Evening star., 1954-09-26
TurntobIe Talk

1t Is rapidly becoming ap-
parent that nothing could
have been more propitious for
Berlioz enthusiasts - or the
contemporary status of Ber-
lioz' music-than the accession
of Charles Munich to the lead
ership of the Boston Sym
phony Orchestra.
In some musical areas-Mo-
zart and Brahms, for example
the Munich baton may evoke
less than unanimous admira-
ton, but as a Berliozan Bos-
tons conductor lately has been
acquiring more than a mod
icum of recognition. For one
thing. he recently became, by
invitation, president of a newly
formed BerlioZ Society, dedi-
Gated to advancing public in
terest in Berlioz' music through
both performance and record
ingS. 1t was Munch's presence
which established his late fell
low Frenchman as the lodestar
at Tanglewood this summer,
and which brought Romeo
and Juliet" to Washington last
season and will bring The
Damnation of Faust" here in
the season coming up.
Romeo and Juliet" in the
splendid performance which
RCA Victor gave us a year
ago, was the first significant
fruit for record collectors of
the Munch- -Boston-B erl o z
association. This month VIC
tor has provided the second,
1.-The Damnation of Faust"
An Exciting One
There has been only one
full-length recorded "Damna-
tion of Faust" available, this
being a version originally on
78 rpm. shellac discs and
transferred to LIPS by Colum-
bia. That performance, con-
Quoted in Paris by Jean Four
net, was an acceptable one,
although the recorded sound
left much to be desired. just
how inadequate the old re-
cording was becomes strikingly
evident almost as soon as you
turn on the new one. The old
set turns out to have been a
pallid document, indeed. The
new recording is a beautiful
sample of modern high-fidelity
engineering. Fur t h r m OF e.
Munch's approach is far more
vital and Boston has provided
markedly superior forces to
work with. This is an exciting
issue in every way. which en-
tirely supersedes its competl-
ton.
Suzanne Danco, who has
done good recorded things on
the London label, is the Mar
guerite on this one, and a very
effective one. David Poleri,
who has the taxing tenor role
of Faust, manages it with SUIT
prising ease. although without
quite the expression of Georges
Jouatte on the old discs. Mar
tial Singher sounds reasonably
cynical as Mephistopheles, and
Donald Gramm does satisfac-
torily with the relatively brief
part of Brander. McHenry
Boatwright, a Negro bass who
was very active at Tanglewood
this summer, supplies the
short epilogue which follows
Faust's turbulent descent into
hell. and the Harvard and or
Radcliffe choristers prove
equally spirited as peasants,
soldiers, revelers, gnomes,
sylphs. students and demons.
AS for the orchestra. it plays
as one would expect of an or
ganization practically peerless.
Web Of Striking Beauty
1.-THE Damnation" is known
primarily, of course. for GER
tain components (the Hun
garian March, Dance of the
Sylphs, Minuet OF the Will
o'-the-Wisps). Nothing could
prove better than this new
recording, the infinitely
greater worth of the whole.
Berlioz spins a web of striking
beauty, which at last can
properly become known in the
only way it should be. which is
in one piece.
Victor's set includes q
French-English text and notes
by John N. Burk. The three
long-play discs are Of q new
type with raised center and
edges designed to avert
scratching Of the playing sur