~flr'6,r"®

or on records. I-Ie never "just plays"; he
seems to be taking part in the act of composition
itself. Not rarely one finds him
carried away to the extent of humming
along on an expressive climax; dangerous,
but from him not offensive. As we hear
him play this incredible set of 33 variations
(a venture he wanted to undertake,
beyond the call of a virtuoso's duty), we
may wish to match his rendering against
Leonard Shure, whose Epic disc of Op.
120 was released just a few months ago.
In brief, Shure's is great piano playing;
Serkin's is also great music making. Shure
plays with insight, brilliance, and masterly
control; Serkin adds the element of deep
humanity, a keener sense of the .lyric, the
occasionally humorous, the romantic, the
visionary. To compare these discs section
for section is a revealing lesson in music
criticism. The Diabelli Variations is a
work to live with, a towering achievement
of musical structure and meaning; and
Serkin's recreation of it is without a doubt
the finest to be heard today. The recorded
sound is first-rate.
Andor Foldes (who has also recorded
most of the piano music of Bartok ) reveals
hin1self here as a Beethoven player
of stature. His singing tone and sensitive
style are always balanced by an original
and tboughtful approach. His tempi lean
toward the slow side but that leaves us
time to hear below the surface. In the
32 Variations (an early composition of
which I am personally fond, though it is
always in the shadow of the D-iabelli set),
he delivers a superb performance, and all
the rest are provocative and delightful
too. The sound I find a bit blas ty and
shaky in spots, less than ideal.
K. G. R.
Chopinesque Bouquet
• CHOPIN: Nocturnes - E-flat , Op. 9,
No. 2, D-fla f, Op. 27, No. 2; Pofonaise in C
Minor, Op. 40, No. 2; Scheno in B-flat Minor,
Op. 31 ; Barcarofle in F-sharp , Op. 60; Waltz
in C-sharp Minor, Op. 64, No.2; Grande Valse
bri/fante, Op. 18.
Rudolf Firkusny (pia no). Capitol PAO 8428.
• CHOPIN: Polonaise in A-flat, Op. 53 ;
Impromptu in G-flat , Op. 51; Nocturne in F
Maior, Op. 15, No. 1; Ba/fade in G Minor, Op.
23; Scherzo in C-sharp Minor, Op. 39 ; Mazurka
in C-sharp Minor, Op. 50, No. 3; Waltzes­
D-flaf, Op. 64, No. 3; C-sharp Minor, Op. 64,
No.2; D-flaf , Op. 70, No. 2; A-flat, Op. 42,
A-flat, Op. 69, No.1; A Minor, Op. 34, No. 2.
Ph ilippe Entremont (piano). Concert Hall
CHS 1502.
Isn't it really incredible how many good
pianists there are? No age, I would venture,
has boasted such an array of masterly
keyboard p layers as this: if the 19th
century was the great age of piano composition,
the 20th may well be the great
age of piano playing.
According to the One H undredth Issue
of the Schwann Catalogue of long playing
records (Congratulations! How would
we get along without our "lieber
Schwann"?) and its Artist Listing, this is
Firkusny's first Chopin disc. As expected
from tlns fine musician, it offers fine balance
between inlpassioned statement and
intellectual control, between bravura
technique and a sense of poetry. Favor
the bass when you p lay tlns; the fortissim
os are h arsh, and the surfaces none too
quiet.
56
MOOR E - THE DEVIL AN D DANIEL
WEBSTER. B rillia ntly interpreted by Lawrence
Winters a nd an all-star cast. (O P W-
11032)
u T here ar en Jt many American operas that
reach t he status of lasting ciassics. T he
Deuil a nd D an ieL W ebster is s urely one 0/
them ! An excellent recording! n
- T he San Francisco Examiner
GERSHWIN- Piano Concerto in F (XWN
18684). P ia no Concerto in F - R hapsody in
B lue (XWN 18685). Piano Concer to in F ­
An American in Paris (XWN 18686). R hapsody
In B lue--An American in Paris (XWN
18687). Utah Symphony. conducted by Maunce
Abravanel. Reid Nibley-Piano soloist.
"'Capture!t the flauo r 0/ Gershwin's music
more completely than any recorded version
we have heard. " - Philadelphia Daily News
J . S. BACH - COMPLETE BRAN DEN­
BURG CONCERTOS. Pro Arte Chamber BADURA-SKODA CONDUCTS AND
Orchestra of Munich. Conducted by K urt PLA YS MOZART. Piano Concerto No. 14
Redel. (Two record set: XWN 2219. Also E Flat a nd Piano Concerto No. 22 E F lat
available singly: X WN 18647/ 18648).
(XWN186611 .Piano Concerto N o. 19 F and
'~The r.e is iC?): and life in .t hese interpretation
s In a~dttton to UI.!tUOSI~'y of t.he h ighest "Nobody else ill Ihe pianislic world can beat
Piano Concerto No. 24 C Minor'(XWN 18662).
order. TillS release wIll satls/y any tm;te in Badura-Shoda . whose art. as expressed in
Bach per/orm.ance."
Mozart , is exquisite. tonally radiant/"
- Review of Recorded Music.
-Cincinnati E nquirer
* Ask for our history - making complete
Berlioz Requiem . See and hea r Westmi nst er at your .
R ec ord ~ d at the Inval id es in Paris. dea ler today ! Send l or your ~ ....- ...-..
Hermann Sehe rehen con duct ing. Iree copy 01 t he lamous ~
. . Westmi nst er eatalo~ . ." .'elJp»~,:;:;;
Wnte: Westminster Recording Sales Corp., 275 Seventh Avenue, New York. N. Y
HI F I
we
Sooner or later all pianists turn to Chopin;
if Firkusny comes rather late in the
enormous list of such recorded recitals,
E ntremont is perhaps a bit too early. He
is a big talent, no doubt; sensitive as well
as brilliant. But his work is still uneven:
exciting in the G minor Ballade, superficial
in the A minor and A-Hat waltzes;
fiery in the C sharp minor Scherzo, mannered
in the C-sharp minor Waltz. When
there is 'so much sublime "competition,"
a disc like tlns sounds too much like
"look what I can do." And why, for a
player not yet sufficiently known by sight
as well as sound, is there no room for a
cover or liner photo of the 23-year old
Frenchman? The recording is good, except
for one bad tape splice.
K. G. R_
Mozart, Son & Father
• MOZART: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor
(K. 550); Eine kleine Nachtmusik (K. 525).
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Willia m
Steinberg cond o Capitol PAO 8432.
• MOZART: Symphony No. 35 in D Maior
(K. 385 ) (" Haffner" ); Divertimento in
B-flat (K. 287).
Phil harmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Ka rajan
condo Angel 35562.
IIIFI & MUSIC R EVIEW