Evening star., 1952-11-02
TurntobIe Talk:

practically a legend, the basis
for which few, until recently.
could more than begin to COM
prehend.
The first Prades Festival two
years ago, with its resultant re-
cordings, made a bold gesture
toward communicating some of
the substance of Casals' artis-
try to a wider public. The first
communication was in the name
of Bach. Now a new chapter
has been added to this work of
substantiation. It bears the
names of Beethoven and Mo-
Zart.
The. music, like the Bach
festival, was performed by a
notable assemblage of mu-
sicians. This was in 1851 at
Perpignan, France. Columbia
again made the recordings, and
the first of IL are now at
hand, these being all Mozart.
In these discs Casals figures
as conductor, rather than cell
list. The music is as follows,
by disc: % "Eine Kleine
Nachtmusik" and Symphony
No. 20; (2) Sinfonia Concer-
tante in E fiat. K. 1854, with
Isaac Stern. violin, and Will
liam Primrose, viola; 60 Violin
Concerto No. S c"TurkishD,
played by Erica Morini; a.
Oboe Quartet in F. K. 370, with
MeSSrS. Stern and Primrose,
Marcel Tabutaead. oboe, and
Paul Tortelier, cello, and Di-
vertimento No. IL for Oboe,
Horns and Strings, with Mr..
Tabuteau as oboist.
The performances are ex-
traordinarily convincing. Ca
sails orchestral Mozart is Wig
orous, robust: at the same time,
there is delicious air of re-
Taxation about the playing, as
If every one was thoroughly
enjoying it Gas no doubt every
one was). The recording is
close and intimate, conveying
a natural and very listenable
sound. ....
I prefer this "Nachtmusik" to
any other on records The same
goes for the "Concertante,"
notable for the soloists' rapport.
Miss Morini does a fine job in
the concerto. AS for disc No.
4, its two offerings are equally
gems. (Mr. Tabuteau is first
oboist of the Philadelphia Or
chestra.) Those buying the
album containing all four will
acquire souvenir disc bearing
a Casals' cello bit-a Haydn
adagio. Those listening close
ly, both to this encore and to
the "Concertante," also will
get another bonus-the Casals
voice. Like Toscanini, occa-
sionally he huns.
Jacques Barzun wrote a 1884
page treatise q couple of years
ago on behalf of a composer he
considered inadequately appre-
ciated. The situation isn't vet
what Mr.. Barzun wants, but
LIPS are rapidly reinforcing
him.
The composer is Berlioz. In
recent months there has been
a veritable burst of Berlioz re-
cordings. And from their kind
and quality, it is an unheeding
collector who ignores them. or
what may follow.
Most imposing of the recent
issues, and least familiar, is
"The Trojans at Carthage"
This is called by Westminster a
complete opera; actually it is
part two of a larger dramatic
work entitled LES Troyens,"
which Berlioz himself was
forced to cut in two for stage
performances because of its
length. The first part, "The
Fall of Troy" hasn't yet been
recorded. Westminster contem-
plates doing it next year.
Les Troyens" is one of
Berlioz' last creations. It is
also, according to Mr.. Barzun,
one of his greatest. About all
record collectors have had to
judge by until now are a few
orchestral excerpts such as
Royal Hunt and Storm" This
is part of the new recording.
"The Trojans at Carthage" tells
once again the story of Dido
and Aeneas, with the benefit Of
all of Berlioz' marvellous imagi-
nation as both vocal and or.
chestral composer. It is a won
oerfuliy rich score, of which
side three of the recording is a
convincing sample with the
hunt, storm, love music and a
ballet.
Without a standard of COM
parison-performances of the
work have been rare, and have
not witnessed one-a precise ver-
dict on the performance is not
possible. Hermann Scherchen
leads the Paris Conservatory
Orchestra and Arda Mandikian
handles the role of Dido per-
Suasively. A better tenor than
Jean Giradeau's Aeneas is easily
imagined. but on the whole the
assembled forces seem adequate
If not inspired. Full-bodied
sound is one Of the sets bright
est assets. The sole engineering
/ fault is an occasional favoring
Of the voices at the expense Of