prised modern audience in 1951. I say "sur- made in the score for a projected performance veloped, and Leopold's answers also reveal prised" because the public was not prepared in Vienna. considerable knowledge of the musical stage. for a great opera antedating Figaro. This re- The gestation of ldomeneo can be followed Schmidt-Isserstedt, a trained musicologist be- markable revival in Glyndebourne was con- through the correspondence between father sides being a good and experienced opera con- ducted by Fritz Busch; after his death the fol- and son. Wolfgang went to Munich with the ductor. has by studying these letters been able lowing year. John Pritchard took charge, and opera barely sketched out, while Leopold to offer a more complete score than his two he is the conductor of the 1956 EMI recording. stayed in Salzburg to prod the hapless librettist predecessors. which, with its star cast, has acquired a leg- to finish the book and carry out the com- The most important revision concerns the endary reputation. Fourteen years later Colin poser's urgent wishes for changes. As was cus- castrato part, which Mozart rearranged for Davis addressed himself to this great. rich, and tomary in those days, the composer finished tenor. This substitution was respected by the somber score in an attractively vivid perform- the score on the spot, discussing details with two earlier recordings also, but Davis merely ance for Philips (which I reviewed in March the singers, the opera director, the regisseur, had his tenor sing the original part an octave 1970). The pace now quickens. After only and the scene designer; even the Elector lower. Schmidt-Isserstedt's versionis both three years Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt comes dropped in on some of the rehearsals to make amended and extended. Mozart, among other along with a third recording. which unlike some ducal remarks. Mozart's theatrical sense changes, recomposed Idomeneo's great aria, Davis' takes cognizance of the changes Mozart at the age of twenty-four was astonishingly de - "Fuor del mar."Now we must bear in mind that the Viennese version came six years after the Munich premiere. and since six years in Mozart's life represents immense gains in mu- sical and dramatic insight, this aria is far supe- rior to the first. Mozart tightened the piece and We removed the superficial coloratura fretwork (which the public expected from a castrato). He similarly reworked the ardent duet be- play tween Ilia and Idamante. Schmidt-Isserstedt uses the revisions of both and restores Ar- bace's part, which was almost entirely excised by both Pritchard and Davis. One cannot it really blame them, though; Arbace is terribly long-winded, and Mozart himself was worried about the length of the third act. Still, it is good straight to hear the opera as it was originally conceived Master records are made by ma- by its creator. All this, resulting in a four -disc release versus the three discs of the earlier re- chines that drive the cutting head in a leases. unquestionably makes the new record- straight line across the record. A play- ing uniquely valuable. back system that moves across your Schmidt-lsserstedt conducts a good per- record in any other way, results 'n wear and distortion. formance; his concept and style are sound; the balances (where not hurt by the engineering) With a conventional pivoted arm system, the revolving groove "pulls" the are fine: and while his allegros are a shade stylus toward the center of the record. This is called, skating force: slower thanDavis'.the tempos are Skating force causes wear on the inner wall of the groove and the stylus, prevailingly correct. It is the temperamental and results in a loss of separation as well as distortion levels simply not difference between these two able conductors that tips the scale in favor of Davis. He has acceptable to the serious listener. more élan,iscrisper, and has vehemence Most good pivoted arm systems do have anti -skating devices. But they when needed; the great accompanied recita- can only be set for "average" skating force... and an anti -skating device that tives, the ensembles, and the choral pieces are remains constant cannot fully compensate for all of the varying forces more exciting under his baton. ButI am exerted during the playing of a record. Even the total elimination of tracking speaking of nuances, not of major advantages. As to the singers. they more or less balance error does not eliminate the inherent problem of the pivoted arm - skating one another. Schmidt-Isserstedt's Idomeneo, force. Nicolai Gedda, is better than Davis' George The RABCO system plays it straight. The pickup moves in a straight line. Shirley; on the other hand, Ryland Davies The record is played precisely as it was originally cut. It has no anti -skating (the Philips Idamante), though a Welshman, has a more Mediterranean quality to his voice device for one reason: The RABCO system eliminates skating force. than Adolf Dallapozza (Odeon). The two We want to tell you more about how we eliminate both skating force and Bias. Anneliese Rothenberger and Margherita .,rror rrn:' a note and well senr tun information straight away. Rinaldi, are both very good, but as Elettra the German Edda Moser (Odeon) is definitely outclassed by the English Pauline Tinsley (Philips). who is the steadier and more sophis- ticated singer. There is considerable differ- ence, though, in the engineering. While the Philips sound is not the optimum, it is still very good, and superior to the Odeon. The latter is a bit tubby. there is some reverberation too. and the microphone placing is variable; they should have watched Edda Moser's high tones more carefully. So much for the two "mod- ern" recordings, but what about the revered "classic," the Glyndebourne antique? The RABCO SL -8E The RABCO ST -4... An old recording usually fares badly when A straight tracking tone arm A professional turntable for your turntable with the RABCO tone arm system compared to a recent stereo version, and no amount of electronic face-lifting can conceal the inadequacies of the older engineering DEPT H techniques. Many phonograph fans approach RABCO 55 Ames Court these old issues with cultic reverence, but it is Plainview New York 11803 idle to speak of "marvelous concepts" and the CIRCLE 48 ON READER -SERVICE CARD

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