St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1960-01-15
THE WEEK IN
RECORDS
BY Albert Anderson
Classical Treats

albums on the market at present
that do attempt to review them
all in one colum-Or even two -
would be futile And certainly such
a procedure would not lend itself
to adequate review.
However by reviewing a few
now and others later and adding
still others to regular jazz columns,
we will not only cover the entire
collection but the subject in gen
eral might be more adequately
treated.
Our present selections deals with
the works of several famous COM
posers and features some out
standing artists and orchestras.
Stravinsky's Ballet Gets Fine
Treatment
Heading the list is Stravinsky's
"Petrouchka," four-act ballet on
the Mercury label Cstereo and mon
auraD. A recasting of an earlier
work on the same label but now
with the rich Interpretation of the
Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra
under the baton of Anton Dorati,
the ballet is a simple story of a
puppy CPetrouchka) killed in the
pre-lenten excitement and gayety
of Admiralty Square in Russia's
St. Petersburg . The late, emin-
ent composer was Russian-born.
Musicwise, the piano is the focal
point of the ballet, but there are
also strong trumpet sounds which
completes with the assimilated
noise of the puppy, which rise to
a climax then collapse sorrowfully
as CfigurativelyD the animal dies
in the street.
Those of you who have seen or
heard this ballet will especially
enjoy the new version, while for
others it will be an enrichening ex-
perience.
Miss Farrell Scores Again
Soprano Eileen Farrell, who
along with William Warfield was
so impressive on the Yule waxing
of Columbia's "Handers Messiah" |,
turns in another grand perform
ance as she sings a number Of arias
by such composer as Beethoven,
Cherubini and Weber on "Arias In |
Great Tradition. The Columbia |
Cstereo) LIP features such arias'
as solo I'm Pianto" (Cherubine) !
and "Abscheulicher, WO Eilst Du
Hin" Beethoven However, Miss
Farrell is at her best on "Ah, Per-
fido, a work well suited to her
voice She is ably assisted by
the Columbia Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Max Rudolph.
StOkOwsEi's Latest Adaptable To
StereO
Stereo hawks should delight in
two contemporary works on the
Capitol label by Leopold Stokow-
ski. the famous conductor. Titled
Music for String Instruments,
Percussion and Celeste" and Pet
lite Symphonic Concertante" the
musical compositions are by Bella
Bartok and Frank Martin. Both
scores receive superb treatment
by Stokowski and his symphony
orchestra For the stereophile,
the big feature of these recordings
is that each score calls for two
equal groups of strings, one on
either side of the conductor, with
the other instruments in the center.
Thus, from a listeners standpoint,
the music is balanced.
Treat For Riddles
Practically every child loves a
good march. 1t is something which
brings out the inner joy in them
In Marches For Children" on the
Audio Fidelity labe, Arthur Win
ograd conducts the Virtuso Sym
phony of London through a collec-
ton of marches that should score
heavily with children and adult as
alike.
Recorded in stereo, the LIP in
clude such favorites as "Marche
Militaire," by Shubert, Tchaikow-
skys march from the "Nutcraker,"
and "Pomp and Circumstance" by
Elger But it is the brisk pace
and spirited feeling which makes
the record so enjoyable. 1t is so