invariably faithful to the opera under composition. á The music has a truly poetic lyricism .ii,111,t' when it deals with the feelings of indi- viduals, whether the feelings are those of Andrei and Natasha discovering cadi other in the opening scene, or of Marshall Koutou- zov apostrophizing Moscow. There is a Hamfuriz graceful lilt to the waltz airs that pop up early in the work, and the Death Scene of rsese//srhnR Andrei includes some striking choral effects and a fine duct. The long passages devoted to the Barde of Borodino and to hymns of determination and victory arc loud but arid; the scene picturing Napoleon directing the progress of the fight is a flat failure. Taeroty s I might be more taken by the work if the current presentation were on a higher level. Thcrc is not a lirst -rate singer in A SELECTION FROM THE FIRST RELEASE the cast, and there arc some who arc leas than third -rate. The chorus is hollow and DVORAK: thin -sounding, partly because M -G -M's re- Requiem, Op. 89 (Complete) - cording, besides being shallow and, from Maria Stader, soprano; Sieglinde time to time, harsh, is most deficient in Wagner, alto; Ernst Haefliger, ten- the matter of balances. The accompanying or; Kim Borg, bass; Czech Choir; booklet contains test and translation, to- Philharmonic Orch. of Prague; Kar- ,ether with a phonetic transliteration of el Ancerl, cond. LPM 18547/48 the Russian. but fails to credit several sing- SLPM 138026/27' ers, including one or two with fairly signifi- HAYDN: cant parts, and the chorus master. C.L.O. Missa Sanctae Caeciliae - Maria Stader, soprano; Marga Hoeffgen, PUCCINI: Tosca alto; Richard Holm, tenor; Josef Greindl, bass; Choir and Symphony t Renata Tebaldi (s), Floria Tosca; Mario del t Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio; t Monaco (t), Mario Cavaradossi; Piero di Eugen Jochuni, conductor. Palma (t), Spoletta; George London (b), Baron Scarpia; Giovanni Moresc (b), Sciar - HANDEL: ronc and A Gaoler; Silvio Maionica (bs), Organ Concerto in F Major -Mi- Cesare Angelot ti; Fernando Corona (bs), A chael Schneider, organ; Symphony Sacristan; Ernesto Palmerini (boy soprano), Orch. of the Bavarian Radio; Eugen A Shepherd Boy. Chorus and Orchestra of Jochuni, cond. LPM 18545/46 Accademia di Santa Cecilia (Rome), Fran- SLPM 138028/29' cesco Molinari-Pradelli, cond. SVJATOSLAV RICHTER TCHAIKOVSKY: 1, OS nos OSA 1210. Two SD. SCHUMANN: Swan Lake Suite -Sleeping Beauty S11.96. Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. Suite- Polonaise from "Eugen One- A surprisingly uninteresting entry in the 54- Introduction and Allegro, Op. gin"- National Philharmonic Sym- Then sweepstakes. The underlying problem 92 - Novelette, Op. 21, No. 1 - phony Orchestra of Warsaw; Wi- is %tith Adoli,iari- Pradclli, whose leadership Toccata, Op. 7- Svjatoslav Richter, told Rowicki, conductor. has none of the tautness or drive that marks piano; National Philharmonic Sym. LPEM 19201, SLPEM 136036' a topflight Tosca. It is slow and flabby. 13e- Orch. of Warsaw; Witold Rowicki, LISZT: vond that, none of the principals attains his Stanislaw Wislocki, conductors. Concerto No, 1 in E Flat or her best form in this performance. It LPM 18597, SLPM 138077 Piano 2 in A seems downright silly (front the artistic, not Major -Piano Concerto No Sc. the commercial. standpoint) to cast Del MOZART: Major -2nd Legend of Francis- Paganini Etude in E Flat Major Monaco as Cavaradossi when the London Piano Concerto in D Minor, K. - Tamàs Vàsàry, piano; Bamberg stable of tenors includes several whose voices 466 Orch.; Felix Prohaska, arc well suited to the role (1abò is a first- Symphony PROKOFIEFF:, LPM 18589,SLPM 138055' Cavaradossi, Rergonzi a good one who cond. gracie Piano Concerto No 5 in G Ma- a recording). would be must impressive in jor, Op. 55 Sviatoslav Richter, BRAHMS: tries, to be sure, to make a - Dd Monaco piano; National Philharmonic Sym- 8 Hungarian Dances malleable thing of his ironlike tenor, but the phony Orchestra of Warsaw; Wis- DVORAK: smooth, easily flowing legato just is not Isis and Rowicki, conductors. locki 5 Slavonic Dances -Berlin Phil- to command, and his efhortful performance, LPM 18595, SLPM 138075' rousing in the moments of defiance, is capped harmonic Orchestra; Herbert von Karajan, conductor. by a weird "E lucer'un le .idle." BERLIOZ: 18610, SLPM Tebaidi has her heavy moments, too, and La Damnation de Faust (Corn- LPM 138080 the second act brings some raw, driven tones plete)- Consuelo Rubio, mezzo -so- BARTOK: above the staff. !fers is. as always, singing on prano; Richard Verreau, tenor; Mi- Bluebeard's Castle (Opera in One the grand scale, with many passages su- chel Roux, baritone; Pierre Mollet, Act)- Dietrich Fischer -Dieskau, perbly rendered, and a moving "D'issi bass; Choeur Elizabeth Brasseur; baritone; Hertha Toepper, contral- il'arte "; but it dues not have the case of her Lamoureux Orch. of Paris; Igor to; Berlin Radio Symphony Orches- previous recording of the role. George Lon- Markevitch conductor. tra; Fereoc Fricsay, conductor. don's resonant Scarpia is so carefully studied LPM 18599/600, LPM 18565, SLPM 138030' and projected as to be lacking in spontaneity SLPM 138099/100' Stereophonic -it is a performance that demands respect, Distributed by but does not really catch up the listener. The do well, and the sound is line, a DECCA DISTRIBUTING CORPORATION other singers a but the over -all clhcct is just a Little too ponderous. C.L.O. A. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAÇ CIIt(:I.F. 32 ON READER -SERVICE (:A1(1) MAY 1960 73 .