Maag and Keilberth strike a mean of reason- London LL 542. 12 -in. (with Sym. 39). No. 35, IN D, "HAFFNF.R', KV 385 (6 able warmth which excites no problems and 16 min. $5.95. Editions) brings a soft satisfaction. -Minneapolis Sym. Orch., Antal Dorati, The Symphony is brilliant and seems guile- cond. Victor LM 1185. is-in. (with Bartok: less, but like the iceberg which received Orch. of the Danish Nat. Radio, -Ch. Divertimento). 16 min. the Titanic's rush, hides a peril beneath the Mogens Wöldike, cond. Haydn Society $5.72. -(Hastings Sym. Orch., John Bath, cond. surface. Careful steering is necessary: plain 1055. is-in. (with Sym. 25). 25 min. $5.95 Allegro ALG 3049. 12 -in. (with Beethoven: linearity will not do. The orchestration -Perpignan Fest. Orch., Pablo Casals, cond. Sym. 8). $5.95.) especially needs a judicious guide: its light ML 12 Eine K N). Columbia 4563. -in. (with is hard if it is not filtered; its sparkle be- 28 min. $5.45- No. IN G, KV 318 (2 Editions) comes the glare of the midday sun on Romande Orch., Peter Maag, cond. 32, -Suisse Short and rather beautiful in a slick off- desert dunes. Two of the recording con- London LL 286. 12 -in. (with Sym. 36). 18 handedness, Symphony No. 32 is the per- ductors have contrived the sparkle and the min. $5.95- fect product of a perfect musical mechanic. others glare. Messrs. Reiner and van -Bamberg Sym. Orch., Joseph Keilberth, It is also the last symphony cast in the simple Beinum are the discerning ones, and by a cond. Oiseau -Lyre 12 -in. (with German 37. form of the Italian overture. The two re- happy chance they have been fortified by Dances, KV 509). 22 min. $5.95 corded versions are in conflict, Bendá s the best engineering. Clearing away the lusciously played in a transcript from SP, clutter we find Mr. Wolf rushing to dis- No. 30, IN D, KV 202 (2 Editions) good for the type but with the faults of the tance the acid of his violins, Prof. von No conductor can make much of as sugary type, Lehmann s comparatively prosy in a Karajan and his engineers dispirited and and aimless a composition as Mozart ever more compelling sound of a later day. dull after the conductor's rather fancy exer- wrote. Mr. Jochum's effort is obscured by -Berlin Philh. Orch., Hans von Benda, cise; and Mr. Toscanini polishing granite in an appallingly distorted sound: the early a is flexible cond. Capitol H 8131. ro -in. (with Wolf: cent. But Beinum and delicate Westminster bearing the Swoboda struggle Italian Serenade). 8 min. $2.98. in spite of an overgrand sound; and Fritz against futility is fair good for its period. - -Bamberg Sym. Orch., Fritz Lehmann, Reiner, with the Pittsburgh orchestra he analytic -Vienna Sym. Orch., Henry Swoboda, cond. Decca DI. 4045. to -in. (with Sym. made, shows how an conductor cond. Westminster arr. 5012. 12 -in. (with 26). 8 min. $2.50. can hide his analysis when he has sense a whole Sym. z8). 17 min. $5.95 and poetry in him, and can create parts, Reineriz- -Bamberg Sym. Orch., Ludwig Georg No. 33, IN B FLAT, KV 319 (4 Editions) by elaborating the without is Jochum, cond. Oiseau -Lyre 6. 12 -in. (with A mock gravity, a fakery of portent, spices ing Mozart. - This Columbia the oldest is and substantial. Sym. 27). 16 min. $5.95 the good cheer of this Tokay which has a record, but its sound clean germ of the "Jupiter" Symphony and tints -Pittsburgh Sym. Orch., Fritz Reiner, No. 31, IN D, "PARIS ", KV 297 (4 Editions) a television vaudeville called "Mr. Peepers ". cond. Columbia ML 4156. 12 -in. (with A shining pinnacle of objective art, a disci- In three recorded performances the conduc- Bach: Suite No. 2). 16 min. $5.45. plined refinement of showiness, brilliance tors amiably accord rather consistently. -London Philh. Orch., Eduard van Beinum, without garishness, and no more feeling than Heger has a mellow bent, Beinum a ner- cond. London LI. 214. 12 -in. (with Handel- Karajan is most decisive. The Bei- a wisp of regret and a pleasure of spectacle: vous; Harty: The Water Music). 17 min. $5.95 - the "Paris" Symphony of 1778. Of three num disk has a strong extra appeal in the -EIAR Orch., Turin, Herbert von Karajan, recorded versions heard, none is bad, al- polished playing of the Concertgebouw cond. Decca DL 9513. 12 -in. (with Eine though music -lovers might with an appear- Orchestra, and this is the decisive element in K N). 16 min. $5.85 ance of reason think that two are, after selection. The engineering is flawed some- -NBC Orch., Arturo Toscanini, cond. Vic- contrasting them with the one outstanding, where in every case, with London's basically tor LM 1038. 12 -in. (with Haydn: Sym. tor). led by a specialist in this kind of music. the best but complicated by low- frequency 17 min. $5.72. Mr. Dorati has a brisk, direct and hard pulsation and a very weak level of sound -Sym. Orch., Hans Wolf, cond. Reming- capability, by no means misplaced here. that many pickup -amplifier associations will ton 199 -79. 12 -in. (with Haydn: Cello Conc.). Mr. Krips has that soft acquiescence in not be able to enlarge to effectiveness. 16 min. $2.49. music that sometimes makes us think he is Remington's sound is the clearest, but the -(Bamberg Sym. Orch., Robert Heger, reclining in the staves -a not unpleasant treble requires reduction beyond the capac- cond. Mercury 10037. 12 -in. (with Sym. looseness suggesting that the orchestra is ity of most compensators, and low- frequency 36). $4.85.) conducting him. This is particularly re- noise is a nuisance here too. Columbia's vealed in a disinclination to extort the ul- synthesis of harshness and obscurity is not No. 36, IN C, "LINZ ", KV 425 (5 Editions) timate value from a phrase, to push an ac- attractive. The Eroica Symphony imposed upon listen- cent hardily. These are secondary to an -Concertgebouw Orch., Amsterdam, Edu- ers a concept, never lost after its advent, of even sinuousness, a deep harmonic bloom. ard van Beinum, cond. London LL 491. 12- grandeur as an element inseparable from the The renowned musical baronet, if not a in. (with Haydn: Sym. 94). 20 min. $5.95 symphonic form. What was occasional in martinet, wins a martinet's results. He is -"Austrian" Sym. Orch., Robert Heger, Haydn his massive pupil made into a tradi- exigent of clarity and precision; he habitu- cond. Remington 199 -71. 12 -in. (with tion for the entire Nineteenth Century. ally alleviates harmony to give value to de- Haydn: Sym. 7). 21 min. $2.49. Mozart's genius was not hampered by a sign. In reducing the bulk of texture the -Vienna Philh. Orch., Herbert von Kara - concept he had never heard, and grandeur is loss is net if the texture is not refined. Sir jan, cond. Columbia ML 4370. 12 -in. (with more frequently a component of his concer- Thomas evoking the Eighteenth Century Eine K N; Adagio and Fugue, KV 346). 19 tos than of his symphonies. No. 39 has it, seeks a sparkle, not a glare. His "Paris" min. $5.45. when it is played to show it: and the quality Symphony sparkles: if the reader will kindly -(Bamberg Sym. Orch., Hans Weisbach, earned a title for No. 41. The "Linz" Sym- imagine that this Symphony is a jeweled cond. Mercury 10077. 12 -in. (with Haydn: phony was the first one grand: in the coronet, a metaphor ought not to harm. Sym. t9). $4.85.) square cut of its themes, the decision of Mr. Doratï s coronet is on display in Car - its meter and a brawny assertiveness of tier's window, Mr. Krips' snug in its quilted No. 34, IN C, KV 338 (1 Edition) orchestration it differs from its predecessors étui; Sir Thomas's adorns a living - and That there is only one version of such a as a cavalry saber from a foil. Happily it if the reader will kindly imagine again - brilliant and exciting Symphony may cause receives a robust statement from at least lovely, lively duchess, and dances teasing surprise. Perhaps conductors are coy of in- three conductors on records of satisfactory lights from the candelabra. curring an inevitable comparison with a if not admirable tonal appeal. That the Engineering quality is hardly a determin- Beecham disk to come, KV 338 being one of grandeur of Prof. Böhm is somewhat ant here. All are pretty good and none is his specialties. Mr. Maag does well with leaden afoot we do not notice until we have salient. Columbia is clearer and harsher the external fast movements and is curiously heard Serge Koussevitzky spicing power than the others, London softer, more rever- prosaic in the andante. The sound is be- with grace; and that power can ripple berant, Victor indefinably the easiest to hear. deviled by an ineradicable tinny shimmer benignly is the revelation of a truly great mocking the violins. Mozart conductor Fritz Busch, who left Philh. Sir Thomas Beecham, -Royal Orch., us too soon. His is the record to have. cond. Columbia ML 4474. 12 -in. (with -Suisse Romande Orch., Peter Maag, cond. Schubert: Unfinished Sym.). 18 min. $5.45. London LL 389. 12 -in. (with Sym. 28). -Danish Nar. Radio Orch., Fritz Busch, -London Sym. Orch., Josef Krips, cond. 18 min. $5.95. cond. Victor LHMV 1019. 12 -in. (with 65 .