pianist; haunting in parts, I found this work alsotobe veryattractive and worth repeated hearing. CLASSICAL Woodward, who has now established himselfwithavant-gardelistenersin- RECORDINGS ternationally, performs brilliantly and the technical quality of the discisbeyond Reviewed by Paul Frolich reproach. It is to be hoped that EMI's en- terprise in this field will widen public in- terestintheworkofthecomposers represented here. Mahler- The Song of the Earth * * * RACIIMANINOV - Piano Concerto No. 3, MAHLER - Das Lied Non der Erde (The preferred tothe op. 30. VladimirAshkenazy,piano; Song of the late KathleenFerrier. Earth). Yvonne Minton. Finally, it should be noted that the soundon London Symphony Orchestra, conducted contralto: Rene Kollo, tenor; Chicago this recording is about the clearest I have by Andre Previn. Decca stereo SXI. 6555. Symphony Orchestra,conducted by yet heard from Decca and that it enables Rachmaninov's third concerto, written Georg Solti Decca SET 655. one to follow every detail of the intricate for his own New York debut in 1909, is so This disc is one of a series being put out by score with fresh joy. gigantic a work that one cannot but wonder Decca to celebrate Solti's 25th year of * * * at the stamina of generations of pianists: no recording forthe Company, and comes ROGER WOODWARD - Piano one is accepted as a true virtuoso until accompanied by an insert which contains Richard Meale: Coruscations; heshe has this work under hisher belt. the texts of the songs as well as analytical Ross Edwards: Monos II; Since the work was written by a com- material. The actual recording, contrary to Peter Sculthorpe: Sonatina (1954): poser -virtuoso,itisquite usefulifone Decca's normal practice, was made in the compares the composer's own performance Snow, Moon and Flowers;Night; (recorded in USA and the magnificent sound attained landscape. HMV stereo OASD 7567. 1940) with any later ones. proves that Vienna can indeed be beaten! Allowing for the fact that he was ageing, his Mahler described this work as a "sym- Having, for a long and painful decade, performance on that old recording is still phony for tenor, contralto and orchestra"; battled to get music by Australian com- electrifying; but it is not, by any standard, posers onto record, I am naturally delighted superior to Ashkenazy's. some conductors tend to treat it as a song- cycle and they do so very persuasively. It to see that EMI, no less, have now taken up Lest I be accused of sacrilege, I hasten to reallytakes a musicianofSolti's the cudgels in this cause. My enthusiasm is state thatI simply adored Rachmaninov thoroughnesstoconvince onethatthe but slightly tempered by the footnote on the and genuinely grieved when he died, thirty symphonic interpretationis the one and jacket which tellsof "aid ofthe Com- years ago.Butitistruetosaythat proper approach. monwealth AssistancetoAustralian Ashkenazy does the work greater justice. As thisis one of my favourite com- composers". Since he previously recorded this con- positions,Ihave gone to the trouble of I think such aid is welcome and justified; certo with Fistoulari in 1963, Ashkenazy has comparing Solti's version with the three what I'd like to know, though, is whether come to play this music with more love and recorded by Bruno Walter, as well as with EMI will be releasing this disc overseasas poetic feeling. He has persuaded Previn to the recordings made by Klemperer, Bern- well as in Australia.I have also a com- adopt slower tempi and where the author stein and Reiner. Walter's is the approach plaint: Roger Woodward isa wonderful played recklessly, even roughly, taking to Mahler I grew up with, and I tend to musician, a very great pianist and a lovely great risks, Ashkenazy is both gentle and favour it. chap in every possible way, but is he, the accurate. Far from making things easier In the past, there were few problems. I performer, really more important than the for himself. he now plays the much longer did not, and do not, care for Kiemperer's composers? You see, the discistitled and even more fiendishly difficult second over -deliberate reading, Bernstein's seems exactly as I've shown above and although version of the first movement cadenza; the a little vulgar and over -blown and Reiner (inLondon and Warsaw at anyrate) time before, he played the shorter one, also lacked a good recorded sound. He, too, used Woodward's is a known quantity and Meale adopted by Rachmaninov in his 1940ver- the Chicago orchestra, but a decade makes is not - no, I still don't think this is the right sion. quite a difference to orchestras and to way to do things. Just as Ashkenazy goes from strength to recording techniques. These foibles apart - what of the music? strength, so do the LSO and Andre Previn, The current recording is the first one to Meale's work of 1971 is, to quote the notes, who excel in this recording- as, by the make me waver in my loyalty to Bruno "a universe of brilliant sonorities, scattered way. do Decca's engineers once again. Walter. On first hearing, I was not entirely and exposed like stars"; allowing forsome convinced and thought there was a degree poetic excess, it's a fair enough description. of matter-of-factness, perhaps a lack of "Coruscations" is a sequence of sparkling BEETHOVEN - Serenades D major. op.8. fragments, each of them quite meaningful for violin,viola and cello: D major, deep feeling. Now IbelieveI was quite op.25, for wrong about this. and complete, separated by moments of flute,violin and viola. The silence, all played at speed. Itis one of Grumiaux Trio and Maxence Larrieu. Taken in detail, these facts emerge: the flute. Philips stereo 6500 167. Chicago orchestra is as good as the Vienna Meale's most immediately appealing works Philharmonic ever was, probably better. in which composer and performer alike It seems strange indeed to be dealing with Solti has the fullest overall view of this revel in the delight of exciting sounds. virtually unknown Beethoven works, great work and shows great insight. Rene Ross Edwards'piece,writtenfor the more so when they are far from juvenile Kollo is a superb tenor in the great German Woodward in1970,is unpredictable and and negligible - as a listener might be tradition(rememberthatMahler was seemingly spontaneous and destructive. It inclinedtosuspect from the low opus himself a great operatic conductor) and may be of greater interest to the performer numbers and the neglect they suffer from Yvonne Minton is near -perfect. She does, at than to the listener, but does well enough. performers. first,give an impressionof un- Sculthorpe has the lion's share of the disc. The string Serenade opus 8 (sometimes The early Sonatina on side 1 isa con- also described as a string trio) last derstatement; in the end, this is revealed as ventional work in came perhapstheclosesteverapproachto the post-Bartokian my way some years ago, in a recording by Mahler by any singer. mainstream; it is simple, direct and quite Heifetz. Primrose and Piatigorsky. The My conversion may appear sacreligious an appealing piece. The first two works currentperformance is much to onside 2 (all three were written for the 1971 be to other traditionalists, but I now state that preferred: the Grumiaux Trio really isa Solti - in this performance at any rate- Festival of Perth) are played by Woodward coherent ensemble and the quality of this gives a Mahler reading preferable to any directly plucking and manipulatingthe recording is much better than that of the other I know and that Miss Minton is to be piano's strings. ageing RCA disc. The effect of this unusual treatment isa Although the six movements of this work 10.4musielOmmemono 084 Nem ...00011 0.16.1.101111 sound of mystery, much beauty and utter are somewhat in 18th century Divertimento novelty. The last one, "Landscape", is for style. Julian Russell will be overseas for the next Beethoven's handisalreadyun- "piano with feedback and pre-recorded mistakeable and the musicshows con- few months, and in his absence, Classical tape". This includes a fair amount of im- siderable maturity. Recordings will be reviewed by Paul Frolich. provisation and semi -improvisation by the Arthur Grumiaux is by no means one of ELECTRONICS Australia, July, 19/3 85.