the group may eventually set. The third soloist is Sadao Watanabe, Verve V/ V6 -8623. achieve after a little more experience the Japanese flutist and alto saxophonist Getz plays four great ones, together. At present, however, the major whose work first began attracting atten- including Here's That Rainy interest centers on a few soloists - tion in this country while he was attend- Day and Stan's Blues. Armand Hug, whose piano solos have so ing the Berklee School in Boston. His Gilberto sings Meditation, much compelling life and spirit that playing has the pungently expressive O Pato, Bim Born they can pull together even the group's quality almost essential in these vital and three more. weaker pieces; Danny Barker's chorded surroundings. Can you be with it without it? and single -string guitar solos; and young Finola. The cornetist has his roots in Jimmy Heath Quintet: "On the Trail." Bix but he plays with a gentleness that is Riverside 486, $4.79 (LP); 9486, closer to another Bix- oriented cornetist, $4.79 (SD). Johnny Wiggs of New Orleans, than to The warm, full tone and smooth flow the eruptive Bix himself. He comes of Jimmy Heath's tenor saxophone have through particularly well on an inviting never been displayed on records to such ballad, Sheila, and on Melancholy Baby, excellent advantage as they are in this which opens with the verse ad lib and attractive collection. Backed by an excel- then eases into a rhythmic chorus. Burke lent group -Wynton Kelly on piano, switches from clarinet to tenor saxo- Kenny Burrell on guitar (sharing most phone on a couple of pieces, phrasing of the solo space with Heath), Paul much as he normally does on clarinet Chambers on bass, and Al Heath (Jim- and using the soft. mellow tone favored my's brother) on drums -Heath plays which uses some off- Verve Records is a division by most New Orleans tenors. Finola's an unusual program of Metro -Goldwyn -Mayer Inc. interest in developing the sort of soft beat material. The disc includes a pro- and persuasive jazz that Trumbauer and Bix were exploring has validity, as indi- Continued on page 26 CIRCLE 66 ON READER -SERVICE CARD 24 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com The new KLHModel Twelve is the result of some pointed questions about what kind of improvements might go into a speaker system designed for perfectionists.

The KLH Model Twelve is the finest speaker's overall sound quality -subtle moving -coil loudspeaker we have ever but important adjustments. Adjust- made. Not by a spectacular margin ments that would allow the listener to (there just isn't that much room for modify the speaker's musical balance improvement in today's best speakers), to account for differences in program but by some important degrees. material, associated equipment, room Before we began to design the Model acoustics, and personal musical judg- Twelve, we asked ourselves some ments. Instead of the usual mid -range pointed questions. We knew we would or "brilliance" controls, we could pro- not be willing to settle for just a set of vide the listener, for the first time, with more impressive measurements. What an effective way to tailor the speaker real imprdvements could we conceive of to his own needs. for a speaker designed unabashedly for This is why the Model Twelve comes perfectionists? Which of the improve- with a unique series of four multi - ments that we could make on paper position control switches. These adjust would, in fact, be audible and meaning- the level of broad segments of the fre- ful? Above all, how could we design a quency range: 300 -800 cps; 800 -2500 speaker that would be useful under the cps; 2500 -7000 cps; and 7000 -20,000 widest range of conditions? cps. They are housed in a remote switchbox ( connected to the speaker by Suggested Retail Price: $275.00 A few answers a thin four- conductor cable ) that can design ) to cover a range at least an oc- be placed next to your favorite seat for We decided that there were a few tave short of their upper and /or lower absolute factors we could improve upon maximum effectiveness and ease of use. limits. The mid -range drivers are The amount of adjustment from each or change significantly in a system for housed in special sub-enclosures that switch is limited so that you can make the perfectionist. We could supply a bit principle. only meaningful adjustments. The are acoustic- suspension in more response at extremely low fre- The cabinet is made of one -inch ply- Model Twelve be to quencies. We could offer the potential cannot made sound wood, with quarter -sliced walnut veneer bad under any conditions. It can only for more very- high- frequency response selected for beauty and uniformity of be made better for your own -for use only with exceptionally good require- grain. The overall design of the 29" x ments. program material. We could make the 221/4" x 15" enclosure has been under- overall impedance of the system eight Perfectionist's stated to make the cabinet as unobtru- ohms for optimum performance with speaker system sive as possible in any room. today's transistor amplifiers. We believe we have done everything By using an acoustic -suspension en- We think our approach to the Model we can to make the Model Twelve the closure slightly larger than usual, we Twelve makes sense only for a perfec- best moving -coil speaker system we could also provide a bit more speaker tionist's speaker system. And the Model have ever made. If you are an unabashed efficiency. The amount we could gain Twelve is just that. It will reproduce perfectionist, you should go hear the would be just enough to allow the the highest and the lowest frequencies Twelve. It will be at your KLH Dealer listener a choice of many excellent of any conceivable musical interest. Its soon. For more information, write: amplifiers of less than super -power. very- high- frequency capabilities are ac- KLH, 30 Cross Street, Cambridge, Mass. tually in advance of most of today's 02139, Dept. 1001. A final step program material; as the noise content drops on future recordings, the 7000- 'A trademark of KLH Research and Develop- ment Corp. With the aim of usefulness upper- 20,000 cps control can be turned up for most in mind, what else could we do? ever more realistic music reproduction. We could offer the listener the op- The Model Twelve's four speakers le° . I I portunity to make adjustments in the are used conservatively ( in a three -way JO CROSS STREET. CAMBRIDGE. MCS. CIRCLE 37 ON READER -SERVICE CARD JUNE 1966 25

www.americanradiohistory.com JAZZ Money). exotica (Safari), or out -and -out swing. Kirk is the core of the perform- Continued front page 24 ance. full of zest. humor, imagination, and authority, driving everyone to reach vocative treatment of Ferde Grofe s On for his emotional level. In this Kirk re- the Trail, an imaginative and attractive minds us that he once worked with original aptly called Cloak and Dagger. Charlie Mingus, and his handling of an OnlY a gorgeous, all- but -forgotten ballad, ensemble of this size may be influenced Vanity. some meat -and -potatoes swinging. by that experience. There is a differ- and a version of All the Things You Are ence. however, in that Kirk. while equal- which begins matter -of- factly, but builds ing Mingus' high pitch, still maintains a into a series of remarkably strong im- firm hold on the over -all structure. provised choruses. Rare Bands of the Twenties. Historical Milt Jackson: "And the Big Brass." Riv- Records No. 6 and No. 7, $5.00 each erside 478, $4.79 (LP); 9478, $4.79 (LP). Historical Records. Box 1. Canar - (SD). sie. Brooklyn, N. Y. 11230. For all of Milt Jackson's fully justified For collectors of early jazz bands, these reputation as a forthright swinger on two discs are apt to be even more re- vibes. some of his most distinctive work warding than the first set released by 300D Historical Records. bands 6 has been done in relatively placid sur- The on No. roundings. Without disturbing the basic include Luis Russell's Hot Six (with Kid mood, Jackson has an ability to bring to Ory, Barney Bigard, Albert Nicholas), these settings a startling amount of fire. a Jack Purvis group (with Coleman Haw- In this collection, Melba Liston has writ- kins, J. S. Higginbotham, and Adrian ten warm. dark big -band backgrounds. Rollini), a fine Jabbo Smith group, and which allow Jackson to display his pearls the exuberant Washboard Rhythm Kings on velvet. The backgrounds are threaded (masquerading as the Chicago Hot Five). with such contrasting colors as a soaring No. 7 is highlighted by the Blue Ribbon French horn by Julius Watkins, the pro- Syncopators (a band with a big, burly, pulsive force of Major Holley's tuba, Southwestern sound -although it appar- Clark Terry's distinctively pungent trum- ently came out of Buffalo, N. Y.), pet, and some beautifully shaded brass Williamson's Beal (sic) St. Frolic Orches- ensembles. But still it is Jackson whose tra (a Memphis group), Cecil Scott's momentum, even in a slow ballad such famous Bright Boys (with Dicky Wells, as Flamingo, lifts the pieces and carries Frankie Newton, and Bill Coleman), them along. There is a deceptively casual and Tiny Parham's band. The ensembles fits so air about his playing. It seems so off- are sometimes rough and ready but they easily hand at times that it comes as a shock are strongly rhythmic and the soloists into your to realize, in the middle of a phrase, are almost always convincing. Consider- present music how strongly he is swinging on. say, ing that the records were made between Extraordinary Blues (which is a delight- 1926 and 1929, the sound in most cases system, even more ful variation of his familiar Bags' is surprisingly good. The few selections Groove) or on Buddy Johnson's essen- which have rough surfaces or thin sound easily into your tially balladistic Save Your Love for Me. usually offer compensation in some really budget Miss Liston and Jackson are a highly fine solos. complementary couple and, between them, they have created a distinguished Don Redman: "Master of the Big Band." disc. RCA Victor LPV 520, $4.79 (LP). Don Redman was of enormous conse- Roland Kirk: "Slightly Latin." Limelight quence to jazz as an arranger and leader 82033, $4.98 (LP); 86033, $5.98 (SD). and, with less consequence but great If Fats Waller had been a man with a charm, as saxophonist and vocalist in horn, he might have been an early ver- the 1920s and early '30s. From the mid - Just connect the compact 300 -D all sion of Roland Kirk. Kirk's high spirits, '30s on, he became increasingly involved One solid stereo tape deck recorder to his scorn for convention. and the driving with journeyman commercial work. side of this disc presents Redman at his your present stereo phonograph or ebullience of his performances have never been more Waller -ish peak (as leader of McKinney's Cotton high fidelity system and enjoy the than they are in this set. With only three brass instru- Pickers). On the other, he is en route magnificent sound of OKI stereo. ments and a pair of percussionists added to the ordinary, leading his bands of the The -D, in 300 enclosed luxurious to his usual quartet. Kirk has created late 1930s. On the Cotton Pickers side, oiled walnut, gives you 4 -track ensemble attacks that have the imposing. only three numbers are by the genuine stereo and mono recording and explosive power of a full -sized big band. Pickers -the remaining five are by a playback /FM Multiplex recording/ Having set his voicings for strength and brilliant pickup band which Redman sound -on -sound and sound -with- body, Kirk places himself in the midst brought together in New York to fulfill a Pickers recording date. This sound /full 7" reel capacity /two of them. shouting (the urgent joy of his Cotton Walk is pickup band is distinguished not only professional VU meters /built -in "Walk it! it!" pure Waller), blowing his peremptory whistle, and sam- because it includes Fats Waller, Coleman record and playback pre -amplifiers. pling his incredible array of instruments Hawkins, Joe Smith, Sidney De Paris, $159.95 (manufacturer's suggested (this time it's tenor and baritone saxo- and Benny Carter, but because they play list price) phones, manzello, piccolo, flute, and - the Cotton Pickers' arrangements with something new -a chanter. which pro- the kind of clean ensemble impact that duces a thin, sweet, singing sound). In would normally indicate close familiarity. the romantic ballad It's Al! in the Gante, Redman is heard on this side mostly as he plays tenor saxophone with what a sly, murmuring conversational vocalist seems to be a characteristic robust -a charming delivery particularly when The Solid Sound abandon until you become aware of the Waller's piano is tickling lightly behind discipline involved. Whether it's a Latin of Quality tempo (Juarez), a gospel beat (Shaky Continued on page 28 CIRCLE 45 ON READER -SERVICE CARD 1() HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com don't OUTPUT POWER: 35 watts per channel, 70 watts combined (IHF rating). Peak power, 140 watts. FRED. RESPONSE: 20. 50,000 cps ± 1 db. (Sub- understand sonic sharp cut -off filter is incorporated to eliminate noise and rumble below 20 cps). DISTORTION: Less than 1 %, at rated output. FM SENSITIVITY: 2.3 uy (IHF). AM LOOP SEN- my SITIVITY: 80 us per meter for 10 db S /N. FM Oscar STEREO SEPARATION: 25 db at 50 cps; 38 db at 1,000 cps; 22 db at 10,000 cps. ANTENNA: FM built -in line; external connection for bal- anced 300 ohm or 75 ohm co -ax cable. AM HI.Q loopstick; connection for outdoor antenna. AUDIO SENSITIVITY: Phono Mag. 2.5 mv; Tape Head 2 mv; Aux. 200 mv. OUTPUT IMPEDANCES: 4/8/16 ohms. OUTPUTS: speakers, tape out. INPUTS: Mag. phono, tape head, tape monitor, aux. SPECIAL FEATURES: Instrument -type tun- ing meter, automatic stereo switching with "Stereo Minder" light indicator, front panel jack for stereo headphones, special circuitry to avoid triggering false FM- stereo indications, counter -balanced flywheel tuning, four IF stages for FM, plus wide -band ratio detector, 3 IF stages for AM, special low -noise RF transistor, oversize heat sinks for extra -cool operation. Price: ;319.95.

broadcasting in stereo and #00114 Neither do a lot of the receiver switches to stereo automatically. And it other people gets any station Margie's receiver can get. It's so sim He's an electronics engineer. pie to operate, too: With a And he talks like one. But at tuning knob that gently but home, too? Just because he de- t --firmly lets me zero in on a signed Bogen's new RT8000,L station. And a clever switch does he have to bend my ear with that lets me listen in the living silicon output transistors and room, or den, or in both rooms oversize heat sinks? at the same time. Or for using I already know everything I earphones, when Oscar's need to know about it. It's gor- talking. geous enough for a shelf in our It looks beautiful. It living room (actually, the wal- sounds beautiful. nut- grained tuning scale was Even without my idea). It plays beautifully, Oscar's discount, whether Oscar turns the volume the price is beau- all the way up, or I listen to some tiful, too. nice, quiet Mantovani. It has AM What more (which Margie's $500 receiver does anybody doesn't have) and FM- stereo. have to know? When I dial, a little light blinks

on whenever I reach a station RT 8000 Solid State 70 watt AM /FM- Stereo Receiver BOGEN abaci -a COMMUNICATIONS OIV.(I ) LEAR SIEGLER. INC. Paramus. New Jersey

CIRCLE 9 ON READER -SERVICE CARD Juist: 1966

www.americanradiohistory.com JAZZ to know that the talent has actually sur- vived intact and has now produced a florida Continued from page 26 Shearing record of genuine interest. him. Both this pickup band and the Fats Waller: "Valentine Stomp." RCA regular Cotton Pickers (with Rex Stewart Victor LPV 525, $4.79 (LP). international playing muted trumpet) were, under Red - This is the second collection of Waller man's direction, superb big bands-and material in Victor's Vintage series and. the evidence is on this disc. Redman's like the first (LPV 516), it is an inimita- music festival bands of 1938 -40, on the other hand, ble blend of Waller's wild humor, his were relatively routine swing bands, given irony, his superb piano playing, and the at to jivey novelties. This collection includes joyous attack of his little hand of the a good version of Redman's theme, mid -Thirties. For variety, there is an Chant of the Weed, and several examples I Got Rhythm by a Waller big band daytona beach of Redman's pleasant skill as a soprano in which Hank Duncan, playing second saxophonist. But the band's failings are piano, rattles out a good solo despite JULY 29- AUGUST 21, 1966 most evident when it tackles such jazz badgering comment from Waller; but standards as Milenberg Joys and Shim - Duncan's solo only proves to be a setup Me-Sha- Wabble with quite ordinary re- for one by Waller which. for sheer swing- sults. ing dexterity, is all but incredible. There are also some solo pieces by Waller- Sammy Rimington: "George Lewis Clas- a fine Valentine Stomp and rather mat - sics." Jazz Crusade 1005, $4.95 (LP). ter -of -fact (for Waller) treatments of When Charlie Parker died, a contem- Lore Me or Leave Me and I've Got a porary gagster wondered w hat the saxo- Feeling Tin Falling. But the meat of the phonists at Birdland would play now disc is found in the Waller small -group that they had nobody to steal from. For selections with Al Casey's deft guitar. more than a decade England's tradition- Herman Autrey's needling trumpet, and alist clarinetists have been living in sim- Waller himself poking into everything - ilar fashion on George Lewis' style and singing, shouting, playing, making Sugar repertoire. Rimington is no exception; Blues credible, openly appalled at the the Lewis influence is there all right, but lyrics of The Girl I Left Behind Me, but Rimington adds qualities of his own to never allowing anything to interfere the style. Playing with an English rhythm with the pure joy of his piano work. section which includes Barry "Kid" Martyn on drums, Rimington walks right Randy Weston Sextet: "Randy!" Bakton into the lion's mouth by playing a pro- 1001, $4.98 (LP); S 1001, $5.98 (SD). gram of pieces associated with Lewis Randy Weston's six -piece group plays (Red Wing. Peoria, Ciribiribin, even this collection of strongly rhythmic and Burgundy Street Blues), and emerges as melodic Weston originals with all the an individual musical personality. Rim - power and thrust of a big band. Weston LONDON SYMPHONY ington plays the Lewis style with a himself is an unusually assertive pianist stronger and more positive attack than who adds meat to the rhythm section ORCHESTRA CONDUCTING his model and his over -all scope is and makes every brief solo meaningful. broader. In addition there are other in- But he also has a saxophonist, Booker fluences here which one does not find in Ervin, who has a strongly emotional DISTINGUISHED GUEST ARTISTS: Lewis' work: Rimington, for instance, style and a trumpeter -flugelhornist, Ray gets into a swing riff on St. Philips Street Copeland, who can hold his own with Blues. Isaac Stern (Aug. 13 - 14) This is a pleasant and enlightening both Weston and Ervin. Between them, set, played with airy assurance. a wal- Leonard Rose (Jul. 30 - 31) they give the ensemble passages loping solidity and, along with solos that Gervase de Peyer (Jul. 28 - 29) George Shearing Quintet: "Rare Form!" are notable for making their points and Ossian Ellis (Aug. 4 - 5) Capitol 2447, $3.79 (LP); S 2447 then moving on, they continually lend Richard Burgin (Aug. 18. 19) $4.79 (SD). attractive accents to the selections. Wes- Roger Lord (Aug. 6 - 7) George Shearing has devoted himself so ton, like Duke Ellington, has a strong John Ogden (Aug. 4 - 5) completely to bland, simplistic, mass sense of musical color, building a blues appeal performances for almost fifteen waltz, a powerful ballad or, more often, MUSIC INSTITUTE years, that I was really startled to hear a catchy riff with bright splashes, exotic for gifted students some of his work on this disc. Along shadings, and a texture which, particu- of orchestra instruments with what has become standard Shearing larly in Ervin 's solos, can almost be felt. (enrollment limited to 200) triviality (Over the Rainbow, They All The sextet has been together for quite a Laughed, Look No Farther), the Shear- while and their knowledge of each other's CHAMBER CONCERTS ing of old -the blithe, perceptive, and capabilities makes these performances by LSO members and students. tremendously swinging Shearing -sud- move in a positive fashion that no ad denly rises out of Hallucinations, Station hoc group could achieve. JOHN S. WILSON REHEARSALS PUBLIC Break, Why Not, and (a real echo of by the LSO and Mr. Davis the past) Bop, Look, and Listen. The AN UNMATCHED SUMMER presence of Gary Burton on vibes must have something with 4: resort package: surf, sea and sky to do this, for Shearing, working with Burton, even fine fishing, boating, golf, tennis, sounds a bit more like his old light- dog racing and jai -alai. Miles of hearted self on the routine pieces and he beautiful oceanfront and other plays a pleasant ballad, Sunny, with accommodations at family rates. feeling instead of slogging listlessly through it. Shearing, in the late Forties and early Fifties, was a most engaging FESTIVALS P.O. BOX 1733 pianist and it seemed a tragedy that his DAYTONA BEACH FLORIDA 32015 success had to be bought at the cost of stifling his exceptional talent. It's good CIRCLE 26 ON READER -SERVICE CARD

2 8 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com grade your sound Whatever your receiver or amplifier is capable of doing, EMI loudspeakers have a unique way of making it sound better. Perhaps it's the ease with which EMI loudspeakers project sound. So smooth and natural, it seems to float on the air in all its concert hall glory. Filling the room. Or perhaps, it's the deep bass, the incomparable realistic mid- range and the full, silky highs. Or it could be the subtle detailing of their transient perfect response that catches you unawares. i So, for better sound come on up to EMI loudspeakers. There's an EMI loudspeaker to meet any requirement and budget. From $49.955`'` to $395.00 .Slightly hi,'luv in .South and West. EMI /SCOPE Scope Electronics Corporation, 470 Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y. Available in Canada CIRCLE 53 ON READER -SERVICE CARD JUNE 1966 29

www.americanradiohistory.com SPECIAL PREPUBLICATION OFFER ONLY $5.95 SAVE $3.00 ecords n eview 1966 Edition

RECORDS IN REVIEW -1966 Edition ... is now Haydn and Beethoven . . . Conrad L. Osborne at the printer. Like its ten predecessors, it will writes on opera recordings. Forthrightly, they dis- bring you in one convenient book hundreds of re- cuss the composition, performance and fidelity. And views of records (stereo and mono) which appeared they compare new recordings with earlier releases. in High Fidelity Magazine. This edition reprints You'll find the reviews organized alphabetically reviews that appeared in 1965 -classical and semi- by composer for quick, easy reference -and in exclusively. classical music the case of composers frequently recorded, further It will save you many hours in your dealer's subdivided by such categories as Chamber Music, listening booth or earphone corner. And it will help Vocal Music. etc. You'll find, too, a special section you build a library of music YOU enjoy, for it is on Recitals and Miscellany. And an Artists' Index. the most complete and authoritative book of its This hardcover book of around 400 pages is kind -the standard reference work that gains in expected to be ready for shipment in a few weeks. value as the years roll by. Cover price: $8.95. Each reviewer stands high in his field-Nathan Until July 15, 1966, you may have a copy for Broder, for example, reviews Bach and Mozart, only $5.95. You save $3. Payment with order but Alfred Frankenstein the moderns ... Paul Affelder satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. Con- covers the romantics, Robert C. Marsh specializes in venient order form below.

WYETH PRESS, A DIVISION OF HIGH FIDELITY, Publishing House, Great Barrington, Mass., 01230. Send me as soon as published RECORDS IN REVIEW 1966 Edition for the prepublication price of $5.95 (after July 15, 1966, send $8.95). I enclose payment.

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www.americanradiohistory.com HIGH FIDELITY NEW JAPANESE CONTENDERS ENTER COMPONENT MARKET N Two of Japan's audio giants, Pioneer and IEWS Sony -the one claiming to be the world's largest manufacturer of loudspeakers, the other entering the high fidelity com- ponent market for the first time -have set their sights on America's audiophiles. Sony, despite its name (based on the AUDIO REA CHES THE SUPERMARKET Latin word for sound, sonos), has been known here chiefly for its video prod- ucts and, except for the Superscope tape According to Paco president Sol Sparer, The kit has been test -marketed by recorders, has never previously aimed his is about to take a novel step in company Paco retail outlets in Tennessee, Flor- for the serious high fidelity market. The in the merchandising of audio compo- ida, and Virginia. Public response in company is now rectifying that oversight selling kits in the neighborhood nents- these locales, Sparer feels, augurs for with a vengeance. Its new line of high supermarket. In keeping with the way acceptance of high quality sound gear fidelity components -aimed at the well - other products have been successfully by consumers who have not been reached heeled, quality- minded listener -consists stores, the Paco marketed in these units by conventional high -fidelity merchan- of an integrated and a power amplifier, will be made available piecemeal as dising. And this market, he adds, is ready both fifty watts per channel; a turntable week twenty -two separate sub -kits, one a for good monophonic sound in the form with built -in servo -system to regulate its until the buyer has the project. completed of an FM receiver-which is what the speed; a moving -coil cartridge said to put sub -kit, $1.00, The first costing only first kit will be. Eventually the firm will out four millivolts; both a twelve -inch set tools, includ- contains a complete of offer "anything electronic for the home and a sixteen -inch arm; and a three -way ing the all- important soldering iron. Each -an intercom system, maybe a small speaker system. There are no tuners or which subsequent packet -of the last electronic organ." At press time the receivers as yet but these will, report- few comprise a speaker system -will cost choice of the supermarket chain through edly, come later. $3.99. The work of wiring and assembly, which the kits will be sold had narrowed According to a company spokesman, Sparer told us, has been geared for the to a few giants, so don't be surprised if, the new high fidelity components have complete novice and "if the set doesn't on your next trip to a local emporium, been made especially for the American work on completion, we'll put it in shape you espy an audio display amid the market; they are not simply imports of for a nominal $5.00 fee." fruit-juice cans. models already available elsewhere. Pioneer, on the other hand, has long been exporting its medium -priced high fidelity components to Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, Canada, and Central and South America -almost MUSICAL CHAIRS every place, it seems, but to the United States (although a minute number of its Model SX -1000T transistorized receivers -IN STEREO have trickled here too). Indeed, only one group of American consumers has really become familiar with the Pioneer brand Almost as private as headphones, name. These are the GIs in Vietnam, but offering padding for all parts Korea, Okinawa, and other hotbeds of of one's anatomy as well as sound stereophony in Southeast Asia. at the ears, is the new Berkline American manufacturers of audio stereo chair. A Lear-Jet 8 -track packages are, however, very much aware tape player is fitted into its side, of Pioneer as a source of "parts," and and you are serenaded by two many have been including Pioneer speak- small speakers installed beneath ers in their own products. The Tokyo - the upholstery fabric on the back. based firm claims a producing capability The tape unit is similar to those of a million and a half speakers a month. sold for cars, but modified to run (Only a fraction of Pioneer's speakers on household current via an AC could be termed high fidelity, most of line cord. Special jacks at the rear them being designed for transistor radios, permit connecting the speakers to walkie- talkies, and television sets.) Some other sound sources, such as an well -known automobile tape cartridge FM or TV receiver, or to the Seven chair styles have been an- players on the American market, such as power amplifier of a component nounced by Berkline, a company the Craig Panorama, are manufactured stereo system. with three factories in Morristown, by Pioneer. At the relatively low output Tennessee and a branch in West Now the company is about to enter the levels that are ample for in -the- Springfield, Massachusetts, which American high fidelity field under its chair listening, and even for eaves- for years has been manufactur- own name ( "Pioneer," by the way, is the dropping a few feet away from the ing special -purpose (and ordinary) Japanese appellation, written in kana chair, the sound of this padded chairs. Rockers, recliners, lounge and coming out an eclectic Pioneer system lias an easy, clear quality chairs, swivel chairs, occasional Kabushiki Kaisha, meaning Pioneer -not an audiophile's dream per- chairs, even a three- seater sofa all Company, Ltd.). The first component, haps, but enjoyable nonetheless. will be offered with built -in stereo. due in a month or two, will be a solid - Controls on the swing -out deck Prices start at about $250 and vary state receiver. If the first product offer- permit tailoring the volume, tone, according to the style of chair and ing secures a foothold here, a second and channel balance to one's taste; fabric chosen. So far these units wave can be expected from among once adjusted and playing, the are available only at furniture Pioneer's many speakers and speaker deck may be recessed into the side dealers', who also stock, or can systems, its turntables, arms, and car- of the chair; a section of fabric order, the cartridges for the tape tridges, and even its headphones. on its underside matches the up- system. A sampler cartridge is in- holstery. cluded with each chair. Continued on page 35

32 HiGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com Space -age Scott FET design improves AM as dramatically as it does FM

New Scott 382 Receiver lets you hear more stations, more clearly! 65 -watts /Space -age FETcircuits in both AM and '33995 Scott engineers are constantly on the Scott AM Has Advanced FET Circuits Scott's all silicon IF strip provides search for new developments to con- Advanced Scott 382 circuitry incor- three stages of true IF amplification for tinually improve a near -perfect product. porates Automatic Variable Bandwidth, strong as well as weak signals plus three After experiencing the miraculous im- a unique feature which automatically additional stages of IF limiting action, provements FET's brought to FM, Scott adjusts tuner bandwidth to the quality giving optimum selectivity and stereo engineers applied amazing new FET cir- of the incoming signal. The bandwidth separation. cuitry to Wide -Range AM. The result - automatically narrows for best recep- Direct- Coupled Silicon Output the new 382 AM /FM stereo receiver - tion of weak, distant stations, blocking Amplifier Section incorporating, for the first time any- out noise and interference. When tuned to stronger stations, the bandwidth auto- Output and driver transformers, major where, a Field Effect Transistor AM causes of diminished power and distor- circuit along with Scott's astonishing matically broadens, providing full fre- quency wide-range reception. In addi- tion, are eliminated from Scott's radical- FET FM front end. Introduction of this ly new direct -coupled solid -state ampli- new model marks the first real improve- tion, the new Scott Automatic Gain Control circuit, which increases tuner fier design . . . allowing more power ment in AM circuitry design in more over a wider frequency range, with vir- than a decade. sensitivity when incoming signal de- creases, also increases resistance to cross tually no distortion. modulation as the signal gets stronger. The 382 includes these popular features AM Comes of Age found in the most expensive Scott components: Recent improvements in AM broad- Field Effect Transistor FM Lets Tape Monitor switching, Speaker switching with You provision for remote speaker selection, switched casting equipment, plus the Federal Hear More Stations, More Clearly front panel stereo headphone output, front Communication Commission's decision The 382 utilizes revolutionary new panel stereo balance switch, separate- channel clutched bass. treble, and volume controls, to split AM and FM programming, have Field Effect Transistor circuitry for fully automatic stereo switching with indicator, given audiophiles renewed interest in maximum FM sensitivity with virtually and precision tuning meter. superior AM reception. Introduction of no cross modulation, no drift, no more 382 Specifications: Usable sensitivity, 2.5 µv; Harmonic distortion, 0.8 %; Drift, 0.02%; Fre- the new 382 now brings Scott FET sound problems caused by changing tube char- quency response, 18-25,000 cps ±1 db; Music to the exciting news, sports, current acteristics. Scott is the first, and only, Power rating per channel (4 ohms), 32/2 watts; events music broadcasts available Cross Modulation Rejection, 85 db; Stereo sepa- and manufacturer to use this important ad- ration, 35 db; Capture ratio, 6.0 db; Selectivity, only on the AM band. vance in solid -state design. 40 db. Price 8339.95. Have you seen the only speakers designed specially for use with solid -state components?

www.americanradiohistory.com Only the new Scott S -8 is designed for solid -state components!

i

. Only the new Scott S-If is designed with Controlled Impedance!

S cott engineers have developed a new kind of speaker system, not offer, for example, 8 ohms impedance to the amplifier at all specially designed for finest performance from solid -state conl- frequencies. In fact, the impedance can vary from as little as 2 ponents. Of all speakers now on the market, regardless of price, ohms to as much as 20 ohms at different frequencies. only the S -8 is completely compatible with new solid -state equip- Now, Scott has designed an 8 -ohm speaker system specifically ment. Here is why: for use with transistor components. The impedance range Solid state amplifiers and receivers give best performance over is controlled by integrated engineering develop- a fairly narrow range of load impedance. The impedance of ordi- ment of both speakers and crossover to match the nary speakers, however, varies considerably as the frequency capabilities of today's solid -state equipment. The changes. With increased impedance, available power is reduced. S -8 gives you the kind of sound you wanted when Lowered impedance may overload the amplifier output circuits. you bought transistor components. What more Even the most expensive speakers avail- could you ask? The price? Only $69.95, each. Com- able today were designed for tube equip- plete system, including S -8 speakers, Scott 382 solid - ment where impedance is controlled by state AM/ FM stereo receiver, and automatic record output transformers. These speakers do changer, well under $540 at most dealers. magglion

Scott ...where innovation is a tradition SCOTT'` For further information and specifications on the new Scott S -8 speaker system, write: H. H. Scott, Inc., Dept. 226 -06, 111 Powdermill Road, Maynard, Mass. Export: Scott International, Maynard, Mass. For complete spec sheet and fully illustrated 1966 Guide to Custom Stereo, circle Reader Service #100

www.americanradiohistory.com NEWS & VIEWS

Continued from page 32

So much for the high- and medium - IN THE NEWS priced markets. While it may be more Euuìpment coincidence than collusion, the only other Japanese high fidelity components avail- able to any extent on the American scene in are those of Kenwood, a generally lower - "ordinary speakers" which "may de- priced line. Kenwood's receivers, tuners, grade the full performance possible and amplifiers have been offered to with transistor amplifiers." First of a American consumers for some two years new series of CI speakers. the S -8 is now. Its parent company in Japan, Trio, priced at $69.95.

makes the rest of the high fidelity system CIRCLE 163 ON READER -SERVICE CARD as well, including cabinets. If the latest American- Japanese harmonic develop- ments open up the U.S.A. market to the transducer ends of Japanese production, Viking Stereo Compact tape recorders Kenwood is already prepared. now are available with detachable Another major manufacturer of high speakers to comprise a complete tape fidelity equipment in Japan is Sansui. A sound system. For carrying, the speaker few American dealers have imported a sections fit over the deck in luggage or handful of Sansui's receivers, tuners, and suitcase form. Named the Model 880 amplifiers, but this company has not Stereo, it is a three -head machine with expended much energy over here. And a solid -state electronics center installed Sansui has no American under the transport and offering 10 organization. Bozak's first amplifier Not yet, that is. watts output. Each speaker system com- combines on one chassis a five -channel mixer and a 50- 5 woofer, prises a -inch 21/2-inch tweeter, watt and dividing network. The new 880 lists power output circuit. Representing SOUND YOU CAN SEE the at $439.95. speaker manufacturer's entry into A kit that enables you to view the mag- electronics, the Model CMA -5 -50 (cost, netic tracks recorded onto tape is being CIRCLE 158 ON READER -SERVICE CARD $257.50) is a solid -state unit with modu- offered by Reeves Soundcraft. Known lar plug -in circuit cards which can adapt as Magna -See, it contains a chemical its inputs for high- or low -level signals. solution which, when applied to a re- Although basically designed as a mono- corded tape, reveals the pattern of the phonic amplifier for professional and oxide coating on the tape. Thus, you can commercial sound work, the CMA -5 -50, study the tape to check on such factors Rudy Bozak tells us, can serve as a as your recorder's head alignment, track home music system amplifier inasmuch uniformity, balance, and head wear. as its performance and response are on Moreover, with a little practice, one can a par with high quality home -type units. begin to discern specific program pas- In any case, additional electronic prod- sages to make tape editing easier and ucts can be expected from Bozak. more precise. Drop -out areas show up readily, as do differences in the intensity Sherwood's S -8800 receiver is, according CIRCLE 161 ON READER -SERVICE CARD of sound recorded in multitrack work. to the mid -West manufacturer, "the in- Packed in a neat plastic case, the kit dustry's most powerful all- silicon FM contains a half -pint can of the Magna - stereo receiver." The amplifier in this See solution, a tray in which to pour it set is rated for 100 watts music power for immersing the tape, and an eyepiece at 8 ohms; 130 watts at 4 ohms. It magnifier for close -up study of the tape. uses the same FM circuitry found in Also included are three slides and a roll Sherwood's S -3300 stereo tuner. which of transparent adhesive tape for those the manufacturer rates for an IHF sen- who want to get really serious and ex- sitivity of 1.6 microvolts. Tuning meter, amine their tapes under a microscope, stereo indicator, headphone jack. and or -by covering a section of recorded other features are included. tape with adhesive tape and then strip- CIRCLE 162 ON READER -SERVICE CARD ping it off -to make a permanent record Yet another Miracord, the Model PW- the of tracks (the pattern will have been 50H, is being readied transferred for the market by to the sticky tape). Although Benjamin Electronics. Compared with introduced originally for professional existing Miracords, the PW -50H boasts a use, the $12 Magna -See kit strikes us as restyling and new performance features a fascinating and useful accessory for the -including a brand -new tone arm with serious tape hobbyist. a stylus overhang adjustment, an integral cuing device, a calibrated antiskating knob. improved tracking force and arm balance adjustments. and hysteresis motor. Price, less cartridge and base, is $149.50. Scott's newest speaker system, the S -8, is a compact air- suspension type said CIRCLE 157 ON READER -SERVICE CARD to be designed specifically for use with solid -state amplifiers- thanks to its use of what Scott calls "control- Records from an equipment manu- led impedance" (CI). Details of CI were facturer? KLH thinks that this makes not disclosed, but the firm claims that sense and has released a 12 -inch stereo the S-8 maintains a nearly constant sampler album titled "Music To Listen impedance throughout its frequency Tape dip for viewing the tracks. range as opposed to the variations found Continued on next page

JUNE 1966 35

www.americanradiohistory.com EQUIPMENT IN THE NEWS Continued from preceding page TWO to KLH By." One side contains classi- cal, the other, lighter selections -all chosen for their sonic qualities and de- for the price of signed to show off or to show up a sound system. Naturally, KLH believes its own equipment will sound mighty good playing this album. We've played ONE in on several systems and can vouch for its sonic authenticity; it has, in fact, some While they last. That's right. of the cleanest and widest -range sound Two books for the price of one. on any disc. Price is we've yet heard Here they are: $2.98 at all KLH dealers. CIRCLE 160 ON READER-SERVICE CARD RECORDS in REVIEW 1964 Edition Coming to your brings you in one convenient hard cover book of 539 pages the hi-fi dealer soon reviews of classical and semi- following its spectacular classical music that appeared in the 1963 issues of HIGH FIDEL- West Coast premiere A very low -cost amplifier kit, Model ITY. The reviews are organized KT -630, is available from Lafayette. by composers for Rated for 30 watts music power, it has alphabetically inputs for magnetic and ceramic phono quick, easy reference. Added is cartridges, tuner, and an auxiliary high - a convenient Index of Performers impedances include level source. Speaker -29 references under Leonard the usual 4, 8, and 16 ohms. The ampli- fier uses tubes yet is fairly compact. Bernstein for example. Regular the all -new, Price is only $39.95 in build -it- yourself price, $6.95. feature -packed form. CIRCLE 156 ON READER -SERVICE CARD SECOND HIGH FIDELITY TREASURY Low -cost semiconductor cartridges have been announced by Sonotone. Using a Contains 28 top audio articles element of silicon, the MIRICORD signal -generating from our publications new pickups are offered as a means of reprinted upgrading what the firm calls "low - HIGH FIDELITY and STEREO. They priced, high volume production phono- tell you just about everything systems -those utilizing mar- graph need to know for achieving ginal amplifiers and speakers." Prices you start at $19.50 for a pickup with double good sound production in your 50H sapphire needle; $23.50 for one with home. Illustrated paper back a and a A technical the finest automatic sapphire diamond. book of 132 pages. Regular price brochure, analyzing performance in four turntable ever produced typical phonographs, is available from $2.50. the manufacturer. * * *

CIRCLE 159 ON READER -SERVICE CARD Both books are invaluable for reference. And they complement each other. Only $6.95 for the Use this coupon for details: two books postpaid! Order now! 1 Benjamin Electronic Sound Corp. Wyeth Press -a division of HIGH FIDELITY 40 Smith St., Farmingdale, N.Y. 11736 P. O. Box 600 666 Send complete details about your Great Barrington, Mass. 01230 new Miracord 50H. Also notify me Send me postpaid RECORDS in REVIEW when dealers near me receive 1964 Edition (regularly $6.95) plus the first deliveries. Removable globe speakers highlight the SECOND HIGH FIDELITY TREASURY (regu- larly $2.50). Total value, $9.45. I enclose new Project G -2 stereo system offered payment in full for both books, only $6.95. Name by Clairtone of Canada. The globes are light enough in weight to permit lifting a room NAME Address and repositioning anywhere in for best sound. The G -2 contains a Garrard Lab -80 turntable, stereo tuner ADDRESS_ and stereo control amplifier designed City by Clairtone itself and preinstalled in a cabinet which also has record storage space. Cost is $995. LState Zip STATE 8. ZIP J CIRCLE 155 ON READER -SERVICE CARD CIRCLE 8 ON READER -SERVICE CARD HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE 36

www.americanradiohistory.com Listen! We change loudspeaker counters into listeners

Count speakers if you wish. You'll FLEXAIR® woofer, an 8 -inch mid- range of your hearing. find five in the Jensen TF -4 speaker range, two tweeters, and Jensen's ex- Talk to your Jensen dealer about system. But the number isn't quite clusive SONO-DOM E® ultra -tweeter. the dollar value of the TF -4. Act a as important as the one big sound But try and forget all that and little surprised when he tells you you get from this unit. just sit back and listen. This one it's priced under $136.00 for oiled If you must know, this 4 -way, big sound will all but absorb you. walnut, even less for unfinished slender shelf speaker system in- Little wonder, it has a frequency hardwood. After all, it does have cludes a high -compliance, 10 -inch range from 25 cycles to beyond the five speakers. jensen Jensen Manufacturing Division, The Muter Company 6601 South Laramie Avenue, Chicago, Illirois 60638 CIRCLE 34 ON READER -SERVICE CARD JUNE 1966 37

www.americanradiohistory.com ,c .,;

www.americanradiohistory.com // HIGH FIDELITY ,Jf'f,l f/ ' --

Contemporary Opera and the Foundations

AS INTERESTED OBSERVERS Of the musical scene, sums are being allocated for the commission and we naturally ponder from time to time the subject initial productions of new works; but unless greater of contemporary opera on records. But due to a provision is made for the retention of a worthwhile small confluence of events, we've thought about it work in the repertory over a period of time, and more specifically during the past couple of months. for its preservation in the form of a recording, it First off, we noted with pleased astonishment the is entirely possible that in twelve or fifteen years extraordinary success of the New York City Opera's there will be nothing to show for the money spent production of Alberto Ginastera's Don Rodrigo, except an array of statistics. which sold out not only its scheduled presentations It is incredible that there is no recording of Virgil but two extra "popular demand" performances. Thomson's Mother of Us All or of Carlisle Floyd's Second, we've of course been reading with close Susannah (a work which has actually established attentiveness the survey of Prokofiev's operas by itself as a repertory piece). And who is to say that the distinguished Italian critic Giuseppe Pugliese, operas which do not achieve this degree of accept- which appears on page 44 of this issue. ance should not be preserved in recorded form, at Prokofiev is a universally recognized giant of least for study purposes through library distribu- twentieth- century music, and his operas are thus very tion? It will be asked why the major recording much an exception to the general rule; several of companies do not take on a larger share of this them have proved worthy of repeated revival even responsibility, and the answer is that because they outside the Soviet Union. Consequently, five of his are commercial corporate entities, they cannot justify eight operas have been recorded in some fashion at the loss of large sums of money. Indeed, it is sur- some time, though not all these recordings may be prising how much contemporary opera has found ideal from either the musical or technical stand- its way onto commercial recordings-Columbia, es- point. But whatever will become of an opera like pecially, has gone considerably beyond the call of Don Rodrigo? Here is a piece which, because it has duty in this respect. scored an almost unprecedented popular success, Clearly, this is an area in which some subsidiza- may be retained by the City Opera for a few seasons. tion by foundations is indicated. To be sure, founda- A year or two from now it might be performed tion support has already made certain recordings pos- by the San Francisco Opera or some other enter- sible, by paying for musical costs while the record prising company, though its large scale makes it company assumes production expenses. Thus, the an impossible undertaking for most organizations. Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University helped Very probably, once the momentum 9f the City with the release of Hugo Weisgall's The Tenor, while Opera's production has slowed, Don Rodrigo will the Koussevitzky Foundation assisted with Douglas not be available even to those few thousand who Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe. In fact, if one are able to get into the theatre. As it happens, foun- looks closely, one will find some form of subsidiza- dation support made the production possible in the tion behind a majority of such projects; but whether first instance; how much more fruitful if an addi- or not an opera is recorded has depended too often tional amount could have been granted for a re- on who knows whom or on other haphazard factors, cording of the work! and little attention has been paid to the matter of This case is symptomatic of the great failing of assuring proper distribution and longevity to the foundation support in this field to date: what is recordings that have been made. given is seed money, frequently in great amounts, Sowing seed is of small use if you then forget the but seed money all the same. Right now very large water and fertilizer.

JUNE 1966 39

www.americanradiohistory.com A VISIT TO NEW ENGLAND'S

OLDEST SUMMER FESTIVAL

The

SIXTY YEARS AGO this month, New England's oldest continuing music festival dedicated a handsome new shed. Today, in effect unaltered, the shed still stands. This progenitor of the summer festivals now proliferating in nearly every corner of the rural landscape had its beginnings back in 1839, when young Robbins Battell came home from Yale to settle down on his well -to -do family's place at Norfolk, Shed of the Massachusetts Berkshires. Connecticut, in the foothills zt While at the university, Battell had acquired a keen taste for all the arts (he was an excellent flutist among other accomplish- ments), and he naturally viewed life without music as unthink- able. Before long, he was participating in impromptu concerts on the village green, and by 1851 he was a conductor for the \orfólk Litchfield County Musical Association, which presented concerts not only in Norfolk but in the neighboring towns of Litchfield and Winsted. Robbins Battell's passion for music was passed on to his daughter Ellen, who in 1895 married Carl Stoeckel, son of Yale's first professor of music. The Stoeckels too established themselves in Norfolk, occupying the mansion known as White- house (so named long before the more famous residence in Washington, D.C.) and filling it with valuable books, paintings, and objets d'art. In 1899, they conceived the idea of establishing a festival as a memorial to Mrs. Stoeckel's father, but by this time Whitehouse itself was too small to play host: the Litch- field forces which owed their genesis to Robbins Battell had grown to number more than 700 members. For a few years the group presented its concerts in the Winsted Armory, an audi- torium seating 1,445, and later it performed in quarters adja- however, proved inadequate, BY HARRIS GOLDSMITH cent to Whitehouse. The latter, and by 1906 the present acoustically superb, 1,200 -seat shed had been built on the Stoeckel estate as a home for the Litch- field County Choral Union and Norfolk Music Festival. The first two decades following the shed's completion proved golden ones. Sergei Rachmaninoff performed there, as did other celebrities of the day, among them Fritz Kreisler,

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE 40

www.americanradiohistory.com A student ensemble concert is in progress. Except for gala faculty events, Norfolk's audiences tend to prefer stage bleachers to the more formal auditorium seats, here empty.

Alma Gluck, Louise Homer, Emma Eames, Emilio de Gorgorza, Edward Johnson, Fanny Bloomfield -Zeisler, Maud Powell, Lillian Blauvelt, Efrem Zimbalist, and Lillian Nordica. The roster of composers who came to Norfolk was equally impres- sive. Jan Sibelius wrote his Oceanides especially for performance at the festival, making his only trip to America to conduct it there, in 1914. Samuel Coleridge- Taylor was inspired to com- pose his Tale of Old Japan when on a trip to Norfolk he saw a mass of rhododendrons growing by the roadside. At a later date, Coleridge -Taylor was commissioned by the Stoeckels to compose a Violin Concerto. When it proved impossible for him to come from England to be present at the performance, his portrait was hung in the center of the stage while Maud Powell played the work. At its conclusion, she graciously shared her applause with the life -sized but inanimate proxy. Others whose works received world premieres at Norfolk were Horatio Parker, George Chadwick, Henry Hadley, and Max Bruch. The Norfolk Orchestra in those days was comprised chiefly of players from the New York Philharmonic. It must have been a fine one, to iudge from Sibelius' glowing comments in letters he wrote to friends about his voyage to the Connecticut community. Sibelius clad for Connecticut's summer. The death of Carl Stoeckel in 1925 nearly saw the demise

JUNE 1966 41

www.americanradiohistory.com The Litchfield County Choral Union rehearses all winter for its annual concert at Norfolk.

school is made up of Norfolk's music making. His widow felt unable The faculty of the Norfolk are accepted to continue the arduous task of maintaining the largely of Yale personnel, and students conservatories large -scale festival by herself, and for some years only from among graduates of music only the loyal members of the Choral Union were and other institutions of higher learning. Credit on hand to keep the shed active. However, a less towards advanced academic degrees is generally for gala but in many ways more valuable phase in Nor- granted for work accomplished. This summer, folk's history was to come. When Ellen Battell the first time, all students will be on full scholarship. Stoeckel died in 1939, her will stipulated that the Foreign students are encouraged, all applications are Connecticut property be used for the establishment of carefully screened, and many must of course be on a summer school of music and art, to be adminis- turned down. The Norfolk curriculum centers tered by a Board of Trustees in coöperation with composition, theory, and chamber music, and in- Yale University. Thus for a quarter of a century structors take turns teaching the various groups, the lovely pastoral setting has enjoyed a constantly thereby assuring the students the benefit of diver- rejuvenating intellectual and artistic influence. gent approaches and personalities. Music of the

Messrs. Schwartz, Parisot, Davenny, Wilson, Meier, and Erle -all of the Yale faculty.

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE 42

www.americanradiohistory.com Whitehouse. At left, the main entrance. Below, the handsome interior display- ing part of the valuable Stoeckel art collection. As Norfolk's Music Director, Keith Wilson resides in the mansion. Here he is coaching a wind quintet.

twentieth century receives considerable emphasis but not at the expense of a solid grounding in tradi- tional fields. This year, the festival will present its usual weekly faculty concerts featuring such Yale "regu- lars" as Broadus Erle, David Schwartz, Aldo Pari- sot, Ward Davenny, and Keith Wilson. Gustav Meier will direct two orchestral concerts, and will lead portions of other evenings. Two concerts will be devoted entirely to chamber music, and that intimate art form will, as always, figure prominently in all the festival's activities. Paul Ulanowsky will again be on hand to coach young singers (and to give pianists valuable advice in that little understood realm of accompanying). Oboist Robert Bloom will once more be present as guest instructor and per- former. The Litchfield County Choral Union will hold its annual concert on the grounds, and finally there will be the semiweekly concerts given by the students. In this visitor's estimation, the latter- which are open to the public without charge -con - stitute some of the high spots of the Norfolk season. One might, indeed, find the level of competence and comprehension shown by some of these young peo- ple occasionally staggering. A rendition last year. for example, of Bartók's First String Quartet was one of the most memorable I have experienced, both Battell House serves as mess hall and office. technically and artistically. Who would have guessed that two of the ensemble's members had never even heard a Bartók Quartet before this assignment? The shed at Norfolk is no merely decorative monument to past patrons of the arts. It is,. rather, the continuing reaffirmation of one New Englander's conviction that the making of music is a vital con- comitant of living at any place and in any season.

JUNE 1966 43

www.americanradiohistory.com The Unknown World Prokofi s Operas

By Giuseppe Pugliese

ANYONE TODAY UNDERTAKING a study of Serge for Three Oranges -is both recent and incomplete. Prokofiev is immediately faced by a number of com- If, of course, one considers Prokofiev merely a plex problems, still unsolved, and by many disturb- minor figure in the musical panorama of our century, ing questions, still unanswered. Much has been writ- an enfant terrible who never grew up, then his operas ten about Prokofiev, but much of it is dubious and can be dismissed out of hand. But if one is con- unsatisfactory, hasty, oversimplified. At times I have vinced, as I am, that Prokofiev is one of the greatest wondered whether this situation is due to a misun- composers of our century, then surely his operas can- derstanding of the problems themselves-or to a not be ignored simply because we do not know them. fragmentary knowledge of Prokofiev's opera omnia, of the decisive, critical issues at the basis of his art. Two of these issues are particularly important. THE CATALOGUE which Prokofiev himself made One is the development of the composer's craft, and of his works lists one hundred and thirty -eight num- therefore comprehends all the aspects of his music bers over a period from 1907, when he was sixteen, that critics have so long debated: from the national- to 1953, the year of his death, and includes eight ism to the Europeanism of his style; from his operas: Maddalena, Op. 13 (composed between 1911 initial, revolutionary experiments to the traditional and 1913, never performed); The Gambler, Op. 24 positions of his last years; from his contribution to (1915 -17; first performed at the Théâtre de la Mon - the evolution of contemporary musical language to naie, Brussels, April 29, 1929); The Love for Three the moral and spiritual themes of his poetic world. Oranges, Op. 33 (1919; Chicago Opera, December The second issue-and it is this to which I shall 30, 1921) ; The Fiery Angel, Op. 37 (1919 -27, first address myself here -concerns Prokofiev's works for staged performance, Teatro La Fenice, Venice, Sep- the theatre. Inasmuch as four of his eight operas, tember 14, 1955); Semyon Kotko, Op. 81 (1938 -39; three of his eight ballets, all his film music and inci- first performed, Stanislaysky Theatre, Moscow, June dental music for the theatre were composed after 23, 1940); Betrothal in a Monastery (The Duenna), his definitive return to the Soviet Union, this funda- Op. 86 (1940; first public performance Kirov The- mental sector of his work is directly involved in the atre, Leningrad, November 3, 1946); War and alleged retrogression of his later work and has been Peace, Op. 91 (1941 -52; first performed in concert most subject to critical prejudice. Indeed, the severity form on June 7, 1944, Moscow; at the Little State of most Western writers towards Prokofiev's operas Academy Theatre for the Leningrad Opera on June would be inexplicable were it not for the fact that 12, 1946; second version, with cuts and changes in their knowledge of these pieces -excepting The Love eleven scenes, at the Maly Theatre, Leningrad, April

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www.americanradiohistory.com 1, 1955); The Story of a Real Man, Op. 117 (1947- had gone so far in the direction of an expressionistic 48; first performed, at a private run -through, Kirov music theatre ( Wozzeck, we must remember, was Theatre, Leningrad, December 3, 1948). composed between 1917 and 1921, performed only In the face of such a body of work, to speak of in 1925). From the vocal writing, almost always a an authentic vocation for the theatre seems to me highly varied, pungent prose, to the instrumental merely a statement of fact. The vocation was born writing, inexhaustible in its resources of rhythms and with the composer, who attempted his first opera timbres, The Gambler has a constant dramatic qual- at the age of nine, and never abandoned him; at the ity, at times ironic, impregnated with a bitter humor, end of his life he was at work on the definitive ver- at times bathed in a poetic, suffering lyricism, the sion of War and Peace. Each of the seven operas most original lyricism of Prokofiev. from The Gambler to The Story of a Real Man an- The Gambler's four acts (six scenes) underline ticipates or concludes a decisive period in Prokofiev's Prokofiev's importance in the musical theatre of our adventurous stylistic journey. In two of those works, century. They reveal the intuitions of genius with The Gambler and The Fiery Angel, he drove to its which he anticipated expressionistic opera (to give extreme consequences the searching anxiety which one small, telling example: the few measures of lashed his imagination, with poetic and stylistic re- Prince Nilsky, a minor character; in them you hear sults that one cannot find elsewhere in his canon, the Prince's relationship with Wozzeck's Captain, even among the boldest European experiments. that same, ambiguous, asexual vocality). But The The Gauthier is Prokofiev's real debut as a mature Gambler's importance as an opera is not merely opera composer. Preceded by certain fundamental historical. I know few operas of the last half -century orchestral and instrumental achievements (the that share its operatic pace, that narrate and drama- Scythian Suite, The Buffoon, the first two piano con- tize so faithfully in music their chosen story; few certos), this opera is the first, great synthesis of operas with characters so well defined, so alive- Prokofiev's restless, aggressive, but by now master- from the protagonist to the other main figures, the ful musical youth. General, Pauline, the grandmother (a splendid por- Drawn from Dostoyevsky's short novel, the libret- trait), to the minor ones, also acutely drawn. like the to is by Prokofiev himself, assisted for the fourth Marquis and Astley; few operas, finally, that contain act by his friend B. N. Demchinsky. As to the whole scenes of such absolute poetry, or such im- musical structure, the name of Mussorgsky, among pressive dramatic sections (the finale of Act I, the others, has been mentioned -the abstruse, almost casino scene in Act IV, or the second part of the hermetic Mussorgsky of The Marriage fragments. same act) . The reference is acceptable, though irrelevant; all As for Prokofiev's style in The Gambler, it is dis- influences are shattered by the opera's powerful concerting, even today. Here is an overwhelming originality. To my mind, Prokofiev had never writ- vitality, a refined insouciance, an aggressive eclecti- ten anything bolder. more poetically original, and, cism, a generous violence, a fascinating hybrid qual- if I may use the term, more "futuristic." No one ity (note the established limits: Tchaikovsky to Puc-

A scene from The Love for Three Oranges, as produced by the New York City Opera.

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www.americanradiohistory.com cini), all firmly held together by that formidable atre of our century: that between the fabled, sur- connective tissue, Russian folk music, and by the realistic, corrosive grotesquerie of the eighteenth - highly original characteristics of the language. century Venetian Carlo Gozzi, author of the original From this point on there were various develop- story, and the aggressive humor of Prokofiev, which ments, transformations, variations along Prokofiev's can freeze in a Cartesian formal rigor or relax in artistic path -and the seven operas summarize them the most subtle, meditated, nostalgic, and -we may more completely than any other group of his works as well say it-Bartókian lyricism. From this en- -but he always remained true to himself. Those counter a masterwork is born, where the weaknesses critics who have tried to equate Prokofiev's sub- are few and brief, the prolixities are slight, and where mission to Soviet bureaucracy with a supposed re- one finds the synthesis, filtered but not disenchanted, gression in his music have forgotten -if they ever of the composer's previous experiences -the mo- knew -the true nature of the modernity of Pro - mentary overcoming (or, if you prefer, the voluntary kofiev's language; and in the end, therefore, they rejection) of The Gambler's expressionistic violence have misunderstood the process of simplification to but no lessening of that opera's instrumental mastery. which he submitted that language, that style, and With The Love for Three Oranges, the composer not only in the operas. Above all, these critics have is also looking ahead -to the near future, to certain failed to understand the elements that assure the parts of The Prodigal Son, for example, and to the unity of Prokofiev's stylistic development, of his more distant future of the Second Violin Concerto poetic world. and Peter and the Wolf. The third opera in order of composition is The Fiery Angel. Once again Prokofiev also prepared BARELY THREE YEARS separate The Gambler from the libretto, drawn from a novel published in 1907 The Love for Three Oranges, a brief period which by the Russian symbolist Valery Bryusov (1873- produced, among other things, two symphonic mas- 1924). A note on this novel, by the author, sum- terpieces, the Classical Symphony and the Third marizes also the opera's argument: "The Fiery Angel, Piano Concerto. and a group of elegant, delightful a true story wherein we hear of the devil, who more chamber compositions. And yet the difference be- than once, in the shape of a luminous spirit, appears tween the two operas makes them seem very far apart. to a maiden and drives her to commit a number of We do not have to justify the composer's abandon- sinful actions; wherein are described the practices, ing the incandescent atmosphere of The Gambler contrary to God's will, of magic, alchemy, astrology, for the fairy -tale surrealism of his opera; this move is cabalism, and necromancy; wherein we read of the explained by the psychological eclecticism possessed maiden's sentencing by His Eminence the Arch- by every true artist. If, however, one insists on find- bishop of Trier, and also of meetings and conver- ing a link, one can discover it in the two works' sations with the knight and three -times doctor Agrip- humor: dramatic, expressionistic in The Gambler, pa von Nettesheim and with Doctor Faust, all nar- legendary and surrealistic in The Love for Three rated by an eyewitness." We need add only that Oranges, the same humor that inspires some of Pro - the action is set in the obscurantist Germany of the kofiev's greatest lyrical moments. sixteenth century. By now, The Love for Three Oranges can be con- At one of the most difficult moments of his life sidered a "modern classic." In this opera we have as a composer, a time of crisis in his art, a time of one of the happiest encounters of the musical the- disheartenment and searching, Prokofiev wrote his most daring opera, reached the most advanced point in his timbric language. Drawing inspiration from the unadulterated expressionistic Stimmung, he cre- ated a music drama with a tension and an expressive strength amazing even now. From the esoteric at- mosphere, illuminated by livid flashes, amid the exorcisms and spells of his "fiery" subject, Prokofiev was able to achieve a coherent representation in the ambit of the most exacerbated musical expressionism. No composer in the theatre had ever before plumbed such depths. With dramatic and poetic results he lifted the veil from the potent Freudian unconscious and portrayed it in music of equal power. He felt the supernatural intensely (the seance scene, in its ghastly perfection, is an unsur- passed masterpiece) and could depict it with near- tangible conviction. In thirty years of incessant work Prokofiev was to follow the most divergent paths, writing over a hundred compositions, including many remarkable scores, numerous masterpieces, but to The New York City Opera Fiery Angel, 1965. me the summit of his greatest and boldest experi-

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www.americanradiohistory.com From War and Peace, Act Ill: this Moscow production honored the 1917 Revolution.

ments remains The Fiery Angel. Some scholars, on special attention to melody in Semyon Kotko, for I the other hand, assign this position to The Gambler, believe melody to be one of the basic elements in seeing in the score of The Fiery Angel-despite its any musical composition. Any melody is easy to strong expressionistic suggestions -the beginning of memorize if its design is familiar." These statements that process of clarification and simplification which clarify Prokofiev's ars poetica -not a new creed Prokofiev was to pursue and deepen to the end of but a creed reasserted. his life. In Betrothal in a Monastery, War and Peace, The After The Fiery Angel, after his journey through Story of a Real Man Prokofiev achieves, in more the dark abyss of expressionism, the composer prob- defined and explicit terms, the intention propounded ably had only two alternatives: conversion to serial for Semyon Kotko. Certainly there are here the highly music, acceptance of the dodecaphonic system; or a original stylistic and poetic "constants" of Prokofiev: return to the surface, to the sunlight. Prokofiev the elegant orchestration, penetrating, even intellec- chose the second alternative, the more difficult. In tual with its unmistakable solutions of rhythm and this decision, rather than in acquiescence to political timbre; the irony, at times harshly grotesque; the authority, we must seek the explanation for the art shy, almost Ravelian lyricism; the drama, at times of his Soviet period. stunned, interior, at other times massive, aggressive. But there is also an apparent rejection of novelty for its own sake, a deepening lyricism, a quality IN THE DECADE between The Fiery Angel and Sem- sometimes Brahmsian. These are operas musically yon Kotko, the first opera written after his decisive more complex than has been thought, operas on a return to Russia in 1938, Prokofiev produced about grand scale, whose extremes -from Tchaikovskyan fifty works, in which we can trace the gradual influences to the most original, raffiné modern solu- process of simplification and recognize the constant, tions (though the modernism is now serene) -would substantial fidelity of his language to the tonal sys- seem irreconcilable if it were not for the imposition tem. Semyon Kotko was only the first, highly valid of the composer's own strong, unifying personality. operatic synthesis. In these scores Prokofiev meditates and summa- In a debate after the opera's stormy premiere, rizes, in the radical simplification of his expressive the composer made some statements which help language, several decades of Russian and European illuminate all his later work and, in particular, the experiences. And the farther he moves from Europe, last four operas: "I had long wanted to write a the closer he is to Russia -not uniquely Soviet Rus- Soviet opera, but I hesitated to undertake the job sia but the whole past of his country. So the Rus- until I had a clear idea of how to approach the task. sian folk music, which had been intellectual, dis- Besides, it was not easy to find a plot. I did not want guised, rigorously distilled in his earlier works, now a commonplace, static, trivial plot or, on the con- gives way to the naked, open expansions of the song trary, a plot that pointed too obvious a moral. I of the people -to which, nevertheless, Prokofiev wanted live flesh -and -blood human beings with hu- gives new accents. At times, to varying extent and man passions, love, hatred, joy, and sorrow arising with varying results, these operas are grazed, flawed naturally from the new conditions." And he went by patriotic rhetoric; but in two of them -Semyon on to make this important declaration: "I have paid Kotko and War and Peace -Prokofiev successfully

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www.americanradiohistory.com created a great, national fresco of unquestioned po- are the form the composer chose and the Iberianism etic validity. he tried to invent in order to "place" the comedy The libretto of Senhyon Kotko was drafted by the musically. The results too often betray the effort composer, assisted by Valentin Petrovitch Katayev, involved. On the subject of the form, Prokofiev author of the novel I, Son of the Working People himself said: "In undertaking to write an opera on the on which the text is based. A patriotic tale describ- subject of The Duenna I had first to decide which ing partisan fighting in the Ukraine during the element to stress: the comic aspect of the story or the German occupation in 1918, it has as its protagonist lyrical. I chose the latter.... The structure of Sheri - the artilleryman Semyon Kotko, who has returned to dan's play, with its abundance of couplets, enabled his native village after four years of war. Around me to introduce many separate numbers -serenades, him center all the other characters (more than twen- ariettes, duets, quartets, and large ensembles -without ty; large casts are typical of all Prokofiev's operas) interrupting the action." and the various events -involving love, politics, fight- Despite the composer's words, it is hard to be con- ing -which eventually culminate in a happy ending. vinced by his choice of the second, the lyrical, em- In its uncut version, the opera is divided into five phasis. The work lasts only a bit over two hours, acts and seven scenes, more than three hours of but for the first time a Prokofiev opera seems over- music, rhapsodic in character, strongly choral, with long. Though there are numerous psychological sub- epic intentions. tleties, musical "winks," Stravinskyan elegance, easy There can be no doubt about the work's unity declaration, instrumental refinement, the musical dis- and variety. The first act is idyllic, intimate, pastoral. course to me seems to lack spontaneity, the images The second is richer in contrasts: decisive rhythms, lack imagination. Finally, this most wearily European unmistakable timbres, frequent recurrence of of Prokofiev's operas leaves us with a feeling of emp- "rhythmic speech," masterful counterpoint of voices, tiness, of a banal intellectual game. important scenes for the chorus, harsh irony, drama. The third act broadens and deepens the opera's dra- matic development: from the lyrical opening to the ALMOST AT THE SAME TIME that he was writing beginning of the dramatic past (the splendid scene Betrothal in a Monastery, Prokofiev first thought in of Liuba's madness); in the fourth act the first scene concrete terms of an opera based on Tolstoy's War alone guarantees greatness, fourteen minutes of some and Peace. "On June 22, 1941," he wrote, "the Ger- of the most original and profound music ever written man Fascists invaded the Soviet Union. I ... turned by Prokofiev. to the idea I had been nursing for some time of writ- Betrothal in a Monastery marks Prokofiev's return ing an opera on the subject of Lev Tolstoy's great to comedy after twenty years-not to the surrealistic, novel War and Peace. The pages describing the strug- fairy -tale atmosphere of The Love for Three Oranges gle of the Russian people against the Napoleonic but to the more realistic, even naturalistic, world hordes in 1812 and the expulsion of Napoleon's army of farce, inspired by Richard Sheridan's The Duenna. from Russian soil had somehow a particular poign- The libretto is the work of the composer and his ancy at this time." wife, Mira Mendelson Prokofiev: a comic -lyric opera Again with his wife's help, Prokofiev created the in four acts and nine scenes. The scene is eighteenth - libretto, selecting scenes according to criteria he ex- century Spain. The last act has a Boccaccio -like plained as follows: "The idea of writing an opera flavor, concluding with the marriage in a monastery on the subject of War and Peace took possession of of two young couples, a marriage stage- managed by me, although I was aware of all the difficulties that the sly Duenna who in the process also succeeds in awaited me. It was absolutely evident that such vast capturing a rich husband for herself. material could not be compressed within a single For me, the two interesting aspects of this opera evening's performance. As I delved deeper into the novel, I saw more and more clearly that the events closely connected with the year 1812 had to form the basis of the opera, and that it would be neces- sary to abandon the opening." Confused, even contradictory is the story of the various versions (three are mentioned) of War and Peace on which Prokofiev worked for the last twelve years of his life. My remarks here are based on an examination of the published score of the third edi- tion (2 volumes, Moscow, 1958), much shortened from the earlier versions, and its recording by the Bolshoi Theatre Company, thirteen scenes without any act divisions. Because of its dimensions and the seriousness of the composer's involvement, War and Peace repre- sents Prokofiev's grandest, most ambitious effort. Betrothal in a Monastery, a comic -lyric opera. The numerous episodes, the many characters (about

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www.americanradiohistory.com 'rokofiev's Operas on Records

of the inter- tion, a repressed but exacerbated vio- .ture op- elegant, faithful balance The The dramatic pace of this ex- lence, even a plastic deformation. Love for pretation. of the recording are cellent production derives from the technical aspects The Fiery of all the praiseworthy. Peace rigorous, disciplined obedience and poetic demands of the ry of a Real artists to the Kotko enchanting musical fable. The merit, Semyon Mf The Fiery all, belongs to conductor Les - are given first of (s), Sofia; T. Tougarinova Sall kovich, who, with a technically skilled L. Ghelovani & Missing from orchestra at his com- (s). Liuba; T. Yanko (ms), Semyon's raty, to the best and rich -sounding T. Antipova (ms), Trossia; A. v mand, succeeds in underlining with re- Mother; e Gambler and incisive- Klestcheva (ms), Khivria; N. Gress (t), finement, poetic elegance, N. Timtchenko (t), eW(Yry,,and Madda- diverse aspects of the score. Semyon Kotko; ness the M. Stchavinski (t), Klembovski; P unperformed). Also of particular note is the exemplary Mikola; in N. Brilling (t), The Interpreter; G. interpretation of the tenor Lipuschchek M. e Oranges voice of much Ostrovski (t), Second Haidamak; the role of the Prince -a Dobrine (b), in timbre, impeccable Kisselev (b), Tzariov; E. purity, pleasing G. Troitzki (bs), , Fata Morgana; T. should also be made The Bandore -player; in diction. Mention N. Pantchekhine (bs), Tkat- Ninetta; T. Medvedeva of the basses and baritones, superior Remeniuk; L. Rashkovets (ms), women's voices. The chenko; D. Demianov (bs), Ivassenko; to the group of Wirchow; A. Lokchine avnicheva (ms), Smeral- recording was made some years ago, V. Zakhrov (bs), (c), Linetta; V. Haidamak: Chorus and Or- .. Erofeyeva but it remains excellent, all the same. (bs), First B. Dobrin (t), the U.S.S.R. Radio, M. Zhu - Makhov (t), The Prince; I myself would choose the Ultraphone chestra of Leandro; Y. Yelnikov (t), Truffaldino; reasons: first because of the kov, cond. Cere- set, for two LP. $19.92. I. Kartavenko (t), The Master of better technical quality of the recording, MK 214. Four I. Budrin (b), Pantaloon; V. Russian monies; and secondly for its authentic operas Rybinsky (bs), The King; G. Troitssky Epic album has not been This was the first of Prokofiev's Abramov idiom. [The by Soviet artists, in the (bs), The Magician Celio; G. in the United States for several to be recorded (bs), The Cook; Y. Yakushev (bs), The available original. And it should be said at once Devil; M. Markov (bs), The Herald; years.] that, with MK's War and Peace, it is Chorus and Orchestra of Radio Moscow, one of the most successful complete D. Dalgat, cond. The Fiery Angel recorded productions of Prokofiev's stage ULTRAPHONE ULP 121/22. Two LP. works. Here is a completely unified J. Rhodes (s), Renata; I. Kolassi (ms), in which, with great bal- $9.96. Superior; J. performance The Sorceress, The Mother ance, all the various, complex elements Fata Morgana; S. Collard (ms), The Woman Innkeeper; are fused. But above all V. Guerlovich (s), The Doctor; of the score Khochevar (s), Ninetta; B. Glavak (ms), G. Friedmann (t), Glock, we perceive, with extreme clarity, the (t). Mephistopheles; P.Finel Nicoletta; B. Stritar (ms), Clarice; E. J. Giraudeau exemplary interpretative criteria of the V. Zikherl (t), Agrippa; B. Cottret (b), The Waiter, artistic ensemble, criteria familiar to Karlovatz (ms), Smeraldina; X. Depraz Y. Lipuschchek (t), The The Tavernkeeper, Matthias; those who know the Bolshoi Theatre's (c), Linetta; A. Vessières (bs), Faust, operatic Prince; D. Chuden (t), Truffaldino; S. (bs), Ruprecht; editions of the great Russian The Inquisitor; Chorus of Radiodiffu- These artists scorn oversubtle Shtrukel (t), The Master of Ceremonies; of repertory. V. Yanko (b), sion -Télévision Française, Orchestra nuances, a formalistic taste for detail; D. Merlak (b), Leandro; de l'Opéra (Paris), and Pantaloon; L. Koroshetz (bs), The the Théâtre National they aim instead, with great vigor The Magician Charles Bruck, cond. the most severe operatic spirit, at mas- King; Z. Kovack (bs), 1304. Three LP. Celio; F. Lupsha (bs), The Cook; WESTMINSTER OPW sive, epic relief, at virile expression, V. Dolnichar (bs), The Devil; S. Tzar $14.37. always rigorous, even in the episodes Chorus and Orchestra of the most intense lyricism. (bs), The Herald; of Prokofiev's of the Slovene National Opera Theatre This is the only recording The large cast, like the splendid choru cond. expressionistic masterpiece, and we must and excellent orchestra, seems corn (Lubiana), Bogo Leskovich, Vega, the French EPIC SC 6013. Two LP. $9.58. therefore be grateful to pletely involved in the plastic, inten firm which produced it, and to the artists poetic interpretation of the condu Like all the original -language recordings who undertook the assignment, difficult Zhukov. The recording is techni made with Russian artists, Ultraphone's from every point of view. Unfortunately very clear. Love for Three Oranges is of special the French, in which the performance interest. For Western listeners, the per- is sung, in itself softens, attenuates the War and Peace formance here presents a style of inter- dramatic tension, the expressive violence pretation, typically Russian, which avoids and intensity of the opera. G. Vishnevskaya (s), Natasha; V. all preciousness, even refinement. to ad- A further criticism concerns conduc- patzkaia (ms), Sonya; H. Verbit dress itself to a dramatic realism, a tor Bruck, who pays laudable attention (ms), Akhrossimova; I. Arkhipova ( substantial, expressive intensity. to instrumental details, plumbing the Helen; V. Petrov (t), Besukov; A. f I do not feel, however, that the chief most recondite depths of the score with lennikov (t), Anatol; E. Kibbalo characteristics of The Love for Three admirable clarity and balance but in an André; N. Stchegolkov (b), Rostov; Oranges -that is, surrealism, poetic impressionistic key rather than an ex- Pankov (b), Dolokov; P. Lissitzian grotesquerie, rarefied irony -are suited pressionistic manner. One might object Napoleon; A. Krivtchenia (bs), Kutu to such an interpretation; and this feeling that the score in fact contains some im- Chorus and Orchestra of the Bol is borne out by the veristic perils into pressionistic. even Debussyan suggestions Theatre (Moscow), A. Melik -Pasha which some of the singers fall. In (the humming chorus of the nuns at the cond. particular, the scenes of poetic magic beginning of Act V, derived from MK 218. Four LP. $19.92. suffer. On the other hand. the accent Sirènes), but these serve only to point on realism also has its positive aspects, up the over -all dramatic tension, the R. Vasovic -Bokacevic (s), Natasha where the harsh, grotesque elements score's expressionistic Stimmung. Within Cvejic (ms), Sonya; L. Vrsajkov ( are concerned. No one can deny, more- this fundamental limitation, Bruck gives Akhrossimova; M. Miladinovic ( over, the rigorous unity of style, the us a high -level performance, assisted by Helen; A. Marinkovic (t), Pierre technical level of the performance, the excellent orchestra and chorus. Stare (t), Anatol; D. Popovic especially in the orchestral part, at The criticism of Bruck applies also André; Z. Cvejic (b), Rostov; N. times truly virtuoso. to Jane Rhodes in the chief role of (b), Napoleon; V. Dimitrijevic The Epic performance is distinguished Renata. Her interpretation is excellent Dolokov; D. Djurdejevic (bs), Kut less by the bravura of any single per- in its intense vocality, its psychological former than by the exceptional coherence refinement, its inner conviction. But achieved by the whole ensemble, by the Renata requires a demoniacal despera- Continued on page 105

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www.americanradiohistory.com fifty), the three and a half hours of music form a great fresco, would suggest (The Story a work of genius in which, along with Semyon Kotko, during the delicate work c we find the best of the Prokofiev of the Soviet Peace), but they are very fat period, at least as far as the operas are The opera's subject concerned, and in which we recognize is taken-, the serene, the same simplified synthesis title by Boris Nikolaevitya of a Prokofiev ever less Euro- pean and was in turn based on a real episodes ever more Russian. I feel that War and World War II aviator Peace contains a series of named Alex episodes that belong, in Meresyev. //le* their lyrical purity The hero is shot down be'tçr and musical invention, to the happiest, lines and wounded in both feet, most lofty creative season of the composer, which amputated. He is in despair though we must remember that here at the thought o Prokofiev was unable to attempting the fly, but an old Bolshevik gives him epic and to arrive at a definitive a azine article about a First World judgment we would have to know the War pilot opera in its managed to longer, two -evening version. fly with only one foot. Alexei gain confidence, a goal. The final, single-evening After the operation he is given edition reveals a basic artificial defect of proportion, limbs; he learns to walk, even of balance between the first to dance, part (Peace) and, given a plane, he returns to the and the second (War), which prevents front. Now he feels that he can write the realization of the epic narrative. to his fiancée, Olga, also Eight scenes in the army; they are devoted to Peace, to meet and reaffirm their love. the private lives of the This summary protagonists, of the plot will indicate the risks their emotional problems, their sor- Prokofiev faced, writing a popular rows and conflicts, almost exclusively opera, of frankly conflicts of patriotic inspiration, love (I say "eight" trying to re-create in poetic because Scene XII is also a nostalgic, terms an edifying true-life episode, weaving poetic evocation of André's love together for Na- the private lives and tasha). In the five scenes feelings of the characters with devoted to War, Prokofiev national affirms that events of great historic import. With Semnvon the true protagonist is the Russian peo- Kotko he had succeeded; with The ple, while the characters we have Story of a Real niet are trans- Man he failed. formed by the war's events. But all this happens in Three weeks after the performance, a declaration a space too confined to allow an epic development was made at a Congress and pace for the action. of Soviet Composers: "Prokofiev's music is in direct contradiction with Moreover -and this is my most important criti- the text and the theatrical action. The Soviet cism -the best scenes, the most significant spec- ones mu- tator is outraged to see the figure sically, are perhaps those of a pilot, a war devoted to Peace, while hero, as a grotesque the war marionette. Almost the whole scenes, including the choral epigraph at the opera is constructed on the basis of an unmelodic beginning, betray some weaknesses, some prolixities, musical declamation and the and suffer, one would few songs introduced say, from a sincere, but un- by the certain composer cannot save the situation." On Jan- attitude, a reluctance on the composer's part uary 13, 1949, in Izvestia, V. Kukharsky condemned to be overwhelmed by patriotic rhetoric. The inten- The Real Man even tion is more severely as a "striking fine, but the music is not free (not always at example of the artist's detachment from real life, Any rate) from overnoisy sonorous effects, from a composing his opera in the shelter of his ivory 'scriptive technique that might be called impres- tower." But Soviet critics aside, in this opera we see iistic, oversimple, successful only in certain pas - all too evidently Prokofiev's concern with ges, as in simplic- the first part, in translating the various ity, which 11 often becomes facility, with clarity, which y events of the war into strictly poetic terms. becomes banality, with eloquence, which turns into :ov is still a great character, sculptured in noisy, empty gesticulation. n the manner of old Russian music; and In The Story of a Real Man, Prokofiev draws he minor figures the soldier le- Karatyev must openly, and to a striking degree, on folk music overlooked. aia The eloquent grandeur, the sources, trying to confine s), both vocal and instru- pulse of certain themes (I am as- thinking of mental discourse within the limits of an expressive Wing and lovely threnody b), at the beginning elementariness. But the imagination seems tired, at G. e VIII: Borodino before the battle), certain times confused or unfocused, while, from a Western b), d choral bas -reliefs. ov; There are also. on the point of view, the propagandistic aims are all too hoi Ind, certain sudden European musical refine- apparent. Naturally, even in this work, the true ev, ( which Prokofiev seems to seek refuge, as if Prokofiev is present. In spite of all the snares and d himself from bombastic temptations, and difficulties, the great musician, the expert composer, rgies, new ideas permit this second part to the masterful orchestrator manages to utter some B. the opera in a way worthy of the com- s), convincing words, to rediscover some of those happy s), toble aim. moments which reflect, in the phrase of Michel D. ring the opus numbers, we see that twenty - Rotislav Hofmann, "the serenity of his maturity and b), positions separate War and Peace from The the elic image of a man meditating upon his past." But (b) a Real Man, the fourth opera of the Soviet there are traces also of suffering, of painful reflec- ov; nd Prokofiev's last. In reality the two tion, a weariness of spirit which is also the weariness, e much closer in time than the catalogue perhaps irreparable, of the artist himself.

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE 49 A www.americanradiohistory.com YOU CANNOT discuss speakers apart from their natural habitat. They function in a particular en- vironment and with particular related equipment. In fact the most important single thing to keep in mind is that a speaker operates in a Janus -like man- ner. It is "looking" two ways at once, a fact that helps define its function and at the same time tends to complicate matters of choice and installation. The speaker looks back at the amplifier driving it, not unlike a motor looking at its power source. The speaker, in a word, is an electromechanical load on the amplifier. Simultaneously, the speaker sees the room in which it is performing as a load on itself. This double role makes the speaker unique. Amplifiers and tuners perform in a manner that is fairly predictable on the basis of measurements, but A Special Section a speaker's performance is not so readily delineated by the numbers. Change the amplifier driving a speaker, or move the speaker to another room or even to another part of the same room, and you are likely to get a different sort of sound. Get every- thing adjusted to a sonic T, invite a crowd in for the evening -and you will find that your carefully set up system doesn't sound the way it did earlier in the day. Ironically, the more sensitive or high -per- forming the over -all system, including the speakers, the more it is apt to reflect changes in program ma- terial, environment, acoustic ambience. (One lead- ing speaker designer tells us that he has actually

LOUDSPEAKERS THEIR CHOICE AND INSTALLATION

BY NORMAN EISENBERG JUNE 1966 51

1 www.americanradiohistory.com measured differences in treble response according In truth it is easier to describe what a speaker to the number of décolleté ladies present in the should not sound like than what it ought to sound room: the human epidermis reflects the highs more like, inasmuch as the ideal reproducer would have than fabrics do.) no characteristic sound of its own but would be a In view of these and similar considerations, the perfect translator. The bass would be clean, well prospective buyer ought to be especially wary of articulated, firm and solid but not too heavy. The two easy- way -out gambits to speaker choice. One, midrange would never honk, and the highs would stemming from the "experts' panel" and "compara- not sound "squashed down." All the treble tive test" approaches, is the notion that there is such would be crystal clear, transparent, with a quality a thing as a "best" speaker for all installations and that engineers call "the breath of life ": bright but for all listening tastes. This is based on the dubious never overbrilliant; well rounded; distinct but not assumption that because an impartial jury preferred piercing: full but not overpowering; well diffused Brand X you will, or ought to, prefer it too. The hut not withdrawn. Beyond these very general char- other, which at times has been touted by industry acteristics, things get to be more and more a matter spokesmen less given to sober technical reflection of taste. For instance, one is tempted to include than are their engineering confreres, proclaims that the concept of the well -balanced musical spectrum a particular design itself guarantees superior per- as a prime requisite of a speaker system -and yet formance. This asks us to believe that because a new what does "well balanced" mean to a concertgoer speaker employs such and such a magnet or is who for twenty years has had seats in the section housed in such and such a box it must he ipso of a particular hall that happens to favor the bass facto better than anything before. Relying on either choirs of the orchestra (and a particular orchestra or both of these oversimplifications may indeed get at that!)? What does "balanced sound" mea i to the you a good speaker (i.e., a speaker well matched opera lover who frequents the boxes or mezzanine to your amplifier "in one direction " and to your nèar stage left and whose concept of live sound is room "in the other direction ") but there's an equal colored largely by the characteristic sonic blend of chance that it won't. first violins and the upper registers of the human This is not to suggest a complete relativism, a flat voice? I can offer either of these supposedly ex- avowal that "anything goes." Any number of forms perienced listeners a speaker that is virtually flat of distortion may be present in a speaker system: over most of the range, that is installed in an acous- their magnitude, and the extent to which they in- tically correct enclosure, itself placed in what analy- teract to lend a "canned" quality to the reproduced sis tells us is the best spot in a given room -and sound, is discernible to the trained ear -and even both these listeners are apt to be dissatisfied with w the untrained ear when a ready reference source what they hear. One will prefer "more bass "; the is available. In any case, the "best" speaker actually other, "more highs." Indeed, it is mainly because is the one that sounds least like a speaker. That of such variations in taste that most speaker manu- is to say, it produces a minimum of the sonic colora- facturers offer a wide variety of models-and it is tion effects associated with speakers; it is the one why the serious listener ought not to regard any part that suffers least from the design limitations inherent of his room as either sacrosanct or taboo when it in transducers. comes to positioning his speakers.

Thus, the low- frequency tones produced from both the front and rear of the diaphragm of a speaker have a tendency to flop around and meet at the THE LOWS edge of the diaphragm where -being exactly out of phase with each other-they cancel each other. Big Box or Long Throw? The result is little or no bass. To overcome this acoustic short circuit, the opposing wave -trains must be prevented from interfering with one another. Out of this need have arisen three basic enclosure types, known as "infinite baffle," "bass reflex," and "folded horn." (These terms are defined in the Speakers systems, as a rule, may be divided into accompanying glossary.) It is beyond the scope of "large" and "small " -denoting, respectively, systems this article to enter into a discussion of loudspeaker that are loaded to a room by moving relatively theory but briefly these all are "large" systems in large amounts of air, and those that move lesser that they rely on the use of big woofers or several amounts of air but do so more intensely. This medium -size woofers housed in enclosures at least difference centers chiefly on the design approach five cubic feet in interior volume. The infinite - used for the bass reproduction. Why the bass? baffle systems typically employ a number of separate It happens to be a characteristic of sound waves drivers; the others also use several drivers plus some that the lower their frequency (the longer their form of indirect radiation: the driver "works" into wavelengths), the more circular their radiation. a folded -horn structure, or its rear waves are made

52 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com Large room with fair amount of carpeting, draperies, upholstered furniture (and often many people) is apt to be on "dead" side

acoustically. Ideal stereo in such a room is possible with left, right, and center speakers against long wall.

Normal room dimensions approach the theoretical ideal- furnishings are average between dead and live. Stereo can be adequate

with L and R speakers placed as shown.

Odd- shaped room of live acoustic character presents several problems -best stereo can be expected only in part of such a room, and then only with deliberate care used in arrangement of furnishings. Use of more than two speakers may help.

to emerge from an auxiliary opening to reinforce power (and possibly too a higher amount of "damp- the front waves. Whatever their exact workings, ing factor ") from the amplifier. these systems all have at least one thing in common: In contrast, the small speaker systems as a they are amply loaded to the room, and the very rule employ only one woofer -and often it is air in the room acts as a kind of "damping" on smaller in size than the types customarily found the speaker diaphragm to help keep its instan- in the larger systems. It gets its bite on the air in taneous vibrations more or less in step with the the room by moving a relatively smaller amount signals from the amplifier. True, the infinite -baffle of air at its surface, but over a greater distance; system which suppresses all but the direct frontal its diaphragm, in other words, pushes and pulls radiation of the diaphragm(s) has less loading, driver over a longer excursion or "throw" than a con- for driver, than folded-horn or bass -reflex systems; ventional speaker. Obviously such a speaker has the difference, however, is a matter of degree and is relatively little inherent acoustic damping. It is, in readily compensated for by a little more clean fact, initially built to be quite floppy, with a reso-

JUNE 1966 53

www.americanradiohistory.com nance below the audible range; the small amount magnet structure relationships. Additionally, such a of air trapped in the small, sealed enclosure helps speaker system would seem to benefit from relatively stiffen the cone to the point at which it can begin higher damping factors in an amplifier- although to respond to audible tones. The requisite damping just what constitutes high and low damping factors in such a speaker must be designed into its electro- is a debatable point (as the discussion of speakers and mechanical system, in terms of its voice -coil and amplifiers, later on in this article, makes clear).

degree of efficiency. How this is done again varies according to the particular approach of the system designer. Cone tweeters -small, light, and rigid - THE HIGHS are aptly suited for high -frequency reproduction; the spreading -out is accomplished by the shape (the Better When off the Beam shallower, the more spread), or by small domes in the center that help spray the highs in all directions, or by "acoustical lenses" fitted over the cone to break up and diffuse the highs into the room. Some tweeters consist of a small non- moving member over a tiny diaphragm; these are known as compression Midrange and high- frequency reproduction is less drivers, capable of producing strong treble tones. directly related to speaker system size than is Invariably such drivers are fitted with a flaring horn bass reproduction. A tweeter is more or less mindless structure to couple the highs to the room and at of baffling: the higher frequencies naturally tend to the same time to help spread them evenly. become more and more directional. While the tend- As a rule, the small speaker systems ( "small" ency to "beam" suggests higher efficiency in getting being dictated by the method used for bass repro- the sound out into the room, it also creates a serious duction) employ cone tweeters, the match to the limitation. For one thing, if "untreated," the highs woofer, in terms of efficiency and size, being most would he most audible only in a direct line from suitable. For the very same reasons, the larger the center axis of the speaker. For another, the systems often employ horn -loaded tweeters: they natural "air" and temporal spacing of the com- are better matched to the larger woofers in efficiency, ponent elements of a musical signal become, in and the already large enclosure needed for housing a beam, severely compressed to produce a form of such woofers can readily accommodate the phys- distortion heard as a hard, overly bright, unnatural ically large horn -tweeter as well. As an alternate kind of sound. Thus, a prime design aim of high - to horn -tweeters, the large infinite -baffle systems frequency drivers is to spread the sound, to widen may employ an array of several (as many as eight the beam into more of a spray, even while maintain- in some units) cone tweeters which are arranged ing (as much as is feasible, and commensurate with in such a way as to duplicate the dimensions, air - the balancing of the low -frequency speaker) a fair loading, and spread of a fair -size horn -tweeter.

ever, when installed in the best location in a room. "Best location" is no easy matter to pin down. SPEAKERS IN ROOMS Every room is unique, acoustically speaking. Its acoustic character is determined by many factors: The Acoustical Mating dimensions, shape, furnishings, ambient noises that may mask or intermix with the reproduced sound, characteristic resonances that set up "standing waves," sonic "holes" which seem to swallow up certain portions of the frequency spectrum that you are certain are being reproduced. Coping with these In terms of the listening room, the speaker system factors can involve: one, adjusting the room for -of whatever type or size -must "relate" in two balanced acoustic response; two, loading it with as distinct ways. It must couple its bass energy to the much "speaker" (either in size or number of systems) room, and it must sufficiently diffuse its high - as you can afford; and three, adjusting each speaker frequency energy into the room. In performing these system for optimum response. functions, speaker system size as such is not a critical Adjusting a room generally means striking a- factor -except in the sense that the small speaker balance between too dead or absorbent, and too live has to "work harder" and demands more clean or bouncy and reverberant. A rug discreetly placed, power from the amplifier than does the larger draperies hung, large pieces of furniture moved speaker. Either type will perform at its best, how- from one position to another, sometimes even a

54 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com C A B

Fr'

D

I The sound emanation patterns shown here are generalized without reference to specific variations in speakers or in room conditions. The curve and side borders at the end of the triangular pattern from each speaker show that the sound has a characteristic and gradual "falling off" at an appreciable distance from the speaker; they do not imply any sharp demarcation. The plan shown for Room A is probably that most widely employed among owners of stereo systems. A good stereo effect is perceptible in a fairly large area of the room, is more pro- nounced closer to the speakers, takes on a more diffuse "sound spread" effect at the opposite end of the room. The same two speakers placed against the long wall, as in Room B, would offer a more sepa- rated stereo effect and, because they work into a shorter distance, they would sound more intense or "brighter." Excessive separation, in such 1. a setup, can be overcome by using a center "fill" speaker, which begins to approach the "wall of sound" stereo effect. Angling the end speakers inward from the two far corners, or using systems designed expressly for corner placement, can further dramatize the stereogenics, as in Room C. Again, a center speaker helps enhance the sonic panorama. Sometimes-depending on the speakers and /or peculiarities of room acoustics or the particular arrangement of furnishings -a setup such as shown for Room D may be used. This too can furnish excellent stereo, although in a more limited area of the room. Odd -shaped rooms, such as the familiar L -shape depicted as Room E, require more ex- perimentation; one recommended arrangement, using three speaker systems, is shown. Plan your own room: draw it to scale (I /4 inch representing 2 feet), and cut out the speaker -sound pattern; it can serve as a template for making up as many more as you need.

JUNE 1966 55

www.americanradiohistory.com Venetian blind closed -any or all of these dodges genics of depth and breadth (some suggestions are can "tame" a room. In a predominantly live room given in the room diagrams, page 53). The pre- (often a "family room" or a converted basement vailing rule here is to locate them about eight feet playroom), it may be especially desirable to break apart, if a short wall is used. A more spectacular up the path of sound from the speaker by the use stereo image is possible by using the long wall - of intervening (and ideally, upholstered) furnishings place the speakers farther apart and use a center - -a technique that can eliminate standing waves channel speaker to "fill the middle." to help smooth the bass response. To tone down a Once located, the speakers should be tuned to tendency for the highs to run wild in such a room, their individual locations by the use of the level ceiling tiles also may help -especially if you have controls provided on most speaker systems. An chosen a "bright " -sounding speaker. Tiles, on the innovation in this area showing up on some recent other hand, are to be avoided in a normal living systems is a bass driver adjustment in addition to room; they most often will deaden the highs and the long -used midrange and treble adjustments. unbalance the best of speaker systems. In a heavily The bass adjustment permits precise tailoring of draped, well -carpeted room or one with much uphol- the speaker system's response with respect to its stered furniture, small hard objects- vases, and the position: as a rule, the closer to a corner the more like -may help balance the acoustic response, likely the need for reducing the bass; the closer especially in the treble region. Beamed ceilings, rows to the center of a room the more the need for raising of bookshelves, pictures on the walls are desirable the bass. (Circular systems, for placement in spots in such rooms. other than against the wall, logically incorporate bass The thing to keep in mind when installing adjustments for this reason.) The bass tone control speakers in a room is that the ideal, acoustically on an amplifier is unsatisfactory for this adjustment speaking, would be to make the speakers as much a inasmuch as such a control invariably affects fre- part of that room as is possible. Place them so quencies up to 500 or even to 1,000 Hz; thus at- as to get the best coverage in terms of sound tempting to adjust speaker bass with an amplifier propagation, as well as for the desired stereo- control will also affect (adversely) the midrange.

4 -ohm tap -causes a loss in the signal supplied to the speaker; in this instance, the loss will be 3 dB, or half the total voltage delivered to the speaker. SPEAKERS AND AMPLIFIER A greater mismatch upward, of 4 to 1 -connecting a I6 -ohm speaker to a 4 -ohm tap -produces a The Electrical Mating greater loss, on the order of 5 to 6 dB. Mismatching downward -such as connecting a 4 -ohm speaker to an 8 -ohm tap, or an 8 -ohm speaker to a 16 -ohm tap -tends to draw more power from the amplifier, but you run the risk of an overload which can cause distortion or -by approaching a In mating your speakers to an amplifier, keep in short- circuit condition -can even damage the am- mind the vital subject of clean power related to plifier. Remember too that as you add more speaker efficiency. Here too, the size and acoustic speakers to the same amplifier output tap, you are character of a room play a part. In a small room decreasing the load handled by the amplifier (two or one that is fairly live -particularly if you're not 8 -ohm speakers in parallel present only 4 ohms to planning to listen at ear -shattering levels -even the the amplifier). Move the speaker leads to the so- called low- efficiency speakers can be adequately appropriate tap. In some transistor amplifiers, it is driven by low- powered amplifiers, so long as the downright dangerous to the amplifier to load down latter offer clean power at low distortion across the the output taps excessively; check the owner's manual best part of the audio spectrum. Naturally, in a carefully on this point before running more than one larger room or one that is more acoustically dead, speaker system on any one set of output taps. or in any room in which maximum volume levels Impedance suggests the subject of damping factor with full dynamic range are desired, the small, low - in an amplifier, itself pushed into audio news re- efficiency speakers can take just about all the power cently because of the unusually high damping factors you care to feed them. If the speaker manufacturer's of solid -state amplifiers, coupled with a disagree- literature is not clear on this point, a chat with ment among the experts as to just how important your dealer should clarify matters for you. damping factor is. Damping factor itself is the ratio Whatever the amplifier chosen, make certain it is of nominal load impedance to the actual internal connected to each speaker system at the correct impedance of an amplifier. For instance, an ampli- output impedance taps (unless it is a model with fier's internal impedance, at its 8 -ohm speaker tap, "universal" taps -that is, the same set serving for may be only 0.8 ohms; the amplifier's damping fac- 4 -, 8 -, or I6 -ohm speakers). Mismatching upward - tor then is 10. All other things being equal, the that is, connecting, say, an 8 -ohm speaker to the higher the damping factor, the more control the

56 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com SPEAKING OF SPEAKERS

SOONER OR LATER, almost everyone who gets involved with members around the tweeter; facing the tweeter upward or at speakers encounters new words, or old words that have taken an angle other than looking straight out into the room. on special meaning. Some of the more important terms are explained herewith. DRIVER. A single speaker without reference to its enclosure. A driver, or drivers, installed in an enclosure becomes a "speaker system."

ACOUSTIC POWER. Strictly speaking, this is the rate, expressed EFFICIENCY. The ratio of signal output to input; in speaker a in watts, at which sound energy is dissipated into a room (by terms, the acoustical watts produced by a speaker for given The a musical instrument as well as by a loudspeaker). For prac- number of electrical watts from the amplifier powering if. tical purposes, it can be equated with "sound." The "acousti- lower a speaker's efficiency, the more amplifier power it As a general cal watts" delivered by a speaker are always a much lower needs to produce a given amount of sound. figure than the number of electrical watts supplied by the rule, large speaker systems are more efficient than compact models the importance to the listener of this dif- amplifier to drive that speaker; for instance, l/ to 1/4 of an although acoustical watt produced by a speaker would fill an average ference depends on various factors (see article). room with very loud sound; to produce it, however, the speaker might require -- depending on its efficiency -many times that ELECTROSTATIC. A type of speaker that produces sound as a much in electrical watts from the amplifier. result of varying electrical charges between a movable dia- phragm and fixed electrodes. The varying charge is obtained ACOUSTIC OR AIR SUSPENSION. A type of speaker system in from the amplifier signals; the electrodes must be initially which the confined air in a small sealed box is used to charged with voltage from the line. The electrostatic principle control the diaphragm of a speaker that has a relatively loose has been used for both high- frequency and full -range speakers; suspension. Such systems can be designed very compactly and although it still remains a minority interest, it does represent still provide full bass response. the only significant challenge to the prevailing dynamic (moving coil) speaker. Electrostatic speakers require no enclosure in BAFFLE. The board or panel on which a speaker is mounted; the conventional sense: only a frame to hold the flat sections the term also has come to mean the complete enclosure for in place. a speaker. ENCLOSURE. The housing or "cabinet" for a speaker system, BASS REFLEX. A speaker enclosure that has an auxiliary designed specifically to permit the drivers in it to function opening or "port" which permits low- frequency energy from at their best. For specific types, see ACOUSTIC SUSPENSION, the rear of the speaker diaphragm to emerge in phase with the BASS REFLEX, HORN LOADING, and INFINITE BAFFLE. front sound waves. The port must be tuned (its dimensions suited) to the resonance of the speaker itself. HANGOVER. A tendency for a speaker to vibrate after its driving signal is removed. Hangover is caused mainly by CENTER CHANNEL. Also called "A plus B" or "phantom" undamped resonances; its effect is to impair transient re- channel, this is a mix of the normal left and right stereo sponse and to muddy the bass. channels which may be fed to a third, centrally positioned speaker system to enhance the sound spread when two stereo HORN LOADING. A technique for improving the response of a speakers are widely separated in a room. It also serves to driver and obtaining maximum efficiency from it. A horn - pipe a monophonic version of a stereo program into an- loaded Enclosure is one in which the bass from the woofer other room. travels through a hornlike structure before it emerges into a room. Front horn loading for the bass is used in the most CROSSOVER. A frequency, or frequencies, at which the larger elaborate horn speaker systems; rear horn loading, with the part of the audio spectrum is divided and sent to respective front of the speaker permitted also to radiate directly, is used drivers in a two -way or more complex system. Crossover can in some systems. be accomplished "mechanically" by variations in the material and /or structure of a diaphragm; in the better, costlier IMPEDANCE. The opposition, or load, involved in the transfer systems it is handled by an electrical network. of energy. The best transfer takes place when the speaker's input impedance is that of the amplifier's output. Because DAMPING. Any force introduced into a speaker system to the impedance of a speaker actually varies with frequency, counteract its tendency to continue to vibrate after the signal and is typically higher at the bass end, the speaker's impedance from the amplifier has ceased or changed. Speakers are rating is a nominal one and actually applies to most, but not damped by their own mechanical friction, by the resistance all, of its response range. The use of several drivers in the of the air load into which they radiate, and by interaction system and of a properly designed enclosure helps keep electronically with the impedance of the amplifier powering impedance fairly level across the spectrum. them. INFINITE BAFFLE. A type of speaker system in which the rear DAMPING FACTOR. The ratio between an amplifier's rated sound waves are completely suppressed or absorbed so that impedance (the nominal impedance of the speaker) and the there is no chance of bass loss due to cancellation by the amplifier's internal impedance -the latter being much lower rear sound waves of the front sound waves. Good infinite in high fidelity amplifiers due to their use of negative feed- baffle systems imply the use of sturdy woofers with fairly low back. The higher an amplifier's damping factor, the more natural resonances and their installation in very rigid, well - the speaker is damped, although above a factor somewhere sealed, and fairly large enclosures. between 5 and 20 (depending on the type of speaker; see article), increasing the amplifier's DF has little or no effect L-PAD. A level control recommended for use with remote or on speaker performance. extension speakers; it has two variable resistive elements that keep the impedance constant when volume is changed. DECIBEL. Abbreviated dB, this unit measures relative loudness of sounds as well as the ratio between two electrical quanti- PHASING. The correct phasing of several drivers (so that they ties. From one to three dB is generally accepted as the all vibrate "in step" with one another) in one system must be smallest difference to the ear between two sounds. The total presumed to have been taken care of by the manufacturer. range of audible differences in sound has been given as 130 What remains for the installer is to connect both stereo to 140 dB, which approximates or just exceeds the sound of speaker systems to the amplifier so as to be "in phase" with a symphony orchestra playing tutti and fortissimo. each other. All high fidelity speaker systems that we have seen in the past few years are marked for polarity, and thus DIAPHRAGM. The moving member of a speaker -a cone or the danger of connecting them out of phase hardly exists any other vibrating piece -that works into the air to generate sound. more. In any case, out of phase speakers produce somewhat less bass and also may seem to be too widely separated. Re- DIPOLE. Also known as doublet, this is a type of speaker versing the leads to one system will correct this. system which radiates from both its front and rear. Some recent "thin- line" systems employ this technique. Full -range SUSPENSION. Also known as "surround," this term refers to electrostatic speakers are by their very nature dipole radiators. the physical material between the outer edge of a speaker For best results, a dipole speaker is generally installed at cone and its frame. "Soft" suspensions are used in speakers some distance from a wall. designed for compact systems; they permit relatively long excursions for bass response. Such speakers also are termed DISPERSION. The extent to which a speaker distributes its high -compliance or long -throw speakers. high frequencies widely and evenly into the listening area. The highs tend to radiate in a narrow stream or beam unless VOICE COIL. Known in Britain as a speech coil, this is a small special measures are taken. The smaller the diaphragm, the coil of wire -usually copper or aluminum- which, together with better (the less directional) its dispersion. Techniques for im- a surrounding magnet, is the heart of the modern dynamic proving dispersion in speakers include: an acoustic lens (a loudspeaker. Signals from the amplifier enter the voice coil, small fitting of rings, vanes, or perforated plate) over the causing it to vibrate. These movements in turn are transmitted speaker; an auxiliary, stiff cone (a whizzer) in the center of to the diaphragm to produce sound. The thickness of the wire a larger full -range speaker; loading a short horn or a slotted and the number of turns determine the voice coil's resistance, structure to the tweeter; shaping its center like a dome or which is pretty much what the input impedance of the speaker "fried egg "; introducing various types of "plugs" and auxiliary will be rated for -usually 4, 8, or 16 ohms.

JUNE 1966 57

www.americanradiohistory.com signal exercises over the speaker diaphragm motion. circuit boards are supplied to provide optimum In any case, most experts point out that damping damping relationships. Another system of this type factor in an amplifier is of itself no criterion of is the Acoustech X -an electrostatic speaker which performance- particularly in that as damping factor is supplied with an integrated basic amplifier, the is increased (due to lower internal amplifier imped- characteristics of which are precisely tailored for ances), the effective improvement in controlling best performance with the electrostatic panel. speaker movement soon reaches a point of diminish- A similar approach, on a more modest scale, ing returns. A change in damping factor much above is evident in some of the "modular" systems in 10 is generally held to be of little or no significance which the response of the amplifier is deliberately with respect to most speaker systems. At the same adjusted to complement known peaks and dips in time, it also is generally felt that an increase in the response of the speaker systems supplied; the

damping factor from I up to 20 will have a greater result is an acoustically balanced output. Integration effect on any speaker in a completely sealed cabinet of a sort also figures, obviously, in package sets than the same increase will have on a speaker and in complete stereo consoles, but I feel that in a vented or horn -loaded enclosure. The effect on here the line must be drawn. True, it is not as heavy the sealed- cabinet system is to "tighten" the bass a line as once prevailed -the better consoles today and generally help clean up the speaker's transient do sound cleaner and do, for the most part, boast response. The effect on a vented -cabinet system is more refined innards. But as a class they do not similar, except that a well- designed system of this deliver, for me, real high fidelity sound or genuine type (that is, one whose bass is fairly well controlled stereo. The chief limitation still is in the fact that to begin with, not muddy or overly "rolling ") not the speakers are housed in the same cabinet as only does not need very high damping factors in an everything else: the danger of acoustic or mechanical amplifier but may actually produce less apparent bass feedback imposes a necessary limit on full bass re- if it is overdamped. In other words, underdamping sponse, and in any case you simply cannot get produces muddy bass; overdamping, thin bass. The real stereo from speakers no more than five or so small, air -suspension type of speaker systems seem feet apart unless you listen very close to the set. to benefit more from relatively higher damping At an appreciably normal distance from the set, the factors in an amplifier, but other performance stereo effect all but vanishes. Finally, you are characteristics such as power output, low distortion, paying for the cabinetry; and dollar for dollar, you stability, and so on remain the primary determinants can do better, in terms of pure sound, with separate of sonic quality. The large infinite- baffle systems components or even with a modular system in which benefit too, but the need is not as great. And the the speakers are separately housed. bass -reflex systems need high damping from the Which brings us to the last consideration, prob- amplifier least of all. ably your first: shopping for speakers. Assessing the One more point on the amplifier: if you are sonic quality of a speaker system can be a fruitful using dissimilar systems for the two stereo channels, adventure if you choose the right dealer. His shop, you ought to get an amplifier that has independent to begin with, ought to resemble acoustically as tone controls for each channel, and a balance control. much as possible an average living room: shelves, Although the speakers will have been previously rugs, normal furnishings all help. Large undraped adjusted (with their own controls) with respect to glass surfaces, such as display windows, do not help; the room, differences in program material may re- they tend to mask the true upper response of a quire subsequent adjustments for the most satisfying speaker by offering too much of a hard, reflecting stereo effect. If so, do not hesitate to use those surface. A speaker deficient in highs can thus seem controls. There is nothing "correct" about leaving to have more "zip "; this same speaker in your controls in their (presumably) "flat" positions at the well -upholstered living room may sound dull and expense of decidedly uneven response to your ears. lifeless. You can evaluate the dealer himself by Actually, problems of power and correct hook- offering to show him a plan of your room, its dimen- up are not as formidable as they seem at first sions and its furnishings. If he seems genuinely inter- glance -and vast numbers of stereo owners are ested (rather than brusquely dismissing it with the enjoying their stereo systems simply by following suggestion that you "just listen to this $29.95 special the manufacturer's instructions furnished. A good I have "), you have won half the battle. If he deal of even the minimal effort associated with further permits you to play your own records as high fidelity componentry has also been obviated audition material (rather than something he has pre- by the recent trend to integrated components, or selected to wow you with), consider him your ally. preëngineered "partial systems." On a grand, all - Finally, if he lets you select a pair of speaker systems out scale, this trend is best exemplified today by on approval, with a return -for -exchange agreement two products. One is the "energizer- reproducer" or at least an understanding that he will modify them offered by James B. Lansing -in which the basic or (if custom built) or help you relocate them in your power amplifier is preinstalled in the back of a room if need be-you have triumphed: such a dealer speaker enclosure. The power rating of this ampli- is a genuine friend. Clasp him to your stereo soul, fier has been chosen by JBL engineers to suit the and don't quibble over spending a few dollars more requirements of the speaker system, and removable vis -à -vis Cheap Charlie down the street.

58 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com WHO SAYS THE KI,IYS(:HOR \" 15 50 GREAT?

Only the people who have heard one and hesives, are used to make the horn as rigid tra as reproduced by Klipschorns'. that takes in some pretty important people. as possible. Also each bass horn is To the best of our knowledge, no other high fidelity loud- The Klipschorn ° has been chosen as the checked with a water manometer to insure commercially available most advanced state of the loudspeaker absolute air tightness of the rear air speaker has passed such an arduous test. art at the Brussels World's Fair, at the chamber. ALLOWS in Moscow and in KLIPSCH HIGH EFFICIENCY American Exhibit THE MID -RANGE HORN (SQUAWKER) YOU TO LOWER POWERED to the most critical scien- USE demonstrations horn operates from about and musical ears in the world. Always The mid -range AMPLIFICATION tific cps) to well beyond the response is the same. "This is the G above middle C (400 The sound output of the Klipschorn is the piano. This finest reproduced sound we have ever the highest fundamental on approximately 10 decibels higher than the heard." horn, over 2 feet long with its driver best direct radiator enclosure type sys- attached, has gone through some 15 years tems and is 20 decibels higher than typical WHY IS THE KLIPSCHORN SO OUT- of research and development. The massive systems. STANDING? A 10 watt (2 for stereo) amplifier is ade- The Klipschorn' has the lowest distor- quate for home use and has proved ample tion and widest full power frequency re- for audiences of 900 people. sponse of any speaker system in the world .1/10 of 19á FM distortion` from 30- 20,000 cycles per second at over 115 deci- bels of sound output. It is actually able to radiate fundamental tones down to 25 cycles. Each speaker goes through exhaustive testing to insure its ability to deliver un- distorted, full power sound. All testing is cast horn is of straight -axis design and is personally supervised by Mr. Klipsch in a completely free of the irritating distortion laboratory /listening room especially de- which occurs in reflexed horns. The horn signed for the purpose. is mounted on a specially designed flange The construction of a Klipschorn is a which effectively increases the horn's handcrafted job. It takes over 30 hours of a mouth area and adds measurably to its skilled- cabinet -maker's time to construct smoothness of response ... less than 6 the extremely complicated bass horn and db. variation from 400 to 5,000 cps. its allied cabinetry. HORN The Klipschorn is offered in a wide THE HIGH FREQUENCY range of fine hardwood, hand -rubbed fin- (TWEETER) In reproducing the full Hartford Sym- ishes comparable to that found on the The highly refined horn tweeter takes phony Orchestra, only 2 watts peak power highest quality grand pianos. Satin lac- over at 5,000 cps and extends to 18,000 feeding each of two Klipschorns' in stereo- quer and oiled finishes are also available. cps with variations of less than 6 db. This phonic array were used. This may seem The Klipschorn ' isa loudspeaker created horn tweeter is mounted on the same difficult to believe if you are accustomed without any compromise. It contains three flange to which the mid -range horn is to the typical loudspeaker system, but you carefully matched horns. These horns fastened. will be quickly convinced once you hear a were developed and combined with only THE KLIPSCH BALANCING NETWORK Klipschorn' Wide Stage Stereo System. one thought in mind the finished pro- ... This network has been designed to pro- duct must offer the closest possible iden- OUR PHILOSOPHY: TRY IT BEFORE 3 horns tity with original sound. vide the best match between the YOU BUY IT! in the system and also to act as a dividing network. We sincerely hope you will listen to THE BASS HORN (WOOFER) many systems before you purchase. Don't The Bass Horn which occupies the solid ONLY THE KLIPSCHORN' be fooled by advertising claims. We are looking bottom portion of the loudspeaker, REPRODUCES THE FULL RANGE confident that once you have heard the is of the Klipsch folded /corner horn de- AND DYNAMICS OF A SYMPHONY Klipschorn', you will be satisfied with sign. It has an air column large enough to ORCHESTRA nothing less. reproduce, without distortion, and at full A special concert was staged in which power, the lowest note of the pipe organ Klipschorns reproduced, at original loud- (32.7 cps). No other bass speaker of com- ness, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. KLIPSCH parable, or smaller size has ever achieved This was a live vs. recorded concert and & ASSOCIATES this. Miniaturized bass speakers the B ox 280 are on the majority of the large listening audience I:l_1 market but no one has yet invented a could not tell the difference between the PSCH Hope, Arkansas miniature 32 -foot wave length. live orchestra and the sound of the orches- 71801 The construction of this horn is beyond compare. Nearly 288 screws, plus other fastening devices, plus high grade ad- Please send me complete information on the Klipschorn loudspeaker system. Also include the name of my nearest Klipsch Authorized Audio Expert. KLIPSCH & ASSOCIATES BOX 280 HOPE, ARKANSAS 71801

NAME

ADDRESS

CITY STATE

OCCUPATION AGE_-

`In Klipsch speakers all forms of distortion are minimized -especially AM and FM distortion which are many times as objectionable as simple harmonic distortion. Technical papers available on this subject.

CIRCLE 38 ON READER -SERVICE CARD JUNE 1966 59

www.americanradiohistory.com Perfection results from OCHOICE...NOT CHANCE Since no single phono cartridge can be all things to all people, tracking forces. Too, keep in mind that the cartridge ordinarily we earnestly recommend that you employ these individual represents the smallest monetary investment in the system, yet criteria in selecting your personal cartridge from the broad the ultimate sound delivered depends first on the signal re- Shure Stereo Dynetic group: produced by the cartridge ... "skimping" here downgrades YOUR EAR: First and foremost, listen. There are subtle dif- your entire system. ferences in tonality that beggar description and are quite YOUR EXCHEQUER: Shure cartridges cover the entire eco- unrelated to "bare" specifications -yet add immeasurably nomic spectrum. And they are ALL Shure in quality, all Shure to your personal listening pleasure. in performance. Even the least costly has received copious YOUR EQUIPMENT: Consider first your tone arm's range of critical acclaim.

MUSICAL ALL THE MOST BEST SELLER BEST -BUY WANTED FEATURES

MODEL M3D MODEL M7 /N2I D M55E 15° TRACKING, ELLIPTICAL STYLUS Where cost is the dominant factor, Top -rated cartridge featuring the the M3D provides extremely musi- highly compliant N21D tubular Professional performance at a cal and transparent sound at a stylus. Because of unusually clean modest price. Compares favorably rock- bottom price. The original, mid -range (where most music to the incomparable Shure V -15. famous Shure Stereo Dynetic really "happens ") it is especially except that it is produced under Cartridge ... with almost universal recommended if your present sys- standard Shure quality control and application. Tracks at pressures as tem sounds "muddy." For 2 -gram manufacturing techniques. Re- low as 3 grams, as high as 6 gran.. optimum tracking (not to be used markable freedom from IM, Har- For any changer. Only $15.75 over 2'/2 grams). Only $17.95 (Also, monic and tracing distortion. Will if you own an M3D or M7D, you definitely and audibly improve the can upgrade it for higher com- sound of monaural as well as pliance, if tracking force does not stereo records. A special value at exceed 2'/2 grams, with the N21D $35.50. Upgrade M44 cartridge (if stylus for only $12.50.) you can track at 1V: grams or less) with N55E stylus, $20.00

THE "FLOATING" "THE BEST CARTRIDGE THE ULTIMATE! PICK -UP ARM IN THE WORLD"

M80E GARDEA- MATICI V -I5 SHURE SME \4'ITH ELLIPTICAL STYLUS WITH BI- RADIAL ELLIPTICAL STYLUS Provides features and quality un- Bounce -proof, scratch -proof per- attainable in ANY other tone arm. formance for Garrard Lab 80 and For the purist who wants the very Made by British craftsmen to sin- Model A70 Series and Dual 1009 best, regardless of price. Reduces gularly close tolerances and stand- automatic turntables. Especially tracing (pinch effect), IM and Har- ards. Utterly accurate adjustments useful where floor vibration is a monic distortion to unprecedented for every critical factor relating to problem. Spring- mounted in tone lows. 15° tracking. Scratch -proof, perfect tracking ... it realizes the arm shell. Stylus and cartridge too. Produced under famed Shure full potential of the cartridge and retracts when force exceeds 11/2 Master Quality Control Program record. Model 3012 for 16" records grams ... prevents .cratching rec- literally hand -made and in- $110.50; Model 3009 for 12" rec- ord and damaging stylus. dividually tested. In a class by it- ords $100.50 Model M80E self for mono as well as stereo .For Garrard turntables.,$38.00 discs. For manual or automatic Model M80E -D turntables tracking at 3/4 to 1V2 For Dual 1009 turntables. $38.00 grams. $62.50 i - HVF?E High Fidelity Phono Cartridges ... World Standard Wherever Sound Quality is Paramount Shure Brothers, Inc., 222 Hartrey Ave., Evanston, Illinois CIRCLE 54 ON READER -SERVICE CARD 60 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com HIGH FID Em- EQUIPMENT ly 11111111 REPORTS The consumer's guide to new and important high fidelity equipment

AMPEX PR -10 -4

TAPE RECORDER

THE EQUIPMENT: Ampex PR -10.4, a stereo tape re- corder (transport and two -channel record /playback preamp). Supplied in carrying case, 20 by 15 by 9',2 inches; units may be removed for standard 19 -inch rack -mounting. Price: $1,295. Manufacturer: Ampex Corp., 401 Broadway, Redwood City, Calif. 94063.

COMMENT: The Ampex PR -10 -4 is the quarter -track model of the PR -10 series. PR -10 machines originally were (and still are) offered for professional applica- tions where portability and compactness are needed. so that optimum results also can be obtained when The new four -track version is aimed at tape enthusiasts playing older two -track tapes. who are interested both in the precision and high The equipment may be custom -fitted into cabinets, performance of the PR -10 and in the quarter -track rack -mounted in studio fashion, or used in its carrying head configuration that has become the standard for case. A separate mixer is also available which may high-fidelity and advanced hobbyist use. The deck is be added to the transport and preamp in a larger supplied actually with four separate heads: quarter- carrying case. track erase, record, playback -and half -track playback, The transport is a ruggedly built, handsomely finished, superbly running mechanism. It is available in tape speed pairs of 15/16 and 1 -7/8, 3 -3/4 and 7.1/2, or 7.1/2 and 15 ips. The model chosen for this AN ANNOUNCEMENT report was the 3 3/4- and 7 1/2 -ips type, easily the most popular speeds among tape- minded fidelitarians. Beginning this month, HIGH FIDELITY's test reports It handles up to 7 -inch- diameter reels. Operation is of new equipment will be based on tests conducted by push buttons which control an elaborate system at CBS Laboratories of Stamford, Connecticut, an of electrical clutches, braking, and speed change organization of international renown which for assemblies. The tape path from supply to take -up years has been a leader in electronic and audio reels runs past three fixed tape guides, the pinch - research. The testing program will be under the roller and drive capstan, and a swinging arm which is over -all supervision of Benjamin B. Bauer, Vice - associated with an automatic shutoff. The head President of the Laboratories in charge of Acoustics assembly is protected by a lift -up cover which permits and Magnetics Research. The new arrangement full access to the heads for cleaning and degaussing. places at our disposal some of today's most ad- Operating controls include the push buttons for stop, vanced laboratory test instruments and techniques. rewind, fast -forward, play, and record (the last one Standards of the Institute of High Fidelity and of colored red). There is also a power off /on switch. The other professional organizations will be used speed control is just to the left of the take -up reel. wherever applicable. As in the past, laboratory The left-hand side of the preamp contains dual measurements will be correlated with listening sets (one for each channel) of accurately calibrated and use tests. VU meters, record level controls, record indicator By engaging the services of CBS Laboratories, lamps, and stereo headphone jacks. In addition there we are ensuring that a level of professional are controls for low and high speed equalization, a expertise second to none will be brought to bear channel selector for recording, and an output selector on new audio products -which have themselves for each channel which selects either the input signal been growing steadily in excellence and technical (being recorded) or the signal off the tape for indica- sophistication. tion on the VU meter and for monitoring at both the headphone jack and the line output. A hinged lid on the preamp covers a number of touch -up and service

Equipment reports are based on laboratory measurements and controlled listening tests. Unless otherwise noted, test data and measurements are obtained by CBS Laboratories, Stamford, Connecticut, a division of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., one of the nation's leading research organizations. The choice of equipment to be REPORT POLICY tested rests with the editors of HIGH FIDELITY. Manufacturers are not permitted to read reports in advance of publication, and no report, or portion thereof, may be reproduced for any purpose or in any form without written permission of the publisher. All reports should be construed as applying to the specific samples tested; neither HIGH FIDELITY nor CBS Laboratories assumes responsibility for product performance or quality.

JUNE 1966 61

www.americanradiohistory.com 7.5K 12K 20K 6 m + 10 Channel A Odb = -1 Ovu NAB PLAYBACK RESPONSE -7'/3 IPS 4 Z 4- paanel t 2 0 QanmlA 0 5 RECORD/PLAYBACK THD-71/2 IPS - Channel 1 Odb = - I Ovu og -10 20 50 100 500 1K 5K 10K 20K 20 50 100 250 500 1K 2.5K 5K 10K 15K FREQUENCY IN Hz FREQUENCY IN Hz

6 Channel A Odb = -- 10vu á 4 Channel I 7.5K 15K, W 2 c RECORD/PLAYBACK RESPONSE -7'/5 IPS OC Ñ + 5 dIda 0 RECORD /PLAYBACK THD-33/4 IPS Wa= 0 $4":"'"-Chonnel A 20 50 100 500 1K 5K 10K 20K 0 -5 Channel) ------Odb = -10vu FREQUENCY IN Hz -10 O0 20 30 50 100 250 500 IX 2.5K 5K 10K 20K

Ampex PR -10 -4 Recorder FREQUENCY IN Hz

15K Lab Test Data co +15 RKORD /PLAYBACK RESPONSE -Ph IPS Performance 0 characteristic Measurement Channel od -5 Channell Odb = lOvu Speed accuracy, 7'/2 ips 0.33% fast, any line voltage - 10 - 33/4 ips 0.11% fast, any line voltage 20 30 50 100 250 500 1K 2.5K 5K 10K 20K

Wow and flutter FREQUENCY IN Hz 7'/2 ips, playback 0.03% & 0.05% respectively 71/2 ips, record /playback 0.03 °e 8 0.07% respectively adjustments normally found on professional 33/4 ips, playback 0.08 °,ó 8 0.09% respectively recorders 33/4 ips, record/ playback 0.08% 8 0.11% respectively and used to keep the machine at peak performance. These include, separately on each channel, fine Rewind time, 7 -in., adjustments for equalization for both speeds, repro- 1,200-ft. reel 1 min., 16 sec. duce (playback) level, recording calibration, and Fast- forward time, recording bias in conjunction with a set of meter

same reel 1 min., 10 sec. jacks for reading bias voltage. By using additional equipment, such as an Ampex test tape and a VTVM, NAB playback response, these controls can also be used for head alignment, 7'/2 ips (ref. Ampex and for checks of frequency response and signal -to- test tape No. 31321 -01) noise ratio. Detailed instructions and a calibrated Ich +1.5, -2 dB, 50 Hz to 15 kHz scale referring to rch +1,- 2.5dB, 50 Hz to 15 kHz the machine's VU meters are included in the owner's manual (an enormous volume Record/ playback response of over 100 pages and dozens of fold -out charts and (with -10 VU recorded diagrams). Actually, these adjustments can be ignored signal), 71/2 ips, I ch +1.25, -5 dB, 30 Hz to 15 for the most part by the average user. They are pre -set kHz at the factory, and in our tests proved to yield optimum r ch + 1.75, -3 dB, 30 Hz to 15 performance in as- kHz the received condition. Signal connections are made at the rear of 33/4 ips, I ch +2, -5 dB, 30 Hz to 8.5 kHz the rch +2, -5 dB, 30 Hz to 8.5 kHz machine. These include stereo line inputs and outputs, made by heavy -duty lock -in connectors (supplied). S/N ratio (ref 0 VU, test There also is a special connection for a remote tape) playback I ch: 59 dB; r ch: 60 dB control unit, also available as an accessory. The record/ playback I ch: 51 dB; r ch: 51 dB line cord, a fuse -holder, and a convenience AC outlet Sensitivity (for 0 VU are found at the rear. recording level), line As shown on the accompanying graphs, based on input I ch: 91 mV; r ch: 82 mV data obtained in tests at CBS Laboratories, the response and distortion characteristics of the PR -10.4 Nominal output level are about as smooth and low respectively as one with 0 VU signal 1.2 V; may be adjusted for higher outputs could wish for in any tape recorder. The measure- ments, and subsequent use tests, indicate the unit's THD, record /playback eminent suitability for accurate playback of commer- ( -10 VU recorded signal) cially made (prerecorded) tapes and for rendering 7'/2 ips, I ch under 2.4 %, 50 Hz to above near -perfect copies of any program fed into it. The 10 kHz unit's electronic characteristics are such that it takes r ch under 3 %, 50 Hz to above 10 kHz a relatively small input signal to reach recording levels which voltage, 33/4 ips, I ch under 3 %, 50 Hz to 10 kHz themselves furnish adequate r ch under 3 °ó, 50 Hz to 9 kHz with very low noise and distortion, to drive any external amplifiers. The built -in VU meters are accurately IM distortion, calibrated to within 0.2 dB and are sensitive enough to record/playback respond to fairly weak input levels. It is possible, 71/2 ips, -10 VU level I ch: 3 %; r ch: 2.8% incidentally, to drive the PR -10 preamps with a high - 33/4 ips, -10 VU level I ch: 3.5 %; r ch: 4% output microphone connected directly into a line Recording level for max input, but for best results with a machine of this 1% THD 0 VU caliber one would logically turn to low- output mikes which then would require using either the accessory Accuracy, built -in meters each reads 0.2 dB high mixer or plug -in preamps, available as accessories.

62 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com For other recording, such as from a tuner or audio The front panel of the PAS -3X contains eight knobs system preamp, connections are made directly into and four slide switches. There is a program selector, the PR -10's line inputs. a volume control, a stereo /mono control, a channel The splendid electronics of the PR -10 are com- balance control, separate treble and bass tone con- plemented by one of the most silent, responsive, and trols for each channel, a tape monitor switch, a loud- smooth -running transports we've yet had the pleasure ness contour switch, a scratch filter, and the power to use. Wow and flutter, at both speeds, were very off /on switch. The stereo /mono knob has six posi- low and utterly insignificant in listening terms. The tions, including three that offer varying degrees of push buttons make operation fairly simple, yet are stereo separation (and so serve as a channel blend so arranged, in conjunction with other controls, as to control), as well as an A- plus -B position (for playing make it virtually impossible to accidentally erase a monophonic records with a stereo cartridge), and recorded tape. For editing and cuing, a special ar- positions that feed either channel A or B inputs rangement permits the user to hold down a combina- through both speakers at once. tion of buttons which reduces tape speed and which The rear of the preamp contains seven pairs of may be alternated to change tape direction. stereo input jacks and two pairs of output jacks. Low - To say that the PR -10 -4 is one of the best tape level inputs include magnetic phono and tape head recorders yet offered to the consumer market would and a special pair for an additional phono cartridge, be stating the obvious. Don't look to it for built -in microphone, or tape head -the owner may use these echo effects, sound -on- sound, or slide synchroniza- jacks at his own option, depending on how he wires tion (these all require additional accessories). How- them (as supplied they provide correct equalization ever, for the serious tape hobbyist, or the professional for most 78 -rpm discs). The high -level inputs accept seeking a compact but precision setup, the PR -10 -4 signals from tuners, tape playback preamplifiers, and shapes up as a second -to -none audio product. similar program sources. There is also a pair of jacks for feeding a tape recorder, and of course the pair for CIRCLE 150 ON READER -SERVICE CARD connecting to the basic amplifier. Four AC outlets are provided; two are switched, two are unswitched. The circuit of the PAS -3X employs four twin- triode a full -wave DYNACO PAS -3X PREAMPLIFIER amplifying tubes, a rectifier tube, and selenium rectifier. The amplifying and control stages all use the saine tube type, a 12AX7, so only one tube Dynaco PAS -3X, a stereo preampli- THE EQUIPMENT: need be kept on hand for replacement in any stage, fier- control unit. Dimensions: 131/8 by 4 by 9'/2 inches deep (including knobs and connectors). Price: in kit form, $69.95; factory- wired, $109.95. Manufacturer: +5 Dynaco Inc., 3912 Powelton Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. IIAA ó 0 19104. -5 EOUAUZATION CHARACTERISTICS COMMENT: The PAS -3X is a preamp -control designed ` +5 NAI for use with a separate basic amplifier. It is, essen- r. 0 tially, a modified version of the Dyna preamp that 5 HIGH FIDELITY, was introduced some years ago (see 20 50 100 300 500 1K 3K 5K 10K 20K May 1960) and which has been very popular among kit builders and /or those who prefer the two -piece FREQUENCY IN Hz type of amplifier. The change in the new version has to do with the + 20 (on which Dyna patents are pending): full toss Boost tone controls +15 they are the continuously rotating type, yet when in co Full Treble Boost the flat position, their phase- and frequency- discrimi- ? Loudness Contour 1. 5 nating elements are removed from the circuit. Thus, Ñ Scratch Filter they offer the convenience and the infinite resolution O 1 W - 5 Full Treble Cut -10 Full Mss Cut TONE CONTROL, CONTOUR, 15 -20 AND FILTER CHARACTERISTICS 20 50 100 300 500 1K 3K SK 10K 20K

FREQUENCY IN Hz

+5 50 FREQUENCY RESPONSE 20 50 100 300 500 1K 3K 5K 10K 20K FREQUENCY IN Hz capability of continuous controls, while boasting the advantage of switch -type or stepped controls (often found on costlier or on professional equipment) which are electrically out of the circuit at their mid -rotation positions. The effect of this removal is to render the preamp much less critical of load termination and thus to enable it to be matched efficiently to virtually any amplifier input. It also lowers the output im- pedance so that connecting cables to the basic am- plifier can be quite long without incurring loss of signal. Finally, this new configuration is credited with a general lowering of (the already low) distortion in the preamp, especially in the bass region. Square -wave response to 50 Hz, left, and to Ill kHz.

JUNE 1966 f

www.americanradiohistory.com should it be needed. The high -voltage rectifier is a 12X4. The selenium rectifier is used to supply DC voltage for the tube filaments, a practice in tube de- signs that reduces the chance of hum. Most of the circuitry is laid out on two printed circuit boards. In tests run at CBS Laboratories, the Dynaco PAS -3X shaped up as a first-class performer. At its rated out- put of 2 volts (more than enough to drive any known basic amplifier), IM distortion was literally nonmeasur- able, and harmonic distortion was a mere 0.3 per cent. Signal -to -noise figures were among the lowest we've seen, and sensitivity on all inputs was well suited for any of today's program sources. The curves for fre- quency response, RIAA (disc) equalization, and NAB (tape head) equalization turned out to be extremely linear. Frequency response, in fact, virtually be could like the new ADC 404 still has the power to impress drawn with a ruler across the audio band; it obviously us. Not much larger than a few ordinary books, it extends well beyond the normal 20 -Hz to 20,000Hz puts out an astonishing amount of clean, wide -range, limits. Square -wave response, to both high and low well -balanced sound. frequencies, was exemplary: very flat tops and scarce- The 404 consists of a 6 -inch woofer crossed over ly any tilt, indicating solid bass and clean highs with via a network to a 11 /2 -inch dome tweeter. Both fine transient characteristics. The scratch or high - speaker units and the network are housed in a sealed frequency noise filter in the PAS -3X has an excellent cabinet, the interior of which is stuffed with sound - response characteristic for its intended purpose. absorbent material. The system thus functions as a In use, the PAS -3X leaves little to be desired. It tiny air suspension, direct radiator. The woofer is of is not the fanciest, or most de luxe type of equip- high compliance, with a loosely suspended, heavy ment, but its performance- transparent, responsive, cone driven by a large ceramic magnet. The tweeter and versatile of an order that could recommend -is is ADC's best, the same as used in its more ex- it to the aficionado-especially so in view of its rela- pensive systems. In keeping with ADC's speaker de- tively low cost. sign philosophy, the network provides a very gradual CIRCLE 151 ON READER -SERVICE CARD crossover with considerable overlap on both sides of its nominal dividing frequency of 1 kHz. The enclosure is solidly built, finished in oiled walnut, and faced with a neutral -tint grille. It may Dynaco PAS -3X Preamp be positioned vertically or horizontally. Input im- pedance is 8 ohms; efficiency is moderate and the Lab Test Data ADC 404 can be driven by just about any size or type of amplifier. Performance The response of the ADC 404 was, for a system characteristic Measurement of its size and cost, quite remarkable. At the low end, the bass held up firmly and cleanly to just Maximum output level in excess of 10 V, either ch below 60 Hz, with some doubling apparent at about 56 Hz. By reducing the power fed to the speaker, IM distortion for too low to measure doubling could be forestalled down to about 50 Hz, rated output (2 V) accurately and so at normal listening levels 0.4 °c for 4 volts output (with the speaker installed in, say, an average -size room), its useful Harmonic distortion under 0.3 °ó bass output could be estimated to extend to just below 50 Hz. At the high end, a very gentle slope Frequency response +0.25, -0.5 dB, 20 Hz to seemed 20 kHz to start above 11 kHz, increasing slightly above 13 kHz and extending to beyond audibility. RIAA characteristic +0, -1.25 dB, 30 Hz to The range between these extremes was smooth and 15 kHz uniform with only the few minor peaks and dips apparent in most speaker NAB characteristic +1.5, -1 dB, 30 Hz to 15 kHz systems. Midrange and highs have a fair degree of spread, Input characteristics Sensitivity S N ratio and directional effects increase very gradually as mag phono; special 1.4 mV 86 dB you go up the scale. However, from about 5 to tape head 2.8 mV 80 dB 10 kHz there seems virtually no lessening of the all high level (incl. spread. A 10 -kHz tone can be heard loud and clear monitor) 170 mV 76 dB well off axis of the speaker, and it is not until 12 kHz that any real beaming becomes apparent. White noise response is somewhat on the bright side, with a tendency to hardness on axis; it is smoother off axis or back a few feet from the system. A single ADC 404, on program material, sounds AUDIO DYNAMICS ADC 404 SPEAKER SYSTEM fairly tight, well- defined, and somewhat close -up. A pair, handling monophonic material, begins to im- THE EQUIPMENT: ADC 404, a compact speaker sys- part a greater sense of air and space to the sonic tem in integral enclosure. Dimensions: 7y8 by presentation, and this "opening up" is more pro- 117/8 by 83/8 inches. Price: $56. Manufacturer: Audio nounced on stereo. The effect, then, of a pair of Dynamics Corp., Pickett District Rd., New Milford, ADC 404s is to provide a sonic output that is much Conn. 06776. bigger- sounding than one would suspect could emanate from systems of such small dimensions. COMMENT: We are by now accustomed to surprises We would say indeed that for best results these in the form of small speaker systems that sound speaker systems should definitely be used in pairs better than mere size would suggest, yet something (even for a mono playback system), and in fact they

64 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com are sold just that way, even to being packaged in a common carton with a carrying handle-a sort of audio twin -pack. That there are grander -sounding Lab Test Data speaker systems goes without saying; but we have yet to hear one in this size and price class that Performance sounds better. The ADC 404s seem very well suited characteristic Measurement for a modest installation in a small to average -size Tuner Section room, or as extension speakers for any system. IHF sensitivity 3.5 pV at 98 MHz; CIRCLE 152 ON READER -SERVICE CARD 3.25 µv at 90 MHz; 3.6 pV at 106 MHz

Frequency response, mono +2, -1 dB, 20 Hz to 17 kHz HEATHKIT AR -13A THD, mono 0.59% at 400 Hz; 0.75% at 40 Hz; 0.51 % at 1 kHz

RECEIVER KIT Capture ratio 4.2

THE EQUIPMENT: Heathkit AR -13A, a stereo receiver S/N ratio 56 dB in (tuner and control amplifier on one chassis) kit Frequency response, form. Dimensions: 17 by 51/2 by 143/4 inches. Price: stereo, I ch +0.5, -5 dB, 20 Hz to 14 kHz $184 (includes walnut cabinet). Manufacturer: Heath r ch same Company, Benton Harbor, Mich. 49023. THD, stereo, I ch 0.7% at 400 Hz; 0.9% at 40 COMMENT: The Heathkit AR -13A combines stereo and Hz; 0.7% at 1 kHz r ch 0.75% at 400 Hz; 0.95% at monophonic FM, AM, and twin- channel control ampli- 40 Hz; 0.7% at 1 kHz fiers in one compact, stylish, popularly priced unit that is available only in kit form. Wiring and assembly Channel separation, better than 30 dB at mid - take time (about 40 hours) but are not overly difficult, either channel frequencies; better than thanks to the clearly written and well -illustrated 20 dB to 11 kHz with the kit. manual that comes 19 -kHz pilot suppression -29 dB The top portion of the front panel is divided 38 -kHz subcarrier between the FM and AM station dials, with a tuning suppression -36 dB meter centered between them, and a stereo indicator just under the FM scale. The main control knobs Amplifier Section occupy the large center section of the panel. These Power output (at 1 kHz include the AM tuning knob, a program selector, a into 8 -ohm load) stereo -mono and reverse -channel control, the volume I ch at clipping 18 watts at 0.43% THD control, bass and treble controls (the latter combined I ch at 0.7% THD 22.7 watts with the power off /on switch), and the FM tuning knob. r ch at clipping 18 watts at 0.4% THD In addition to these controls there is a set of r ch at 0.7% THD 19.5 watts both chs simultaneously I ch at clipping 18 watts at 0.43% THD r ch at clipping 18 watts at 0.4% THD Power bandwidth for constant 0.7% THD 30 Hz to 19 kHz Harmonic distortion 18 watts output under 0.6 %, 35 Hz to 10 kHz 9 watts output under 0.5%, 25 Hz to 20 kHz IM distortion

8 -ohm load under 1.3 %, 1 to 25.5 watts output secondary controls and adjustments, hidden behind 16 -ohm load under 1 %, 1 to 14.5 watts a hinged cover that runs across the bottom portion of output the panel. This array includes input level adjustments; Frequency response,

channel balance control; speaker -phasing switch; 1 -watt level +2, -0 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz FM- stereo circuit adjustments for balance, separation, and phase; interstation muting control; AFC switch; RIAA equalization +1, -1.5 dB, 30 Hz to 15 kHz FM local /distant FM switch; and stereo filters. Nor- Damping factor 10 mally, these secondary controls need be set only once, during installation. The total roster is quite impressive Input characteristics Sensitivity SI N ratio and exceeds what is normally found on sets in this phono 6.6 mV 33 dB price range. The only feature lacking is the facility for aux 1 260 mV 72 dB aux 2 260 mV 72 dB direct monitoring from a tape recorder which itself has separate record and playback heads. Tapes of course can be played from the recorder's own preamp by hookup to one of the auxiliary jacks on the AR -13A. Inputs at the rear are provided for magnetic pickups and two auxiliary (high level) sources. Outputs include 4 -, 8 -, and 16 -ohm speaker taps, and tape recorder feed jacks for each channel. A switched and an unswitched AC outlet and a fuse -holder also are . at the rear. The antenna FM terminals are the 300 - ohm (twin -lead) type. The set employs a total of 46 transistors and 17 diodes. The stereo indicator light is part of the multiplex FM circuit and so if it should Square -wave response to 511 Hz, left, and to 10 kHz.

JUNE 1966 65

www.americanradiohistory.com burn out, replacement is necessary for stereo FM. +2 POWER BANDWIDTH Tests of a kit -built AR -13 as is (without additional 0 AT0.1 %THD/ DDB= 18 WATTS alignment) at CBS Laboratories produced very satis- -2 -4 1 factory results. FM sensitivity was fairly high and THD AT 18 WATTS uniform across the band. Response in monophonic -6 0.5 -8 0 mode exceeded published specifications; in stereo MD AT 9 WATTS operation it met them. Both channels were -10 just Response, 1 -wan leve extremely well balanced. Separation also was within -12 -14 specifications, and well suited for normal FM /stereo AMPLIFIER PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS broadcasts. Distortion was low; capture ratio and -16 .... 10 20 50 100 300 500 1K 5K 101( 20K signal -to -noise figures were about average for this class FREQUENCY IN Hz of equipment. In all, fed with a good antenna, the AR-13A should provide clean reception of all but the weakest signals in just about any locale. +5 The amplifier section of the AR -13A is rated by FM STEREO RESPONSE 0 Heath for 20 watts at 0.7% harmonic distortion. As Left Channel (Right is identical) the accompanying figures show, it came in very close -10 to this rating on one channel and actually went better Left Channel than that on The thing - 15 the other channel. significant Right Channel in these figures is that there is no power decrease -20 at the clipping level when both channels are driven - 25 STEREO simultaneously, which bespeaks a well- designed -30 SEPARATION power supply as well as an honestly rated unit. The distortion level, incidentally, in our tests proved to be 20 50 100 300 500 1K lower than the specified distortion. The power band- 3K 5K 10K 20K width for rated distortion just about covered the full FREQUENCY IN Hz audio band, which is a good mark for a low- priced combination set. Low -level frequency response varied ° +5 by no more than a normal 2 decibels over the range. 0 RIAA equalization was quite accurate; damping factor, -5 RIAA EQUALIZATION at 10, was comfortably high. The IM distortion char- o acteristics, for all three output impedances, were 10 .50 100 300 500 1K 3K 5K 10K 20K a fairly linear for budget -priced all -in -one. For an FREQUENCY IN Hz 8 -ohm load (the most widely used) IM remained under 1.3 per cent to nearly 26 watts output. Square - wave response was in keeping with the set's design, ó O. indicating some rolloff at the very low end, but fairly good transient behavior at the high end. ° -10 The AR -13A, in sum, offers a good deal in a o SENSITIVITY CURVE compact format. From the standpoint of performance, _ - 20 INF Sensitivity = 3.5 Ft it represents a nice functional balance of character- istics. From the standpoint of control features it offers ó - 30 one in a in more than would expect set this price -40 class. It is, in any case, an attractive project for the á kit builder seeking a well- mannered tuner and control ) ó - 50 and power his home music r- center for system. 1 10 10' 10' 10' 10'

CIRCLE 153 ON READER-SERVICE CARD RF INPUT (uv.l

4 %. 0 IM DISTORTION E 3% 2.5 /e 2% FM MONO FREQUENCY RESPONSE 4 ohm load -vim 1.5% 20 50 100 300 500 1K 3K 5K 10K 10K

% El ohm load FREQUENCY IN Hz 16 oleo load f 1.5 3 6 9 1215 30 45

POWER OUTPUT IN WATTS REPORTS IN PROGRESS

TONE CONTROL CHARACTERISTICS Max. Magnecord 1020 Tape Recorder Treble host Thorens TD-124 Series II Turntable Max. Treble Cut Max. lassI Cut 1 Harman -Kaidon SC-440 Modular System 20 50 100 300 500 1K 3K 5K 10K 20K

FREQUENCY IN Hz

66 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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W90 W70 CIRCLE 101 ON READER- SERVICE CARD

www.americanradiohistory.com If you think the "Little Russian" is a dwarf it's time you heard a giant performance by Previn

Undeservedly dwarfed by some of Tchaikovsky's darker ANDRE PREVIN or more "tragic" works, the "Little Russian" Symphony, ANDRE PREVIN CONDUCTS conducts the London Symphony Orch. Tchaikovsky's Second is no more "little" than Mozart's r Tchaikovsky "Jupiter" Symphony is about a planet. In strong hands SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONY NO. 5 SYMPHONY No. 2, "LITTLE RUSSIAN" as one of the sunniest of it reveals its full splendor LONDON SYMPIIM IRCN Liadov Tchaikovsky's works. Under the baton of André Previn, EIGHT RUSSIAN FOLK SONGS conducting one of the world's great orchestras, the : "Little Russian" is given a monumental reading, bus- lyrical in its folk -like charm. :w+ tling with excitement and Liadov's "Eight Russian Folk Songs" complete a fasci- nating program. Previn's understanding of the Russiar idiom is equally evident it his powerful performance of `S, . ,a , Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, recently released on $ - , á1° r t RCA Victor Red Seal. Both albums, in Dynagroove ,yyy;r . sound, were recorded in London's acousticallymagnifi- cent Walthamstow Town Hall. RCA VICTOR FSVThe most trusted name in sound

CIRCLE 4S ON READER -SERVICE CARD (S HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com reviewed by NATHAN BRODER HARRIS GOLDSMITH O. B. BRUMMELL PHILIP HART R. D. DARRELL ecords BERNARD JACOBSON PETER G. DAVIS CONRAD L. OSBORNE SHIRLEY FLEMING eview ERIC SALZMAN

ALFRED FRANKENSTEIN JOHN S. WILSON

by Alfred Frankenstein

Drawing by Mix Stone of Colin Grahams stage set for Curlew Meer Colin Graham's set for the original production.

Britten's Curlew River "Burnished Bronze Solemnity"

BENJAMIN Britten's Curlew River may from the directions for performance sup- assuring his mother that they will meet well be the most beautiful dramatic work plied with the score, in the recommended again in heaven. At the end, the three he has written. Certainly it is the most style of presentation as well. actors resume their monks' habits and distinctive in style, and its infinitely sad, The story is so simple as to seem join their brethren in singing the final Orient -colored pages haunt one's memory simple- minded in synopsis, as is often plainsong. for many days after each hearing. the way with Oriental dramas. An abbot There is more to it than just that. Described in the score as "a parable and his monks present a mystery play. Each principal character has a somewhat for church performance," the work runs It centers in a ferryboat that plies back discursively poetic passage of self-intro- about seventy minutes, requires rela- and forth across the Curlew River. The duction, there is much choral commen- tively small forces (although it is in- Ferryman announces that on this day tary on the action, and much of the tensely rigorous in its demands upon many people will need his boat to go to music's most important business is taken them), and goes on where Britten left pray at a miraculous grave dug just a up with these matters, which have no off in his other dramatic piece for year before. First aboard is a Traveller, direct bearing on the plot. churches, Noye's Fludde. Like that ear- who has come a long and weary way. In general, the score has the burnished lier opus, Curlew River was first per- Next is a Madwoman, who goes every- bronze solemnity of Gagaku, the ancient formed (in 1964) at Orford Church, in where looking forlornly for her lost ceremonial court music of Japan. The Sussex, as part of Britten's annual Alde- child. As the boat crosses the river, the three actors wear masks and perform on burgh Festival. Its libretto, by William Ferryman tells the Madwoman how a a circular stage derived from that of the Plomer, is based on a fifteenth- century barbarian had come to those parts with No theatre. Each gesture, according to Japanese No play. Although the story a twelve -year -old boy he had stolen, how the directions, must be heavily stylized: has been Christianized and the work the boy had died of abuse and been so it is also with the music. The vocal opens and closes with Gregorian chant, buried there, and how the people near lines for the soloists are in a supple Japanese coloring is still very strong -in the river regard the boy as a saint and arioso style recalling the Monteverdi of the music, in the libretto, and, to judge seek healing at his tomb. The Mad- Orpheus' lament. The choral parts are woman knows that she has found her more obviously tuneful, and the contrast Illustration above reprinted by permission of son at last. She begs that the tomb be between the two is extremely G. Schirmer Inc.. sole agent for Faber effective. Music Ltd., London. Drawing by Alix Stone. opened, and the boy's voice is heard, re- The score calls only for seven instru-

JUNE 1966 69

www.americanradiohistory.com mental soloists, playing flute and piccolo, horn, viola, double bass, harp, percus- sion, and a chamber organ. The percus- sion used is a set of four small drums of different approximate pitches and, at the point at which the spirit of the dead boy speaks, those marvelous little bells that scintillate throughout The Play of Daniel. In this work Britten achieves a unique, unprecedented relationship between the instruments and the voices. Each of the instrumentalists is a virtuoso playing at Conductor Bernstein. Conductor Gould. the top of his bent. For long stretches little is to be heard below the voices but smoky, convoluted flourishes rather roughly played on the horn; elsewhere there are extended passages of strange, slightly dizzying glissandi on the double New Stereo Discs for a Further Look bass; later the flute mocks the Mad- woman (but not at all in the manner of Lucia di Lammermoor), and so on. At Ivesian Questions and Answers The entire orchestral score is open in texture and brilliantly soloistic. The chamber organ plays sustained, dis- sonant chords in a high, luminous regis- tration; in other words, this instrument by Eric Salzman is made to sound as much as possible like the small Japanese reed organ called the Sho which plays so important a role in Gagaku. The constant use of the drums underlines the Japanese analogy. CRITICS ARE ALWAYS COMPLAINING about that the composer was perfectly conver- Very Japanese also is the frequent use of the absence of this or that piece from the sant with the traditions of Western tonal- the instruments in octaves that do not catalogue, but the long neglect of the ity -not only the New England traditions precisely coincide on the beat but may Ives Unanswered Question really has been of hymn tunes and popular music but be an eighth or a sixteenth apart. a national disgrace. Now here is the also the Central European classical sym- The metrics of Curlew River are quite Question posed twice for us, along with phonic- contrapuntal tradition. He chose remarkable. For page upon page the solo some other Ivesian questions and an- to stand apart from that tradition but he voices and the instruments have no bar swers: a first recording of the First Sym- used it-taking what he needed, reject- lines at all; they are told to play and phony and useful new recordings of the ing at will. What he envisioned was a sing freely and not worry too much Third, of Central Park in the Dark. and new totality of experience in which tradi- about coming together except at certain of Decoration Day. tion formed a significant, if varyingly phrase or period endings. At other times At this point the most notable thing significant, role. a different meter will be employed in we can say about Ives -with his one - The case for Ives's mastery of tradi- each line of the score. Rhythmically hundredth birthday not so many years tion receives its most obvious support speaking, the work is nearly as untram- away -is that we're learning, we're learn- from the First Symphony. It is, if you meled and nearly as complicated as if ing. We're learning, I hope, to stop look- like, a student work, written under the it had been written by Charles Ives. The ing at Ives as the Grandma Moses of guidance of Horatio Parker in the purpose of this texture is to permit the music. as a crude if inspired primitive. Dvoták manner; Dvaák was at the time music to breathe, and to clash and then snowbound in a Thoreau -ian New Eng- the approved high -style model in Ameri- to clarify in a manner that has strong land wilderness and producing raw, can music. Parker is said to have made Oriental analogies. rugged, original music in utter isolation. Ives rewrite the first movement (he dis- One of the major reasons for writing Ives was, in fact, born in a middle -sized approved of the free modulations in the the work as a mystery play performed Connecticut manufacturing town which original), transpose the second from G by monks is, one suspects, that it made was even something of an intellectual flat to F (closer to the home key of D), it possible for the role of the Madwoman center. His musical education began un- and substitute a new "formal" coda to to be sung by Peter Pears. The strange der his father, a Civil War bandmaster the last movement (Ives said that he colors and eerie, almost unhuman but and a musician of thorough training and insisted on the superiority of his original heart -rending sounds Pears can produce considerable originality, and was con- ending but the fancy and rather bombas- are wonderfully effective in the Mad- tinued at Yale under Horatio Parker, a tic Tchaikovskyan coda that now stands woman's music, but his associates of the leading light of the day. Later, Ives is surely the Parker -inspired version). In cast are equally brilliant. The recording played the organ professionally, was a spite of its derivativeness, this is really is superb. member of various theatre orchestras, a work of great charm and of a good and did band and theatre arranging. deal of coherence and even individuality. Throughout most of his adult life he The first movement, with its simple ac- BRITTEN: Curlew River resided principally in New York City, companiment figure and motto motif, where he was one of the heads of a very suggests Bruckner; the way the first Bruce Webb (boy soprano), Spirit of successful insurance firm. Ives started theme flickers for a moment into a B the Boy; Peter Pears (t), Madwoman; composing at an early age -the original minor area is a perfectly original stroke John Shirley -Quirk (b), Ferryman; Bryan of the organ piece America, here played and this is neatly reinforced by the way Drake (b), Traveller; Harold Blackburn in an orchestration by William Schuman, the subsidiary theme constantly suggests (bs), Abbot; Richard Adeney, flute; dates from his teens-and he left off in B before turning to the classical and ex- Neill Saunders, horn; Cecil Aronowitz, his forties, devoting most of the rest of pected F; the movement, although a little viola; Stuart Knussen, double bass; his life to arranging and ordering his dull rhythmically, is worked out with Osian Ellis, harp; James Blades, per- music in something like performable complete ease and assurance. The point cussion; Philip Ledger, organ; Benjamin shape. of reference in the second movement and Britten and Viola Tunnard, musical di- Most of these facts about Ives are not in the following Scherzo is obviously rectors. unknown. but in view of the popular Ives Dvoìák, but both sections are certainly LONDON A 4156. LP. $4.79. mythology they are perhaps worth re- skillful and the hesitant, ardent trio LONDON OSA 1156. SD. $5.79. peating. Especially we need reminding of the Scherzo is an invention of real

70 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com character. The busy. exultant last finale, Central Park in the Dark is based on winds. After this, a hymn takes shape, although not entirely successful in its a very similar idea, this one a little more "taps" rings out. Then, around the end- length, is in many ways the most individ- pictorial perhaps and not quite as cos- less bells (now linked with a string ual of all. Even taking into account the mic, but almost equally effective. Here tremolo and a continuation of "taps ") rather amusingly frantic coda, it has tre- again are the strings, set endlessly on an agitated figure begins, quickly burst- mendous drive and continuity; ideas like their course -this time in close, mysteri- ing forth into the all -time spine -tingling. the 3/4 bar that interrupts the 4'4 flow ous, dissonant harmonies full of a curi- heart -throbbing, pulse -beating, goose - and the marvelously restless, romantic ous sense of both calm and anxiety; pimpling, banners -flying, crowds- cheer- second subject are real felicities. It is hard against this, distant woodwind sounds ing quickstep march of all time. Sud- to understand why Ives was not immedi- can just barely be made out: then there denly, in an incredible flash, all this is ately recognized as the freshest. ablest, is a far -off piano, a ragtime clarinet, a gone; only a distant echo of the old mel- and most remarkable talent of his day. hot trombone and trumpet: a wild rag- ody is left -a tiny string cadence, an The Third Symphony originated in the time music gathers tremendous velocity echo of bells, then nothing. series of organ pieces that Ives wrote or and strength until it splits the ears and It is useless to pretend that these discs, improvised around the turn of the cen- then suddenly, like a vision, a hallucina- both reviewed from test pressings, are tury when he was organist of New York's tion, it is gone; the strings carry on out definitive recordings and performances: Central Presbyterian Church. The work to infinity. Things that go bump in the they are not. Morton Gould begins his is subtitled "The Camp Meeting," and night? If you like. Another image of record with the William Schuman orches- Early High Camp it certainly is. Its fleeting human existence? If you like. tration of America, an amusing and movements are called "Old Folks Gather- It does somehow add up to a rather re- somewhat blasphemous work set forth in ing," "Children's Day," and "Commun- markable musical experience. a clever and rather confectionary ar- ion," and it has its Ivesian quota of old Decoration Day, one of the series of rangement. The performance of the First hymn tunes. Camp or no, we are faintly pieces grouped together as the Holidays Symphony that follows will do (for the embarrassed by all this, put off by the Symphony (they can be played together time being it will have to do) although, utter simplicity and directness. But this or separately), is an explicitly literal in all candor, it would not pass muster disarming triadic music is the piece that evocation: a meditative opening eight if the subject were Schubert or Mendels- Mahler saw and wanted to perform (alas, pages mainly for strings but with frag- sohn or Bruckner. Gould's performance he died too soon), and it is a profoundly ments and echoes in the winds -linear, of The Unanswered Question is slow original work in its way. Mahler could intense, dissonant, it constitutes one of (seven minutes to Bernstein's five ). About perfectly well understand what Ives was the most moving and exquisite passages the Columbia set too I have reservations. trying to do. Mahler was standing inside in all of Ives. After a slight pause the The concert performance of the Third the tradition and carrying its implications tempo increases and the fragments of Symphony by Bernstein and the New out to their farthest extension; Ives oper- familiar melodies-already present in the York Philharmonic last fall lingers more ates from the outside (a spiritual distance opening section -begin to take on life favorably in the memory than does this of more than 3,000 miles) and everything and clear profile. Now a remarkable recorded version made at the time. The is simplified and condensed -but the series of acoustical effects begins: an Unanswered Question, taped in 1964, parallels are nonetheless significant. Ives ostinato of bells, little clusters in the Decoration Day, recorded the previous uses only strings, two horns, trombone, strings, acoustical reinforcements in the year, and Central Park in the Dark, con- and four solo winds; at the end there are ducted by Seiji Ozawa and Maurice off -stage bells -what would have been Peress in 1962 when they were both as- a huge apotheosis in Mahler is in Ives sistant conductors at the Philharmonic just a tentative suggestion in the score. (all three pieces presumably recorded at Nothing is really developed in the usual Manhattan Center), fare far better. The sense but each idea is extended melodi- NEXT MONTH IN sense of space (probably artificially cally and connected with the others in a achieved) is part of the message and, al- remarkable continuity. The shifting, rest- though the sound from one piece to the less, constant reaching outwards towards :ION FlIDELITY next is inconsistent -for instance, I would some new, higher, elusive goal imparts have preferred maximum clarity and bril- a remarkable sense of motion and as- liance in the chaotic quickstep -the re- piration; typically, there is never any real cordings and performances come off at resolution, never any sense of arrival, The Guitar on the Go least to a degree. but simply constant striving which even- In general, let's give thanks and over- tually shades off into a kind of tran- by Shirley Fleming look the fact that Ives still has to undergo quility. a measure of carelessness that would Perhaps the most characteristic and never be permitted in Brahms. The re- striking achievement of Ives comes in The Bach Passions cordings are fair, the performances are what we might dub his characteristic serviceable, and Ives's second hundred And Oratorios short, empirical form. In these pieces years will surely be better. we find Ives the revolutionary as well as a discography. Ives the traditionalist. Here are generally IVES: Variations on "America" (arr. juxtaposed different kinds of music No. 1, in D - by Nathan Broder Schuman); Symphony often in free, simultaneous layers -in a minor; The Unanswered Question way that proposes clear analogies to actual experience. Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Morton Tape You Travel The most famous of the short works as Gould, cond. is The Unanswered Question: the distant, RCA VICTOR LM 2893. LP. $4.79. A report on beautifully laid out string chorale always RCA VICTOR LSC 2893. SD. $5.79. revolving imperturbably on its own spa- battery- operated tape recorders. tial, harmonic, and dynamic axis; the dis- IVES: Symphony No. 3 ( "The Camp turbing question itself, constantly iter- by Myron A. Matzkin Meeting "); Central Park in the ated by the persistent trumpet; and the Dark; Decoration Day; The Unan- independent, querulous flutes who, in a swered Question series of interjections that constantly in- Metastasio: crease in speed and anxiety, wretchedly Librettist to a Century New York Philharmonic, Seiji Ozawa tangle, babble, and squabble. Eventually, and Maurice Peress, assistant conds. (in the trumpet simply repeats its question, by William Weaver Central Park in the Dark); Leonard and the strings- always impassive, ex- Bernstein, cond. quisite, and distant-simply continue COLUMBIA ML 6243. LP. $4.79. turning on their paths out to infinity. COLUMBIA MS 6843. SD. $5.79.

JUNE 1966 71

www.americanradiohistory.com VIE

-.V

BERNSTEIN CONDUCTS BERNSTEIN BERNSTEIN Taney Tree Overture to Candid* CHICHESTER PSALMS FIRST RECORDING Bernstein o..A,,..to On Our ,Yount The Camerata Singera NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC ABRAHAM KAPLAN Prod* Prelude, and Runs FACSIMILE BALLET Copland Fugue NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC LEONARD BERNSTEIN Haney Goodman; Soloist 7 .. , El %alón México Appalachian Spring .J1"ew York Philharmonic

STEREO ;o Bernstein Coneerie Inspired conducts Anron heik. GoP nA. from the Copland PL Twenties Music tar the BILCOLY THE irk Theatre KID ' 11' BODfO Grof' LEONARD BERNSTEIN Grand Canyon Suite

HORN Leonard Bernstein MINOR/40441C

RATIO. Of New York Philharmonic AM. Conlin/

SOASO* New York Philharmonic

Copland LINCOLN PORTRAIT L000ltlSlol , -i:lmeric.lnSim'.r.,,,lLl,chrKtr.i i4 Ives Symphony No.4 ADLAI STEVENSON NAEt,TO0 .Ç Copland Fanfare for the Common Man Ives Three Places in New England THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHE EUGENE ORMANDY

--M:°"" LEONARD BERNSTEIN Rhapsody in Blue In Lmerian in Paris New YorA Philharmonic and The Columbia Symphony

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www.americanradiohistory.com Coming soon on COLUMBIA RECORDS

A generation ago, Serge Koussevitzky A SPECIAL TRIBUTE Stravinsky Conducts TO BRUNO WALTER Pulcinella- remarked : "Some have criticized me Irene Jordan, Soprano; Bruno Walter's Mahler for playing American music, saying - George Shirley, Tenor; Donald Symphony No. 9 Columbia Gramm, Bass; Columbia "Das America has not produced a Beethoven Symphony Orchestra / Symphony Orchestra. Lied von der Erde " -Mildred or a Brahms. I replied, `Why should it ?' Miller, Mezzo-soprano; Ernst March Slav - We have the spirit of Beethoven and Hafliger, Tenor; New York Tchaikovsky: March Slav/ Philharmonic. Includes a Brahms always with us. But America Rimsky-Korsakov : Russian recording of Walter rehearsing Easter Overture /Balakirev: is producing something new, youthful the Ninth Symphony. Islamey /Borodin: In the A 3- record set at a specially Steppes of Central Asia/ and vital in music. We should honor reduced price. the American composer." Glinka: Russlan and Ludmilla Bruno Walter's Wagner- Overture. Philadelphia The most vital enduring -works "The Flying Dutchman" Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, -and Overture / "Parsifal" Prelude Conductor. in American music have come from and Good Friday Spell/ "Die Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Meistersinger" Overture/ Robert Casadesus Plays "Tannhäuser" Overture and Sonatas by Chopin, Mozart, Charles Ives, William Schuman, Venusberg Music / "Lohengrin" Haydn- Charles Ruggles and their colleagues. Prelude to Act I / "Siegfried Chopin : Sonata No. 3 in Idyll." Columbia Symphony B Minor /Mozart: Sonata No. For the last 50 years these men have Orchestra. A 2- record set plus 12 inF /Haydn: 8 in A -Flat. enriched the language of music and free bonus 12 -inch LP :`Bruno Sonata No. Walter Rehearses Wagner: Marlboro etched vibrant impressions upon the Siegfried Idyll." Music From - artistic consciousness of our epoch. Busoni: Fantasia Bruno Walter's Bruckner - Contrappuntistica for Two Their music-so rich in its diversity Symphonies Nos. 4, 7 and 9. Pianos -Peter Serkin and of expression, so brilliantly attuned Columbia Symphony Richard Goode, Pianos /Reger: Orchestra. A 4- record set at Sonata for Cello and Piano - to the spirit of the twentieth century- a specially reduced price. Mischa Schneider, Cello; expresses, in the words of Aaron Bruno Walter's Brahms - Peter Serkin, Piano. Copland, "the deepest reactions of Tragic Overture /Academic Yardumian: Festival Overture /Variations the American consciousness to the Symphony No. 2 (Psalms) for on a Theme by Haydn. Medium Voice and Orchestra American scene." Columbia Symphony -Lili Chookasian, Contralto/ Orchestra. Symphony No. 1/Chorale- Columbia Records salutes the great Bruno Walter Conducts Prelude. Philadelphia American composers of our time. Two Favorite Classical Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, Symphonies - Conductor. We are proud to offer their recorded Mozart: Symphony No. 40/ Haydn: Symphony No. 88. Spanish Dance Spectacular- legacy in our extensive catalog of Columbia Symphony José Greco and His Dance twentieth -century music. Orchestra. Company.

The Sound of Genius on COLUMBIA RECORDS IM CIRCLE 12 ON READER -SERVICE CARD JUNE 1966 73

www.americanradiohistory.com well focused, attractive in tone, and longer a bass drudge but showing de- varied in color. He has no difficulty cidedly debutantish possibilities. Some- spinning out in one breath the long, where in between the pieces of Johann chromatic melismas describing Peter's Sebastian and John Christian falls the weeping for his denial of Jesus. Al- Trio Sonata of Carl Philipp, showing though Heinz Rehfuss does not, it seems his usual capacity for setting an easy - to me, recapture the moving sweetness breathing lyric theme into a fairly con- of his portrayal of Jesus in the old trapuntal texture. The finale contains Scherchen St. Matthew, his voice is still some fast footwork for flute and oboe, very appealing and he sings the bass ari- along with some telling comments from as effectively. Miss Matthes reveals an the continuo. Wilhelm Friedemann, al- alto that is dark, steady, on pitch. In together denser in texture than C.P.E., "Es ist vollbracht" she strikes the right leaves me -as usual, I'm afraid- without mood and color. What keeps this from BACH: Cantata No. 170, Vergnügte much to say. He does well what he sets Ruh' being a first -class performance of the out to do, which usually seems to be to aria, in my is a tScarlatti, Domenico: Salve Regina opinion. lack of bravura imitate Papa. Performances are occa- in the middle section and a routine per- sionally a bit pedantic (the slow move- formance of the obbligato gamba part. ments tend to Maureen Forrester, contralto; Wiener So- sound sluggish because of Miss Giebel is in good form in both of inflexible listen, Anton Heiller, cond. phrasing), but the fast move- her arias, the tendency of her voice to ments BACH GUILD BG 683. LP. $4.79. travel at a convincing clip. S.F. grow white above the staff being more BACH GUILD BGS 70683. SD. $5.79. evident in " Zerfliesse mein Herze" than in her earlier solo. The unnamed singer It has been almost a decade since a new BEESON: Symphony No. 1, in A- who does Pilate is good too. recording of Cantata 170 has come our See Ives: Robert Browning Over- But now we come to the less attrac- way, but this one was worth waiting for. ture. tive aspects of the set. The chorus, Miss Forrester's rich, bright -edged con- which sounds large, is for once heavily tralto, employed with taste and feeling, weighted on bottom. Tenors and basses is a joy to listen to, and here it has BEETHOVEN: Concerto for Piano come forward with clarity when they some lovely music to deal with. Two of and Orchestra, No. 1, in C, Op. 15; should, but the sopranos are seldom the three arias are very fine. The second Bagatelles, Op. 119 (11) on an equal footing with the men and of these is one of the rare instances the altos never. Vandernoot's tempos when Bach abandons the continuo for an Rudolf Serkin, piano; Philadelphia Or- are usually plausible, but he does all of chestra, Eugene entire movement; here he gets a special Ormandy, cond. the crowd's utterances in the same stiff, color by giving the violins (with violas) COLUMBIA ML 6238. LP. $4.79. bouncy rhythm, a rhythm that conveys the lowest line. The elaborate organ COLUMBIA MS 6838. SD. $5.79. little of the acrid feeling immanent in part is well played by either Anton or the music. Finally, the realization and Erna Heiller (it is not clear which). Ex- BEETHOVEN: Concerto for Piano recording of the continuo seem un- cept for a moment or two in this aria and Orchestra, No. 2, in B flat, satisfactory. Jesus is accompanied by the when voice and organ are not together, Op. 19 organ and everyone else by a harpsi- the performance seems entirely satis- tMozart: Concerto for Piano and chord, which is all right in factory. principle, no Orchestra, No. 27, in B flat, K. 595 doubt, but in ariosos and arias where Of special interest is the Salle Regina, the harpsichord is needed it can be for voice and strings, which according to Rudolf Serkin, piano; Philadelphia Or- heard only faintly or not at all. More- Kirkpatrick may be Scarlatti's last com- chestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. over the solo cello that sustains the position. It is a beautiful work. The first COLUMBIA ML 6239. LP. $4.79. bass notes in recitative is too close to the section is broad and melodious, the sec- COLUMBIA MS 6839. SD. $5.79. microphone and demands more atten- ond changes abruptly in mood and char- tion than it needs. There is still room in acter from phrase to phrase according BEETHOVEN: Concerto the domestic catalogues for a St. John for Piano to the text, the third ( "O clemens, o pia ") that is strong in every division, but until and Orchestra, No. 1, in C, Op. 15: is especially expressive, and the work Fantasia one appears, the present set deserves as for Piano, Chorus, and is rounded off by a joyful "Amen." We Orchestra, in C much consideration as most of the others minor, Op. 80 are reminded throughout that Domenico available. N.B. wrote a number of operas, in addition Julius Katchen, piano; London Symphony to all those harpsichord pieces. Miss For- Chorus (in the Fantasy) and Orchestra, rester is equally effective in the long BACH FAMILY: Chamber Music Pierino Gamba, cond. sustained lines of the beginning, the LONDON CM 9451. LP. $4.79. dramatic contrasts of the "Ad to clama- LONDON CS 6451. SD. $5.79. C. P. E. Bach: Trio Sonata in D. W. F. mu.s," and the cheerful figurations of the Bach: Trio Sonata in A minor (a frag- "Amen." Excellent sound in both ver- With these concurrent releases, two ment). J. S. Bach: Trio Sonata in C. sions. N.B. more recorded cycles of the five Bee- J. C. Bach: Quintet in D. thoven piano concertos reach completion. In addition to the separately available BACH: St. John Passion, S. 245 Ars Rediviva Ensemble (Prague). Serkin discs listed above, his edition PARLIAMENT PLP 619. LP. $1.98. (which divides orchestral honors be- Agnes Giebel, soprano; Wilhelmine Mat - PARLIAMENT PLPS 619. SD. $2.98. tween Ormandy's Philadelphians and thes, contralto; Richard Lewis, tenor; Bernstein's New Yorkers) is newly is- Heinz Rehfuss, bass; Bach Chorus; Or- A good spectrum of the Bach family sued- without the Op. 119 Bagatelles chestra of the Amsterdam Philharmonic talents is spread before us here, ranging and Mozart K. 595 but with the Choral Society, André Vandernoot, cond. from the highly contrapuntal church Fantasy -in an economically priced four- NONESUCH HC 3004. Three LP. $7.50. sonata of Sebastian to the songful, social disc set (D4L 340 or D4S 740). NONESUCH HC 73004. Three SD. quintet of his most songful, social son, Outstanding here is the new Serkin/ $7.50. John Christian. The latter's work strikes Ormandy version of No. 1, which I me as particularly interesting because recommend in its single -disc form be- This, one of the least expensive of the we hear relatively little of it. The present cause of its inclusion of the fine per- stereo St. Johns, is by no means the Quintet has two notable features: a formance of the Op. 119. Serkin gives least in quality. It can boast several ex- lovely, romantic aria in the second move- a magisterial, Promethean account of cellent elements. One is the Evangelist ment (mostly for flute, with the viola the early work, characterized by all of Richard Lewis. His singing of that following up), and several concertante sorts of slightly novel insights and re- role, and of the tenor arias, is solid, passages for the harpsichord, here no phrasings which add impressive individ-

74 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com The second Horowitz concert at Carnegie Hall, April 17, 1966, has been recorded by Columbia Masterworks.

Five other Horowitz _..,,,.. ® *4-=r'). recordings -now at your CI ::i. giia....i,..._.. record dealer. These albums have been the ultimate An Historic Return H ! acclaimed HOROWITZ Horowitz11 L in the art of musical at Carnegie Hall CHOPIN RnIro1R(elw.FauConcert SCHUMANN . in the IR7..N.Years interpretation and RACHMANINOPF science of recording. They LISZT e are part of a series that sets ..-4 the standard for the finest - w piano music on records. 4'4=5'4' e ,,_ «.. ,~1..AnunN 11iE SOUND OF ji HOROWITZ MPtitti,x. . ß,, t.*á,.,,t.äIIP HOROWITZ +6-0 4 711' YON MNN1 INIAIAYN t N NNYN HOROWITZ * i..P LAYS..^ .{

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Gi-COLUMO!A ,,,.S REG PRINTED IN USA CIRCLE 12 ON READER -SERVICE CARD JUNE 1966 75

www.americanradiohistory.com uality to his reading. As on his earlier BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 2, in orientation to the founding father of 1953 disc (also with Ormandy), he opts D, Op. 36; Overtures: Fidelio, Op. modern French orchestral music. This is for the tornadolike Beethoven cadenza 72; King Stephen, Op. 117 apparently the first recording of Berlioz's No. 3 in the first movement, and adds a music by Ernest Ansermet: at least the completely convincing preface to the London Symphony Orchestra, Pierre current Schwann contains no Berlioz by shorter third -movement one (also by the Monteux, cond. him and I can recall none from the past. composer). His tempos seem less breath- RCA VICTROLA VIC 1170. LP. $2.50. Of two major approaches to Berlioz - less than of old, unless memory fails me. RCA VICTROLA VICS 1170. SD. the emotion -charged, almost hysterical Ormandy's boldly accentuated, thorough- $3.00. one of Charles Munch, and the more ly vigorous framework is magnificently reserved, patrician view of Monteux - alive. If the Philadelphia brass are, as Listening to this admirable disc, I was Ansermet predictably takes the latter. always with this conductor, urged to play struck anew at the parallels between He combines orchestral clarity and dis- a shade timorously, the timpani and Monteux's Beethoven and Weingartner's. tinctness of color with innate musicality strings have more than usual gusto. Naturally the treatment of detail differs and a gift for elegant lyric line in a Furthermore, the sonority, as repro- but in over -all effect one hears the same manner most appropriate to Berlioz. In- duced in resplendent stereo, is convinc- kind of sturdy, granitic structuralism in deed, his achievement here with admitted- ingly solid, with the firm chording of the two conductors' approaches. The ly minor Berlioz warrants the hope that the woodwinds especially impressive and Second Symphony (which Monteux re- he will eventually explore the larger Beethovenian. In every way then, this is corded earlier in San Francisco) receives works of this composer. The most suc- an edition to rate with the militant a hearty, genial reading. The tempos are cessful performances on the record are of Fleisher /Szell (Epic), the biting and rather brisk, but as the rhythmic inflec- Berlioz's most characteristic music: in headlong Gould /Golschmann (Colum- tion is easygoing rather than strenuously the Benvenuto Cellini and Roman Car- bia), and the divergently lyrical essays driven, a certain gregariousness of spirit nival Overtures the subtle shading of with this music by Schnabel (Angel suffuses the entire interpretation. As on phrase and controlled shifts in dynamics COLH), Kempff /Leitner (DGG), and the older record, Monteux sets a slower come off exceptionally well; and in the Arrau /Haitink (Philips). With the pro- speed for the third -movement trio than Dance of the Sylphs the gossamer texture foundly searching integral set of the he does for the surrounding scherzo. of the sound is enchanting. He is less great Op. 119 Bagatelles as a very sub- That practice (also consistent with Mon - successful in the more bombastic pieces - stantial makeweight, Serkin /Ormandy teux's way with the Fourth and Seventh the Corsair Overture and the Hungarian might be the most recommendable of all. Symphonies, incidentally) is in sharp March from The Damnation of Faust. I am less happy about Serkin's re- rebuke to the Toscanini philosophy of Unaccountably, the more subtle musical makes of the two B flat Concertos. The one tempo (with slight modification) per conception of the Overture to Beatrice Beethoven suffers from Ormandy's movement. The first -movement exposi- and Benedict eludes Ansermet and this blowzy, grand- orchestra approach to a tion repeat, observed on the older San is the weakest performance on the record. work that calls for compactness and Francisco version, is bypassed on this one. Sonically, the recording provides a charm above all else. Serkin's treatment Even more instructive are the two realistic balance of room acoustics and of the solo part too is erratic, varying overtures which here receive premiere instrumental detail. The sequence in between light-footed wit and soggy mar - recordings from the Monteux baton. which the works are presented is, how- tellato. As in sections of the artist's re- Fidelio opens with vital, explosive energy ever, rather strange: three Overtures on cently issued Fourth Concerto for the and then settles down to a steady, easy one side are hardly conducive to con- same company, I am disturbed by cer- allegro, vivified by a violent accelerando tinuous listening; and an arbitrary at- tain technical holes in the passagework. at the coda. King Stephen crackles with tempt to gain programmatic coherence How odd to find this usually pianistic racy humor and crisp energy. It is akin on the other side has necessitated chang- cyclone permitting impetus to sag (as in to Janos Ferencsik's excellent Parliament ing the order of the excerpts from The parts of the finale)! For this work, then, edition with the Czech Philharmonic. Damnation of Faust to conclude the side the versions of Schnabel /Dobrowen Orchestral playing throughout is admir- with the Hungarian March. P.H. (Angel COLH) and Fleisher /Szell (Epic) able, though the rugged attention to bass win hands down. Both Mr. Serkin and lines and the unwillingness to emasculate BERLIOZ: Symphonie fantastique, Mr. Ormandy are on far better terms the inherently uncouth physical sound Op. 14 with the overside Mozart, but though of brass and percussion instruments there is nothing actively wrong with the produce an effect far removed from the /London Symphony Orchestra, Colin present orchestral accompaniment, I superslick sheen favored by most pres- `j Davis, cond. PHILIPS PHM 500101. LP. $4.79. find much more detailed phrasing and ent -day directors (another similarity with V sensitivity in that led by Alexander Weingartner's outlook, by the way). The PHILIPS PHS 900101. SD. $5.79. Schneider on the older, deleted mono- sound is very bright, even at times a phonic Serkin edition. Moreover, I per- bit hard and metallic. I found the stereo This is the best Fantastique I have ever sonally prefer a more coloristic approach to be notably more effective than its heard -a large claim, when a glance to this nostalgic, sentiment-laden music single- channel counterpart. Only the at Schwann will show more than twenty (such as the reading Clara Haskil and Fifth Symphony is needed now to com- rival recordings, but soberly made, and Ferenc Fricsay gave on a DGG disc plete the full Monteux cycle of Bee- backed by two or three years' acquaint- never released in the U.S.A.). Columbia's thoven's Nine. N.G. ance with this version in its previous orchestral reproduction here is velvety Dutch and English pressings. The Eng- (too velvety for my liking). lish release spoiled the sound by squeez- To turn finally to the Katchen /Gamba BERLIOZ: Orchestral Works ing the whole of the last three movements readings, I can find nothing but praise into Side 2, but the new American for London's ultraclear reproduction and Overtures: Le Carnaval romain, Op. 9; pressings restore the original Dutch ar- Katchen's sparkling, cultivated finger - Béatrice et Bénédict; Le Corsair, Op. 21; rangement with the turn coming in the work. In contrast to the regal Serkin Benvenuto Cellini, Op. 23; La Damna- middle of the Scène aux champs. Of approach, this artist prefers to keep his tion de Faust, Op. 24: Marche hongroise; course, the side break is a pity, but the tone nimble and slender-much in the Danse des sylphes; Menuet des follets. wonderfully rich reproduction, at once manner of Gieseking. It's all a bit on warm and clear, offers ample compensa- the superficial side, though; and if you Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest tion. favor a lightweight patrician reading for Ansermet, cond. Davis has an unsurpassed way with the C major Concerto and Choral Fan- LONDON CM 9439. LP. $4.79. Berlioz. He understands that this com- tasy, Kempff's DGG disc, for one, and LONDON CS 6439. SD. $5.79. poser's textures must never clog, and he Daniel Barenboim's Westminster record, achieves precisely that well- ventilated for another, provide the essential Katchen It is an event of more than passing in- lucidity of line which proclaims that the approach allied to greater interpretative terest to encounter for the first time the archromantic was also a classicist. distinction. H.G. approach of a major conductor of French Furthermore, he observes all the repeats

76 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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www.americanradiohistory.com -which pays rich dividends formally herself (presumably because Fischer - BRITTEN: Curlew River in the first movement and dramatically Dieskau would have sounded pretty silly in the Marche au supplice -and, unlike in falsetto) and creates the drama of the Peter Pears, et al.; various instrumen- many conductors, he takes the trouble to song precisely through her ability to talists; Benjamin Britten and Viola Tun - use cornets for the cornet parts, thus differentiate between the two sisters, she nard, musical directors. imparting a gloriously creamy consistency demonstrates the emptiness of the device. to the waltz movement. The performances are somewhat un- For a feature review of this recording, Everything is right in this interpreta- even, embracing some truly magical see page 69. tion, and the orchestral playing is even interpretations and some badly miscal- finer than that of the Philadelphia Or- culated ones. Gerald Moore is the one chestra when they played the work with absolutely steady element, gauging the BRITTEN: Sonata for Cello and Pi- Davis at Philharmonic Hall in January. weights of the songs and his singers ano, in C, Op. 65 B.J. perfectly, and bringing off moments that tKabalevsky: Sonata for Cello and are really spellbinding, as in the won- Piano, in B flat, Op. 71 BRAHMS: Folk Songs (complete) derfully delicate differentiations of move- ment in Jungfriiulein, soll ich mit euch Stanislav Apolin, cello, Radoslav Kvapil, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano; Dietrich geh'n. Many of the accompaniments piano (in the Britten); Sasa Vectomov, Fischer -Dieskau, baritone; Gerald Moore, simply play one hand against the other, cello, Josef Palenicek, piano (in the piano. and it is a constant source of pleasure Kabalevsky). ANGEL 3675. Two LP. $9.58. to hear the balance and clarity of ARTIA ALP 709. LP. $4.98. ANGEL S 3675. Two SD. $11.58. Moore's playing. ARTIA ALPS 709. SD. $5.98. Of the two singers, Schwarzkopf comes This set takes on a bit of an archival off somewhat better here; nothing could This is Britten's "Rostropovich Sonata" aspect-the Brahms folk song settings are be better than her young, bouncy Dort and it is not only the work that made the not a cycle, after all, but only a gathering, in den Weiden (a perfect collaboration English composer famous in Eastern and I doubt that anyone is much in- with Moore) or her very touching Es Europe but also one of the most Eastern - terested in hearing them at one swell steht ein Lind or In stiller Nacht. Once sounding of his works; there is a clear foop, either in a recital hall or on records. in a while, she oversteps -the last phrase Bartók -Kodály strain almost from be- The thing is, only a few of them are of Es ging ein Maidlein zarte, for in- ginning to end. While this aspect of the really great songs -Maria ging aus stance, rather hits us over the head with music bothers me not a little (it turns wandern, with its harmonic and atmos- the "bittrer Angst and Schmerz" of it all. up in other recent "Russian works" of pheric shadowings of the Wolf Spanish But it happens only once or twice. In Britten and never seems quite sincere), spiritual songs; In stiller Nacht; a few the many songs in which her lips are the Cello Sonata has other sources of others. There are many that are, taken supposed to say no, but her eyes yes, strength-a kind of austere rigor under- by themselves, engagingly light and fresh she sounds like a very practiced tease. pinning an attractive surface of great on- (Mein Mädel hat einen Rosenmund, The voice itself sounds round and fresh. going skill and wit. The present perform- Dort in den Weiden, and some others). Fischer -Dieskau is, I think, a victim ance is a good one but really not com- But there are also many that are quite of overmiking here. He is not one to petitive in a field where the rival team ordinary, and far too many of one or underplay a song, and many of these is Rostropovich- Britten. For my taste, two sorts (lovers showing up under interpretations are terribly overblown and the corny Kabalevsky Sonata on the windows and being told to go away; puffy, with simple, sweet little songs be- overside -no matter how pleasantly narrators going on endlessly about the coming great dramatic monologues. When played and recorded -helps matters not fortunes of young ladies whose self - he keeps it relatively simple, the effect a jot. E.S. control is not exemplary, etc., etc.) to is splendid, as in All mein Gedanken or make more than a few palatable at a Des A bends kann ich nicht schlafen time. I spread the album over two eve- geh'n. But Es reit ein Herr and auch sein BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 9, in D nings, a disc at a time. but even then, Knecht, for instance, becomes a gran minor; Te Deum the doses were stiff. This is nothing scena ed aria, and I suspect much of the against the album, of course, for nothing difficulty is that of proximity. It is a Maria Stader, soprano: Sieglinde Wagner, compels one to listen to more than four dramatic song, and the interpretation contralto; Ernst Hidliger. tenor; Peter or five at once -which is my suggestion. would probably work in a large hall, Lagger, bass: Wolfgang Meyer, organ; All forty -two songs are present, though with distance to soften it. Certainly I Chorus of the German Opera (Berlin); verses have been omitted from some, have seldom felt at Fischer -Dieskau's Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Eugen generally in the cases of multi -verse live recitals what I often feel about his Jochum, cond. narrative songs. I can't get terribly recordings -that they are overstated, DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON LPM 39117/ worked up over a missing verse here and overinterpreted. Either he must tone 18. Two LP. $11.58. there. What does occasionally disturb down, or the engineer must back up, or DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON SLPM me is the division of labor. With very, both. Probably the worst example is 139117/18. Two SD. $11.58. very occasional exceptions, I think the Mein Mildel bat einen Rosenmund, which apportionment of dialogue between two is distorted something awful -explosive BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 9, in D singers within a song weakens, not attacks, viciously sharp tone much too minor strengthens, the dramatic frame. These close up, preposterous accelerandi at the are not duets, or scenes from an opera, ends of verses, and an embarrassing Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Eu- but songs, in which one singer is ex- cuteness at the end. Back to the simple, gen Jochum, cond. [from Decca DXL pected to project the varying moods and outgoing boyishness of Lotte Lehmann. 139, 1956]. personalities of the characters- other- C.L.O. HELIODOR H 25007. LP. $2.49. wise, why not four singers for Erlkönig? HELIODOR HS 25007. SD. $2.49. I recall that DGG undertook this sort of arrangement for a Spanisches Liederbuch It's not often that two different versions disc about five years ago, with misbe- of a work by the same conductor arrive gotten results, and I find it a drawback for review together. The Heliodor is a here. Especially ridiculous is the case of reissue of Jochum's older performance, So wünsch ich ihr ein' gute Nacht, in and its stereo version is a reprocessing which we have musical thoughts being from mono originals. Although I am divided in two by alternation. Roughly aware that my colleague Peter G. Davis a third of the songs are handled this has serious reservations about Heliodor's way, in no case to any positive advan- electronic stereo [see "Repeat Perform- tage, and when Schwarzkopf takes Es ance," May 1966], it seems to me that the war ein Markgraf über'm Rhein all to touching -up works better here than in

78 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com many such attempts. There is some BYRD: Madrigals, Motets, and An- production wreaks havoc with the Au- lateral distribution of frequencies; but, thems vergne accompaniments, which attain more important, the sound is clean, spa- their flavor only in the solo passages and cious, and an improvement on an already Saltire Singers. Roy Jesson. organ. frequently sound like junky cocktail mu- good quality of reproduction. Jochum's LYRICHORD LL 156. LP. $4.98. sic. If one knows the sweep and color interpretation is a distinguished one, giv- LYRICHORD LLST 7156. SD. $5.95. and charm of these orchestrations, or the ing due weight to details without ob- intimate atmosphere created by the in- scuring the over -all line of this profound There is some gorgeous music on this strumental timbres in the Chansons madé- and powerful work. record, mostly well performed, but the cas.ses. one can hardly he satisfied with The new performance with the Berlin collection is rather a grab -bag. There what is to he heard here. Philharmonic is, predictably, along the are a few sacred and secular part -songs The Auvergne performances themselves same general lines. The tempos are (one or two certainly conceived as solo have always inspired my respect, but not similar, and there is the same deeply songs for performance with viols but the devotion and affection I know some felt but firmly channeled emotion. (There here performed only with voices), an ac- collectors feel towards them. I like is also the same irritating prolongation companied solo anthem with verse re- Grey's musicality and simplicity, and I of the horns' G flat in meas. 504 of the frains, a Christmas carol of a similar find the straight, boyish timbre of her first movement.) The orchestral playing type, three Latin motets of exceptional voice admirably suited to a couple of the is splendid, but not appreciably better scope and beauty, and several keyboard songs, namely Boiler° and Passo del prat. than that of the Bavarian orchestra. The pieces from the Fitzwilliam Virginal I don't think anyone since has gotten one respect in which Jochum's reading Book (here played on the organ, an in- more fun out of Malnrou.s qu'a uno kit- has developed is in its firmer control of strument obviously unsuited for these no, either. However, there is nothing tempo in the Adagio, and this is a de- galliards and giggs). sensuous or beautiful about the voice, cided gain, but on the whole it may be Except for the totally unsuccessful which is in fact rather thin and hard - said that the differential in standard of organ solos, the performances are of sounding ( "full and rich," say the book- performance is much smaller than the great beauty and expressive care. I have let notes, but if these adjectives are real- differential in price. Deutsche Grammo- one small qualification: a certain kind ly applicable, then the recordings are far phon's new recording is admirably warm of Olde English madrigal- singing sound worse yet than they seem). and she seems and sonorous, and contains the broad -a kind of bland tone, mainly in the to command only one timbre and a very orchestral effects with ease. It suffers, higher voices, which tends to flatten out narrow dynamic range. For most of the however, from a curious spot of exces- and nasalize the vowels and occasionally songs. I will go with Netania Davrath, sive resonance around B flat in the bass adds a coy little scoop up to the pitch; who is equally musical and sensitive, and stave which is probably an acoustic from this side of the Atlantic at least who has a lovely voice and irresistible peculiarity of the hall where the record- it sounds a little mannered. femininity to go along -not to mention ing was made. One suspects that this disc, like a num- good recording of the accompaniments. The Berlin version spreads the three ber of such recent items, was originally I have never before heard these per- movements of the Symphony (the finale prepared as a BBC program and this may formances of the Ravel pieces, which was never completed) over a side apiece, account for its somewhat miscellaneous seem to me to be in the same boat. and the fourth side is used for a per- character; with so much of this reper- Grey does well with the second and formance of the Te Deum. This impos- toire now being recorded, it would make third of the Hebrew songs. capturing just ing setting was suggested by Bruckner more sense to explore the different facets the right flavor for the father /son dia- himself as a possible finale for the Sym- of a single composer's output in more logue of Mejer'ke, and the shrug of the phony when he realized that he would depth. But these comments should be shoulders for L.'Enigme éternelle. Kad- not be able to complete the bigger work; taken in perspective; for the most part diseh. so far as I am concerned, requires but the Te Deum's earlier style unfits it this is a charming record, with good a richer. more authoritative. and more for this position. Still, it is a sensible sound. E.S. reposeful sound, however right the sing- fill -up for a recording, and Jochum con- er's interpretative instincts. ducts it with great conviction. The The Chansons nlruh ;tosses I find suc- choral; orchestral balance is good, and CANTELOUBE: Chants d'Auvergne cessful only in ternis of musical under- the solo quartet sings strongly, with the tRavel: Trois chants hébraïques; standing and rhythmic strength, which exception of Maria Stader, who sounds Chansons madécasses helps especially towards the end of Aotca! uncomfortable in a part unsuited to her But the voice just doesn't have the lush, voice. Madeleine Grey, soprano; Maurice Ravel, soft beauty for Nuhondore, or the range Furtwiingler's performance of the Sym- piano (in the Chants hébraïques); in- and command for Aoua! Repos comes 1 phony remains the most deeply satisfy- strumental trio, Maurice Ravel. cond. off better, and there is no questioning ing, and Mehta's, which I reviewed in (in the Chansons madécasses); orchestra, Miss Grey's understanding and musical- these pages last January, is also a fine Elie Cohen, cond. (in the Canteloube) ity. As usual, Angel has provided texts, one, exquisitely detailed and rich in mu- [from various originals, 1930 -32). translations, notes, and discographic ma- sical sap, if slightly diffuse over -all. ANGEL COLC 152. LP. $5.79. terial. C.L.O. Either of Jochum's performances would be a good choice if you want a version This release stirs mixed feelings. One is that combines some of the virtues of glad to see recordings of historical im- CHABRIER: Une education manquée both approaches, the dynamic and the portance kept in circulation, and the lingering. credentials of this material are beyond Liliane Berton (s), Hélène de la Cérisaie; The Heliodor is the first bargain -label question-Madeleine Grey "created" the Jane Berbié (ms), Gontran de Boismasif; release of the Ninth Symphony. This Canteloube Auvergne settings (those Jean -Christophe Benoit (h), Maitre does not excuse the extraordinary mess heard here, at least) and was also the Pausanias; Orchestre de la Société des that has been made of its documentation. first to sing both of the little Ravel Concerts du Conservatoire de Paris, Jean - For some curious reason, the mono cycles. In addition, we have Ravel him- Claude Hartemann. cond. pressing splits the Scherzo over two self as accompanist in one set of his PATTU: ASTX 337. SD. $6.79. sides, while the stereo edition accommo- songs and as conductor of the flute - dates it all on the first -another distinct cello -piano trio in the other. Chabrier's chief operatic work is Le Roi advantage. But the labels and jackets of Purely as a listening experience, m al,ré lui: the one -act operetta Une edu- both versions indicate a split, and the though, I don't consider the record much cation manquée preceded it (first per- timings given are pure moonshine. This, of a treat. The sound is mostly tubby formance, May 1, 1877) and helped however, is a marginal grump. The disc and scratchy (indeed, the music/noise make his reputation. It is hardly ever is an excellent buy, and I rather prefer ratio was considerably better on the 10- heard outside France nowadays, though it to the full -price set, with the excep- inch Odeon pressing of the Auvergne it was given a workshop performance in tion of that point about slow- movement songs, which circulated in this country New York City recently. tempos. B.J. six or seven years ago). The poor re- The piece is supposed to be charming

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www.americanradiohistory.com and sophisticated, but I find it pretty comparable scale. Purists, however, had have, as indicated above, some reserva- leaden. It's about a young couple who better be forewarned that the French vir- tions about the performance, it is cer- have just gotten married but who haven't tuoso thinks nothing of amplifying bass tainly a respectable contender in the much idea of how to, tee -hee, consum- sonorities by adding octaves with fifths Chopin waltz sweepstakes. H.G. mate the union. Somebody's grandfather in them, a practice beloved of "Grand who is supposed to show up and tell all Manner" exponents. can't make it, and the old tutor Pausanias First -class piano reproduction, both CORELLI: Concerti grossi, Op. 6: also isn't of much help, but in the end monophonically and in stereo. H.G. No. 1, in D; No. 3, in C minor; there is a thunderstorm and the newly- No. 6, in F; No. 7, in D weds get together anyway. I don't know how the French regard this work now, CHOPIN: Waltzes (complete) Slovak Chamber Orchestra, Bohdan but if they're still smirking over adoles- Warchal, cond. cent would -be lovers who don't know the Tamás Vásáry, piano. PARLIAMENT PLP 610. LP. $1.98. facts of life, we can stop looking that DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON LPEM PARLIAMENT PLPS 610. SD. $2.98. way for instruction in worldly matters. 19485. LP. $5.79. I'm reminded of the late Wolcott Gibbs's DEUTSCHE GRAM MOPHON SLPEM Once or twice when I first played this delightful comparison of French love- 136485. SD. $5.79. record I thought I discerned the dis- making to a girls' basketball game: lots tant tinkling of a harpsichord, but I of squealing and jumping up and down. Vásáry has recently recorded for DGG finally concluded that this was wishful but not much in the scoring department. a great deal of Chopin piano music, thinking. These are not stylish perform- The music is tired -sounding too; one issued on the Continent in a de luxe mul- ances. Their sonority, intensified by a or two pleasant melodies, but in general tiple- record set and to be released in recording of greater richness than clari- a great deal of self -conscious effort at this country as single discs. The present ty, is too heavy for the music, and some being bright, witty, and romantic. Except collection upholds the superlative pianis- good playing in the solo passages is in academic compositional terms (Cha- tic standards already set by this distin- offset by articulation and ornaments un- brier does know how to write his music guished young Hungarian artist. His suitable to the period. B.J. down and orchestrate it), I should not fingerwork is remarkably deft and ac- put the score much above that of the curate, the tonal gradations are consum- average Broadway musical. Well, I take mate (although some listeners may pre- DEBUSSY: La Mer; Khamma (orch. that back, but you see the point. fer a darker, more bass -oriented sonority Koechlin); Rhapsody for Clarinet The performance is first -class. Jane for this music), and his instinctive feel- and Orchestra Berbié sounds freer and steadier here ing for graceful accent and line are al- than on any of her previous recordings, ways in evidence despite little rhythmic Robert Gugholz, clarinet; Orchestre de and the delectable Liliane Berton uses hesitations and exaggerations. la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet. her fresh high soprano to good effect. Vásáry is here apparently striving for LONDON CM 9437. LP. $4.79. Jean -Christophe Benoit, a pleasant light a compromise between the linear, objec- LONDON CS 6437. SD. $5.79. baritone, does what he can with the tively rhythmic expositions of Lipatti drearily cliché(' role of Pausanias. The (Angel and Columbia) or Werner Haas This recording has had an unusual ef- orchestra plays beautifully under Harte- (Epic -deleted) and the more personal- fect on me. The first time I played it mann. The sound is also first -rate, nat- ized, "traditional" view espoused -in dif- I thought it rather dull, but a second ural and well balanced, except that the ferent ways -by Cortot, Malcuzynski, hearing conveyed a much more favorable registration seems a bit out of whack. Novaes, and Rubinstein. I'm not sure impression, and subsequent playings are since voices occasionally shift position that the attempt is not mistaken. Both steadily increasing my pleasure in it. It with changes in pitch. There are liner Haas and Lipatti -my own personal fa- has all the analytical accuracy for which notes in French, but no texts. C.L.O. vorites in the Chopin Waltzes-projected Ansermet is famous, without ever sink- a swinging metric continuum, a constant ing into pedantry. La Mer is, after all, dance rhythm which served as a basic the last work in which dryness would be CHOPIN: Berceuse in D flat, Op. pulse in terms of which they shaped pardonable, and this performance has 57; Fantasy in F minor, Op. 49; phrases and modified tempos with telling abundant atmosphere of sea and sky. Preludes, Op. 28 (complete) success. Vásáry -who normally displays wind and water, scurrying waves and an excellent sense of timing and accen- glinting sunlight. I have not been able Jeanne Marie Darré, piano. tuation-on this occasion is sometimes to make a detailed comparison with VANGUARD VRS 1151. LP. $4.79. guilty of abrupt and mannered shifts of Ansermet's previous recordings, but to VANGUARD VSD 71151. SD. $5.79. tempo. A good example of what I am the best of my recollection they are far referring to can be heard in the A flat surpassed by this new reading. Tosca- Mme. Darré is in happier estate here Waltz, Op. 64, No. 3: the piece is frag- nini's recording on Victor (mono only) than she was for the Liszt recital issued mented by a series of caesuras and per- remains a classic alternative; Karajan's by Vanguard a short while ago. Al- sonal indulgences in Vásáry's perform- is one of the best things he has done, though her treatment of some of the ance, whereas in the versions by Lipatti but it is too soft -edged for an ideal pres- Preludes may be a trifle perverse and and Haas it moves with its genial, "beer entation of this supremely unromantic arbitrary, and her account of the con- barrel" atmosphere intact. Throughout, piece; Szell on Epic, though workman- summate Berceuse is decidedly plebeian Vásáry's readings also seem to me just like and often brilliant, rides roughshod and directionless when measured against a trifle too smooth and overly subtle. over some of the subtler dynamic dis- such achievement as Solomon's (on a The disc gives us all seventeen of the tinctions in the score. well -remembered 78 -rpm disc), she waltzes, and is recorded in acceptable, The new Ansermet has the advantage clearly has ideas and facility. When in if a trifle overbright, sound. While I of an otherwise unavailable coupling, in the vein, as she is intermittently in the the ballet Khamma-composed in 1912, present collection, this performer can, orchestrated by Charles Koechlin, and indeed, draw sparks from the sounding premiered in Paris as a concert piece in board of her instrument. Her reading of 1924. Without the reinforcement of a the tremendous F minor Fantasy -stately stage action, the music is somewhat thin; in its opening march, sonorously full - but with the help of the stage directions bodied in bravura episodes, pellucid in in the score (some account of which the B major chorale section -is nothing will, I hope, be given in the liner) the if not impressive and compelling. Darré's delicate understatement of the piece is sense of architecture in this work is no- evocative enough, and Ansermet plays tably more sure -handed than she has is very well. The Clarinet Rhapsody pro- shown in any other interpretation of vides an appropriate fill -up B.J.

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www.americanradiohistory.com DONIZETTI: Lucia di Lammermoor Moffo comes off very well -the top of her voice, especially, sounds much Anna Moffo (s), Lucia; Corinna Vozza better here than it has for some time. (ms), Alisa; Carlo Bergonzi (t), Ed- "Regnava nel silenzio" is particularly gardo; Pierre Duval (t), Arturo: Vittorio lovely, and so is the "Ardon gl'incensi" Pandano (t), Normanno: Mario Sereni section of the Mad Scene, which captures (b), Enrico; Ezio Flagello (bs), Rai- a personal feeling and a communicative- mondo; RCA Italiana Opera Chorus and ness sometimes lacking elsewhere. The Orchestra, Georges Prêtre. cond. one significant vocal difficulty is a lack RCA VICTOR LM 6170. Three LP. of real abandon -something I have noted $14.37. in Miss Moffo's coloratura work before. RCA VICTOR LSC 6170. Three SD. She stops too often to "set" her voice $17.37. before attacking runs and cadenzas, and is in general too careful to give a feel- There is nothing very surprising here - ing of much spontaneity or release. the are all familiar quantities, Complementing this is a tendency to feel performers Prêtre: much at home with Donizetti. and they are in representative form. If her way into phrases rather than attack- anything, I should say that the sum totals ing them cleanly from the first note. more than I had anticipated: Prêtre turns As a result, the cantabile portions are out to be an interesting Lucia conductor, fine, the rest somewhat lacking in ur- and Miss Moffo appears to better ad- Schirmer vocal score), a perfectly solid gency, and I cannot say that this Lucia vantage than in her recent appearances bit of development with some interesting seems a very specific person -just a and recordings. off -beat accents and a fine chance for pleasant lady who sings attractively. The complete score is presented (as it the voice to open out on the ascent to Carlo Bergonzi displays all his fa- is in the London recording), which the E natural. There is simply no reason miliar virtues -beautifully controlled line means that the burden on the leading to cut it; yet the only times I have heard singing with a fine command of dynamic lady is not quite as great as it is in the the music are in the London and Victor shading, and extraordinary musical normal performance edition: we have the recordings, and when one asks a con- taste. There is no denying that some ex- Wolf's Crag Scene between Edgardo and ductor why it is cut, one will get "Oh, citement is missing -his denunciation of Ashton, the Raimondo /Lucia scene with that's never done" for an answer. A poor Lucia in the wedding scene is pretty the bass aria "Cedi. cedi." the Mad reason. tame, and there are other points where Scene shirt -tail wherein Raimondo ban- I like Prêtré s work here. He gives the one wishes for a tone that did not nar- ishes Normanno, and the many addi- recitative accompaniments a good meas- row towards such a carefully scaled top. tions to ensembles and cabalettas along ure of thrust and gets a lot of rhythmic But the final scene is close to being great the way. I have now listened to the steadiness into the duets and finales. He singing, with an especially fine rendition opera in this unexpurgated form a num- knows how to use seemingly unimportant of "Fra poco a me ricovero," a beautiful ber of times, and the experience has passages to highlight the rest -Alisa's but very difficult aria. convinced me that most of the cuts lines between the two verses of "Quando Mario Sereni's Enrico makes a good, usually made do nothing but reduce the rapita in estasi," for example, are used solid effect in the second and third acts work's stature. Most important is the to stir up some tension before relaxing -nothing individual or striking, but long cut in the Act 11 finale: this is not back into the a tempo at the beginning firm Italian baritone singing of a tradi- only vital structurally. but is magnifi- of the second verse. He also refrains tional sort. The first scene, however, cently developed ensemble writing -I from overdoing certain effects that can which is for all practical purposes a cannot imagine who first decided that become downright sleazy (I am thinking solo scene for Ashton, makes small im- the opera was better off without it. The of two instances in the sextette: the horn pact; his reading of "Cruda. funesta Wolf's Crag Scene is, at the least, lots sforzando in the last bar of the intro- smania" is square and colorless, with a of fun, and I will admit to thinking that duction, and the cymbal crashes at the muffled -sounding top and an unmusical portions of it -the concluding duet and two big climaxes, which frequently are shouting of accents. The engineering may the introductory storm music with smeared all over the music). The aggre- again be at fault, for Sereni seems placed Edgardo's fine recitative -are passages gation which Victor calls the RCA in an unsatisfactory position relative to of considerable power. I haven't much Italiana Orchestra continues to impress the orchestra, and Vittorio Pandano, the use for "Cedi, cedi." but it is dramat- as a group of first -rate musicians; they Normanno, may as well have stayed ically essential, since one of the prob- produce a sound of some color and home and collected a featherbedding lems with Lucia has always been to variety, and when one of them gets some check, for all we can hear of him. If we motivate sufficiently her decision to give prominence, he makes the most of it- can't agree that Lucia is a singers' opera, in to Enrico. I don't feel the sane way listen to the splendid trumpet work in the I guess there just ain't no such beast about the recitative following the Mad opening bars of the first scene, for in- any more. Scene: it ruins the big curtain effect, stance. If I have a criticism, it is that Ezio Flagello sounds wonderful in his and I don't think it is of the slightest some of the more subdued effects are reinstated scene -big and steady, with significance whether or not Normanno toned down too much (which may be some wonderful messa di voce effects gets his comeuppance. At this point. who an engineering problem, not a musical on the lead -ins to phrases. But somehow cares about anything except the fates of one). The harp prelude at the beginning he misses the fine opportunity afforded Lucia and Edgardo' of Scene 2, for example, refines itself by "Dalle stanze," where he fails to cap- As is the case with so many nine- right out of existence, and it is difficult ture the dignity which can be imparted teenth- century Italian operas (Troratore to tell where the blame belongs. In addi- by true, on -going line singing. An effort is another example). there are also, tra- tion (though this is largely a matter of has been made to give Arturo his due ditionally, brief cuts made apparently taste), I would like more consistency in importance by casting Pierre Duval, the for musical reasons. but which have no the handling of the vocal lines -the ele- leading tenor of the London Puritani, in basis except in pedantry of the pickiest ments of emulation and competition in the role, but unfortunately he comes off sort -one sees four bars out here, a the big exchanges are, I think, valid ones pretty much the same as everyone else in line there (I have a mental picture of an in this kind of music, and when Miss this role -blatty and forced -sounding. aging Kapellmeister in charge of such Moffo executes a portando which is then The truth is that "Per poco fra le matters back in the Damrosch /Grau era, ignored by Mr. Sereni at the equivalent tenehre" is not an easy little piece of irascibly scratching out bars of Italian point in his response, or when Miss music to sing. trash -bad enough that Mme. Sembrich Moffo sings an elaborate cadenza but The sound is bright and full, but, as insists on singing the thing at all). An Mr. Sereni does not answer with one of I have indicated, not always advan- instance is a two -line excision made in his own, something is lost. Small points, tageous to the singers, and not without Enrico's first long solo in the scene with but for me these things contribute to traces of pre- and post -echo. Though no Lucia (lines two to four, p. 67 of the the finish and style of a performance. credit is accorded, Victor has apparently

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www.americanradiohistory.com borrowed London's large resident com- Hallé Orchestra. Great care has been even the Vienna strings lack the finesse pany of giggling party guests. They taken, both in performance and in re- of Philadelphia. Ormandy favors tradi- sound equally silly under both labels. cording, over balance, and all the more tion in texts, tempos, and timbre, but C.L.O. problematical passages have been solved there is genuine pleasure to be found in with complete success. The sound of the his handling of the slow movements and recording is rich, warm, and clear, and the crisp rhythms of the finales. In the ELGAR: The Dream of Gerontius, Angel has provided a useful booklet with first movement of No. 96 his eminently Op. 38 articles and full text and a box hand- zestful reading evokes the brilliance of somely and aptly decorated with a re- a London premiere, and the cohesion of Janet Baker, contralto; Richard Lewis, production of Turner's Angel Standing the orchestra is especially commendable. tenor; Kim Borg, bass; Hallé Choir; in the Sun. An admirable release in As a coupling without present parallel Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus; Ambro- every way. B.J. in the catalogue, this issue is welcome sian Singers; Hallé Orchestra, Sir John in every way. DENIS STEVENS Barbirolli, cond. ANGEL 3660. Two LP. $9.58. HAYDN: Symphonies: No. 34, in D ANGEL S 3660. Two SD. $11.58. minor; No. 54, in G; No. 75, in D HUMMEL: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, in A minor, Op. 85; Sir John has been closely associated Little Orchestra of London, Leslie Jones, Concerto for Piano and Violin with The Dream of Gerontius for many cond. with Orchestra, in G, Op. 17 years, and he has now produced a re- NONESUCH H 1106. LP. $2.50. cording which will fulfill the dreams of NONESUCH H 71106. SD. $2.50. Martin Galling, piano; Susanne Lauten- Elgar lovers too. The music itself is bacher, violin; Stuttgart Philharmonic one of the finest choral products of late There was a time not long ago when the Orchestra, Alexander Paulmüller, cond. romanticism, at once sumptuous and phrase "early Haydn symphonies" ut- TURNABOUT TV 4028. LP. $2.50. sensitive in its treatment of Cardinal tered in the business offices of a record TURNABOUT TV 340285. SD. $2.50. Newman's text, which tells of the death company stood for a repertory that was of Gerontius and the passage of his soul to be avoided like the plague. After all, If I were a concert pianist, I would bribe through judgment to Purgatory. If it has only a few highbrows- musicologists or blackmail an orchestra into "putting to be said that this is a flawed master- and suchlike -were interested in this on" Hummel's Piano Concerto: it may piece, its flaws are integral to the text music, and how many records did they not offer new spiritual insights into the itself, and stem not from any failure on buy? Well, early (or middle) Haydn is plight of man, but it is grand and lux- Elgar's part but rather from his too still not up there among the big money- urious and elaborate and marvelously successful identification with Newman's makers, and we all know how very ex- pianistic. The long opening tutti has in words, not only in their nobler moments pensive it is to record with an orchestra. it everything but a Rossini crescendo (it but in their more mawkish and banal Nevertheless, adventurous souls among suggests Rossini in a number of ways, aspects. Those who have a taste for the recording companies occasionally ex- actually), and any woodwind section this particular late -nineteenth -century periment in this corner of the repertory would prosper in the almost Turkish brand of High Church mysticism will too, and one can only hope that it turns second section introduced by a solo bas- not feel them as flaws; the rest of us out to be financially worthwhile for them soon. When the piano finally enters, it must simply make allowances, and there to continue to do so. For in addition to is to revel in the good things of life; is ample reward in the music to make the fifteen symphonies that are available there is nothing lean. hungry, or eco- this worthwhile, especially in the ex- in several recordings each, there is a nomical in the soloist's part. Perhaps it quisite serenity of the opening of Part vast treasure -trove of music, the products is the minor mode which lends extra II, where Gerontius awakes to con- of an original and enormously skilled weight to the work; it is not grossly sciousness of eternity, and in the Angel's master, waiting to delight any open - exaggerating to say that the second music a little later. minded listener. movement suggests Beethoven, and in Two of the three soloists are ideal. The three works on the present disc the finale the orchestra even undertakes It is impossible to imagine a finer Ge- could serve as excellent samples. No. 34 a brief fugue. What more could one ask rontius than Richard Lewis, who has starts with a serene Adagio, proceeds to of a "secondary" nineteenth -century sung the part about seventy -five times. an opera -buffa Allegro, and ends with a composer? Galling plays the work in His response to the varying moods of gay, Italianate finale. It is written almost the grand manner; the Stuttgart strings the music combines generosity of feel- exclusively for strings. Nos. 54 and 75 aren't to be mistaken for those of the ing with impeccable taste; and he places call for a larger orchestra. Outstanding Philadelphia or the Cleveland, but they every note -literally every note -with ef- in No. 54 are the portentous Introduc- do well enough. fortless clarity and accuracy of intona- tion followed by a brilliant Presto and a The Double Concerto is altogether tion. I had the feeling that if every copy lovely Adagio, in No. 75 the dramatic paler stuff, but the two instruments are of the score were to be lost, it would be development section of the first move- surprisingly compatible. It is character- possible to reconstruct the part of Ge- ment and a fine set of variations. The istic of Hummel that he should pair rontius from Lewis' performance -what orchestra plays with verve and precision. two rather unlikely concerto partners greater compliment can one pay a sing- it is nicely balanced, and it can sing and show them off in good fashion. The er? Janet Baker, the Angel, is a fully well. Good sound in both versions. recorded sound does not flatter Susanne worthy partner. For several years this N.B. Lautenbacher's tone. but she executes young English contralto has been more her duties with a flair. S.F. than the equal of the late Kathleen Fer- rier, and her preëminence is clear in HAYDN: Symphonies: No. 96, in D every line of this wonderful performance. ( "Miracle "); No. 101, in D IVES: Robert Browning Overture Kim Borg, who sings the smaller roles ( "Clock ") tBeeson: Symphony No. 1, in A of the Priest and the Angel of the Agony. is the only disappointment: he sounds ill Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Or- Polish National Radio Orchestra, William at ease singing in English, and he biffs mandy, cond. Strickland, cond. out one or two of the quieter passages COLUMBIA ML 6212. LP. $4.79. COMPOSERS RECORDINGS CRI 196. LP. with distressing heartiness. However, he COLUMBIA MS 6812. SD. $5.79. $5.95. has a beautiful voice, and the defects COMPOSERS RECORDINGS CRI 196SD. of his performance are not such as to Ormandy's approach to these mature SD. $5.95. spoil the whole. masterpieces suggests more warmth than Barbirolli's account of the score is Münchinger and Paray in No. 96, and Ives planned a whole series of overtures profoundly satisfying in conception, and more elegance than is present in some named after men of letters, but only it is backed by some splendid choral of the older versions of the Clock. His Robert Browning was finished -if a work and by alert playing from the closest rival is perhaps Monteux, though piece left in such chaotic condition that

82 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com several sections of it had to be recom- Loncon Recorc s posed by Henry Cowell and Lou Harri- son can be said to have been finished at all. The work is really a short sym- is aSpring phony, lasting twenty minutes and comprising four movements -two long - breathed, rather somber and autumnal slow movements and two wildly dis- sonant, thick, knotty, and complex fast Festival ones. In other words, vintage Ives - here well played but not particularly well recorded. The Symphony by lack Beeson on the other side is conservative in idiom, but warmhearted, beautifully shaped, superbly orchestrated, highly distin- guished in thematic material and general Verdi: DON CARLO facture. and many times worth the price MARILYN HORNE- Renata Tebaldi, Grace Bumbry, Carlo SOUVENIR OF A GOLDEN ERA of admission. The sound of the Beeson Bergonzi, Dietrich Fischer -Dieskau, Arias from II Nicolai Barbiere di Siviglia; recording is better than that Ghiaurov, Martti Talvela, Joan Otello; Tancredi; Semiramide;.L'Ital- markedly Carlyle- Orchestra and Chorus of the iana in Algeri (Rcssini). I Capuleti ed of the Ives. A.F. Royal Opera House, Covent Garden - i Montecchi (Bel iii). Fidelio (Beetho- Georg Solti. ven). Orphée et Eurydice; Alceste Stereo OSA -1432 Mono A -4432 ptehlè)yb) (Meyerbeer). d Trovatorer e Britten: CURLEW RIVER (Verdi) with L'Orchestre de la Suisse IVES: Variations on "America" (arr. Peter Pears, John Shirley- Quirk- Romande -Henry Lewis, Music under the direction of Benja- Stereo OSA -1263 Mono A-4263 Schumann); Symphony No. 1, in D min Britten and Viola Tunnard. Question minor; The Unanswered Stereo OSA -1156 Mono A -4156 Tchaikovsky: RCMEO AND JULIET - Bruckner: SYMPHONY Fantasy Overture NO. 4 IN HAMLET -Fantasy Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Morton E FLAT MAJOR ( "Romantic ") Overture Gould, cond. The London Symphony Orchestra - The Vienna Philhsrmonic Orchestra - Istvan Kertesz. Lorin Maazel. Stereo CS Stereo CS -6480 Mono CM -9480 -6463 Mono CM -9463

IVES: Symphony No. 3 ( "The Camp RENATA TEBALDI -GREAT Schubert: SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN ,fleeting "); Central Park in the MOMENTS FROM PUCCINI OPERAS D MAJOR, Dark; Decoration Day; The Unan- Excerpts from Suor Angelica. II Ta- SYMPHONY NO. 6 in C MAJOR barro. Gianni Schicchi. Madama But- The Vienna Philhsrmonic Orchestra - swered Question terfly. La Fanciulla del West. La Karl Miinchinger. Boheme. Stereo CS -6453 Mono CM -9453 New York Philharmonic. Seiji Ozawa, Stereo OS -25950 Mono 5950 Maurice Peress, Leonard Bernstein, NANCY TATUM OPERATIC RECITAL 5 OUTSTANDING NEW RELEASES tonds. Arias from Tannhäuser. Oberon. Der with ERNEST ANSERMET conducting Freischütz. Ernani. Aida. ll Trovatore. L'ORCHESTRE de la La Gioconda. SUISSE ROMANDE For a feature review including these re- Stereo OS -25955 Mono 5955 cordings, see page 70. Mendelssohn: SYMPHONY No. 4 IN A JOAN SUTHERLAND - MAJOR ("Italian") COMMAND PERFORMANCE -VOL. 1 Mendelssohn: THE HEBRIDES OVER- Arias from Oberon. Le Cid. Dinorah. TURE (Fingal's Cave); RUY BLAS Pagliacci. I Masnadieri. Luisa Miller. OVERTURE; THE FAIR MELUSINE La Cambiale di Matrimonio. Beatrice KABALEVSKY: Sonata for Cello and di Tenda. OVERTURE. Stereo CS -6436 Mono CM -9436 Piano, in B flat, Op. 71 -See Brit- Stereo OS -25776 Mono 5776 ten: Sonata for Cello and Piano, in JOAN SUTHERLAND- Debussy: LA MEP; KHAMMA; RHAP- C, Op. 65. COMMAND PERFORMANCE-VOL. 2 SODY FOR CLARINET AND The Gipsy and the Bird. Parla! II ORCHESTRA. Bacio. lo non sono più l'Annetta. Stereo CS -6437 Mono CM -9437 Ideale; La Serenata. Mattinata. Lo, Here the gentle Lark; Home sweet MUSIC OF BERLICZ (com- Home. The Last Rose of LISZT: The Christmas Tree Summer. Le Carnaval Rornzin Overture; Bea- Scenes that are I plete) brightest. dreamt trice et Benedict Overture; Le Cor- I dwelt. saire Overture; Benvenuto Cellini Stereo OS -25777 Mono 5777 Overture; Excerpts from "Le Damna- Èrno Szegedi, piano. tion de Faust" (.anse de Sylphes; Beethoven: PIANO MACE M 9006. LP. $1.98. CONCERTO NO. 1 Menuet des Follets; Marche Hon. IN C MAJOR, CHORAL FANTASIA groise). Julius Katchen - The London Sym- Stereo CS -6439 Mono CM -9439 Put this record on your phonograph phony Chorus and Crchestra -Pierino Gamba. and see if your friends can guess the Ravel: DAPHNIS E- CHLOE Stereo CS -6451 Mono CM -9451 composer! 1874 Les Choeurs de IE Radio Romande Written between and (Lausanne). 1876 for Liszt's eldest granddaughter, Mozart: SYMPHONY NO. 40 IN G MINOR (K.550) Stereo CS -6456 Mono CM -9456 the Christmas Tree is a cycle containing SYMPHONY NO. 41 IN C MAJOR traditional Christmas carols and a few (K.551) Schumann: SYMPI -ONY No. 2 i:. prophetic The New Philharmonia Orchestra - C MAJOR excursions into the im- Carlo Mario Giulini. Schumann: MANFRED OVERTURE pressionistic and Bartókian- expressionist Stereo CS -6479 Mono CM -9479 Stereo CS -6457 Mono CM -9457 movements still to cone. Of the typical virtuosic Liszt there is none, and little of the composer's extravagant roman- ticism. Everything is jewel -like, con- cisely stated. almost ascetic. Erno Szegedi plays with a fine grasp of the cycle's lyricism and tender tOk-DOT strength. The recording, originally a fFrr% product of Hungarian Qualiton, is only FULL FREQUENCY RANGE RECORDING fair, being a mite jangly. Still, the disc offers a welcome bit of esoterica and, at the price quoted, provides attractive value. H.G.

JUNE 1966

www.americanradiohistory.com MENDELSSOHN: Octet for Strings, MOZART: Concertos for Piano and it does. entirely. It has, to be sure, a in E flat, Op. 20 Orchestra: No. 14, in E flat, K. better balance between woodwinds and ¡Mozart: Concertone for Two Violins 449; No. 17, in G, K. 453 the piano, and the stereo version has the and Orchestra, in C, K. 190 usual advantages of good directionality. Rudolf Serkin, piano; Columbia Sym- Moreover, the playing of both soloist Jaime Laredo and Alexander Schneider, phony Orchestra, Alexander Schneider, and orchestra in the slow movement and violins, Samuel Rhodes, viola, Leslie cond. finale is irreproachable. But the orches- Parnas, cello, Guarneri String Quartet COLUMBIA ML 6244. LP. $4.79. tral beginning again needs a lighter hand, (in the Mendelssohn); Jaime Laredo and COLUMBIA MS 6844. SD. $5.79. and I feel that both Serkin and Schneider Michael Tree, violins, Marlboro Festival tend to exaggerate the accent on the first Orchestra, Alexander Schneider, cond. MOZART: Concertos for Piano and note of the slurred eighth -note pair that (in the Mozart). Orchestra: No. 9, in E flat, K. 271; is an important element in the opening COLUMBIA ML 6248. LP. $4.79. No. 14, in E flat, K. 449 Allegro. COLUMBIA MS 6848. SD. $5.79. If Schneider's opening of K. 449 seems Alfred Brendel, piano; Solisti di Zagreb, a little overwrought, Janigró s, for Van- Another addition to the ever growing Antonio Janigro, cond. guard, strikes me as perhaps too relaxed. catalogue of recordings from the Marl- VANGUARD VRS 1154. LP. $4.79. But here too the entrance of the piano boro Music Festival, the present disc of- VANGUARD VSD 71154. SD. $5.79. serves to set everything on an even keel, fers two superbly coördinated perform- and the performance picks up pace and ances. The Mendelssohn Octet starts out MOZART: Concerto for Piano and spirit. Brendel may not have the pene- at a fast tempo -similar to that heard on Orchestra, No. 14, in E flat, K. tration and authority of Serkin, and the the recent Heifetz /Primrose /Piatigorsky 449; Serenade for Strings, No. 13, tone of his piano is not as velvety as it account for RCA Victor -but with a far in G, K. 525 ( "Eine kleine Nacht- could be, but his is highly laudable play- greater feeling of rhythmic solidity. The musik") ing just the same. There is plenty of present interpretation also offers much give- and -take, without twisting the music more in the way of romantic flexibility Maria Michaela Cuvay, piano; Salzburg out of shape, in the way he molds a and tempo variation within a given move- Mozart Players. melodic line. Both soloist and orchestra ment. In short, it has comparable whip- MUSICAL HERITAGE SOCIETY MHS 671. play the Andantino poetically and the lash attack and virtuosity, plus consider- LP. $2.50. finale crisply. In the remarkable K. 271 ably deeper musicality. As sound, the MUSICAL HERITAGE SOCIETY MHS Brendel's only rival is the old Serkin Marlboro -made edition is well balanced 671. SD. $2.50. (Mme. Novaes was not up to her own though a trifle wiry. high standard in her recording), and The Mozart Concertone must have MOZART: Concertos for Piano and Brendel has the advantage not only of been recorded several years ago, before Orchestra: No. 19, in F, K. 459: stereo but of better orchestral playing the formation of the Guarneri String No. 26, in D, K. 537 ( "Corona- than Serkin was favored with. The Quartet. Since the advent of that aggre- tion") younger pianist's performance through- gation, Michael Tree has concentrated out this work is tasteful, and in the great more on viola than on the violin. He is Lili Kraus, piano; Orchestra of the Am- Andantino especially eloquent. Janigro a first -class player on either instrument, sterdam Philharmonic Society, Gianfranco and his expert little ensemble have some- with a characteristic focus and dead - Rivoli, cond. times seemed to me too intense in their center, kinetic attack. Jaime Laredo's MONITOR MC 2089. LP. $1.98. readings of baroque compositions, but gentler, more sweetly lyric sound blends MONITOR MCS 2089. SD. $1.98. here in Mozart the nervousness is gone, well with Tree's energy, however, giving though they remain as alert as ever. the lie once and for all to the fallacious MOZART: Concertos for Piano and There is a novel aspect in Musical notion that to play well with a partner Orchestra: No. 11, in F, K. 413; Heritage Society's recording of K. 449. one must play exactly as he does at all No. 15, in B flat, K. 450 This work was written so that the winds times. The additional concertante oboe could be omitted and only a small body and cello parts are handled with faultless Peter Frankl, piano; Württemberg Cham- of strings used. That is what is done aplomb by Leonard Amer and David ber Orchestra (Heilbronn), Jörg Faer- here, perhaps for the first time on rec- Soyer respectively, while the orchestral ber, cond. ords. The "orchestra" consists of a string playing under Alexander Schneider's di- TURNABOUT TV 4027. LP. $2.50. quintet. Unfortunately, the interest gen- rection is a paragon of pointed refine- TURNABOUT TV 34027S. SD. $2.50. erated by this experiment is dissipated ment and exciting comprehension. The in the performance. Miss Cuvay plays sound is a bit fuller and more expansive On the Columbia disc the orchestral pleasantly enough, but the whole work on this side. opening of K. 449, a delightful and po- hardly ever departs from a single level Highly recommendable in every re- etic work, sounds a little rough and hard - of dynamic intensity. A half hour of spect. H.G. driven; but as soon as the soloist enters, unrelieved mezzo forte will dampen even things settle down and continue in a Mozart. Eine kleine Nachtmusik is han- highly satisfying fashion. Serkin main- dled in the same monochromatic and un- MOREL: Antiphonie -See Somers: tains the verve of this movement while imaginative way. Passacaglia and Fugue. at the same time keeping the listener's Lili Kraus is coming back with a bang. attention riveted by the subtlety and mu- Very recently, after a long absence from sicality of his phrasing. His treatment the domestic catalogues, she was presented MOZART: Andante for Flute and of the largely unmarked solo part in the by Epic in a three -disc set announced Orchestra, in G, K. 315; Concerto charming finale is an object lesson in as Volume 1 of the Mozart Piano Con- for Flute and Orchestra, No. 1, in the sensitive application of detached and certos. Now Monitor comes along with G, K. 313 -See Vivaldi: Concertos: legato articulation. The slow movement, the Coronation, which was also in the for Flute and Strings, in D, P. 155 a lovely aria, is beautifully sung by both Epic set (with a different orchestra and ( "Il Cardellino"); for Piccolo and the soloist and the fine orchestra. The conductor), and the beautiful K. 459, Strings, in C, P. 79. only other recordings of this work in which was not. In the latter Miss Kraus the domestic catalogues worthy of com- gets off to a rather nervous start, with parison with this one, it seems to me, sudden loud bursts, but she soon gets are Alfred Brendel's, also to be discussed rid of the kinks and in the rest of the here, and Walter Klien's, on Vox. As for work plays with skill and insight. In the K. 453, a composition that is pure joy Coronation, again, she turns in a satis- from start to finish, the present recording fying performance, on the whole, though is obviously intended to replace the older here. as in the Epic version, she plays one made by Serkin with Szell and the a big cadenza at a spot in the finale same orchestra. I am not convinced that where a short improvisation would have

S4 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com been thought sufficient in Mozart's time. part. On the whole the disc offers jolly MOZART: Serenade for Strings. No. The sound, regrettably, is not up to the listening. 13, in G, K. 525 ( "Eine kleine best modern standards. The piano is too In Vol. 5 there is, of the fourteen - Nachtmusik'); Divertimento No. far forward, the bass is boomy, and the year -old prodigy, traveling with his 15, in B flat, K. 287 orchestral middle and top are thin. In father in Italy, a delightful contradance, the first movement of K. 459 important K. 123: of the thirty- five -year -old master, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert woodwind passages are sometimes inau- destined not to live the year out, there von Karajan, cond. dible, and some orchestral byplay is lost is a set of big minuets for full orchestra, DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON LPM 19004. in the finale of K. 537. K. 599, and a fine contradance titled LP. $5.79. It is a pleasure to be able to say that Lis Filles malicieuses. K. 610. K. 599 is DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON SLPM the Turnabout- disc is good enough to full of high -grade material, and so is 139004. SD. $5.79. take a place with rivals that cost twice as K. 571, Six German Dances. in the last much. Indeed, I am not sure that this of which Mozart has some fun with the Add another to the numerous excellent version of the charming K. 450 is not the "Turkish" music. The Ensemble main- available recordings of the Kleine Nacht- best available here, now that the fine tains the high standard of polished and musik. Karajan's does not differ in any performance by Leonard Bernstein is no lively performance it established at the marked way from the other good ones. longer listed; and as regards K. 413 beginning of the series, and London con- Its finale may be more deliberate than Frankl is surpassed only by Serkin. tinues to supply fine engineering. N.B. usual but it remains lively just she same. Franks, a young Hungarian artist who has been making a name for himself, plays with delicacy and finesse where those qualities are needed and with New Releases on Vanguard power where it is called for. He has a nicely singing tone, a smooth legato, and musicianly phrasing. He starts all his trills on the main note, and there might be some disagreement about an orna- ment or two, but otherwise his playing in this well -balanced and well- sound- ing recording is thoroughly enjoyable. N.B.

MOZART: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, No. 27, in B flat, K. 595 -See Beethoven: Concerto for r Piano and Orchestra, No. 2, in B flat. Op. 19.

MOZART: Concertone for Two Vio- lins and Orchestra, in C, K. 190 - See Mendelssohn: Octet for Strings, in E flat, _ Op. 20. , 'Ho

MOZART: Dances and ¡Marches, Vols. 4 and 5

Vienna Mozart Ensemble, Willi Boskov- sky, cond. IAN é SYLVIA BUFFY LONDON CM 9459/60. Two LP. $4.79 PLAY ONE MORE SAINTE -MARIE IHE BLUES/ each. 1/RS-a215 & VSD -79415 LITTLE WHEEL TODAY LONDON CS 6459/60. Two SD. "Aacther superb rlbLm by SPIN AND SPIN "With roots in the Misis- $5.79 each. his "ait o1 Canadian folk aIrpi county blues. a sew sinpe:s who are, as a team, Accompanied by =amie has emerged out of without peer. Again we have Eric Weissberg, guitar -le poverty and anger of the These discs continue to divide Mozart's the 3listing inte -play of Patrick Sky, 2nd guitar ^'th side, a living :rusk dance music chronologically and rhyth- cotrverpoin: anc ha-many Bruce Langhorne, electric lilt has kept its oven a-tdi- that is the Iaa -ard- Sylvia guitar erce, is owl express on, and mically into fragrant bouquets. Among hallmark: again we hare the VRS -9211 & VSD -79211 is owl - ruth." the highlights of Vol. 4 are a contradance sensitive interpretations and Samuel Chaerers the fresh repert .. "She is, there is no one else called La Bataille, with piccolo and side O. B. Isrunnrll. like her ...It is the. fullness J3l. 1 drum (K. 535); another one based on fi,gk Fderity of life in Buffy Sainte - I'm Junior Wels age Marie's music that has con- 3 ues Blanc J. S Hutte tunes from an opera by Anfossi (K. 607); "C3nsutn-ate musiciens verted me into one of her sad His Hawks Otis and a delightful set of five (K. 609), with intone feding for Heir admirers. She is able to make Spann s South Side Piano material. ' mortality more real." V1S- 9216 &'VS) -7!21E the first of which uses the theme of "Non Vl7rge Vr1ce Nat Hentoff 1+51.2 più andrai." There is also a March The Jiatmr Cdtor !tues "In the farm rank of the rew "...Remains in the mind. (K. 445) and twenty Minuets (K. 107). haunting and accusatory..." guar :t The Otis Fush =olk singer ... wi1 please HiFi/Stereo 3 ues Banc H-.mesick a few without trios. K. 107 is a remark- :hose who like taste with James and His Duellers. -heir music; it . As much a poet able set to be written by a fifteen -year- felt wil tr- V RSA2l7 & VSD -7!217 prise a f:w who think they as a singer. She provides old musk a: a iit51. 3 composer, but not particularly re- Jon't IL fdk I." unforgettably moving Sot.th Side HiFi /Steve, her es. experiences." Selma, Yoing's markable for a fifteen -year -old Mozart. 3 ues Banc The Johnny High Fidelity Magazine Big The players wisely split it up into four "These two Canadians art a Shines Blues Band .`real northern breeze. ' :. A singer of unusual .Valtet Horton's Blurs T=arp groups, with other things between, and WashIrt7to-t Sear talent and unforgettable 3ind with Memphis Charlie. add interest in the trios for strings alone personality ... Seventeen V 1S -9218 & V SD-7!21 F and .weave a by sometimes adding an oboe or a flute "Ian Sylvia Stercc spritdy fixture of v acal con- "There are few who can ap- in a repetition, or using a solo violin, tras: and ccncert " proximate her talent for writ- ing new and meaningful oit VANGUARD or No. substituting oboes and a Ti.-ne Maraene -in 5- songs." Saturday Review Recordings bassoon for the strings. In such cases fo- ;he Connoiseur the soloist occasionally embellishes his CIRCLE 65 ON READER -SERVICE CARD JUNE 1966 85

www.americanradiohistory.com The Divertimento receives a gorgeous per- lic acknowledgment of virtuous intent which is to find a means of grading formance. Here the melodies are molded with respect to this release -it's about dynamics throughout the range. Kruysen with a loving touch, the splendid Berlin time some serious and comprehensive can sing a top forte. to be sure, even strings sing exquisitely, and Karajan con- attention were paid the songs of Poulenc up into the very high tessitura demanded veys all the grace and poetry of this de- by recording companies, and this is the by parts of Tel jour, but it is a dry, lightful music without indulging in any first LP in the domestic catalogue to be unresonant sound, and there is nothing orchestral tricks. Some may find the devoted entirely to them. between this and the wispy pianissimo. Minuets too slow, particularly since they In fact, the record would be well Below the E flat or so, he produces flank an Adagio, but otherwise this seems worth the price just for the Eluard side a most attractive, mellow baritone sound, to me a flawless performance, enhanced (Tel jour telle nuit and La Fraîcheur et often strikingly similar to Souzay's. Of by wonderfully warm, bright, and life- le feu): and more particularly for Tel his musical and interpretative sensitivity like sound. If you like this work played jour telle nuit, which is one of the major there is no doubt, and in songs that do by a chamber group, with one player on achievements of French song literature, not demand too much variety above the a part, you will find the London record- and which we almost never get a chance staff, he is unexceptionable. ing very fine too; but if you prefer an to hear in this country. It is a sort of The accompaniments of Jean Charles orchestral performance. this is, to me. cycle -all one poem, but one in which Richard are superb throughout. The re- the best now available in the domestic the alternation of obsessive address to a cording is well engineered, and though catalogue. N.B. loved one with images of great vividness the jacket offers only the sketchiest of (mostly images of decay, but once of note -text presentations, Westminster will nascent life in the form of a blade send along the complete texts and trans- Poulenc to what lations for the asking -and they and of grass) allows create are NIELSEN: Concerto for Violin amount to individual songs. It is some absolutely essential. C.L.O. 33 Orchestra, Op. of the composer's darkest and strongest music, building tremendous force in the Tibor Varga, violin: Royal Danish Or- penultimate section ( "Figure de force RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloë Jerzy Semkow, cond. chestra, brûlante et farouche/Cheveux noire oh TURNABOUr TV 4043. LP. $2.50. l'or coule vers le sud ") and becoming Choeurs de la Radio Romande (Lau- TURNABOUT TV 34043S. SD. $2.50. oddly exalted and moving at the end sanne); Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, ( "I marvel at the unknown you are Ernest Ansermet, cond. First performed in 1912, this is the becoming /An unknown like yourself, LONDON CM 9456. LP. $4.79. earliest of Nielsen's concertos. It is also like Everything I love /Who is always LONDON CS 6456. SD. $5.79. the biggest in scale, and I think the new. "). This is a Poulenc who has put most attractive. Laid out in two move- banalities and Banalités behind him, and Up until now the generally preferred ments, each of the pattern slow -fast, who has arrived at full maturity as a reading of the complete Daphnis et and nearly forty minutes in length, it great composer of songs and a great Chloë has been the second Munch ver- is unrestrainedly romantic in manner yet setter modern poetry. sion, made for RCA Victor in 1961. Al- always characteristic of its composer. of The is true, a more though I would hesitate to say that it is The thematic development may some- same on somewhat modest scale, in La Fraîcheur et le feu: surpassed by the new Ansermet (also times be a little thin, but the harmony the verses of the onetime surrealist this conductor's second recorded edition), has all of Nielsen's crisp, open -air nobil- forced Poulenc to the latter performance strikes me as ity. At first, the final Rondo, marked Eluard evidently get more relaxed, buoyant, and poetic than Allegretto scherzando, may seem trivial; down to cases. The other side brings us more familiar the dramatically tense and passionate on closer acquaintance, however, a sub- Munch interpretation. From an execu- tlety of mood reminiscent of some emo- Poulenc -the Apollinaire songs are tant point of view, both orchestras sound tionally equivocal passages in Mahler among his best known. Le Bestiaire, with its evoked scuttling at their best (which is surely well -nigh and Shostakovich makes itself felt. Oc- perfectly crab ideal in each ensemble's individual way), casionally too there are echoes of and carp pond stillness, remains delight- but the wordless vocal parts by the Dvoiák, but the individuality of the ful -it's just cleverness, of course, but Swiss chorus seem to me a shade sweeter whole is unimpeachable. genuine cleverness. Le Pont is perfect to end, and better "orchestrally" integrated than Tibor Varga has the technique to from beginning and though those by the New England singers. cope with the very difficult solo part, Sanglots is for me somewhat compro- Technically, the new release has two and he gives an impassioned and percep- mised by cocktail piano arpeggios, it is decisive advantages. One is that it cap- tive performance. I have been unable a well- constructed song. I've never been enthusiastic like italizes on present -day processing's ability to lay hands on a score of the work, about creations Hôtel to get a bit over thirty -one minutes on a but the Royal Danish Orchestra's play- or Voyage d Paris-you don't take the single disc side without inner -groove dis- ing under Jerzy Semkow sounds pretty curse off something insignificant by tortion, thus avoiding the particularly good. The brass is particularly enthusi- putting the title of Banalités on it, and awkward Munch side break. The other astic. Apart from an occasional patch of who cares, anyway? But for many people advantage is stereo recording that quite roughness and an excessively forward these songs are the essence of Poulenc, miraculously reconciles the conflicting balancing of the soloist, the recording is and they belong in a survey- course disc of ultraclarity and of atmos- satisfactory. B.J. of this kind. demands Bernard Kruysen is a Swiss -born pheric evocation. Fine as the Munch/ baritone who has done most of his sing- RCA Victor sound still is, it is now out- ing in Holland. I first heard his work classed by the magical translucence of POULENC: Songs four years ago, when I listened to his the Ansermet /London sonics, their more splendid disc of Debussy songs, never piquant coloring and more incisive ring, Le Bestiaire: Les Banalités (Chanson available here except as an import. He and by the wider over -all dynamic range. d'Orkenise, Hôtel, Fagnes de Wallonais, is without doubt a fine artist, but the Hence, while the Ansermet reading of the Voyage d Paris, Sanglots): Le Pont: challenges of these songs expose his final dance is decidedly less exciting in Montparnasse; Reine des mouettes: C'est vocal weaknesses. Like Souzay, he itself, its scintillating sound makes an ainsi que tu es: Main dominée par le frequently has resort to a falsetto -ish even more thrilling impact than that of coeur; Les Ponts de Cé; Tel jour telle half voice in the upper part of his range. the Munch recorded performance. More nuit; La Fraîcheur et le feu. Both these singers tread a very thin line significantly, though, the extraordinary between mezza -voce and falsetto, or audio technology displayed here reveals Bernard Kruysen, baritone; Jean Charles between different mixtures of falsetto, innumerable "new" felicities of detail Richard, piano. and such a very light, crooned tone be- in the score. R.D.D. WESTMINSTER XWN 19105. LP. $4.79. comes extremely tiresome when it is used WESTMINSTER WST 17105. SD. constantly. It robs the songs of much $ 5.79. of their potential strength and serious- RAVEL: Trois chants hébraïques; ness, and in the long run seems only Chansons madécasses -See Cante- At the very least. Westminster rates pub- an evasion of the technical problem. loube: Chants d'Auvergne.

86 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com ROUSSEL: Symphonies: No. 3, in G premacy of Schnabel /Pro Arte. For the highly, indeed completely. successful. minor; No. 4, in A level of playing is fully comparable, and Tempos are fast and rhythmic, but in certain ways actually superior. never impersonal or rigid. A sense of Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Elly Ney, like Schnabel a Leschetizky easy momentum is present at all times. Conservatoire de Paris, André Cluytens, pupil, plays with a feathery, crisp whim- and every movement seems to propel cond. sicality every bit as appropriate and itself with beguiling graciousness. I par- ANGEL 36327. LP. $4.79. Schubertian as the more massive and ticularly admire the handling of the ANGEL S 36327. SD. $5.79. regal style of her renowned opposite. fourth, which allows the unique person- The string playing of the Strub members ality of each instrument of the ensemble is considerably more fine -grained and its head in a different variation. and Lamoureux Orchestra, Charles Munch, less frilly than that of the Pro Arte (who which strikes a wonderful synthesis be- cond. failed to provide the kind of structured tween casualness and sentiment (without EPIC LC 3918. LP. $4.79. framework suggested by Schnabel's ever degenerating into perfunctoriness or EPIC BC 1318. SD. $5.79. pianism). The Ney/Strub approach pro- sentimentality). All told, this is one of vides an interesting amalgam of "old the most buoyant and integrated readings A curious and unexpected Roussel rush; school" emotionalism and modern, con- it has ever been my pleasure to hear. It Munch wins handily. Roussel's early trolled terseness. The fusion between sounds both profound and like great fun. years were spent in the French navy. these seemingly antagonistic elements is If Walter Hans Trampler is. indeed, and at some of the more distant ports of call he picked up a taste for the Orien- tal, of which an exotic trace or two still remains even in these busy neoclassical works written late in life. The early in- fluences of D'Indy and Debussy, how- Would you spend $5 °° ever, have here been left behind in favor of a pulsing, mildly dissonant, contra- puntal, firmly tonal symphonic style that has individuality. For French music this is not very elegant -its best qualities are, to get °5,995? vigor and rather, a brusque, stomping Of course you would! But unfortunately not everybody knows a kind of empirical, ad hoc tonal structure yet that by spending $5.00 to become a life -time member of the of some originality -and except for oc- University Record & Tape Club, you save up to 57% on any disc casional flashes of wit, notably in the or tape forever after. You buy audio gear at discounts up to 50%. scherzo of the Fourth, I find the con- You don't waste time running around looking for bargains. ceptions heavy -handed, more dependent [Hm- m -m -m -I spend $5.00 once, I buy 2000 L.P.'s at an average on weight of statement and pulse than $3.00 savings . and whoosh! . . . I just save $5,995!] Sounds on significance of idea. good already! It gets better. When you become a member of the Oddly enough, neither one of these University Record & Tape Club you have over 300 different disc "Gallic" performances has much finesse, and tape labels available from Columbia, RCA, Capitol, Angel, with the result that the less appealing Decca, Mercury and all the rest, at a big fat discount. No list price the music are emphasized. ever. t /.3 is the least you'll save. No obligation to buy anything. aspects of Buy just what like. The have the benefit you Club doesn't send a thing until you Cluytens does not even ask for it -and when you order anything, it's shipped the day of good playing or good sound, and the received-that's rieht- -the same day from one of the country's already problematic orchestration has largest distributors. difficulty penetrating the murk. Munch gets somewhat better playing and the Observe these prices - compare them with anyone's: rather rough, hard -driving treatment has Albums that list for $1.98, $2.98, $3.98, $4.98, $5.98 (not on special), $1.23, S1.85, A, $2.39, $2.99, $3.69 respectively. Tapes are always at least rS off list and auto the advantage of vigor; the sound here - cartridges are discounted 25 %. reviewed on a test pressing close and -is SPECIALS: Featured right now! Entire RCA Red Seal and Soria Classical Catalogs - not pleasant but at least it has presence 50% OFF! Save $2.50 -$3.50 per LP. Complete Westminster and Vox catalogs mono & and clarity. E.S. stereo, list $4.98 -$5.98. You pay $1.99 per disc. You save up to $4.00 per album. The top 50 best-selling pop albums . Barbra Streisand, Sinatra, Joan Baez, Sound of Music - 40% OFF. TAPE SPECIALS: Every tingle RCA, Capitol, Angel Tape - 40% OFF LISTI Plus you get SCHWANN and HARRISON CATALOGS sent to members FREE, SCARLATTI, DOMENICO: Salve lists 25,000 albums and every available tape. RECORDING NEWS lists latest releases, Regina -See Bach: Cantata No. audio equipment, LP's and tapes on club "SPECIALS." 170, Vergnrigte Ruh'. GIFT MEMBERSHIPS are welcomed. Lower enrollment costs in groups allow us to lower fee to $2.50 from the second membership on. (Five in your group brings enroll- ment cost down to only $3.00.) IF YOU BELONG TO ANOTHER CLUB of similar features, you will find joining SCHUBERT: Quintet for Piano and the UNIVERSITY RECORD & TAPE CLUB one of the most profitable extravaganzas ever! Strings, in A, op. 114, D. 667 FULL REFUND: Anyone not completely satisfied for any reason at all may obtain ( "Trout ") a refund of the $5.00 membership fee within 30 days of enrollment. FREE GIFT: 25 polyethylene jackets to protect your recordings. It's yours for acting Elly Ney, piano; Max Strub, violin: quickly: let us prove to you that we are the BEST! Walter Hans Trampler, viola; Ludwig r And while you're at it, I'd like 1 Hoelscher, cello; Hermann Schubert. gift memberships for the follow- double bass [from HMV DB 4533 37. university record ing people at $2.50 each with c. 1936]. & tape club full lifetime privileges. Name ODEON E 80838. LP. $5.79. 509 Fifth Avenue, Dept. HF66 New York, N.Y. 10017 Address For the majority record of collectors. Sounds Great! Here's $5.00 - This covers my full cost for lifetime City & State Me version of the Trout Quintet in 78- Club privileges. Send the Free Catalogs and Club "specials." Satis- Name rpm days was another HMV set, by faction is guaranteed. Address Artur Schnabel and the Pro Arte with Name City & State Claude Hobday as the double bassist. It Address is more than probable, however, that if Name City State Zip the present performance had been af- Address forded as widespread circulation, it O Check Money Order Cash City & State would have seriously challenged the su- J CIRCLE 69 ON READER -SERVICE CARD JUNE 1966 87

www.americanradiohistory.com the selfsame violist whom present -day SCHUBERT: Symphonies: No. 3, in ticipation may at times seem to impede American audiences know so well, the D, D. 200; No. 6, in C, D. 589 the logical flow of the music. On the recording (made in Germany) would other hand, Cortot's masculine way of have to date from the mid -Thirties. One Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl structuring a phrase group can be ad- would never guess that fact from the Münchinger, cond. mirable, and he possessed an explosive sound. which is clean and true, and LONDON CM 9453. LP. $4.79. dramatic sweep, an introspective lyricism, which could easily pass for twenty years LONDON CS 6453. SD. $5.79. and often a genuine magnetism. And of later were it not for a slight bit of sur- great importance, he was a unique face noise. A most distinguished version. The tender and luscious delights of Schu- colorist, and a most imaginative user of worthy of consideration alongside the bert's early symphonies fall gratefully the sustaining pedal. reissued Schnabel /Pro Arte (Angel on only the patient ear. One must, in The 1930 Papillons recording shows COLH 40) and the recent Peter Serkin/ order to unearth those delights, accept how beguiling Cortot's work could be Alexander Schneider for Vanguard. without question a language that is garru- when he was in the vein. The customary Curzon's London record is also fine. H.G. lous, repetitive and, above all, leisurely. leggiero elements of this whimsical corn- One must wait patiently while the young position are fully conveyed, but there is SCHUBERT: Sonata for Piano, in A, romantic interrupts his saunter to sam- also surprising assertiveness in the in- Op. posth., D. 959 ple a fragrant blossom by the wayside, terpretation. Kinderszenen, which Cor- thus being forced to start his discourse tot recorded three times, was a spé- over again from the beginning. The dis- cialité de la maison with the pianist. I piano. Rudolf Serkin, course itself makes such forbearance well question the choice here of the 1947 COLUMBIA ML 6249. LP. $4.79. worth the while. in preference to the second edition which COLUMBIA MS 6849. SD. $5.79. Sir Thomas Beecham, the first to ex- was presumably made around the same plore this repertory on records, under- time as the Papillons -some of the spon- This expansive, fervent, granitic reading stood this very well. He made a few im- taneity and grace of the earlier version of Schubert's wonderful posthumous A patient cuts in his traversal of the Sixth, had been lost in Cortot's later years - major Sonata was recorded just before but on the whole his sense of pacing, but there is still much to delight. I con- Serkin played it at Hunter College at the ease and suppleness of his phrasing, fess to being bitterly disappointed, how- the end of February, and the disc was are the standards against which this ever, by this 1928 Carnaval. Having released, along with previously taped music is best measured. And the Bee- already discovered the enormous su- material. to commemorate the perform- cham spirit exists (without cuts) in the periority of Cortot's 1928 Symphonic er's birthday in March. As always with recent RCA Victor Schubert album by Etudes over his 1953 account, I had this artist. the performance affords us a V his disciple Denis Vaughan. surmised that the 1953 Carnaval -which new look in depth at the work itself, in Münchinger's performances have many I have known since its publication- this case one of Schubert's still far from virtues, but ease and suppleness are not would be similarly eclipsed by the earlier understood masterpieces. Serkin's ap- among them. By adopting faster tempos exposition. Some of the tempos, it is proach differs considerably from both and a sharper articulation he actually true, are more animated in the 1928 Schnabel's account (reissued on Pathé makes both symphonies sound longer edition, but for the most part one finds COLH 84 recently) and Charles Rosen's than they are. His tempos in both slow the same stop -go mannerisms, the same tersely analytical rendering (Epic LC movements are fatally animated, to the refusal to let the cumulative aspects of 1855/BC 1255). Its most striking fea- point where the music begins to sound the delightful work have their head. And ture is the tremendous, even Olympian. trivial. There is fine spirit in his exposi- in place of the many 1953 sloppinesses, grandeur that the sometimes lyrically tion of the tarantellalike finale of No. 3 one finds here different but equally ob- treated music assumes. This outlook is (a clear prophecy of the finale of No. 9, trusive sloppinesses. emphasized by the observation of the by the way), but this is the only really The sound is best in the 1953 Papil- first -movement repeat, and by the strong- successful spot on the record. lous, decent enough in the others, al- ly accentuated rhythmic pulse. In the The orchestra plays well. and the bal- though the Carnaval is blemished by first and last movements particularly, ance honors Schubert's delectable wind surface scratch inherited from the origi- Serkin's measured, pounding momentum scoring to a better degree than on the nal shellacs. Incidentally, Cortot per- leaves no doubt whatsoever that Schu- Vaughan discs (perhaps because the sists in playing the "sphinxes" in Carna- bert specified four -four time -not alla players themselves are better). Otherwise, val. So did a few other exponents of breve, as so many performances would however, the justice to these wholly lov- the work -Rachmaninoff most notably. lead one to suspect. The Andante second able works is incomplete. ALAN RICH Clara Schumann, however, considered movement too is a trifle broader than this a gaffe of major proportions. H.G. we often hear it, though still infinitely more con moto than the somber adagio SCHUMANN: Carnaval, Op. 9; Kind - heard in Pavel Stephan's otherwise dis- erszenen, Op. 15; Papillons, Op. 2 SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 2, in D, tinguished Supraphon recording. Serkin Op. 43 does not possess the cushioned legato Alfred Cortot, piano [from various HMV and sheer tonal allure available to originals, 1928, 1935, and 1947]. Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, Schnabel, but within Serkin's bleaker PATHE COLH 306. LP. $5.98. George Szell. cond. palette one finds much diversity and PHILIPS PHM 500092. LP. $4.79. atmosphere. His storm section is a par- The virtues and drawbacks of Cortot's PHILIPS PHS 900092. SD. $5.79. agon of unleashed fury, and -like Rosen way with Schumann are equally on ex- -Serkin opts for the recently rediscov- hibition in this intriguing anthology. The Szell's performance of this often played, ered alternative reading at measure 142 late master was the typical embodiment often misunderstood symphony gets to that replaces the G sharp of the older of what we like to call "the old school." the heart of the matter with dead -center editions with the startlingly original G While his intellectual capacities far out- aim. His is a conception of icy fervor double sharp. stripped those of many of his confrères and superb intelligence, realized in this I will always cherish the Schnabel (Cortot was a scholar, a conductor, a recording by the burnished magnificence recording, which still sounds well, and teacher, and -in his special way -a of the Concertgebouw's playing and by is one of the finest examples of that highly analytical player), one will en- the scrupulously detailed, wonderfully great master's playing. Serkin's, how- counter in much of his playing details brilliant recorded sound. The biting ever, comes reasonably near that land- that are highly arbitrary. Moreover, cer- clarity of the balance reveals countless mark and, of course, his disc has an ad- tain aspects of pianistics-big skips and felicities in the music, the execution, and vantage of twenty -nine years of progress left -hand fingered octaves most patently the conducting. Szell obviously led this in recording technique. The sound he has -evidently presented enormous prob- recording with true relish and the result been accorded here, by the way, is some lems, even in the artist's prime. Then is easily the most bracing, idiomatic of the finest Columbia has given this too, his habit of toying with meter Sibelius Second in stereo (nearest com- pianist. H.G. and of emphasizing inner voices by an- petitor: Monteux's for Victor). H.G.

88 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com SOMERS: Passacaglia and Fugue TELEMANN: Water Music (Over- tMorel: Antiphonie ture in C, "Hamburger Ebb und fToch: Jephtha Fluht "): ,Musique de table, 2nd Production: Concerto for Three Rita Louisville Orchestra, Robert Whitney, Violins, Strings, and Continuo, cond. in F LOUISVILLE LOU 661. LP. $7.95. LOUISVILLE LS 661. SD. $8.45. Robert Gendre, Jean- Pierre Wallez, Ni- Streich cole Laroque, violins; Collegium Musi- Canadian music is so little known on our cum of Paris, Roland Douatte, cond. takes you side of the line that a disc containing NONESUCH H 1109. LP. $2.50. two distinguished Canadian pieces is of NONESUCH H 71109. SD. $2.50. on a grand tour very special interest and importance. Harry Somers' Passacaglia and Fugue This is not one of Nonesuch's more dis- of grand opera is a grandly scaled, powerful work, ob- tinguished achievements. The delightful viously traditional in form but exhibit- Water Music suite is vigorously played, ing a complete mastery of contemporary but it is shorn of its final Canarie contrapuntal resources. The Antiphonie depicting "the jolly sailors"-and why, of François Morel, on the same side, oh why, will so many conductors (French is very short, based on Gregorian chant, conductors, at that) not double -dot and is actually a study in diaphanous, French -overture rhythms as they should? dissonant textures. The first and last movements of the Jephtha, by the late Ernst Toch, on Concerto for Three Violins on the other the flip side, is described both as a side are well enough done, but the "rhapsodic poem" and as its composer's central Largo is taken at a dragging fifth symphony. It is certainly rhapsodic tempo that inflates it out of all pro- enough. It proceeds by a series of short portion and all stylistic propriety. episodes, alternately plaintive and tem- The recording of both works is big, pestuous. all adding up to a musical ex- bright, and blowzy, rather like Toulouse - perience of considerable force. What it Lautrec's Danseuse anglaise. The best all has to do with the Biblical general and version of the Water Music remains his famous daughter is not immediately Wenzinger's on Archive ARC 3198; From Bizet to Bellini, from Doni- apparent, but perhaps it needn't be. 73198, by a clear margin over the Bar - zetti to Delibes! Here's opera at its The recording is far and away the shai /Moscow Chamber Orchestra re- in Rita first solo best the Louisville Orchestra has yet cording on Angel. The Concerto for grandest Streich's brought forth, and the performances are Three Violins appears to be otherwise album in over a year. 11 superb presumably authoritative. A.F. available only as part of complete ver- arias including the Bell Song from sions of the Musique de table 2nd Pro- Puccini's Oh! mio bab- duction: the first choice here is Brüggen "Lakme," TCHAIKOVSKY: Fantasy Overtures: on Telefunken. B.J. bino caro ( "Gianni Schicchi ") and Romeo and Juliet; Hamlet, Op. 67 Signore ascolta from "Turandot." OPERA RECITAL: RITA STREICH Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Lorin TOCH: Jephtha -See Somers: Passa - Maazel, cond. caglia and Fugue. with the Chorus and Orchestra of LONDON CM 9463. LP. $4.79. the German Opera, Berlin LONDON CS 6463. SD. $5.79. 19 495; Stereo 136 495 VERDI: Arias Since there are other manifestly better ALSO NEW ON DGG! performances of Romeo and Juliet Un Ballo in maschera: Ma dall'arido MOZART: DIVERTIMENTO NO. 17. (among them the newest Ormandy -see stelo divulsa. Macbeth: Una macchia- Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin page 92), the main interest here is the è qui tutt'ora. Don Carlo: O don fatale; Philharmonic 39 008; Stereo 139 008 Hamlet, currently available only in Tu che le vanità. Aida: Ritorna vincitor! sonically inferior readings by Boult and HARPSICHORD PROGRAM BY Stokowski. Hamlet is a less successful Régine Crespin, soprano; Orchestre de RALPH KIRKPATRICK. Works by Fantasy Overture than the overpopular la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire Bach, Handel, Purcell, Couperin, Romeo and Juliet or the much respected de Paris, Georges Prêtre, cond. Rameau and Scarlatti Francesca da Rimini. Thematically and ANGEL 36311. LP. $4.79. 39 122; Stereo 139 122 dramatically it flounders in an effort ANGEL S 36311. SD. $5.79. SCHUBERT: STRING QUINTET IN to combine heroic, romantic, and tragic C, Op. 163. Amadeus Quartet, W. ideas, and neither programmatic nor I've been a devotee of Régine Crespin Pleeth, cello. 39 105; Stereo 139 105 musical coherence is achieved. ever since I heard the French pressing BRAHMS: SYMPHONY NO. 2 IN D. Maazel's reading does little to over- of her first aria disc about eight years Herbert von Karajan and the Ber- come the episodic nature of Hamlet, and, ago: and despite the vocal unevenness lin 18 925; Stereo 138 925 even in Romeo and Juliet, where Tchai- she has displayed in some of her recent Philharmonic kovsky's ideas are better ordered in a appearances, she still seems to me one BEETHOVEN: SONATAS NOS. 11, simpler conception, the conductor's ap- of the handful of present -day singers 13 AND 27. Wilhelm Kempff, pia- proach is fragmentary. While he elicits who have the size and beauty of voice, nist 18 939; Stereo 138 939 from the Vienna Philharmonic playing and the authority of manner, to fill that is precise, well balanced, and (ex- prima donna shoes. Free on request! The new illustrated cept for some forcing by overdriven This recital, however, impresses me DGG /Archive catalogs. Write MGM Rec- ords, Division, 1540 Broadway, strings) warm and clear, he gives little as only a partial success. First off, it Classical evidence of musical or emotional in- is not well recorded, being one of those New York, N.Y. 10036. volvement on his own part. To play this bits of stereo engineering that sounds as r r rrn`' . .. music one must really believe in it, and if it emanated from an empty nave. As a .r.,S. such conviction is absent here. result. notes run together in a blur and The Vienna Philharmonic sound is tuttis become mere noise, with pitches generally warm and open (with the ex- barely distinguishable. This affects the ception noted), with well- spaced stereo orchestra more than it does the solo tJttanmvplurn effect but reasonably sharp focus on in- voice. which merely sounds echoey -but gesellschaff dividual players and sections. P.H. it seriously mars one's enjoyment. CIRCLE 16 ON READER -SERVICE CARD JUNE 1966 89

www.americanradiohistory.com Nor do I understand the selection of though the voice is basically a great package. Only the Schubert performance either the Macbeth Sleepwalking Scene instrument for the role. is new. The Mendelssohn was originally or the Eboli aria: it is not as if these A text leaflet is supposed to be en- released in 1959 on ML 5349/MS 6050 pieces stood shamefully neglected by closed, but my sealed copy had none - (coupled with Haydn's Symphony No. contemporary singers. The Macbeth is a probably an isolated packaging error. 104); the Franck in the same year on very special item -no point in doing it I'm sorry to be so negative about ML 5391/MS 6072; and the Dvoïák in unless there is something uniquely com- the work of such a fine artist, but the 1963 on ML 5793 /MS 6393. I shall not pelling to be found in a new version. record has a slapdash, recording- arias -for- usurp the realm of my colleague Peter (We have, after all, the two complete the- sake -of- recording -arias atmosphere, Davis further than to say that the three recordings, the separate version by Birgit and I think we can expect more where reissued performances seem to me to be Nilsson, the recent effort by Grace Bum - Mme. Crespin is concerned. C.L.O. good, competitive ones. bry, and the entire LP side of Maria The Schubert too takes its place Callas' Lady Macbeth.) Crespin's strong among the more recommendable versions suit, temperamentally, is her unmistak- VIVALDI: Concertos: for Flute and of this inexhaustible work. Bernstein's able womanliness, a quality which can Strings, in D, P. 155 ( "Il Cardel- performance is indeed romantic, but not be used to good effect here and there lino"); for Piccolo and Strings, in to any inappropriate degree. The strong in the Sleepwalking Scene but which must C, P. 79 delineation of the pizzicato bass from be set off by very different characteris- -Mozart: Andante for Flute and Or- measure 9 onward compels attention, and tics if the scene as a whole is to be chestra, in G, K. 315; Concerto for the interpretation maintains a high level a success. She chooses to slather the Flute and Orchestra, No. 1, in G, of drama throughout, without ever de- whole piece with a flat, white sound K. 313 generating into melodrama. The orches- which is effective if used at one or two tral playing and recording are fine, and right places, but which here becomes Julius Baker, flute; Solisti di Zagreb, it is good to have the first- movement simply a substitute for genuine penetra- Antonio Janigro, cond. repeat. B.J. tion and specific interpretation. There VANGUARD VRS 1153. LP. $4.79. is no scorn (listen to Callas at "Non osi VANGUARD VSD 71153. SD. $5.79. entrar?"), no sense of Lady Macbeth's CHOIR OF WESTMINSTER AB- past strengths, no reliving of the situa- Julius Baker and the Solisti are made BEY: "Westminster Abbey's Fa- tions about which she is supposedly for one another, and it would be hard mous Composers" dreaming; it is merely sad. Matters aren't to find more expert and sensitive per- helped by the overaccented accompani- formances of the Vivaldi Il Cardellino Whyte: In nomine; Christe, qui lux es et ments of Prêtre, by the shifting position and the Mozart G major Concerto in dies. Gibbons: Organ fantasia; O clap of the voice near the end of the scene particular. The fast movements are deli- your hands together. Blow: Salvator (if she is supposed to be heading off- cate and precise, the slow movements mundi; God Is Our Hope and Strength; stage, it doesn't work), or by the sub- beautifully paced-the gentle, spacious Organ Voluntary. Purcell: Remember stitution of a very pretty floated A flat Mozart Adagio is something special, both not; Organ Voluntary; O Lord God of for the D flat at the end of the scene- intrinsically and in its rendition here. Hosts. Croft: Organ Voluntary. one might accept it from a mezzo, but Janigro's accompaniment is highly artic- it isn't an option or an inserted cadenza, ulate (note the clean- etched string Simon Preston, organ; Choir of West- and it ought to be observed by sopranos, counterline, for example, in the Mozart minster Abbey, Douglas Guest, cond. at least. finale). Baker even brings me somewhat ODEON CSD 1603. SD. $5.79. Dramatic sopranos are seemingly com- closer to an appreciation of -if not a pelled to venture into mezzo territory of positive yearning for -the piccolo as a All of the gentlemen whose names are late, and vice- versa -we get soprano solo instrument; his manipulation of the listed above were masters of the choristers arias from Mmes. Gorr and Bumbry, wildly florid finale is a triumph. Stereo at the Abbey and they account for the and we get "O don fatale" from Mmes. is not much emphasized; the sound on largest and best portion of that venerable Nilsson and Crespin. Granted Crespin both versions is exceptionally clean. S.F. institution's musical history between does have an unusually rich and easy 1570 and 1727. Two great musical pe- low register, but her timbre is still so- riods are represented, the late Renaissance prano, not mezzo or contralto, and there (Whyte and Gibbons) and the baroque is nothing so startling about her inter- (Purcell and Croft). Blow actually falls pretation, which is vigorous and tradi- somewhere in between; he was really a tional, as to make us feel her recording ccitals baroque composer (he was the teacher of the aria was essential. 3 of Croft and Purcell and, ironically, Of the remaining arias, I should say served at the Abbey both before Purcell she scores two out of three. The Ballo and again after the latter's death). There Amelia is a fine role for her, and both QMiscellany is, however, something archaic and inde- the recitative and the aria are well ani- pendent about Blow's music (both in mated, the mood and situation well cap- the deeply chromatic Salvator mandi tured. The top climaxes are not as easy and in the more conventionally modal as one would like, but in the main LEONARD BERNSTEIN: "The Great anthem) that is appealing today. Gibbons the singing is big, round, and beautiful. Romantic Symphonies" and Purcell are, of course, something The same can be said of "Tu clie le more like known quantities; Blow, more vanità"; it starts rather tentatively, but Schubert: Symphony No. 8, in B minor, enigmatic, emerges with distinction in the middle section (her reminiscences D. 759 ( "Unfinished "). Mendelssohn: this company. of France) is ravishing, and the con- Symphony No. 4, in A, Op. 90 ( "Italian "). The organ playing is good and the cluding pages have the sweep and Franck: Symphony in D minor. Dvofák: boys' choir is, in the English tradition, grandeur they need. She would make an Symphony No. 9, in E minor, Op. 95 well trained; but there is an imbalance interesting Elisabetta. ( "From the New World "). between the boys' and men's voices and The Aida scene starts off with the a general fuzziness in the ensemble which slowest, sludgiest statement of the Su! New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bern- seems to go a little beyond what is nec- del Nilo theme from the orchestra I can stein, cond. essary for the illusion of cathedral space. remember hearing, and maintains a COLUMBIA D3L 337. Three LP. $9.59. E.S. heavy, tramping motion throughout. COLUMBIA D3S 737. Three SD. Crespin has moments of great effective- $11.59. ness, but falls into a crooned sort of OSCAR GHIGLIA: "Guitar Music of tone (not only in piano passages but at The title of this collection is only ap- Four Centuries" full voice too -it's sort of like a blues proximate-I would hardly call the Men - note) often enough to compromise the delssohn "romantic" or the Franck Bach: Prelude and Fugue, in D (tr. music's movement, at least for me, even "great"-but it makes an agreeable Segovia). Weiss: Fantasia in E minor

90 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com (arr. Kennard). Frescobaldi: Aria con not nearly such good history as the variazioni (tr. Segovia). Dowland: Fan- songs, say, of Francis Hopkinson, Henry tasia No. 7, in E minor. Falla: Hom- Clay Work, or Stephen Foster. There is mage à Debussy. Ponce: Sonata No. 3, simply no excuse, in an anthology pub- New from Acoustech in D minor. Villa Lobos: Etude No. 11, lished by a great university, for such in E minor. obvious and much recorded trash as Richard Hageman's Do Not Go, My Love Oscar Ghiglia, guitar. and John Alden Carpenter's When 1 The Add -A -Kit ANGEL 36282. LP. $4.79. Bring You Colored Toys; and the songs ANGEL S 36282. SD. $5.79. of Werner Josten, Paul Bowles, Celius Dougherty, Paul Nordoff, and Norman Oscar Ghiglia, an Italian, is a twenty - Dello Joio included here are very little Amplifier eight- year -old Segovia pupil who, to better. Even Ives is genteelized; except judge from this recording, has all the for the great Paracelsus, he is represented equipment necessary to carry on the dis- by the early, suave, uncharacteristic tinguished tradition now being furthered Canon and that dreadful Charlie Rutlage by the "new generation" of young gui- thing which is fast becoming the Danny tarists. His technique is superb, his mu- Deever of the 1960s. Meanwhile such sical instincts sound, his way with the major modern song composers as Theo-

ACO"STEC, . . .. contrapuntal textures of the seventeenth - dore Chanler, Lester Trimble. Virgil M ...... and eighteenth -century lutanists easy, Thomson, John Edmunds, and John Cage clear, and natural. On the "modern" find no place in this collection. An excitingly different way side of the disc -in the course of the Hanks is a very acceptable if not fifteen -minute Ponce Sonata, for ex- tremendously exciting singer. He has a to build a solid state ample-he occasionally seems to me a nice tone, projects a lyric line well, has shade less free in rhythm, less rhapsodic, a fair command of nuance, gets in amplifying system than he might be. But this is a minor trouble with his intervals now and then. criticism, and his projection of the color- Ruth Friedberg is a superlative pianist, First Build the Acoustech istic effects -almost electronic in sound and one would like to hear her in an - XI -of the Villa Lobos is impressive on album of her own. The sound throughout any count. Angel's recorded sound is is excellent. A.F. full, close, and luminous. S.F.

IGOR KIPNIS: Italia: Baroque Mu- JOHN KENNEDY HANKS: "The sic for Harpsichord Art Song in America" A. Scarlatti: Toccata for Harpsichord, In less than four hours, a stereo power am- John Kennedy Hanks, tenor; Ruth Fried- No. 7, in D minor. Pasquini: Three plifier kit with 35 watts, equivalent RMS berg, piano. Arias: Cuckoo Toccata. Cimarosa: Sona- power per channel at less than 1/4% IM - DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS DWR 64178. tas for Harpsichord: No. 29, in C minor; PC boards, pre -wired and tested - all parts Two LP. $10.00. No. 31, in G; No. 23, in A minor; No. in bags mounted on KitKloth in order of 24, in C. Frescobaldi: Balletto terzo. use - works well with any good preamplifier, tube or transistor, only ;129.50. For me, there are four marvelous songs Rossi: Toccata for Harpsichord, No. 7, among the thirty -nine recorded here. in D minor. Galuppi: Sonata for Harpsi- Second - Add the preamp module Roy Harris' Fog, to Sandburg's cat - chord, No. 4, in C minor. footed text, is as subtle and telling a bit of musical impressionism as the Igor Kipnis, harpsichord. literature affords. (Incidentally, it is by Eric LC 3911. LP. $4.79. a composer one never thinks of in con- Eric BC 1311. SD. $5.79. nection with the song.) Charles Griffes' Lament of tan the Proud is a master- This is a very well -made record, but I piece of Celtic drama and lyricism, and must confess to being rather less than his Symphony in Yellow, to a text by captivated by the music itself. The anytime you want, the preamplifier fits right Oscar Wilde, defines the era of Whis- rhythmic squareness of the Cimarosa into the same chassis - inaudible hum and noise amazing tlerian aestheticism as perfectly in its sonatas (the originals of Arthur Ben- - transient response - all the medium as any lithograph jamin's factitious features you need - only $89.50, complete by Whistler Concerto for Oboe and with gold anodized panel. himself. The fourth of these great songs Strings) neatly pinpoint the difference is Ives's Paracelsus, with its formidable between a genius like Mozart and a World-famous, "State of the Art" Acoustech piano part and its long -spun, philosophi- competent workman. The Galuppi has amplifying system can now be yours at mod- cal vocal line. little more character, and both the erate cost. See your dealer, or mail coupon There are some other good things too, Alessandro Scarlatti Toccata (in spite below for full details. but of lesser interest for one reason of the motoric excitement of its Fugue) I or another. The Emily Dickinson songs and the one by Michelangelo Rossi of Aaron Copland are the work of a very degenerate too readily into the kind of distinguished mind, but there are better keyboard coruscations that must be fun performances of them on other records. to play but are tiresome to listen to. ACOUSTECH, INC. There is a nice, malicious wit in Ross Not all that is baroque is good, and Div. of Koss /Rek -O -Kut Lee Finney's settings of poems by Ben- I feel a lack of memorable melody, Dept. H -6, 139 Main Street jamin Franklin, and Samuel Barber's rhythm, or harmony in these pieces. Cambridge, Mass. 02142 FREE Newly revised edition lyricism is occasionally plausible. For Pasquini's equally simple- minded but the rest, Mr. Hanks tends far too much more individual Cuckoo Toccata and his Please send free booklet "why Solid State Ampli. in his selection here fiers Can Sound Better" and full information on to identify the "art three Arias are on a higher level; and Acoustech solid state kits to song" (whatever that is) with the gen- several cubits again above these is the teel tradition. Balletto terzo of Frescobaldi -this is a Name The composer most richly represented wonderful piece, which perhaps proves I Address here is the respectable but unexciting something about Italian keyboard music, Smith College academician, John Duke. since the term "baroque" has to be ;city Zone State with five songs. MacDowell, Chadwick. stretched a good many years backward I and Loeffler may have been included as to include it. `--- a gesture towards history, but they are Kipnis plays attractively, with good

CIRCLE 1 ON READER -SERVICE CARD JUNE 1966 91

www.americanradiohistory.com smooth, and the album includes full texts style and appropriate registration. He Their five instruments -treble, alto, two the ac- and translations. B.J. is not Rafael Puyana's equal in rhythmic tenors, and bass -are, I believe, verve, but there is a relaxed quality tual instruments of an authentic Eliza- that largely compensates bethan chest of viols, and they produce in his approach "The Art of for this. The recording -I have heard a wonderfully rich and homogeneous EUGENE ORMANDY: only the stereo -is impressively lifelike sound. Eugene Ormandy" and colorful. Bi. The Gibbons anthem Great Lord of Lords, with which the record ends, is a Beethoven: Symphony No. 8, in F, Op. curiosity. It was originally composed to 93. Wagner: Tristan und Isolde: Prelude HIGH RENAIS- words referring to King James I's journey and Liebestod. Tchaikovsky: Romeo and MUSIC OF THE Juliet, Fantasy Overture. Debussy: Pré- SANCE IN ENGLAND to Scotland, but, to quote John Buttrey's informative liner, "new words in honour lude à l'après -midi d'un faune. Ravel: La Valse. Gibbons: O God, the King of Glory; of the Trinity were provided in 1893 by Lord of Lords; Lord Salisbury's H. R. Bramley," and it is with these that Great Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, Pavan. Ferrabosco II: Dovehouse Pavan. it is sung here. It was kind of H. R. O Lord, How Vain; Lord Salis- Bramley to go to so much trouble; but cond. Byrd: M2L 338. LP. $9.59. bury's Pavan; Elegy on the Death of though I am far from canvassing any COLUMBIA COLUMBIA M2S 738. SD. $11.59. Thomas Tallis; In Nomine a 5. Weelkes: preference for King James I over the Was from Latinos Hill De- Trinity, his effort merely serves to show As Vestas featuring first -desk Hard by a Crystal that you cannot fit good vocal music to After several records scending. Morley: Orchestra, we Bull: Prelude and In Nomine. new words without damaging it: it is players in the Philadelphia Fountain. two- record tribute to the Tomkins: Lady Folliott's Galliard. fascinating -and strongly illuminates now have a Gibbons' skill -to compare the very ap- master virtuoso of Philadelphia him- this self. And rightly so, for Eugene Or- Simon Preston, harpsichord and organ; proximate phrase correspondences of mandy is celebrating thirty years as Purcell Consort of Voices; Jaye Consort reworded piece with the supremely nat- cond. ural word setting of O God, the King director of the Philadelphia Orchestra of Viols; Grayston Burgess, association with TV 4017. LP. $2.50. of Glory. No doubt someone will come and twenty -eight years' TURNABOUT Columbia Records. TURNABOUT TV 34017S. SD. $2.50. along and prove that this too was orig- inally written for different words, and I The brochure accompanying this al- would shall look a fool; but while my credit bum and advertisements for it both take Even at twice the price this record what intelligently on the point is still undamaged, I urge pains to give Ormandy credit for be a bargain. The program the "Phila- instrumental, solo everyone to buy this lovely record. B.J. has popularly been known as intermingles vocal with rightly, for the ensemble pieces; the quality of per- delphia Sound" -quite with orchestra as we know it today is very formance ranges from good to superb; and PRO MUSICA: Early much Ormandy's creation and it pro- the recording is clear and lifelike; NEW YORK that works included Baroque Music of Italy duces a sound quite different from every one of the twelve inherited from Sto- golden age through of the ensemble he is worthy of the Both "sounds" centered in the half - Monteverdi: Cantate Domino; Laetaniae kowski in 1936. which English music passed Or- della Beata Vergine; Nisi Dominus; O on purely sensuous quality, but century around 1600. relaxed. This (on Bach conte sei gentile; Lamento della ninfa. mandy's is richer and more Alfred Deller's performance this feeling of infinite Byrd's great Elegy on the Frescobaldi: Toccata nona; Canzona set- effortless quality, Guild 557) of and an incomparable his master Thomas Tallis has tima detta la Superba; Canzona quinta. sonic resources, death of of texture and attack are been required listening for my Turini: Trio Sonata. Dalla Casa: Alix smoothness for years the distinguishing qualities of favored guests. But on this new arost. among most Ormandy's Philadelphia Orchestra as record a young English tenor named Ian - heard both on records and in the con- Partridge succeeds in singing it even more New York Pro Musica, Noah Green The ease and berg, cond. cert hall. But the recordings introduce beautifully and movingly. of a love- DECCA DL 9425. LP. $4.79. elements not heard in the Academy evenness with which he produces the resonant impressive as the DECCA DL 79425. SD. $5.79. Music or Carnegie Hall: ly lyric voice are as the orchestra is his phrasing. The other ambience surrounding sensitivity of balanced with a moderately O Lord, How Vain, is done It is melancholy to think of the director deliberately solo song, emphasis on solo players and almost as well by soprano Barbara Elsy: of this record as "the late Noah Green- detailed be able sections in the orchestra. This can be in her concern for purity of line, she berg," and small consolation to but to welcome it as typical of the achieve- achieved only with a multiple -microphone sometimes thins her tone excessively, the accomplish- ments which will make him so sadly system and is quite different from she too is an artist of high clearly of the Pur- missed. Such, however, it is. Whether more open texture and more ment. The other members hall. Clarke, soprano; or not "baroque" characterizes the music focused perspective of the concert cell Consort -Christina acoustic is quite (who also directs) and accurately is a point about which Charles However, this recorded Grayston Burgess with the Ormandy affinity John Whitworth, countertenors; and Canfield Brown's liner note has some compatible resonant bass interesting things to say. What is not in for the sensuous aspect of music. Christopher Keyte, a fine as both technically doubt is the beauty of almost all these Any such miscellaneous collection -are just as admirable, strong points and whether in the serene pieces. The loveliest is Monteverdi's La- this will have both and interpretatively, the former here is Orlando Gibbons' anthem ment° della ninfa from the 8th Book of weak ones. Among beauty of of La Valse in which in the Weelkes and Morley madrigals, a pastoral piece with a subtle a performance style, or peerless orchestral ear per- madrigals from The Triumphs of Oriana, dramatic interplay between solo soprano Ormandy's and and men's trio. Elizabeth Humes sings fectly complements Ravel's exploitation with their blend of subtlety naïve Al- it beautifully, though her Italian is in of the modern symphony orchestra. pictorialism. is the Debussy piece, harpsichord, Simon Preston need of polishing. O come sei gentile, most as successful At the some may cavil at the weighty the two Lord Salisbury's Pavans from the 7th Book, is almost as good. though plays texture of sound (which may be due in and the John Bull and Thomas Tomkins Among the religious pieces, Cantate and the Laetaniae della Beata part to the fact that this performance pieces cleanly and in good style, though Domino At the this Vergine are impressive in a more formal was first released six years ago). he sounds a shade less at home on is the fashion, but Nisi Dominus is as passion- other end of the qualitative scale instrument than on the organ, and though in which slower, more ately expressive as most secular music. Beethoven Eighth Symphony, I should have preferred a and the rich Phila- for the Gibbons piece. There is ample variety of mood and Ormandy's energy expressive tempo sound are not equal to bringing Consort provide excellent sup- texture in these works, and the record is delphia The Jaye the work to meaningful life in sym- in the Gibbons and Byrd vocal further diversified by some attractive port phonic terms. The texture is perilously and also give fine performances instrumental pieces by Frescobaldi, pieces close to muddy and Ormandy is too by the younger Alfonso Fer- Francesco Turini, and Girolamo dalla of a Pavan much involved in sheer kinetic energy rabosco and an In Nomine by Byrd. Casa. The recording is admirably HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE 92

www.americanradiohistory.com to enhance the total structural effect 1934 was chosen by Fritz Busch for the with attention to significant details. role of the Countess in his Glynde- Ormandy conceives the Prelude and bourne production of Le Nozze di Fi- Love -Death in symphonic as opposed to garo. Bruno Walter engaged her for the operatic terms-a quite justifiable ap- Salzburg Figaro of 1937 (I heard Raut- proach since Wagner himself devised this awaara at the time and have a vivid concert piece as a sort of "epitome" of recollection of her tasteful singing and of the whole opera. But by building this her beauty on stage). She toured Scan- two -part work towards the climax of the dinavia regularly in concert, made many Love- Death, Ormandy misses the essen- recordings in Berlin, and then, with the tial dramatic sense of the music. This outbreak of war, returned to Finland. was most eloquently realized in the still Since then, she has -except for a few FREE! + incomparable prewar record of Furt- festival appearances- remained in Hel- wängler, who conceived the last quarter sinki. 19% of the Prelude and all of the Love -Death One bears the impression from this as a resolution of the almost intolerable disc that Mme. Rautawaara was a mu- -'. tension reached at the climax of the sical singer, an accomplished artist, one 512 Prelude. Nevertheless, Ormandy's is a of those who gave pleasure without Pages valid, if somewhat commonplace, con- thought of cheers to make the rafters ception, and it is magnificently played ring. Her Tosca and Butterfly arias, sung 1966 here. Equally successful is the in German, are perform- passable; both of the Cat 660 ance of the Tchaikovsky Romeo and Mozart excerpts are very beautiful; the lAF AN .TTE Juliet, where Ormandy's sense of the Schubert Du bist die Ruh is projected RADIO tIECTYON%CS importance of significant detail to the with a lovely, silvery quality that is the over -all conception is of crucial impor- hallmark of the true lyric soprano; and tance. This fresh approach to what must the "Solveig Song" of Grieg is stripped be for this conductor an overplayed war- of banality and tenderly sung. On the horse, plus the gorgeous sound of the lighter side, the Merry Widow excerpt Now BETTER THAN EVER orchestra itself, does much to minimize ( "Vi /la ") comes off pleasantly. Featuring Tchaikovskÿ s rhetoric and crude orches- ROBERT LAWRENCE Everything in Electronics for tration. HOME INDUSTRY LABORATORY Despite the variability in Ormandy's from the affinity for the music here, the main in- KARL STUMPF: "Virtuoso Compo- terest of this release is in the conductor sitions for Viola d'amore" "World's Hi -Fi & Electronics Center" himself. His energetic sense of move- Stereo Hi -Fi Citizens Band Ham ment, his keen regard for the pacing of Ariosti: Sonata No. 3, for Viola d'amore Gear Tape Recorders Test Equip- a whole work, and ment TV and Radio Tubes and Parts and his unequaled gift Continuo. Vivaldi: Concerto for Cameras Auto Accessories Musi- for orchestral sonority continue to be Viola d'amore and Strings. Hracek: cal Instruments Tools Books projected with an ever youthful verve Sonata No. 12, for Viola d'amore and LAFAYETTE and exuberant delight in the sheer glory guitar. Stamitz: Concerto for Viola CRITERION 10008 of orchestral sound. Those who admire d'aurore and Orchestra. 4 -TRACK STEREO RECORDER IN these qualities and are devoted to Or- TEAK CABINET mandy's unique mastery of the orchestra Karl Stumpf, viola d'amore: assisting so- will rejoice in this release. (The Debussy loists: Prague Chamber Orchestra, Jin - and Ravel performances have been pre- drich Rohan, cond. viously issued, in 1960 and 1963 re- PARLIAMENT PLP 613. LP. $1.98. 18995 spectively; the remaining three sides of PARLIAMENT PLPS 613. SD. $2.98. the album contain newly recorded per- formances.) P.H. For those who reserve a special spot of affection for the slightly nasal, slightly ,e ,4 .4 M r1 nonresonant, rather intimate voice of the r m r AULIKKI RAUTAWAARA: Oper- viola d'amore, this recital will be wel- atic Arias and come. Karl is a Songs Stumpf fine player, and LAFAYETTE MODEL LA -248 entices a certain amount of coloration 50 -WATT SOLID STATE STEREO AMPLIFIER Puccini: Madama Butterfly: Un bel dì; from an instrument not so rich in that 11995 l osca: Non la sospiri la rostra Casetta. respect as members of the violin family; Mozart: Die Zauberflöte: Ach, ich there are a couple forays LAFAYETTE of into the low "PRO -50" SOLID f üld's: Le Nozze di Figaro: Porgi amor. register here which make one wonder STATE STEREO í Schubert: Du bist die Ruh; Tod und das why they occur so rarely-why com- SYSTEM Miidchcn. Brahms: Sapphisclte Ode: posers seemed generally to confine them- °''_-] Mädchenlied. Melartin: Gib mir dein selves to the middle and upper ranges of 12995 Herze. Finnish folk songs. Grieg: Peer the instrument. I found the Ariosti and Mail of Gvnt: So /veig's Song. Lehár: Die lustige Vivaldi works most pleasurable: the for- t,e Coup Today r You r FREE 7966 taloyelon te Catalog 660 - Witwe: Villa -Lied. mer opens with a grand, choral, stately LAFAYETTE Radio ELECTRONICS slow movement very becoming to the 6 P.O. Box Aulikki Rautawaara, soprano; Franz d'amore, and in the third movement the Dept. WF 10 Rupp, Ferdinand Leitner, pianos; Berlin continuo cello converses with the higher Syosset, L.I ., N.Y. 11791 Philharmonic, L. L. Borchard, Hans instrument almost in the manner of a trio Schmidt -Isserstedt, conds.; Grosses Be- sonata. Vivaldi first plays on the d'amore Send ree the Free gleitorchester, Peter Kreuder, cond. [from sonorities, with a wealth of elaborate Lafayette Catalog WF-6 various Telefunken originals, 1934 -38]. broken -chord figuration. and proceeds to TELEFUNKEN HT 28. LP. $5.79. a slow movement full of beautiful open- Name work texture in the tutti with the solo Address During the five years that preceded voice unwinding over it like a silken World War Il, the Finnish soprano thread. The sonata by Ireneus Hracek City Aulikki Rautawaara began to draw in- is quite jolly in its hunt motifs and bright ternational attention. Born at Helsinki State closing dance; Stamitz, in his usual 1 in 1906, she made her debut at the thorough. pedantic fashion, gives the solo Finnish State Opera in 1932, went to plenty to do and keeps him doing it long Zip ...... 1 Berlin for study the next year, (Please Give Your Zip Code No and in past quitting time. S.F. is - tm, - a - tm, tm, - tm, t - CIRCLE 39 ON READER -SERVICE CARD JUNE 1966 ) ;

www.americanradiohistory.com A SELECTIVE GUIDE TO THE MONTH'S REISSUES :iRepeat Performance

BRAHJIS: Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. plete with the spoken liturgy (which ex- 45; Alto Rhapsody. Op. 53; Fest -und plains the occasional intrusion of an Gedenkspriiclte. Op. 109. Teresa Stich - altar boy's bell). What we have here is Randall (s), Grace Hoffman (ms), somewhat less than ideal: the chorus is James Pease (b); various choruses; poorly balanced; the sopranos tend to Norddeutscher Rundfunk Orchestra, be shrill; and the soloists, save for some Carl Bamberger, cond. Nonesuch HB exquisite work from Seefried, are only 3003 /HB 73003, 55.00 (two discs) adequate. Jochum, however, is constantly [from Concert Hall Tapes HX 39 and finding many lovely orchestral details RX 45. 1958]. and his pacing of the work is just right. Even at a bargain price, this German Mono is the preferred version. %Veill Requiem cannot compete with either the Kurt Karajan or Klemperer readings. The PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 5, Op. Johnson" chorus has a good tone but phrases in- 100. Paris Conservatory Orchestra, "Johnny differently, the orchestral accompani- Jean Martinon, cond. RCA Victrola ment is pedestrian and indistinctly re- VIC 1169, $2.50 /VICS 1169, $3.00 Now, available again corded, and Stich -Randall and Pease are [from RCA Victor LM /LSC 2272, on Heliodor! in poor voice. The set is worth having 1959]. if a For years, Kurt Weill's Amer- only for Grace Hoffman's superb singing This is a good, level -headed reading for the virtu- bit too safe and sane for such person- ican masterpiece has been in the Alto Rhapsody and but pleasing little antiph- ality -plus music. That Martinon knows of not out of ally unknown out print -but onal a cappella chorus which fills out exactly how the music should sound is suc- mind. Now, this brilliant Side 4. Sonics in these latter items are made apparent from the first notes, but cessor to "Three Penny warm and luminous, the surface whispers Prokofiev's special blend of passion and Opera" and "Mahoganny" is quiet. ice often eludes him. The nameless dread once more available-exclu- that smolders under the sinuous melodic sively on Heliodor. Great cast! GLUCK: Orpheus and Eurydice (ex- lines of the third movement is hardly Great sound! Great Weill! cerpts). Anny Schlemm (s), Rita hinted at, nor does the finale ever work Streich (s), Margarete Klose (c); vari- up much excitement. The glacial glitter WEILL: "JOHNNY JOHNSON" with ous orchestras, Arthur Rother, cond. of movements one and two finds the con- Burgess Meredith, Lotte Lenya, Heliodor H 25005/HS 25005, $2.49 ductor more responsive: the former in Evelyn Lear, Thomas Stewart, -3, early moves in impressive, weighty others. [from Urania 223 -3/5223 particular Hiram Sherman, blocks of sound. Splendid orchestral H /HS 25024 1950s]. Most of this material is presumably playing throughout and first -rate sound. Never before released identical with Urania's complete -and -recording (the exception SCHUBERT: Quartet for Strings, No. 14, PURCELL: ABDELAZAR SUITE/ still available is the presence here of Anny Schlemm, in D minor, D. 810 ( "Tod and das ARNE: JUDGEMENT OF PARIS Koeckert Quartet. Helio- OVERTURE /BYRD: FANTASIE No. who sings the brief Eurydice /Happy Mädchen"). 1I Berger is dor H 25003/HS 25003, $2.49 [from 1 FOR STRINGS -Chamber Orch., Shade aria from Act -Erna cond. C. Surinach. H /HS 25022 the Eurydice on Urania). The noble con- Decca DL 9567, 1952]. tralto of Margarete Klose is reason I doubt if there is a more gorgeous per- BOISMORTIER: DAPHNIS AND to invest in these excerpts. A formance of Schubert's great Quartet in music by Mouton, de enough CHLOE plus voice of less majestic amplitude and the catalogue. Although the recording la Barre and Leclair -Various art- be de- its age, it can't disguise the ists. H/ HS 25018 creamy richness would probably shows feated by Rother's leaden tempos, but beauties uncovered here by the Koeckert Long in demand this speed allows Miss Klose ample time Quartet. Tempos are comfortably cor- warm and true, the en- FUGUE/ to unfurl some truly glorious organlike rect, intonation BACH: THE ART OF THE work letter -perfect. There may BEETHOVEN: GROSSE FUGE- tones. Fortunately she dominates the semble String Orch.; Cond. A. Winograd proceedings in three lengthy solo scenes be more spacious and dramatic readings, (2 -disc set) H!HS 25019 -2 (sung, of course, in German); also in- but none captures better the melting cluded is the overture, the Dance of the lyricism and poignancy of this music. Oistrakh! Furies, the Dance of the Happy Shades, MOZART: VIOLIN CONCERTO No. arias for Amor and Eurydice, and the SCHUBERT: Sonatas for Piano: No. 7, 5/CLARINET CONCERTO -David final chorus of Act Il. The enhanced in E flat, D. 568; No. 13, in C minor, H. Gueser, Clari- Oistrakh, Violin; works well enough for the orches- Op. posti.., D. 958. Beveridge Webster, net; Cond. Konwitschny, Fricsay. stereo hob with the singers, who piano. Heliodor H 25014/HS 25014, H /HS 25017 tra but plays sound as if they are trapped in a re- $2.49 [from M -G -M 3711, 1958]. verberant sewer pipe. This recording was the sole result of a quickly abandoned M -G -M project to MOZART: Mass No. 19, in D minor, record Beveridge Webster in all the Schu- K. 626 ( "Requiem "). Irmgard Seefried bert Piano Sonatas. A pity -for Webster (s), Gertrude Pitzinger (ms), Richard is an exceptional Schubert interpreter. Holm (t), Kim Borg (bs); Chorus of In the C minor Sonata the constructional the Vienna State Opera; Vienna Sym- subtleties and dramatic values of the fre- phony, Eugen Jochum, cond. Heliodor quent harmonic side -stepping character- GREAT RECORDINGS H 25000 /HS 25000, $2.49 [from istic of this work are carefully projected; ATA BUDGET PRICE Decca DL 9835, 1956]. into the balance the pianist draws song- This recording of Mozart's Requiem, ful lines that are absolutely winning. Op. Heliodor Records are less finely played. The piano a product of MGM Records originating from a live performance, is 122 is no A still available on two Archive discs com- has been well recorded, but the low -level CIRCLE 32 ON READER -SERVICE CARD HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE `)4

www.americanradiohistory.com response only accentuates the excessive surface noise. NEW ALTEC TELEMANN: Concertos: for Four Vio- lins, in D; for Trumpet, Two Oboes, and Continuo, in D; Sonata for Viola EPJERG1=ER! da gamba and Continuo (Lute), in F sharp; Quartet for Flute, Oboe, Violin, and Continuo, in G. Hamburg Cam - erata Instrumentale. Heliodor H 25006/ HS 25006, $2.49 [the Trumpet and HOW TO GET BASS WHEN YOU HAVE NO SPACE! Two -Oboe Concerto and the Quartet from Archive ARC 3119, 1959]. A book -shelf speaker system just can't simply between amplifier output and This music impresses me more by its produce the extreme lows of full -size speaker. It is designed to operate with friendly anonymity than by its inspira- speakers, but it can be improved. Consid- efficient speakers- however, it can be used erably. tion, but the unusual instrumental com- Often startlingly. You'll probably with inefficient speakers if the amplifier binations help to fend off monotony. think someone changed your speakers power is adequate. Some striking textures arise in the Con- when you install Altec's new Bass So if you have no choice but to use certo for Four Solo Violins and the Energizer! small speakers (due to your space limita- raspy viola da gamba pairs off well with The Bass Energizer compensates for tion) try the new Altec Bass Energizer to the lute in the F sharp Sonata. All low- frequency deficiencies inherent in add the bass richness you have been miss- performances are graceful, stylish, and small speakers by providing an increase in ing. A demonstration at your audio dealer very -low bass level relative will convince rhythmically lively. The Hamburg Cam - to the rest of you. (Caution: be sure the erata Instrumentale, by the way, in- the spectrum. Can't you just boost the typi- program source has bass in it before mak- cludes trumpeter Adolf Scherbaum, who cal amplifier bass control, or use the con- ing this test.) Priced at $30. achieves some outstandingly delicate tour control, and get the same result? No, pianissimo effects in the Trumpet and not without also affecting midrange fre- quencies from 200 cycles up to around Pa., f+e.,ve. Respw,v Cmmp..aJ Wen Two -Oboe Concerto. Fine sound. . bass eoo M .M awye Amy,,, 1000. It is this effect that gives unnatural B.,, boominess to voices. The Altec Bass Ener- Bass Be..., n, ..eran .Tg.ber gizer becomes effective only below 150 DAVID and IGOR OISTRAKH: Trio cycles and builds to full efficiency from 60 Sonatas for Two Violins and Continuo cycles down to the speaker's cutoff. This by Bach, Tartini, Handel, and Benda. reinstates those often lost low, low notes FREQUENCY IN CYCLES PER SECOND David and Igor Oistrakh, violins; Hans without adding boominess to voices. The ALTEC LANSING Pischner, harpsichord; Vladimir Yam - result is added low- frequency richness. 4 Division 0/averting Alter, Inc. polsky, piano. Heliodor H 25009/ The Energizer is passive, requiring no ALTE[ ANAHEIM, HS 25009, $2.49 [the Bach and Tartini additional electrical power, and connects CALIFORNIA from Decca DL 9950, ' 1958; the CIRCLE 4 ON READER -SERVICE CARD Handel and Benda from Decca DL 9962, 1958]. Oistrakh and son etch out suave and songful lines in this unexciting repertoire. FM/CO =AX/AL The Bach Sonata (S. 1037), now thought FM- to be spurious, offers the most musical STEREO -KIT nourishment; happy melodic and contra- INTERNATIONAL puntal ideas abound in each of its four First Choice those movements. I would be hard put to dis- - of tinguish Igor from David on this disc - PROVIDES who demand the Best! both play with rich, vibrant tone, cloth- THE MISSING ing the Adagios with a mournful yet FOR -- appealing intensity but giving all the THE LINK IN FM gigues just the right buoyancy. The key- rrr v board instruments are rather too distant STEREO BEST F I for ideal balance but in general the sound 'O is fine. RECEPII MADO ROBIN: "Opera and Sulk!:. New Finco -Axial replaces . . . Mado Robin, soprano; twinlead various orches- gives shielded protection to the incom- tras, Richard Blareau and Anatole ing signal and eliminates all outside and Fistoulari, conds. London 5925, $4.79 inside line pick up interference. [from various London originals, 1953- QUICK, EASY INSTALLATION ... 54]. FINCO- AXIAL -FM STEREO KIT, Model An extraordinary extension of the upper 7512AB High performance Indoor and Q o Model SX724 Only register was the late Mado Robin's chief Outdoor Matching Transformers convert TATE 1/4 Track Stereo ;975 claim to notability, and her highest flight old- fashioned and inefficient 300 ohm here is a B flat above high C in Lucia's hook -ups to the new Finco -Axial 75 ohm FM Compare this "Mad Scene." It's not an unpleasant Stereo reception system. Quality List price for complete sound but, like the rest of her voice, kit, 7512AB $8.95 Speed Response 7512 -A Mast Mounted matching S/N somewhat artificial in quality. Miss transformer. List $5.40 7 -1/2 ±2db 30 to 20ke 54db Robin had a little -girlishness that could 7512 -B FM Tuner mounted matching be attractive in French ingénue roles transformer. List $4.15 3-3/4 ±2db 30 -15kc 50db such as Lakmé or Mireille (the finest FINCO -AXIAL SHIELDED CABLE, CX SERIES moment on this record is her touching Highest quality 75 ohm swept coaxial cable . =".er,.r s. International (RG 59/U) complete with Type F fittings and rendition of Mireille's little pastorale weather boot ready for installation. ti) Box 1000, Dept. HF -6 "Heureux petit berger"). But in the Italian Available in 25, 50, 75, 100 ft. lengths. List prices Elkhart, Indiana 46517 repertoire her birdlike coloratura sounds $5.55, $8.65, $11.50, $14.20 't Write for Brochure curiously out of date, and her florid No. 20 -349 THE technique just passes muster. In short, FINNEY COMPANY Put a G.... in Your Future! 34 West Interstate St., Dept. Bedford. Ohio a curio. PETER G. DAVIS CIRCLE 25 ON READER -SERVICE CARD CIRCLE 15 ON READER -SERVICE CARD JUNE 1966 95

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www.americanradiohistory.com "Harold Sings Arlen (with Friend)." Columbia OL from his singing. The result is a distinctive and per- 6520, $4.79 (LP); OS 2920, $5.79 (SD). sonal style. His manner of savoring a lyric, of ap- pearing to taste each sound, lifts one of his more ordinary songs, My Shining Hour, from its usual IRVING BERLIN'S Anything You Can Do I Can Do banal level of presentation; and, on Little Biscuit, he Better might well have been written with Harold implies a strong, outgoing attack without disturbing Arlen in mind. Arlen is not only one of the most the intimate mood. exceptional composers for Broadway and film mu- Arlen reserves this personal style for slow and sicals (with scores for Bloomer Girl, House of Flow- moderately slow pieces. When the beat picks up, as ers, St. Louis Woman, and The Wizard of Oz to his on Hit the Road to Dreamland and Today I Love credit). but he can also sing his songs better than Everybody, and Arlen wants to open up vocally, his most professionals. singing shimmers with ghosts of the Jolson era Arlen -a has been singing off and on for over forty sound compounded of Jolson, Harry Richman, years. He came to New York in 1926 as the pianist Georgie Jesse!, and others of that period. There is and singer in a dance band called The Buffalodians one interesting exception -on A c-Cent-Tchu-A te the (from Buffalo, of course). In the 1930s he could Positive he adopts the jaunty style of Johnny Mercer. be heard singing on records by Benny Goodman, Since Mercer wrote the lyrics for this song, he Red Nichols, and Joe Venuti. With the bands of presumably made them such a complete reflection Leo Reisman and Eddy Duchin, he recorded some of his own way of singing that Arlen can find no of the songs he wrote for the Cotton Club revues. other suitable approach. Since then he has been lured into a studio from When he performs his songs, Arlen rarely sits time to time, most recently to make this collection down at the piano and plays his music. Somebody of songs he composed between 1941 and the present. else plays while he sings his collaborators' lyrics. In Arlen's voice is not the type that immediately this case he is working with arrangements by the seizes the listener's attention. At first it seems a imaginative Peter Matz, who also conducts the or- small, inadequate vehicle -just about what you'd ex- chestra. The "friend" of the disc's title is Barbra pect from a song writer. But Arlen uses this small re- Streisand, who joins Arlen in a spirited duet on source so artfully, drawing from it all kinds of un- Ding -Dong the Witch Is Dead and sings House of suspected responses by what often seems to be a Flowers alone. Arlen was one of Miss Streisand's sheer force of will, that the initial unfavorable im- earliest advocates and it is fascinating to discover, pression is soon forgotten. There is such total devo- as one hears them in duet, that her now familiar tion to every single sound he makes -the direction singing style is actually very similar to his, particu- of each musical phrase, the full value of every syl- larly in the strong, fully rounded way she projects lable of the lyric -that a sort of inner force emerges every aspect of a song. J.S.W.

New pro Barbra Streisand joins old pro Harold Arlen in a singing fest.

JUNE 1966 97

www.americanradiohistory.com wistfully reedy in- LL 3459, $3.79 and other lands thrown in. In the process his career had been a Noel Harrison: London assur- (SD). a good deal of the fun has gone out of strument, had taken on body and (LP); PS 459, $4.79 these movies were Harrison's son, is the production. Two of the most divert- ance by the time Noel Harrison, Rex The songs that George and Ira common to sons ing members of the cast, Kendrew Las - made. experiencing difficulties Irving Berlin, and Jerome fathers: avoid it as he may, celles, a comedian with a remarkably Gershwin, of famous a Kern wrote for his films were some of of his father follows him. A expressive face, and April Olrich, the shadow body, have their finest work -A Foggy "Day, Cheek or so ago he attempted to shake dancer with a magnificent - year lamentably -been to Cheek, A Fine Romance, Nice Work the jinx by joining the folk singing fra- understandably but brief humorous If You Can Get Ii, Change Partners are and this disc is an expanded out- left out along with the ternity show. all in this collection. In the fashion of growth of that effort. He covers a fairly bits which keep brightening the are not per- the Thirties, many of them are performed slice of contemporary popular mu- The songs are left but they broad make as orchestra pieces with Astaire moving not only performing the songs of formed with enough distinction to sic by in for one or two vocal choruses or a a proper contemporary a satisfactory disc. By themselves, they Bob Dylan, as It is marvelous dance but also the songs of would scarcely make a satisfactory show, little tap dancing. folk singer should, for heaven's sake, the or- Holiday, Miles -Davis, either. Nigel Pegram and Dana Valery, music but, the Beatles, Billie not identified, much less the Aznavour. Like his father, who do most of the singing, have pleas- chestras are and Charles with three flavorsome pianists, trombonists, and Harrison has a modest voice -and, ant, open voices and do well Noel ditties as trumpeters who take solos. This reissue, someone remarked in another connec- or four pieces. Such familiar as I Gave first released several years ago as The has plenty to be modest about. I Know Where I'm Going and tion, he Best of Fred Astaire (Epic LN 3137), for all his vocal limitations he man- My Love a Cherry suffer by comparison But the Af- has been brought back unchanged, even to bring several of these songs to with other performances. As for ages with which to the liner notes which still do not in- life through the sheer warmth of his very rican songs, despite the spirit Valery's skill clude a word of information about the engaging personality. His singing inflec- they are sung (and Miss mixture of his father in producing the requisite "click" sound actual performances. tion is an amusing collection deserves a per- influences one is most for the Xhosa songs), one cannot com- The Sinatra and Rudy Vallee, manent place in the disc repertory, not notice in his less successful per- pletely escape the realization that these apt to it embodies the perfections of Georgia Brown comments on are white South Africans trying to inter- because formances. the Astaire set, but because it documents in carrying off a song in pret songs native to black Africans. his difficulties some of the peak moments of his early delightfully candid liner notes; she some Nelson Eddy: style and suggests some of the problems describes one selection as "a good song Jeanette MacDonald and $4.79 (LP). that contributed to the decline of that well goofed I have a whole side like RCA Victor LPV 526, ... have first phase in his career. Sinatra's early my George Gershwin album. My The crest of the Camp furor may this on by two artistry is exemplified by his memorable is we all have the right to fail.'" passed but this set of reissues motto I've Got a Crush on You and the song its faults the record as a whole idols of the Camp world is still timely. Despite nor Phil Silvers wrote about the little girl a failure: the material is well Actually neither Miss MacDonald is far from is now a popular singing star her- arrangements (by Reg Guest) Mr. Eddy was as bad as satirical mem- who chosen, the self, Nancy. Then, in Five Minutes More unusually good, and the performer ory would have them. The main prob- are hats that and The Coffee Song, we can hear Si- seems an uncommonly civilized person. lems, as I recall, were those Eddy wore -the boy scout hat, the coon- natra, still in good voice, battling empty mechanical arrange- Time." ABC -Para- skin hat -and the fact that his acting songs and busy, Ray Charles: "Crying The change was actually gradual $3.79 (LP); S 544, $4.79 was in the finest tradition of solid wood. ments. mount 544, this disc, by juxtaposing highlights, (SD). His singing was also sturdy but some- but better, but helps to point up exactly what happened Singer, pianist, and organist Ray Charles what better -not a whole lot in this to The Voice during those years. be confused with the Ray Charles better. Most of the recordings (not to late who conducts the Ray Charles Singers) collection were made in the mid- and - Pat Dahl: "We Dig Pat Dahl." Audio in virtual retirement in Cali- Thirties and come from the MacDonald had been Fidelity 2157, $3.79 (LP); 6157, $4.79 fornia for over a year undergoing med- Eddy epics of those years-Naughty recorded this Marietta, Rose- Marie, Maytime, The (SD). ical treatment before he number of musical most of which fall Girl of the Golden West, The New An impressive collection of songs, been corralled to write category. Despite the Moon. Only four of the sixteen selec- "names" have into the "weeper" the arrangements sung by nature of these ballads and tions are duets. Miss MacDonald has lit- and conduct lugubrious a well-constituted English sounds refreshed and re- tle trouble in carrying off the vocal hon- Pat Dahl, blues, Charles whose idol, we are told, is Betty laxed after his layoff. His voice has ors in these pairings and through most of blonde Grable. Benny Carter, Billy May, Pete lost the heaviness that marred some of the rest of the collection, although Eddy his rises successfully to the demands of Sig- Rugolo, Shorty Rogers, Marty Paitch, his last albums, in which he dragged rallied to standards and mund Romberg's charming Who Are We and Lyn Murray have been way through popular and she has cer- and Western songs. There is vi- To Say. The performances can be appre- Miss Dahl's assistance country to live up to what they had in his projection here, setting up ciated best, I think, if they are viewed tainly tried brancy But she tries too hard and, glistening colors. Charles ranges all the not just as period pieces (their period in mind. she is being dramatic, seductive, way from a rollicking bounce in one had really passed by the time of the whether or just "Camping," the mood piece to actual sniveling in another - MacDonald -Eddy collaborations), but as emotional, is apt to be overplayed into the obvious. which is really going a little too far. But the final flowering of the operetta tra- are hints here and there that she in between there are strong ballad per- dition. There be quite effective if she were a long and exemplary treat- might formances, relaxed broadest hint comes ment of Drifting Blues, and a Charles Fred Astaire: "Nothing Thrilled Us Half more -the As Much." Epic 13103, $3.79 (LP); in Shorty Rogers' simple, easy arrange- original, Peace of Mind, which, if auto- Me. $4.79 (SD). ment of Someone To Watch Over biographical, certainly helps to explain 15103, the Sinatra: "The Early Years." Co- One of the minor points in favor of the new vitality in his singing. Frank of lumbia CL 2474, $3.79 (LP); CS 9274, disc occurs in Lyn Murray's treatment Dance, the Rodgers and Minim!" Original cast record- $4.79 (SD). Ten Cents a "Wait a which Ruth Etting introduced. $5.79 (LP); 88002, There are some records in the popular Hart song ing. London 58002, versions, arrangers have $6.79 (SD). repertory that should be kept available In contemporary a perverse tendency to accompany This South African miscellany of song, at all times. Both these sets fall into this shown line "Loudly the saxophones blow" dance, and gags (visual and musical) category, although for different reasons. the a blast from a trumpet. Murray has in Johannesburg in 1962 and Astaire danced and sang his way through with opened actually to use a saxophone. this past season. The a series of remarkable films in the Thir- the audacity reached Broadway of this sort that keep the version concentrates on the ties and this recording captures the best It's touches recorded The flame of hope burning in a follower of songs -mostly folk songs of Africa with aspects of his classic performances. beginning of pop discs. JOHN S. WILSON a few from England, the United States, Astaire voice, which at the HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE 98

www.americanradiohistory.com JO Editors Report on Heathkît® Stereo Receivers!

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CIRCLE 31 ON READER -SERVICE CARD 99 JUNE 1966

www.americanradiohistory.com Good records start with Stanton.

A professional needs to know a test pressing. This is a critical each will perform for sure. When he listens exactly as the to a test stage in record making. The original laboratory prototype. We pressing, he needs a cartridge that stereo playback system they are laboriously will reproduce adjust them until they exactly what has listening through is fronted do. It also means that you will been cut into the grooves. No by a Stanton 581 EL Calibration more,no get the same accuracy that the less. Otherwise he would Standard. (The turntable also professionals get. Guaranteed. never be able to control the final happens to be a Stanton. Other Stanton product. The record Calibration Standards you buy in fine turntables will work, too.) are hard to make. And the price the store. They're getting the whole That's mes- reflects it. $49.50. But why the professionals sage. You'll get it, too, in an up- that really isn't much keep using Stanton. It tells them coming release. to the whole truth, pay for uncompro- and nothing but. Each Stanton Micro FLUX - mising accuracy. In the photograph above, studio VALVE® Calibration Standard Stanton Magnetics, Inc. engineers are shown listening is to custom made. That means that STaNfOR Plainview, L. 1., N. Y. CIRCLE 57 ON READER -SERVICE CARD 100 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com way to tape, that London taping of July 1965, and for all Unless specifically noted otherwise. the might never find their of slow - the technical brilliance of the present standard open - possible technical limitations following reviews are of more marked than speed tape are either nonexistent or at recording (noticeably reel 4- track 7.5 -ips stereo tapes. more least not audible. If there's some hollow- that of the Variations) it is scarcely here, as well scintillating or opulent than the recent No. 9. in D ness and bottom- heaviness BRUCKNER: Symphony Ormandy /Columbia reel. What does minor as more marked channel separation than we usually hear nowadays, these quali- make the BSO version uniquely distinc- stereo tive is its cymbalom part-both in the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Zubin ties were inherent in the original while no poetic delicacy of Toni Koves -Steiner's cond. disc edition of 1958; and Mehta, playing and in the sound given the in- LONDON LCL 80170. 64 min. $7.95. audiophile would take this recording as of recent vintage, its only serious defect strument itself. which surely has never lacked from the before appeared to better advantage. Back in November 1956 I reviewed a is that it lacks (as it monophonic Phono- beginning) the more theatrical imme- long since deleted MAHLER: Symphony No. 10, in F tapes -Sonore release of the Horenstein/ diacy of the D'Oyly Carte Company's Vox version of this magnificently ex- equally old version (taped as London sharp which a pansive, eloquently songful work. What LOH 90001. May 1960, from was released only last Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, a joy it is to have it again on tape, now reel of highlights cond. superb stereoism which alone fall as LOL 90099). The same criti- in truly COLUMBIA H2M 7. 33 -ips, double - can do full justice to the densities and cism also applies to the performance, play. 70 min. $9.95. breadths of Bruckner's scoring! It would since Sargent's direction seems overly with be hard to imagine more completely sat- easygoing in comparison Godfrey's much has been written about the isfactory recording-or, for that matter. galvanic vitality. What gives the present So the un- Deryck Cooke "performing version" of tape processing -than we are given here; version its main distinction is the singing pro- Mahler's Tenth that I will here simply and nearly as admirable is the present commonly high level of those of express my own view that it not only orchestral playing. As for Zubin Mehtá s vided by such fine voices as sounds like Mahler, in the hitherto un- reading, this young Indian conductor is Morison, Lewis, Evans, and Brannigan. movements as well as the good, and individually Since neither of the two tape versions orchestrated extraordinarily well -known opening Adagio, but often distinctive, in the Scherzo (here included includes the spoken dialogue, a choice down to one's preference for vocal- like Mahler at his very best -as in the complete on Side 1 rather than broken boils implacably hard (muffled) drum strokes as it is in the disc version). While oc- ism or for showmanship. in the Scherzo No. 2 and in the Finale, casionally in the first movement and or in the latter's poignantly moving coda. more often in the Adagio his delibera- KODALY: Hdry János: Suite; Pea- Ormandy's performance is an impres- tion loses momentarily the essentially cock Variations sively eloquent one in most respects, Brucknerian long-line continuity, in Erich Leins- with perhaps only an occasional excess compensation. however, he endows other Boston Symphony Orchestra, of vehemence or slight lack of expansive- passages with a passionate intensity dorf, cond. 2216. 46 min. ness really open to objective criticism worthy of the best Bruckner authorities. RCA VICTOR FTC $7.95. (although, more subjectively, I find the The Mika- conductor sometimes less than completely GILBERT & SULLIVAN: emotionally). do (or, The Town of Titipu) Kodály fans will welcome the first ap- involved pearance on tape of his sixteen variations Fortunately, the choice of the slow - tape medium strikes me as doing Elsie Morison (s), Yum -Yum; Monica on a Hungarian folk song. The Pea- speed injustice to the recording. Sinclair (c), Katisha: Richard Lewis (t), cock (1938 -39), but I must confess that no serious a warm The sonics are generally vivid, warm, Nanki -Poo; Geraint Evans (b), Ko -Ko; this music strikes me- ordinarily wide in dynamic range, while the Owen Brannigan (bs), The Mikado: et admirer of Kodály's works -as curiously and itself is excellently processed with al.; Glyndebourne Festival Chorus: Pro lacking in distinctive character. The piece tape is quiet surfaces and freedom from pre - Arte Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent, is colorfully orchestrated-and it beau- echoes. The demanding passages for per- cond. tifully played here by the Bostonians - is no magnetic cussion, especially in the Scherzo No. 2, ANGEL Y2S 3573. 33/a -ips, double - but for me. at least, there appeal exerted. On the other side, Leins- come off very well indeed, but some of play. 91 min. $11.98. the dorf's too brisk, tense. and humorless the f f high- register string passages in It's in the revival of such early stereo run- through of the Háry János Suite is Continued on next page recordings as this one, which otherwise interpretatively no match for the Kertesz/

101 JUNE 1966

www.americanradiohistory.com THE TAPE DECK ously detracts from the effectiveness of the cross-fire (i.e., stereoistic) duel Continued from preceding so page imaginatively devised by the composer. And even the tape processing is imper- Adagio and elsewhere have an unpleas- fect, WRITE FOR with some whispers of reverse- antly penetrating quality which probably channel spill -over in the very long Side must be ascribed to the engineering, al- 1 leader; to say nothing of the fact that, though one often hears the QUOTATION same thing properly, the work should have been in the concert hall when the string choirs issued as half of a double -play reel to FACTORY SEALED CARTONS are pressed too hard. ensure the continuity, uninterrupted by a FRANCHISED DISTRIBUTOR side break between movements. MASSENET: Hérodiade Nevertheless, QUICK SHIPMENT (excerpts); even after so long a Thaïs (excerpts) catalogue of complaints, I find Nielsen's music so gripping and at least parts of Régine Crespin (s), Salomé, Albert Barbirolli's performance so moving that WE GIVE Lance Jean, (t), Michel Dens (b), I cannot advise passing this reel up en- Hérode, et al. (in Hérodiade); Jacqueline tirely. Brumaire (s), Thaïs, Michel Dens (b), DISCOUNTS Athanaél, et al., René Duclos Chorus (in SCHOENBERG: Gurrelieder Thais); Orchestre du Théâtre National de ON HI -FI l'Opéra de Paris, Georges Prêtre, cond. Inge Borkh (s), Tove; Hertha Töpper (in Hérodiade), Pierre Dervaux, cond. (ms), Waldtaube; Herbert Schacht (in Thaïs). - COMPONENTS schneider (t), Waldemar; et al.; Chorus ANGEL Y2S 3674. 33/4 -ips double - and Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio, play. Approx. 98 min. $11.98. Rafael Kubelik, cond. DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON DGP 8984 Since poor Massenet's music seems to (double-play). 98 min. $11.95. SOUND have few proponents nowadays, it's sur- prising to find even highlights of his One of the most ambitiously conceived REPRODUCTION operas appearing on tape. Yet for all the and scored musical works of all time, salon sentimentality of even the best this mighty cantata, or dramatic sym- INC. arias and scenes here (the famous "11 phony, has been too easily dismissed by es! doux," "Vision fugitive," and "Adieu those who have never heard it properly 34 New Street, Newark, N. 1. (01102) donc, vains objets," etc., from Héro- performed as a product of romanticism (201) Mitchell 2 -6816 diade; "Voila donc la terrible cité," in extremnis. Romantic, grandiose indeed, "Dis -moi que je suis belle," the "Medi- it surely is, and of course the Wagnerian tation," etc., from Thaïs), their sheer -and many other -influences are un- mellifluence is very disarming, and the mistakable. Nevertheless, it has genuine occasional CIRCLE 56 ON READER -SERVICE CARD moments of genuine dramatic originality, balladic heroism, and a power carry considerable conviction. warmth of feeling which most listeners Except for Régine Crespin and possibly are unlikely to find in Schoenberg's later Albert Lance, the present soloists are not compositions. Certainly the present taping particularly outstanding vocally, but they is an incomparably thrilling experience. First since '63! all possess a sound sense of French The performances by every one of the style; Michel Dens. in both works, and vast forces concerned are extremely good Rita Gorr as Hérodiade enact their roles (although even the poetic restraint and NEW SCHWANN notably well; and both conductors, to- moving feeling of Miss Töpper's Wood gether with the engineers, make the most Dove can't efface the memory of Rose ARTIST LISTING of the scores' coloristic potentials. In Bampton's 1932 performance with Sto- both works, though, the well- differenti- kowski); and the recording itself (which ated stereoism is exploited only for static is also ideally processed) is so extraor- Now available from record soloists' spacings -there are no stereo - dinarily successful in general that it's dealers everywhere. The genic action enhancements. hard to believe it was made at live per- formances. only published listing of all I suppose that if I had a full NIELSEN: Symphony No. 4 ( "The score at hand I'd be able to spot a num- currently available classical Inextinguishable") ber of lost or covered -up details, but the LPs arranged by performers: primary impression is of outstanding Hallé orchestras, conductors, Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli, auditorium naturalness, achieved with- cond. out any spotlighting of vocal or instru- chamber groups, etc. -in- VANGUARD EVERYMAN CLASSICS VTB mental soloists. In short a near- miracu- strumental soloists: pianists, 1709. 35 min. $6.95. lous first tape edition of the Gurrelieder. violinists, cellists, etc. - Badly as we need a taping of this mag- WAGNER: Lohengrin choral groups, operatic nificent work (an even more striking groups and vocalists. Limited one than the fine Sinfonia espansiva Elisabeth Grümmer (s), Elsa; Jess issued on a Bernstein edition -so order your Columbia reel last Thomas (t), Lohengrin; Dietrich Fisch - February), this Barbirolli reading is er-Dieskau (b), Friedrich; 1966 Gottlob Frick SCHWANN ARTIST tantalizingly less than completely satis- (bs), King Henry; et al.; Chorus of the LISTING issue now from factory. However the blame may be Vienna State Opera; Vienna Philhar- your dealer! proportionately assigned to the conductor monic Orchestra, Rudolf Kempe, cond. and his (British Pye) engineers; there ANGEL Y5S 3641. 3' -ips, quin- is an unmistakable lack of proper bal- tuple -play. 209 min. $29.98. Published by the ancing between the plangent brass and inadequately substantial string choirs, This first Lohengrin on tape, as well as schwann and there are frequent lapses in clarity- in stereo, is an impressive reminder of in the woodwind RECORD CATALOG parts perhaps in par- what truly magnificent moments the ticular. In the distinctive timpani parts pre -Ring Wagner was capable . and 137 Newbury Street, too -which are prominent throughout also, alas! (to adapt Philip Hale's famous Boston, Mass. 02116 but especially so in their antiphonal Brucknerian wisecrack) of what dread- passages in the finale- something seri- ful half -hours. The music at its best is CIRCLE 52 ON "EADr'- 'r,VICE CARD 102 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com further enhanced here by the excep- and the Beethoven Pastoral Symphony, tionally fine voices commanded by all in particular, to say nothing of the mawk- the major participants and also by ring- ish schmaltz injected into the Ponchielli ingly sonorous, powerfully recorded Dance of the Hours (remember those Why? orchestral playing. But the boring ghastly dancing elephants!) and the mis- stretches, especially those endless dec- cegenation of the coda of Mussorgsky's DO THOUSANDS OF HI -FI in the first act, are unfor- Night on Bald Mountain with Schubert's lamations BUY tunately exacerbated by a lack of dra- Ave Maria. ENTHUSIASTS FROM matic dynamism, for which the con- Youngsters will do best to accept ductor probably is primarily responsi- the Fantasia legends on faith alone. Old- AUDIO UNLIMITED ble, and also by the somewhat static er people, however, need this set in their quality of the recorded production it- libraries as a monument (as I wrote in self. my review of the stereo disc) to "twen- It's Obvious! Then there are other, minor perhaps tieth- century audio genius and folly . . . but decidedly annoying, shortcomings. and as an object lesson in the price that must be paid for an overindulgence in The vital choral passages are neither LOWEST PRICES as well sung nor as prominent as they sheerly sonic intoxications." should be. The very beginning of the FAST SERVICE Act I Prelude has been processed at too FACTORY SEALED UNITS high a modulation level (with conse- "Baja Marimba Band" / "Baja Marimba amplification noise) quent background Band Rides Again." A & M AMF FULLY INSURED SHIPMENTS for the properly ethereal effect intended 33/ -ips, double -play, 64 min., have been 104, by the composer. And there $9.95. PACKAGE DEALS -SAVE MORE in Act II here which three cuts made - Hitching a ride on the tailgate of Herb while brief and conventional enough, Alpert's "Tijuana Brass" bandwagon, FRANCHISED DISTRIBUTORS and necessitated by the exceptional another, somewhat more conventional a single length (209 minutes) of tape on ensemble provides a double Write for FREE Listing today inferiority Mexican reel -nonetheless represent an cornucopia of better than usual mood in this edition vis -à -vis its disc equivalent. North- of -the- great music. There are a few SEND US YOUR LIST There are, however, thrillingly pop tunes included (More, Walk technical Border moments here; and the tape's on By, but most of the materials FOR OUR AIR MAIL spe- etc.), shortcomings do not seem to be genuinely or imitatively Latin Ameri- QUOTE TODAY speed are cifically ascribable to its slow - can (Alpert's Acapulco, Pedro's Porch is in general one of the Visit Our Showroom and Warehouse indeed, this 2, Hecho en Mexico, etc.) in which examples of Part sonically more impressive occasional passages for wordless choruses Closed Mondays be sure you get 33A -ips technology. But seem much more incongruous than the copy; the first one unlimited, inc. a properly processed ones that briefly break into Dixieland AUDIO I received had a built -in wow in the idioms. The program may sound some- /15 F Second Ave. (Nr. 38) N. Y. 16, N. Y. side. first part of the second thing of a hodgepodge. but it actually turns out to be highly engaging -prob- the LEOPOLD STOKOWSKI: "Walt Dis- ably thanks in considerable part to ney's Fantasia" rich recording of a wide range of at- mospheric tonal qualities. zip code Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokow- London Fes- ski, cond. "Broadway Spectacular." and Symphony, Stanley BUENA VISTA BVF 101. 33/4 -ips, tival Chorus 74071, 43 double -play. 105 min. $9.95. Black, cond. London LPL min., $7.95. helps History indeed may be "the bunk," as Another typical "Phase -4" sonic block- Henry Ford was ridiculed for claiming. buster. For impressively recorded sym- I'm almost inclined to believe so when phonic apotheoses of hit show tunes, keep I compare what I hear here with what the sonorities here are a fair match I remember hearing at a Fantasia road - for similar Boston Pops "big" scorings. show in 1940. Even if the present conics Unfortunately, Stanley Black, talented were objectively true to the originals as he is, simply doesn't have Arthur (and they can't possibly be, since the Fiedler's sense of idiomatically appro- postal original multichanneling has been re- priate readings. It's for this reason that duced to two only and -far worse -a the longer works here, an Oklahoma! whole gang of editors seems to have been medley and Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, costs monkeying with the engineering), what lack interpretative conviction. Most of one hears now still would be a sub- the shorter pieces seem overinflated in jectively inaccurate simulacrum. In any their Black /Phase-4 treatments, but there case, it's highly ironic that a work once is considerable atmospheric as well as down considered a masterpiece of pioneering coloristic attractiveness in Fiddler on audio technology should be brought to the Roof and Bali Ha'i. The tape proc- tape for the first time only in a slow - essing itself warrants praise for a free- speed form which couldn't do justice dom from preechoes achieved despite ZIP Codes to genuinely wide frequency and dynam- fairly high modulation and extremely ic ranges if these were present. This wide dynamic performance levels. keep postal costs edition seems to be the same monstrously down but only if uneven one issued on discs some seven "Chic Chic Chico." Chico Hamilton you use them. years ago. At least it has most of the Sextet and Octet. Impulse IT 2007, same faults except-in some selections - 37 min., $7.95. for somewhat better- marked channel dif- " 'Dear Heart' and Other Favorites." ferentiations. (There is still a lot of Living Jazz, Ph° ner, cond. RCA sound -source -location shifting and am- Camden CTiCS. , 27 min., $4.95. biguities, however.) And just as shocking Here are two welcome examples of as ever are the barbarous (even by 1940 standards) cuts in the Stravinsky Sacre Continued on next page

JUNE 1966 103

www.americanradiohistory.com THE TAPE DECK genuine one in a tic!d where masterpieces are rare indeed. Continued from preceding page On a Clear Day . never could be taken for a masterpiece. and the the lighthearted, inventive, unpreten- main appeal of Burton Lane's tunes probably tious "chamber- music" type of jazz for lies more in their easy accessibility which I have a special than fondness. Chicó s in any originality. But performances, featuring they are fine tunes a couple of his of a kind too few Broadway own compositions composers (Carol's Walk and St. seem able Paddy's to provide nowadays. And, Day Parade) and four by his in any guitarist case, this show would be a must Gabor Szabo (Corrida de Toros, if only for its projection Tarantula, Slt'anpy, of the unique and Fire Works), personality of Barbara Harris. are the more picturesque- No one sometimes else in the cast can approach her rather odd, but always for sheer marked by the mesmerism, but in pleasing vocal drummer- leader's vitalizing quali- rhythmic ties she is well matched by John Cullum, FOOK pulse. Bodner's New York all -stars ring a leading man who. for once these days, some delectable changes on bossa -nova can really sing. The recording is Dyna- materials: most infectiously so perhaps groove's brightest and cleanest. and THE PRICE ON YOUR .111 in Red Roses for a Blue Lady, Sonny first -rate tape processing adds further to QUOTE IS CORRECT MI Rollins' St. Thomas, Up a Lazy Riser. the over -all attraction of a work in which LOW Never on Sunday, OF COURSE! INN Paris Original, and the various parts add up to considerably DIXIE IS Largest discount Bodner's _ High own Bossa Nota I A.M. The more than the whole. Fidelity component _ distributors in Impulse tape is recorded the South. Wholesale prices on pack- NM with bright age or individual components. Latest clarity, Camden's ultraclearly. MI _ with big- "Rubber Soul " / "The Beatles' Second _ models in factory sealed cartons ger sonies and more marked channel dif- shipped immediately from our ware- Album." The Beatles. Capitol _ ferentiations. Y2T IMMI house. Special attention given to 2467. 3'/.t -3/4 double -play, 57 min., Audio Clubs, Churches and Schools. $9.98. For Special Price Quote -Write _ "Guitar Forms." Kenny Burrell, guitar; The coupling exigencies of double -play orchestra, Gil Evans, cond. Verve here combine in direct contrast VSTC the 327, 38 min., $7.95. Beatles' current hit, "Rubber Soul," with I've always admired _ D1X1E Burrell's guitar a program that dates back to mid -1964 - playing. but I've never heard him in HI FIDELITY WHOLESALERS 11.1 on an American LP and undoubtedly ,I, better form or more imaginatively varied 703 HORTON DRIVE considerably earlier in its original British materials than he is on this transparently SPRING MD release. The difference in recording quali- SILVER recorded, flawlessly processed tape. He ties is certainly noticeable, for while the does well with a solo transcription of older program is not bad technically. the Gershwin Prelude No. 2 (in part); the latest one is exceptionally scintillating still better in three brisk selections, -listen to Ringó s cymbal sizzle before CIRCLE 17 ON READER -SERVICE CARD topped by Breadwinner, accompanied by you belittle the high -end capabilities of a rhythm- section alone; and perhaps best slow -speed tape technology! But what is of all in several more ambitious pieces, far more fascinating, and instructive. especially is a poetic Grecns/ceses, impres- in the difference in the materials used sionistic Last Night, and oddly Spanish - and in the expertise (and sense of flavored Lotus Land. on Hi -Fi Gil Evans' scorings authority) of the performers themselves. of these larger works and Rudy van Whatever else you may say about the COMPONENTS & TAPE RECORDERS Gelder's engineering throughout We invite your test are of Beatles, you certainly can't accuse them of our We Will Not an excellence Be Undersold policy comparable with the solo- of resting on their laurels. Indeed the 15 ist's -day money -back guarantee. outstanding musicianship. remarkable expansion of their range now 2 -yr. unconditional guarantee parts & labor goes so far as to include such atmos- no charge, al local warranty station, factory "Man or our service dept. of La Mancha." Broadway cast pheric, even poetic, performances as the Trade -ins highest allow. Send your list. recording, Neil Warner, cond. Kapp present ones of Michelle and Norwegian Most items shipped promptly from our KTA 41109, 45 min., $8.95. Wood. Listening to them, it's hard to 250,000 inventory, double -packed and fully a insured. "On Clear Day You Can See Forever." believe one's own ears! Our specialty -APO & Export shipments. Broadway cast recording, Theodore 21st yr. dependable service -world wide. Saidcnbcrg, cond. RCA Victor FTC) "Stay Awhile." The Kingston Trio. Decca 5038, 45 Easy -Pay -Plan Up to 24 mos to pay. min., $8.95. ST74 4656, 31 min.. $7.95. Write for our price first. Both these reels of Broadway hit shows Suddenly realizing that I hadn't reviewed We own the shar,est pencils provide first -rate home entertainment, a tape by these early leaders in the in the U.S.A. but they differ radically in almost every recorded "folk" movement for some other respect. NATIONALLY ADVERTISED For sheer novelty and three years, I grabbed for this latest one RECORDING TAPE originality, it's the musical based on Don with alacrity. And to my surprise it re- Quixote all the way. Indeed. Type Brand Ea. for all that minds me all over again that either I'm Mitch Leigh's music 166---- 3M 7" 1200' Acetate 1.29 is cast in popular particularly susceptible to the Kingstoni- _169 3M 7" 1800' Polyester 1.79 idiom, this work is essentially a poor ans or reports of their crass commercial- 911 -15 Ampex 7" 1200' Acetate 1.69 man's opera, rising at times to a gripping ization have been greatly exaggerated. 941.15 Ampex 7" 1800' Mylar 2.59 pitch of dramatic intensity. Yet the im- Perhaps their zest is just a bit synthetic 951 -15 Ampex 7" 2400' Mylar 4.09 aginativeness of both the music and book at times. but what's more important is 708C1 RCA 7" 1800' Mylar 2.59 probably wouldn't seem nearly as im- their genuine skill both in their singing Minimum Order 12 reels any assortment. All pressive prices include shipping USA, APO. 100+ if it were not for the powerful and playing and in their knack for pick- reels deduct additional 5%. magnetism of Richard Kiley, who is ing effective materials. Tom Paxton's Please write for types not listed. simply magnificent in the title role. and Bottle of Witte and Where I'm Bound of Irving Jacobson in the extremely tricky are engagingly done here, as are Rod HI-FIDELITY part of Sancho Panza. With the possible McKuen's Rusting in the Rain, the Three exception of Joan Diener's singing of Song, and the title song. The recording CENTER Aldonza /Dulcinea, everything else here itself is characteristic of current Decca The House of Low Low Paces" is admirable too, not excluding an ex- engineering in that its sonic weight on 239 -H East 149th St. ceptionally well- turned orchestral score first hearing makes the tape seem a bit New York, N.Y. 10451 and boldly brilliant recording. The show bottom -heavy, but soon it comes to sound may he a minor masterpiece, but it's a most satisfactorily natural. CIRCLE 33 ON READER -SERVICE CARD 1114 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

www.americanradiohistory.com PROKOFIEV'S OPERAS Continued from page 49

Soloists of the Belgrade National Opera; Chamber Chorus; Orchestra of NOTICE Vienna the Vienna State Opera, Werner Janssen, cond. TO STEREO M -G -M 3 GC -2. Three LP. $17.37. M -G -M S 3 GC -2. Three SD. & HI -FI BUYERS $20.37. BEFOFE YOU BUY GET A RABSONS GLAD YOU DID! both artis- QUOTE... YOU'LL BE MK's recording is splendid, Rel.- tically and technically, a complete per- At Raisons Competitive Prices, formance of Prokofiev's last version bility aid Personal ervic ive been of the opera -a project, I suspect, of bywords for over 60 years Among vast complexity and difficulty. It's so jig and SAFE to deal with Rabsons the numerous leading performers I must Kibbalo Up to 36 months to pay on Easy Pay Plan single out at least the baritone Centrally located -as close as your telephone BUY Mail Order - (André), admirable for the unified DON'T -as neuras your mail box Free beauty of timbre, the clear phrasing, the until you get our quotes Hi Fi CI sic Service Fast Air Mail Response Petrov (Pierre on Ouot3ition Requests Franchised Distribu- aristocratic expressiveness; tor for Fi Lines 60 Years of business

. AR, Bogen, Dual, i Besukov), a warm, fresh tenor, with COMPONENTS ADC, "Know Now" to serve you better Ship- noble style; the insinuating, excellent Empire, Fisher, Garrard, Scott, Tandberg ments C]UBLE PACKED and FULLY INSURED TAPE RECORDERS all brands "Attre:tive" Prices Warehouse on prem- Maslennikov (Anatol); the vivid, inventory permits SPEAKER SYSTEMS all quality offerings ises Fist Delivery -Large extraordinary Stchegolkov (Rostov); the process and shipment promptly All ITEMS g majestic Krivtchenia (Kutuzov), and ALL ACCESSORY merchal se brand new in Factory sealed Vishnev- MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS cartons Save even more on complete sys- last but not least the celebrated qun:es Export Packing -220 Volts 50 Our background in this business allows tem skaya (Natasha), with her exemplary Cycle nerchandise a specialty Free list on to expressiveness, her limpid vocality, purity us to buy well and pass the savings of mon lily specials. especially in the intimately our customers. of style, BALL POINT PEN with every quote lyrical parts. We also guarantee shipment on same Alexander Melik -Pashayev was one day delivery in sealed cartons double -boxed of the leading interpreters of the great when possible. L OVER 16 O YEARS Russian repertory; here he achieves an Special package deals of compatible extraordinarily unified performance, components put together to give you exciting faithful, intensely poetic. Technically, the sound at low cost. Watch for these "specials." recording is excellent. It never has re- For Special Price Quote Write or Visit Us at course to deforming dynamic exaltations, UEFA ELECTRONICS CORP. RABSONS 57 ST. INC. but has a phonic "presence," an admir- New York, N. Y. 10019 2207 BROADWAY NEW YORK CITY 119 West 57th Street, and orchestral realism. Tel. Area Code 212-247-0070 able vocal PHONES 874 -3800 and 874 -3896 The M -G -M edition of Prokofiev's epic opera is not complete. In addition CIRCLE 68 ON READER- SERVICE CARD CIRCLE 47 ON READER -SERVICE CARD to the grandiose choral epigraph, two scenes -the seventh and the eleventh - have been omitted. Despite these omis- sions, the undertaking is still a bold and SAVE MONEY on ELLING HI-FI a serious one. To perform an opera of NATIONALLY these proportions and this complexity with forces coming from different coun- ADVERTISED BRANDS ORLD WIDE tries cannot have been easy. The re- sults can be considered appreciable, be- 111-F1 yond any doubt. The cast of singers proves not only coherent, homogeneous, NCE 1948 but also a group of interpreters who can COMPONENTS COMPONENTS RECORDERS be compared with the Soviet cast. The TAPE orchestra and chorus need no introduc- TAPE KITS SPEAKER SYSTEMS tion, and the conductor, Janssen, dis- LOWEST PRICES plays a sure, expert knowledge of the monumental score. SAME DAY REPLY remains an RECORDERS Still, the Bolshoi edition TO YOUR INQUIRY unsurpassed model, in the rigorous unity of style, the poetic refinement, the ex- r MFRS. SEALED CARTONS pressive intensity, and the general gran- Ì< deur of the execution. DOUBLE BOXED TAPES, WHEN POSSIBLE The Story of a Real Alan ACCESSORIES FAST, INSURED SHIPMENTS G. Deodivova (Olga); V. Smirnova SLEEP LEARN KITS PACKAGE DEALS (Wassilissa); A. Ivanova (Petrowna); MERITAPE SAVE YOU MORE M. Zvezdina (Zinovchka); E. Kirbalo Top Quality Recording Tape (Alexei); V. Kurguzov (Fedya); A. DISTRIBUTORS Susanov (Serionka); G. Panhov (An- Franchised Distributors FRANCHISED MFRS. drea); M. Miglan (Vanja); Chorus and Factory Sealed Cartons FOR OVER 50 Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre (Mos- Lowest Prices PARKING METERS cow), M. Ermler, cond. Integrity -Service ULTRAPHONE 14789. Three LP. $14.94. AT PREMISES Write for our Send for Of the three recordings discussed, this VERY LOW QUOTATIONS SPECIALS" both by reason of FF EE "MONTHLY is the least good, Tapes its mediocre technical level and of the in- of Components, accurate and unconvincing performance. FREE CATALOG and Cartridges. the massive, This score doesn't possess WRITE FOR MONTHLY SPECIALS choral passages, the strong dramatic con- VISIT OUR STORE trasts of Semvon Kotko, nor the refined DRESSNER r.,e;,., mastery of War and Peace. Neverthe- 1523 Jericho Tpkc., New Hyde Park 32, N.Y. 4 f CARSTO less, it should be given greater atten- Visit Our Showroom 1686- Second Ave. Nr. 871, N.Y. 10028 tion than this set evidences. READER -SERVICE CARD CIRCLE 18 ON READER -SERVICE CARD CIRCLE 10 ON 1115 JUNE 1966

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CIRCLE 23 ON READER -SERVICE I( www.americanradiohistory.com FM stereo Compare these new Sherwood S -1800 features and specs! ALL - SILICON reliability. Noise -threshold -gated automatic FM Stereo /mono switching, light, zero -center tuning meter, FM interch.lnnel hush adjustment, Front -panel mono /stereo switch and stereo headphone jack, Rocker -action switches for tape monitor, noise filter, main and remote speakers disconnect. Music power 140 watts (4 ohms) @ 0.6% harm distortion. IM distortion 0.1% (á 10 watts or -to- 70 db. less. Power bandwidth 12- 35,000 cps. Phono sens. 1.8 mv. Hum and noise (phono) -70 db. FM sens. (IHF) 1.6 µv for 30 db quieting. FM signal noise: Capture ratio: 2.2 db. Drift x.01%. 42 Silicon transistors plus 14 Silicon diodes and rectifiers. Size: 18I4 x 434 x14 in. deep.

NOW, look at the4ell Sherwood specs!

V- Vacuum Tube Power (IHF) S -ALL- 2 channels FM Model SILICON 4 ohms Sensitivity T- Germanium Price Dollars/ Transistor Watts Microvolts Watt Sherwood S -8800 S 140 1.6 S 359.50 S 2.57 Altec 711A S 100 2.2 378.00 3.78 Bogen RT8000 T 70 2.5 319.95 4.57 Dyna FM -3, PAS -3 & S -70 V 90 4.0 394.85 4.38 Fisher 600T V &T 120t 1.8 459.50 3.82 Fisher 440T T 70 2.0 329.50 4.70 Harman -Kardon SR-900B T 100 1.85 449.00 4.49 McIntosh 1500 V &T 85 2.5 499.00 5.87 Marantz 8B 7, & 10B V 75' 2.0 1170.00 15.60 Scott 348 V &T 120 1.9 479.95 4.00 Scott 342 T 65 2.5 299.95 4.61

s ohms), reuse sot specified References "T" or "Vat" (shove) may include some silicon transistor fist Folm Figures above are manufacturera' published specificetlons except (') which ere published test findings.

FM ALL -SILICON a-rOAa W rv S -8000 140-watt Receiver $359.50 for custom mounting $368.50 in walnut leatherette case $387.50 in hand- rubbed walnut cabinet

Sherwood Electronics Laboratories, Inc., 4300 North California Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60618. Write Dept. H6

CIRCLE 60 ON READER -SERVICE CARD

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