Evening star., 1952-07-13
TurntobIe Talk:

Chamber music would appall
people less IL they would hear
more Of it. Some new records
offer proof. Mozart, Beethoven,
Weber and Tartini are the COM
posers, and they shouldn't frighten
anybody.
The Mozart Offering is three
sonatas, played by Walter Barylli.
violin, and Paul Badura-S -Skoda,
piano. on a 12-inch Westminster
disc. They are the C major TX.
1860. E minor TX. 304) and G
major TX. 301. One usually
speaks Of such works as violin
sonatas, but the piano actually is
of equal If not greater Importance.
Like his concertos. the sonatas
show Mozart's keyboard mastery.
But he also played the violin, so
the strings are by no means sold
short.
The music Is sheer delight, and
1t is played as If the performers
think so, too. There is a shade
less subtlety in Mr.. Barylli's bow
ing than in Szymon Goldberg's in
the wonderful Decca set which the
latter did with Lili Kraus, but
the distinction is fine. (Of these
three sonatas, only the c major
is duplicated.) Westminster re-
corded sound Is truly intoxicating.
Listen, incidentally. to the close of
the G major-it has a rebirth in
Despina's gay "In uomini, in
soldati' aria in "Cosi Fan Tutte." !"
Partnership Of a high order
also is demonstrated in a 12-inch
Columbia disc containing two
Beethoven sonatas-the e fiat
major. Op. IL, and the A minor,
Op. %. Robert CaSadesus and
Zinc Francescatti are the part
ners. The music is splendid, and
both performance and engineer
ing are models of how this sort
of thing should be done.
Beethoven Trio Holds Own
Add another set Of strings
and you have the makings OF
Beethoven's trio in B fiat, Op. 81,
the "Archduke." Named for the
Viennese Archduke Rudolf who
was Beethoven's pupil and patron,
this is one of the supreme cham
ber works. On a 12-inch West
minister disc Mr.. Badura -Skoda
is joined by Jean Fournier, violin,
and Antonio Janigro. cello, in a
vital. balanced performance that
holds it own against such compe-
tition as the old Heifetz-Feuer-
MANN -RubinStein. The recording
is a good deal better.
If string quartets are what the
timid really fear, Westminster
isn't daunted on that score. It
recently added five more to its
Beethoven series.
All the players are members of
the Vienna Philharmonic. Mr..
Barylli, who is the Philharmonic s
concertmaster, is the flrst-chair
man for one disc containing the
B flat major. OPP. 100. and another
on which the A major, Op. 18,
No. S occupies one side and the
F. minor, OPP. 95, the other. The
B fiat is magnificent music from
Beethoven's last years; the F
minor is great middle-period
work. The A major. naturally, is
youthful and hence much more
obvious. The performances are
polished and have considerable
vigor.
On two other discs, the Vienna
Konzerthaus Quartet negotiates
two of the famed "Rasoumovsky''
quartets of Op. 59-the first and
third. These" too. are expertly
played. Less individuality is
shown by the musicians, however.
Those wanting definitive readings
had best wait for the new COM
plete Budapest set due next fail,
at least for comparisons. Neither
Viennese group is SO assertive.
WeStminster's recording is in
every case excellent.
Disc Made at CothoIic U.
Clarinet is the instrument
paired with the piano in Carl
Maria Won Weber's Grand Duo
Concertante" and Variations on
a Theme From Silvania." Sidney
Forrest, wartime Marine bands
man, is the clarinetist and Leonid
Hambro the pianist in a 12-inch
release from WCFM. The music
is enjoyable and both performers
are expert. The recording, done
at Catholic University last Jan
uary, is flrst-rate.
And in four sonatas of Tartini,
Westminster joins Violinist Peter
Rybar and Harpsichordist Franz
Holletschek for some pleasant
music-making in the style of the
18th century. The sound, again,
is top-notch.
*ik +
PATIENCE, PLEASE-Those 20
HMV first-release' LIPS still were
awaited by Washington record
buyers at the END of last week.
Word now is they'll be shipped
tomorrow and be available next
week. Columbia. meanwhile, has
issued six new Gieseking LIPS,