FRANCA : Concertino for Piano and dice, Teresa Stich -Randall is just aboutper- NEW RELEASES Orchestra (see SATIE) fect,offeringa warm, womanly, vocally captivating interpretation. FROM THE RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERIT On the negative side, however, I must - note that while Mr. Mackerras brings vigor GLUCK: Orfeo ed Litridice. Nlaureen WORLD'S GREATEST and excitement to the music, he does thisat Forrester (contralto), Orfeo; Teresa St:ch- the expense of refinement. Thereare impre- BUDGET LABEL Randall (soprano), Euridice: Nanny Steffek cise attacks and occasional lapses of "to- (soprano), Amore. Akademie Choir:Ind getherness," and the choral work isvery of- .4 I I I .4 4. .eteital ViennaStateOperaOrchestra.Charles ten ill -balanced and lacking in incisiveness. /lbAlb Al. dab,. ,,111, , Mackerras cond. VANGUARD BAC!' GUILD He conducts much of the second actata BGS 70686/87 two discs $11.58, BG 686/ rather inflexible tempo, and his pacing for ACCLAIMED BY 87 $9.58. the Dance of the Furies is decidedly hurried. CRITICS! Performance: First-rate A further debit is due in the area of textual Recording. Very good communication: Miss Forrester's Italian pro- Stereo Quality: Excellent nunciation could stand improvement, and Miss Steffek's is downright offending. These Instead of making available another conven- ACCLAIMED BY reservations prevent me from recommending tional version of Orfeo ed Euridice, the pro- the set as the decided preference among the ducers of this set embarked on an adventure RECORD -BUYERS! opera's contemporary versions, but they do in creative musicology which resulted in a performance that differs from any heretofore recorded. Without retelling here the com- plicated tale of this opera's history-which ;"-s-..._. isinformatively dealt with by John W. Barker and Charles Mackerras in the set's Next month in WORLD SERIES annotations-suffice it to say that all previ- ;ft ous recordings (and virtuallyallcontem- porary stagings) are based 'n the 'Berlioz I I i Ili/Sleteo ONE RECORD FOR BOTH STEREO & MONO version" of 1859. The present version, how- ever, which was edited in Vienna with ac- RACHMANINOFF STRAVINSKY cess to Cluck's manuscript, is based on the Preludes (complete) Petrouchka original(I' 62) conception.Itisto Mr. Mackerras' credit that hiseager American Composers Series: Constance Keene, Concertgebouw search for pianist Orchestra, the -Crtext" did not blind him to Gluck's GEORGE GERSHWIN PHC 2-006 Amsterdam post -I-62 improvements; three vital sections by Edward Jablonski Hans Rosbaud, of the opera which were added for the Paris conductor version of 1774 are retained in the present PHC 9051 recording. Composer -Critic Hugo Wolf Thus the differences between thisper- formance and other recordings are manifold. by Henry Pleasants The text is Calzabigis original Italian libret- TRUMPET CONCERTOS BEETHOVEN to and not the compromise that resulted by L. Mozart, Piano Trios from the re -translation into Italian of the A Buyers' Guide to Telemann, Albinoni, (complete) French text Berlioz used in 1859. Amore's Vivaldi STEREO RECEIVERS The Beaux Arts Trio aria is head in a longer form, while Orfeo's Maurice Andre PHC 4-007 first -act aria, "Addio o miei sospiri,- con- by Jnli,lu Hirsch Rouen Chamber sidered by many authorities to be an inter- Orchestra polation, has been omitted. Trumpets and Albert Beaucamp, trombones are prominent in the orchestra, conductor and the harpsichord is allotted a very active PHC 9049 role. Even more significantly, the vocal parts I) otdampen my admiration for themany are interpreted with faithful regard to eight- stimulating qualities of the enterprise. G. J. CHOPIN BRUCKNER eenth century performance practices in the Six Polonaises Symphony No. 6 in A matterofembellishmentsandappoggia- GOUNOD: Faust. Franco Corelli Cziffra, pianist Leipzig turas. While some of these changes may ( tenor), Faust; Nicolai Ghiaurov (bass), PHC 9052 Gewandhaus elude the superficial listener (for example, Mephistopheles; Joan Sutherland (soprano), the Orchestra perfectlysensibleyetunconventional Marguerite;RobertMassard(baritone), Heinz Bongartz, dotted figures introduced in "Che fatt; senza Valentine;MonicaSinclair(contralto), conductor Euridice"), Orfeo's "Che Intro cier emerges Martha; Margreta Elkins (mezzo-soprano), PHC 9048 with a virtually "new" melodic line. Siebel; Raymond Myers (baritone), Wagner. It is not the purpose of this review to pass Ambrosian Opera Chorus; London Sym- judgment on the musicological validity of phony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge cond. this experiment, and itis certainly nut my LONDON OSA 1433 four discs $23.16, A MOZART BRAHMS intention to imply that such previous Oleo .1433* SI9.16. Quartet No. 20 Sextet in B -flat, authorities as Berlioz, Toscanini, Beecham, ("Hoffmeister") Opus IR and Aionteux were guilty of stylistic misin- Performance:Spectacular but unconvincing Quartets Nos, terpretati.an. tutitis undeniable that this Recording: Outstanding 21, 22, 23 Members of Stereo Quality, Excellent Berlin Philharmonic per 'ormaiice troas; the editingisII)gical ("King of and respectful, the embellishments are un- Prussia" set) Octet Hitched to three operatic super -stars,this PHC 9050 exaggerated (this is Gluck and not Bellini!), Faust promises to be the most lavishly pro- Roth String Quartet and the singers are bah capable and emi- moted recording of the year. It will undoubt- PHC 2.008 nently musical. Maureen Forresterinthe edly be a strong seller too, justifying the role of Orfeo represents particularly happy expectations of the marketing people who .. 111.. V. .1. casting. She is a true mistress of the classical .410. must have had a hand in planning the re- style as well as that rare contemporary phe- cording of Gounod's opera with this extrava- Send for catalog to nomenon, a true contralto. With a sumptuous gantcast. Considering the investmentin- PHILIPS RECORDS and steady voice she responds to Mackerras' volved, they are entitled to nothing less. But 715 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022 vigorous leadership and creates a character if we turn from commercial to artistic con- ofstrongandvitalpresence.AsFurl - CIRCLE NO. 47 ON READER SERVICE CARD (Conthwed on page 84) 82 CIRCLE NO. 16 ON READER SERVICE CARD -)1. AmericanRadioHistory.Com.