this decision; the history of is full of corner - BERLIOZ: Les Troyens. Berit Lindholm (s), Cassandra; cutting, but at last justice has been done to this extraor- (rus), Dido; Anne Howells (ms), dinary masterpiece. Ascanius; Elizabeth Bainbridge (nis), Hecuba; Heather I have already mentioned one of the booklets included Begg (c), Anna; (t), Aeneas; Ian Partridge with the set; in addition to the historical material it (t), topas; Ryland Davies (t), Hylas; David Lennox (t), includes an essay by Davis and a note about the record- Helenus; Peter Glossop (b), Chorebus; Roger Soyer ing by Erik Smith, the producer (as on other occasions, I (bs), Narual and Shade of Hector; Anthony Raffell could have wished for more illustrations of stage sets (bs), Pantheus; Pierre Thau (bs), Priam, Trojan instead of the usual recording -session candid shots). The Soldier, and Mercury; Raimund Herincx (bs), First second booklet is a trilingual libretto (translations in Sentry and Ghost of Priam; Dennis Wicks (hs), Second English and German). All of this is enclosed in an album Sentry, Ghost of Hector, and Greek Chieftain; Wands- box at least an inch thick-very impressive in its way, worth School Boys' Choir; Chorus and Orchestra of the but I wish Philips had not been quite so prodigal with Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, , cond. my limited shelf space! Philips 6709 002, $29.90 (five discs).

Horowitz vs. Rubinstein h H,rrris Goldsmith

Two keyboard virtuosos record Schumanns "Kreisleriana''

Rubinstein: a literal approach. Horowitz: great dynamic range.

SCHUMANN'S EIGHT -PART piano suite, Kreisleriana, was have been superlative recorded accounts by Cortot at least partially inspired by Johannes Kreisler, an (Pathé). Arrau (Columbia), Kempff (DGG /Decca), eccentric Kapellmeister who was the fictitious creation and Vlado Perlemuter (still available on Dover 5204). of that indefatigable nineteenth- century spinner of fan- Now we are favored with the coincidental simultaneous tasies and horror stories, Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoff- release of recordings by today's two most prestigious mann. One can easily understand why Schumann was so keyboard virtuosos, Horowitz and Rubinstein. Rubin - strongly attracted to E.T.A. Hoffmann. Both men were stein's account was taped at Carnegie Hall back in 1964 irrepressible free spirits and both were in the habit of and was initially intended to share a disc with the still inventing alter egos: Schumanns extrovert Florestan unreleased C major Fantasy. Horowitz' version was and introspective Eusebius were paralleled by Hoff - made last year (also presumably at Carnegie Hall) in mann's Kreisler and his extraordinary pet tomcat, Kater sessions following two recital performances. Since the Murr. (The cat's Philosophy of Life Together with two pianists are lavish with respect to repeats, both Fragments from the Biography of Kapellmeister Johan- performances spill over onto Side 2. nes Kreisler from Random Sheets of Waste Paper was Rubinstein and Horowitz share a basic romantic supposedly drafted on the back of his keeper's auto- approach to music; the point of divergence here is in biographical manuscript and unfortunately sent to the Horowitz' greater dynamic range. My notes for these publisher, who printed the book in that garbled form!) two performances are scattered with such observations Hoffmann's characters, however. were drawn from life. as "Rubinstein much too loud in second part of first He himself owned a pet cat named Kater Murr and section . . . Horowitz achieves a hauntingly beautiful Kreisler, aside from representing Hoffmann himself, pp" or "Horowitz produces a gorgeous pianissimo in was also inspired by one Ludwig Böhner, a real life the sixth piece, giving all the more effect to the sub- Thuringian Kapellmeister who was coincidentally an sequent sforzandos . . . Rubinstein is ruinously loud intimate of Schumann. and bland here...." In fairness to Rubinstein, it must Kreisleriana, in keeping with its fantastic background, be stressed that the closer microphoning on his disc contains some of its composer's wildest, most sensitive tends to put him at a disadvantage on this score: heard thoughts; Schumann always considered the score to be on its own, much of his playing sounds sensitive and his best piano composition. It is also considered a prob- beautiful. I should also point out that in at least one lematical work to hold together. For all its formidable place Rubinstein does achieve a hushed calm that could hurdles (musical rather than technical -despite the be deemed pianissimo by any reckoning. occasional pianistic nastiness, Kreisleriana is less digi- In terms of fidelity to the text neither pianist is a tally difficult than, say, Carnaval) some of the greatest purist. Rubinstein generally takes a more literal approach pianists have gravitated to this music. In the past there to the score than Horowitz, but often the latter is more

AUGUST 1970 67