Cornerstones for a Collection

New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 794, 8 October 1954, Page 24

Cornerstones for a Collection

A monthly review

by

OWEN

JENSEN

HE long-playing record may turn out almost as significant as the invention of the gramophone itself in the development of musical interest. It has already opened up new vistas of listening, not only to those who have for long found enjoyment this way, but even more excitingly for these who have been infected by this enthusiasm to discover, in fact, music itself. And the question these new enthusiasts often ask is-what next should I add to my collection, or, even more directly, what do you think I'd like? > This question is quite unanswerable unless you know the inquiring friend very well and, for that matter, is almost a presumption to answer at any time. Tastes are what they are, some admirable and some regrettable, but all something to be worked out personally. Nevertheless, there is some music, much music indeed, which has been enjoyed so universally that one can take a chance on it and answer-you wand like this. This seal, I am sure, could be put on the Beethoven Violin Concerto which one can hardly imagine a_ serious

listener, however new to the game of listening, not liking. As played by Yehudi Menuhin and the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Wilhelm Furtwangler (H.M.V. ALP 1100), it is as beautiful music as you could wish. In the same line of listening is Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in E Flat for Violin and Viola, K.364, whose perennial delight is brought out with grace and liveliness in a recent recording* by Joseph Fuchs (violin) and Lillian Fuchs (viola), playing with the Zimbler Sinfonietta (Brunswick AXTL 1018). If your taste runs more to the romantics, there is the Brahms Double Concerto for Violin. and ’Cello which was performed a few weeks ago by the National Orchestra with two members of the Alma Trio-Maurice Wilk and Gabor Rejto-as soloists. A new recording of this work to come our way has Jean Fournier (violin) and Antonio Nanigro (cello) in the solo roles with the Vienna State Opera .Orchestra conducted by Hermann Scherchen (Westminster WL 5117). This is a quite fine performance,

although Scherchen seems to emphasise rhythmic vigour somewhat at the expense of Brahms’s lyricism. The recording is, tonally, hard rather than brilliant. Tchaikovski’s rich and fruity romanticism is a good thing, probably, to add to the foundations of a record collection even if, later on, it may tend to slip to the bottom of the pile. If this is your taste at the moment, you might lend an ear to Tchaikovski’s Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, played by Hermann Scherchen and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra (Westminster WL 5096). This is a lively performance, although again I find the record quality somewhat raw. Chamber Music and All That You must have some chamber music in your collection. No string quartets or trios have appeared on my horizon this month, but some excellently played violin sonatas are worth looking into. Joseph Fuchs (violin) and Arthur Balsam (piano) show complete understanding, not only of the music but of each other, in the Beethoven Sonatas for violin and piano, Nos. 2 in A, Op. 12, 2 and 10 in G, Op. 96 (Brunswick AXTL 1046). Fuchs also plays, this time with pianist Frank Sheridan, Grieg’s two violin sonatas, No. 1 in F and No. 3 in C Minor (Brunswick AXTL = 1017). There is no doubt that Joseph Fuchs is a top-notch artist, and he makes the most of Grieg’s rhapsodising, maybe too much of it at times, when Grieg’s

peasant dancing seems as if it had been whipped up a bit by a team of Norwegian trolls. For the piano shelf there is Backhaus with two Beethoven Sonatas, No. 2 in A, Op. No. 2, and No. 22 in B Flat, Op. 22 (Decca LXT 2920). These are not the best known nor perhaps the most attractive of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, but after all it’s still Beethoven, and this is Backhaus, which means clear, intelligent and satisfying playing. The same can be said about Joerg Demus’s playing of Schumann-Kreisleriana, Op. 16, Romance, Op. 28, No. 2, and Toccata (Westminster WL 5142). The Kreisleriana, eight pieces whose fantasies arise from sketches by the writer E. T. A. Hoffmann, are too often shelved by pianists in favour of Carnival or the Etudes Symphoniques. They represent, in fact, some of Schumann’s most imaginative writing. The , Toccata, whose difficulties are likely to defeat a great many pianists, is a tremendous bravura piece. In both these and the Romance, too, Joerg Demus seems spiritually and technically at home with Schumann. And so does he in Cesar Franck’s Prelude, Chorale and Fugue, with the Prelude, Aria and Finale on the other side (Westminster WL 5163). And now some songs for your collection. There’s Schubert, Schumann or Brahms, of course, but here is something A@ little off the beaten track, but none the less ingratiating-a programme of songs by~ Charles Francois Gounod.

That’s the man who wrote the superlatively saccharine "Ave Maria," one of the few pieces of music that moved me to wrathful indignation. He also wrote Faust. These songs are neither like the "Ave Maria" nor the famous opera. They are what the French might call charmant. As sung by Gérard Souzay (baritone), with pianist Jacqueline Bonneau (Decca LW5097) they leave the impression that Gounod had more to him than some of his more popular compositions suggest. A recital of Russian ‘songs sung by the bass Raphael Arie (Decca LW 5087) is also well worth looking into. Raphael Arie has rich, resonant tone and his singing with the accompanying of Wilfred Parry makes fine music. You will know Moussorgsky’s "Song of the Flea" and "The Midnight Review," by Glinka. If you enjoy these, you will also like the other songs by Moussorgsky, Glinka, Lishin and Gretchaninov. Contemporary Music If you’re ready, we'll talk about contemporary music; but, first of all, something not very contemporary-Sibelius, Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43. For anyone just making the acquaintance of Sibelius, this Second Symphony is about the best introduction. If you’re already a friend of Sibelius, it can be added that this performance by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Anthony Collins (Decca LXT 2815) is first-rate, played with a fine feeling for the subtleties of the music and vividly recorded. Moving along the path of contemporary music we come to Vaughan Williams’s Symphony No. 5 in D Major, after the "London" Symphony, the easiest of Vaughan Williams to get to know. It is given a lovely performance by Sir Adrian Boult and the London Philharmonie Orchestra (Decca LXT 2910). It is not a big step from here to Delius-I’m not altogether sure whether it’s a step forwards or backwards. The work is Paris: The Song of a Great City, with In a Summer Gar-

den and Summer Night on the River on the reverse side (Decca LXT 2899). I'm old-fashioned enough to believe that Sir Thomas Beecham is still the ideal interpreter of Delius, but Anthony Collins and the London Symphony Orchestra certainly give a good account of the music. If you’re feeling a little adventurous, there’s a Divertimento, Op. 43, and a Sinfonietta, Op. 5-48, by Prokofieff, played by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Swoboda (Westminster WL 5031). This is Prokofieff in classical mood, _ classicism diverted, as it were, to modern ends. It’s a musically schizophrenic state that I find rather exasperating, but maybe it would be a suitable introduction to the more piquant side of modernism. Coda Here is some prospecting which might pan out quite a bit of gold. Brahms’s Serenade No. 1 in D Major was written more or less as an exercise in orchestral composition in preparation for his first symphony. As played by Thomas Scherman and the Little Orchestral Society (Brunswick AXTL 1026) it becomes a lively piece of work and by no means an exercise. Four Concertinos attributed to G. B. Pergolesi might quite well be by that celebrated composer, which means they shine with a bright 18th Century glow. They are played by L’Orchestra de Chambre des Concerts Lamoureux conducted by Pierre Colombo (L’Oiseau Lyre OL 50010). After all this, you may decide to give up listening and take on playing. Well, then, you could do worse: than acquire "The Saxophone" (Decca LX 3130), a disc on which Marcel Mule with some incomparable saxophone playing points out that there is more in his instrument than tootling in a dance band. This is one of a ‘series of records devoted to various instruments, another of which is "The Clarinet" (Decca LX 3129), on which Ulysse Delecluse demonstrates his instrument in a variety of compositions with equal artistry. You can take your pick. 4