Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-03-22
BY JAMES @. DEANE
star Record Critic

star Record Critic
Record makers are exhibit
ing some curious flights Of
fancy.
There seems to be one
theory abroad, for example,
that music lovers are rather
tickle, have a short attention
span and can be easily fooled.
There Is a recent Columbia
disc by Oscar Levant, called
genially Some Pleasant Mo-
ments in the Twentieth Gen.
tury." which lists Prokoaev's
Visions fugitives. Debussy's
Children's Corner. and
Ravel's Tomb Of Couperin
among other items but repre-
sents most Of them only by
fragments. The opening
item. which sets the stand
ard. is the 18th variation
from Rachmaninoff's Paga-
mini rhapsody. written for
soloist with orchestra. Levant
plays alone.
Westminster has entered
the fragment business whole
sale. There is a disc entitled
"Jewels from Symphonies"
which presents three first
movements, one second and
two thirds, and one called
Jewels from Concertos"
that offers three first move
ments and one second. Care
finales unpopularO An
other Westminster series
bears titles all ending with
Sin Hi-Fi." The preface on
one is SPAIN" another
Ballet" and q third Ito
which / reacted with a slight
shudder) Blue of the Night
in. !" One called "The
Devil in" groups the Mephisto
Waltz. Night on Bald Noun
tain, Danse Macabre and the
witches sabbath section Of
Berlioz' Fantastic symphony.
Another is headed Storm
IN. :"
The storm disc proved
rather fun. The tempests in
question come from William
Tell. Beethoven's pastoral. La
Mer, Sibelius' Tempest mu-
sic. Peer Gynt. Benjamin
Britten's opera Peter Grimes.
and Scheherazade. "a placid
item called Summer Rain by
Hugo Alfven, a Swede. crept
In just before the end: it
makes a pleasant interlude
In the general clashing and
drumming)
Columbia and Westminster,
and their confrerees, pre-
sumably know what they are
about. II records which hop.
skip and jump from one
composer and idiom and
mood and fragment to an
other and then another can
attract buyers. they doubt
less can be justified to the
stockholders. But they can
represent a miserable low In
musical intelligence and
taste. There is no more justif1-
cation for presenting an iso-
lated andante con motto apart
from its associated allegro.
scherzo and presto or what
ever other movements the
composer provided than for
recording an opera without
the singers (which Column
bia. among others. hes elso
done), except in q music
appreciation class. II the
public succumbs, 1t is be-
cause It knows no better. But
that too is no excuse.
Neither Levant's playing
nor his disiointed repertoire
left me with snv profound
sense Of gain. The ".Jewels
from" discs offer much less.
It has been widely supposed
that the long-playine rec
ord's initial value has been
the cpnabiIitv of soaring be-
yond the OLD and sorry con-
strictions which once made
piecemesl listening unavoid-
able Jewels" which beckon
backward are alirting falsely.
I have no wish to belabor
Westminster and Columbia
for what others have carried
to greater lengths. And Mr..
Levant certainly is entitled
to serve his admirers in the
fashion best suited to them
selves. a fashion in this case
certainly not unique. But