Aug - AmericanRadioHistory.Com

RECORDS
Symphony Orchestra; National Armenian
Folk Orchestra, Soloists and Ensembles of
Erevan Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra conducted
by Aram Khachaturian.
COLOSSEUM CRLP 175. 12 -in. $3.98.
A potpourri of Georgian and Armenian
music that covers a very broad spectrum
indeed. In addition to a generous measure
of folk songs and dances, Armenia's
favorite musical son, Aram Khachaturian,
conducts three spirited examples of his
work, including - inevitably - the Saber
Dance from Gayne.
While the music is vivid, the sound is
not. Colosseum's engineers have failed to
ameliorate the woeful reproduction of the
original Soviet tapes.
THE JAPANESE KOTO
Shinichi Yuize
COOK /SOOT 1132. 12-in. $5.95.
The koto, a classical stringed instrument of
great purity and remarkable tone, is high
in the Japanese musical hierarchy. Identified
from antiquity with the nobility, its
mastery even today generally denotes exalted
social status; Japanese children of good
family are invariably taught the koto.
Shinichi Yuize is a virtuoso on the instrument.
For this record he has chosen a
program of Imperial Court Music - some
of it more than goo years old - and several
compositions of his own. The music is
exotic, but accessible. In fact, it falls
pleasantly upon Western ears. Emory
Cook's superlative engineering makes this
a worthy addition to Sounds of our Times.
SANDHOG
A Folk Opera by Earl Robinson and
Waldo Salt
Earl Robinson, singer and pianist; Waldo
Salt, narrator.
VANGUARD VRS 9001. 12 -in. $4.98.
Vanguard is to be congratulated for preserving
Earl Robinson's excellent score
from Sandhog, a "folk opera" composed in
collaboration with Waldo Salt.
Sandhog
was produced off -Broadway in New York's
Phoenix Theatre.
In this off -beat recording, Salt furnishes
narration and dialogue while Robinson,
accompanying himself on the piano, sings
all the parts, even - thanks to the miracle
of tape -the duets and choruses. There is
FOR
PHONOGRAPH
RECORDS
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nobody else, even though the cast numbered
forty. And, astonishingly, the co- authors
achieve an extraordinary dramatic projection.
Set in late nineteenth -century New York,
the story deals with the men who dug the
first tunnel beneath the Hudson River.
Salt's book is credible and warm: Robin -
son's music is outstanding. His song
Johnny-0 is a lovely thing that can hold its
own in any company.
One comes away from this recorded synthesis
with the feeling that the American
theater is seriously sick when a musical of
such obvious quality is left to languish in
a downtown alley while every theatrical
and promotional opulence is lavished upon
the burglarized melodies of Borodin who,
being dead, is unable either to collect
royalties or protect his good name.
THE WILD SIDE OF LIFE
Wild Side of Life; The Little Green Valley;
Diesel Smoke, Dangerous Curves; Left My
Gal in the Mountains; The Craudad Song:
Lonesome So Lonesome; One Hour Ahead
of the Posse; Great White Bird; Hound
Dog; There's a Mule Up in Tombstone,
Arizona; It's So -Long and Good -Bye to
You; Close the Door, Richard
Burl Ives, with various accompaniments
DECCA DL 8107. r2 -in. $3.98.
Burl Ives recorded these songs in the heart
of the Grand 01' Opry belt, and the jacket
notes duly record his judgment that "Nashville,
Tennessee, today has achieved the
nearest thing to a contemporary folksong."
Burl's voice hasn't improved any, but the
infectious delivery is still there. And Decca
has blessed him with brilliant reproduction.
His songs are a typical cross- section of
the Nashville "country music" genre, and
as such are enjoyable enough. However, to
equate them with folksongs is to clothe
them with a dignity that they do not
possess.
Quite aside from the fact that
"country music" is composed down to the
last cliché, it is completely lacking in the
simple, lucid, yet profound emotion that
characterizes folk ballads. Rather the
Nashville songs - sung customarily in a
stylized nasal twang -run a whiney, super-
ficial gamut from banal joy to beery bathos.
By any imaginable musical criteria, the
overwhelming bulk of the Nashville product
is shallow and meretricious. And it is
not folk music.
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BEYLAND ENGINEERING CO.
YALESVILLE
CONNECTICUT
how to rate music
for hi -fi possibilities
Certain musical works and performances,
more than others, are
Hi -Fi naturals. They have the inherent
quality of "coming to life"
...giving you full return for your
keen appreciation of both sound
and content. These are among the
chosen few:
BIZET: ROMA (Ballet)
CHABRIER :
BOURRÉE FANTASQUE (Ballet)... PL 9320
N. Y. C. Ballet Orch. -Leon Barzin, conductor
KAY- BALANCHINE:
WESTERN SYMPHONY
THOMSON -CHRISTENSEN
FILLING STATION PL 9050
N. Y. C. Ballet Orch. -Leon Borzin, conductor
R. STRAUSS:
TILL EULENSPIEGEL'S MERRY PRANKS,OP. 28
DON JUAN, OP. 20
DEATH AND TRANSFIGURATION, OP. 24
Bamberg Symphony - Jascha Horenstein,
conductor PL 9060
LISZT:
PIANO CONCERTO No. 1
IN E FLAT MAJOR
PIANO CONCERTO No. 2 IN A MAJOR
Orazio Frugoni, piano - Pro Musica Symphony,
Vienna -Hans Swarowsky, conductor
PL 8390
See ... Hear ... HI -FI come to life -
its techniques and technicalities
explained, illustrated, demonstrated!
2r:
THIS IS
-4 HIGH FIDELITY
(A Guide To Sound Listening)
Written and produced by
Tyler Turner. Narrated by
Art Honnes. In a special
De Luse Album
DL 130
Ó°L ,eaattditia.oxd-
o Ultra High Fidelity
236 West 55th Street
New York 19, N.Y.
AUGUST 1955
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