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Marantz 2270 receiver

Advent's smaller loudspeaker

Harman-Kardon CAD -5 cassette deck

Heath organ kit

Sherwood SEL-300 FM tuner

FM Antennas -The Right One for Youplus 6 popular models compared

Reviews 11 Four-Channel Discs and Tapes

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THE FISHER PHILOSOPHY OFEQUIPMENT DESIGN. PART 4.COMMON SENSE INAMPLIFIER CONTROLS.

This is the fourth of a new series of ads about the majorconceptual differences between Fisher components andother makes. It is not necessary to have read the first three adsbefore reading this one, but see footnote in italics below.

Every dyed-in-the-wool audiophile has heard himselfaccused of preferring knob twiddling and switch throw-ing to music. The accusation is, of course, monstrously

unfair and probably motivated by envy, but it does raise avalid question: Is it strictly in the service of music that thereare all those controls on the front panel?

The answer is simple:It depends on the manufacturer.Fisher does not

believe in putting ginger-bread on a high-fidelitycomponent. Every controlon a Fisher receiver or am- 0

plifier must have a well-defined function related tothe enjoyment of records,tapes or broadcasts andmust be clearly helpful to Fig. 1. Frequency response curvesthe critical user at leastoccasionally. This common- tone controls. Note that the slope ofsense approach to controls each curve remains the same; only

the turnover point changes.is an important part of our"balanced component" philosophy.

It is also part of this philosophy that price must notbe allowed to influence the quality of controls on a Fishercomponent, only their number. Obviously, a higher -pricedcomponent will have a greater number of controls forspecial requirements, but the essential controls are designedthe same way on the lowest -priced and the highest -pricedFisher.

Among the controls that have to do with amplifierfunctions (FM tuning will be the subject of the next ad inthis series), the following are absolutely basic to the Fisherpersonality in receivers and amplifiers.

1. The four-way speaker selector (main, remote,main + remote, phones) comes with every model, regard -

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of the various settin s of Baxandall

Fig. 3. At only $249.95, the Fisher 201 is the lowest -priced AM/FM stereo receiverin the Fisher line, yet it incorporates all of the sophisticated controls described above.

FISHERWe invented high fidelity.

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BMW

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Fig. 2. Frequency response curvesof the various settings of conventional

tone controls. Note that the slope ofthe curves keeps changing; the turnover

point remains the same

less of price. We believe that the bedroom, den and playroomhave assumed almost equal importance with the livingroom in high-fidelity listening and that a single pair ofspeakers per family will soon be a thing of the past.

2. The volume control is always of the loudness -compensated type, but on every model there is a loudnesscontour switch that inserts or removes the compensationat the option of the user. (Nonremovable loudness contourcompensation can result in distressing boominess when theactual listening level in a given room is not what the man-ufacturer anticipated for each setting of the volume control.)The amount of compensation is set to correspond with the

Fletcher -Munson curvesfor the average humanear-and not just in thebass region but at highfrequencies as well.

3. The tone con-trols are without excep-tion of the highly pref-erable Baxandall type.Named after the Englishengineer who originallydeveloped them, thesefeedback -type controlshave a uniquely gradu-

ated boosting and cutting action, operating only at thefrequency extremes at their lower settings and affectingthe midrange only in their most advanced positions (seeFig. 1). This is a much more sophisticated kind of cor-rection, corresponding more closely to high-fidelity needs,than the "semaphore" action of ordinary bass and treblecontrols, which almost invariably unbalance the midrangeregardless of the degree of boost or cut desired (see Fig. 2).

4. Filters are provided on all units: one or two forthe highs and, on some models, one for the lows. Whereverpossible, they are steep -cutoff networks with a slopeapproaching 12 dB per octave.

5. The tape monitor switch has become a way oflife with Fisher. Anyone who buys a Fisher component,at any price, will be able to monitor a tape recording whilehe is making it, switching back and forth between the pro-gram source and the tape recorder at will. You cannot make

a good tape unless you can hear whatyou are doing.

The only possible objectionto all these strictly functional,common- sense amplifier controlsis that we offer no toys, no spaceshiplevers and gauges, for the secret day-dreamer to play engineer with.

To that we can only reply: Whenyou own a Fisher component, you don'tneed daydreams.

The next ad in this series will explain how the Fisher design philosophy applies to the problems of FM tuning. Others will follow.Don't miss any of them. But just in case you do, you may want to get on the mailing list for a free reprint of the entire series. To obtain this valuable booklet, or to

receive free technical literature on any of nearly a hundred Fisher products, write to Fisher Radio, Dept. HF-4, 11-44 45th Road, Long Island City N.Y. 11101.

Beware of Stylus Carnivorous,The Vinyl Cannibal.

Stylus Carnivorous maylook cute but his looks are de-ceiving. He's definitely a char-acter to avoid. And you canavoid him easily enough simplyby understanding the followingbasic facts about the stylus inyour phonograph cartridge.

The diamond tip of astylus has a tough time playingrecords month after month.Even with today's minimaltracking force, a diamond isn'tforever. (At most, the best dia-mond stylus may last some 500hours, or long enough to play

about 1100 record sides.)How do you avoid Stylus

Carnivorous? Very simple. Justtake your cartridge to you -high fidelity dealer for a check-up about every six months. Ou-Pickering dealers will be happyto do this for you-free.

If your cartridge is a Pick-ering (and it lust might be, sincemanufacturers install more Pick-erings on record players thanany other cartridge) and if youneed a new stylus, be sure toask for the precise Pickeringreplacement. Ask for the one

that matches the stylus origi-nally engineered for your equip-ment.

So if your stereo has beensounding strange, maybe it'snot your stereo. Maybe it's oldStylus getting Carnivorous.

For our free brochure,''Questions and Answers AboutCartridges and Styli" write toPickering and Co., Inc., Plain-

,viewN.Y. (D PICKERING 1I I 803. "for those who can [4E6 the difference"

All Pickering cartridges are designed for use with all 2 and 4 -channelCIRCLE 54 ON READER -SERVICE CARD

matrix derived compatible systems.

H1(;11 1:11)LLITY MAGAZINE

April 1972

music and musicians

Leonard Marcus THE OLD SCHOOL TIES

Jack Hiemenz LARGEST RECORDING PROJECT IN HISTORYTaping the complete Haydn Symphonies

Edward Greenfield IVES FROM ENGLANDBehind the scenes in London

Joan Peyser THE COMING GENERATION OF MUSICIANSHas the "rock revolution" influenced them?

Dale Harris THE LOST ART OF FRENCH VOCAL STYLE

No. 4

4

12

20

62

102

audio and videoTOO HOT TO HANDLE 24

NEWS AND VIEWS 28CBS-SQ leads in four -channel race ... New fans for Dolby

EQUIPMENT IN THE NEWS 30

EQUIPMENT REPORTS 35Marantz 2270 receiver

Harman-Kardon CAD -5 cassette deckSherwood SEL-300 tuner

Heathkit/Thomas TO -101 organThe Smaller Advent loudspeaker

Leonard Feldman HOW TO CHOOSE AN FM ANTENNA 49SIX FM ANTENNAS COMPARED 55

recordingsOUR FIRST QUADRAPHONIC REVIEWS 69

Six SQ discsFour other encoded discs

Seven Q-8 cartridge tapes

FEATURE REVIEWS 74A splendid rock musical: Two Gentlemen of Verona

All 106 Haydn symphonies

CLASSICAL REVIEWS 78Karajan's Fidelio ... Horowitz and Chopin ... Davis' Dido

IN BRIEF 104POP REVIEWS 106

Paul McCartney ... Carly Simon ... The Rolling Stones

JAZZ REVIEWS 111Stan Getz ... Maple Leaf Rag Marathon ... Mary Lou Williams

R. D. Darrell THE TAPE DECK 116Cassette side -break atrocities ... G & S sonic spectacular

etc.LETTERS 6

Four -channel come-on ... Down with the warhorsesTHOSE WERE THE DAYS 16

A nostalgic romp through our old issues

PRODUCT INFORMATION 25An "at home" shopping service 93

ADVERTISING INDEX 92

r

Is anybody rocking? See page 62.

Tuning in. See page 49.

Quadruple your pleasure? Boa page 89.

Published at Great Barrington Mess 01230 by 8rilbord aublcetions. Inc111:11:1:1Copyright C 1972 by Billboard Publiwrions Inc The !mein and contentsof High f deity Magure are fully pr. tried by coPrleht and Mall not by

reproduced in any manner Second class postage pre at Greet Berungton and at additionalmailing offices Authorized as second class mail by toe Post Office Department. Ottawa andMr payment d poster in cash Nigh Fidelity 'Muse: I Amen. Edrtion s pubtrued mcnthlySubscription in the USA and its Possessions $14 eiservhe e 615 An end rig to MP.one year. 16.000 yen. surface rate 5.400 yen Subsc option mcluding Concert Are! OrrectoryPublished in December $20 in the U S A and it: Pas: sines elsewhere. .121 Regularmoues $1.25 a cony National and other editions at blishel monthly Subsuistmn in theU S A and Possesoons $795 An mail rate to Japan one rear 14 000 yen. or mail rateto Germany one year 133 DM Subscription rates for all othr countries evade DI.. oe requestRegular issues 751 a copy Indered in the Readers guide a Periodical Leery err Currentand back copies of High Fidelity ad High Fidelity4Ausical America a triable on mrcrolitinfrom University Micro' ilms Ann Aroor. Michigan 5,06 Gump al madras intim andmadolimmd cooks (Farm 1579) drool be addresol to Mir Fidality, SolasOP11.4 IMMO.mot, P.O. Is 14156, Caminnatt, Ohio 45214. Plum di. balk 614 awl aces Mimeowho ratiomtios a amigo

The Old School Ties

This month for the first time we have an article by Joan Peyser. For thoseof you who read the entertainment section of the Sunday New York Times,Joan's byline will be familiar from her many revealing and provocativeinterviews of musicians. Her article here should prove just as provocative.I had asked her to investigate the influence that the rock era of the late'50s and '60s had on today's serious young musicians. The results werehardly what either of us had expected.

In our first meeting to discuss the project, we discovered that we hadonce been classmates-Mrs. Tarlowe's class at the High School of Musicand Art in New York. We chatted about other former classmates, and thatevening I was moved to find my old yearbook and spend a few nostalgichours with it. Some of the kids had gone on to make public names forthemselves. But within a few months another classmate was to becomeeven better known.

Joan had left school before graduation, so she didn't appear in the book.But the others did. I was especially taken by the squibs that accompaniedthe yearbook photos, for at times they proved prophetic. Milton Glaser,for instance, is today one of the most prestigious American commercialgraphic designers, and the only artist of that persuasion (along withothers from the Push Pin Studio he heads) ever to be exhibited at theLouvre. David Wise, the Washington Bureau Chief of the New YorkHerald -Tribune before that paper's demise, is best known as the authorof The U-2 Affair, The Invisible Government, and The Espionage Establish-ment and is currently working on a book about the dissemination ofgovernmental information. Here is what our yearbook showed aboutthem (Overtone was the school paper, which David edited):

MILTON GLASERHe's so good when using paintThat Picasso filed complaint.

DAVID WISE

Overtone's star is on the rise,Watch that byline: David Wise!

But David wasn't our only classmate to become fascinated with under-cover operations. Here is our class treasurer:

CLIFF IRVING

Cliff. at six foot two you'll see,Maestro of our treasury.

Admittedly, the above has little to do with high fidelity. But it intriguedand amused me, and I thought it might do the same for you.

Besides, why should Life have all the fun?Next month we will let you know how to be secretive too, via STEREO'S

ULTIMATE INTIMACY, a survey of new headphones. And in A CLASHOF EGOS, we will look at the personal relationships within the EugeneIstomin-Isaac Stern -Leonard Rose Trio.

LEONARD MARCUSEditor

NORMAN EISENBERGExecutive Editor

PETER G. DAVISMusic Editor

ROBERT LONGAudioVideo Editor

SHIRLEY FLEMINGEditor, Musical America Section

EDITH CARTERAssociate Editor

WAYNE ARMENTROUTSHEILA SCHULTZAssistant Editors

ROY LINDSTROMArt Director

ROBERT MADDOCKSAssociate Art Director

RUTH W. DUNTONProduction Editor

JUDITH WESTAssistant Production Editor

MORGAN AMESR. D. DARRELLALFRED FRANKENSTEINHARRIS GOLDSMITHDAVID HAMILTONMIKE JAHNPAUL HENRY LANGGENE LEESROBERT C. MARSHGEORGE MOVSHONH. C. ROBBINS LANDONContributing Editors

STANLEY BINDERCirculation Manager

CLAIRE N. EDDINGSAssociate Publisher andDirector of Advertising Sales

WARREN B. SYERPublisher

Cover photograph by Roy Lindstrom

ADVERTISING

Main Office: Claire N. Eddings. The Publishing House.Great Barrington, Mass. 01230. Telephone: 413-528-1300.

New York: 165 W. 46th St.. New York. N.Y. 10036. Tele-phone: 212-757-2800. Seymour Resnick, Eastern Adv.Mgr.

New England The Publishing House, Great Barrington,Mass. 01230. Telephone: 413-528-1300. Russell Gilchrist.

Chicago: Billboard Publications, Inc.. 150 North WackerDr., Chicago. III. 60606. Telephone: 312-236-9818.Leonard Levine.

Los Angeles: Billboard Publications. Inc., 9000 SunsetBlvd.. Los Angeles. Calif 90069. Telephone: 213-273-7040. Andrew Spanberger

Nashville: Billboard Publications, Inc., 1719 West EndAve., Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Telephone:615-329-3925.Robert Kendall.

London: 7 Carnaby St.. London W.1 England. Telephone:(01) 437-8090. Andre de Vekey.

Frankfurt/Main: Eschersheimer Landstrasse 69. Frank-turtiMain, West Germany. Telephone (0611) 590805-6.Walter B. Rios.

Milan: Piazzale Loreto 9, Milan 20131, Italy. Telephone:28.29.158. Germano Ruscitto.

Tokyo: Japan Trade Service. Ltd.. Ikejiri 3-1-1-1008,Setagaya-ku, Tokyo. Japan. Telephone: 413-2871.Kanji Suzuki.

4 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

We enjoy telling you how each aspect of the 12year basic research program on sound reproductioncontributed to the unconventional features found inthe Bose 901 and 501 DIRECT/REFLECTING® loud-speakers.* We also take pride in quoting from the un-precedented series of rave reviews because to us theyore like awards won for the best design. t

However, it is important to realize that the re-search and the reviews are of only academic interestunless the speakers really are audibly superior. It is

equally important to realize that YOU are in everysense the ultimate judge, for you are the one who liveswith the sound you choose.

So-forget the rave reviews and the research andsit in judgement of two fascinating experiments. Takeyour most exacting records to any franchised BOSEdealer and:

1. Place the BOSE 901's directly on top of anyother speakers, regardless of their size or price, and

make an A -B listening test with your records.2. P ace the BOSE 501's beside (with at least 2 feet

clearance) any other speaker using woofers, tweetersand crossovers and pe-form the A -B listening test.(Don't ask the price of the 501 before the test)

Then, just enjoy your records. When you finish youwill know why we get much more satisfaction from ourwork than could ever be derived from profits alone.

P.S. If you already own expensive speakers, manydealers will lend you a pair of BOSE 901's for an A -B inyour living room, wnere the acoustics are generally farsuperior to those of the speaker -lined showroom.

* Copies of the Audio Engineering Society paper,'ON THE DESIGN, MEASUREMENT AND EVALUA-TION OF LOUDSPEAKERS', by Dr. A. G. Bose, areavailable from the Bose Corp. for fifty cents.

t For copies of the reviews, circle our number onyour reader service card.

s,

You can hear the difference no=4171,51L='"

Unless they're audibly superiorit's all academic.

The BOSE 901 and BOSE 501 are ccvered bypatent rights, issued and pending.

CIRCLE 15 ON READER -SERVICE CARD

APRIL 1972

This is nota speaker.

It's the

ofmisyoursing part

speaker.What's missing from your

speaker, no matter how muchyou paid for it, is a high -frequencyresponse that remains genuinelyflat off axis. (The 15 -kHz outputof a top -rated $250 speaker, forexample, is down 12 dB at 60°off center.)

The new Microstatic high -frequency speaker system is de-signed to give you this missingresponse when you connect it toany medium or low -efficiencyspeaker of any size or design.And we mean .±-2 dB from 3.5kHz to 18 kHz over a 180° angle!

Microstatic won't change thesound quality of a top -ratedspeaker on axis, but it will makea dramatic improvement in thestereo image and overall trans-parency from any listening posi-tion in the room.

Don't just take our word for it.Read the Hirsch -Houck report inStereo Review. Or Ivan Berger inSaturday Review. Or E.T. Canbyin Audio.

For copies of these rave re-views plus detailed literature,write us directly. Microstatic ispriced at $117a pair(slightlyhigher in the West).

MICROSTATIC'"*a product ofMICRO/ACOUSTICS CORP-

8 Westchester PlazaElmsford, N.Y.10523

'Patent Pending


letters

i IEl Hamerica

Four Channel SoundHow to owe Veto Oto.o.

Records You"Can't Buy"A pirate's guide to burled t

Tasteless cover?Cover Story

It's amazing that a magazine like yours, cer-tainly one of the most important music maga-zines in the country, can give so little attentionto the covers it chooses every month. I don'tknow where or how far I'd have to go to find acover more repulsive than the one for yourNovember issue. No one expects all editors tohave taste, but if yours doesn't, why not findsomeone who does and let him pick the cov-ers?

Mauricio A. MolinaLos Angeles, Calif.

Four -Channel Come -On

I have read with some interest the discussionsin HIGH FIDELITY concerning the advent offour -channel sound. I have even had the op-portunity to hear this new development and Ihave come to the conclusion that it is mainlyfor the benefit of the record and audio indus-try, not for the individual music listener.

Four -channel sound, in my opinion, ismerely a mass advertising scheme: From myobservations quadraphony is a novelty alongthe lines of the fat lady at a circus-an unusualsight at first but after a while the novelty wearsoff.

However four -channel sound is not withouta purpose. It is making the record and audioindustry a great deal of money. The recordcompanies are charging higher prices for theirproducts and the audio companies are makinghigher -priced equipment on which thesehigher -priced records can be played.

The victim of this contrived plot is the not -so -rich music listener who is having troubleenough paying for two -channel records. Andif our music listener listens to anything otherthan the Top 40, he is having a hell of a timejust trying to find the record he wants.

Being a realistic person I know that this let-ter will have absolutely no effect on the devel-opment of four -channel sound. With all themonies already invested and with such greatpotential, the recording industry is not aboutto kill off its golden goose just because oneperson doesn't want to play the game with

them. However, 1 did want to state my tokenopposition to the industry, even if nobody lis-tens.

Thomas E. WallFt. Worth, Tex.

Winded

Cilenhall Taylor's article "Wind Song" [Janu-ary 1972] tried to cover too much too brieflyresulting in a rather shallow presentation. Thetheater -organ section of the discography wassimply not representative of what is available.With a little digging one can find many excel-lent theater organ records tucked away inrecord shops: Mr. Taylor's discography listedonly twelve recordings by a mere seven artists.Surely there are many other talented artistsaround. Nothing was indicated about the in-struments on these records: there are othersbesides the "Wurli."

An exciting theater organ record was re-leased a few months back, "Big Bold andBilly: Billy Nalle at the Organ of Long IslandUniversity" (Project 3, PR 5053. $5.98). BillyNalle is one of the contemporary greats; thisrecord deserves a formal review. Decca/Vo-calion may not have done the best job ofpreserving the legendary Jesse Crawford ondisc, but a safe anthology would be "The Bestof Jesse Crawford" (Decca DXS 7171, $9.96).One of the most familiar organs in the countryis the one at Radio City Music Hall, but thediscography failed to suggest even one recordavailable, for instance Victor LSP 3327, $4.98.Also unmentioned were any recordings of thetheater organ playing music to accompanymovies, which was one of the primary reasonsfor the instrument. Warner Brothers' engi-neers did a fine job on their Gus Farney re-leases (S 1359, S 1409, S 1433, $4.98 each).There are records by Ashley Miller, Ray Boh.Lee Erwin, and many others that deservedattention. Perhaps reference could also havebeen made to a mail-order club that producesits own monthly recording of different instru-ments and artists (Concert Recording, Lyn-wood, California 90262).

Donald R. If ogerHyde Park, N.Y.

The biographical footnote to "Wind Song"states that Glenhall Taylor is a "former musi-cian." My question is, "How former"?

I have never read an article that created somany wrong impressions about organs. WhileMr. Taylor is not wrong in his facts, to those ofus who play the Pope of Instruments the em-phasis in his article is so wrong that it is infu-riating.

Mr. Taylor should have said somethingabout the great revival of classical organ con-struction, the return to low wind pressures,positivs and the werkprinzip. It is true thatthere is some interest in salvaging silent -movietheater organs, the "Mighty Wurlitzers," forhome use, but the main thrust in organ con-struction since World War II at least has beena return to the classical, the baroque.

And, with one exception, the manufacturersof electronic noisemakers should never be


Announcing anendto the age-old power strugglebetween the left and the right.

Every stereo receiver has two amplifiers. And in orderto amplify, they both need power.

But until now, receivers have only had one power source.And that's been the source of a big problem.

When the left channel takes power, it's stealing fromthe right. Since the right also needs power, it doesn't

give up without a fight.And in the ensuing battle, you lose.

Bass notes sound fuzzy. Treble becomes veiled. And the receivertends to "break up" when you need it most-at high volume.

To put an end to the struggle, Harman-Kardon designed a new kind of receiver: the 930.The 930 is the first receiver with twin power. It has two entirely separate power supplies:

one for the left channel and one for the right. That way, they peacefully coexist.When one channel needs power it simply takes what it needs-without affecting the other.As a result, the 930 can handle enormous tone bursts at full volume without straining.

In fact, its distortion curve isn't even a curve. You can draw it with a straight edge.(Total harmonic distortion remains below 0.5% from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz -at full rated output,45/45 watts RMS, both channels driven simultaneously into 8 ohms.)

The 930 costs $369.95. Which is about what you'd pay for a good receiver without twin power.So, the only question is which you'd rather have:War or peace.For complete information, write:

Harman-Kardon, Inc., 55 Ames Court,Plainview, New York 11803. harman kardon

The Harman-Kardon 930.The first receiver with twin power.

CIRCLE 34 ON READER SERVICE CARD

allowed to call their keyboard instruments"organs," even "electric organs." Thesesquawkers have their place in rock-and-rollbands, hut Buxtehude and Bach should behonored with a truly classical, correctly voicedinstrument.

And Mr. Taylor should have known enoughto have mentioned it!

Joe BillingsHollywood. Calif.

Mr. Taylor replies: Mr. Hoger's contention that"Wind Song" lacked depth is not one withwhich I shall argue: An in-depth history of theorgan could not possibly he compressed to fitwithin the pages of HIGH FIDELITY. Nor can Iquarrel with exceptions he takes regarding thediscography that accompanied the article. I amfully aware it is selective and not definitive. Onecriterion that guided my choices was easy avail-ability of the records: to list excellent hut hard -

to -locate discs would do a disservice to a poten-tial purchaser. Hence, current Schwan', listingswere the principal guideposts.

I regret that tfr. Billings felt my article to he"infuriating" because of what he terms "wrongemphasis." Emphasis, / suggest. is somethinglike beauty: It is in the eve of the beholder. Ac-tually. I intended no emphasis; / merely tried tosketch an extremely brief' history of the organand its origins.

As for not mentioning "the great revival ofclassical organ construction, the return to lowwind pressures, positivs, the werkprinzip, "etc.,I can only reply that innumerable interestingdetails regarding the organ were left unsaid sim-ply because of space limitations. To include ev-ery organ bars favorite subjects (even were I

qualified, which I'm not) would require an ency-clopedic tome rather than a magazine article.

I agree with him that "organ" is a misnomerfor an electronic keyboard instrument. Howabout "hammond"? Most laymen call it that re-gardless of trade name or method of tone pro-duction.

Opening the Repertoire

It is saddening to see the record manufac-turers, particularly the so-called "majors," re-stricting their new releases even further thisyear-blaming "the market." "decreasing de-mand." etc.. etc. One wonders who is really toblame?

Perhaps manufacturers can explain whythey continue to grind out more and more ver-sions of worn-out workhorses? Really now, at$6.00 how many recordings of the EmperorConcerto can the average person afford? TheOctober Schwann catalogue lists 35 of them,along with 23 of the Brahms B flat Concerto-vet only I of Rubinstein's 4 concertos is cur-rently listed, only I of Moscheles' 8. only 3 ofField's 7. There are 33 recordings of Schu-bert's Unfinished Symphony and 24 of Dvot-A's New World. but none of Arnold Bax'ssymphonies, only I recording of Dvofak'sFirst. Second and Third symphonies (part of acollection), and no listings of Saint-Satinssfirst two symphonies. There are 159 recordingsof Bach Cantatas (not including the set by theMusical Heritage Society) but only 1 of Elgar'scantatas is on record. Tchaikovsky's ViolinConcerto appears 22 times, but only 2 ofSpohr's 15 concertos are listed, and only 2 ofV iotti's 29. Only 4 of Bruch's works arc left

and only 15 of Reger's 147 opus numbers arerepresented. and this only scratches the sur-face.

Perhaps if the majors would take a cue fromsomeone like Vox, who is releasing new mate-rial all the time (and much of it at budgetprices, to hoot), they could stop blaming us fortheir marketing failures.

Jerry RutledgeWaseca. Minn.

The Alkmaar Organ

In the October 1971 issue Clifford F. Gilmoreseeks to override rather roughly some thought-ful comments by Mr. Bernard A. Engholmconcerning Helmut Walcha's tempos in theperformance of Bach's organ music.

Objecting to Mr. Gilmore's previous com-ment that "Helmut Walcha and his style ofplaying are now, at best, passe," Mr. Engholmspeaks of the influence that a historic instru-ment often imposes on performance. His veryreasoned discussion is pontifically dismissedwith "the idea that Walcha's tempos werelimited by the 'speaking tempos' of the historicinstrument is totally insupportable." AndMr. Gilmore continues, "Any tracker organin good mechanical condition. as Alkmaarcertainly is . . . is capable of speaking at al-most any sane tempo."

Please he informed that Mr. Gilmore isentirely wrong. and that no one with knowl-edge would make such sweeping statements.The playing action. or "touch," at Alkmaaris quite abnormally heavy. It inevitably affectsperformance. though not necessarily to theirdetriment. Considering the size of the instru-

When we first introduced our LH tape, we opened a fewgralloid °Pening

I doors that had never been opened before. Like a neat,little plastic box for storing or mailing all your favorite

cassettes, 3" reels and Super -8 or 8mm films.Just think. The world's quietest, most sen-

sitive tape together with the world's finesttape package. BASF LH. Not bad for

openers. See your dealer today orwrite BASF Systems, Inc., Bedford,

Massachusetts 01730.

BASF AUDIO/VIDEO PRODUCTS


HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

Straight talk about a ftyluf

Listen carefully and you can still hear some audiophiles refer to the recordstylus as... "the needle." Although we are not about to quibble oversemantics, we would like to go on record, so to speak, as observing that thestylus of today bears no more resemblance to a needle than it does to aten -penny nail. In fact, it is probably the most skillfully assembled, criticallyimportant component in any high fidelity system. It must maintain flawlesscontact with the undulating walls of the recorl groove - at the whisper -weight tracking forces required to preserve the fidelity of your recordsthrough repeated playings. We put everything we know into our ShureStereo Dynetic Stylus Assemblies - and we tell all about it in an informa-tive booklet. "Visit To The Small World Of A Stylus." For your copy, write:

Shure Brothers Inc.222 Hartrey Ave., Evanston, Ill. 60204

APRIL 1972CIRCLE 65 ON READER -SERVICE CARD

Bringing upthe rear.

TheADC 404A.If you've hesitated aboutmaking the switch to fourchannel because of thecomplications posed byrear speaker placement,relax.

We've got the answer.It's our ADC 404A.

The choice of leadingtesting organizations fortwo channel systems,this unobtrusive, highquality, low cost speakeris also the perfect solu-tion to the biggest hangup in four channel soundreproduction.

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ment and the reverberation in the church, Mr.Walcha's performances are eminentlyappropriate.

And as for tracker organs in general, andin good condition-old or new-they varyconsiderably in touch resistance. Some areheavy, some moderately so, and some verylight. It is possible, though not musical, toplay the latter so fast that the pipes are hardlygiven a chance to speak. But such perform-ances can hardly be considered good Bachstyle.

Wijnand van de PolRome, Italy

Mr. Gilmore replies: Mr. Van de Pol clearlytakes more pleasure in Helmut Walcha's Bachplaying than I do; that's fine. But let's not con-fuse the issue by first implying that Walcha wasforced to restrict his tempos by the heavy touchof the Alkmaar organ and then proclaiming thathis tempo choices are, in any case, absolutelyright. Walcha's attitudes about tempo seemed tobe very consistent in all his recordings no matterwhat organ he played. Therefore, I think it'ssafe to assume that his choices were madestrictly for musical reasons and were not undulyaffected by the weight of the organ action.

Now, it's very true that the inherent structureof an organ dictates a maximum tempo and thatto play the instrument any faster would be un-practical. It's also true that the maximum tempowill usually be somewhat slower on a mechani-cal action than on an electrical action. Further-more, Alkmaar's relatively heavy action is cer-tainly more restricting than some other lightermechanical actions. However, that maximumfor Alkmaar is still quite a bit above anythingWalcha attempted. We need only investigateother recordings of this magnificent instrument(by E. Power Biggs on Columbia or a Nonesuchdisc of French organ music, for instance) to seethat the action cannot be held responsible forponderous, lugubrious playing. And tempo isonly one of several contributing factors to thelugubriousness I'm referring to.

The Boulez Parsifal

David Hamilton's review of the Boulez Parsi-faI[November 1971] is disturbing, not so muchfor what it says, but for what it doesn't say. Heindicates that he has read the Boulez essay inthe libretto (he even calls it "stimulating"), butthe body of his review shows near total obliv-iousness to the contents of the essay. Nowwhile I'm not suggesting that a conductor hejudged as a writer or even a thinker, there doesseem to be an important point at stake here.

In his essay, M. Boulez discusses at somelength his conception of what Parsifal is andhow it should go. Certainly the questions ofhow well M. Boulez has achieved his objec-tives and whether these objectives are worthachieving are legitimate critical concerns. ButMr. Hamilton seems to be criticizing M. Bou-lez for not producing the Parsifal that he(Hamilton) wanted him to.

Normally, interpreters are not so articulateabout their intentions as M. Boulez is. Thusthe critic is free to judge the performance byhow well it accords with his own ideas aboutthe work. But it does seem in this case thatsome attention might have been given to thefact that M. Boulez has a strikingly unusualview of Parsifal and has (in my opinion)largely been successful in conveying it. To this

I can only add that the Boulez Parsifal hasprofoundly altered my view of the work itselfand Wagner in general. No small achievementfor one recording.

Gregg PrivetteDurham, N.C.

Mr. Hamilton replies: Mr. Privette raises an in-teresting point, one that in literary criticism hasacquired a rather tone name: "the intentionalfallacy." In a reductio ad absurdum, the in-tentionalisl position could be taken to mean thata poet whose work has been judged bad needonly announce that bad poetry was what he wastrying to write anyway-ergo, he had done welland should be praised.

Not that Mr. Privette is taking such an ex-treme position-but it seems to me that the criticmust attempt to judge first of all in terms of thecomposer's requirements. In the review I diddraw a distinction between the "Boulez ap-proach" and its "flawed execution"-partic-ularly because my own distaste for sloppy play-ing and inaccurate singing was reinforced by thestrong impression that these phenomena are notpart of the conductor's approach. And if onlybecause most people buy records in order to lis-ten to them a record review should address itselfto what is heard on the discs, rather than to whatis in the booklet. In this case there is much ofinterest and stimulation in the conductor's essay(although I am not sure in what way some of hisobservations would affect actual performancedecisions), but nothing that improves the play-ing and singing that emerged from the speaker.

Bjoerling's D Flats

When I read David Hamilton's review of"The Art of Jussi Bjoerling" [September1971], I was a little surprised at his surmisethat Bjoerling had only once, in "Cujus ani-mam" from Rossini's Stabat Mater, recordeda D flat. But he did on at least one other oc-casion: in his recording of "Ich hab' kein Geld"from Millocker's Der Bettelstudent, recordedon April 28, 1938 (available in the UnitedStates on Rococo 5201). This D flat is healthyand youthful and really "tossed off." Bjoerlingwas twenty-seven when he made this record-ing which, by the way, was in the same yearas his "Cujus animam."

011e AnderssonRamsele, Sweden

High Fidelity, April 1972, Vol. 22. No. 4. Pub-lished monthly by Billboard Publications. Inc., publisherof Stereo, Stereo International, Modern Photography,American Artist. Billboard. Vend. Amusement Business.Merchandising Week. Music Labo, Photo Weekly,Gift & Tableware Reporter, Record & Tape Retailer,Record Mirror. Discografia Internazionale. WorldRadio TV Handbook.

High Fidelity/Musical America. Edition publishedmonthly. Member Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Editorial correspondence should be addressed to TheEditor, High Fidelity, Great Barrington, Mass. 01230.Editorial contributions will be welcomed. Payment forarticles accepted will be arranged prior to publication.Unsolicited manuscripts should be accompanied byreturn postage.

Subscriptions should be addressed to High Fidelity.2160 Patterson St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45214. Subscrip-tion rates: High Fidelity/ Musical America: In the U.S.A.and its Possessions, 1 year $14; elsewhere, 1 year $15.National and other editions published monthly: In theU.S.A. and its Possessions, 1 year $7.95. Subscriptionrates for all other countries available on request.

Change of address notices and undelivered copies(Form 3579) should be addressed to High Fidelity. Sub-scription Fulfillment Dept., P.O. Box 14156, Cincinnati,Ohio 45214.

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speaking ofrecords

by Jack Hiemenz

TheLargest

Recording Projectin History

THE MUSICAL HERITAGE SOCIETY iS anAmerican record company, but theirHaydn Symphony project is Viennesefrom the roots up. Dr. Michael Naida,the Society's president, wanted it thatway, wanted these performances toshimmer with a characteristically Vien-nese string sound, wanted the musiciansto be natives of the land that wasHaydn's source of inspiration. Accord-ingly, he picked the Vienna ChamberOrchestra, a composite of musiciansfrom the Vienna Philharmonic and theVienna Symphony. The recording ses-sions took place in that city, under thebaton of Ernst Maerzendorfer of theVienna State Opera.

That was over four years ago. Thelargest single recording project in historyis now complete [see review, page 75].Paradoxically, Maerzendorfer is not par-ticularly noted as a conductor of thesymphonic repertory. Since his schooldays (he was a pupil of Clemens Krauss)his principal associations have been withopera companies. From 1945 to 1951 heheaded the Graz Opera. Then came atwo-year stint at the Teatro Colon inBuenos Aires, followed by his perma-nent appointment at the Vienna StateOpera. In this country he has appearedwith the New York City Opera, thePhiladelphia Lyric Opera, and the Op-era Society of Washington.

Only in the past year, as an outgrowth

Ernst Maerzendorfer-Haydn first to last.

of the Haydn project, has he made anAmerican showing in anything outsidethe operatic repertory. This was last Oc-tober, when he and the Vienna ChamberOrchestra spent a month touring theUnited States and Mexico-with Haydn,of course, dominating their programs.

Maerzendorfer is well into middleage, shortish, ruddy -faced, with thinningbrown hair brushed straight back. Meet-ing him in a downtown Manhattanapartment, I find him with his spiritsrunning high. There seems not a trace ofweariness; though he has just completedhis tour. To my confession that I am noexpert of Haydn symphonies, he offersan optimistic reassurance: "That's allright. Before this interview is over. I

make you an expert!"Toward America he is brimming with

enthusiasm. But then he has three verysubstantial reasons for his enthusiasm.His pretty blond wife is American. Thecross-country tour has been a hearteningsuccess. And America is a good land forHaydn. Elaborating on the third point,he cites conductors of American orches-tras-like Szell and Bernstein-for theirefforts in behalf of the lesser -knownHaydn symphonies, while bemoaningsuch European ensembles as the ViennaPhilharmonic for their adherence to thesame handful of familiar items. "This isone of the great merits of the Americanmusical scene," he says. "It is no accident

that the idea for recording the completeHaydn symphonies should have origi-nated here."

Maerzendorfer feels these perform-ances have captured the Viennese am-bience sought by Dr. Naida. He alsopoints out that the performances in-corporate the latest musicological find-ings, particularly those by H. C. RobbinsLandon.

"They are so important-and they af-fect all the symphonies," he asserts."Even in the case of the late Londonsymphonies we have had to incorporateall sorts of changes. The editions pub-lished by Breitkopf and Hartel are aproduct of the last century. The pub-lishers hired violin teachers as editors,men who knew about fingering and bow-ing. Unfortunately, the kind of bowingthey applied to these scores was more inkeeping with the elegant salon style oftheir own time. And so they changedstaccatos into legatos, and legatos intostaccatos-whatever they felt made itmore `violinistic'. But if you go back toHaydn's original phrasings, what youfind is something with far more characterand style. This is what we have done. Itwas sheer torture having all those partsre-edited, but we did it."

So much for the later symphonies.Landon's findings vis-à-vis the earlierpieces are equally startling. These bearespecially upon the parts previously as-sumed to be written for solo cello. UntilLandon came along, there seemedample evidence for this assumption. Forin Haydn's handwriting is the indication"violonc:", which everyone took to be anabbreviation for "violincello!' Also, theparts are-for a cello-tremendouslyhigh and difficult to play. So much so,Maerzendorfer indicates, that "nobodywould have dreamed that Haydn ac-tually had in mind a lower instrument!'

Yet this is the case. The part, accord-ing to Landon's evidence, was intendedfor the double bass. The final letter at theend of "violoncr, it turns out, is not a cbut an e, thus completing the word "viol -one',' which means double bass. The factthat Haydn had written a concerto fordouble bass (a lost work, but mentionedin Haydn's catalogue) indicates the pres-ence of an outstanding double -bassplayer in the Esterhazy orchestra, some-one capable of negotiating Haydn's de-mands for stratospheric tessitura.

Equally extreme tessituras, both highand low, are to be found in the hornparts. "They were our main problem!'Maerzendorfer admits. "Because theyare so high, any error is instantly notice-able. For this reason we had to redo en-tire movements. It was very taxing forthe players. Sometimes we overdid it;then their lips began bleeding!'

It might have gone more easily had

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they not been adhering to another ofLandon's discoveries. All the C majorsymphonies-and there are lots ofthem-were scored for high C horns.These symphonies are generally per-formed with their horn parts transposedan octave down.

A lot of work, then. Was it worthdoing? "There's not one weak piece,'Maerzendorfer declares. "Certainly theydon't all have the grandeur of the laterworks. But this is no reason for denigrat-ing the so-called minor pieces. They arenot weak-only different.

"So much of Haydn is terra incognita;'he continues. "Of Mozart, of Beethoven,most of us have pretty complete pictures.But not of Haydn. His output was so big.All those symphonies-and the diver-timentos and the sonatas! We becomediscouraged. So it becomes very easy tosay, 'Well, a lot of it is second-rate! Butwe are only fooling ourselves!'

He lambastes all the conventional"lazy" notions about the Haydn sym-phonies-that they are all alike; that ifyou've heard one minuetto, you've heardthem all; that it all sounds like Mozart.

Instead, he stresses their tremendousscope. "They are so different from eachother, so full of new ideas. No. 64, for in-stance. How unbelievably modern is itsslow movement with its touch of the We-bern spirit. Haydn plays a beautifulhymnlike adagio. But then he interruptsit-hic!-with one single note. He starts itover-and again hic! And again andagain, throughout the movement-allthese staccato points in the midst of anadagio! It's not merely an isolated effect,either. It's a basic structural element, thisatomization of sound'.'

I ask him how he feels about the use ofthe harpsichord in the symphonies.Some conductors use it extensively intheir recorded performances. But Maer-zendorfer has chosen not to, exceptwhere Haydn has written a specific linefor it. "These symphonies have out-grown the baroque generalbass style,' hesays in defense of his decision. "Haydnhas developed the four -bar phrase,which comes from the folk tune, andwhich doesn't exist in Bach except in hisdance movements:' He expresses impa-tience with "musicologically exagger-ated" recordings which include both aconstant continuo and a bassoon.

Another decision has been to employmodern-day instruments entirely. Usingold instruments, he feels, would have"made it sound too remote and strange,like Peruvian music. This was not the ef-fect we wanted. Our purpose was topresent, in the kind of orchestral soundto which people are accustomed, thisenormous treasure which has beenburied so long:'



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those were the daysA nostalgic romp through the pages of High Fidelity and Musical America

60 Years AgoArthur Nikisch, en route to the UnitedStates for a nationwide tour with theLondon Symphony Orchestra, told re-porters before he left Liverpool that"Every man once in his lifetime makes agreat mistake; my mistake was in everleaving America at all." The great con-ductor stated also that he keenly remem-bers the appreciation of American au-diences even in the smallest cities.

Marie Ottman, one of Germany's mostpopular opera stars and one of the mostbeautiful women on the stage (she wasthe original German Merry Widow) hasforfeited her contract with the Theaterdes Westens because she has refused towear a scanty negligee in the famousboudoir scene of Offenbach's La belleHelene in a revival of the work by MaxReinhardt. When her replacement in thepart became ill at the last moment, FrauOttman was implored to reconsider, andwas told she could wear whatever sheliked in "the distasteful scene." Thesoprano, however, stood on her artisticdignity and declared that she would notbe "second choice."

40 Years AgoLeopold Stokowski has given the Ameri-can premiere of Arnold Schoenberg'sGurrelieder at the Metropolitan OperaHouse, conducting the Philadelphia Or-chestra and assisted by Paul Althouse,Rose Bampton, and other soloists. "Theperformance was of superb quality. Mr.Stokowski had his numerous forces im-pressively in hand and response to hisbaton was instant and true." The eveningwas a triumph, with the work itself evok-ing enormous enthusiasm. "In externalsthis is a gigantesque work, recalling thedimensions of the many -voiced Bruck-ner and approaching the titanism ofMahler's Symphony of a Thousand."

On April 6 the New Metropolitan OperaAssociation met to discuss a solution tothe economic crisis facing the companythat threatens to make this past seasonNew York's last operatically. Manyideas have been put forth, including asuggestion of merging with the Phila-delphia and Chicago companies. It isdoubtful that this will be adopted, butthe season is understood to hinge upon

drastic economies that in turn dependupon negotiations with the personneland the unions, now in progress. TheBoard of Directors announced that "thecapital of the producing company andmost of its $500,000 reserve fund havebeen depleted to such an extent thatthere are insufficient funds to assure an-other season."

In view of the reduced box officereceipts of this past season, the newlyelected president of the association, PaulD. Cravath, has announced that sub-scription and regular ticket prices will begreatly reduced, and that the 1933-34season will be cut drastically to a min-imum of fourteen, but not more thaneighteen, weeks. Mr. Cravath made nomention of whether or not the expensivestar roster of the Metropolitan would bedepleted; and, indeed, in view of the pre-vailing financial depression, most of theperforming artists-many of them for-eigners-have voluntarily contributed upto 10% of their salaries, and Mr. Gatti-Casazza has offered to work entirelywithout salary.

Jacques Rouche has resigned as directorof the Paris Opera and thrown the capi-tal into a state of operatic crisis. The As-sociation of Theater Directors has de-cided to close all theaters as a protestagainst what is considered an unjust bur-den of taxation. The burden of adminis-tration has rested heavily on M. Rouche:He paid the deficit of 18,000,000 francs-incurred since 1916-out of his ownpocket!

20 Years AgoRCA Victor has finally obtained the ap-proval of Arturo Toscanini to release his1946 broadcast of Puccini's La Boheme.Mr. Toscanini gave this performance incelebration of the fiftieth anniversary ofthe premiere of the opera in Turin, in1896, which he also conducted. "The ap-propriateness of the tempos to both mu-sical and theatrical needs is so completeas to be staggering," ran the HF review.Judging by this recording, "improved insound by modern engineering methods,the performance is nothing short ofmiraculous ... and it can honestly be as-serted that one has not actually heard LaBoheme unless he has heard Mr. Tosca-nini conduct it."

I6 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

Auditionimportant new recordings

months beforethey are available to

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Beethoven's MISSA SOLEMNISsuperbly conducted by EUGEN JOCHUM

Yours for Half Price if you decide to keep it!

MISSA SOLEMNIS, called by Beethoven himself "the most suc-cessful of his intellectual products," has just been given its

definitive modern recording, conducted by the illustrious EugenJochum. This Philips album will not be availableto the American public for manymonths, but you may preview itnow for ten days, without chargeand without obligation. Further-more, should you decide to keepit, you may do so for only halfthe suggested list price at which itwill eventually be sold in stores!

The Carnegie Hall SelectionCommittee's fascinating reportwhich accompanies the album points out whythis performance was singled out for the Com-mittee's recommendation: Jochum's devout,meticulously prepared interpretation .. . the self-effacing artistry of famous vocal soloists AgnesGietiel, Marga Hoffgen, Ernst Haefliger and KarlRidderbusch ... inspired music -making by the peerless Con-certgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and NetherlandsRadio Chorus. Plus the truest, warmest sound of any,Missa Solemnis yet recorded. The two stereo discsthemselves are superior, silent -surfaced Euro-pean pressings, in the International Preview So-ciety's exclusive deluxe edition: elegant slipcase, fulltext, notes and Committee report.

Our preview offer of the Missa Solemnis cannot be repeated!So please mail the attached postpaid card today. Listen for tendays. Then either return the album and pay nothing, or keep itfor only $5.98 complete (plus sales tax where applicable). Thisis a 50% saving off the suggested retail price when the regularedition is finally released (we'll even pay postage ourselves).

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THE INTERNATIONAL PREVIEW SOCIETY333 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60601Please send, for my free preview, the two -record deluxe limited edition of MissaSolemnis by Eugen Jochum. I may return it after ten days and owe nothing, or keepit and pay only $5.98 complete, postage included (sales tax extra, where required).This is 50% cif the suggested list price of the regular edition, when it becomes avail-able months from now. I will also receive, at Intervals of one or more months, free ten-day previews of albums chosen by the Carnegie Hall Selection Committee, in exclu-sive pre-re/ease editions. I may keep any album for no more, and often for far less,than suggested list price. / am not obligated to buy any minimum number of albumsand I may cancel this arrangement at any time.

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APRIL 1972 19

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Heralded by new equipment reportersas a smooth -acting control system withexcellent performance ... a precision -built machine that does its job flaw-lessly ...We couldn't add a single superlativeto this but to say - this vernier -controlled three -speed (33-45-78 rpm)single -play "floating" suspension krn-table with an integral viscous-darr pedtonearm and cueing device, is sJp-plied with base, hinged dust cove-, 45rpm adapter and cables.

See the GA -202 as well as the rewtwo -speed GA -308 at your dealer's.Also see three new Philips CalibratedCartridges or write us for informationtoday!

Department 913NORTH AMERICAN PHILIPS CORPORATION100 East 42nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10)17

behind thescenes

Bernard Herrmann-proprietary Ives.

LONDON

"Too much Camptown Races, too littleTurkey in the Straw," objected the con-ductor with a wag of his finger towardthe left-hand speaker in the controlroom. What else was being recorded buta work of Charles Ives-his Second Sym-phony, with Bernard Herrmann, one ofthe work's early champions, conductingthe London Symphony Orchestra. Thesessions were being sponsored by TonyD'Amato for Decca/ London's Phase 4label: After all, the stereo potentials ofmultichannel technique might havebeen invented with Ives's improbable su-perimpositions in mind.

With so many channels to play with, ittook only a flick of a switch or two to getTurkey in the Straw up to its proper vol-ume in competition with CamptownRaces, Bringing in the Sheaves, and allthe odd tunes that skip in and out of thisdelightful score. Despite textual prob-lems the orchestra was enjoying itself inthis finale with its clear overtones andimitations of Brahms's First Symphony,of Bruckner, and of Dvoilk's New World(particularly with Turkey in the Straw)."The usual Ives mess," commented onebrass player, but he was referring only tothe text and not to the quality of the mu-sic. It is hardly surprising that Herr-mann, who was a lifelong friend of Ivesfrom his own student days, made his ownedition of the published version for thisrecording: He opened the cuts made onthe Bernstein record for Columbia, andin addition made a careful collation withthe original manuscript, now in YaleUniversity Library and part of the Ivescollection he donated himself.

It was some forty years ago that Herr-mann asked Ives about the Second Sym-phony and was told by the composer thathe had sent it in the early 1900s to WalterDamrosch. Herrmann related how he

Ives fromEngland

went to see Damrosch himself, andhelped him ferret through a cupboardfull of brown -paper parcels-all of themscores sent to him over the years. At lastthey found what they wanted. Amongthe problems created for the LondonSymphony Orchestra by Herrmann'ssomewhat proprietary approach to thescore was that the insertions broughtmisbarrings in other parts. But every-thing was sorted out and the forty -min-ute work safely and speedily completedin the two three-hour sessions with Ray-mond Few as recording manager. Herr-mann has already completed anothertwentieth-century disc for Phase 4,which is due to be issued soon: the "FourFaces of Jazz" with works by Kurt Weill.Stravinsky, Milhaud, and Gershwin.Ives will also be represented on Phase 4by Stokowski's London -made record ofthe Second Orchestral Set. Herrmann'sone regret is that he failed to get Stokowskiinterested in Ives many years earlier.

Previn Winds Up V.W. Much as the LSOenjoyed its Ives sessions, the focus of itsrecording week in Kingsway Hall cametwo days later, when their principal con-ductor Andre Previn led them in fourRCA sessions devoted to Vaughan Wil-liams' London Symphony. This at lastcompletes Previn's cycle for RCA of theVaughan Williams symphonies, a proj-ect pushed through successfully evenagainst the formidable competition ofSir Adrian Boult's versions for EMI.Certainly the orchestra reveled in thisclearest -cut of the symphonies, andPrevin in consultation with the engineersensured that the orchestral textureshould be opulent but also more trans-parent than is usual in Vaughan Wil-liams. The composer had, after all, takenlessons from Ravel when he wrote theLondon.

"At double K I want it really mys-terious," Previn said after the first full

CIRCLE 5 ON READER -SERVICE CARE


take; "A subito nothing. Don't worryhow little." The acuteness of his ear isphenomenal even by conductors' stan-dards. He says he has a private bet withDouglas Cummings, the brilliant youngleader of the LSO cellos, over any wrongnotes that might appear in the cello sec-tion. On this occasion one of them hadplayed a C sharp instead of a C natural atone point, and Cummings thought it hadgot past Previn's ear. Not so. We heardthat passage played back, and when youknew exactly where to listen, you mightdetect a hint of the flaw. The recordingmanager requested that it stand. "Hu-mor me!" objected Previn; "it is going tobother me." So instead of using the re-maining fifteen minutes of the sessionfor starting the slow movement (diffi-cult, said Previn, when the hushed at-mosphere requires a differently concen-trated mood), they did a retake of theoffending passage.

Previn, unlike Boult who records diffi-cult movements before easy ones, be-lieves in recording a symphony in theexact order of movements. In the controlroom he naturally helps the recordingmanager to a degree rare among conduc-tors, knowing exactly where he wantsparticular takes to be included but al-ways accepting guidance on technicalmatters. "I'm not crazy about that," hewill say of a take, and plainly his mode of

assessment is not just the usual musi-cian's one of precision but of emotionalcommunication too, a valuable point ofperception. Of one take toward the endof the first movement he complained:"This one gets too French-all those F -minor sevenths." Passing the time be-tween playbacks is also more divertingthan usual with Previn. The tape engi-neer spools on an unwanted passage, andfor twenty seconds or so we have elec-tronic bleeps and crackles. Referring toan avant-garde composer who had betterremain nameless, he said, "A wholepiece of X went by there, his Op. 1000."

Countertenor's Top 10. One of the mostunusual sessions I have attended inmonths was at the large EMI No. I stu-dio, where the only instruments were thequiet -toned lute and chitarrone (bothplayed by Robert Spencer) and the prin-cipal performer was Britain's currentlymost successful countertenor, JamesBowman. It was Bowman who, with Pe-ter Pears and John Shirley -Quirk, lastyear gave the first performance of Benja-min Britten's new canticle to words byEliot, The Journey of the Magi. He hasalso appeared many times as Oberon inBritten's A Midsummer Night's Dreamand last summer had great success inGlyndbourne's Cavalli opera La Calisto(also now recorded). EMI felt it was time

to present Bowman in a solo recordingwhich would include a number of itemsfrom the "top of the countertenorpops"-Morley's Shakespeare settingsfor example-and also range throughrarer songs Bowman and Spencer havefound successful in recitals.

So rare were some of the Italian songsthat there was only one copy available,and the recording manager, ChristopherBishop, had to content himself withlooking beady -eyed at the performersrather than checking their notes exactlyfrom a score. Occasionally he did havethe accompaniment in indecipherablelute tablature, which was almost as bad.Bishop has known Spencer since schooldays, and he remembers a small boystarting to learn the guitar accom-panying himself in A frog he would a -wooing go. "That boy will never becomea musician," he had said to himself.

Bishop has different ideas now. Herein music of a period in which he is a spe-cialist, he took a very positive role tohelp shape the interpretations for disc.How much time, for example, to leavebetween stanzas of a quick verse song,and should there be a hint of rallentandoat all? The main technical problem cameover recording the long -necked chitar-rone. "Was there too much buzz?" askedSpencer at one point. "Sounded like tak-ing my teeth out." EDWARD GREENFIELD

Unclipping Power. 700 Watts.(High fidelity. The concept isn't new-but the power you need to hear it is)

High fidelity means low distortion.A good amp will give you low dis-tortion - when it's not clipping.But your typical 150 watt per chan-nel number is going to clip. Evenwith the best and most modernspeaker systems, there's just notenough power to avoid overloadduring low frequency passages.And on musical peaks. You needunclipping power to prevent over-load - and distortion. PhaseLinear is unclipping power. 700watts. It's the untypical solid stateamplifier with the three year guar-antee - on parts and labor. 700watts of high fidelity power at S779suggested retail price.

That's not typical either.The Phase Linear power sound is at your dealer's.

Or write Phase Linear. 405 Howell Way, Edmonds.Wa. 98020 for information.CIRCLE 52 ON READER -SERVICE CARD

41)

left IPOWER - Better than 350 watts/channel R.M.S., both channels driv-en into 8 ohms, 0 to 20 kHz.HARMONIC or I.M. DISTORTION -less than .25%; typically .01%.

Pieal .14101,

yI. I.,

POYAER at CLIPPING - 450 wattsper channel R.M.S. at 8 ohms. 720watts per channel. R.M.S. at 4 ohms.270 watts per channel R.M.S. at 16ohms.FREQUENCY RESPONSE -0 to .25mHzDAMPING RATIO - 1,000 to 1,20 Hz.HUM & NOISE - Better than 100 dBbelow 350 watts; typically 110 dB.

ars, 94.,41..! :Aid MI6& .4.01111.

\ i I

2 I

The 4 -channel Sansui MQ2000is not a second-classcomponent system.

It's a first-class compact.

Sansui has never made anything but components until now. So our engineers just couldn't break the old habit when we askedthem to come up with a four -channel compact. They took the ingredients of a state-of-the-art component system and packedthem into a single housing, then crowned them with an acclaimed, first -line automatic turntable and magnetic cartridge.

The MQ2000 complete four -channel music center. It's an AM/FM receiver. A decoder for all compatibly matrixedfour -channel recordings and broadcasts. A four -channel synthesizer for your entire collection of conventionalstereo records, as well as for regular stereo broadcasts. It can handleany discrete four -channel source, taped or otherwise, and can takeany adapter for any future four -channel medium that mightcome along.

Total IHF music power: 74 watts. FM sensitivity: 5microvolts IHF. Normal -level response: 30 to 30,000Hz ±2 db, with harmonic or IM distortion below1% at rated output.

The automatic turntable is Perpetuum Ebner'sModel 2032 with calibrated stylus -force adjustment,variable -speed control, damped cuing, anti -skating anda host of other features. The cartridge is Shure'sM75-6, specially recommended for four -channeldiscs.

The speakers are Sansui's exciting new AS100two-way acoustic -suspension designs. Notscaled -down performers made just to goalong with a package, but full-fledged per-formers in their own right-regular membersof Sansui's new AS speaker line. Two ofthem come as part of the package, becausemost people already have a stereo pair, but youcan match up another pair of Sansui's regular line,if you wish, for a perfectly balanced system. Wait till youhear this at your franchised Sansui dealer!

0 COPYRIGHT 1972 BY SANSUI

-Strms-td_ 1:.411SANSUI ELECTRONICS CORP..Voodside, New York 11377 Gardena, California 90274ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTORS (Canada). Vancouver 9. B.C.SANSUI ELECTRIC CO.. LTD., Tokyo. Japan Sansui Audio Europe S. A.. Antwerp, Belgium

22CIRCLE 61 ON READER -SERVICE CARD


It sounds like reel-to-reel.It looks like cassette. It is.

It is the new Sansui SC700.

Close your eyes and your ears tell you you're listening to a reel-to-reel deck of the highest caliber.Open your eyes and you know that cassette recording has finally made the grade.

The performance -packed, feature -packed SC700 Stereo Cassette Deck incorporates DDlbynoise reduction, adjustable bias for either chromium dioxide or ferric oxide tapes three -microphone mixing and specs that will make your eyes-as long as they're open-pop even wider.

Undistorted response is 40 to 16,000 Hz with chromium dioxde tape and close tothat with standard ferric oxide tape. Record/playback signal-to-noise ratio isbetter than 56 to 58 db with Dolby in-and commendably better than 50 db evenwith Dolby out! Wow and flutter are below 0.12% weighted RMS.

A DC servo motor (solid-state controlled) assures rock -steady speed.The tape -selector adjusts both bias and equalization for ferric -oxide orchromium -dioxide formulations. The large, slant -panel VU metersare softly illuminated. Contourless heads keep response smooth,and a head gap one micron narrow brings high-f'equencyoutput right up to reel-to-reel standards.

With so much in its favor, Sansui engineersdecided it deserved all the features ofa first -rank open -reel deck, and more:Pause/edit control. 3 -digit tape counter.Separate record/playback level controls(independent but friction -coupled). Auto-matic end -of -tape shut-off with full dis-engagement and capstan retraction .and much, much more.

The SC700 is practically a self-containedrecording studio. Which makes it quite abargain at $299.95.

C COPYRIGHT 1972 BY SANSUI

Stansui_SANSUI ELECTRONICS CORP.Woodside, New York 11377 Gardena, California 90274ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTORS (Canada). Vancouver 9, B.C.SANSUI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.. Tokyo, Japan Sansui Audio Europe S. A., Antwerp, Belgium

CIRCLE 61 ON READERSERVICE CARDAPRIL 1972 23

I have two phono pickups: an ADC 10E Mk.IV and a B&O SP -12, with separate tone -arm shells for each. When I play recordswith the B&O I have no problem. When Iuse the ADC I sometimes find that the out-put level is way down. I've tried switchingshells, so I know that the problem is not inthe contacts between the shell and thearm. The clips seem properly seated onthe ADC's contact pins, and anyway if theproblem were there or a fault within thecartridge itself I'd expect it to affect onechannel only-or at least one channelmore than the other. Where do I go fromhere?-A.D. Morton, Wilton, Conn.Sounds to us as though your problem issimpler than you think. The B&O has a fixedstylus assembly, while that on the ADCslips out for user replacement. If the as-sembly is improperly seated, output levelswill be reduced in both channels. Trydouble-checking it each time you fit theADC on the tone arm.

I want to buy a microphone for tapingspeech. I've tried models by Electro-Voice,Sony, Sennheiser, Ampex, and what haveyou; but while all of them produce record-ings that are entirely intelligible and willrecord music well, none comes close tohigh voice fidelity. The Ampex seems togive me the crispest sound, but it is farfrom perfect. What would you recom-mend?-Jules H. Delcau, Freehold, N.J.Forgive us if we approach this one a bithesitantly. When you say that a mike "willrecord music well" but doesn't come"close to high voice fidelity" it suggeststhat you have very strong and specializedideas about the nature of voice fidelity. Per-haps the word "crispness" is the key towhat you're looking for. Assuming thatclear, strong sibilants are of particular im-portance, a condenser mike probablywould be your best bet; and some are avail-able in the under -$50 range today. TheSony /Superscope ECM -16 for example,can be used on a tie clip and is specificallydesigned for speech. You also may be run-ning afoul of what's known as the "proxim-ity effect." Bass frequencies tend to dissi-pate somewhat in traveling from source toear in ordinary listening situations. Sowhen a mike intended for music pickup andhaving a fairly flat bass response is usedvery close to the sound source, as it usuallyis in voice recordings, it tends to pick upextra bass. The result is an unnatural"boominess," which might be described asa lack of crispness. Some dynamic micro-phones like those in the Electro-Voice Vari-able -D series are specifically designed tocontrol this effect; others have a fixed orswitchable low -frequency filter built in to:the purpose.

too hotto handle

What is the difference between video tapeand audio tape? I purchased an AkaiModel 700 VTR, which uses 1/4 -inch tape. Iget an excellent picture using audio tapesas long as they are polyester and of highquality. The brands I have used includeBASF, Ampex, Scotch 203, TDK, andMemorex. I tried some cheaper polyestertapes such as Reeves and Radio Shackand found them decidedly inferior: linesand snow increased. According to the in-struction manual, only Akai video tapeshould be used. However my cousin, whoworks with video equipment, can't see anyreason to avoid the better audio tapes. Canyou?-Virgil Dewain Medlin, OklahomaCity, Okla.Yes-or rather Akai can. American Akaitells us that the greater abrasiveness ofaudio tapes will cause excessive headwear at the high head -to -tape speeds re-quired for video. (The company sells therecommended video tape through Akaidealers.) This is only one of the respects inwhich video formulations tend to differ fromaudio tapes. Though the basics of bothtypes of tape recording are the same, thespecifics of each put a premium on some-what different properties, and tape formu-lations consequently are somewhat differ-ent. In audio tapes we look for flatfrequency response and minimum noise; invideo and instrumentation tapes it is high -frequency response (rather than linearity)that is most important and dropouts can bemore bothersome than noise, defined asrandom unwanted signal. Good qualityaudio tapes have relatively few dropoutsand extended high -frequency response ofcourse-hence your satisfactory results inusing them.

I have been looking at the four -channelreceivers, but none of them seems to havethe required four phono inputs. How willyou play quadraphonic discs?-MauriceM. Windhorst, APO San Francisco.You only need two phono inputs to play thequadraphonic discs. If they are of thematrixed type, the right and left signals gothrough the preamp in that form and areconverted to four only in the decoder thatcomes (either outboard or built in) betweenpreamplifier and power amplifier. If youmean the JVC CD -4 discs, they require aspecial demodulator unit that takes the leftand right signals and preamplifies them atthe same time that it sorts them into fourchannels. The output of the CD -4 demodu-lator is therefore at line level and requiresfour aux connections (instead of phonoconnections) on the receiver. Some re-ceivers have the demodulator circuitry builtin: but again, the input would still be onlythe normal stereo phono pair.

In your reply to Mr. Kalus of Cleveland inthe January THTH, you mention "your quo-tations of 30 -Hz power output figures fromanother magazine, omitted here." Youmust be referring to the Hi-Fi Buyers'Guide, which has used this sort of rating tosolve the very problem you discuss in youranswer-the way a product can look goodin the usual 1 -kHz measurements but bepoor over-all. This 30 -Hz measurementseems like a good way of getting behindthe advertising façade. Why don't you useit yourself instead of just omitting mentionof it from your magazine? Sour grapes thatsomebody else thought of it first?-ArnoldBuntz, Milwaukee, Wis.Not at all. We agree that this is an inter-esting way of trying to pierce present fa-çades-or at least one aspect of those fa-cades. But a single measurement, howeverclever in itself, won't do the whole job.Once a manufacturer gets wind of the tech-nique, he can simply design for it and allowperformance to degrade somewhere else ifhe's of a mind to. Only a broad spectrum ofinterrelated measurements-the sort we al-ready present on our equipment reports-can possibly tell the true story about agiven piece of equipment. The power band-width curve we show in our test reportsdoes indicate power output for rated distor-tion at all frequencies, incidentally.

I have just purchased a Garrard Zero 100turntable and a Shure V-15 Type II Im-proved cartridge. The Shure instructionssay that recommended stylus force is 0.07grams. Is the Zero 100 capable of trackingthe cartridge at that force?-Bruce Don-nally, Syracuse, N.Y.Look again. Shure recommends a trackingforce between 3/4 gram (0.75-not 0.07-gram) and 11/2 grams. CBS Labs' tests con-firmed 3/4 gram as minimum in tracking thestandard "torture -test" groove when we re-ported on the cartridge [May 1970], andthis figure is well within the operating rangeof the Zero 100. Some manufacturers doquote extremely low minimum trackingforces today, but such claims must be eval-uated carefully. Arm resonance, tracking -force calibration, pivot friction, and-in achanger-tripping force are among the fac-tors that can set practical limits muchhigher. We see no need to attempt trackingany present cartridge at less than, say, '/2

gram.

Does any tone arm on the market super-sede the SME? Would the 16 -inch modelgive better results than the 12-inch?-Mil-ton Glass, Brooklyn, N.Y.To answer your second question first, theshorter SME arm probably is preferablewith modern supercompliant styli becausethe resulting arm resonance is less pro-nounced. In theory lateral tracking -angleerror should be least with the 16 -inchmodel, but it's arguable whether the im-provement would be audible. It's also ar-guable whether the SME has been "super-seded." However, if you want to use aradial -tracking arm which many en-thusiasts feel is a step or two ahead of a pi-voted arm in that it eliminates the skatingproblem and has zero lateral tracking -angle error, you might consider the RabcoSL -8 (tested December 1968) or the SSI(not yet tested).


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Introducingfour completely new

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Quadraphonic Discs:Rounding the First Turn

The game of quadraphonics-watching-and it's un-doubtedly the major parlor preoccupation of dyed-in-the-wool high fidelity enthusiasts at the moment-tookon a new twist early this year. For the first time there is afour -channel disc system that can with any fairness becalled a front-runner. It's the CBS SQ system.

The apparent lead of the SQ system consists in thenumber and importance of the companies that have ex-pressed an interest in making SQ equipment. as well asthe attractiveness of the SQ release lists. (Columbia,Epic, and Ampex discs are reviewed elsewhere in thisissue; Vanguard also has announced SQ discs. andEMI /Angel plans to do so.) Two giant chains-Lafayetteand Radio Shack-have signed SQ licensing agree-ments, and Lafayette already has samples of its equip-ment. Sony, which is tied to the CBS system through thejoint operation that distributes Columbia recordings inJapan, offers component -style SQ equipment, while Co-lumbia's own Masterworks brand has SQ models in itsmass -market line. Latest to set a foot on the SQ running

AnotherWorld?

What she's listening to is the Concept Plus FM/TV-audioradio called Video Voice. It's a battery -portable VHF tunerreproducer that the company is plugging for use at home,in cars, on picnics-even by bicyclists-as a hedge against"missing your favorite TV programs." Considering the factthat you can now buy "Ma Perkins" or Fred Allen on theunderground cassette market, we can't help wondering whyConcept Plus didn't also include a tape-recording jack tomake it easy for contemporary collectors to tape the in-

spired ad-libbing of, say, William F. Buckley or Buddy Hackett,or perhaps a solo by Beverly Sills on the Johnny Carsonshow. Maybe if the Video Voice makes it, recordists even-

tually will have such a product.

news andviews

board is Sherwood Electronics Labs, which has signeda licensing agreement according to trade reports.When we might expect Sherwood SQ components isanother matter; a company spokesman will indicateonly that Sherwood still is interested primarily in stereoequipment.

The majority of announced decoding devices fall intothe non-SQ camp, however. If those that (like the DynaQuadaptor) require only two channels of amplificationare excluded, the tally is still impressive. The numberthat can be bought in the stores is relatively modest,however. While perhaps a score of companies havemore or less proprietary decoders that are "compatiblewith" (that is, similar to the operating parameters of) theE -V and Sansui designs-which are similar to eachother of course-there is little evidence of large-scaleproduction or stocking by dealers. For the moment,then, many of the non-SQ decoding components mustbe counted as gestures in the direction of-rather thanevidence of true commitment to-matrixing.

Back to the City?

Last month in this column we wrote of the disappear-ance of center -city high fidelity shows-particularly thatin New York, once the Spring Prom (or rather the FallProm) of the high fidelity season. It is a bit of a shock tofind that come this fall it will have been four years sincethe Institute of High Fidelity sponsored its last Manhat-tan show. How time flies when you're having a reces-sion!

Well the economy appears to be improving, and so isthe prognosis for a 1972 IHF show in midtown Manhat-tan. The connection between economy and showscheduling may be more than coincidence. Complaintsabout midtown events have centered around falling at-tendance, and the assumption has been that as moreand more of the population moves to the suburbs adwindling supply of city dwellers remains to attend theshows. There's probably a good deal of truth in thatconcept. But most of the people who live in suburbiawork in the city; they need only extend the diurnal visit ifthey want to attend the show.

Then how about the threat of crime in the streets, thehigh cost of babysitters, and similar malignancies? If theNew York show takes place this year, it may help to de-termine which are the overriding factors. Present planswould place it in the Statler Hilton near Madison SquareGarden from October 17 through 24. If it takes place asscheduled, and if it wins back the crowd it once had, itmay convince the IHF that the inner city is not the waste-land it appeared during the leaner years.

Don't expect a wholesale reversion to the "good old


THE COBALT CASSETTEEXPLOSION.EXPLA

This is the year cassettes made itbig. The year they changed from teeny-bopper tape to a full-fledged recording/play-back medium.

And the latest step in this revolu-tion is something called cobalt energizing, orcobalt doping.

It creates, in one stroke, the cas-sette of the future.

Mallory's Professional Duratape°,the newest development in cobalt energizing,gives you a 1980 -type cassette right now.

In 1972.Professional Duratape's cobalt en-

ergizing concentrates magnetic particles inthe tape to an almost incredible density, al-lowing a greater signal-to-noise ratio, andproducing a fully -extended frequency range:35 to 18,000 Hertz, plus or minus 2.5 decibels.

Different tape decks give differentresponse curves. But our cobalt -energizedcassette, played on optimum equipment,would give you one that looks like this:

10

50

ol -5

-10

100 1000

FREQUENCY IN CYCLES PER SECOND

10000 20000

Before, you had to use chromiumdioxide tape and a deck with a special chro-mium dioxide switch to get maximum fre-quency range. Now cobalt energizing does itwithout any special switching or circuitry.

Professional Duratape is a cassetteso advanced, it's capable of future recordingand playback in discrete 4 -channel stereo-two front speaker channels and tworear speaker channels.

INEo.

It's a cassette so complete in itscapabilities, it can replace your other play-back media: reel-to-reel tape, cartridges, rec-ords, the works.

It even permits editing, a great ad-vantage to professional audio people as wellas advanced amateur enthusiasts.

All of which is why we named itProfessional Duratape.

If you've ever spent any amounton cassettes or cassette equipment, you oweit to yourself to experience ProfessionalDuratape.

Just once.And that, we believe, is all you'll need.

MALLORY

THE NEW COBALT -ENERGIZED PROFESSIONAL DURATAPE." l' Thilliory & Co.

CIRCLE 47 ON READER-SERVICE CARD

APRIL 1972 29

days," however. The popularity of suburban shows inthe recent past has made it unlikely that downtownevents will become the mandatory annual affairs theyonce were.

Another Round for Dolby

In recent weeks the list of Dolby licensees has been ex-panded to include a number of companies-particularlythose based in Japan-in the component high fidelityfield, including Sony, Pioneer, Toshiba, Panasonic,JVC, and Kenwood. Presumably the interest of thesecompanies centers around the Dolby "B" noise -reduc-tion circuit-since that is the only version of the Dolbytechnique that is adapted to consumer purposes-foruse in, or with, cassette equipment.

What makes these announcements particularly inter-

esting is that Panasonic, JVC, Sony, and Kenwood allhave produced noise -reduction systems of their own.Kenwood's KF-8011 denoiser is particularly elaborate,acting in four frequency bands, each of which can bedenoised (or left unaltered) independently of the others.Like the Sony, Panasonic, and JVC noise -reduction cir-cuits, the KF-8011 acts in playback only-as opposed tothe Dolby action which involves processing during bothrecording and playback. For this reason the KF-8011can be used to reduce noise factors in any programsource-discs, FM, or tape recordings that have notbeen Dolby processed. And the KF-8011 is expected toco -exist with any Dolby designs the company may offer.

There is no firm indication when we might expectDolby equipment from the new licensees. (And ofcourse the signing of a license does not necessarilyguarantee that the equipment will be offered.) At best itmay take several months before product engineeringcan be completed and first samples made public.

equipment in thenews

Heath adds acoustic suspension speaker kits

Four models have been added to Heath's line of speaker -systemkits. The AS -104, shown here, is a three-way system with a 10 -inchwoofer and sells for $89.95 with a walnut -veneer cabinet. Two ver-sions of the AS -105, a two-way system that also uses a 10 -inchwoofer, are available: the AS -105W ($69.95) with a walnut -veneercabinet and the AS -105U ($64.95), which is unfinished. The least ex-pensive model in the group is the AS -106, with a single driver andwalnut -veneer finish, at $19.95.


Display/Analyzer unit from Pioneer

As part of its new 1000 series of separate components, Pioneer hasintroduced the SD -1000, a multipurpose display/evaluation unit. Itincludes a built-in audio oscillator equipped for manual or automaticfrequency sweeps, a three-inch oscilloscope, and dual level meters.The oscilloscope can be used in checking FM multipath, as a stereoor quadraphonic display, or as a waveform display. Four back -panelinput channels can be selected individually for either vertical or hori-zontal display. Front -panel inputs are provided as well, and the unitcan be used (with microphones) to check speaker -performance androom -acoustic characteristics. The SD -1000 costs $549.95.


Ecstasy. Ata price thatwont cause too much agony.

Before the ecstasy of listening to your new stereoequipment comes, alas, the agony of shopping forit - the frustration of wanting this feature, andthat spec, and finding that your budget won'tquite cover it.

Sony has something to ease the pain. The STR-6036. An FM Stereo/AM-FM receiver for the manwith a small room, a small budget, but big earsnonetheless.

It's an inexpensive receiver that doesn't sacri-fice performance, specifications, control flexibil-ity, sound quality, or even looks.

What it does sacrifice, of course, is just a bit ofpower. The STR-6036 de-livers 50 clean watts ofIHF dynamic power at 4ohms*. That's quite enoughto drive even most low -effi-ciency "bookshelf"speakers,even if it's not enough torival the power company,

or to let you bust your buttons bragging about it.The tuner, though, makes no concessions: It has

a sensitive, overload -proof FET front end. Andceramic i.f. filters that increase selectivity andnever need realignment. Plus a tuning meter forboth AM and FM.

The controls have all the flexibility you'd expectfrom Sony: tape monitor, main/remote speakerselector, switchable loudness, even front -panelmicrophone input jacks.

And the control feel is typical Sony, too - firm,silky -smooth and positive. So the pleasure beginsat your fingertips, even before your ears can start

enjoying. Your pleasurewill deepen to ecstasy whenyou hear the low price. Aswill your dealer's whenyou buy one. Sony Corpo-ration of America, 47-47Van Dam Street, LongIsland City, N.Y. 11101.IHF standard constant supply method.

The SONY 6036 Stereo ReceiverAPRIL. 1972

CIRCLE 66 ON READER -SERVICE CARD31

New version of Advent Dolby unit

The Advent Model 100A has somewhat more flexibility of switchingand application than the Model 100 that preceded it. The Dolbyswitching specifically allows use with signals (from tape or FM) thatalready have been Dolby processed. For example you can make anidentical, Dolbyized copy of a Dolbyized tape using the 100A's Dolbycircuitry only for the signal to be monitored-which may derive fromeither the original or the copy. There are two, mixable stereo pairs ofinputs, either of which can be used as a standard line input or, byadding Advent's MPR-1 two -channel mike preamp unit, for a stereopair of microphones. The MPR-1, which works off the Model 100A'spower supply, costs $25; the Model 100A costs $260.

- -_Jr tmbin II

.111- c

me-

Sansui's "universal" quadraphonic receiver

Sansui calls its QR-6500 a universal receiver because the unit willhandle mono and stereo signals as well as derived, matrixed, or dis-crete quadraphonic programs. It consists of a stereo FM/AM tunersection, a switching section with provision for deriving quadrapho-nics from stereo sources, and four power -amp channels withswitching for driving up to two speakers at a time in each channel.Monitoring switches are provided for a four -channel recorder andtwo stereo recorders-one of which can be connected via front -panel jacks. The deluxe unit is rated at 37 watts continuous powerper channel into 8 -ohm loads and sells for $699.95.


Low-cost monitor -head recorder from Sony

The Sony/ Superscope TC-353 is a self-contained music systembuilt around a three -head open -reel recorder. It has inputs for micro-phones, line (a receiver or second tape unit, for example), tuner, andmagnetic phono. A pair of removable speakers are built into the TC-353's lid. They are driven by a built-in amplifier with separate bassand treble controls and rated at 7 watts per channel continuouspower. The recorder itself operates at 71/2, 33/4, and 1'/e ips and in-cludes Sony's "retractomatic" pinch roller to simplify threading.Monitoring switch, public-address switching, pause control, andcaptive reel locks are included. The TC-353 costs $329.95.


Weltron offers DIN -style adapter cables

A series of cables with DIN -to -DIN or DIN-to-phono terminationshave been made available by Weltron for owners of imported equip-ment fitted with 3 -pin or 5 -pin DIN jacks. Model W-HOS-1 has a 5 -pinDIN plug on one end, four phono plugs on the other. W-HOS-2 has a3 -pin DIN plug, connected to two phono plugs. W-HOS-4 is 6 ft. longand mates a 5 -pin DIN connector at one end with a 3 -pin DIN con-nector at the other. The cables sell for about $4.50 each.


Onkyo announces Linear Suspension speakers

The Onkyo Model 25, one of three speaker systems in the ScepterSeries, has a 14 -inch cone woofer, a 2 -inch domed midrange driver,a 1 -inch domed tweeter, and crossover assembly mounted in thecompany's Linear Suspension enclosure. The woofer has a portedcone cap, credited by Onkyo with reducing nonlinearity in bass re-sponse. The crossover panel on the back of the enclosure includesseparate five -position controls for midrange and high frequencies.The system is rated for a frequency response of 30 Hz to 20 kHz andan impedance of 8 ohms, with a maximum -power rating of 60 wattsand minimum recommended input of 10 watts continuous. It costs$249.95.


32 111611 I:11)11.11A MGNZINI-

Areport in the4 -channel war of the matrixes:

The war is over!- ------And (unlike real wars)

everybody has won.Columbia Records hasannounced release of en-coded 4 -channel records.And because support frommajor record companies

is essential to 4 -channel, we welcome them.Columbia now joins the many pioneering re-cord manufacturers who've already producedthousands of 4 -channel discs.

We must admit that at first we were concern-ed. Because while most of the original matrixeswere basically compatible, these new SQdiscs were different. Which could have led toa battle of the matrixes and even more con-fusion in the marketplace.

But we knew our matrixing system was best,so what to do about this promised flood ofseemingly incompatible discs? The answer: anew "universal" E -V decoder now in production.Not only does this improved decoder handleour STEREO -4T M. (and all similarly -encodedmaterial) but we've added sophisticated cir-cuitry to decode SQ records accurately. It evendoes some things decoders built solely for theSQ format don't, like more correctly controllingthe position of a front -center soloist.

So, now the E -V Decoder is the only one forall matrix 4 -channel programs. And now -

THE

EVX.4 Stereo -4 Decoder

MI STEREO -41

more than ever - matrixing (encoding fourchannels of sound into two) continues to growas the method to get 4 -channel sound onrecords, FM, and tape to the listener... nowand in the foreseeable future.

What about our "old" EVX-4 Decoder?Well, despite the algebra, it actually decodesSQ records remarkably well. It just doesn'toffer complete rear directionality from thesedifferent discs. But unless it is directly com-pared with our improved decoding this hasproved a minor issue for many listeners.

In addition we doubt that independentrecord companies will give up the advantagesof STEREO -4 encoding in favor of the SQsystem. Because the "new" decoder is morecomplex - hence more expensive - we'llcontinue to sell both models. One of them isfor you!

But having now created the "universal" de-coder we're not resting on our laurels. We'regoing on to refine it in future models with suchfeatures as gain riding to make it by far thebest circuit in the industry.

So, hopefully, order is restored. Recordcompanies can get on with software in increas-ing numbers using any matrixing system theyprefer ... while you begin to really enjoy thefruits of all our labors.

Peace.

FOUR -CHANNEL FAMILY OF PRODUCTS

741111111- -

New Universal Decod.

CIRCLE 30 ON READER -SERVICE CARDW, - -Al-"".-

E -V 1244X CombinedStereo Amplitier/Decoder

ELECTRO-VOICE, INC., Dept. 424H, 619 Cecil Street, Bucharan, Michigan 49107In Canada: EV of Canada, Ltd. 345 Herbert Street, Gananopue, Ontario

In Europe: Electro-Voice, S.A., Lyss-Strasse 55. 2560 Ntdau, Switzerland

MI;2-111.11A.fl A

EVR-4X4 AM/FM Stereo4 -Channel Receiver

a GULTON subsidiary

How this Wollensak8 -track recorder

takes advantage ofyour stereo sysiem

The Wollensak 8050 8 -track pre -ampdeck is built to make the most fromthe output of your stereo system.

It records your kind of music onto8 -track cartridges from records,radio, tape or your own soundsource. Then plays it back throughyour system. Making thesecartridges on the 8050 saves youa bundle. And if you have 8 -trackin your car, they can do double duty.

C)

When you're ready to record, youalways know the tape is at thebeginning with the 8050's exclusive"cuing" feature. Dual illuminatedVU meters with a switchableautomatic record level help makeprofessional recording a breeze.There's no chance of accidentallyerasing previously recorded trackswith its automatic eject system.

When you're ready to listen, the8050's fast -forward control lets youmove right along to the selectionyou want to hear. A trulyoutstanding signal-to-noise ratiothat's better than 50 db, a full


frequency response of 30-15,000 Hzand a special long life high torqueAC motor add to its performance.

Nobody knows more aboutsound -on -tape or has moreexperience in tape recording than3M Company.

So, move on out to your nearbydealer and learn more about howthe Wollensak 8050 8 -track decktakes advantage of your stereo system.

ollensak® 31:0,3M CENTER SAINT PAUL MINNESOTA 55101


new equipmentTHE CONSUMER'S GUIDE TO HIGH FIDELITY EQUIPMENT reports

a .41., rxiv. 411=

n n-

44.999eEf.

A Luxurious Receiver from MarantzThe Equipment: Marantz 2270, a stereo FM/ AM re-ceiver. Dimensions: 17% by 57/s by 14 inches. Price:$549.95. Manufacturer: Marantz Co., Inc. (a subsidiaryof Superscope, Inc.), P.O. Box 99, Sun Valley, Calif.91352.

Comment: Performance aside (for the moment), littledesign quirks mean a lot in terms of the "feel" of a givenpiece of stereo equipment; and the 2270 is one of thoseunits that, with a little use, takes on its own personality.The silky and noise -free action of its pushbuttons, thehorizontal tuning wheel, and the clutched triple tonecontrols (bass, midrange, and treble) with detents forrepeatable settings all contribute to this feeling of indi-viduality.

Below the tuning meters, dial, and tuning wheel arethree groups of switch buttons with four buttons in eachgroup. The first has one button to convert the signal -strength meter to read multipath, a high -blend switch,and two buttons for tape -monitor switching. The secondhas two for mono -mode switching (permitting selectionof left, right, or both signals) and two for filtering-highand low. At the right are buttons for loudness compen-sation, FM muting, main speakers (on/off), and remotespeakers (on/off). Across the bottom are six knobs: se-lector, the three tone controls, balance, and volume. Atthe extreme left are input and output jacks for an addedtape recorder. The output is in parallel with the two tapeoutputs on the back panel; the input overrides thosefrom the back panel. At the extreme right are the poweron/off switch and headphone jack, which is live at alltimes.

On the back panel are the main and remote speakerconnections, switched and unswitched AC conven-ience outlets (one each), a Quadradial output (for usewith an adapter should a quadraphonic broadcastmethod be approved), connections for AM antenna and75 -ohm or 300 -ohm FM leadin, a local/distant FMswitch, a screwdriver adjustment for FM -muting level, achassis ground connection, and the pairs of phono-jackinputs and outputs. These include preamp-out andmain -in connections-for use with room equalizers forexample-that are delivered fitted with jumpers for nor -

- 40E=-50cc 1 10 100 1K 10K 100K

RI INPUT IN MICROVOLTS

1.41-

10 KHZ

Square- wave response

IHF FM SENSITIVITY

2.1 IN at 90 MHz1.9 Itt/ at 98 MHz

1.9µV 2.1 ILV at 106 MHz

2270/1

+5

0

-5 +03, -3 dB. 24 Hz to 15 kHz

2270/2

MONO FM RESPONSE

+5

0

co _5'-10

t%1 -15

-20:"cg -25

-30- 35

- 40

- 45

S-EREO FM RESPONSE

- Left chancel: +2. -3 dB, 24 Hz to 15 kHz--- Right cha mei: +1. -3 dB. 24 Hz to 15 kHz

0-IANNEL SEPARATION

- Left channel: >3.dB, 200 Hz to 2.6 kHz; >25 dB, 54 Hz to 7 kHz--- Right ciannel: ca 210 Hz to 4.3 kHz, >25 dB, 43 Hz to 7.3 kHz

20 50 1)0 20( 500 1K 2K

zREQUENCY IN HZ

Di( :21K

Equipment reports are based on laboratory measurements and controlled listening tests. Unless otherwise noted, test data and measurementsare obtained by CBS Laboratories. Stamford, Connecticut, a division of Columbia Broadcasting System. Inc.. one of the nation's leadingresearch organizations. The choice of equipment to be tested rests with the editors of HIGH FIDELITY. Manufacturers are not permitted to read

REPORT POLICY reports in advance of publication. and no report, or portion thereof, may be reproduced for any purpose or in any form without written per-mission of the publisher All reports should be construed as applying to the specific samples tested: neither HIGH FIDELITY nor CBS Laboratoriesassumes responsibility for product performance or quality

APRIL 1972 35

+3co 0

Below 10 Hz to 50 MHz-3LA..1

CI)

CD12("1 0

-5

POWER OUTPUT DATA

CHANNELS INDIVIDUALLY

Left at clipping: 94.5 watts for 0,03% THDLeft at 0,3% THD: 98.0 wattsRight at clipping: 91.1 watts for 0.04% THDRight at 0.3% THD: 96.6 watts

CHANNELS SIMULTANEOUSLY

Left at clipping: 81.2 watts at 0,025% THDRight at clipping: 78.1 watts at 0.035% THD

POWER BANDWIDTH

(for 0.3% THD: 0 d8=70 watts)

FREQUENCY RESPONSE

(for 1 watt output)

+0.25 -1.0 dB, below 10 Hz to 100 kHz

2270/3

10 20 100 1K 10K ?/K 100K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

0.10

0.05

- 070 WATTS OUTPUT

- Left channel: 0,09%, 20 Hz to 20 kHzc., --- Right channel: 0.10%, 20 Hz to 20 kHz

ctj 0.10

0.05

0

01

HARMONIC DISTORTION CURVES

35 WATTS OUTPUT-Left channel: ,.0.066%, 20 Hz to 20 kHz--- Right channel: <0.069%, 20 Hz to 20 kHz

2270/4

20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

INTERMODULATION CURVES

8ohm load: 0.11% to 95.3 watts4 -ohm load: <0.37% to 47.7 watts16 -ohm load: <0.05% to 56.7 watts

2270/5

2 3 4 5 10 20 30 40 50POWER OUTPUT IN WATTS

100

mal use. In addition to the inputs and outputs for twotape decks, there are two input pairs for magneticphono cartridges and one for aux. In fact, everythingabout this receiver (except its sometimes unclear in-struction manual) is carefully planned and beautifullyexecuted.

Tuner performance is excellent. Quieting descendssteeply to -40 dB at only 2.5 microvolts and achievesfull effect (-48 dB) at 50 microvolts, making it possible toreceive clean sound from stations that would be border-line at best with many receivers. The S/N ratio is, atmore than 79 dB, one of the best that CBS Labs hasmeasured for us. And distortion is unusually low.

The amplifier section is a real powerhouse. Marantz'srating of 70 watts per channel is very conservative;many companies would rate such a design at 90 wattsor more per channel. To put it another way, at rated out-put the distortion is exceptionally low -no more than0.1% of either THD or IM in any of the lab measurementsat 8 ohms. Note, however, that power output at 4 ohms

+5

-5

PREAMP & CONTROL CHARACTERISTICS

RIM EQUALIZATION- +0 5. -1.75 dB. 20 Hz to 20 kHz

Bass boostcc, +15

+10__----------

N +5

c, 0

"ea' -5 Low filter

- 10

- 15 r"- 20

Bass cut

Midrange boost

Midrange cut

Treble boost

High filter

Treble cut

TONE CONTROLSLOUDNESS CONTOUR. volume control at 9 o'clock

- FILTERS

20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

5K

22/0/6

10K 20K

Marantz 2270 Receiver Additional Data

Tuner Section

Capture ratic

Alternate -channel selectivity

S/N ratio

IM distortion

THD80 Hz1 kHz10 kHz

Mono0.34%0.30%0.25%

2.0 dB

62 dB

more than 79 dB

0.3%

L ch0.52%0.30%0.95%

19 -kHz pilot suppression 66 dB

38 -kHz subcarrier suppression 64 dB

Amplifier Section

Damping factor 35

Input characteristics (for 70 watts output)Sensitivity

phono 1 & 2 1.9 mVtape 1 & 2 179 mVaux 179 mV

R ch0.33%0.25%0.80%

S N ratio65 dB86.5 dB86.5 dB

is relatively restricted if IM distortion is to be kept low. Ifall speaker taps are to be used, particularly if the listen-ing rooms are large or the speakers unusuallyinefficient, 8 -ohm speakers would appear to be in order.

The most dist nctive feature of the control section isthe three -knob tone -control system. The maximum ef-fect of the midrange control is not as extreme as that ofbass and treble -and indeed it need not be for most pur-poses. It can be used to add a bit more "presence" to asoloist, or to subdue an overly "forward" soloist -typi-cal of some older recordings. And we found a use thatmay become increasingly important in the near future:to balance dissimilar loudspeakers in four -channel lis-tening (with the addition of an extra stereo amplifier).Normal treble and bass controls had failed to match thetone color of the front pair with those used for the backchannels; the three-way controls, with their added flexi-bility, did a much more satisfactory job when we substi-tuted the 2270 for the receiver that we had been using.



The Equipment: Harman-Kardon CAD -5 cassette deckwith built-in Dolby circuitry. Dimensions: 121/3 by 31/4 by8% inches. Price: $199.95. Manufacturer: Harman-Kar-don, Inc., 55 Ames Ct., Plainview, N.Y. 11803.

Comment: Harman-Kardon's Dolby cassette deck ismuch more compact and somewhat less feature -ladenthan most comparable units presently available. It com-bines a fairly conventional transport system with elec-tronics highlighted by a chromium-dioxide/ferric-oxideswitch and an overload light that, in conjunction withthe dual metering, helps in precise setting of recordinglevels. According to the company, the current modelsembody certain internal improvements (both mechani-cal and electrical) over those available about a year agofrom initial production runs-and at a somewhat re-duced price.

On the main control panel are the usual piano -keybuttons: record interlock, rewind, stop/eject, play/record, fast forward, and pause. To the left of these con-trols is a mono/stereo switch; below them is a row of in-dicator lights: recording, motor, overload, and Dolby.

DIN PLAYBACK RESPONSE

+5 (0 dB = -20 VU)

-5 -Left channel. +1.5, -0.25 dB, 31.5 Hz to 10 kHz--- Right channel, +10. -0.75 dB. 31.5 Hz to 10 kHz

=32

W 1

La.' 0

CADS/I

20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

RECORD/PLAYBACK RESPONSE

DOLBY OFF; 0 DB = -20 VU- Left channel: +0.75, -3 dB. 44 Hz to 14 kHz--- Right channel: +1.5. -3 dB, 44 Hz to 14 kHz

DOLBY ON: 0 DB = -20 VU- Left channel: +0, -3 dB, 48 Hz to 13.5 kHz--- Right channel: +2, -3 dB, 50 Hz to 14.5 kHz

CADS/2

20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

HARMONIC DISTORTION CURVES

- Left channel:., 1.4%, 50 Hz to 10 kHz--- Right channel: <1.4%, 50 Hz to 10 kHz c405/3

20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

Updated H -KDolby Cassette Deck

The motor light (marked "auto") comes on when tapemotion begins. At the end of the cassette, or if the cas-sette becomes jammed, the motor turns off automat-ically and the light goes out. The drive mechanism doesnot automatically disengage, however. To the right ofthese controls are the dual -meter panel, the recording -level controls for each channel, and on/off switches forDolby action and AC power.

The microphone inputs are on the vertical panel justbelow the main controls. Line connections are made onthe back panel via phono jacks. There are one pair foroutp.it and two pairs for inputs-high or low level, de-pending on the source from which the CAD -5 is fed.Also on the back panel are the ferric-oxide/chromium-dioxide tape switch (which affects recording only-unlike those on some other decks it does not alter play-back equalization in the chromium -dioxide position) andthe Dolby -level alignment controls.

In testing the CAD -5, CBS Labs used Memorex chro-mium -dioxide tape and ran three sets of record/play-back curves: at -10 VU and at -20 VU with Dolby circuit-ry off and at -20 VU with the Dolby circuitry turned on.

Harman-Kardon CAD -5 Additional Data

Speed accuracyips

Wow and flutter

105 VAC: 033% slow120 VAC: 0.17% slow127 VAC: 0.16% slow

154 ips playback: 0.13%record / playback: 0.15%

Rewind time, C-60 cassette 1 min. 30 sec.

Fast -forward time, same cassette 1 min. 30 sec.

S/N ratio (ref. 0 VU, Dolby off)playback L 53.0 dB R ch: 52.5 dBrecord playback L ch: 50.0 dB R ch: 49.5 dB

Erasure (400 Hz at normal level) 64.0 dB

Crosstalk (at 400 Hz)record left, playback rightrecord right, playback left

44.0 dB41.5 dB

Sensitivity (for 0 -VU recording level)high input L ch: 580 mV R ch: 580 mVlow input L ch: 185 mV R ch 185 mVmike input L ch: 0.2 mV R ch: 0.2 mV

Accuracy, built-in metersL ch: exact R ch: 0:5 dB high

IM distortion (record 'play, -10 VU)1 ips L ch: 5.5% R ch: 4.5%

Maximum output (preamp or line, 0 -VU)L ch: 1.2 V R ch: 1.3 V

APRIL. 1972 37

At -10 VU the curves (not reproduced here) show onlyminimal droop -by 1.5 dB or less -at high frequencieswith respect to the curves at -20 VU, indicating unusualheadroom at these frequencies. The similarity of Dolbyand non -Dolby curves indicates excellent Dolby track-ing. All the curves are substantially flat to 13 kHz at thehigh end -an excellent figure and noticeably betterthan one would expect with ferric -oxide tapes. Inter -

The Equipment: Sherwood SEL-300 FM tuner. Dimen-sions: 161/2 by 51/4 by 13 inches. Price: $579. Manufac-turer: Sherwood Electronic Laboratories, Inc., 4300 N.California Ave., Chicago, III. 60618.

Comment: High fidelity enthusiasts seldom acknowl-edge the degree to which emotional factors color theirresponses to specific products, yet feelings seem to rununusually high where digital tuning is concerned. It isnew; it is redolent of the technological society in whichwe live; yet it has an exotic look and "feel." One istempted therefore either to dismiss digital tuning asmere technical window-dressing or to accept it uncrit-ically as the latest advance in tuner design. Our experi-ence with the SEL-300 confirms our impression thatneither impulse is entirely justified.

In any terms the SEL-300 is an exceptional tuner. Labreadings for sensitivity, selectivity, and S/N all place itin the top class, and -perhaps the acid test -its audiooutput is unusually crystalline in quality. Moreover it hasa number of unusual switching and interconnection fea-tures. To the right of the "dial" -the digital readout itselfplus the two tuning meters and indicator lights -is thetuning knob, followed by a stepped attenuator that af-fects the line output only and matches those levels tothe input requirements of the amplifier and to other sig-nals handled by the stereo system. Across the bottom ofthe front panel are an on/off switch, a calibrated hush(interstation muting) control, a readout brightness con-trol (three positions plus off), a calibrated headphonevolume control, connections for headphones and for atape recorder, and a series of buttons: tape monitor,hush, stereo -only, mono -only, noise filter, and inter -station readout blanking (the visual equivalent of a mut-ing control).

The front -panel tape jack is subordinate to the maintape -recorder connections on the back panel. This ar-rangement permits unusual flexibility of inter-connection -including the dubbing of tapes from onerecorder to another -while keeping leads from tuner tothe main recorder as short, and the signal as hum -free,as possible. In addition to tape -in and tape -out connec-tions, the back panel has line output jacks, "multipath"jacks (horizontal and vertical feeds for oscilloscopeevaluation of incoming signals), screw terminals for 75 -ohm and 300 -ohm antennas, coax connector for a 75 -ohm antenna, a ground terminal, an unswitched ACconvenience outlet, and a "four -channel output" -a

modulation runs about par for the better cassettedecks, while harmonic distortion -at under 1.5% acrossthe board -is better than par.

Other measurements too are consistent with currentconcepts of performance levels to be expected in agood component -quality cassette deck. That's what theCAD -5 is, and at an attractive price.


Digital FM TunerFrom Sherwood

single phono jack intended for use with quadraphonicdecoding equipment if and when a broadcast system isapproved.

Now to that question of digital tuning. The SEL-300 isinternally conventional. That is, it is not one of those de-signs whose internal circuitry precludes a conventionaldial. But where stations crowd the dial there never is anyquestion of the frequency to which the SEL-300 istuned. For example you need not count fine -scale divi-sions to determine whether you are tuned to 98.3 or98.5 MHz; with digital tuning it is obvious at a glance.Over-all the SEL-300 offers the fastest and most positive

000

-10

f=`, -20

ea -30

ce,

2 -40

-50

o -60

+50

-5

co +5z 0

t:1 -5ci2 -10

-15- 20

-25- 30

-35- 40

- 45

1.7µV

SEL300/1

IHF FM SENSITIVITY

1.7 oV at 90.1 MHz1,7 uV at 98.1 MHz16 oV at 106.1 MHz

10 100 1K 10K 100K

RF INPUT IN MICROVOLTS

MONO FM RESPONSE

+1.25.-0 5 dB. 20 Hz to 15 kHz

STEREO FM RESPONSE

111.riti

1111 CHANNEL SEPARATION

1111111maimenni

- Left channel: +0. -2.5 dB. 20 Hz to 15 kHz--- Right channel: +0, -3 dB, 20 Hz to 15 kHz

- Left channel: ii: 30 dB. 20 Hz to 1.7 kHz: dB, 20 Hz to 8.2 kHz- Right channel: -..30 dB. 20 Hz to 1.8 kHz; ,.20 dB, 20 Hz to 8.4 kHz

SEL300/2

20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

5K 10K 20K

3R HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

Sherwood SEL-300 Tuner Additional Data

Capture ratio

S/N ratio

IM distortion

THD80 Hz1 kHz10 kHz

Mono0.08%0.18%0.56%

2.3 dB

74 dB

0.22%

L ch0.43%0.72%(see text)

19 -kHz pilot suppression 65 dB

38 -kHz subcarrier suppression 64 dB

R ch0.52%0.34%

tuning system we have yet encountered; where manystations are available it is even faster and simpler thanpunched -card tuning.

CBS Labs' findings document the SEL-300 as one ofthe finest tuners we have ever tested. There is one pointthat requires special mention, however. Using standardlaboratory procedures the THD for a 10 -kHz stereo sig-nal measures 24%-surprisingly high for such a unit.Analysis shows that this extraneous output is not har-monic distortion in the strict sense (usually largely sec-ond and third harmonics of the fundamental-or 20 and30 kHz in this particular test), and lies largely at fre-quencies beyond audibility. Distortion in the audiblerange for this 10 -kHz stereo input was measured at 2%.

In terms of everything except this one measurement-and even in spite of it-the SEL-300 is an exceptionallyfine and versatile tuner.


Heath's Top Thomas Organ Kit

The Equipment: Heathkit TO -101, the Thomas Legatodeluxe theater organ in kit form. Dimensions: 471/4 by471/4 by 25 inches. Price, including walnut cabinet andpadded bench, $1,495. Accessories: TOA-101-1 Band-box, $160; TOA-101-2 Playmate, $195. (Also available:TOA-101-3 Thomas organ course, $29.95; TOA-101-4demonstration record, 50e.) Manufacturer: Heath Co.,Benton Harbor, Mich. 49023.

Comment: Truly an ambitious undertaking for the nov-ice or seasoned kit builder, the TO -101 has such abroad range of sonic and control capabilities that it is al-most impossible to imagine a user whose demands areso specialized as to be beyond the instrument's capabil-ities. Yet even the inexpert organist can make the mostof his resources with the aid of the Bandbox and Play-mate accessories.

The Legato, like most of the comparable instrumentsnow available, uses oscillator circuits as tone gener-ators to produce the basic signal. There are twelve mas-ter oscillators in the Legato, one for each note of thechromatic scale, representing one keyboard octave.Pitches for the remaining octaves are derived fromthese by means of frequency -divider networks, which

are an integral part of each tone generator. Eight of thegenerators have four divider networks, the other fourhave three. The resuling fifty-six notes are then col-ored, filtered, and amplified by the various voicing,synthesizing, and preamp circuits within the organ toproduce the vast array of tones available to the organ-ist.

Those tones are fed to two amplifiers rated at 200wets peak power (i.e. 100 watts continuous) apiece-one driving an 8 -inch Leslie speaker in its two -speed ro-tating baffle, the othe' driving two fixed 12 -inch mainspeakers. There is also a provision for the use of stereoheadphones, enablinc the musician to turn off the or-gan speakers and play or practice in privacy, and amono input/output jack intended for use in tape record-ing directly from the organ signal and playback throughthe organ's own speakers. The two 44 -manuals (key-boards) and a 25 -note pedal array are controlled by atotal of 19 "stops" plus a variety of special -effectswitches, as detailed the Voicing Options listings be-low. The Thomas Color-Glo system is incorporated tohelp the beginner learn easily with or without theThomas organ course, to which it is keyed.

The TO -101 kit is accompanied by the usual instruc-tion manuals-all seven of them; nine if you buy theBandbox and Playmate rhythm section as well. Asusual, the Heathkit manuals are clear and complete.They methodically cower each step of construction. Aswe review the construction process, manual by manual,you should get some idea of the complexities affordedby a large organ. Total building time ran to almost 110hours.

Book No. 1 gives an introduction to the organ, un-packing procedures for the preassembled basic cabi-net, and instructions for the assembly of the pedalboard. No problems were encountered with this sec-tion.

Book No. 2 covers the construction of the main ampli-fier and Color-Glo power supply. One error showed upin this manual, but it was not difficult to make the re-quired change iater in construction. (Heath will be cor-recting this with an addition to its errata sheets.) Ourtest builder had no other problems in completing thissection.

Book No. 3 concerns itself with the assembly of the

APRIL. 1972 39

View from above shows arrangement of manuals, stops,and controls on Legato. Individual stops are listed in theVoicing Options table at the end of this test report.

With top cover raised, switches connected to stop tabsare exposed. Behind and below switching circuit board arevoicing circuits that shape tones from oscillators.

accompaniment (lower) manual, distribution board,pedal keyer, divider circuit boards, and the tone gener-ators. In three cases, color coding on one circuit boarddid not match the coding in the written instructions, butthe corresponding wiring pictorial resolved the discrep-ancy. Installation of capacitors in the tone generatorsshould be done with extreme care, incidentally. An in-correct value would change the operating frequency ofthe generator, making it difficult or impossible to tuneproperly. All the capacitors look alike, and the value ofeach is printed in very small numbers on the side.

Book No. 4 is devoted entirely to the construction ofthe solo (upper) manual and its associated parts-in-cluding the chimes, part of the Color-Glo system, vari-ous on/off switches, and balance controls. A specialalignment tool is supplied to adjust the height, length,and spacing between keys. There were no constructionproblems in this section.

Book No. 5 proved the most complex. This is the pointin construction where all voicing, percussion, and ac-cessory circuit boards are built and wired into the or-gan, and the Leslie speaker installed. Extreme cautionis necessary in connecting the myriad parts to these cir-cuit boards. A transistor lead misplaced, or an electro-lytic capacitor inserted backward, can cause problemsthat take a long time to find and correct. Our builder hadto add a wire to the sustain -to -solo voicing harness toextend a shield trimmed off in manufacture. All otherareas of construction went smoothly.

Row of plug-in oscillator boards is at top. To rightof two main speakers is Leslie assembly. Tape re-cording jack is on main amplifier, bottom center.

Large switches on Bandbox select individual percussioneffects to play automatically with notes of lower manual orpedals. Smaller buttons are used to play percussion manually.

Book No. 6 brings us to final adjustment, initial test-ing, tuning, and final assembly steps. Spacing of thespring contacts for the individual keys is adjusted; thenthe builder checks all the controls and tabs to determinewhether they are working properly and producing thedesired effects. This section also covers the adjustmentof the percussion, manual balance, vibrato, and tremolosections of the organ. Our kit builder found four prob-lems: The sustain could not be turned off; the D tonegenerator was inoperative; the four tibia tabs producedno sound; and the vibrato was inoperative.

At this point Book No. 7 is brought into play. It dealswith maintenance, data, and trouble -shooting. By usingthe trouble -shooting charts, which proved invaluable,the builder was able to localize and repair all four prob-lems. The sustain simply required adjustment of twocontacts; the tone generator had a defective dividernetwork, which was replaced; a capacitor in the preampsection of the tibia voices was wired backward; and abad transistor in the vibrato oscillator caused its mal-function. If you have an electronic background, pin-pointing a problem with the aid of the trouble -shootingcharts is simple; if you do not, a phone call or letter toHeath's technical department should soon eliminatethe problem. We found Heath's parts replacement pro-gram very good, but make sure you use the proper partnumber and name when ordering a replacement.

Next the organ must be tuned. The C generator is pre -tuned at the factory and the builder adjusts the other


pitches to it by "beating" the tone of one key againstthat of another. A chart in the manual specifies the num-ber of beats that must be heard in a given time period foreach pair of notes. This method of tuning is frankly diffi-cult and tedious. If you have a piano, a practical alterna-tive is to have it tuned professionally, then tune the or-gan from it. The last section of this final book deals withassembly of the organ bench, a very comfortable andelegant -looking addition to the Legato. If you did notpurchase the Bandbox and Playmate sections the or-gan is now complete and ready to play.

Both of the accessories are remarkable additions tothe Legato, however. The Bandbox is an electronic per-cussion instrument that will add ten new voices to theorgan. Its individual voices may be set to play automat-ically with the lower manual or the pedals or both Any ofthe percussion voices also can be played manually atwill, and all will play simultaneously with the exceptionof two: the snare drum and the drum -roll (which actuallyis the snare -drum sound with an automatic repeat). TheBandbox installs readily in the Legato and can beadapted to four other Thomas/ Heathkit organs

The Bandbox control head and drum voicing circuitboards are shipped preassembled. A master harnessmakes connection to the organ relatively simple. Thereare two circuit boards to be constructed: the power sup-ply and trigger board, and the cymbal voicing board. Noproblems were encountered in assembly, but when the

Heath TO -101 Organ Voicing Options

Solo manualtibia 2 -ft.tibia 8 -ft.violin 8 -ft.English horn 8 -ft.bass clarinet 16 -ft.

Accompaniment manualcello 8 -ft.French horn 8 -ft.diapason 8 -ft.

Pedalsstring bass 8 -ft.major flute 8 -ft.

Tremulantsvibratotremolo

Percussionsaccompaniment to solosolomedium

Speaker controlsaccompaniment to Lesliesolo tibias to Lesliesolo to Leslie

Percussion voicescrash cymbalbass drumdrum -rollbongo 2slave

Rhythm selectorswaltzjazz waltzboogierocksambacha-chatangobossa nova

Main Organ

Bandbox

Playmate

tibia 4 -ft.tibia 16 -ft.oboe 8 -ft.trumpet 16 -ft.diapason 16 -ft.

oboe horn 8 -ft.saxophone 8 -ft

bass clarinet 8 -ft.diapason 16 -ft.

slow

solo tibiasshortrepeat

main 8 Leslietimbre mellow

brush cymbalsnare drumbongo 1blockcastanet

Viennese waltzfoxtrotswingWatusibeguinerumbabolero

unit was given its initial test our kit builder found that theetching of the cymbal voicing board was defective. Byscraping away some unwanted foil he was able to makethe unit perform flawlessly.

The Playmate is an electronic rhythm device thatautomatically produces fifteen different rhythms whenused (as it must be) in conjunction with the Bandbox,and will trigger Bandbox voices or organ voices. Thereis no assembly to the Playmate; it simply is wired to theBandbox, which serves as its power supply, and to theorgan. After two signal -level adjustments, required forproper operation, the unit performed beautifully.

With both accessories installed the array of buttons,tabs, keys, and other controls is indeed impressive, andthe gamut of effects that it makes possible is virtuallyinexhaustible. The main rank of controls runningaround the top includes (from left to right) the pedalvoicing tabs, pedal sustain switch, tremulant tabs, ac-companiment manual labs, solo manual tabs, reverband sustain controls, percussion tabs, and speakercontrols. On the 'eft cheek block, flush with the uppermanual, are the power on/off switch, Leslie speakercontrol, repeat rate control, pedal volume control, andmanual balance contro . The Leslie switch controls thedrive motors that rotate the speaker's baffle and hasthree positions: slow (celeste chorus), off, and fast(tremolo). The manual balance adjusts solo and accom-paniment outputs with respect to each other, whilekeeping the over-all volime level more or less constant.To the right of the upper manual is the chimes switch,which converts the center portion of that manual to abell -like sound whose precise tone color depends onthe setting of the solo -manual tabs.

At the left side of the vertical panel above the lowermanual is the Color-Glo switch. In the cheek block to theright of the lower manual are the Bandbox controls: thepercussion -effect tabs themselves, each with pedal, off,and accompaniment positions; the duo/on switch(whose duo position routes all selected percussion ef-fects through both the pedals and the accompanimentmanual); volume control; and the instantaneous keysfor each of the percussion effects. Below the Bandboxis the Playmate, with tempo control, downbeat indicatorlight, Bandbox coupler switch, organ coupler switch,downbeat accent switch, and the individual rhythm se-lector buttons. The loudspeaker on/off switch andheadphone jack are beneath the left end of the mainkeyboard housing. The expression pedal (actually amaster volume contro) is above the right end of thepedal bank. The tape -recorder jack is at the rear of theunit on the main amplifier.

The Legato is a joy to use. The manual keys respondquickly, quietly, and smoothly. The upper manual istilted slightly downward, permitting easy bridging (play-ing keys on both manuals simultaneously with onehand). The stop tabs are within easy reach. And-bestof all-the many voices sound strikingly like the none-lectronic sounds they are intended to represent; thestring -bass pedal tones and the Bandbox's drum -rollare particularly uncanny in this respect.

Used with the Bandbox and Playmate the Legato is amusical instrument whose range of capabilities is ex-tremely wide and whose basic quality in terms of tonecolor and "feel" is well above average for a home in-strument. If the sheer time involved in building the kitscares you off, just remember that you will be savingperhaps $1,000 or more by contrast to comparablewired instruments.

CIRCLE 14, ON READER -SERVICE CARD

APRIL 1972 41

We believe theHeathkit AR -1500

to be the world's fineststereo receiver.

The expertsseem to agree.

"The AR -1500 is the most powerful and sensitive receiver we have ever measured ..."- JULIAN HIRSCH, Stereo Review.

"... a stereo receiver easily worth twice the cost (or perhaps even more) ..."- Audio Magazine.

"Great new solid-state stereo receiver kit matches the demands of the most golden- Radio Electronics.

The Heathkit AR -1500 AM/FM/FM-Stereo Receiver ... 379.95* (kit, less cabinet)


Mr. Hirsch goes on to say: "The FM tuner section of the AR -1500 was outstandingly sensitive. We measured the IHF sensi-tivity at 1.4 microvolts, and the limiting curve was the steepestwe have ever measured ... The FM frequency response wasliterally perfectly flat from 30 to 15,000 Hz ... Image rejec-tion was over 100 dB (our measurement limit)..."The AM tuner was a pleasant surprise ... It sounded verymuch like the FM tuner, with distinct sibilants and a quietbackground, and was easily the best -sounding AM tuner wehave had the pleasure of using ..."... all input levels can be matched and set for the most effec-tive use of the loudness compensation. This valuable featureis rarely found on high-fidelity receivers and amplifiers ..."The phono equalization was perfectly accurate (within ourmeasuring tolerances)... The magnetic phono-input sensitiv-ity was adjustable from 0.62 millivolt to about 4.5 millivolts,with a noise level of - 66 dB, which is very low ...Whenproperly set up, it would be impossible to overload the phonoinputs of the AR -1500 with any magnetic cartridge ..."... it significantly bettered Heath's conservative specifica-tions. Into 8 -ohm loads, with both channels driven, the con-tinuous power at clipping level was 81.5 watts per channel.Into 4 ohms it was 133 watts per channel, and even with 16 -ohm loads the receiver delivered 46.5 watts per channel.Needless to say, the AR -1500 can drive any speaker we knowof, and with power to spare ..."At 1,000 Hz, harmonic distortion was well under 0.05 percent from 1 to 75 watts per channel ... The IM distortion wasunder 0.05 per cent at levels of a couple of watts or less, andgradually increased from 0.09 per cent at 10 watts to 0.16 percent at 75 watts ... The heavy power transformer is evidencethat there was no skimping in the power supply of the AR -1500, and its performance at the low -frequency extremesclearly sets it apart from most receiver's..."Virtually all the circuit boards plug into sockets, which arehinged so that boards can be swung out for testing or servic-ing without shutting off the receiver. An 'extender' cablepermits any part of the receiver in the clear -even the entire power -transistor and heat -sink assembly! The245 -page manual has extensive tests charts that show all volt-age and resistance measurements in key circuits as they shouldappear on the receivers built-in test meter..."With their well-known thoroughness, Heath has left little tothe builder's imagination, and has assumed no electronictraining or knowledge on his part. The separate packaging ofall parts for each circuit board subassembly is a major boon ..."In sound quality and ease of operation, and in overall suit-ability for its intended use, one could not expect more fromany high-fidelity component."

From the pages of Audio Magazine:"... the AR -1500 outperforms the near -perfect AR -15 in al-most every important specification ..."The FM front end features six tuned circuits and utilizesthree FETs, while the AM RF section has two dual -gateMOSFETs (for RF and mixer stages) and an FET oscillatorstage. The AM IF section features a 12 -pole LC filter and abroad band detector. The FM IF section is worthy of specialcomment. Three IC stages are used and there are two 5 -poleLC filters ...

HEATHKIT ELECTRONICS CENTERSARIZ.: Phoenix, 2727 W. Indian School Rd.; CALIF.: Anaheim, 330 E.Ball Rd.; El Cerrito, 6000 Potrero Ave.; Los Angeles, 2309 S. FlowerSt.; Redwood City, 2001 Middlefield Rd.; San Diego (La Mesa), 8363Center Dr.; Woodland Hills, 22504 Ventura Blvd.; COLO.: Denver.5940 W. 38th Ave.; FLA.: Miami (Hialeah), 4705 W. 16th Ave.; GA.Atlanta, 5285 Roswell Rd.; ILL.: Chicago, 3462.66 W. Devon Ave.Downers Grove, 224 Ogden Ave.; KANSAS: Kansas City (Mission),5960 Lamar Ave.; MD.: Rockville, 5542 Nicholson Lane; MASS.: Bos-ton (Wellesley), 165 Worcester St.; MICH.: Detroit, 18645 W. EightMile Rd. & 18149 E. Eight Mile Rd.; MINN.: Minneapolis (Hopkins),101 Shady Oak Rd.; MO.: St. Louis, 9296 Gravois Ave.; N.J.: FairLawn, 35-07 Broadway (Rte. 4); N.Y.: Buffalo (Amherst), 3476 Sheri-dan Dr.; New York, 35 W. 45th St.; Jericho, L.I., 15 Jericho Turnpike;Rochester, Long Ridge Plaza; OHIO: Cincinnati (Woodlawn), 10133Springfield Pike; Cleveland, 5444 Pearl Rd.; PA.: Philadelphia, 6318Roosevelt Blvd.; Pittsburgh, 3482 Wm. Penn Hwy.; TEXAS: Dallas,2715 Ross Ave.; Houston, 3705 Westheimer; WASH.: Seattle, 2221Third Ave.; WIS.: Milwaukee, 5215 Fond du Lac.

"... IHF FM sensitivity ... turned out to be 1.5 uV as opposedto the 1.8 uV claimed. Furthermore, it was identical at 90MHz and 106 MHz (the IHF spec requires a statement onlyfor IHF sensitivity at 98 MHz but we always measure thisimportant spec at three points on the dial). Notice that at justover 2 microvolts of input signal S/ N has already reached 50dB. Ultimate S/ N measured was 66 dB and consisted of smallhum components rather than any residual noise. THD inMono measured 0.25%, exactly twice as good as claimed!Stereo THD was identical, at 0.25%, which is quite a feat..."... the separation of the multiplex section of the AR -1500reaches about 45 dB at mid -band and is still 32 dB at 50 Hzand 25 dB at 10 kHz (Can your phono cartridge do as well?)"The real surprise came when we spent some time listeningto AM ... This new AM design is superb. We still have oneclassical music station that has some simultaneous broadcast-ing on its AM and FM outlets and that gave us a good oppor-tunity to A -B between the AM and FM performance of theAR -1500. There was some high -frequency roll -off to be sure,but BOTH signals were virtually noise -free and we were hardpressed to detect more THD from the AM than from the FMequivalent. Given AM circuits like this (and a bit of care onthe part of broadcasters), AM may not be as dead as FMadvocates would have us believe! ..."Rated distortion [0.25%] is reached at a [continuous] poweroutput of 77.5 watts per channel with 8 ohm loads (bothchannels driven). At rated output (60 watts per channel)THD was a mere 0.1% and at lower power levels there wasnever a tendency for the THD to 'creep up' again, which in-dicates the virtually complete absence of any 'crossover dis-tortion' components. No so-called 'transistor sound' fromthis receiver, you can be sure. We tried to measure IM distor-tion but kept getting readings of 0.05% no matter what wedid. Since that happens to be the 'limit' of our test equipmentand since the rated IM stated by Heath is 'less than 0.1% atall power levels up to rated power output' there isn't muchmore we can say except that, again, the unit is better than thespecification - we just don't know how much better..."As for the amplifierscouldn't hear them - and that's a commendation. All weheard was program material (plus some speaker coloration,regrettably) unencumbered by audible distortion, noise, humor any other of the multitude of afflictions which beset somehigh fidelity stereo installations. The controls are easy to useand quickly become familiar..."As always, construction instructions are lucid enough for theinexperienced kit -builder and there is enough technical andtheoretical information to satisfy even the most knowledge-able audio/ RF engineer."

And Radio Electronics had this to say:"As you know, the original, the AR -15, has been widely ac-claimed as one of the very best stereo receivers that has everbeen made. Therefore, it's hard to imagine that anyone hasgone ahead and built a better one. But spec for spec, the AR -1500 is ahead of the AR -15..."Kit AR -1500, less cabinet, 53 lbs. 379.95*ARA-1500-1, walnut cabinet, 8 lbs.. 24.95See and hear the new AR -1500 at your nearest Heathkit Elec-tronic Center ... order direct from the coupon below ... orsend for your free Heathkit catalog.

HEATH COMPANY, Dept. 8-4Benton Harbor, Michigan 49022

0 Enclosed Is plus shipping. Please send my AR -1500by return mail.

0 Enclosed is S plus shipping for ARA-1500-1 walnutcabinet for AR -1500.

0 Please rush my free Heathkit Catalog.

FREE CATALOG...de- Name

scribes AR -I500, plus over350 other fun -to -build Address

home and hobby kits. MailCity State Zipcoupon or write HeathCompany, Benton Harbor, Prices & specifications subject to change without notice.Mich. 49022. 'Mail Order Prices; F.O.B. Factory HF-255

HEATHKIT

Schlumberger

.1

APRIL 1972CIRCLE 35 ON READER -SERVICE CARD

45

Advent'sSmallerSpeakerSystem

The Equipment: The Smaller Advent Loudspeaker, afull -range, compact speaker system in enclosure. Di-mensions: 201/8 by 11% by 9% inches. Price: $69.95.Manufacturer: Advent Corp., 377 Putnam Ave., Cam-bridge, Mass. 02139.

Comment: Advent's second speaker system is knownas the Smaller Advent Loudspeaker to distinguish itfrom the company's first model which is known simplyas The Advent Loudspeaker [HF test report, May 1970].The newer model is smaller and lower in price. (Theoriginal Advent costs $112.) The economy entails rela-tively lower power output and the absence of a high -fre-quency level adjustment. In terms of wide range andsmooth response, however, the Smaller Advent is aclose runner-up to its predecessor, the chief differ-ence -according to our tests -being in its slightly re-duced bass output vis-a-vis the costlier Advent.

Compact and neat in its walnut -grained vinyl -cladcabinet, the Smaller Advent may be positioned verticallyor horizontally on a shelf or on any suitable mount, suchas a pedestal or bench or table top. It's a two-way sys-tem, employing an air -suspension woofer (81/2 -inch dia-phragm on a 91/2 -inch frame) crossed over internally at1,000 Hz to a small hard -dome center tweeter. Connec-tions are made at the rear to polarity -marked bindingposts. Rated input impedance is 4 ohms; recommendedamplifier power is 15 watts per channel.

Reponse data taken at CBS Laboratories showspeaker response running within plus or minus 6 dBfrom 33 Hz to 17,000 Hz, an excellent mark for anyspeaker system and particularly remarkable for one inthis price class. Astute readers no doubt will note thatthe zero -reference level used here is 73 dB which is ofcourse lower than the 80 dB or so customarily used forour speaker curves. Be assured, however, that while theSmaller Advent doesn't sound as loud as many otherspeaker systems for a given amplifier input, it is amplyloud for normal listening in an average room. The re-sponse characteristic in general remains smooth, withno sudden peaks or dips, across the audible range. Onaudible test tones, the low end begins doubling at about75 Hz; this effect does not increase until down to 45 Hz.Response at 30 Hz is mostly doubling. Up through themidbass and midrange, response is quite smooth andwell balanced. Moderate directional effects are evidentabove 5,000 Hz, but they do not become very pro-nounced, and a 12 -kHz tone remains audible off axis ofthe system. At 15.5 kHz a slope to inaudibility begins.

White noise response sounds very smooth and well dis-tributed.

In the lab, the Smaller Advent needed 17.6 watts of in-put power to produce an output level of 94 dB at 1 meteron axis (our standard test procedure). Comparativelyspeaking, this puts the speaker into the low -efficiencyclass. The manufacturer recommends using amplifiersor receivers capable of furnishing 15 watts per channel,and we agree. In a way, the speaker's low efficiency isoffset by its low impedance since at 4 ohms it will drawmore power from most solid-state amplifiers than will aspeaker of higher impedance. This approach, ofcourse, tends to make more of a demand on a given am-plifier, but it does work. The actual measured imped-ance is 4.8 ohms; the impedance curve rises to about 16ohms at 1,000 Hz, then comes down to just above 4ohms near 10,000 Hz, rising slightly to 8 ohms at 20,000Hz. Because of the low impedance, Advent suggests in-serting a 3 -ohm, 5- to 10 -watt resistor in the speaker linewhen driving more than one speaker system at a timefrom one output channel. (The resistor is supplied onrequest.)

The speaker could not be driven into significant dis-tortion with steady-state power input of 100 watts, and itdid just as well with pulse power peaks of up to 460watts, at which level the measured output was 108.2 dB.These data indicate robust construction, good dynamicrange, and the Advent's usability with just about anycompetent amprifier or receiver on the market.

We ran the Smaller Advent from several low -powered,moderately priced receivers and amplifiers and wereable to enjoy extremely clean, room -filling sound. Likeits larger ancestor, the new speaker system has a neu-tral, honest quality on all types of music. Its size andcost recommend it particularly for use in modestlypriced stereo systems, built around an amplifier or re-ceiver that furnishes at least 15 watts per channel into a4 -ohm load (of which there are many now available). Italso would serve well in a four -channel setup in whichboth space requirements and quality reproductionwould be considerations.

90

c.co 80

`Z.' 70

60

zp..........."--- ....----....., ---_-___...._

ON AXIS RESPONSE

--- AVERAGE FRONT HEMISPHERIC RESPONSEAVERAGE OMNIDIRECTIONAL RESPONSE

ASM/i

20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20KFREQUENCY IN HZ

Smaller Advent Speaker Harmonic Distortion*

Output FrequencyLevel 80 Hz 300 Hz(dB) % 2nd % 3rd % 2nd % 3rd

70 0.17 0.15 0.18 0.4575 0.35 0.23 0.25 0.5580 0.70 0.50 0.55 0.6585 1.50 0.60 0.95 0.9090 3.00 0.75 2.10 1.2095 6.70 1.50 3.70 1.80

100 6.70 2.50101.5 7.50 3.00

Distortion data are taken on all tested speakers until distortionexceeds 10 per cent level, or the speaker produces the spuriousoutput known as buzzing, whichever occurs first,

46 CIRCLE 103 ON READER -SERVICE CARD --311.

First test reports on the Zero 100by the industry's leading reviewersBrief excerpts reprinted below. Let us send you the full reports.

I

I

I

I

II

II

HUGHFUfELUn Sept 1571

Altogether, this new arm strikes us as anexcellent piece of engineering it prob-ably is the best arm yet offered as anintegral part of an automatic olayer. Operation is simple, quiet, and reliable. All told, we feel that Garrard has comeup with a real winner in the Zero 100.Even without the tangent -tracking featureof the arm, this would be an excellentmachine at a competitive price. With thenovel (and effective) arm, the Zero 100becomes a very desirable "supechanger"with, of course, manual options.

Thu GRA ,11111)/ /ONEAugust, 1971

Reproduction quality was excellent withno detectable wow, flutter or rumbleunder stringent listening condit ons. Endof side distortion, which is always a pos-sibility with pivoted arms, was virtuallyabsent, due no doubt to the tangentialtracking arm.

1=3:131.32=

HI-FIM....3C. I Fall. 1971

One could go on cataloguing the virtuesof the Zero 100 indefinitely.

ZERO 100Teas,.

For 8 -page test reports n,_niut and a 12 -pagehrochure on the Zero 100 and the entire Garrardseries marl to British Industries Company,Dept. D-22, Westbury, N. Y. 11590.

Name

Address

City

i

-1"" JS111.

AUDIO July, 1971

The Zero -100 performed just about as weexpected after reading the specifications.Wow measured .08 per cent-that is inthe band from 0.5 to 6 Hz. Flutter, in theband from 6 to 250 Hz, measured .03 percent, both of which are excellent. Thus,the Garrard Zero 100 is certainly thefinest in a long line of automatic turn-tables which have been around for over50 years. We think you will like it.

August, 1971

Our lab measurements essentially con-firmed the claims made by Garrard forthe Zero 100. We used a special pro-tractor with an angular resolution of about0.5°, and the observed tracking error wasalways less than this detectable amount.The tracking force calibration was accu-rate, within 0.1 gram over its full range. The Garrard Zero 100 operated smoothlyand without any mechanical "bugs."

A genuine step upward in automatic turntables

The only automatic turntable with Zero Tracking Error

Stereo Review July. 1971

Indeed, everything worked smoothly,quietly, and just as it was meant to. Ifthere were any "bugs" in the Zero 100,we didn't find them. Garrard's Zero100, in basic performance, easily rankswith the finest automatic turntables onthe market. Its novel arm-which reallyworks as claimed-and its other uniquedesign features suggest that a great dealof development time, plus sheer imagina-tion, went into its creation. In our view,the results were well wortt- the effort.

Sept. 16. 1971

This unit has every imag nable gadgetand gewgaw one might possib'y desire,and it works. And consider ng how muchit does, and how well it does it, at 190bucks it doesn't even seem expens ve.The changer has so much in it that ananalysis of its innards is almost a casestudy in record player design.

$18960Mfg. by Plessey Ltd. Dist by British Industries Cc

Middle-of-the-road stereo peopleare missing the fun of Marantz.

BLAH PEOPLE. Middle-of-the-road people who only listento the midrange because their power amplifier DISTORTS thehigh and low frequencies. Because their 250 watt amplifieris really only 250 watts right in the middle. Because that'swhere it's measured SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE! So whenthe power drops off on either side they miss the BOOM, KABOOM of a bass and the crisp swissshh of the wire brushes.

Now take the Marantz amplifier Model250. Marantz says it delivers 250 wattsRMS. That's 250 watts total RMS CON-TINUOUS power. Over the wholepowerpushin' listening range. Rightthrough from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz withtotal harmonic and intermodulationdistortion at less than 0.1%! Fantastic!

Uncompromising music lover. Professional sound engi-neer. The Marantz 250 amplifier working in any system de-livers continuous power at the critical EXTREME frequencies.EXTREME right. EXTREME left. EXTREME high. EXTREMElow. Pure sounds. Total reality. Your kind of stereo.

Priced at $495, the Marantz 250 professional power am-plifier is only one of a brilliant line of components, receivers

and speakers from the makers of the world'smost expensive stereo equipment. In-cluding a $149.95 console amplifier.

Visit your Marantz dealer and listento our line. Marantz stereo at any priceis damn well worth it.

MleillAtelaiEUMMeWe sound better.

*Marantz Co., Inc., a subsidiary of Superscope, Inc., P.O. Box 99 A, Sun Valley, Calif. 91352. In Europe: Marantz Int, S.A.-Rue du Chinelain 40, Brussels. Belgium. In Canada: Electrohome, Ltd., Kitchener,Ontado. Prices and models subject to change without notice. Send for free catalog.

by Leonard Feldman

AnttnnasHow to Pick the

One for YouIF YOU HAVE BEEN LED to believe that all the ele-ments of a stereophonic component system havenow been reduced to a level of scientifically defin-able parameters that lend themselves to mean-ingful comparison judgments, consider the FM an-tenna. Assuming that you have at least a modicumof curiosity about the advantages of an efficient FMantenna (and that in itself may be quite an assump-tion since the great majority of FM listeners seemquite content to make do with whatever antennacomes to hand), a quick perusal of the FM antennalistings in any electronics mail-order catalogue islikely to discourage you before you finish thumbingthrough the few pages devoted to these products. Atypical "specifications list" for a line of antennaspromises to solve all reception problems: black -and -white TV or color, FM and stereo FM. In oneexample we may read:

Intensifies Color or Black -and -White pic7ures-plus FM

Excellent Front -to -Back ratios High dB gain Sharp-Narrow Directivity and Selectiviti Flat TV Color response-Plus FM signal Protective Goldenized Finish

Following these illuminating blurbs (in whichthe italics are ours) is a table of suggested models,ranging in price from $9.95 to $29.95 dependingupon how many elements-ten to thirty-six-arccontained in each model. The next column in thetable is entitled "Range," and the ratings vary from"up to 75 miles" for the $9.95 job all the way to "upto 200 miles" for the under -$30 special. At the riskof belaboring the matter, if amplifier specs werewritten in this way you might read something likethe following in an amplifier brochure:

Power Output: a whole lot Frequency Response: very extended and

good Distortion: hardly any at all Power Bandwidth: wider than you will ever

require Construction: comes complete on a single

metal chassis

If your first inclination is to blame the antennamanufacturers for this seeming lack of attention tomeaningful specifications, a good deal of the faultlies with component manufacturers and high fidel-ity component users as well. In my opinion, a greatinjustice is done to a tuner or receiver by its manu-facturer when he adds a flexible, 300 -ohm antennamade out of twinlead and tells you that this is your"specially designed" FM antenna. If you read farenough into the operating manual (and how manyof us do?) you're sure to come across the suggestionthat for really good FM reception (and most partic-ularly, stereo FM reception) you'd be better off in-stalling a proper outdoor FM antenna; but by thetime you get that far in the book you've probablyhooked up the flexible T -wire, turned on the set,tuned in what you consider to be a fair number ofacceptable FM stations, and decided that an out-door antenna is only for someone who lives in theboondocks and wants the thrill of listening to big -city FM.

Understanding Antenna Ads

Let's go over that list of antenna characteristics andsee what the manufacturer is trying to say. The firstand third items really refer to the same thing: gain.Properly speaking, gain is the increase in signallevel produced by an amplifier. An antenna, being

4- CIRCLE 43 ON READER -SERVICE CARD 49

This bundle of specially formed 300-ohmtwinlead isthe sort of thing you usually find at the bottom of theshipping carton when you unpack an FM tuner or re-ceiver. It is, of course, the familiar "T -wire" antenna.As the author of this article points out, there are manyrespects in which it won't come close to the performanceof a good rooftop FM antenna, and its use can com-promise reception.

a passive device, has no gain in this sense; but itsdesign will influence the signal levels that it can de-liver to your tuner or receiver from a given intensityof radio -wave propagation. The antenna's gain indB is therefore simply a measure of relative effi-ciency (by comparison to a simple, single elementin a half -wave dipole) in converting radio wavesinto electrical signals. The higher the gain, thestronger the signals the antenna puts out, and theclearer your reception of relatively weak trans-missions. In areas of high radio -wave signalstrength this characteristic is relatively unimpor-tant because even a low -gain antenna may deliverplenty of electrical signal, while a high -gain an-tenna can deliver too much. That is, it can overloadthe tuner's input section unless the antenna is in-tentionally pointed away from the strongest sta-tions. As you move farther and farther from thetransmitters, antenna gain becomes increasinglyimportant; in deep fringe areas it becomes perhapsthe most important of considerations.

Directivity refers to differences in gain depend-ing on the physical orientation of the antenna. An-tenna designs vary all the way from omnidirec-tional (equally sensitive to any signal, no matterwhich direction it comes from) to ultradirective (farmore sensitive to radio waves arriving from a singlecompass point than it is to all others). Directivity,then, refers to the antenna's ability to "focus" ona single direction in responding to radio waves.This characteristic is important in all sorts of areas,whether the average signal strength is high or low.It helps to overcome multipath interference by ze-roing in on the radio waves propagated directlyfrom the transmitter and rejecting the bounced sig-nals that come from other angles. And in deepfringe areas where two stations on the same or adja-cent channels may be fighting each other in yourtuner circuit, it allows you to aim the antenna at theone you want to hear, minimizing the signal fromthe other.

Front -to -back ratio is related to this concept. As Ishall explain later, some simple antennas are bidi-rectional: equally sensitive at front and back butrelatively insensitive to waves arriving from the twosides. Such an antenna can be aimed at the signalyou want to single out, but only if the interferingsignal is not coming from the opposite direction.Whereas directivity refers, roughly, to the sensi-tivity of the antenna at the front by comparison tothat at the sides, front -to -back ratio fills in thefourth compass point in suggesting the total di-rectional performance.

Antennas may also be characterized in terms offrequency response-meaning the radio fre-quencies to which it will respond. A broadband an-tenna is one that picks up a wide spectrum of sig-nals; a selective antenna is one tuned to a singlefrequency or a narrow band of frequencies. What-ever the antenna's bandwidth, however, it will notrespond with equal sensitivity (or gain) to all fre-quencies in the band. The flatter the antenna is saidto be, the closer it comes to equal sensitivity acrossthe band. This characteristic is difficult to measure,difficult to express, and difficult to evaluate in termsof your individual needs. If you particularly enjoyan educational station at the low end of the FMband (say 88.7 MHz) and you buy a typical inex-pensive antenna tuned to mid -band frequenciesaround 106 MHz, the combination of poor antennaresponse at the station's frequency and low trans-mitter power (typical of the college stations) maymean noisy or distorted reception of your favoritestation even though the commercial stations at themiddle of the band come booming in; but the spe-cifics of any particular installation seldom are thissimple.

There are various trade names that are used tosuggest anodizing of aluminum antenna parts.Anodizing inhibits corrosion and contributes mate-rially to long-term performance of the antenna;whether the anodizing is gold in color makes no


practical difference, though gold anodizing has be-come popular and often is made to sound like avery big deal when you read antenna ads.

You also will find expressions for the various de-sign types (Yagi, Log -Periodic, etc.) and construc-tion (ten -element, five -element, or whatever).These have about the same meaning as describingan amplifier in terms of circuit configuration andnumber of transistors: The description may suggestperformance characteristics to the knowledgeablereader, but it conveys no performance specifics.

FM, AM, and TV

The many successful built-in antenna designs forAM radios, plus the almost universal inclusion ofso-called rabbit ears on TV sets and flexible T -wireantennas with FM tuners and receivers, have ledbuyers to expect that whatever comes with the re-ception equipment must be antenna enough. Forpractical purposes the expectation may be justifiedwith most AM equipment. Radio waves in that fre-quency range bounce and scatter in a variety ofways, producing useful signals even with the sim-plest of antennas. FM and TV propagation, on theother hand, occurs basically only along straightlines; theoretically if you cannot draw an unob-structed line from transmitter antenna to receivingantenna you should expect reception problems.

It is rather surprising to find that most TV -setowners recognize the need for an outdoor antennaif superior reception-particularly in color-is to beobtained, but fail to recognize the same need whenit comes to FM (whose frequencies are neatly nes-

A typical multipath problem is caused by reflectedradio waves (here bouncing from storage tank), whicharrive later than signal coming directly from station.

oe"

TRANSMITTER

ow.0"

DIRECT WAVE

tled between TV Channels 6 and 7, by the way).Some FM listeners, aware of the similarity of need,connect their FM sets to their TV antennas (oftenwith a two -set -coupler that causes signal losses inboth TV and FM) and sit back thinking that theyhave been more than fair with their FM equip-ment. Some equipment manufacturers even sug-gest this compromise. The fact is that most TV an-tennas are designed to sacrifice gain in the interestof greater bandwidth. The VHF elements of a TVantenna must be capable of picking up frequenciesranging from 54 MHz to 216 MHz (Channels 2through 13). While no antenna can be designed tohave uniform gain over this vast range of fre-quencies, the length of its elements determines thefrequency at which it is optimally tuned; configura-tions employing more than one element can be di-mensioned for reasonably uniform gain over thewhole range if a reduction in average gain can betolerated. Usually, two basic elements are found inantennas intended for TV reception, one longerelement tuned to a frequency between Channels 2and 6 and a shorter element tuned somewhere be-tween Channels 7 and 13. Even if you were willingto ignore the reduction in gain necessitated by thebroadband approach required in TV antennas, aquick calculation of the frequencies just cited (ap-proximately 61 and 195 MHz) will show that theyare about as far removed from the required 88MHz -to -108 -MHz FM band as Bach's St. MatthewPassion is from Jesus Christ Superstar.

It is easy to forget that stereo FM requires ap-proximately five times the signal strength of monoFM for equivalent, noise -free performance. Fur-thermore, stereo FM broadcasting is more subject

GAS STORAGE TANK

/ REFLECTED WAVE

RECEIVING ANTENNA

APRIL 1972

The standard half -wave folded dipole antenna has a bidirec-tional receiving pattern. That is, it is most sensitive to signalsarriving perpendicular to its element, whether they comefrom the front or from the bask.

The double -dipole "turnstyle' antenna is omnidirectional.It has no front or back since the signals minimized by oneelement will be picked up by the other.

A multi -element Yagi has relatively high gain and a narrowangle of directivity. It may have more elements than areshown here, including active (or driven) elements, reflec-tors, and front -positioned "dryers."

Adding a reflector element to the olded dipole makes itsreception pattern more directional. The "frort" of theantenna is the end on which the dipole loop is mounted.

The "conical" antenna has the same directional responseas a simple dipole, but has somewhat more uniform re-sponse across the frequencies of the FM band.

The Log -Periodic antenna, while different in design, issimilar to a Yagi in terms of performance characteristics.Its element count also may vary with intended use.


to multipath interference than is mono FM. Multi -path in FM is akin to "ghosts" in TV; both arecaused by the reception of more than one signalfrom the same station as radio waves bounce offnearby structures or topographical features in yourneighborhood. The bounced signals, following alonger path, are slightly delayed and in effect inter-fere with the main signal beamed directly from thestation. The result can be audible distortion and, inextreme cases, loss of stereo separation. As I've al-ready suggested, if an FM antenna is to be effectivein reducing multipath interference it should be sen-sitive to the direct, unreflected signal while reject-ing the undesired reflections. The simple dipole an-tenna (approximated by the T -wire) is particularlyunsuitable for multipath problem areas since it cansuppress bounced signals effectively only if theycome at the antenna from the sides-that is, parallelto its element.

Choosing an Antenna

The generalization that the simpler types of an-tennas are for metropolitan areas or suburban useand that the highly directional types are for fringeareas no longer holds true. To determine what fac-tors are important in selecting an antenna, let's ex-amine the generally recognized reception -areaclassifications starting with the center city.

Signal strengths often will be quite high, so thatantenna gain is of relatively little importance.Transmitters may be at different compass pointsfrom your location, in which case an omnidirec-tional antenna may be called for. But if multipathproblems exist they are likely to be accentuated byan omnidirectional antenna, and a more direc-tional antenna may be called for. If this results inthe loss of certain signals (because the stations areweak and outside the directivity pattern of the an-tenna chosen), the only solution is to include a rota-tor in your installation. This may double the cost ofthe total installation, but the sum still representsbut a small fraction of the cost of a first-class tuner.

In all likelihood, however, this condition willrarely occur, for even the most directional of an-tennas will pick up signals of some magnitude fromthe nulled directions. Thus while a signal might bereceived with an intensity of 10,000 microvolts if agiven directional antenna were pointed directly atit, the same antenna rotated 90 degrees off targetmay well put in the station at 1,000 microvolts ormore, which would be more than adequate. Someinner-city antennas (Channel Master makes one)have little gain but are extremely directive, withhigh front -to -back ratios-at once controlling mul-tipath and minimizing the possibility of overload.

Speaking of signal strength, the Federal Com-munications Commission regards 1,000 microvoltsas an "adequate" signal and tells you in effect that

you take your chances on anything less. Comparethis philosophy with the sensitivity claims (usuallyaround 2 microvolts for mono reception) made bymost tuner and receiver manufacturers and you be-gin to see how easily the antenna question can getsidetracked. Remember, however, that the few mi-crovolts needed for minimal mono reception tellyou nothing about the signal strength required forfull tuner quieting in mono-let alone stereo. Mostcomponent -quality equipment will reach optimumperformance with signal strengths of at least 100microvolts; but if this signal strength represents theweakest station you want to receive well, then theaverage signal strengths your equipment has todeal with will be considerably higher. In theseterms the FCC's 1,000 -microvolt figure, though it isten times higher than the actual requirements ofmost component systems, suggests the generalrange of signal strengths with which they should bedealing.

If it is true that suburban dwellers are fast be-coming the majority of our population, then theFM listeners among them are indeed fortunate;close -in suburbia, generally speaking, offers theclosest available approach to an ideal FM recep-tion area. Stations are usually off in one direction-in the city to which the particular suburb is tied.Distances from the stations are about optimum:Locally reflected signals are relatively weak, whilethe primary, desired signals are strong enough thatantennas of moderate gain and directivity (andcost) are very effective.

Of course, problems may still arise in specific sit-uations. If a suburban area is equidistant from twometropolitan areas, a rotator may be required to doequal justice to stations in each city. Two separate,moderate -gain antennas on the same mast (but ver-tically separated by at least three feet to prevent in-teraction) may turn out to be less expensive thanthe antenna -plus -rotator combination.

Far-out suburban areas (and by that I mean overthirty-five miles or so) are best serviced by a high -

gain, highly directive Yagi or Log -Periodic multi -element antenna intended specifically for FM serv-ice. The narrow beam pattern that character-istically is obtained with such antennas requirescareful orientation of the antenna during installa-tion. If your tuner is equipped with a signalstrength meter (or some other form of signalstrength indicator such as an oscilloscope tube), ori-entation should be performed by one person whilethe other observes the indicator, tuning to the de-sired stations. The one good thing that can be saidabout such remote locations is that they are lesslikely to be plagued by multipath problems; pri-mary signal strength is so low that any reflectionsare likely to be below the noise threshold of the re-ceiver or tuner. On the other hand, such remoteareas are more likely to be serviced by stations fromvarious points on the compass, so that a rotator is

APRIL 1972 53

almost a must. If a rotator is installed, the problemof initial orientation is of course eliminated sinceyou will want to "tune" your antenna specificallyfor each station received and you can do this in thecomfort of your listening room, observing the sig-nal strength indicator as the antenna turns.

As you can see, the antenna suggestions made forthese reception -area classifications have a gooddeal of overlap; and you can find exceptions to thegeneral rules outlined. For example, with tunersensitivities at almost the theoretical limit less em-phasis need be placed upon gain and more upon di-rectivity, uniformity of response across the FMband, proper impedance matching (in antenna,transmission line, and receiver input), and front -to -back gain ratio. Unfortunately, many antennamanufacturers seem reluctant to publish thesetechnical specifications, preferring to stress struc-tural features such as anodization and ruggednessof the array when subjected to hurricane -forcewinds. Certainly these characteristics are impor-

tant; you will want to make sure that the installa-tion continues to function for more than one sea-son. Still, it would be most helpful if more antennamanufacturers would tell us what performancelevel to expect as well.

Tips on Installations

The professional services of a firm that specializesin antenna installation are strongly recommendedfor all but the simplest of rigs-say those having ashort mast mounted on a flat roof. You won't enjoyyour home FM set while confined to a hospital bedafter a serious fall. And professionals are bestequipped to insure permanent installation of thesupporting mast (which, in some instances, mayhave to be quite a tall structure, supported by guywires and the like). An antenna that is sloppily af-fixed to its mast can rotate (even without a rotator)under the influence of wind and can actually cause

The Missing SpecificationsIt took a very long time for all manufacturers toquote specifications for their amplifiers andtuners in a more or less standard fashion. De-scriptive literature ranges all the way from thetell -nothing example we cited at the beginningof the accompanying article to very completespecifications replete with polar -pattern draw-ings, gain figures, and data that seem almosttoo complex for the consumer to understandor use in comparing products. At the veryleast, I would like to see the following specifi-cations:

1. A statement (in dB) of the gain of the ar-ray, and specified for at least three fre-quencies in the FM band-preferably thesame ones (90, 98, and 106 MHz) that areused in other FM specifications.2. A statement (also in dB) of front -to -backratio. The higher the figure, the better thespecification.3. A statement of impedance, again givenat 90, 98, and 106 MHz.4. A statement about the directional char-acteristics of the array. This spec is bestgiven as the half -power beam width, in de-grees. Since half power is 3 dB below fullpower, the half -power point would be theoff -axis .lirection at which antenna gain is 3dB below the on -axis gain. Measure theangle between the axis and this off -axis di-rection and you have half the beam angle,since half -power points are symmetricalabout the axis. In this case, the lower thenumber of degrees, the narrower the beamand the more directional the array.5. Finally, a statement of standing -wave ra-

tio (abbreviated SWR or VSWR) canprove helpful in evaluating the merits of agiven antenna. It is a measure of the imped-ance mismatch between the antenna andthe transmission line. The ratio is 1 whenthere is a perfect match; higher numbers in-dicate the relative severity of the mismatch.A complete statement of this specificationwould include SWR readings for variousfrequencies across the FM band.

Using data for two of the models on whichtests were run for this issue, here are two ex-amples to give you an idea of what meaningfulelectrical antenna specs should look like:

ManufacturerModelGain at mid -bandFront -to -back ratioNominal ImpedanceHalf -power beam width

Finco JFDFM -4G LPL -FM -10A8.8 dB 9.9 dB22.5 dB 26.0 dB300 ohms 300 ohms42° 43° (±5°)

Note that the JFD model is a ten -element arraycosting considerably more than the four -ele-ment Finco unit. The two are not, strictlyspeaking, competitive models since they aredesigned for different reception areas.

In addition to the electrical specs shownabove, each manufacturer also supplies dataregarding turning radius and other installationhints. Armed with this kind of information andan awareness of your particular location andits reception problems you should be in amuch better position to choose the correct an-tenna for your needs.


induced noise in the reception-not to mention thehazards should the array collapse.

The choice of transmission line (or lead-in cable)should not be left up to the installation firm, how-ever, as they are most likely to sell you the least ex-pensive 300 -ohm twinlead cable. Even if properlymolded to resist weather, this type of flat cable isparticularly susceptible to ignition noise inter-ference from passing vehicles and to other electri-cal interference.

The two types of cables that are recommendedfor good antenna installations are 75 -ohm coaxialcable and shielded 300 -ohm twinlead. The formertype consists of an inner insulated conductor sur-rounded by a flexible metallic jacket or shield andhas a nominal impedance of 75 ohms. If your tuneror receiver is equipped with 75 -ohm antenna termi-nals, this cable is ideally suited for use in your FMantenna installation. Many sets are equipped onlywith 300 -ohm antenna terminals, however, and forthis reason shielded 300 -ohm twinlead transmission

line was developed. It is similar to the regular flat-

cable format, but the two conductors (which runside by side, separated by molded plastic) are en-tirely surrounded by a jacket of conductive mate-rial. This outer shield should be connected to aproper ground at the tuner or receiver. You can use75 -ohm lead-in with a 300 -ohm antenna and 300-ohm input connections on your tuner or receiver,but this setup would require matching transformersat both ends of the 75 -ohm cable.

Antenna manufacturers often will supply amatching transformer that is to be connected be-tween the antenna structure itself and the trans-mission line. This is necessary because the array'sinherent output impedance usually is between 50and 75 ohms, whereas the transmission line towhich it is connected commonly is of the 300 -ohmtype. The absence of such a transformer (called abalun) is not very serious, however, unless you arelooking for every last microvolt of signal you canget-as in extreme fringe areas.

nnasSix Models ComparedRISKING SOME RAISED EYEBROWS among my neigh-bors in Great Neck, New York, I amassed a total ofsix FM antennas in various price categories andmade an arrangement with my local service shopto come around Mondays and Fridays to take onedown and put up the next for testing purposes.

First, I wanted to know just how each antennacompared in pulling power to that of an indoor300 -ohm twinlead T dipole of the type often sup-plied with tuners or receivers. To be realistic, I de-cided to compare the outdoor antennas with this in-door dipole while it was mounted at ground -floorlevel. The comparison between the dipole and out-door models therefore defines the contrast in prac-tical performance to be expected and not the dB -gain of the antennas tested.

I he outdoor units were mounted 30 feet aboveground level and were oriented due west (towardNew York City and most of the available FM sta-tions) for the major part of the tests. The indoor di-pole also was oriented in a westerly direction.

Since all but one of the outdoor antennas are de-livered for 300 -ohm use only, we used shielded 300 -ohm downlead in hooking them up. In order tomeasure actual signal strengths (microvolts) ap-pearing at the antenna terminals of my receiver, Icalibrated the FM tuner by means of an FM gener-ator. This particular tuner develops automatic gaincontrol voltages that are proportional to incomingsignal strength. For example, 3.0 volts of AGC cor-responds to a signal input of about 400 microvolts.Readings are not entirely consistent across the dial,

APRIL 1972 55

15K 8K

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CHANNEL MASTER 4408

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103.5 104.3

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Channel Master Stereo Probe, Model 4408This nine -element Yagi antenna consists of four driven elements and five director elements. (Thedirector elements are at the front end of the array.) Note in the bar graph that every station of thenineteen measured delivered a signal strength in excess of 1,000 microvolts, the highest was15,000 microvolts. The reading for 92.3 MHz was highest in testing both the reference dipole andthe Stereo Probe, giving a fair confirmation of the test procedure and also a quick indication thatthere was an improvement -for this station -of 15:1, or about 24 dB. This model displayed thegreatest directionality of any tested. It costs about $37.

LAFAYETTE 18-01281WXn

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W W

103.5 104.3

WTFM WNCN

W

105.1

WRFM

SWN E

105.9

WHBI

Lafayette 10 -element FM Yagi (Cat. 18-01281WX)The results of the measurements, as shown in the bar graph, represent somewhat less gain thanthat obtained with the Channel Master unit, and there is an obvious falling off of response at thehigh end of the band: signal strength readings are seen to vary from a low of 400 microvolts to ahigh of 7,000. Although the element count is high, the $12 price is the lowest in the group.

8K 7.5K 10K- ' WINEGARD SC -650

ME FACING SOUTH

WEST

L J FACING NORTH COMPARISON

INDOOR DIPOLENM FACING I 1 FACING EASTM.

W

90.7 92.3 93.1WFUV WHOM WPAT

W SWN E W W

93.9 94.7 95.5 96.3 97.1 97.9 98.7 99.5 100.3WNYC WFME WABC WQXR WNBC WEVD WOR WBAI WVN1

W SWNE W W W W W

101.1

WCBS

SWNE W

101.9 102.7WPIX WNEW

W W

103.5 104.3

WTFM WNCN

SWNE

105.1 105.9WRFM WHBI

Winegard Model SC -650 FM Yagi AntennaThis eleven -element unit includes a weatherproofed, sealed circuit board and balun arrange-ment for connecting either 75 -ohm or 300 -ohm transmission lines, the only antenna in the groupso equipped. There are four driven elements, one reflector element and six director elements.Gain measurements vary from a low of 1,800 to a high of 30,000 microvolts. From a gain stand-point, this turned out to be the hottest antenna we measured and it is a close second to the Chan-nel Master in directionality. It would certainly be the one to use in extreme fringe areas. Such aunit may be too hot for metropolitan or suburban use. The Winegard lists at $45.95.

JFD PM EMILIA

OO

O

`X

5

LY

QJ

v5

FACING SOUTH I I FACING NORTH COMPARISONMINFACING WEST l I FACING EAST INDOOR DIPOLE6K

5K

4K

3K

2K

1K III I III 1 1-1W

90.7WFUV

W

92.3WHOM

10K

SWNE

93.WPAT

W W W SWNE W W W

93.9 94.7 95.5 9E3 97.1 97.9 98.7WNYC WFME WABC WOXR WNBC WEVD WOR

93.511113AI

W

100.3WVN1

101.1W

WCBS

SWNE W W

101 102.7 103.5WPIX WNEW WTFM

104.3W

WNCN

W

105.1

WRFM

SWN E

105.9WHBI

JFD Log Periodic Antenna Model LPL-FM10AThis ruggedly constructed ten -element antenna was the only Log -Periodic design in the group.Output figures for the nineteen stations range from a low of 1,000 microvolts to a high of about5,500. Though these figures are not very high, the gain seems a bit more consistent across theentire FM band than it did with the models previously measured. Of the antennas measured, thisis the last of those intended primarily for long-distance recepton. It lists at $52.15.

7K

,,E Hot r) ,.,^

6K

MEI FACING SOUTH 1 i FACING NORTH COMPARISONNMENE FACING WEST L __, FACING EAST INDOOR DIPOLE

5K

4K

3K

2K

1K I 1 _

W

90.7

WFUV

W

92.3WHOM

SWNE

93.1WPAT

W W W SWNE W W W

93.9 94.7 965 96.3 97.1 97.9 98.7WNYC WFME WABC WOXR WNBC WEVD WOR

W

99.5 100.3 101.1 101.9 102.7WEAI WVNJ WCBS WPIX WNEW

W W SWNE W

103.5W

WTFM

W

104.3

WNCN

W SWN

105.1 105.9WRFM WHBI

Jerrold FM -5 Yagi AntennaThe output readings for this moderately priced unit are just about as high as (and in one instancehigher than) those obtained for the earlier units containing a greater number of elements. This isan index of greater beam width -rather than comparable gain -as explained in the accom-panying text. Readings for the FM -5 ranged from 1,000 to 10,000 microvolts. It lists at $16.50.

12K

7KFINCO FM 4G

6K

MIM FACING SOUTH O FACING M3RTH COMPARISONf 1FACING WEST FACING EAST INDOOR DIPOLE

5K

4K

3K

1 11

2K

1 I I1K 1 I I I90.7W

WFUV

W

92.3

WHOM

SWNE

93.1WPAT

W W W SWNE W W

93.9 94.7 95.5 96.3 97.1 97.9WNYC WFME WABC W000 WNBC WEVD

Finco FM -4G

W

98.7WOR WBAI

W

99.5

W

100.3

VNN1

101.1W

WCBS

SWNE W

101.9 102.7WPIX WNEW

W

103.5WTFM

W

104.3

WNCN

W

1061WRFM

SWNE

1059WHBI

I saved this popular antenna made by the Finney Company for last only because it happens tobe the newest version of an antenna (the FM -4) that I have used for several years. The "G" suffixmerely indicates that the elements have a gold protective treatment. In general, readings weresomewhat higher than those obtained with the Jerrold unit although they are in the same class,ranging from a low of 1,200 microvolts to a high of 12,000. The Finco displays a little more di-rectionality than the Jerrold, but much less than the more elaborate designs of course. The FM -4G lists at $27.25.

however, so in the interest of accuracy I calibratedthe tuner at 88, 95, 100 and 108 MHz and used thatcalibration closest to the received station's fre-quency to determine signal strength.

Since this portion of the test was concerned onlywith the gain of various antennas, I concentratedon stations that are strictly local to my area-sta-tions located 800 kHz apart on the dial, from 90.7 to105.9 MHz. (Stations below 90.7 were received, butbeing educational stations their broadcast sched-ules were too erratic to be used for test purposes.)To maintain fairly uniform atmospheric conditionsI ran all the tests between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m.,though humidity and temperature, which can af-fect reception, did vary from day to day, of course.

The Measurements

The accompanying test graphs show the basic fre-quencies to which I tuned, the station call letters,and the signal strengths received using the indoordipole. As you can see from the black bars in thegraphs, the weakest signal measured with the in-door dipole was 50 microvolts, while the strongestwas 1,000 microvolts-and there was only one suchstrong signal among the nineteen local stationsmeasured.

The tested antennas are not all of the same type,and the results demonstrate the differences. Thefirst four models are multi -element designs in-tended for fringe -area or deep -fringe use. The lasttwo are simpler in design and more appropriate forthe location I live in-a suburban area where FMsignals are fairly strong and arrive more or lessfrom one direction. Most of the stations used in thetest lie a little south of due west from the house;WFME, with its transmitter in West Orange, NewJersey and WFUV in the Bronx are closest to duewest.

The simpler antennas, having a wider half -powerbeam than the multi -element designs, tend to be(relatively speaking) more sensitive to off -axis sta-tions; therefore you will find in comparing resultswhat appear at first glance to be anomalies in thesignal -strength data: for example the readings forWPAT (93.1 MHz, with a transmitter atop NewYork's Chrysler Building) obtained using Wine-gard's SC -650 (8,000 microvolts) and Jerrold's FM -5 (10,000 microvolts). Conversely, for WFUV (90.7MHz) the Jerrold reading was 2,200 microvoltswhereas the Winegard clocked 3,000.

It is the directivity of the two designs that ex-plains the differences in gain. I confirmed this witha rotator, increasing the signal strength for Man-hattan stations by zeroing in on them-requiring anorientation shift of some 15 degrees toward thesouth.

To achieve insight into the directional character-

istics of the six antennas tested, I arbitrarily se-lected four station frequencies, 93.1, 96.3, 101.9,and 105.9 MHz, and, using the rotator, plotted mi-crovolt readings for the three other cardinal com-pass points: north, south, and east. The easternreadings are intended to show front -to -back ratio,since primary signals for these four stations ba-sically originate from the west, while the north andsouth readings were made to give some indicationof beam width of the various antennas.

In dealing with strong signals the directionalitymeasurements are especially pertinent to possiblemultipath problems; in deep fringe areas they helpto show how effectively the antennas will handleadjacent -channel or alternate -channel inter-ference, since in such locations the stations arelikely to lie in different directions of the compass.

The four points of the compass (together with therespective signal strength readings at the four fre-quencies selected) are plotted in the graphs of theindividual antennas. The plots will show how muchmore effective the more elaborate antennas are incomparison with the simpler Jerrold and Fincomodels. Since the four stations (in order of fre-quency, WPAT, WQXR, WPIX, and WHBI) all arelocated in midtown Manhattan, none was truly on -axis with respect to the basic westward orientation.This fact, plus multipath effects, explain why northand south readings are not identical, though the an-tennas' polar response patterns normally are sym-metrical.

While the bulk of these antenna measurements

What some people will do for a living-and perhaps a littlefree publicity. Installer from Delux TV in Little Neck, N.Y.came to author's house twice a week to take down one an-tenna and put up another until the tests were completed.


involve a comparison with an indoor twinlead Tantenna, I also wanted to measure a broadband TVantenna in terms of signal -pulling power. In one re-spect the TV job did quite well. There was abso-lutely no difference in gain across the FM band be-tween 88 MHz and 108 MHz. This is not altogethersurprising since the broadband TV antenna has tocover a much greater range of frequencies than the20 MHz of FM. Actually the entire FM band uti-lizes only a bit more broadcast "space" than threeTV channels, each TV channel being 6 MHz wide.

On the other hand, the TV antenna did not do sowell in terms of signal strength, averaging onlyabout half the gain of even the least expensive (andleast complex) of our FM -only samples. In terms ofsignal-to-noise ratio this represents 6 dB of de-gradation-not too significant in my listening area,where signal strengths with a good antenna meas-ure in the thousands of microvolts, but highlysignificant if you're in a location where every mi-crovolt counts (or if you're trying to do a bit of long-distance FM station -seeking). For these tests I con-nected the TV antenna directly to the receiver; inmost TV -antenna installations, however, the FMtuner or receiver is in parallel with a TV set. With atypical two -set coupler installed, or with a directconnection-that is, omitting the coupler andbreaking into the TV line with another piece oftwinlead attached to your FM tuner-the resultingmismatch could cause losses from 3 dB on up, de-pending upon variables such as cable lengths, inputimpedance of the two sets in question, and so on. Inshort, although the TV antenna was given everypossible break it still could not compare with an-tennas designed solely for FM.

Some readers may question the validity of thesetests in some respects. I'm entirely aware that aproper set of laboratory measurements designed tostudy the characteristics of these antennas wouldhave involved much more complex equipment andmeasurement techniques. The purpose, however,was not to fill in the gaps in the manufacturers'specifications or to double-check those that areavailable. I have tried to indicate just how impor-tant an outdoor FM antenna can be in terms of sig-nal strength, multipath problems, and the like com-pared to the twinlead indoor antennas many FMlisteners use today, and to document the relativeperformance characteristics of the six models undertest.

I haven't discussed station logging at all. But dur-ing the time when the Winegard antenna was onmy roof I switched to a modern, high -sensitivitytuner and was able to log a station at every 400 kHz(that is, alternate channel) on the dial pointer. Thatnumber of stations (47 in all; a couple of low -endstations were off the air at the time) was receivedwith the antenna oriented just toward New YorkCity! In trying to correlate results by using the rota-

tor I frankly lost count at about 75 stations. Therewere at least ten instances of stations only 200 kHzaway from local stations, and at least four stationsreceived from the northeast were different fromstations received on the same frequencies when theantenna was oriented to the west.

With the antenna turned toward the west, 28 ofthe 47 stations logged were transmitting stereo. Ofthese, 25 required no reorientation of the antennato avoid multipath distortion problems, while theother three were corrected by rotating the antennasome 15 to 30 degrees away from due west.

The tests cover products of six companies andrepresent two basic groups of antennas, arbitrarilyarranged in the order of testing rather than by priceor element count. These same companies oftenmake other models as well. Jerrold, for example,has the ten -element FM -10 in addition to the five -element model we tested. The first choice you mustmake in selecting an FM antenna involves the basictype, rather than a specific model. The precedingarticle discusses the factors that will influence thechoice depending on your location and the recep-tion problems you need to prevent or overcome.

Let's recap two of those considerations. You willnot need a particularly hot antenna (in terms ofpure gain) unless you live far from the stations youwant to receive; how far is far will depend partly on

mitter power of the stations in question. Direction-ality will help in deep -fringe areas (where stationsmay come in on the same or adjacent channels) orin center -city locations (where multipath tends tobe a severe problem), but is somewhat less impor-tant-generally speaking-in intermediate areas. Inmany suburban locations an excessively directionalantenna may require a rotator, whereas one with awider angle would not.

The tests have shown that all six antennasshould, in terms of gain, do a better job than youcan expect from a comparable broadband TV/FMantenna and a much better job than a simple di-pole. Balancing price, gain, and directionalityagainst each other, the moderate -gain Yagis are anexcellent choice for the suburban areas where mostof our readers live today; and of the two modelstested the Finco FM -4G would appear to have aslight edge. Of the more elaborate units, the Chan-nel Master and Winegard are particularly attrac-tive, while the Lafayette comes at a bargain price. Itshould be emphasized, however, that the differ-ences between antennas in a given class tend to beless then those between classes.

If a specially designed antenna costing perhaps$20 or $30 can double the pleasure you get from a$300 investment in an FM receiver or its equiva-lent, it's obvious why you (and the receiver manu-facturers) should cover your ears against the sirencall of make -do alternatives. L F.

APRIL 1972 59

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by Joan Peyser

Has the "rock revolution"of the '60s influenced the

direction of music students?

Thecoming

Geperationof lusicians

"FOR THE FIRST TIME in the history of the world, thekids are creating music, and for once it's the adultslike me who are peeping enviously into theirworld!' Thus spoke Leonard Bernstein on the revo-lution in rock. And a revolution it was! In 1964manufacturers turned out fifteen thousand Beatlewigs a day. Soon the Establishment outdistancedthe fans. Composer Ned Rorem compared theBeatles to Schubert. Richard Poirier, English pro-fessor and editor of Partisan Review, painstakinglyanalyzed their lyrics. And I called Sgt. Pepper's a"work of art" that had sprung from "unexpected,nonart sources!'

Now the Beatles have broken up. Skirts havefallen to below the knee. Instructors talk quietly infront of their classes, and it's hard to believe the'60s happened at all. In the calm that has followedthe storm, HIGH FIDELITY asked me to assess therole rock played for this generation of music stu-dents. The one generalization I can make is this: Ithardly touched the most specialized students at all,those who made an early commitment to music andappear almost driven in the pursuit of their metier.Avant-garde singer Cathy Berberian may have re-corded twelve Beatle hits, but the barrier betweenthe genres never disappeared. I recall a composer'swife gyrating-ever so slightly-to a Jimi Hendrixsong. "He really has something there!' she said."Yes!' her husband replied, "lots of major and mi-nor chords!'

Rock never became the great or important musicsome thought it would. If it had moved into moreartistically interesting areas, perhaps more studentswould be involved in it today. Or it could be theother way around: If more students had involvedthemselves with rock, it might have been more in-teresting today. In any event-as it stands-it nevermoved beyond the initial forecasts of the engulfedadult critics.

The geography of this article may at first appearto be excessively restricted (New York, we are al-ways told, is not America). However, I have delib-erately focused on musical institutions in NewYork City rather than on something called a crosssection of the national scene because for the seriousstudent of music New York is still the most pow-erful magnet in the world? The conservatories ofother cities train many musicians, as do the musicfaculties of many colleges and universities aroundthe country. But nowhere is there a greater concen-tration of training facilities or jobs than in NewYork. What is more, nowhere are there more facil-ities available-even including the public schoolsystem-to the devoted though noncareer-orientedstudent than in New York.

*The National Orchestral Association, a student orchestra that givesconcerts in Carnegie Hall, shows the following distribution for 1971/2:Of 74 members, 19 come from New York state; 7 from Ohio; 6 fromMichigan; 5 each from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania; 3 from NewJersey; 2 each from Japan, Iowa, Kentucky, and South Dakota; and Iapiece from Australia, Barbados, Brazil, France, Germany, Holland,Israel, Philippines, Ukraine, Alabama, California, Delaware. Illinois,Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon,Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

To say that rock fell short of some critics' predic-tions is not to deny its role in the culture of ourtime. Many art students at Music and Art, a spe-cialized public high school in New York, and manydance and drama students at the Juilliard School,the prestigious conservatory, are active in rock-and-roll groups. The point seems to be this: If youchoose a field outside of music, then you can affordto play with rock. But if you choose music as yourcareer, the competition and demands are so formi-dable and the devotion so singleminded that totalspecialization seems to be the only course.

Thus it follows that the younger and less focusedthe musician, the more open and uncritical he is.

From the Henry Street Music School, through theHigh School of Music and Art, up to the Columbiaundergraduates, one finds many students playingrock-and-roll. But rarely do any of these studentsmove on to more advanced levels of musical train-ing. In Columbia's graduate school of music, inconservatories such as Juilliard, Mannes, or Man-hattan, in the training orchestras of New York, rockmade virtually no dent at all.

The Henry Street Music School, a famous andold school on the lower East Side of New York,services about six hundred kids-black, Spanish,Chinese, and Jewish. A nonaccredited communityschool requiring no entrance exam, Henry Street isnot a conservatory where people go who want to re-ceive professional training. Rather is it a relaxedplace for neighborhood children who have morethan a passing interest in music. I spoke to directorHenry Frierson. a large, expansive black man whocomplained that the older generation resistschange. "We must not fight it;' he says. "We mustuse rock to turn the kids on:' Instead of performingMessiah last Christmas, the kids produced Frier -son's Gospel/Cantata, a work the composer sayscombines arias and recitatives with blues and jazz."Everyone wanted to be a part of it;' he says. "Thisis what they really love. I hear the kids saying allthe time: 'I don't like Bach. I don't like Mozart. I dolike Brubeck, Ellington, and Bernstein:" Friersonsays that his students rarely attend concerts at thelarge halls: "The music represents a life style toodifferent from their own:'

Even in a more sophisticated school, like theHigh School of Music and Art, traditional concertmores put the kids off. William Fischer, a thirty-nine -year -old black musician who teaches thereseconds Frierson's experience: "Once I had to takea class to Philharmonic Hall. I'd been given sixtyfree tickets to a concert conducted by Lorin Maa-zel-Mahler, Webern, and Richard Strauss. I had tothreaten the kids that if they didn't go I'd give thema test that would bring down their grades. Theywent but didn't like it at all. They didn't care for thewhole scene. The children want to integrate societysocially, culturally, and politically. Traditional mu-sic has nothing they seek'.' I asked about the avant-garde concerts that the New York Philharmonic is

sponsoring in Greenwich Village this year. "Thismusic calls for a discipline the student rejects. Inaddition to that he doesn't like what he hears.

"Boulez represents the Establishment. No matterwhat he does downtown, he is still conductor of alarge orchestra. Conducting a large orchestrameans something to them that they think shouldnot exist anymore. The string players at school arenot any good because it takes so long to be a goodstring player. These kids prefer to do other thingswith their time:'

Fischer pointed out that European Romanticismexerts no pull at all but that medieval and renais-sance music is very big. His students have playedpieces by Ockeghem and Obrecht over WBAI, anoncommercial radio station in New York con-nected with the Pacifica Foundation. "But withmusic of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries;'he said, "they are always striving, always learning,and when they finally do arrive, they find they haveno audience. If a string quartet plays Haydn andMozart after school, they will play to an emptyhouse. If a group plays early music, or blues andjazz, then the house will certainly be full:'

At Music and Art, I spoke to Chris DeCormier, astudent in Fischer's American music class. Chriscomes from a gifted musical family. His father, achoral conductor. graduated from Juilliard and hismother sings with her husband's group. Now a sen-ior, Chris entered Music and Art on the violin,which he began to study at nine. He described theentrance exam to me; it sounded exactly like theone I took to enter the same school a generationago. Not very much has changed: Guitar is still notformally taught, blues and jazz packed the housethen, and good string players were always hard tofind. (We had not, however, heard of Ockeghem.)

Chris, a perceptive and talented boy, deprecatesrock and likes to play jazz. I asked him about rockopera, one of those movements which some criticshave predicted would result in serious and impor-tant works. He put it down: "It's a clear-cut attemptto capitalize on a sick trend-that whole Revivalistthing. You see it in Bernstein's Mass and in JesusChrist Superstar. Tommy [the first rock opera, writ-ten and performed by The Who and presented inthe Metropolitan Opera House] was a genuine at-tempt to be creative. But the others that followedare just genuine attempts to make lots of money.And at that they will succeed:'

Chris started to play trumpet a year ago andworks at emulating Freddy Hubbard among oth-ers. He does not want to be a professional musicianbut plans to go into medicine. With medicine as his

career he can move where his spirit and ears leadhim without worrying if he will win that rare prize:a good job in music.

Moving up the ladder a bit to the undergraduatecollege level, when the student has not yet settledJoan Peysor writes often for the Sunday New York Times and is

the author of The New Music: The Sense Behind the Sound.

APRIL 197263

on a career, there is still some crossbreeding. I gavequestionnaires to students in Columbia's Theory I,a course that suggests more than a casual interest inthe field but one that demands no expertise. Of theforty-eight who replied, only five had ever playedany rock. Thirty-eight had played conventional in-struments and attended concerts downtown. Onlyone of the five who played rock planned to becomea music major; most of the remaining forty-threedo.

In searching for a music major who had comefrom the "pop" side of the fence, I found MartyLaskin from North Bellmore on Long Island, a sen-ior at Columbia and a friendly and articulateyoung man. Marty, who is studying composition,theory, and music history, has a jazz ensemble andplayed until after two the night before we met.Marty's musical schizophrenia is a long-standingdisease: His grandfather was a cantor, his fatherthe leader of a society orchestra, and he himself be-gan to play sax at four. I told Marty that in myweeks of interviews I had not found a single studentwho had come to "serious" music from rock. He of-fered this explanation:

"The problem with rock is that its defining limitsare visceral rather than cerebral. It's a visceral formof self-expression, and volume is often used tocover up a lack of technique. There are, of course,some good rock musicians: the Procul Harem andBlood, Sweat and Tears. But even they aren't doingwhat they should. And then there are so many verybad ones. Sly and the Family Stone-that's pack-aging blackness and selling it. It's what I call Acid/Rock / Muzak.

"I have a lasting love for Ockeghem. The way hestructures time! Sound structures time as, in theplastic arts, pigment structures space. Renaissancemusic is so appealing. It is written for any instru-ment and the amateur can play it easily. By thetime you get to Gesualdo, that's something else.Gesualdo isn't easy to listen to!'

When I asked about his future, Marty answeredthat he wants to lock himself in a cave and writeand play for about six years. The chances are thathe won't do that, but it's hard to predict just whathe will do. Such eclectic musicians are not the rulein the more specialized echelons of our musical in-stitutions. Those students who have committedthemselves to the serious pursuit of a musical ca-reer seem to have started when they were young,followed a straight and narrow path, and paid prac-tically no attention to rock.

One Thursday afternoon, ten minutes before arehearsal, I stopped in at the City Center to case thesituation regarding the National Orchestral Associ-ation. This training orchestra, directed by LeonBarzin, consists of eighty-five people betweentwenty and twenty-three years old. Their adoles-cence coincided with the golden age of rock. Byasking for a show of hands, I learned that most

study at conservatories, want careers in solo, cham-ber, or orchestral work, and spend many hourspracticing each day. I asked how many had everplayed rock. One timpanist raised his hand. Severalothers called out that they would like to play butthey had never learned how, that they never hadany time.

I spoke to Steven Koeppel, from Miami, whoplays trumpet with the NOA. Also a member of theBrass Quintet and the Juilliard Orchestra, thistwenty -year -old student rehearses every night andcomplains about the scarcity of practice rooms atschool. He says that rock is much too loud. "I'venever been to the Fillmore East. Once I went to arock concert at Tanglewood-the Jefferson Air-plane in 1969-but I had to sit on the back of thelawn because the noise was deafening." As for hisfuture: "What I want most is an orchestral job, butthere's not enough work to go around. In Min-neapolis this year there was one opening for atrumpet player and 160 applied for the job. If I lookat it realistically, I'll probably land in the pit of aBroadway house."

On entering Juilliard one expects to find a differ-ent musical world. Boys wear beards and pony tails.Girls wear dungarees and long cotton skirts. Surelyrock must prevail. Nothing could be further fromthe truth. In eavesdropping this is what I heard inthe halls: "I have trouble identifying the minorsixth interval. Sometimes it sounds almost major.After all, turned around, it is a major third!' And:"About the example you gave in class, you had toomany consecutive downward leaps in your melody.You should avoid big leaps in general!" From thepractice rooms-Chopin, Debussy, Haydn, andLiszt.

I walked into an L & M class (literature and ma-terials) usually taught by Hall Overton. Mr. Over-ton is also a jazz musician, and I thought he mightattract students interested in the "third stream"idea, an attempt to create serious "art" from jazz.He was away for the day and Rumanian composerGheorghe Costinescu had taken over the class forhim, analyzing Handel and Debussy at the piano.There were ten students in the class. After Cos-tinescu finished, I asked them for a moment of theirtime. How many had come from rock or jazz?None. How many had ever played rock or jazz?None. How many planned to play rock or jazz?None. What would they like to do? Be great per-formers. Class dismissed. On the way out a Cubanboy stopped: "We all want to be great performers,"he said. "But that is not realistic at all. Each of uswill probably teach at a respectable school."

Later Costinescu told me of a student interestedin rock. I spoke to Paul Amrod of Red Hook in up-state New York:

"I relate to rock most, but I want to learn aboutother compositional procedures. That is why Icame to Juilliard.

64HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

"I relate to rock most," says Paul Amrod, fromRed Hook in upstate New York. This opinion makes him

unique among students at the Juilliard School.

The Bronx's Bruce Taub,a Ph.D. candidate at

Columbia, believes Vareseand Stravinsky made most of

rock's "discoveries" first.

Volume in rock, says Columbia Universitystudent Marty Laskin, of North Bellmore, L. I.,

often covers a lack of technique.

Manhattanite Zizi Mueller, a sometimestudent at the Manhattan School and musicdirector of tl-e La Mama theater group, rejectsrock music but identifies with rock culture.

Photos by Sheila Schultz

National Orchestral Associationmember Stevan Koeppel (left), fromMiami, and Columbia student Tom Baker,from Milwaukee, agree that jobsin music may be scarce, but neither isdeterred from pursuing such a career.

APRIL 1972 65

"I began to play organ in rock groups at fifteen.That was the time of Revolver and Rubber Soul. TheBeatles were very important to me. But if you askme if there are other students at Juilliard like me,the answer is simple: zero; not one! There areabout one hundred and fifty pianists here and theremay be three who can play some rock. The samething is true of composers. Most of them are intoearly serial work. The Zeitmasse of Stockhausen iswhat they like. Webernism is the keynote here.These people are still turning out sonatalikepieces-with several movements-with everythingwritten in.

"I am frustrated here. Last year they would notlet me perform a work of my own at a small, unad-vertised compositional concert unless I would no-tate it. That made me sick-that these people are soformalized. Dean Waldrop sent me a note askingme not to play rock in the practice rooms whenthere is a class going on next door. The piano tunerscomplain to me too."

Dean Gideon Waldrop has not embraced rock.He says that some Juilliard composers may havebeen somewhat influenced by rock but that it hasnot affected school policy. "Performers cannot playrock for their entrance exams. They play from ma-terials set up for them-a Beethoven sonata, a Bachprelude and fugue, a contemporary work. If weever learned that rock was developing a traditionand becoming a more sophisticated part of musicallife, then we might make some changes in that di-rection. But at the moment it appears as a passingphase. What will supersede it? There will be some-thing else."

Later, at a party, I met Hubert Doris, presidentof the Mannes School of Music. I told him that Ihad planned to call him to find out what role rockplayed in his school. "Rock-and-roll?" he asked in-credulously. "I can answer that question in oneword: none!"

Specialization that excludes everything but theissue at hand prevails on all the highest levels oftraining. In the graduate departments at Columbiathere are no Marty Laskins around. I spoke to TomBaker, a twenty -five -year -old musicology studentfrom Milwaukee who is writing his thesis on pro-portional notation of the sixteenth century:

"I've never had anything to do with rock. I knownothing at all about it. If I had to teach a human-ities course and the students wanted me to do some-thing with rock, I'd be completely helpless andhave to turn the class over to one of them."

Baker joins Fischer and Laskin in his enthusiasmfor early music. "The young people respond to it. Itdoesn't require years of specialized training or aparticularly beautiful voice. It's music you can takeeasily-without wondering what on earth is goingon, as you wonder with Wagner and Beethoven."

"To keep body and soul together," Baker may goon for a library degree. He thinks universities are

turning out far more musicologists than theyshould.

They are probably turning out too many com-posers as well. Bruce Taub of the Bronx-a bas-soonist and a composer with a master's degree-isworking for his Doctor of Musical Arts degree atColumbia, A graduate of Music and Art, he neverplayed any rock-and-roll. "I know rock musicianstalk about all the discoveries they've made. ButStravinsky and Varese made them first:' Taub's at-titude is upbeat: "I'm a hard-working student, andI was lucky. I got into music when I was young.Now I teach a humanities course that meets threetimes a week. Apart from receiving my tuition free,I earn $2,000 a year. I'd love to find my life's workright here, but everyone at Columbia wants thattoe'

"The universe is divided into two worlds: theclassical/contemporary world and the rock/under-ground world:' So says Manhattanite Zizi Mueller,a first-rate flutist and Brearley graduate. Althoughshe rejects rock-and-roll because it is "too repeti-tive; she identifies with the rock culture and feelshostile to the more circumscribed approach to herart. Zizi began to play flute at ten and has studiedflute seriously ever since then. Last June, after ayear and a half at the Manhattan School, she quit.Now she earns $75 a week as music director of LaMama, a "total theater" group in Greenwich Vil-lage, and says that she's in the position of hiringJuilliard graduates. Most of them, she claims, workas clerks somewhere.

"I know that I need much more knowledge:' Zizitold me in early November, "but I can't compro-mise my whole existence. At school they negatedeverything in which I believe. They have thirty flut-ists and one orchestra. You have to pull strings justto play your instrument. The ear training coursesare farcical. You sit in huge classes waiting for yourturn to sing a tune. Everyone just sits there andlaughs; it's all very superficial.

"Even if you could bear the training, it's point-less because there are so few jobs ahead. Auditionsare rigged and based on connections. An audition islike a cattle call, and people go through all of this tobe tenth violinist in an orchestra that plays forpeople who don't listen at all, who just snore or talkall the way through.

"Of course there are plenty of kids who stay withit. They came into music in an antique way-thor-oughly computerized. They are molded and allcome out in the same shape. How many reallythought of what they wanted to do? They come intothis competitive jungle and automatically gothrough all of the paces. . . ."

The last I heard, Zizi had applied for re-entryinto school. Musicians are driven; there's no doubtabout that. If you could get out, of course, youwould. That is the condition of art. It doesn't seemto be any different today than it has ever been.


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APRIL 1972 67

To appreciate this album,allyou need

are the facts:BOULEZ

sTRAVIAKY

E1:1011KANEW

YoRK

Pierre Boulez.His new orchestra:

The NewYork Philharmonic.His specialty:

Stravinsky (remember theGrammy award winning

"Le Sacre du Printemps"?)His new album:

"Petrushkai." The original,uncut 1911 version.

On Columbia Recordsand Tapes

"COLUMBIA."® AURCAS KG PAINTED IN U 511


Four -Channel Discs and Tapesby Robert Long

This month's first three feature reviews deal with a subjectthat everyone is talking about nowadays: quadraphonicrecordings. Supplies of these four -channel recordings arenot easy to come by (even review copies of some items arescarce), though the total list of discs and tapes presently"available" is impressive in both length and variety for arecorded medium that has come into being so recently.

The first review deals with a portion of the SQ offeringsfrom Columbia, Epic, and Ampex. Discs matrixed by theColumbia SQ process also have been announced by Van-guard, and EMI/Angel is expected to release some beforelong. The second review takes a sampling of discs using thecompeting, though similar, Electro-Voice and Sansui ma-trix systems. Relatively few recordings have been madeavailable in either; and while there are other quadraphonic

The SQ discs

disc systems, their products are not commercially avail-able. The final review takes a small sampling of the longQ-8 (for quadraphonic 8 -track) cartridge list-almost allof them from RCA and available for some months now.

Some readers may still be unfamiliar with the termi-nology of the new medium. "Discrete" four -channelsound (that on the Q-8 cartridges or on open -reel tapes is-sued some time ago by Vanguard and Project 3) meansthat the quadraphonic effect is achieved by a recordingtechnique in which all four channels maintain their inde-pendence throughout the process. "Matrixing" (or "en-coding") is a technique by which four channels are com-bined into two so that they can be placed in the groove of astereo record and played either as stereo or substantially intheir original quadraphonic form via a special decoder.

a remarkable debutFOR A SERIES of quadraphonic premieres this is an im-pressive collection-both musically and technically. Thelistening setup included a Sony SQ-1000 decoder drivinga Marantz 2270 receiver in the front channels and a Gal-actron IC Mk 10 integrated amplifier for the back. Interms of pure sound the results are remarkable. But thecredit belongs primarily to Columbia's a & r departmentfor providing such attractive raw material to its engi-neers.

Subotnick's Touch is particularly important in this re-spect since it not only was recorded originally as four -channel sound but was written that way. It's also a com-position to which all preconceptions of acoustic spaceare irrelevant. That is, there can be no complaint aboutthe "naturalness" of the relationships between musicalloci and listener; nor can there be complaints about thenaturalness of the sound, which is entirely synthetic.Both are as they were devised by Subotnick.

Much electronic music strikes me as a series of moreor less impressive sonic effects caught up in a vain searchfor some sort of musical cogency. Not so Touch. It hasform, color, development, wit, and even manages to bequite moving. The best example of this last property isthe slow section toward the middle of Side 1: a beau-tifully sustained piece of work. Though the conventional

materials of music-melody and the rest-are almost en-tirely absent (save in a liltingly rhythmic passage towardthe end) the effect is unremittingly musical, even byfairly conventional standards. That is, the score managesto convey its sense of an ineluctable purpose beyond themere mustering of electronic sounds; it is responsive toits own inner life.

Once having heard it quadraphonically you won'twant to revert to stereo. About two thirds of the waythrough occurs a passage in which wee tim'rous soundsscurry back and forth across the room in their purposefulbut mysterious rounds. The space of the room is made somuch a part of the music that the act of switching tostereo becomes one of wanton defacement.

Almost the reverse can be said of Bernstein's Alsosprach Zarathustra. The grand façade of sound seems alltoo hollow when you move into it by switching fromstereo to SQ. Not that the sound itself is hollow; on thecontrary it takes on an extraordinary body and richnessheard quadraphonically. It is the music that suffers. Un-like Ozawa's Stravinsky (reviewed below), with itsdelight in inner workings, Bernstein's Strauss is most im-posing when viewed from a distance. This is particularlyso because of a certain instability of instrumental place-ment. most noticeable in violin passages, in SQ. I hesi-

tate to stress this point, however, because the precisesound orientation depends to a certain degree on the lis-tener's position in the room and presumably on the roomitself. Perhaps instrumental placement would establishitself more firmly in another room or with differentspeakers.

Most of the time the SQ effect is largely one ofopen-ing up the sound. While this results in a want of integra-tion in Also sprach, the openness can be used simply toimpose a sense of space-as it is in the Barbra Streisandrecording. As an album "Stoney End" falls somewherebetween the thoroughly contemporary (and uncharac-teristic) "Barbra Joan Streisand" and her earlier discs asstylist extraordinaire. In addition to Stoney End itselfthere are two other Laura Nyro numbers; but it is Bar-bra, sola, who dominates, backed by some pretty lushstring arrangements that at times move dangerouslyclose to Mantovani for such tunes. The Streisand magicconquers all, however, and seems even more imperiousin four channels than in two.

Chase is a nine -man brass group that also profits fromquadraphonics. Billed as a rock jazz ensemble, it almostmanages to suggest Gabrieli heard this way, but theeclectic elements in its style are well integrated and itsmusic -making solid. The sense of space is both convinc-ing and relevant to the music-as it is in the Streisand al-bum. Both seem so natural in four channels that I canonly suppose the quadraphonics to date right back to theoriginal studio sessions.

There's some gimmickry on the Chase album. how-ever. The canonic tape -echo effects get a little tiring, andthe percussion is made to gallop around the room in thesecond cut (Livin' in Heat). But the group settles down

Barbra Streisand-conquering all.

on Side 2, and the five -cut Invitation to a River sequencewith which it ends contains some impressive work.

So does Purlie of course-but that's almost ancient his-tory. The recording seems to be a product of a simple re -

mix from multitrack tapes intended for stereo. Thevoices remain largely at front -center, with the orchestraopened up-rather than spread out-by SQ. While the ef-fect is pleasant, it contributes little toward creating avivid impression of the stage presence. Cleavon Littleand Melba Moore did that in stereo; in the face of theirtalents the SQ touchup is insignificant.

It's not so insignificant in another established musicalbest seller: "Switched -On Bach." Walter Carlos'amiable and ingenious tootlines are a natural for SQ. Ifyou heard things in the stereo version that you never no-ticed in the Bach originals, you'll hear more in fourchannels. In the F major two-part invention the sound"sources" are made to dance about the room; apart fromthat there is little SQ gimmickry. The arrangementsthemselves may be another matter, but enough has beensaid about them already.

BACH-CARLOS: "Switched -On Bach." Walter Carlos, Moog Syn-thesizer. Columbia MO 31018, $6.98.CHASE. Epic EO 30472. $6.98.PURL1E. Cleavon Little, Melba Moore, and the original Broadwaycast. Ampex 0 40101, $7.98.BARBRA STREISAND: Stoney End. Barbra Streisand, vocals, withsupporting instrumentalists and singers. Columbia CQ 30378,$6.98.Simnel= Touch. Morton Subotnick, Buchla Electronic MusicSystem. Columbia MO 31019, $6.98.R. STeeuss: Also sprach Zarathustra. New York Philharmonic,Leonard Bernstein. cond. Columbia MQ 30443, $6.98.

Morton Subotnick-writing for four -channel


Other encoded discs more big guns neededOF THE FIVE matrixing systems that have received themost publicity-Dynaco, Scheiber, Electro-Voice, San-sui, and CBS SQ-the first four share a good many ba-sics and are often considered to be largely inter-changeable. Of these, only the E -V and Sansui havebeen used for commercially available discs. I used twolistening setups. The first was built around the EVX-4decoder, playing through a Fisher 701 four -channel re-ceiver and four identical speakers. It was set up with aDyna Quadaptor in the front -channel outputs so that theeffect with the Quadaptor could be compared with thatusing the EVX-4. The second, with a Sansui SQ-1 de-coder, had two dissimilar pairs of speakers at front andback, fed by several different combinations of receiversand power amplifiers.

In playing the E -V encoded discs through the Sansuidecoder (or through Dynaquad circuitry, for that matter)I've never been aware of any particular losses in four -channel effect; on the few occasions when I've playedSansui discs through the E -V decoder the experiencealso was comparable. This test is far from rigorous, how-ever-particularly since most of the matrixed discs in ei-ther system rely on ersatz studio acoustics and arbitraryfour -channel placements.

The four recordings chosen here represent only a frac-tion of the list that has been encoded using E -V or Sansuiequipment. While the relative interchangeability of thetwo techniques is attractive, the release lists are disap-pointing when compared to those for SQ or Q-8. The

Enoch Light-undeniably ingenious tricks.

musical big guns simply are not there, with two excep-tions.

The first is Beverly Sills's "Welcome to Vienna," not avery flattering frame for her talents. The acoustic is ex-cessively echoey. In stereo it sounds muddy and over-blown; heard quadraphonically it resembles a bowlingalley-particularly in the orchestra -only Thunder andLightning Polka.

Sills sings Voices of Spring and individual numbers ofstage works by Lehar, Korngold, Heubeuger, andSieczynski. Most of the music is little known and will besought out eagerly by fans of Viennese music as well asthose of Miss Sills. But I'm afraid the recording addslittle luster to either reputation and nothing of note tothe cause of quadraphonics.

Doc Severinsen is the other exception. His virtuosotrumpet is by now a fixture of the pops scene and it iswell represented in "Fever!" The arrangements, thoughglib, are effective, and the quadraphonics make thesound truly room-filling-as it should be. It's very much astudio job; there's no attempt to catch the ambience of aSeverinsen concert. That too is as it should be, I think.The moody numbers (On a Clear Day, for example) arethe sort of music you want to be alone with over yoursecond highball. But most are more hard -driving. Theband makes heavy use of percussion as a foil to the Sev-erinsen solos, all captured in good, clean sound.

The sound also is big and clean (except for the innercuts on each side) on the World's Greatest Jazzband al -

Beverly Sills-talent unflatteringly framed.

Al'RII 1972 71

bum. It's sort of Dixieland-revisited-which is not mycup of cocoa-so I leave it to aficionados whether it rep-resents good jazz or not. The effect is very much that ofbeing down front in a small jazz club with a wrap-around stage. Placements are not as precise as theywould be in the live situation (and there are no audiencenoises of course), but otherwise the effect is entirely con-vincing.

"Permissive Polyphonics" is the only record of thefour that was made with E -V encoding equipment (therest used Sansui), and it is the only one of the group thatis available in Q-8 cartridge form as well. The two ver-sions are virtually indistinguishable in effect.

That's not to say that the effect of a matrixed disc andthat of a discrete tape are basically the same, of course.

In a live recording that seeks to preserve the subtleties ofroom acoustics there might be far more audible differ-ence than there is in a studio recording of this sort wherethe "space"-such as it is-is created in the mixdown.There is no delicate acoustic bloom to be bruised by mat-rixing. Nor is there much subtlety of any sort.

ENOCH Worn "Permissive Polyphonics." Enoch Light and theBrigade. Project 3 PR4C 5048, $5.98.Doc SEVERINSEN: "Fever!" Doc Severinsen, his trumpet and hisorchestra. Command COD 40003, $6.98.BEVERLY SILLS: "Welcome to Vienna." Beverly Sills, soprano:London Philharmonic, Julius Rudel, cond. ABC/Audio TreasuryATQD 24002, $6.98.THE WORLD'S GREATEST JAZZBAND OF YANK LAWSON & BOB HAG -

%um Project 3 PR4C 5039, $5.98.

The Q-8 Tapes Inept ExecutionUndermines the Discrete System's AdvantagesTHIS SAMPLING from the initial Q-8 release lists of RCAand Project 3 hardly gives matrixed discs the competi-tion that they deserve. The Q-8 listening was done in twoquite dissimilar rooms, using two different Toyo players(the CH -702 and CRH-730) driving three differentbookshelf -speaker models, all told. But the four -channelprocessing is, generally speaking, rather inept; and thevaunted advantages of discrete-as opposed to ma-trixed-quadraphonic sound are all but thrown away ineither room.

The titles themselves may hold the clue to the prob-lem. Many of them have been with us for some time instandard stereo guise, and RCA evidently has paid moreattention to producing a Q-8 list that is attractive fromthe a & r point of view than it has to turning out cogentquadraphonic sound. The most obviously slapdash of re-processi nes is that in the Boheme excerpts. which are ser-iously distorted on Side 2 in both of the copies I'veheard. And here-as in the Fiddler excerpts-the fourchannel effects seem arbitrary and unconvincing. More'sthe pity, since stage works can benefit demonstrablyfrom the intelligent use of four channels.

In Fiddler, for example, there are five quite distinctsound sources: front -and -center, and at each of the fourspeakers. When he is on stage alone, Zero Mostel isgiven the center -stage spotlight, while the orchestra is di-vided up among the four speakers. In numbers likeMatchmaker, however, voices are placed at one or bothof the back speakers, suggesting that the action is beingcarried into the side aisles of the theater.

Now I hold no brief against carrying the action intothe aisles. Hair (also available in Q-8) made brilliant useof the technique; the muezzins in the balcony at the be-ginning of Kismet produced a galvanizing effect thatonly quadraphonics could recapture. It is the arbi-trariness of RCA's placements that displeases. They'rewithout real musical or dramatic point. Admirers ofMostel's sensitive and touching Fiddler or the less sensi-

tive (and more distorted) Moffo/Tucker Boheme maynot mind interpolated sonic effects. but that's all they are.

The Harry Belafonte concert in Carnegie Hall makeseven less valid use of quadraphonic acoustics. This is alive event in which four -channel sound might reason-ably be expected to convey the sensation of actual partic-ipation. In one sing -along number Belafonte performsprodigies of showmanship, drawing the audience intothe act, and playing upon it as on an instrument-eventricking it. If only the sound could convince you that youwere there, being tricked with everyone else! But so arbi-trary is RCA's quadraphonic mixdown that the audiencesounds are scattered in all four channels beyond the mu-sic. The effect is not that of sitting in Carnegie Hall, butof being on stage with Belafonte in the center of Madi-son Square Garden. His close-miked tonsils dominatethe foreground. In the surrounding circle are the bandand the chorus. The audience lies in the murk beyond;there is no hope of identifying with it.

Fiedler's reading of the Shchedrin Carmen Balletsomehow manages to smooth over the quirky angularityof the score so that it comes out a bit overstuffed andcharacterless-like a Grand Rapids copy of Danish mod-ern. Had his approach been more stylish, the laxity ofRCA's mixdown would have been a shame; as it is therecording is fun but essentially undistinguished, bothmusically and sonically.

Subjectively the most successful recording in thegroup is the Ozawa Stravinsky cartridge, but I don'treally understand why. An assumed truism of quadra-phonics is that the listener will find it unnatural to beplunked down in the middle of a symphony orchestra. Itseems hard to argue with the proposition, and I havefound some four -channel recordings unpleasant forthat very reason. Yet here that perspective seems alto-gether natural.

The effect is easiest to explain in terms of Petrushka.To be in the middle of the vivid fair scene-and Ozawa is


nothing if not vivid-is to be part of it. The crowds, thebanners, the hawkers-all are there at once. If they hap-pen to be trumpets and flutes and violins rather thantheir visual counterparts, well, so be it. But this sense ofbeing surrounded by orchestral color and movementworks equally well throughout both scores. Or almost so;only the pathos of the Petrushka finale seems a bit dulledby its immediacy.

Ozawa's performances contribute materially to boththe success and the weakness of the experience. His read-ings are impulsive-even headlong at times-but withoutany real nobility. He is rather like the child who pullsapart a toy to see what it's made of. Some of his discov-eries make for thrilling listening, and the quadraphonicprocess helps you to perceive the guts he lays bare. Werehe more inclined to respectful admiration, the processmight seem like vivisection and the normal separationbetween podium and easy chair more desirable.

"Concert -hall realism" certainly has nothing to dowith RCA's treatment of the recording. Not only are theinstruments everywhere, they are so closely miked thatone is unaware of the hall as such. Surely this will changeas more experience is gained in four -channel recording.At times the placement of some instruments-flutes andbrasses particularly-seems a little unstable, somethingone would expect of matrixed, rather than discrete,quadraphonics. The sound is rich and attractive-easilythe best in the Q-8 group-but not quite as crisp as Iwould have hoped. Again the over-all impression sug-gests that mixdown from multichannel tapes originallyintended for stereo, rather than quadraphonic, releasemay be the cause of some shortcomings. Perhaps whenrecordings are made expressly for the new medium RCAmay adopt quite different techniques.

That said, what can be added in discussing EnochLight's essay in quadraphonics? Several professionals inthe quadraphonic -sound business have told me that he isthe unchallenged master in the field when it comes tomating musical intention with technical means. Yet theproduct is so laden with musical and sonic gimmickrythat it's hard to take seriously either way. It's slick andthoroughly professional; but for all that's happening inevery cut I find it dull. Those with a stomach for back-ground music (something I obviously don't have) shouldfind Light's recordings a natural for quadraphonics how-ever. And in view of his pioneering work in the field hepresumably deserves success.

Light applies his bag of undeniably ingenious tricks tosuch tunes as Marrakesh Express, Let it Be, Sittin' on theDock of the Bay, and Scarborough Fair. One number,based on the Bach C minor passacaglia for organ, iscalled Pass and I Call You (get it?) and features drumsand other instruments that jump from speaker tospeaker, or whirl around the room. Clichés aborning.

Which brings us to the worst and the best of the car-tridges: "The Moog Strikes Bach ... To Say Nothing ofChopin. Mozart. Rachmaninoff. Paganini andProkofieff." That's the full title, and it says more aboutthe content than I'd want to if I were RCA's promotionmanager. It seems obvious that it was produced to"cover" Columbia's phenomenally successful"Switched -On Bach." It contains Moog recordings byHans Wurman of the Bach D minor Toccata and Fugue,

the entire Eine kleine Nachtmusick, and Rondo allaTurco, the Chopin "black key" etude, a Prokofiev pianoprelude, a Rachmaninoff vocalise, and Wurman's own(and dreary) Thirteen Variations on a Theme of Paganini.

The three piano pieces don't stand up to the arrange-ments; the indestructible Bach does. One reason may liein musical preconceptions: The piano's sound comesfrom a relatively small source, while that of a church or-gan may come from almost any direction-even abovethe listener. So while many of Wurman's Moog effectsseem idiomatic in the Toccata and Fugue, they soundlike gimmickry when applied to Chopin or Rachmani-noff. Beyond that consideration, however, lies the natureof the music itself. The piano pieces represent an in-dissoluble fusion of musical elements, while the Bachcontains an inherent stratification of elements that lendthemselves equally to organ stops or to Moog effects.

In spite of its lineage-from the pipe organ via theproducts of Messrs. Hammond-the Moog has no strongimage as a concert instrument, and we feel no particularpreconceptions about the sort of space that should sur-round it or the physical relationship that we expect be-tween it and ourselves. Consequently nothing seems"wrong" no matter how its sounds are distributed amongthe four channels. From this point of view, it is an idealsubject for quadraphonics. If a chamber orchestra wereto bombard us with Wurman's effects in playing the Einekleine Nachtmusik we might be offended; as presentedin the recording it's actually rather charming in itshurdy-gurdy way. But at times Wurman's imaginationseems to outstrip his musicianship. He is less than securerhythmically, for example, and some of his extraneouseffects are simply distracting.

In the Rondo al/a Turca, however, the elements of therecording do coalesce into an integrated musical experi-ence, demonstrating brilliantly the delights of quadra-phonics. The twitterings that I find distracting in the fi-nale of the Nachtmusik here fall perfectly into place; thedelicate rhythmic thrust is unbroken; the interplay ofmusical elements within the room is poised and bal-anced, constantly changing but always in equilibrium.It's a little gem. The very elements that sound childishand banal in the rest of the album are turned into a care-free confection.

HARRY Bewroirre: "Belafonte at Carnegie Hall." (Highlightsfrom the live concert.) Harry Belafonte, vocals; chorus and or-chestra, Robert Corman, cond. RCA Victor 008 5002, $7.95.Baer-Soictitonne The Carmen Ballet. The Boston Pops Orches-tra, Arthur Fiedler, cond. RCA Red Seal R08 1141, $7.95.Rome. ow me Rom Zero Mostel and the original Broadwaycast. RCA Victor 0Q8 1005, $7.95.ENOCH LIGHT: "Permissive Polyphonics." Enoch Light and theLight Brigade. Project 3 PRQ8 5048, $7.95.Pucciel: La Boheme (highlights). Anna Motto (s), Mimi; MaryCosta (s), Musetta; Richard Tucker (t), Rodolfo; Robert Merrill (b),Marcello; etc.; Rome Opera House Orchestra and Chorus, ErichLeinsdorf, cond. RCA Red Seal RO8 1077, $7.95.STRAVINSKY: Suite from The Firebird; Petrushka. Boston Sym-phony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. RCA Red Seal RQ8 1164,$7.95.HANS Monism "The Moog Strikes Bach" (works of Bach, Mo-zart, Chopin, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, and Wurman, arrangedand transcribed by Wurman). Hans Wurman, Moog synthe-sizer. RCA Red Seal ROB 1137, $7.95.

APRIL 1972 73

Allen, Julia, Davila, and Davis-personifying the spirit of Two Gentlemen of Verona.

A New Golden Age for Musical ComedyTwo Gentlemen of Verona-a vital reflection of contemporary styles

by John S. Wilson

IN THAT "golden age" of musical comedy-broadly cen-tered in the Twenties and Thirties but more specificallybeginning with Jerome Kern's "Princess Theater Shows"scores in 1915 and ending with the arrival of Oklahoma!in 1943-the great names were Kern, George Gershwin,Rodgers and Hart, and Cole Porter. Of that top group, itwas generally held that Gershwin, with his jazzy inflec-tions and his recognition of black musical influences,was the most vital representative of the new musical the-ater during those years.

Now that the theater has passed through anotherphase of almost equal length-the neo-operetta stylebrought on by Oklahoma! -those Gershwin-dominatedyears have fallen into perspective, and considering whathas happened since then, the era still remains, musically.a golden age. But there has been a slight and subtle shiftin values. While Gershwin retains his title as the mostrepresentative theater composer of the period, his the-ater songs, popular as they are even today, have taken onsomewhat of a period quality; it is the songs of Cole Por-ter, although dated in their lyrics, that have grown musi-cally more and more contemporary over the years. In ef-fect, popular taste is just catching up with Porter, who inhis day managed to be both successful and exotic. And itis his influence that is most strongly felt in Galt MacDer-mot's score for Two Gentlemen of Verona.

The exotic element in Porter's music was his fondnessfor the rhythms he picked up all around the world-inthe Caribbean, in the Pacific, in Asia, and possibly bysecond or third hand from Africa. These are the qualitiesin Porter's music that have kept it contemporary asAmerican popular music discovered variants of thoserhythmic lines that Porter was using thirty and fortyyears ago in Begin the Beguine, Night and Day, and Just

One of Those Things. The fact that there are echoes ortraces of Porter (or, more exactly, of Porter's sources) allthrough MacDermot's score is a fitting complement tothe coincidence that Porter's greatest score was also writ-ten for an adaptation of a play by Shakespeare, TheTaming of the Shrew (the musical that signified the ulti-mate end of the golden age-it was 1948 and Kern,Gershwin, and Hart were dead while Rodgers hadshifted directions in his collaborations with Oscar Ham-merstein II).

Porter, it turns out, has served as a bridge between thegolden age and the new musical theater of MacDer-mot's Two Gentlemen, the first evidence that the musicaltheater is really capable of a score that reflects contem-porary popular music. All during the latter Sixties, thefocus of supposedly contemporary scores was on "rock,"a word that was tossed around loosely and extravagantlyand largely meaninglessly. MacDermot's songs for Hairare rock-if they are played in a rock style; but like theBeatles' songs, they can just as well be "easy listening" orjazz if you choose to approach them in that manner.

The music for Two Gentlemen of Verona is not basedon any current catchwords. It has its own inescapableidentity which cannot be lost no matter how it is ap-proached. It is based on two very vital streams of whatcan only be described as legitimate folk music-an Afro-Latin strain and a black strain. These happen to be thetwo most influential lines in contemporary popular mu-sic. But MacDermot's rationale for using them was notjust to mine contemporary pop-his direction was estab-lished by the decision of John Guare and Mel Shapiro,who made the adaptation, to make one pair of Shakes-peare's lovers Puerto Rican and the other black. Giventhis concept, the musical style follows logically.


But there is a lot more than logic in this recorded ver-sion of the New York Shakespeare Festival productionwhich originated in Central Park and then moved to theSt. James Theater. There is a constant sense of life, ofjoy, of passion in this music whether it is calypso, soul,samba, or gospel. And there are singers who personifythe spirit of the music. Several are splendid individ-ualists-Raul Julia, a man with a marvelous voice whichranges from authoritative declamation to sly irony;Frank O'Brien rising to devastating heights of falsettovacuity; John Bottoms with a brilliant gift for finding theflattest side of any note. They are balanced by thestraightforward vocal integrity of Clifton Davis and Jo-nelle Allen (who is not quite as vivid on the recording asshe is when seen onstage). The only letdown is DianaDavila, one of the four principals, who has a manneredstyle that calls attention to the manner rather than to the

song. But otherwise the company projects the spirit andthe sensuousness of MacDermot's music brilliantly.

And they are supported and possibly even led towardinsights of the music by an orchestra that is very un-theatrical (in the normal pit -band sense) and also veryright for this situation-a situation one can understandwhen one discovers that it includes such musicians asThad Jones, Ray Copeland, Everett Barksdale, andPretty Purdie, jazz and studio men who are completely athome in the contemporary mixture Galt MacDermothas cooked up for them.

Two GENTLEMEN of VERONA. Original Broadway cast recording.Music by Galt MacDermot; lyrics by John Guare; adapted fromShakespeare by John Guare and Mel Shapiro; Jonelle Allen, DianaDavila, Clifton Davis, and Raul Julia, vocals; Harold Wheeler, cond.ABC BCSY 1001, $13 96 (two discs).

by Robert C. Marsh and Andrea McMahon

Discoveriesfor Haydn Seekers

Maerzendorfer's versions of all 106 symphonies from Musical HeritageTHE FIRST CONDUCTOR to record all the 106 performablesymphonies of Joseph Haydn has automatically madehimself a place in the history of the phonograph, even ifa good deal of the time he is facing severe competitionfrom discs by other musicians. The man is Ernst Maer-zendorfer, and his edition fills forty-nine records fromthe Musical Heritage Society. Fortunately, the customeris free to choose among these issues as he sees fit, an at-tractive proposition for both the beginning Haydn col-lector (who may want the lot) and the seasoned recordbuyer who already has a fair representation of the com-poser on his shelves.

The idea of doing Haydn complete was a natural out-growth of postwar Haydn scholarship. The old HaydnSociety got things going, but was unable to bring its proj-ects to completion. Fresh stimulus came in 1955 with thepublication of H. C. Robbins Landon's study of the sym-phonies, which provided a secure musicological founda-tion for such an enterprise. "Papa Haydn," the father ofthe symphony, whom we had heard about in music ap-preciation classes, started to be replaced by a man of pas-sion and genius. But it was difficult to see him as the fa-ther of the symphony when the major orchestrasrepresented him by about two -dozen works, and theclaims of 134 fake Haydn symphonies (systematicallyunmasked by Robbins Landon) added more confusion.

With the arrival of stereo there was another completeHaydn project, that of Max Goberman for the Library ofRecorded Masterpieces. Like Maerzendorfer, heworked in Vienna, drawing his personnel from the poolof musicians that make up the State Opera orchestra.

With Robbins Landon assisting with notes and texts,Goberman started at the beginning and had taped forty-five of the 106 before his death in December 1962. Mostof these performances were subsequently released onLRM. Rights to the series were later acquired by Colum-bia which has, tb date, issued twenty-one symphonies onOdyssey. Ironically, in the tenth year following Gober-man's death, four of his performances (symphonies A,27, 34. and 37) still await initial release.

The Dorati/Philharmonia Hungarica Haydn editionon Stereo Treasury was first reviewed in these pages ayear ago [April 1971 ]. Again Robbins Landon is annota-tor of the series. Three volumes are presently availablein the U.S., covering the symphonies 49-72, and theproject is scheduled for completion in 1973 with a totalof forty-six discs divided among nine albums. The per-formances to date have been excellent, but the format isinconvenient for those who may not want to buy thesesymphonies in such large groups.

In addition the recording industry has over the yearsprovided us with many Haydn issues of quality frommusicians who for one or another reason performed onlya small portion of this literature for discs. In this categorythe recordings of the Esterhazy Orchestra under DavidBlum for Vanguard, Raymond Leppard and the EnglishChamber Orchestra for Philips, and George Szell andthe Cleveland Orchestra for Epic and (later) Columbiaare especially praiseworthy.

The "Papa Haydn" myth has long been exploded, butthe composer's role in the transition of the symphonyfrom its ancestral forms (the operatic overture and diver -

APRIL 1972 75

timento) to a fully developed sonata for orchestra can betraced easily (and more important, most enjoyably) inthis music. Haydn's first symphony is probably the workwe know as Symphony A. It was begun when he wastwenty-five and finished a couple of years later, at aboutthe time when the work we traditionally have regardedas No. I was written. For the next thirty-eight years.Haydn composed symphonies in a volume necessitatedby the musical interests of his noble employer, his ownincreasing fame, and a musical fashion (long gone) thathad sophisticated audiences wanting to hear new thingsrather than old. No composer is ever likely to challengeHaydn's symphonies for their sheer volume of high -

quality music. Not every one is a masterpiece of course.but the level is astonishingly high. One can easily under-stand when, at the age of sixty-three, the demand less-ened and he turned to other musical forms for the finalfourteen years of his work.

One of the immediate attractions of the Maerzendor-fer recordings is the invitation they provide to plug thegaps in one's Haydn collection. An ideal place to start isthat very first Symphony A, in B flat, which has been outof the domestic catalogue for years. Maerzendorfer givesit a light, sensitive performance and the character of thewriting is such that the absence of a continuo is notgrave. On the second side of OR H 249 (paradoxicallythis is the last record of the series rather than the first) heplays Symphony B, another work in B flat. Here a con-tinuo can add to the effect, but Maerzendorfer's per-formance of this rarely recorded work still deserves aplace in any extensive Haydn collection.

You can continue profitably through the Maerzendor-fer listings, picking out things which presently have noalternative representation in the catalogue, and you'llnever get anything less than a good performance. Theselacunae can be found in both the early and late periodsof the composer's life. The Symphonies Nos. 74, 76, and77 had never been recorded when a Haydn discographywas prepared for this magazine in 1961. Maerzendorfermakes them available (OR H 233/4) and permits the dis-covery that No. 74 has a most attractive first movement.that No. 76 is an experimental work much influenced byMozart, and that No. 77 gives us an unusual first move-ment based on the development of a single theme. Therecorded performances are effective and well worth hav-ing.

Even later in the chronology, with No. 89 just beforethe final "Salomon" series, there is a lapse in the cata-logue. No. 89 (OR H 240) is not a major work, but Maer-zendorfer couples it with a good account of the popularNo. 88, and it adds up to an interesting disc.

The most attractive discoveries however are to bemade in an earlier period. There is presently a break inthe catalogue at No. 23, although both this work and No.24 exist in Goberman recordings and would be the logi-cal ninth volume of his Odyssey series. I'd start with No.25, with its opening bars so filled with sweet sadness, andgo on to the ebullient No. 27. Both are on OR H 210.

You can have all kinds of fun and games with the earlytrumpet -and -drum scores and the kindred HornsignalSymphony (No. 31). That work is done for fair on OR H212-a really wild performance filled with Waldhorn hu-mor. No. 32 is a trumpet -and -drum symphony stuffedwith bright and lively things, and No. 33 is a gallant workwith many attractive features. Together they make ORH 213 a nice buy.

No. 36 can be considered as Watteau set to music. ORH 215 couples it with No. 38, one of those scores thatcontain everything people seem to find appealing in thebaroque in terms of thoroughly red-blooded and imagi-native composition. No. 37 is another striking exampleof the trumpet -and -drum genre (OR H 211). No. 40 isradically misplaced in numerical order. It is a youthfulscore filled with zestful high spirits, and OR H 216couples it with the harmonically adventurous No. 39.No. 41 (OR H 212) and No. 42 (OR H 217) complete therepertory Maerzendorfer currently has to himself. No.42 is a weak work, but No. 41 is a truly festive score andgenerates a good deal of excitement and gaiety.

In the areas in which there is direct competition be-tween Maerzendorfer and other conductors one musttake into consideration the interpretive approaches in-volved. Maerzendorfer follows the Robbins Landontexts, but in his own fashion. Apparently he feels that, onthe whole, he should not incorporate a harpsichord orother continuo instrument unless a part for it is found inHaydn's score. But it is the very nature of the early sym-phonies (and the period in which they were composed)that a continuo would be implied by the musical texturesand the layout of the instrumental lines rather than writ-ten by the composer. Through the symphonies num-bered in the forties a keyboard continuo is often desir-able, especially in the earliest works, and althoughMaerzendorfer occasionally makes a good case for itspossible omission, it is not a musicological exaggerationto add occasional bass reinforcement from a bassoon ora keyboard instrument to support rhythm and harmony.

Interesting contrasts and comparisons are thereforepossible in the symphonies Nos. 1-22 where Gober-man's edition on Odessey contains elaborate continuoparts. A good test case is the symphonies Nos. 6.7, and 8where Maerzendorfer offers some fine, sensitive playing;but turning to the Goberman one finds an even better or-chestra, finer solo playing, and considerably more inter-esting effects because of the character of the keyboardpart. The fact that the continuo realization is left to theindividual player means that it will probably be differentin every performance that employs it. In the Gobermanalbums the continuo often provides accents that take thecurse off the fairly unyielding rhythmic patterns in theother instrumental lines, and it is hard to believe thatHaydn did not want some relief from this somewhatsquare and mechanical bass.

The group of symphonies from the early twenties tothe early forties has only sketchy representation in thecatalogue. It certainly makes good sense to acquire theones which Maerzendorfer has to himself, but in fact hisedition is thoroughly competitive with such alternativesas there are.

When we arrive at No. 49 we enter the repertory cur-rently represented in the Dorati volumes, and from hereto No. 72 Maerzendorfer is up against a conductor ofreputation who offers a finer orchestra, superior re-corded sound, elegant performances with sound musi-cological foundations. For example, No. 49 (La Pas-sione) is one of the greatest of the early Haydnsymphonies, and the Maerzendorfer version makes thatclear. But how much more effective it is in the Dorativersion! And how much of that effect is due to the musi-cianship of Dorati's continuo player. Since both recordsare in the same price bracket, the choice seems easy tomake.


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The advantage of the Maerzendorfer editions in thisarea, of course, is that they can be purchased as individ-ual discs, so that those who want to do some exploringare free to do so within minimal financial outlay. A niceplace to start with is No. 52 in the unusual Haydn key ofC minor in a fine performance (with the attractive No.53) on OR H 222. Another nice coupling is that of Nos.60 and 61 on OR H 226. The sequence from Nos. 68-71(OR H 230/1) also contains important material. One ofthe most popular Haydn works of this period, the HuntSymphony (No. 73), gets a strong performance on OR H232 with an equally effective statement of the admirableNo. 72.

The middle-aged Haydn was greatly influenced by hisyounger colleague Mozart, and the symphonies Nos.74-78 all show this to some degree. Long neglected bothin concert and on records, they make up three discs (ORH 233/5) in this edition. Maerzendorfer's performancesare extremely sympathetic, making this one of the highpoints of his series.

We now come to the most frequently heard Haydnsymphonies. The six scores written for Parisian au-diences (Nos. 82-87) are intended for a larger orchestrathan Maerzendorfer seems to have employed, and com-parisons with standard editions of the past, such as An-sermet's, are generally disadvantageous to the Maerzen-

classicalreviewed by

ROYAL S. BROWN

R. D. DARRELL

PETER G. DAVIS

SHIRLEY FLEMING

ALFRED FRANKENSTEIN

CLIFFORD F. GILMORE

HARRIS GOLDSMITH

DAVID HAMILTON

DALE S. HARRIS

PHILIP HARTDONAL J. HENAHANPAUL HENRY LANG

ANDREA MCMAHON

ROBERT C. MARSH

ROBERT P. MORGAN

R C. ROBBINS LANDONSUSAN THIEMANN SOMMER

AURAS: "No More Walls": ShakespeareanConcerto; Autobiography for Strings; KingLear Variations; Sao Paulo; After the FallWaltz; Going North; Wind from the Indies; PullMy Daisy; Brazilian Memories; TompkinsSquare Park Consciousness Expander. Vari-ous instrumentalists and orchestra, DavidAmram, cond. RCA Red Seal VCS 7089, $6.98(two discs).

The idea behind the title is, obviously, that

dorfer discs. (However, some of his tempos arepreferable.) On the other hand, in the twelve "London"symphonies, Nos. 93-104, and the popular transitionalworks that preface them in the chronology, Maerzendor-fer has succeeded in turning out good low-priced record-ings that many listeners will surely find extremely satis-fying. Again, of course, he faces serious competition. InNo. 92 and the first six of the "London" scores he is upagainst Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra, and they pro-duce refinements in performance and interpretationwhich he cannot match. It may seem odd, with 106Haydn symphonies to choose from, to begin with theSurprise or the Military, but once you have heard whatMaerzendorfer can do with the familiar Haydn you maybe more willing to follow him into terra incognita. Evenfor the most blasé concertgoer, the Haydn symphoniesstill can promise miraculous discoveries.

1,1HAYDN: Symphonies (complete). Vienna Chamber Or-chestra, Ernst Maerzendorfer, cond. Musical HeritageSociety OR H 201/49, $2.99 each (forty-nine discs; avail-able from the Musical Heritage Society, 1991 Broadway,New York, N.Y. 10023).

Selected comparisons:Dorati (Nos. 49-72) St. Treas. 15127/38Goberman (Nos. 1-22) Odys. 32 16 0006, etc.Sze!! (Nos. 93-98) Col. MS 7006 etc.

David Amramtional barriers. He is both composer and per-former; he writes jazz and symphonic music;and he is adept at such varied folk and popularstyles as those of the American West, Brazil,the West Indies, and the Near East. His sym-phonic music, as exemplified here by hisShakespearean Concerto and his King LearVariations, is scarcely more than skillfulmovie stuff, however; and his composed shortpieces, like Autobiography for Strings and PullMy Daisy, are simply trash. Am ram comes intohis own in improvisational pieces, like theWaltz from After the Fall, which is mostly jazzand very exciting jazz indeed. His tribute tothe Caribbean, entitled Wind from the Indies,is also a beauty, but the masterpiece of the setis its grand finale, the Tompkins Square ParkConsciousness Expander, which is in the Near -Eastern tradition. It is a fast -driving virtuosopiece for a long series of improvising soloists,each more daring than the last, while thedrums egg the whole thing on at a terrific clip.

Amram is the foremost virtuoso here; heplays piano, French horn, three different kindsof flutes, a kazoo, and various oriental instru-ments as well as producing sound by slappinghis inflated cheeks and hitting himself on thetop of the head. You don't know what a horncan do until you have heard Amram noodlingon it in the manner of jazz saxophonists. Hissaxophonists, Jerry Dodgion and PepperAdams, are magnificent too; in fact, the entireperformance, as performance, is superb, andthe recording is equally fine. A. I- .

BACH: Goldberg Variations, S. 988. Karl Rich-ter, harpsichord. Deutsche Grammophon 2707057, $13.96 (two discs).

Selected comparisons:Newman Col. M30538Kirkpatrick Arc 198020

Richter's recording of the Goldberg Variationsmakes a welcome addition to the harpsichordversions currently in the catalogue. Unfortu-nately, many buyers may be put off by the factthat this is a two -record set, a result of the factthat Richter takes all repeats (with the excep-tion of those in the restatement of the aria atthe end). This brings the running time tosomething over an hour and a quarter, whichmay explain why it couldn't be put on onedisc, but still leaves open the question whysomething (more of the Klavieriibung?) wasn'tincluded in addition.

But Richter's performance is so good thatthe discs should be considered despite thislack of economy. His Bach achieves a nice bal-ance: It is exciting without being aggressiveand individual without being mannered.There is a kind of naturalness to his approachwhich affects everything he does: The temposare never extreme, the ornamentation is neverrigid, and the over-all line is never sacrificed toan overemphasis of detail. It is neither as over -

Explanation of symbolsClassical:

I B I

I H I

P1Recorded tape:

Open Reel8 -Track Cartridge

VD Cassette

BudgetHistoricalReissue


powering as Anthony Newman's version noras careful as that of Kirkpatrick. For many lis-teners it may well strike just the right balance.

R.P.M.

ni BEETHOVEN: Concerto for Piano andI I Orchestra, No. 5, in E flat, Op. 73 (Ern -n peror). Vladimir Horowitz, piano; RCA

Victor Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Rei-ner, cond. RCA Victrola VICS 1636,$2.98 (rechanneled stereo; from RCAVictor LM 1718, 1951).

This disc is perhaps the first casualty ofSchwann's recent deplorable decision totransfer all monophonic discs to limbo (orrather to their supplementary catalogue,which most record dealers don't even seem toknow exists). Now that the record -buyingpublic seems to have stopped discriminatingagainst mono -only records, RCA has never-theless vandalized this still serviceable, best-selling 1951 recording to retain a listing whereit counts. Admittedly, some pseudo -stereo"enhancements" are less objectionable thanothers, but when I started getting a bloated,muffled, unclean sound from this record, I

went to my shelf and reached for the ungim-micked original on RCA Victor LM 1718. No,there wasn't any fluff on my stylus; nor was myamplifier losing high frequencies as I hadfeared. The contrast between the two discs wasremarkable-the older pressing was so muchmore vibrant and direct. Superficial thoughthis Horowitz/Reiner collaboration may be, ithas a refreshing brilliance and a sense of for-ward direction. It may not tell you any dark se-crets about the music, but it most assuredlydoes tell the truth! It's a shame that I can't rec-ommend it in this reissue: $2.98 is no bargainwhen a disc verges on the unlistenable. H.G.

BEETHOVEN: Fidelio.LeonoreMarzellineFlorestanJaquinoDon PizarroDon Fernando

Helga Dernesch (s)Helen Donath (s)

Jon Vickers (t)Horst R. Laubenthal (t)

Zoltan Kelemen (b)Jose van Dam (bs)

Rocco Karl Ridderbusch (bs)Chorus of the German Opera, Berlin; Berlin Phil-harmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan,cond. Angel SCL 3773, $17.94 (three discs).Selected comparisons:Toscanini RCA LM 6025Furtwangler Seraphim IC 6022Klemperer Angel SCL 3625

Some day, a perceptive and well-informed bi-ographer may probe deeply enough to give usa convincing explanation of the style changethat Herbert von Karajan's conducting under-went during the 1960s. Without any questionhis recent work-as exemplified by the Meis-tersinger and Boris Godunov reviewed in pastmonths, and by the present Fidelio-ismarkedly different from the Philharmoniaand Scala sets of the 1950s, such as the Cosi,Falstaff, and Trovatore. To be sure, he alwayswas strong on euphony; the early Vienna Mo-zart sets almost smothered under an affetuosostyle of singing, but this tendency seemedquite under control in Cosi, and the Verdirecordings of this period lack nothing in vigorand propulsion, although signs of a "stately"approach begin to be evident in the ViennaAida.

However, with the Ring cycle of the later

'60s one became aware of a new direction, asmoothing -out of the conductor's conceptionof orchestral sound, with markedly less varietyof attack; the search for continuity of sonicsurface was also manifest in a minimization ofphrase articulations and even of conventionalaccenting. Unlike the "streamlining" of Tos-canini's later years, which entailed an intensi-fication of forward pressure to guarantee asense of inevitability to the music's progress,Karajan's method seems to entail the removalof all possible obstacles to its flow.

Generalizations and analogies are, with rea-son, to be regarded suspiciously, and I embarkon the present ones at this point after hearingthe new Fidelio, only because it constitutes aunique recorded meeting -point for the mostinfluential Beethoven conductors of the pre-war years (Toscanini and Furtwangler) andtheir postwar counterparts (Klemperer andKarajan). As a stab at defining these differentapproaches, let me offer the following (imper-fect) analogy: If Toscanini relied on motorenergy to overcome the inequalities of theroad, however varied its surface might be,then Karajan insures his arrival at the destina-tion by traveling only the smoothest Auto-bahn. By contrast, the other two conductorsare walkers (I am referring to type of motion,not to tempo): Klemperer in long even strides,Furtwangler at a more varied pace, governedby a sense (at least partly intuitive, althoughbased on experience) of how to make theevents of the voyage more coherent.

With even greater trepidation, let me carrythe analogy one step further, to consider thelistener as a traveling companion. With the"walkers," the emphasis is very much on theevents of the voyage (i.e., the structure of themusic), as articulated by the steps of the guide,firmly (Klemperer) or more freely (Furtwang-ler). With the "riders," one concentrates onthe experience of traveling itself (i.e., the flowof the music), having less regard for the scen-ery encountered along the way.

Now all of this by no means implies anopen-and-shut case for or against any of theseapproaches, nor would I want to suggest thatany of the four conductors relies exclusivelyon any one of them-there are Furtwanglerperformances (mostly in the concert hall oropera house rather than in the studio) thatmake great use of the sheer physical stimulusresulting from headlong forward motion (al-though I cannot think of any by Klempererthat fall in this category!). Certainly there ismusic in which "getting there" is more thanhalf the fun-e.g., the Rossini overtures thatwere a Toscanini specialize de la maison, wherestructure is obviously subordinate to timingand motion.

However, I would submit that Beethovenwas basically very interested in musical struc-ture, and a performance that does not artic-ulate the phrases, periods, and larger motionsof his music misses some absolutely essentialpoints. Fidelio is of course a theatrical work,and this circumstance suggests that there isalso room for the kind of theatrical excitementthat Toscanini could generate. The troublewith Karajan's approach is that it ridessmoothshod over the structural aspect (thereare, indeed, times when even the simplest ofaccents, that which indicates the downbeat ofthe measure, is consistently suppressed) andyet it never brings forth much excitement ei-ther, even in that sure-fire number, the rescuequartet in Act II.

In other words, I feel that the kind of con-tinuity achieved in this recording-"horizontaleuphony," one is tempted to call it-is alto-gether irrelevant, even specious; everythingmoves with the smoothness of a ball bearing(occasional vocal friction aside), and youknow that nothing will impede its inevitablearrival at the final chord-but you also realizequickly that nothing of any interest is going tohappen along the way. Every note is played,just as marked in the score, the players andsingers are almost always in excellent en-semble, and the tempos are always reasonableinterpretations of Beethoven's markings.(Tempo in the absolute sense has very little todo with the kind of thing I am talking about, asI was recently reminded when my Boston col-league Michael Steinberg reported that thetimings of the two Karajan Meistersingerrecordings -1951 and 1970-differ by only afew seconds! Yet the difference is as betweennight and day.)

Of course Karajan is a marvelous orchestraltechnician-he has to be to even consider play-ing music this way. The same was true for Tos-canini, and in both cases the interesting ques-tion might be raised: Did they perhaps arriveat their respective performance styles as a con-sequence of their technical abilities, their fas-cination with kinds of continuity that couldonly be achieved with supremely virtuosic en-sembles? It should also be observed, however,that men such as Furtwangler and Klempererwere also completely in command of orches-tral technique-but they often found thatother things were more important; Swiss -watch perfection was not essential to thepoints they wished to make. Some of Furt-wangler's most profound performances (e.g.,the Brahms Third once issued by Electrola)are fairly hairy from the ensemble point ofview, but still enormously revelatory and ex-citing.

"Very well," you may say. "Hamiltondoesn't like traveling on Autobahns (hedoesn't)-but what about the singers?" Fairenough-although I warn you right off that inthis kind of context the singers don't havemuch chance to project with the freedom andindividuality that their counterparts in nearlyevery other recording enjoy (the exception, asmight be supposed, is the Toscanini version).

Helga Dernesch-an involved Leonore.

APRIL 1972 79

NewFROM

c4,01TDOkRECORDS )

Hoist: THE PLANETSThe Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra-Zubin MehtaCS -6734

Rossini: STABAT MATERPilar Lorengar. Yvonne Minton, Luciano Pavarotti, Hans Sotin-The London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra-Istvan Kertesz0S-26250

Beethoven: EROICA VARIATIONSSchubert: MOMENTS MUSICAUXClifford Curzon (piano)CS -6727

HOMAGE TO PAVLOVALuigini: Ballet Egyptien; Saint -Satins: The Swan; Massenet:Thais Meditation; Rubinstein: Feramors; Czibulka: Love's dreamafter the ball; Kreisler: The Dragonfly (Schein Rosmarin);Drigo: Le Reveil de Fiore; Tchaikovsky: Melody; Assafieff;Papillons; Lincke: Gavotte Pavlova; Delibes: Naila-Pas desFleurs; Catalani: Danza delle ondine: Krupinski: Polish WeddingThe London Symphony Orchestra-Richard BonyngeCSA-2232

Britten: PIANO CONCERTOSviatoslav RichterBritten: VIOLIN CONCERTOMark LubotskyThe English Chamber Orchestra --Benjamin BrittenCS -6723

Debussy: PRELUDES-Books 1 and 2Jean-Rodolphe Kars (piano)CSA-2230

Nielsen: SYMPHONY NO. 5L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande-Paul KletzkiCS -6699

Janacek: TARAS BULBA; LACHIAN DANCESThe London Philharmonic Orchestra- Francois Huyhrechtscs-6718

Dvoiak: SYMPHONIC VARIATIONS; THE GOLDENSPINNING WHEELThe London Symphony Orchestra-Istvan KerteszCS 6721

Gluck: ORFEO ED EURIDICE-HighlightsMarilyn Horne, Pilar Lorengar, Helen Donath-The Orchestraof the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden --Georg SoltiOS 26214

Giordano: FEDORA-HighlightsMagda Olivero, Mario del Monaco, Tito Gobbi and othersoloists-The Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra-Lamberto Garden'OS -26213

There are all sorts of sotto and mezza voce ef-fects that impede genuine vocal communi-cation, and nobody is permitted to makewaves that might interrupt the passively met-ronomic proceedings. On the other hand,some of them can't help accenting words andnotes; whatever conviction emanates at vari-ous points is due to them.

Miss Dernesch is certainly one of the in-volved ones; hers is fundamentally a warmand sympathetic sound, and she helps to putsome "oomph" into passages like the first -acttrio (in fact, the first section of this, whereBeethoven has written in a lot sforzandos, al-most sounds like real music-but the fasterclosing section, full of those dull, unaccentedBerlin staccatos, sounds pretty mindless). Un-fortunately, she tends to shade the lower sideof the note a good deal of the time, her top Bssound distinctly perilous, and the octave leapsin the last part of the big aria show up seriousinequalities in the voice. An instructive pas-sage is the end of the "0 Gott, welch' ein A u-genblick" ensemble, where Leonore and Mar-zelline alternate in the same register; the tim-bres are not so different, but you can tell themapart by the way they tune their notes. Donathis a pleasant Marzelline, but a subdued one,sounding a little tired at the top of her range.

Jon Vickers repeats, in most essentials, thestrong Florestan he sang for Klemperer, al-though sounding marginally less comfortablein the duet with Leonore; by all odds, this isthe most committed and convincing perform-ance in this recording, Kelemen is a rathersmall-scale Pizarro, lacking the kind of vocalartillery that Schoeffier commanded (in theold Bohm version, now on Artia) or even themore conventional nastiness -cum -volume thatBerry provided for Klemperer; it's hard to beforceful when you sound strained. AlthoughRidderbusch does not lack power, he offers amost subdued Rocco, smooth and character-less until the final scene, when he manages anice pathetic accent in presenting the rescuedcouple to the Governor (adequately voicedhere-but this part really calls for a voice of theRidderbusch caliber). Jaquino is a thanklessrole at best, and young Laubenthal is at leastadequate.

Some technical details: The usual abridgeddialogue is included, spoken fairly expres-sively in that confidential radio -play style sobeloved of German producers. Leonore No. 3is, wisely, not included. The recorded sound isof EMI's echoey variety, with the equalizationof the Angel pressing tipped annoyingly fur-ther towards the bass register than was the casein the German Electrola version. There aresome anomalies of balance, especially in thefirst finale, where Pizarro is made to dominatethe closing ensemble to an absurd degree; it'sobvious that Kelemen isn't singing loudenough to really do that, but Rocco's re-sponses to his lines are quite inaudible (eventhough we know that Ridderbusch could wipehim out with a good deep breath), and theladies seem to be in the next courtyard. I

haven't seen the American packaging, but theGerman edition had a good new Englishtranslation by William Mann, which I pre-sume will be reprinted for local consumption.

Because it is one of the purest applicationsto date of the "new Karajan style" and be-cause Fidelio has been recorded by so manyfirst -rank conductors, this recording makes aninteresting item for comparisons; if you wantto study in detail some of the things that con -

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ducting (and music, and Beethoven in particu-lar) is all about, close comparison of selectedpassages can be quite fascinating-but don'tjust think about tempo! Listen for accenting,the character of attacks and releases, the use ofair space between notes and phrases, chordbalances and clarity of voice -leading, varietyand individuality of instrumental colors. Ithink you will end by agreeing that, as a per-formance of Fidelio, Karajan's is a pretty im-poverished one, for all its surface "perfec-tion." D.H.

I

BEETHOVEN: Sonatas for Piano.Charles Rosen, piano. Columbia M3X30938, $9.98 (three discs).

No. 27, in E minor, Op. 90; No. 28, in A, Op. 101; No.29, in B flat, Op. 106 (Hammerklavier); No. 30, in E,Op. 109; No. 31, in A flat, Op. 110; No. 32, in C minor,Op. 111.

Beethoven's late piano music, like that com-poser's late string quartets, affords a seeminglylimitless scope for legitimate interpretation.Virtually every individual exponent will havehis own uniquely personal way of dealing withthis problem or that (and indeed some ofBeethoven's markings are so ambiguous that

diametrically opposed interpretations areequally valid). Rosen's way-very severe, a bitobjective, particularly in counterpoint-maynot be to everyone's taste, but his new album isunmistakably a valuable contribution. A fewyears ago, Epic issued a Rosen coupling of theHammerklavier and Op. 110 sonatas. I hastento point out that the ones presently under re-view are not reissues but completely new per-formances recorded in London on what I pre-sume to be a Hamburg Steinway. Here is abrief rundown of the individual sonatas.

Op. 90. A strong, slightly cerebral firstmovement. The motivic fragmentation lead-ing to the recapitulation is very clear, andRosen mercifully keeps his grasp of the total-ity by minimizing the marked rallentandos atthe cadences. The second movement is, unex-pectedly, a bit slower than I care for, but with-out the sunny lyricism of a Backhaus or Arrauwho each favor a similar deliberation.

Op. 101. I find Rosen's opening movementthe least convincing. It's slowish, but withoutthe warmth of feeling (e.g., Claude Frank orArrau) to make such a tempo convincing. TheAlla marcia, though, is excellent: clear, precisein detail, full of rhythmic spring and tautness.The Adagio goes well too, the restatement of

Horowitz's Chopin-The Playing Is Sensational

by Harris Goldsmith

The Polonaise-Fantaisie comes fromthe Carnegie Hall concert of April 17,1966, and was-along with the ScriabinTenth Sonata-by far the high point ofa rather uneven recital. (It was, if yourecall, Horowitz's second live appear-ance after his twelve-year retirement,and he had by no means recaptured hisfull ease in front of an audience.) Onthe whole, this performance is more ex-pansive and relaxed than the one froman earlier Horowitz concert which usedto be available on an RCA mono disc.Horowitz, to quote from the linernotes, sees this late work as "muchmore a fantasy than a polonaise . . .

fantastic music in the grand manner."This is how he plays it. Some parts arevery moody, with the typical Horowitzaffetuoso rubato. The miracle is thatsuch an approach, which could so eas-ily splinter the work into aimless frag-ments, manages somehow to cohere. Icertainly don't recall the Horowitz ofthe Forties and early Fifties havinganything like the coloristic range andtonal suppleness preserved here.

The balance of the disc was recordedat Columbia's Thirtieth Street studio inthe spring of 1971 during what threat-ens to be Horowitz's second retirement(he has not appeared in public since1969 when he played in Boston). Theplaying is sensational. The most news-worthy item is the early Introductionand Rondo, a salonish piece which

Horowitz's superbrilliance and galvan-ic style turn into a thrilling tour deforce of virtuosity. The A flat Polonaisealso crackles with electricity. Bothpieces demonstrate a minimum of ped-al and a maximum of digital clarity.Some might prefer a warmer, less flintytype of sonority in the polonaise (Ru-binstein always comes to mind whenone thinks of this piece), but the big-ness and dash of Horowitz's readingare very much to the point. The BlackKey Etude glistens with clarity al-though the approach is scarcely differ-ent from several other interpreters-possibly a bit more deliberate. The ma-zurka is a bit "teased" and the waltzshows that Horowitz accepts Chopin'sLento marking to mean "slow dance"rather than merely "slow tempo." Hebegins a bit flippantly, but settles downto a moderately broad, inflected state-ment of the glorious, long -lined coda.

The audience, apart from a fewcoughs, is miraculously quiet in thePolonaise-Fantaisie, and the soundthere varies little from the remainingitems. All are excellently recorded.

CHOPIN: Piano Works. Vladimir Horo-witz, piano. Columbi'a M 30643, $5.98.Etude No. 5, in G flat, Op. 10, No. 5 (BlackKey); Introduction and Rondo, Op. 16; Ma-zurka in A minor, Op. 17, No. 4; PolonaiseNo. 6, in A flat, Op. 53 (Heroic); Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op. 61; Waltz in A minor, Op. 34,No. 2.

the first -movement theme and transition to thefinale gauged with interpretive acuity. A gooddeal of bite, too, is found in the sonata -formlast movement. The central fugue goes espe-cially well. Op. 101, so I have always felt, lendsitself to a caustic, reserved approach; save forthe first movement, this is what it gets here.

Op. 106. Rosen's new Hammerklavier offersa slightly broader treatment of the music thanhis older one. The heavier, less brittle pianotone makes the differences seem greater thanthey in fact are. The first movement, thoughless knotted than before, is still quite head-long, and Rosen repeats his controversial longfermata at measure 268. I prefer the Scherzoon the older disc-it had more sardonic biteand edge, particularly in the whimsical scaleleading back to the modified da capo. Theslow movement, however, sings much moreconvincingly here, while the fugal finale hasaltogether greater fluidity (again a questionlargely of piano-the new instrument being farmore suitable for this music than the olderone). This may not be the warmest or grandestHammerklavier on disc, but it's a very fine,convincing performance on its own terms.

Op. 109. Here I find Rosen a bit prosaic.The opening movement is rather slow. Every-thing is clear, but without that indefinablemagic. The Prestissimo is hardly that, thoughit does have a certain objective strength. Thebest variations are the central contrapuntalones which have clarity and point; the othersare too prim and plain, the final one too delib-erate for maximum power and movement (itought to gather impetus like a tidal wave).

Op. 110. This is a much more muted per-formance than the one on the older record,and as such more emotionally moving. Rosenstill draws out the opening statement of thefirst movement (his trill, as before, seems tolast forever), but this time the result is one ofconviction rather than of contrivance. There issome poignant atmosphere in the recitativesand the two ariosos breathe in a ratified at-mosphere. The final page is taken at a moredeliberate pace than before; I feel that pbi apbi di nuovo vivente implies a greater energyand vibrance, but Rosen at least makes a goodcase for his more rigorous view. I found thisOp. 110 quite touching, a decided improve-ment over the same pianist's earlier effort.

Op. Ill. The first -movement introductionhas real introspection and mood-some of thefinest playing in the set may be found in thisone page of music. The ensuing Allegro, whilescrupulous of detail and formally clear, is un-fortunately rather small -scaled and me-thodical. The tone-clear, white, and bloodlessas opposed to the real substance and velvet ofthe opening-suggests that the soft pedal wasbeing held down. The Variations, however,improve as they progress. They begin a bitcautiously but things open up with the 9/16statement and the ending has true inwardness.

The sound is basically excellent despite afew bothersome pre -echoes in the first move-ment of Op. 1 1 I. H.G.

Barr: Symphony in C; La jolie fille de Perth:Scenes Bohemiennes; Jeux d'enfants, Op.22. Orchestre National de10.R.T.F., Jean Marti -non cond. Deutsche Grammophon 2530 186,$6.98.Selected comparison (symphony):Bernstein Col. MS 7159

82

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symphony offers stiff competition to an earlierBernstein version that had impressed me asthe best recorded performance available. In-terpretively the difference between Bernsteinand Martinon rests on sentiment and rhythm.Bernstein relishes the "juicy" melodies withwhich this symphony abounds, inflectingthem with warm emphasis without inter-rupting the basic course of the music. More-over, here and elsewhere Bernstein's rhythmproduces a continuity and excitement that I donot hear from Martinon, even when, as in thefirst movement, his tempo is much faster. Inthe Scherzo Martinon breaks the flow of themusic at several important transitions, whereBernstein makes these passages flow moresmoothly.

Orchestrally, the O.R.T.F. holds its own inmany respects with the New York Philhar-monic. Its strings, especially as recorded here,have a mercurial lightness unequalled by theAmerican orchestra and more appropriate tothis music. But the extraordinary solo playingof oboist Harold Gomberg in many crucialpassages, notably in the second movement, isdefinitely superior to his French counterpart;the latter plays with a somewhat drier tone andwithout the virtuoso breath control that makesGomberg's performance here one of the mostincredible exhibitions of oboe playing I knowon records.

The Deutsche Grammophon recording ismore pleasant than Columbia's rather brashpresentation of the New York Philharmonic.

All things considered, I still incline towardBernstein's more sharply pointed expressionand Gomberg's unforgettable playing, despitemisgivings about the sound. In the matter ofcoupling, Martinon's inclusion of two other Bi-

zet selections has logic but not Bernstein's in-spired choice of the Prokofiev Classical Sym-phony. However, both the excerpts from Lajolie fille de Perth and the orchestral version ofJeux d'enfants receive performances up to thehigh standard set in the symphony. P.H.

BORODIN: Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances-See Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture.

BRAHMS: Variations on a Theme of Schu-mann, Op. 23. RACHMANINOFF: SIX Pieces forPiano Duet, Op. 11. Sharon Gunderson and JoAnn Smith, piano. Orion ORS 7151, $5.98.

Brahms's excellent 1861 set of variations onone of Schumann's last themes is among hislesser -known essays for piano duet. Brahms.it seems to me, was always particularly suc-cessful at building up a large -scaled edifice outof many smaller bricks. This four -hand workis less monumental in scope than the HaydnVariations (orchestrated but simultaneouslyconceived for two pianos) and the Handel orPaganini sets. Sometimes the style, or at leastone or two of the harmonic turns, reminds meof Schubert's Grand Duo. Rachmaninon Op.11 are his only known essays for piano duet(though of course he wrote two suites and theSymphonic Dances for two pianos). These areearly pieces dating from 1894. AlthoughRachmaninoff had only graduated from theMoscow Conservatory two years previously,he had yet to find himself stylistically; none-theless, these pieces, for all their gaucheries,are quite attractive.

The performances are capable enough. The

Schumann seems to me more appropriatelystyled than the Rachmaninoff, which thoughcleanly and scrupulously played, sounds amite angular and analytical, hard -toned, andlacking the nuanced flexibility this musicideally needs. The sound is of the sec studiovariety, but very good of its type. H.G.

Caavaimo: Te Deum. Louisa Bosabalian andElse Saque, sopranos; Carmen Gonzales,mezzo; John Mitchinson, tenor; Alvaro Malta,bass; Chorus and Orchestra of Camara Gul-benkian, Pierre Salzmann, cond. Archive 2533077, $13.96 (two discs).

If confronted with this music in a quiz all ofus would miserably flunk it-no one couldguess that the composer of the Te Deum was aPortuguese musician and would take it for thework of a minor Italian of the Neapolitanschool. Sousa Carvalho (1745-1798), a con-temporary of Mozart, was sent to Italy and ap-prenticed to Porpora; one of his fellow stu-dents was Paisiello. He learned the craft ofItalian dramatic composition so thoroughlythat he became indistinguishable from hishosts.

This is decent and well -made music, butwithout a trace of individuality; Sousa Car-valho knows every trick and turn in the Nea-politan idiom, his music is a veritable store-house of them, and he also knew his Mozart,but the end result is cliche upon cliche.Though the orchestration is pretty good, thework is short of breath and lacking in formalsense, the melodic invention is limited to con-volutions in the public domain, the harmonyis plain, the choruses of the standard oratorio

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variety, and the coloratura arias empty salliesinto the vocal blue. Well, I think they shouldhave left Maestro Sousa Carvalho in his well-earned retirement.

The performance is very good, but whywaste time and a competent crew on this insig-nificant relic when so many masterpieces arestill waiting to be exhumed? Archive/DGG,with its large stable of experts, should havetoned down the ecstasy of the Portuguese an-notator. P.H.L.

HAYDN: Symphonies (complete). ViennaChamber Orchestra, Ernest Maerzendorfer,cond. For a feature review of these recordings,see page 75.

Luszr: Christus. Eva Andor, soprano; ZsuzsaNemeth, mezzo; kizsef Reti, tenor; SandorNagy, baritone; Jdozsef Gregor, bass; LajosBasti, narrator; Kodaly Girls' Choir; BudapestChoir; Hungarian State Orchestra, MiklOs For-rai, cond. Hungaroton LPX 11506/8, $17.94(three discs).

Most forgotten compositions richly deservetheir oblivion. They serve principally as sub-jects for obscure monographs in obscurerjournals. Occasionally, however, one comesupon a work that has been unjustly neglected.

The great popularity of Liszt's piano worksand certain of the symphonic poems has thrusthis sacred choral music into the background.Hungaroton has recently begun issuing aseries of recordings of this literature, and theirmost recent release is the Christus oratorio, alengthy and admittedly uneven retelling of thelife of Christ that still has enough beauty, orig-inality, and color to make it well worthknowing.

Liszt worked on the oratorio off and onfrom 1855 to 1868. Its varied moods andstyles-from nineteenth-century symphonicpoem to medieval chant-add up to a highlypersonal religious and musical utterance. It isby no means suitable for church performance,since it is far too long for any but the most de-voted monk to sit through in the course of aSunday service and too elaborate and difficultfor the talents of the average church musician.It cannot be fitted, for purposes of description,into any liturgical form, and is a far cry fromthe oratorio styles of Handel and Men-delssohn. Powerful though the oratorio is, itcan be faulted for its diffuseness. It consists ofthree large sections, unrelated except forthematic connections that often only amountto vague resemblances. Even within the sec-tions, one occasionally gets the impressionthat Liszt was not always sure where he wasgoing.

He compiled the text himself, using pas-sages from the Gospels and adding hymnsfrom the Latin liturgy. Gospel texts includethe announcement of Christ's birth to theshepherds; the visit of the Magi; the Beat-itudes and Lord's Prayer; the designation ofPeter as head of the Church combined withChrist's final charge to Peter to care for thedisciples; Christ calming a storm at sea; thetriumphal entry into Jerusalem; and Christ'sagony before his crucifixion. Interspersed arethe hymns Stabat Mater speciosa and Szabo:Mater dolorosa, plus two Easter hymns. In themovements dealing with the Wise Men andthe storm, parts of the relevant texts are not


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sung but are simply written as mottoes in thepurely instrumental score. The recordingtakes the appropriate liberty of having thesetexts recited during the movements.

The Christmas section-the first five move-ments-shows the most cohesiveness andimagination. It could easily function as an in-dependent work; in fact, it would be an excel-lent choice for any organization that had agood orchestra as well as a good chorus andsoloists, and thought it could survive withoutMessiah for one year. The section is mainly or-chestral, with only the second and third move-ments for chorus. In the instrumental move-ments one sees the Liszt of the symphonicpoems painting vivid and touching pictures ofthe events surrounding Christ's birth. A strongmodal flavor. a foretaste of the Gregorian in-fluence pervading the whole work, character-izes the opening movement, an anticipation ofthe Nativity. Some unabashed program musicis heard in the pastoral -symphony movementand the movement dealing with the Magi,which conclude the section. Despite the ob-vious tone -painting, they contain many out-standing passages. The real delight in this sec-tion is the Stabat Mater speciosa. Here Lisztbegins with a simple and utterly lovely hym-nodical style that, even later when it becomesmore elaborate, never fails to evoke the child-like wonder of the first visitors to the manger.

Of the next five movements-collectivelyPost Epiphaniam, covering events throughPalm Sunday-the strongest are those dealingwith Peter and with the storm. Liszt opens andcloses the first of these with a majestic male -chorus declaration of "Thou art Peter," insert-ing a tender and lyrical statement of Christ'scharge to "Feed my sheep" in between. Thestorm movement is a rousing and thoroughlyRomantic orchestral picture of tempest andsudden calm, with the voices playing asubsidiary part.

The rest is conventional-though good-church choral music, spiced with unusual har-monies and persistent modal flavor. The glar-ing weak spot, unfortunately, is the Palm Sun-day movement; it is too long and lacks bothoriginality and sense of direction.

The final section, "Passion and Resurrec-tion," begins well, with a mournful, highlychromatic statement of Christ's anguishedprayer before the crucifixion. The Stabat Ma-ter dolorosa that follows, however, is much toolong and elaborate a setting of this lengthy textto really sustain the listener's total interest.The last two movements recoup whateverdamage may have been done by the Dolorosa,and form a fine conclusion. Both are settingsof Latin Easter hymns, the first for girls'chorus and sparse orchestral accompaniment,the other for full chorus, soloists, and ampleorchestra. The ethereal Gregorian melodies inthe one combined with the robust fugal writ-ing in the other make a solid triumphant fi-nale.

Although Qualiton is to be praised for re-viving this work, some criticism is due for oc-casional weaknesses in performance and inrecording quality. While the performance isgenerally good and presents a clear concep-tion of an unfamiliar piece, the solo voices areundistinguished, and the chorus suffers frompoor diction and a slight tendency to drag. Theorchestra, however, is excellent. The recordingwas made in Budapest's Mathias Church. Likemany churches, this one is evidently a speciesof echo chamber; the music tends to get lost in

the vastness, and one could wish for a greatersense of presence in the recorded sound.

Pierre Boulez briefly considered performingthis work as part of his current Liszt cycle withthe New York Philharmonic. Difficulty in ob-taining score and parts, and the fact that hehad already scheduled two other large-scaleLiszt pieces, made him change his mind. Per-haps an upcoming season, in New York orelsewhere, will see a truly first-rate perform-ance of a work which, even allowing for its de-fects, is no mere historical curiosity. A.M.

MAHLER: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen;Kindertotenlieder. Hermann Prey, baritone;Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, Ber-nard Haitink, cond. Philips 6500 100, $5.98.Selected comparison (Kindertotenlieder):Fischer-Dieskau DGG 138879

Perhaps this is something I should be discuss-ing with an analyst, but I tend to assign gen-ders to song cycles. In theory I know that agreat artist should be able to sing any cycle ef-fectively, regardless of sex, but I can't avoidthe fact that the poetic viewpoint of somecycles seems decidedly male while that of oth-ers is clearly female. As a result, I am happiestwhen I hear this poetry in the appropriate vo-cal timbres.

In those terms, the Lieder eines fahrendenGesellen strikes me as a male cycle, perhapsthe last gasp of the Werther-like attitudes socharacteristic of German romanticism in thenineteenth century. The Kindertotenlieder,moreover, is a cycle of a father's mourning forhis dead children. Mahler, in fact, wrote it be-fore the actual death of his older daughter, butno matter. It is drenched with empathy for thepoet and paternal grief, and even in the handsof a great woman singer the references to"your dear mother" as a third person producea disconcerting note.

For these reasons the Prey record is mostwelcome. The only other disc of theKindertotenlieder by a male voice is a Fischer-Dieskau set, and the new Schwann reveals anoverpowering majority of ladies among thosewho have records of the Fahrenden Gesellencycle in print. I am delighted to see them get-ting some competition from a male singer ofthis stature.

The sound of the album is that of the Con-certgebouw Orchestra in its home, a spaciousconcert room that is eminently hospitable togreat music. The sessions are of the same vin-tage as the recent Mahler Eighth from this or-chestra (in which Prey is also a soloist)-whichis to say, the sound is quite natural and verygood in quality, although the engineeringgives the voice a presence vis-a-vis the orches-tra that one would not hear in live perform-ance. Haitink's accompaniments are excellent.

Prey is up against competition from a num-ber of historical recordings of great interest.He does nothing to diminish their glory, buthe gives us something they cannot rival-acompletely up-to-date stereo edition with amajor artist of today. For my taste, this is thepreferred version of the Fahrenden Gesellensongs. Prey captures the moods of the textbeautifully. The vocal production is light andeasy, with a fine legato line underlying a force-ful projection of the words. The Werther qual-ity is really there.

In the Kindertotenlieder the Fischer-Dieskau record is nothing anyone is going to


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dismiss lightly, since, if nothing else, the verycolor of his voice seems to fit the ambience ofthe music. But I'll not sell Prey short. His is awarm and fatherly performance, and ittouches the heart. R.C.M.

MONTEVERDI: II Ritorno d'Ulisse in patria.L'humana fragilit8, Ulisse Sven Olof Eliasson (t)Tempo, Antinoo Walker Wyatt (bs)Fortuna, Giunone, Melanto

Margaret Baker-Genovesi (ms)Amore, Minerva Rotraud Hansmann (s)Glove Ladislaus Anderko (b)Nettuno Nikolaus Simkowsky (bs)Penelope Norma Lerer (ms)Telemaco Kai Hansen (t)Pisandro Kurt Equiluz (t)Anfinomo Paul Esswood (ct)Eurimaco Nigel Rogers (t)Eumete Max von Egmond (b)Iro Murray Dickie (t)Ericlea Anne -Marie MUhle(c)Vienna Concentus Musicus, Nikolaus Har-noncourt, dir. Telefunken SKB-T 23/1-4,$23.92 (four discs).

Ii Ritorno d'Ulisse in patria is certainly Monte-verdi's least -known opera, aside from themany lost works for which we have onlytempting titles. Orfeo and L'Incoronazione diPoppea are now familiar from both recordingsand performance, but the saga of Ulysses'homecoming remains pretty obscure despitethe rather dull Vox set which has been in thecatalogue for several years. This handsomelyproduced and beautifully sung performanceshould go a long way toward restoring the op-era to its proper place, though that place is sev-eral notches below either Orfeo or Poppea.There are several dull stretches, but there arealso redeeming moments: Ulysses' meetingwith his son, for example, and the entire treat-ment of Penelope's three suitors which is noth-ing short of magnificent.

The plot from Homer's Odyssey is familiar.Ulysses, better known to us by his Greek nameOdysseus, has had many adventures on hisway home from the Trojan war. He is finallycast up on a beach in Ithaca, his native coun-try,'whence disguised as an old man he makeshis way home, meeting on the way an old andfaithful swineherd Eumeaus and his own sonTelemachus. Meanwhile back at the palace,his wife the faithful Penelope has beensteadfastly refusing the suit of several localprinces who have been living in the palace andeating her out of house and home for severalyears. Ulysses arrives home still in disguise,beats all the competition in a series of contestsand finally throws the rascals out. He revealshimself to Penelope, who takes a bit of con-vincing, and everything ends happily. Duringall this, the gods-who as in the Ring started allthe problems in the first place-discuss theprogress of the plot, with two of them, Nep-tune and Minerva (or Pallas Athena), takingan active part in the proceedings. Monte-verdi's librettist. Badoaro, sticks pretty closelyto Homer, trimming a lot of incidents, beefingup Penelope's part, and providing her with atuneful servant girl, Melanto, who with herboyfriend Eurimaco tries to intercede for thegreedy suitors.

Monteverdi's music is a combination of allthe popular styles of his day and as such is nat-urally reminiscent of many of his other works.Expressive recitative is the predominant ve-

hide for the text, flowering into more dramaticor lyrical musical forms when the occasion de-mands. The solo laments of Penelope andUlysses, recalling the fragmentary "Lasciat-emi morire" from the lost Arianna, are justlyfamous as is the comic take -off on the sameform sung by Irus, the fat and greedy beggar.The cheerful Melanto sings charming Vene-tian ariettas, a style also adopted by Minervawhen she appears as a shepherdess. The ex-tended aria in triple meter so typical of Cavalliisn't especially in evidence here despite thelate date of the opera (1641?). althoughUlysses himself does tend to break into songwhen things are going well for him, while thesuitors express their thoughts in little set arias.The great lyric moments of the opera are setinstead as chamber duets, an appropriate formfor such an ensemble opera. "Verdi spiagge"for Ulysses and Eumaeus is a gem, and theduets of reunion between father and son, hus-band and wife are surely among the great ex-pressions of the genre. Echoes of Monteverdi'smost popular works in the genre, Chiome d'oroand Zeffiro Lorna can also be heard in severalscenes.

Unlike the mortals who sing in natural andmelodious tones, the gods' declarations are allpomp and bravura. Their conversations arecloser to competitions in which, being gods,they all come off extremely well. Monteverdiuses the rondo form with ensemble refrains toeffective advantage in the somewhat super-fluous allegorical prologue, but the device isespecially successful in presenting the threesuitors, who always appear as a group. One ofthe most dramatically effective scenes is thecompetition of the great bow where eachsuitor steps up, sings an aria, tries unsuccess-fully to string the great bow of Ulysses, andthen collapses into recitative. Finally an oldbeggar, Ulysses in disguise, humbly begs achance. Success!-and now the exultant aria oftriumph. What a moment from the father ofopera himself.

The performers are uniformly excellent. Ina cast of lovely chamber voices Norma Lerer isoutstanding. Warm, round, quintessentiallyfeminine, her voice sounds a lot like HelenWatts, and although she is billed as a mezzo,-Lerer makes beautifully soft, velvety soundsaround middle C. Unfortunately Penelope is abit dull; she reminds me of Britten's Lucretia,another virtuous bore, but perhaps that's thepenalty for chastity. Rotraud Hansmann isalso extraordinary. I am sure the Italian courtsof Monteverdi's time where agile brillianceand sparkling coloratura were especiallyprized would have paid immense sums to hearher in the virtuoso repertoire of the day. HerMinerva is also, happy to say. a well thought-out character who makes a convincing inter-mediary between gods and men. Sven OlofEliasson lists himself as a tenor, but Ulysses isreally a high baritone role. Like Orfeo heneeds good firm notes in his lower registerwhere most of the part lies. Perhaps Eliasson isindeed a tenor, but fortunately he doesn'tshow it except in the wonderful lack of strainwhen he goes gradually up the scale.

Margaret Baker-Genovesi has an even.clear, and most attractive mezzo, and shephrases like an angel. In three roles she createsadequate contrast without sacrificing vocalquality. The roles of the suitor Antinoo andTempo in the prologue call for a black -tonedbass: one wonders if Monteverdi could havehad in mind the same singer who created the

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parts of Pluto or Charon in his earlier works.Walker Wyatt copes heroically with the widerange, coloratura leaps, and subterraneandepths of the parts. Nigel Rogers as Eurimacois ever reliable as are Kurt Equiluz and PaulEsswood as the remaining suitors. Kai Han-sen, a convincing tenor, makes an attractiveTelemaco, and Murray Dickie, an amusingIro. Only the nobly expressive Max von Eg-mond is miscast as Eumeaus, Ulysses' com-panion. True, Badoaro had upped his stationfrom swineherd to shepherd, but I simply can-not believe that those patrician tones comefrom an old servant. Surely he will throw offhis rags and reveal himself as Zeus or at least afriendly neighboring king.

Nikolaus Harnoncourt's realization of thesketchy score Monteverdi has left us is effec-tive and well thought out. There is a greatbody of continuo instruments-harpsichord,virginals, organ, regal, lute, chitarrone, andharp-and different sounds are associated withdifferent characters or classes of charactersmuch as Harnoncourt did so well in his earlierOrfeo. The musical style of II Ritorno d'Ulissein patria is much freer in form than Orfeowhich is filled with set numbers. Har-noncourt's solution to the problem is to bringin a discreet body of strings every time the vo-cal line slips into songlike arioso phrases, astylish and musical idea which is executedwith great taste and skill. Recorders, two pif-fari, and a dulcian appear in the sinfonias andritornels, and three trombones and a trumpetherald the gods. Harnoncourt paces his singersand orchestra well, and if things sag from timeto time I suspect the fault is as much Monte-verdi's as his.

IiRitorno d'Ulisse is slated for performanceat Glyndebourne this coming summer in a nodoubt flossy version by Raymond Leppard. Itwill be interesting to see if the critics find thelong stretches of recitative, which are admit-tedly expressive but which seem very long ondisc, more effective when there is stage actionto complement them. And maybe in a year orso we at home can sample yet another record-ing of this resuscitated work. Meanwhile Iheartily recommend Telefunken's II Ritornod'Ulisse-that is providing you already have arecording of Poppea and Orfeo. S.T.S.

MOZART: Piano Sonatas (complete). Chris-toph Eschenbach, piano. Deutsche Gramroo-phon 2720 031, $31.50 (seven discs).In C. K. 46d: in F. K. 46e: in C. K 279: in F. K. 280: in Bflat. K. 281; in E flat, K. 282; in G. K. 283; in D, K. 284;in C, K. 309; in A minor, K. 310; in D. K. 311; in C. K.330; In A, K. 331; in F, K. 332; in B flat, K. 333; in Cminor, K. 457 (with Fantasy, K. 475); in F, K. 533: inC. K. 545; in B flat. K. 570; In D, K. 576.Selected comoarisonsGieseking Sera. 6047/9Klien Vox 5428/9

The two generally available integral editionsof Mozart piano sonatas by Walter Klien(Vox) and Walter Gieseking (Seraphim) areboth budget releases, but the field was wideopen for a new, expensively packaged alterna-tive. If, dear readers, you detect a hint ofveiled sarcasm in my opening, it is only halfintended. But, you will logically ask, why paythe full price when you can have this musicplayed by a fine artist at modest rates? My an-swer is twofold. Gieseking's eleven -disc cycleof the entire Mozart piano works-sonatas,variations, short pieces, et al.-dates from1956, perhaps even earlier (it was released

originally on the full -priced Angel label to cel-ebrate the bicentennial year). The recordingsnaturally are mono only (thanks to the goodsense of the powers that be at EMI who honor-ably refrained from stereo simulation), but alot of people unfortunately prefer stere-ophony to a great performance. Furthermore,Gieseking's Mozart style exemplified by thisset is highly controversial. Some find his cam-eolike, chiseled, beautifully proportionedplaying the ultimate in classical decorum; oth-ers disparage the style as wan, offhand, and su-perficial. As for Klien's much newer, admir-ably musical playing, his cycle is the occa-sional victim of overmodulated sound andcareless production. Sometimes his usuallyforthright style lapses-in the more lyricalpieces-into a sort of Viennese routine:amiable, a bit self-consciously easygoing, andstructurally soft -centered. These lapses, Ishould add, do not occur often in the sonatasthough they turn up rather more frequently inthe later two albums containing the shortpieces and variations. The stereophony inKlien's set is of course real.

Eschenbach's new panorama will, it ishoped, soon be joined by Lili Kraus's similareffort for CBS. That estimable Mozartean'sperformances were promised by Epic, but thatsubsidiary of Columbia ceased operating as aclassical label after only the first two of herproposed five discs saw the light of day. (Theentire cycle has since appeared in Japan.)With this background out of the way, I wel-come the Eschenbach album with modifiedrapture. This artist has, I feel, given us themost favorable demonstration yet of his abili-ties as an interpreter. His recent recordings ofBeethoven (the Karajan-led First Concertoand the Hammerklavier) were too paintedwith rouge to be of more than superficial inter-est. I was quite agreeably surprised to find hisMozart performances for the most part quitefree of such lily -gilding cosmetic touches. Inthe main, this Mozart playing is admirablyclear and strong, with the intelligent forwardmotion of the best modern style co -existingwith time -hallowed classical "refinement."The playing is ordered, clear -fingered, and(with but a few exceptions which I will get tolater) refreshingly unaffected. The attention todetail so necessary for proper realization ofthis difficult, transparently linear music is ad-mirably present. On the whole, Eschenbach'sway, less relaxed than Klien's, more "tradi-tional" than Kraus's, and decidedly more red-blooded than Gieseking's can be taken as aparadigm of middle -ground moderation. Hisis not a particularly beautiful tone-indeed,some may find the linear stress of his pianism abit flinty and picky-dare one say it. "neo-American." I personally was buoyed up bythe insistent rhythmic lift, the heady allegros,and the general vitality of it all, though once ina while a bit of scruffy articulation or an un-steadily rushed passage struck a sour chord inmy responses. In general I like the playingvery much, but ultimately find greater distinc-tion in Gieseking's ultrachaste purity andMme. Kraus's uniquely abandoned personalauthority.

Eschenbach is quite conscientious about re-peats, but he is never a mere slave to them. Ex-positions are generally always reiterated. I say"generally" because I forgot to take notes onevery one of the sonatas and may have failedto record an isolated example of a bypasseddouble bar. I did, however, notice that the


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Variations in the first movement of K. 331were bereft of second -half repeats. Taking thelaw into one's own hands regarding such de ri-gueur repeats has, it seems to me, the peril ofcourting structural disaster. Eschenbach runsstraight into the trap in the final variationwhere the repeat is written out with differentfigurations. Observing this one but none of itspredecessors makes a lopsided thing of thewhole movement. On the brighter side,Eschenbach respects the binary form in the fi-nal variation movement of another sonata, thecurious K. 284 (curious because Mozart juxta-posed a conventional first movement, a polo-naise, and a very long set of twelve variations).He also observes the double repeats in thefirst movements of K. 310 and K. 457. as wellas in the shorter sonatas K. 282 (both firstand last movements). K. 545, and in the lastmovement of K. 280.

The subject of repeats brings me to thequestion of embellishment. It is generallyknown that Mozart, ever the master impro-viser and disciple of the variation technique,utilized the repeat to introduce a goodlyamount of added decoration. Landowska, forone, followed this practice almost to excess;Eschenbach, on the other hand, does not. In-deed, he is such a conservative on the matterof embellishment that he even bypasses Mo-zart's own written -out alternative in the sec-ond -movement recapitulation of K. 332. Heis, in my experience, the only professional pi-anist to do so. Indeed, a slightly altered dy-namic is about the only concession Eschen-bach ever makes vis-a-vis decoration and vari-ety. But better this omission than tasteless re-dundancy!

In matters of ornamentation, Eschenbach isfairly astute. His appoggiaturas are generallylong or short as specified by the text, and usu-ally begin on rather than before the beat.Trills. too, except when they are passing tones.begin with few exceptions on the upper aux-iliary. This supplies the desired biting touch ofdissonance (which, after all, was the raisond'etre of such adornments).

Since so much of the playing is of a consist-ent (high) quality, evaluating each sonata indi-vidually might prove a bit repetitious. Thereare, nonetheless, certain high and low spotswhich oughtn't go unmentioned. First of all,there are the two very early sonatas from K. 46which date from 1768, Mozart's thirteenthyear. These are, if I am not mistaken, omittedin both the Klien and Gieseking anthologies.Eschenbach plays these sturdily and wisely re-frains from investing them with too much sub-tlety and nuance. (Gieseking similarly veeredclear of preciosity in the juvenilia he did play).One of the set's high points, I felt, was thewonderful late F major Sonata, K. 533. Thebrochure makes the usual error of listing thiswork as K. 533 and K. 494. To be sure. Mozartcomposed the first and second movements toaccompany the K. 494 Rondo as an after-thought, but when he did so he also thor-oughly revised the latter, adding an elaboratecadenza. Be that as it may, Eschenbach'sbroad, massive, thoughtfully graded perform-ance-closer in style to Gieseking's than to Pe-ter Serkin's more flowing, graceful, andequally distinguished account for RCA-fillsthe bill beautifully. I also liked very much theclean, unaffected delivery of K. 333, the pen-sive, but not over pensive K. 282, and the ex-

pansive accounts of K. 332 and K. 570. On theother hand, I was sorely disappointed by theheavy, sentimentalized K. 331 (contrast LiliKraus's wonderfully bracing account onMonitor S 2105) and by the lack of poise in thegreat K. 576 (so like a string quartet, this lastpiece). If someone calls attention to the factthat K. 331 and K. 330 (another mincing fail-ure in Eschenbach's edition) were recorded atan earlier stage in the young pianist's careerand have in fact been available for severalyears on DGG 139318, I acknowledge thatfact and hasten to point out that the admirableK. 332 and K. 333 were taped earlier still (de-spite DGG's later disc number, 138949). Sinceneither of these previously issued discs wererecoupled in the new set, why, I wonder, weretheir bonus short pieces expunged? The an-swer, I suspect, is that Eschenbach intends torecord all the short pieces to supplement thesonatas and that these, in due time, will also beavailable. I hope that if such an album mate-rializes, it will find a niche for the fine SonataK. 547a omitted from the present album andalso for the fine G minor Sonatasatz, K. 312similarly bypassed. H.G.

RACHMANINOFF: Six Pieces for Piano Duet,Op. 11-See Brahms: Variations on a Theme ofSchumann. Op. 23.

STRAVINSKY: Pastorale (arr. Stokowski)-SeeTchaikovsky: 1812 Overture.

TCHIIKOVSKY: 1812 Overture, Op. 49. BORO-DIN: Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances. STRA-VINSKY: Pastorale (arr. Stokowski). Royal Phil-harmonic Chorus and Welsh National OperaChorus (in the Borodin and Tchaikovsky); Bandof the Grenadier Guards (in the Tchaikovsky);Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Leopold Sto-kowski, cond. London Phase 4 SPC 21041,$5.98.Selected comparisons (Tchaikovsky):Ormandy RCA LSC 3204Buketoff RCA LSC 3051Bernstein Col. MS 6827Selected comparison (Borodin):Ansermet Lon. CS 6212

In returning to a batch of his long-time Rus-sian favorites, the eternal Stokowski revealsno loss of vigor orpanache-nor any readinessto abandon his characteristic romantic man-nerisms. About his only acknowledgment ofchanging fashions is his introduction of achorus in the Tchaikovsky Overture, but onlybriefly in the few bars of the Czar's Hymn inthe finale, and there with a jolting shift ofacoustical perspective and environment. If achorus is to be used at all, there are good rea-sons for employing it not only more exten-sively in the finale but also in the work's open-ing pages (as was done by Ormandy andBuketoff); and I for one like it best of all in thefolk -dance passages on pp. 44 and 64 of theEulenberg miniature score (as in Buketoff'sversion). Otherwise, Stokowski's 1812 is no-table mainly as the slowest over-all readingI've ever timed (nearly two minutes slowerthan Bernstein's); for its currently rare omis-sion of "real" cannon; and for its some fifteen-

second augmentation of the score to providefor diminuendo bell -tintinnabulation (actuallynot an inappropriate effect).

Continued on page 100CIRCLE 64 ON READER -SERVICE CARD


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Davis'Dido- AMemorableArtisticEventDido and Aeneas is one of the monu-ments in the museum of musical his-tory and an English national treasure.It remains "the only true great Englishopera" until modern times, because theEnglish refused to accept the new dra-matic style streaming from sev-enteenth -century Italy and invigorat-ing all of Europe's music. The nationsthat rejected opera-the Netherlanderswho had ruled music for two hundredyears, as well as the English-were leftbehind by the musical current. Still,post -Jacobean music was not nearly solamentable as uninformed and biasedContinental music history haspresented it; Purcell did not "rise fromthe ashes of English music." Therewere plenty of talented musicians inEngland but two circumstances com-bined to arrest an orderly and logicalcontinuation of their great musicalpast. First, a culture boasting a highlydeveloped spoken theater will not takekindly to a form of theater "all sung";the same was true of the French. butLully rammed it down their throats.The second was that opera, in the mindsof English Protestants, was too closelyassociated with Catholicism. almost aform of popery. They accepted andloved music and the dance as acces-sories to a play, but were unwilling tosurrender the theater altogether to mu-sic. Though a true opera, Dido andAeneas was not openly quite that.being intended not for the public the-ater but for a -private girls' school; andit is significant. that Purcell's greatscores of Dioclesian, The Fairy Queen,and King Arthur were all incidentalmusic to plays, though all were com-posed after Dido and Aeneas. So thegreatest musicodramatic genius pro-duced by England was the victim of cir-cumstance, as to a considerable extentwas Rameau in France.

But an incomparable masterpiecethis tiny opera is, uniting Shakespear-

ean dramatic force with Cavalli's andCesti's baroque pathos in decidedlyEnglish and very personal accents. Theolder Venetian opera reached Purcellvia Lully-hence the strong dance ele-ment. The arias, especially those ofDido, are exquisitely sculptured, theinstrumental numbers are delectable,the realism of the chorus of witcheswith their sardonic laughter is gripping,the harmonies are astringent, the cho-ral writing is pellucid; and no one hasever surpassed Purcell in setting theEnglish tongue to music.

This hauntingly beautiful work re-ceives a performance that is a model ofhow old music should be treated in thetwentieth century. The score is scrupu-lously respected but without anti-quarianism: there is no painfully tepidsinging, no thin orchestral sound, noenforced ornamentation, but intelli-gent, solid, sensitive, and entirelyhealthy music -making. Colin Davis isin full command from beginning toend, the orchestra and John AlldisChoir are superb, and the sound isunexceptionable. Josephine Veaseytakes good care of the role of Dido; shehas a sizable mezzo-ish soprano thatsounds fine, though in the upperreaches of the staff it can be a littleedgy. Helen Donath is a pleasant Be-linda; but the special star in this per-formance is Elizabeth Bainbridge, theSorceress. She possesses an ample,well -controlled and colorful mezzowhich she manipulates with fine musi-cal sense, and her diction is exemplary.John Shirley -Quirk (Aeneas) is hisusual reliable self, though the otherbaritone, Thomas Allen (Spirit) has abetter focused voice. All the minorroles are in good hands. Particularpraise is due to the choral sound, usu-ally the bane of such recordings; it islovely in the pianos. ringing in the for-tes, but always crystal clear. John Con-stable's continuo realization is tastefuland inventive, and the harpsichord isalways crisply in evidence. If there is aflaw in this excellent production it isthe occasional tightness of the recita;tives, which should be less regimented.But make no mistake, Colin Davis'Dido and Aeneas is a memorable artis-tic event.

PuocELL: Dido and Aeneas.DidoBelindaSorceress1st Witch2nd WitchAeneasSailorSpirit

Josephine Veasey (ms)Helen Donath (s)

Elizabeth Bainbridge (c)Delia Wallis (s)

Gillian Knight (s)John Shirley -Quirk (b)

Frank Patterson (t)Thomas Allen (b)

John Alldis Choir; Academy of St. Mar-tin -in -the -Fields, Colin Davis, cond. Phil-ips 6500 131. $5.98.



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Continued from page 96

The Phase 4 engineering eschews most ofthe now familiar sonic gimmickry, but for allits power, very marked channel differentiation,and spacious Kingsway Hall ambience. it'snot exceptionally impressive by present-daystandards. And for all its close-up miking,some piano percussion details are completelylost. Over-all, the 1971 Ormandy version ismore effective as well as more "natural"sonically.

Unfortunately, I have none of the severalearlier Stokowskian versions of the Borodindances to check whether or not he has alwaysplayed them with such marked contrasts oflanguor and vehemence as he does here. Inany case, the superb Ansermet version re-mains unmatched. Which leaves the orches-tration of Stravinsky's vocalise-though an-ticlimactic as it is here (and as anathematic asit must have been to Stravinsky if he everheard Stokowski's 1939 recording), it has apowerful aural appeal in this vivid recordingwhich makes the most of the delectablypiquant tonal qualities of the British soloists,notably oboist Derek Wickens. R.D.D.

TELIPAANN: Cantatas. Hermann Prey, bari-tone; Salzburg Boys' Choir (in Der Schulmeis-ter); German Bach Soloists, Helmut Winscher-mann, cond. Philips 6500 116, $5.98.Der Schulmeister; Cantate oder Trauer-Music eineskunsterfahrenen Canarien-Vogels; Die Landlust.Selected comparison (Canary Cantata):Fischer-Dieskau Sera. S 60121

Comparing Bach with his contemporaries willinvariably reinforce the already firmly heldconviction that he was the greatest of his era:Beside his genius all else pales. The fallacyhere, though, is that Bach was a perfectlyunique phenomenon. and the person whomakes comparisons and finds his contempo-raries less worthy will be missing a great manypleasures-like this new Hermann Prey disc ofTelemann cantatas, for instance.

True, there are no contrapuntal miracleshere, no profound depths of emotion; butnothing could be further from Telemann's in-tentions. Let me quote from Karl Grebe's ex-cellent jacket notes, which describe pretty wellwhat his intentions were: "Telemann was asolidly bourgeois musician, his cantatas werestraightforward, unambiguous, and mundane,aiming in words as in music at being, in thebest sense, popular. They were aimed at thecommon man, and not at the society in somepetty court. Humor and a feeling for naturewere always the basic inspirations of the in-ventive and inexhaustibly prolific Telemann."

And humor we do find, in full measure, inthe hilarious Schoolmaster cantata. The situ-ation of this mini comic opera is a singing les-son being administered to a group of unrulyboys by a vain and pompous schoolmaster. It'sas much to the credit of Prey as to Telemannthat from first note to last I had a very clearpicture in my mind's eye of the bewigged. be-spectacled Meister parading and prancing andwhirling about in rage.

Nearly as entertaining is the tragicomic Ca-nary cantata, which begins as a hyperseriouslamentation over the death of the pet canaryand ends with a hyperfurious rage at the war-bler's murderer: the cat. This piece was re-corded a while back by Fischer-Dieskau (now

available on a Seraphim disc with Bach's Can-tata No. 208). Unfortunately (for Mr. Prey)Fischer-Dieskau has a way of making musiclike this his very own personal property-tak-ing many musical liberties, half singing or halfspeaking perhaps, but always turning in anunforgettable performance. If you own theSeraphim recording, you'll probably find Preya little bland here, but if you are coming to thiscantata through Prey's version, you'll wonderhow anyone could do any better.

The short Joys of Country Life (Little Can-tata of Woods and Pastures) is a wonderfullysimple and unaffected reverie in praise of na-ture and is a perfect foil to the outrageousnessof the other two works. Prey sounds very goodthroughout all three works and orchestral ac-companiments are luscious and beautifullyplayed, though Winschermann's string sectionis really too large to convey the lightness andlilt one might hope for here. Philips' recordingand imported pressings are, of course. superb.

C.F.G.

VAUGHAN Magnificat Riders to theSea.NoraCathleenMauryaBartleyA Woman

Norma Burrowes (s)Margaret Price (s)Helen Watts (ms)

Benjamin Luxon (b)Pauline Stevens (ms)

Ambrosian Chorus; Orchestra Nova of London,Meredith Davies, cond. Angel S 36819, $5.98.

The Magnificat is one of Vaughan Williams'shortest choral works but one of his most pow-erful and most perfectly shaped. It was writtenat about the same time as his Fourth Sym-phony and shares a certain dynamism and in-tensity with that famous composition. Thesolo voice is more florid and dramatic thanone would expect of Vaughan Williams, and itis balanced by a rather elaborate part for asolo flute. The glory of the Lord himself ig-nites the climax here, thanks in part to the su-perb singing of Helen Watts and the excellentperformance with which Davies et al. back herup.

Riders to the Sea is largely the great lamentof Maurya, mother of six sons, who livedthrough the sea -deaths of them all and who atthe end, with distant keening voices in thebackground, attains a kind of peace. The dia-logue of Maurya's daughters at the start of theopera, as they open a bundle of clothes takenfrom a drowned man and identify them ashaving belonged to their brother Michael, ismere prelude; the off-stage death of Bartley,the last of the six sons, is a necessary plot de-vice; the heart and soul of the opera isMaurya's tremendous arioso at the end.

The word -setting allows J. M. Synge's Irishdialect text full play; although very muchmore intense and dramatic than Debussy'sword setting in Pelleas, one is often remindedof that masterpiece in the vocal writing here.That Vaughan Williams was a past master atsuggesting atmosphere, especially the atmos-phere of Celtic twilight and bitter darkness,goes without saying. In his notes, MichaelKennedy suggests that this is Vaughan Wil-liams' finest opera. I am not sure I agree,thanks to unforgettable memories of Sir Johnin Love. which is a much more complex andinvolved achievement; but Riders to the Sea issurely one of the finest stage works of a com-


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poser whose contributions to opera have beensinfully neglected. The performance is mag-nificent in every detail. A.F.

recitalsand miscellany

RAFAEL PUVANA: -Spanish Harpsichord Mu-sic." Rafael Puyana, harpsichord; various in-strumentalists. Philips 6505 001, $5.98.DE FAU.A: Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe,Clarinet. Violin. and Cello. Omani: Tres Cantigas delRey; Partitas. DE SELMA Y SALAVERDE: Canzona a 4;Gagliarda a 2; Canzona per soprano solo; Balletto a2 e a 3: Corrente a 3; Corrente a 4; Canzona a 3. DiAltauxo: Quinto tiento de septimo tono.Selected comparisons (De Falla)Marlowe Decca 710108Soriano Angel S 36131

Although I have always found De Falla'sharpsichord concerto a bit grating in its relent-lessness, I must admit that it is a beautifullyscored work, full of infectious, often hypnot-ically effective, balletlike rhythms. Thus theperfectly balanced, unbelievably clean stereosound and the superb performance by Land-owska-student Rafael Puyana, who displays aparticularly strong grasp of rhythmic detail,do De Falla complete justice-this disc is evento be preferred to the estimable versions bySylvia Marlowe and Gonzalo Soriano. Pu-yana's rhythmic sensitivity also well serves thepartitas by contemporary Spanish composerJulian Orbon, whose remarkably sonorousvariations in this work owe much of their im-provisational quality to the constantly shiftingmeters. In a totally different vein, Orbon'sother work on this disc, the Tres Cantigas delRev. is a lilting and poignantly captivatingarrangement for soprano, harpsichord, stringquartet, and percussion of three thirteenth -century canligas to the Virgin Mary, and theyare wistfully sung by Heather Harper.

The remaining works on this release allcome from the Spanish baroque period. The

pieces by Fray Bartolome Selma y Sa-

laverde. taken from his fifty-seven Canzoni.Fantasie e Correnti, represent a curious andfascinating mélange of medieval rhythms andinstrumentation with baroque harmonies andtextures. For these dancelike instrumentalpieces, Puyana proves to be an admirable an-chor man at the harpsichord, and he is sur-rounded by an outstanding group of Englishperformers who turn in marvelously spiritedand idiomatic interpretations of these pre-viously unrecorded works. The Tiento byFrancisco Correa de Arauxo is built around aslow, haunting theme that is woven into a mas-terfully constructed ricercare whose voices areskillfully delineated and developed by Puyanaon a double -manual harpsichord, even thoughthe work was intended, as the soloist pointsout in his extremely intelligent liner notes, fora single -manual, double -register organ.

Complementing the over-all worthiness ofthis release is the fact that it is pressed on asolid piece of vinyl that does not fold flaccidlyin your hands-in fact, it is the first totally un-warped LP I have come across in some years.Three cheers for Philips! R.S.B.

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by Dale Harris

The Lost Artof French Vocal Style

IT WOULD BE NICE to think that the recent,long-awaited reopening of the Paris Operaheralded a new age of French vocal art, buta glance at the first eight weeks' scheduleis sufficient to put the notion to rest. Frenchopera, on which a French school of singingdepends, is hardly in evidence. L'Heureespagnole (in a triple bill with Tabarro andGianni Schicchi) is the solitary native rep-resentative. There are also Maria Golovin,Barbiere, and Die Walkiire. Reports fromParis indicate a sharp rise in standards overthe recent past; matters will no doubt im-prove still further when Rolf Liebermanneventually takes over. In time it is hopedthat the French capital will once againassume her old place as an operatic center.

Whatever happens, however, it seemsfairly clear that the French school of sing-ing, in decline for a couple of generationsat least, is about to suffer extinction. Notthat there won't be good singers-these,though few, exist right now-but there isn'tmuch likelihood that they will any longerbe essentially Gallic in style. The repertoirethat nurtured French vocal art has, to allintents and purposes, vanished: GuillaumeTell. LaJuive, Le Prophete, Les Huguenots.the charming pieces of Auber, Boieldieu,Adam, Gounod's Mireille and Midecinmalgre lui, Thomas' Mignon, the oeuvreof Massenet. These works can still be heardsomewhere or other-in Switzerland, Ger-many, and the provinces of France usually-but they play no real part in the largeroperatic world to which the French nowaspire. Liebermann, it appears, will bringthe Paris Opera into the twentieth century.Handel and Berg will, very properly, havetheir day at last in the French capital. Thespirit of Hamburg will put provincialityand lethargy to flight. Henceforth Frenchsingers, using whatever language is appro-priate to the work they are performing, willbe part of the international scene. TheGallic qualities of gracefulness, elegance,lightness of touch coupled with expres-sivity, clarity in enunciating the text ratherthan gorgeous or voluminous tone, wit andintelligence rather than passion and exalta-tion will henceforth have no place sincethese derive from the French language andthe music that made use of its salient char-acteristics.

Regine Crespin, the one French star ofthe opening Walkiire, is a portent. Eventhough Crespin served her apprenticeshipsinging in her native language, she has formany years now abandoned roles in trans-lation. Nor does her present repertoire in-clude many works by French composers-unlike the great international French stars

of the past such as Calve, Gerville-Reache,Clement, Dalmores, Maurel, Renaud,Plancon, and Journet who were all readilyidentifiable as French stylists in every oneof their roles. By comparison, Crespin is asoprano tout court and one, moreover, asthe Walkiire assignment acknowledged,with a special empathy for German parts.Does this new recital, then, suggest that sheis re-establishing a claim to her originalFrench heritage? Probably not. The wholeenterprise, from title to contents, smacks ofmanagerial gimmickry rather than artisticcommitment. There is no real connectionhere with operatic Paris. Prima donnas donot sing operette in Paris very often-especially with the Vienna Volksoper Or-chestra. Nor is Crespin likely to be heardthere soon in works like Ascanio or Sapho,last seen at the Opera in 1921 and 1884respectively. Carmen seems remote too, butfor reasons of unsuitability. Delightful as itwould be to take this recital as a straw inthe wind, its most important feature issimply that it brings some worthy and de-lightful music into the domestic catalogue.

What it does not do is attest to Crespin'sversatility. Stateliness and pathos are herchief gifts. Partly this is a matter of tem-perament, partly of vocal technique. To thesonorous, slow -moving despair of Iphi-genie and Sapho she brings the right kindof breadth and grandeur. To the domesticscale of sorrow in Werther and to the sen-sual disquiet of Berlioz' Marguerite shebrings an appropriate air of introspection.Comparisons with her ten -year -old record-ings of the Berlioz (Voix de son maitre)and Gounod (Vega) show a loss both insteadiness of tone and suppleness of voice,though the intentions are neverthelessadmirable. But the joviality (not to men-tion the trill) of Scozzone's song fromAscanio, the Carmen Habanera and Se-guidilla, and the whole of the second discdevoted to the world of operette find her ata distinct disadvantage. She goes at themusic with a will, but without sufficientvocal pliancy, lightness of touch, or wit.Sometimes Crespin does something won-derful-finds a perfect nuance Cie radore,brigand") or creates an irresistible mood oflanguorousness (as in the second verse of"Ah! quel diner")-but on the whole shetends to be too big in scale, too heavy, toomatronly. The Carmen pieces are egre-giously inappropriate for her. The Segui-dilla (an unmusical potpourri that omitsDon Jose's role entirely) sounds moresomnolent than seductive.

The operette is certainly better than this,but even so this music needs a more

pointed delivery, a swifter, fleeter style. Tolisten to the records of Maggie Teyte andYvonne Printemps that seem to have in-fluenced Crespin's performances is to seeat once that Crespin has been unable todiscard her weighty operatic manner forthe lighter mood of operette. In addition,Crespin lacks that rhythmic animationwhich every great practitioner of lightmusic from Fritzi Massary to Geori-Boue(or Ethel Merman to Frank Sinatra) hasalways had. Without this quality the musiccan never yield up more than a fraction ofits charms. If you are attracted to themelodic gifts of Hahn, Messager, Chris-tine, and Oscar Straus, the beguiling oldrecordings of Yvonne Printemps are wellworth searching out in speciality stores.

Crespin's lack of rhythmic liveliness is adrawback in the operatic excerpts too.Neither Alain Lombard nor Georges Se-bastian brings enough firmness to themusic, and as the dominant personality,Crespin shows a disturbing tendency todawdle. The Werther selections, especiallythe Air de la lettre, are very slack. Hereagain an older French singer provides themodel: The Ninon Vallin recording (withGeorges Thill in the title role) shows whatwas once possible in this music and whatseems to have vanished forever. Crespin, asher fine Marschallin under Solti reveals, ismore at home on alien territory.

RecutiECRespri:"Pri ma Donna f rom Paris."GLUCK: 1phigenie en Tauride: Cette nuit. . . 0 toi qui prolongeas mes jours. BER-uoz: La Damnation de Faust: D'amourl'ardente flamme. GouNoo: Sapho: 00suis-je? . . . 0 ma lyre immortelle. SAINT-SAENS: Ascanio: 'Fiorentinelle!' Ah, quim'appelle? Masseporr: Werther: Air de lalettre; Va! laisse-les couler mes larmes;Ah! mon courage m'abandonne . . Seig-neur Dieu! Barr: Carmen: Habanera;Seguidilla. OFFENsoicit La Grande Duch-esse de Gerolstein: Portez armes . . .

J'aime les militaires; La Belle Helene: Dismoi, Venus; La Perichole: Tu n'es pasbeau ... Je t'adore; 0 mon cher amant, jeto jure; Ah! quel diner. HAHN: Ciboulette:Moi, je m'appelle Ciboulette; Y'a desarbres . . . C'est sa banlieue. CHRISTINE:Phi -Phi: Ah! cher Monsieur, excusez-moi. MessAami: L'Amour masque: J'aideux amants. STRAUS: Les trois valses:Saison d'amour; Je ne suis pas; Je t'aime.Regine Crespin, soprano: Orchestre de laSuisse Romande; Vienna Volksoper Or-chestra, Alain Lombard and Georges Se-bastian, cond. London OSA 1292, $11.96(two discs).


"THE WHITE BIRCH AND OTHER RUSSIANSomas." U.S.S.R. Russian Chorus, AleksanderSveshnikov, cond. Melodiya/Angel SR 40187,$5.98.

When it comes to choral singing-the realthing, floating buoyantly free from earth-bound tempered -scale accompaniments ofany kind-nobody, save possibly the Welsh,can beat the Russians. Yet it's all too seldomthat one can relish the best Russian choristers(including some of their incomparable organ -pedal -tone deep basses), led by a conductorwho knows the arcane secrets of how best totrain and direct choirs, in a repertory and inrecorded performances as near ideal as thosein this superb release. The only adverse criti-cism that might be made is the failure to iden-tify either the gifted arranger(s) of the eight"traditional" songs included here or the occa-sional soloists-in particular the breath-takingly beautiful mezzo starred in the haunt-ing White Birch and On the River Nevasettings.

The major work here is Rimsky-Korsakov'srichly sonorous, balladelike setting of a folk -song, The Tartar Captives, which he wrote inthe summer of 1877 when he was first sketch-ing out materials for the opera May Night. Itwas one of two choral works which later wonprizes in a competition sponsored by the Rus-sian Musical Society-rather embarrassingtriumphs since Rimsky himself, after he hadsubmitted his candidates anonymously, wasappointed one of the contest judges and had toavoid evaluating his own contributions with-out giving their authorship away to his col-leagues. Of the other two named composersrepresented, one, Rumyantsev (who contrib-utes a grave but dramatically worked -up Roar,Amur River) is unknown to me. The other is A.Y. Varlamov (1801-1848), whose Do Not SewMe a Wedding Sarafan, Mother is the source ofthe world-famous melody The Red Sarafan,commonly but erroneously thought to be afolksong. For programmatic variety, three ofthe eight traditional pieces are in lively moods(Along the River; From a Country, a FarawayCountry; I, the Young Wife), but while theseare effectively exciting, the singers' magical to-nal qualities and dictional clarity are most evi-dent in the quieter selections which include (inaddition to those already cited) The BellsWere Ringing, A Pear Tree, and Snow AllAround.

The present ensemble probably is much thesame as the Sveshnikov Chorus heard inMelodiya/ Angel's Tchaikovsky choral pro-gram (SR 40039, 1968) and the U.S.S.R. Rus-sian Academic Chorus under Sveshnikov inan earlier folksong program (SR 40070, 1968).And it may be more or less the same as theU.S.S.R. Russian Academic Chorus con-ducted by Aleksander Yulov in the Ber-ezovsky-Bortniansky-Vedel choral "con-certo" program (SR 40116) and the Taneyevchoral program (SR 40151) which I reviewedin October 1970 and May 1971 respectively.It's very different from the Red Army Choir,Don Cossacks, and similar choral groups thatusually sing with instrumental accom-paniments. These provide fine accom-paniment of an entirely different artistic char-acter, but they never approach theincomparable purity and majesty of the choraltone colors and sonority that make the presentrelease so irresistibly enchanting. R.D.D.

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in brief

ARENSKY: Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano, in D

minor, Op. 32. GLINKA: Trio Pathetique for Clarinet,Bassoon, and Piano, in D minor (arr. Hfimaldy, forViolin, Cello, and Piano). Grigory Feigin,Valentin Feigin, cello; Igor Zhukov. piano. Melodiya/Angel SR 40165, $5.98.

There are already two good recorded performances of the once popular (and still ingratiating)Arensky trio, but this one may be preferred by some-even over the classic Heifetz/Piatigorsky/Pennano version for RCA-for its more authentically "Russian" fervor and the uninhibitedbravura of its players, virtuoso pianist Zhukov in particular. He and the gifted Feigin brothersare no less sparkling and outgoing in Glinka's early work, but here the violinist's rather sticky-sweet tonal qualities are less appropriate-perhaps because the music was originally conceivedfor the very different colorings commanded by two woodwinds with piano. Even so, the musicitself is fascinating both for Its naively reflected Italian influences and for the absence of anyclear anticipations of the mature master's distinctive originality. In both trios the Russianplayers' infectious enthusiasm and boldly assured virtuosity are admirably captured in a vividrecording. R.D.D.

BARTOK: Sonatas for Violin and Piano: No. 1, No. 2.Isaac Stern, violin; Alexander Zakin, piano. ColumbiaM 30944, $5.98.

Bartok wrote his two violin sonatas in consecutive years -1921 and 1922. They have much incommon: Both are aggressively dissonant, largely rhythmic in basic conception, totally individ-ualistic in form, and in both there is a remarkable independence in the relationship between thetwo instruments. They are also two of BartOk's most original and interesting works-the secondranks, I feel, among the composer's masterpieces. Stern is not known for his performances of"difficult" twentieth-century music (although he has recorded quite a few of the more generallyaccepted concertos), yet he plays these pieces with an impressive sureness and naturalness. Heis well assisted by pianist Alexander Zakin, and despite an occasional need for more rhythmicdrive, the performances are warm and musically convincing. This is a particularly welcomeaddition to the catalogue as it constitutes the only disc currently available that includes bothsonatas. R.P.M.

BLOCH: Schelomo. BRUCH: Kol Nidrei, Op. 47.SCHUMANN: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra,in A minor, Op. 129. Christine Walevska, cello;Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra, Eliahu Imbal, cond.Philips 6500 160, $5.98.

Christine Walevska is obviously a young lady of exceptional talent and considerable tem-perament. A pupil of Piatigorsky in California and of Marechal in Paris, she is one of a numberof extraordinary young musicians from the West Coast in recent years. Eliahu Imbal is anotherup-and-coming young musician, a conductor who is traveling on the international conductingcircuit with considerable acclaim. It would be nice to recommend this disc as the kind of excitingrecording debut that both of these young musicians deserve, but they are saddled here with apoor orchestra. Even in the relatively uncomplicated Schumann, the muddy sound of the or-chestra and its failures of intonation detract from a very good solo performance. But in theBloch, where the composer calls for a "full orchestra," the interplay between solo and ensemblefrequently becomes a travesty. Without a real give-and-take here, this remarkable work fallsto pieces, for no amount of effort from the soloist can rescue the performance. P.H.

HAYDN: Divertimentos for Two Oboes, Two Horns,and Two Bassoons (7). London Wind Players. lackBrymer, cond. London Stereo Treasury STS 15078,$2.98.

If any man in our time knows his way around the music shelves of Austrian palaces and castlesthat man is H. C. Robbins Landon. En his Haydn safaris, presumably after bigger game, he hascome upon these divertimentos for six wind instruments-we learn from the perceptive albumnotes that they turned up in a variety of corners, often in sets of parts but in twocases in Haydn'sown autograph scores. Composed in his early days at Esterhazy or shortly before, they are ahappy lot of pieces-incorporating, inevitably, a certain amount of oom-pah-pah but goingbeyond that to exploit varieties of timbre and occasional bits of dialogue; and there is one promi-nent adagio (in No. 1) wherein the horns surface with rather remarkable solemnity. For the mostpart the oboes dominate, but there are a few forays even by the bassoons, and a couple ofhunting -horn movements that give the horns their head in real field -and -stream spirit. Severalof the trio sections too are especially fetching. The London Wind Soloists perform with precision,a fine articulation, and perfect instrumental balance. S.F.

PROKOFIEV: Quartets for Strings: No. 1, in B, Op.50; No. 2, in F, Op. 92. Novak Quartet. Philips6500 103. $5.98

The string quartet medium is not too congenial to Prokofiev's style or temperament. In large-scale works he needs a broader tonal palette than the string quartet offers: His best chambermusic adds winds or piano to the relatively restricted sound of the strings. In these quartets hismusical ideas sound rather thin and the texture betrays almost nakedly the composers inabilityto sustain a contrapuntal development of his materials.

Nor do these performances by the Novak Quartet add materially to the pleasure of this record.Not only does the group give rather literal and uninspired readings of both scores, but they doso with a bleakly unpleasant string tone. The Second Quartet, especially, with its somewhatsimple-minded thematic material could have benefited from a warmer and more imaginativeapproach. P.H.

"Everything You Always Wanted to Hear on theMoog (but Were Afraid to Ask For)." CHABRIER:Espana. LECUONA: Malaguena. BIZET: CarmenSuite. RAVEL: Bolero. Andrew Kazdin and Thomas A.Shepard. proaucers. Columbia M 30383. $5.98.Tape: ' MA 30383, $6.98: MT 30383. $6.98.

These may be the pieces you were always afraid you were going to hear on the Moog and nowyou're going to, but I suggest letting the cat out first: Mine turned to me with eyes as big as dishesbefore he hit the floor, and he wouldn't come out of the bathroom (that's where he thinks) untilsometime during the Carmen excerpts-after all, his name is P. T. Barnum and he knows a goodshow when he hears one. He tells me that the recording is really quite feline in its lightness oftouch and its quota of sheer cheek. 1 tell him that the way Kazdin and Shepard have taken thesepieces apart and put them back together in all those audacious timbres reminds me of a Picassoportrait-a mixing of planes and perspectives still related to the original. And the Moog told ushow good it was: It gives itself its very own applause at the end. lt really didn't have to-wewould have supplied it. S.F.

"LOS ANGELES BRASS SOCIETY." BROWN: FivePieces for Organ, Harp, Brass, and Percussion.TULL: Liturgical Symphony for Brass and Percussion.Fanfares by seven various composers. Ladd Thomas,organ; Dorothy Remsen, harp, Los Angeles Brassand Percussion Society, Lester Remsen, cond. AvantAV 1001, $4.98.

The L.A. brass and percussion ensemble is a big one, thirty-one players in all who perform withprofessional competence and are excellently recorded here, if in a somewhat dry acousticalambience. The all -contemporary program is a mixed -bag, however. Rayner Brown's Toccata,Adagio, Scherzo, Passacaglia, and Fugue are conventional. but not uninteresting pieces, seriouslyhandicapped for me by the ugly -sounding modern instrument used for the organ part. Tull 'sLiturgical Symphony is even more handicapped by pretentiousness and an irrational (to me)oscillation between extreme consonance for plainsong melodies -settings) and extreme dis-sonance. The seven fanfares vary widely in style, naturally enough, since they are by different(mostly West -Coast, I presume) composers. But they are nearly all quite effective for theirpurpose, while at least a couple of them (say the aleatory piece by Frank Campo and themetrically intricate one by William Kraft) demonstrate some distinction. R.D.D.


RECORDS

IN REVIEW

1971 EDITIONTHE SIXTEENTH ANNUALCOLLECTION OF RECORDREVIEWS FROM HIGH FIDELITY

544 pages. 51/2)(81/4. $9.95

This annual brings you in one conven-ient book hundreds of reviews of rec-ords which appeared in' High Fidelitymagazine in 1970-classical and semi-classical music exclusively-and in-cludes information about correspondingtape releases, whether in open reel,cartridge, or cassette format.

Each reviewer stands high in his field-Paul Henry Lang, for instance, re-views the early classics; George Mov-shon and Peter G. Davis examine operarecordings; Harris Goldsmith the pianoliterature; Alfred Frankenstein the mod-ern Americans; and Robert C. Marshand David Hamilton discuss the post -Romantics. In addition, this year's an-nual includes reviews by the notedpianist, Glenn Gould, and by Harold C.Schonberg, chief music critic on TheNew York Times. Forthrightly they dis-cuss the composition, performance,and sonic quality. And they comparenew recordings with earlier releasesand with legendary performances.

The reviews are organized alpha-betically by composer for quick, easyreference-and in the case of composers frequently recorded, further sub-divided by such categories as ChamberMusic, Vocal Music, etc. Moreover,there's a special section on Recitalsand Miscellany and a complete Artists'Index of all performers reviewed duringthe year, as well as performers men-tioned only in the text.

With so many records being issuedeach year, a reliable source of informa-tion is a necessity. What better sourcethan reviews from the magazine thathas been called "a bible for recordcollectors!"

Comments about earlier Annuals:

"Comprehensive coverage of eachyear's recordings gives a surprisinglywell-rounded picture of what's avail-able on records, and most reviews de-scribe the work as well as the perform-ance, providing each annual with apermanent use."

Saturday Review

"The standard reference work for thereview of long play classical and semi-classical records."

Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Mass.)

". . . a gratifying wide range . . . infor-mative and useful ..."

Notes (Music Library Association)

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"High Fidelity has become somethingof a bible for record collectors and alsofor those who are simply interested inlis:ening to music on records. One ofthe magazine's most attractive featuresis the loig and complete section de-voted each month to reviews of the newrecordings, reviews that are complete,detailed, and authoritative. They arealso honest, which is the best possiblerecommendation."

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APRII 1972105

the lighter sidereviewed by

MORGAN AMES

ROYAL S. BROWN

R. D. DARRELL

HENRY EDWARDS

MIKE JAHN

JOHN S. WILSON

THE ROLLING STONES: Hot Rocks, 1964-1971.Mick Jagger, vocals; Keith Richard, guitar;Charlie Watts, drums; Mick Taylor, guitar; BillWyman, bass; vocal and instrumental accom-paniment. Get Off My Cloud; 19th NervousBreakdown; Paint It, Black; Jumpin' Jack Flash;Street Fighting Man; Sympathy for the Devil;Honky Tonk Women; Gimme Shelter; BrownSugar; twelve more. London 2PS 606/7, $9.96(two discs).

From all the noise and sweat and achieve-ments of the rock scene of the 1960s, what re-mains? The Beatles are gone, Dylan is presentbut sporadic. The Rolling Stones, in retro-spect, seem ever more important as drivingforces behind so much that happened and somuch that still happens in rock. This two -LPset combines all their best-known, and most oftheir best work-twenty-one songs in all.

It's really a majestic package and not just forhistorical value. The Stones's early songs, likeSatisfaction and Get Off My Cloud, still arecomparable to the best heard today. Jumpin'Jack Flash, Honky Tonk Women, and their re-cent Brown Sugar are models of hard rock;Sympathy for theDevil and Gimme Shelter. areparticularly earthy musical dramas. Finally, interms of just shaking the roof, Side 3 of the setis very likely the most alive series of five songsever put on record, consisting as it does ofJumpin' Jack. Street Fighting Alan, Sympa-thy, Honky Tonk, and Shelter. It's nice thatnine -thousand easy -listening orchestras haverecorded the Beatles' Yesterday and Hey Jude.This music seems much more to the point. M.J.

DAVID FRYE: Richard Nixon Superstar.David Frye, various characters; writtenby Gabe Kaplan, Eric Cohen, John Boni,and others; produced by Joe Lauer andDavid Frye. Buddah BDS 5097, $4.98.

Da id Frye is one of our best young comicsand a familiar face from TV variety and talkshows. He made it during the Johnson admin-istration because of his irresistible LBJ imita-tion. He has proved himself equally capable ofraising hell with Nixon and friends.

The beauty of this album lies in its concept.

It is a sort of "This Is Your Life, RichardNixon" hosted by Billy Graham. Graham be-gins at the beginning, wherein Nixon is bornwith a five o'clock shadow. We follow littleDick to school, where he runs for class presi-dent and gets turned down by girls for dates("All right, but you won't have Dick Nixon tokick around anymore," etc.). Frye includesvoices alarmingly close to Humphrey, Rock-efeller, Buckley, Muskie, Kissinger, and oth-ers-all those politicians whom we would loveto see make blatant and unsubtle fools ofthemselves. To the exhausted and suspiciousAmerican public, the cruelty of good politicalsatire is sheer joy. Nothing is changed, ofcourse, but the crushing humorlessness of pol-itics is eased for a moment. M.A.

CARLY SIMON: Anticipation. Carly Simon. vo-cals, guitar, and piano; rhythm accompaniment;strings, Del Newman, arr. Three Days; Legendin Your Own Time; Julie Through the Glass;seven more. Elektra EKS 75016, $4.98.Tape: J 85016, $6.98; 4B1955016, $6.98.

Carly Simon has not yet quite made it butshe's on her way. The first thing one noticesabout her is her wide open throat and naturalmusicality. Miss Simon has a sister, Joanna,who is an opera singer of note, and I am toldthat both sisters sing with the same naturalgrace and strength. Their father is the Simonof Simon and Schuster, the publishing house.

Carly Simon had some success with a singlelast year. Its title escapes me at the moment.but like most of her material, she wrote it. MissSimon can be a good writer, but she is not yetconsistent. Anticipation is a partly good song,or a song in which some lines pop out at you("I'll try to see into your eyes right now andstay right here. 'cause these are the good olddays"), while the wholeness of the song is eva-sive.

All Carly Simon needs is to be let alone, togrow and work, to make her mistakes and fig-ure them out and refine them. All of which ishappening. Keep your eye on her. M.A.

Carly Simon-working and growing.

symbol denotesan exceptional recording

JUDY COLLINS: Living. Judy Collins,vocals, guitar, and piano; rhythm ac-companiment. Joan of Arc; Blue Rain-coat; Four Strong Winds; seven more.Elektra EKS 75014, $4.98.

Judy Collins is the undisputed Mother Earthof folk singers. One may prefer one of her al-bums to another for personal reasons, but shehas never made a record that didn't have aninteresting cast to it. Her new album is notablefor two qualities: its simplicity and the beautyof her voice. I have never heard her in bettershape vocally.

Once again Miss Collins has chosen a fasci-nating program of best songs by other writers,most of them her friends. Two are by LeonardCohen: Blue Raincoat and Joan of Arc-andboth are engrossing. Four Strong Winds is thewell-known song by Ian Tyson of Ian and Syl-via. All Things are Quite Silent was arrangedand adapted by Miss Collins and is sung a cap-pella with breathtaking clarity. Easy Times("Easy times come hard for me....") waswritten by Miss Collins and Stacy Keach forKeach's film, The Repeater, an extraordinarywork about prison recidivism which has beenshown on educational television. Judy Collinswas the first to present publically on a largescale the songs of her friend. Joni Mitchell.most notably Clouds. In this set Miss Collinsperforms Miss Mitchell's Chelsea Morning, onwhich Richard Bell plays beautiful piano. Thisversion is performed a bit slower than MissMitchell's own, and I may end up liking iteven better.

Surely this is one of Judy Collins' best -everalbums, and it is highly recommended. M.A.

MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND. Mick Rogers,guitar and vocals; Manfred Mann, organ, syn-thesiser, and vocals; Colin Pattenden, bass;Chris Slade, drums. California Coastline; Cap-tain Bobby Stout; Sloth; seven more. Polydor PD5015, $5.98.

Since 1964 Manfred Mann's name has beensynonymous with good music. While nothingon Manfred's new album matches the excite-ment of his first hit. Do Wah Diddy Diddy, orthe joyousness of his biggest U.S. single, TheMighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo), there areenough of the Mann skills present here to en-courage one to listen. Mann has a well -placed,white -blues voice; he is a keyboards master;he always has had the ability to put together a

band whose major concern is the music andnot showing off. Those skills place "ManfredMann's Earth Band" head and shoulders overmost of the other specimens of the ongoing"British Blues Invasion of the Seventies."

On this album, Mann works over anotherDylan tune, Please Mrs. Henry, and the per-formance is a punchy one. He creates athrobbing rendition of Randy Newman's Liv-ing Without You. Part Time Man and I'm Upand I'm Leaving also have that haunting. ur-gent quality that has always marked Mann notonly as a quality rocker but also as a musician

106APRIL 1972

with serious intentions and the ability to real-ize them.

Who knows? Manfred Mann has triumphedbefore; he just may do it again. H.E.

KING Biscurr BOY: Gooduns. RichardNewell (The King Biscuit Boy), vocals,harmonicas, guitars, and slide guitar; in-strumental accompaniment. You DoneTore Your Playhouse Down Again; BoomBoom (Out Go the Lights); Georgia Rag;six more. Daffodil SBX 16006, $4.98.

The King Biscuit Boy (nee Richard Newell)has been playing harp and guitar and singingthe blues since 1961. He has been a member ofthree bands and has even worked with the leg-endary Ronnie Hawkins, helping to create the"Toronto Sound" of the mid -Sixties. All ofthis musical experience has paid off. The KingBiscuit Boy is a harp virtuoso, and there is anuncanny air of authenticity about his bluessinging. In addition, Newell respects his feelfor the blues. He does not set out to translatehis natural inclinations into one of those com-mercialized superstar energy trips like JoeCocker's.

"Gooduns" pays tribute to past blues artistsand to his contempories, with whom he alsofeels a sense of kinship. Arthur Gunter, LittleWalter, Junior Parker, Bo Diddley, HueySmith, Willie Dixon, Professor Longhair-allget their just desserts. Newell works over fourof his own blues compositions including YouDone Tore Your Playhouse Down Again, a ripetribute to a hard -drinking woman. He createsa Georgia Rag that has an amazing sense oftruth, and does full justice to Willie Dixon'sTwenty Nine Ways, one of those funky bluestunes with those slightly off-color lyrics. New-ell's set concludes with Lord Pity Us All, a gos-pel ballad written by Dr. John.

"Gooduns" is a truly soulful album. To usethe vernacular, it's really bad, that's what it is!

H.E.

MORDICAI Jonas. Mordicai Jones, vocals, pi-ano, mandolin, and harmonica; Link Wray, gui-tar, dobro, and bass; Doug Wray, guitar; BillyHodges, organ and piano; John Grummere, gui-tar; Ned Levitt, vocals; Norman Sue, bass; SteveVerroca, drums. Walkin' in the Arizona Sun;Scorpio Woman; The Coca Cola Sign Blinds MyEyes; All I Want to Say; On the Run; GandyDancer; four more. Polydor PD 5010, $4.98.

Mordicai Jones has a high-tension voice thatsounds vaguely like that of John Fogerty, andthe over-all tone of the album is the kind ofoffhand funkiness Creedence ClearwaterRevival tried but failed to achieve on occa-sion. The songs range in influence from coun-try to blues to folk, and the atmosphere of all ismarvelous. The LP was recorded in LinkWray's increasingly famous chicken shack, us-ing a lot of homemade sound (a can full ofnails, for example). It is precisely the atmos-phere that carries the album, as Jones's voicegets a bit tedious after the third or fourth song.Still, an effort worth noting. M.J.

EMERSON, LAKE, and PALMER: Pictures at anExhibition. Promenade; The Gnome; The Sage;The Old Castle; Blues Variation; The Hut of BabaYaga; The Curse of Baba Yaga; The Great Gates

for music -nuts.Schwann publishes unique magazines about records and tapes.Listing new ones and available old ones. Prepared to put music -nuts (like us, too) in the know.

Listings include composers, performers and much other valu-able information. Manufacturers' labels, with order numbersand list prices.

Schwann fills in admirably for the knowledgeable sales clerk(may his soul rest in peace). Schwann is friendly (goes homewith you just like that). And cheap (some dealers don't chargefor it at all)! And helpful-with listings of nearly 45,000 recordsand tapes in Schwann-1 alone.

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Schwann 1The Schwann everybodyknowsIt takes frequent revision to keep up with the many new releases in records and8 -track cartridge and cassette tapes. The monthly Schwann Record & Tape Guidecontains nearly 45,000 listings in classical, recent popular, rock, jazz, folk, musicalshows, quadrasonic. Special new listing section lists this month's releases.

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of Kiev; Nutrocker; three more. Cotillion ELP66666, $4.98. Tape: *. 8 66666, $6.95; OM 56666'6, $6.95.

A rock trio-keyboards (piano, organ, syn-thesizer), guitar, and drums-playing themesfrom Pictures at an Exhibition in live concert?Anyone who loves the original piano composi-tion or Ravel's familiar orchestral version isliable to respond at best with revulsion, atworst with ulcers. However, considering thatEmerson, Lake, and Palmer probably had anuninitiated audience in mind, the idea israther understandable.

The music is certainly better than anythingthe group has come up with on their own. Nut -

rocker, an adaptation by rock songwriter KimFowley of guess what, is, like the Rondo whichKeith Emerson used to play as leader of TheNice, a catchy tune. In all, this new LP is, likemost rock versions of classical themes. lessadaptation than piracy. But when you con-sider the droll nature of so many "original"rock songs, the Emerson, Lake, and Palmer at-tempt is not so bad. At least they admittedwhere the music came from. M.J.

DON MCLEAN: American Pie. Don McLean,vocals, guitar, and banjo; vocal and instru-mental accompaniment. American Pie; Til To-morrow; Vincent; Crossroads; Everybody LovesMe, Baby; Sister Fatima; Babylon; three more.United Artists UAS 5535, $5.98.

McLean's American Pie became one of thefew eight -minute hit records in history. Thatrather mysterious song, apparently based onthe death of McLean's idol, singer BuddyHolly in February 1959, mentions dozens ofpersons and places in the history of youth cul-ture and rock. It seems a dirge for the allegeddeath of rock, or something of that nature.McLean refuses to discuss it-a solid PR move,one Dylan has used to advantage for years. Thealbum "American Pie" contains one other up -

tempo song, the Holly-esque Everybody LovesMe, Baby. Apart from that, it's all balladry, attimes too precious (Sister Fatima and Vincent,the latter about Van Gogh), and continuallytoo one -sounding. McLean has a dynamic bal-lad style, but he seems rather locked into it.The song American Pie is a true landmark, butthe rest of the album doesn't live up to it. M.J.

BAND OF THE GRENADIER GUARDS: A Band-stand Spectacular. Band of the GrenadierGuards, Peter Parkes, cond. March: H.R.H. TheDuke of Cambridge; La Vie Parisienne; ClarinetCascade; seven more. London International SW99536, $4.98.

Further melancholy evidence of the Declineof the British Empire. The once -great Grena-dier Guards Band, recording for the first timeunder its new director Captain Parkes, seemedto have slipped to the level of a provincialsummer -concert ensemble-an unattractiveone, at that, and in large part as a consequenceof Parkes's own jerkiness and tendency topress. Except for Malcolm Arnold's stirringmarch dedicated to the Duke of Cambridge,Leroy Anderson's arrangement of the IrishWasherwoman, and the fine Handelian tuneSong of Jupiter, the program ranges from theroutine (Brien's Clarinet Cascade, Parkes'sWhite Plume March, Osser's Italian Festivalmedley) to the dreadful (the bogus Dixielandof Walters' Hootenanny). Even the robust,

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acoustically dry recording accentuates the cur-rent tonal coarseness of what was once one ofthe world's finest military bands. Sic transit.

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FACES: A Nod is as Good as a Wink ...To a Blind Horse. Rod Stewart, vocals;Ron Wood, guitar; Ronny Lane, bass;Ian McLagan, keyboards; Kenny Jones,drums. Miss Judy's Farm; You're SoRude; Love Lives Here; Last OrdersPlease; Stay with Me; four more. WarnerBros. WS 2574, $4.98.

Rod Stewart once said publicly, "There'llnever be a white artist who can conquer blackmusic." Stewart comes closest to succeedingin battle. His throaty, raspy voice can wrapitself around a song and produce an amazinglysoulful sound. His band, Faces, refuses tofunction as a mere backup unit, and producesinstead a great deal of lively, integrated rock.Faces, with Stewart singing lead, is not afraidto be jolly, even though they are loud. Theyhave a great deal of fun doing a perfect rendi-tion of Chuck Berry's Memphis. Stewart beltsout Stay with Me and That's All You Need,two original shouters. The album includes amellow country song, Dallas, and a sweetballad, Love Lives Here. "A Nod is as Goodas a Wink . . . To a Blind Horse" is a thor-oughly tasteful collection.

The Faces used to be called the Small Faces.Their infectious blend of rock and rhythm andblues has proved itself capable of producingmillions of smiling faces. This album helpsto explain why. H.E.

CAROLE KING: Music. Carole King, vocals,piano, and celeste; instrumental and vocalaccompaniment. Some Kind of Wonderful;Music; Song of Long Ago; Back to California;eight more. Ode SP 77013, $5.98.LAURA NYRO AND LABELLE: Gonna Take aMiracle. Laura Nyro, piano and vocals; Labelle,vocals; instrumental accompaniment. / MetHim on a Sunday; Monkey Time; Dancing inthe Street; Spanish Harlem; Jimmy Mack; sixmore. Columbia KC 30987, $5.98. Tape: NMCR 30987, $6.98; Pi' CT 30987, $6.98; seCA 30987, $6.98.

For a white woman to attempt soul singing isdangerous. Not blues-a few can do that andRita Coolidge is one. But soul, not often.Carole King seems to be trying a soft -core soul.The lyrics sport less cliches than is the rulefor soul. But the singing is correspondinglyless immediate and driving.

Carole King's "Music" seems to be a soulalbum for the affluent suburbs. Best is her oldhit record, Some Kind of Wonderful, in newversion here, and a folky sort of thing calledSong of Long Ago, on which she is joined byJames Taylor.

Laura Nyro, in "Gonna Take a Miracle,"is trying hard-core soul with the aid but notthe comfort of Labelle, a black singing trioformerly known as Patti La Belle and theBlue Bells. Nyro has abandoned her singer -songwriter poetic stance in favor of a collectionof mostly -horrid, early -Sixties, Top -40screechers. Why a solid contributor to con-temporary music decides to sing the songs thatdrove millions of listeners from rock 'a decadeago is undecipherable. M.J.

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WINGS: Wild Life. Paul McCartney, vocals, bassguitar, and keyboards: Linda McCartney, vocalsand keyboards: Denny Seiwell. drums: DennyLane, guitar. Mumbo; Bip Bop; Love Is Strange;five more. Apple SW 3386, $4.98.

A new record by an ex-Beatle always makesone reach for the critical magnifying glass.The recording efforts of Paul and LindaMcCartney make this process of critical elabo-ration seem futile. The McCartneys are deter-mined to make reasonable pop music that isno better or worse than anyone else's. Theirmusic is not "revolutionary"; it is not theproduct of any specific subculture. It is a

conscious effort to achieve a level of highlypolished mediocrity which is what most massculture is all about anyway. McCartney'sthinking may appall those who believe thatman should always try to achieve greatness; itwill infuriate the fans of his former song -writing partner, John Lennon. who has him-self attempted to transform the pop song intoone of the world's most powerful epistles: itwill enrage the solemn -faced critics of popularmusic who believe that pop is art. It will pleaseno one but the huge public, the public thathas already bought-and loved-Paul Mc-Cartney's first two post -Beatles albums by themillions.

"Wild Life" puts McCartney's new band,Wings, on display for the very first time.Wings performs seven McCartney -McCartney originals, and also delivers a per-formance of Love Is Strange in which Pauland Linda amiably take on the roles ofPeaches and Herb and almost but not quitesucceed. This album revolves around thethemes of: Isn't rock fun?, Isn't love grand?,and Isn't John Lennon silly? The rock -as -funcategory includes Mumbo, which takes the lis-tener all the way back to the Spencer DavisGroup, and Bip Bop which could be a themesong for a rock revival evening. Category twois satisfied by Some People Never Know, To-morrow, and the Paul and Linda McCartneymutual admiration society number I Am YourSinger.These three range from the trivial tothe embarrassing, and the vocal performanceby Ms. McCartney on I Am Your Singershould certainly never have been allowed tohappen.

By now, the Lennon -McCartney feud, car-ried on in print and in the songs of the twomen, is a thorough bore. However. Paul scorespoints this time round with his title song. WildLife, a witty parody of Lennon's primal shriek-ings. Here, McCartney creates a more thanintense ecology song about a man stroll-ing through an African park brooding over thefact that most of the animals have been putinto zoos. The narrator cautions that since"man is an animal too" he'd better worryabout the animals in the zoo. McCartney, notonly offers an excellent imitation of the Len-non singing style, but also succeeds admirablyin deflating Lennon's social pretensions. InDear Friend, a mellow, mournful McCartneyaddresses a series of questions to a friend (Iwonder who), and asks him, among otherthings, if he's a "fool."

Wings, with the exception of Ms.McCartney's vocalizing, seems capable of ex-pressing all of McCartney's carefully limitedintentions. Denny Seiwell even has the oppor-tunity to create a series of brilliant percussiveeffects. The McCartney fans will certainly eatit all up.

It's your round, John. H.E.CIRCLE 69 ON READER -SERVICE CARD


MELANIE: Gather Me. Melanie, vocals andguitar; vocal and instrumental accompaniment.Little Bit of Me; Brand New Key; Ring the Bell;Tell Me Why; nine more. Neighborhood NRS47001, $4.98.

Melanie has a .sharp. emotion -ridden voice.one that can make a good song magnificent ora mediocre one tolerable. On her new album.the material is largely mediocre, consequentlythe end product is tolerable-decent but notequal to her last LP. "The Good Book," re-leased on the Buddah label. On "Gather Me"the lyrics are inconclusive. She seems to havesomething to say, but seldom makes it clearjust what it is. Melanie's voice is so effective,however, that the album works when no at-tention is paid to such details as lyrics. Asbackground music, as a mood -setter, it's fine.

M.J.

jazz"THEY ALL PLAYED MAPLE LEAF RAG."Jelly Roll Morton, Willie The Lion Smith,James P. Johnson, Eubie Blake, Vess L.Ossman, W. C. Handy's orchestra. Sid-ney Bechet. Earl Hines' orchestra.Tommy Dorsey's orchestra, Willie Eck-stein, Hank Duncan, Paul Lingle, DonEwell, and Ralph Sutton. Herwin 401,$5.50 (Herwin Records, P.O. Box 306,Glen Cove, N.Y. 11542).

This is an oddity that, at first glance, wouldseem to be for Maple Leaf Rag nuts. It is a col-lection of fifteen versions of Scott Joplin'sclassic rag, ranging from Vess Ossman's 1907recording with Prince's Band to big -band per-formances by Tommy Dorsey and Earl Hines.But there is an amazing amount of variety andof jazz history in the set-an example of W. C.Handy's orchestra in 1917 playing a variationon Maple Leaf called Fuzzy Wuzzy Rag, JellyRoll Morton's explanation of how rags wereplayed in St. Louis and New Orleans (or JellyRoll) styles. James P. Johnson's hammer -and -tongs approach to the tune, the chance forclose comparison of such pianists as Willie theLion Smith, Willie Eckstein, Hank Duncan,Paul Lingle. Don Ewell, and Ralph Sutton,each of whom has his own distinctive concep-tion. Not to mention Sidney Bechet. whose1932 recording of Maple Leaf Rag with hisNew Orleans Feetwarmers once seemed awild-eyed fantasy-until one listens toHandy's version of fifteen years earlier andfinds that Bechet was simply following and ex-tending precedent. Great fun. J.S.W.

MARY Lou Mum ms: From the Heart.Mary Lou Williams, piano. Cloudy; TheScarlet Creeper; Blues for John; eightmore. Chiaroscuro 103. $4.98 (Chiaro-scuro Records, 15 Charles St., NewYork, N.Y. 10014).

Mary Lou Williams. like Erroll Garner, hasthe ability to make a solo piano sound like afull orchestra, although Miss Williams'method is different from Garner's. Garnerusually accomplishes this effect through hislush, splashy Hollywood extravaganza bits.Miss Williams. on the other hand, just digs inwith two hands and swings with a rugged.swaggering attack and a sure sense of broad

harmonic structure. On this disc she coversmore than forty years of her very productivecareer: from her early days with Andy Kirk'sorchestra (Night Life and Little Joe From Chi-cago) through her period as one of the most ef-fective composer/arrangers in the Swing Era(What's Your Start, Mornin' Glory?), then intothe deep and influential religious feelings thathave shaped her life for the past twenty yearsand on to the contemporary Mary Lou who, asalways, is just a step ahead of most other pi-anists but still motivated by the strong, swing-ing urge that characterized her earliest work.

Like Duke Ellington, Miss Williams hasnever been content to let her work stand still.So these new versions of her older tunes have afresh interest without losing their originalcharm even when the rhythmic motivation ischanged as radically as it is on Scratchin' in theGrave!, once a gutty little swinger but now agently reflective ad-lib piece. There's nochoosing between the two treatments: They'reboth right. And it is this ability to find so manyviable facets in any given piece of music thatmakes every Mary Lou Williams performancea rewarding adventure. J.S.W.

*, STAN Grrz: Dynasty. Stan Getz, ten-or saxophone; Eddy Louiss organ;Rene Thomas, guitar; Bernard Lubat,drums. Ballad for Leo; Our Kind of Sabi;Mona; six more. Verve 6 8802 /2, $11.96(two discs).

There are, as we are learning, several StanGetzes. The Getzes we first heard back in thelate Forties and during the Fifties-the FourBrothers Getz and the leader of various free -swinging small groups-were strongly coloredby the influence of Lester Young. As the yearspassed, Getz built on this foundation to find avoice that was more and more his own, al-though he never lost (and still has not lost) hisunderlying debt to Lester. By now, however,those early Getzes are beyond recall except onold records.

During the Sixties two new Getzes emerged.The first was somewhat of a throwback to theromanticism of his Early Autumn days butwith a new refinement induced by the bossanova. Getz paid the penalty of too great a pop-ularity in this style-his performances becamethinner and thinner as he became more andmore bored with the required repetition. Butthen, midway through the decade, he found anew and stronger voice, exemplified by hisstriking performance on Eddie Sauter's Focuson which he improvised through, around, andover compositions by Sauter played by fourstring quartets.

For the past three years Getz has been livingin Europe. playing only occasionally. On avisit to Paris in 1970, he heard Eddy Louiss,Rene Thomas, and Bernard Lubat playing atthe Blue Note and was so taken with their mu-sic that he went back the next year to play withthem at Le Chat qui peche. From ;here. thegroup moved to Ronnie Scott's in London andthat is where this two -disc set was recorded. Itis a striking display of the Getz of the Sev-enties with touches of the romanticism of hisFocus period. Getz has now developed auniquely distinctive sound firmly based on hisoriginal model, Lester Young, but bristlingwith lean, hard vigor that can melt into thegentlest of nuances. He is in superb form allthrough this set but don't bet that he won't beeven better on his next recording-Getz, at this

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point, seems to be going through a remarkableperiod of mature growth.

The set is also notable for the consistentlybrilliant work of Rene Thomas, a guitaristwho uses his instrument with much the sameswinging subtlety that Red Norvo uses onvibes. Louiss and Lubat provide Getz andThomas with capable support although Louisstends to stretch his solos well beyond his abil-ity to sustain them. J.S.W.

theater and filmSACCO AND VANZETTI. MUSIC by Ennio Molt-cone from the or ginal motion picture sound-track recording. Joan Baez, vocal. RCA LSP4612, $5.98.

The soundtrack music for Giuliano Mon-taldo's film account of the notorious Saccoand Vanzetti case should amply prove whyEnnio Morricone has become one of the mostsought-after film composers today, partic-ularly in Europe. Although Morricone cameinto fame by composing the music for severalof the recent Italian -made Westerns (A Fistfulof Dollars, etc.), his best writing, in my opin-ion, has turned up in the taut and moodyscores for such films as The Sicilian Clan, In-vestigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, andSans mobile apparent.

But Sacco and Vanzetti features, in additionto one of Morricone's best and most appro-priate scores yet, a chilling vocal performanceby Joan Baez in the difficult Ballad of Saccoand Vanzetti, that has to represent a high pointin her career. Not only does she sing this bal-lad (to her own words) with total conviction,but the limpidity and perfect control of hervoice here simply cannot be matched. MissBaez is likewise convincing in the Here's toYou song, although here she is somewhat be-trayed by her less fortunate lyrics ("Youragony is your tri-UMPH"). The nonvocalnumbers by Morricone, who seems indebtedto such diverse composers as Bach and Ber-nard Herrmann. admirably capture the poign-ancy and tension that alternately pervadethe entire film. Only the unnecessary elec-tronic sound used in the "Electric Chair" cut(which does not last quite this long in the film)slightly mars a record that contains my nom-ination for the best film score of 1971. R.S.B.

TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA. Original Broad-way cast recording. Music by Galt MacDermot;lyrics by John Guare. For a feature review of thisrecording, see page 74.

TO LIVE ANOTHER SUMMER /TO PASS ANOTHERWINTER. Original Broadway Cast Recording.Lyrics by Hayim Neter; music by DovSeltzer; additional music mostly by David Kri-voshei, Alexander Argov, and Naomi Shemer;additional lyrics mostly by Naomi Shemer; fea-turing Rivka Raz, Aric Lavie, Yona Atari, Ili Gor-lizki, and Hanan Goldblatt. Overture: Son ofMan; Come Angel Come (The Sacrifice); fifteenmore. Buddah BDS 95004, $5.98.

"To Live Another Summer/To Pass AnotherWinter" is the surprise Broadway hit from Is-rael. The evening, conducted by thirty-threeyoung Israelis. is an attempt to introduce itsCIRCLE 25 ON READER -SERVICE CARD


audiences to the history, values, and attitudesof Israel. Nineteen songs are included in theperformance, and these songs are the corner-stone of the evening. They are mainly up -tempo folk-rock numbers even though someof them pretend to be the work of Jacques Breland fail at the masquerade. Those which aremost successful celebrate the vitality and spiritof the Israelis. The title song is a peppy an-them to survival as is Better Days, anothercatchy tune. I'm Alive lives up to its title, andwill probably be the song that is rememberedwith the most affection after the show closes. Itis a chorus number led by Rivka Raz, a youngwoman with a powerful voice who also doesfull justice to The Grove of Eucalyptus, anevocative ballad about the unchanging beau-ties of the Israeli terrain.

Occasionally, flashes of mordant wit appearin the score. For example, Sorry We Won It, anumber led by the company's comic highlight,Ili Gorlizki, explores the world's attitudetoward Israel's recent victories at war. Gor-lizki sings: "We're sorry we won it./We musthave overdone it./We know quite well that theJew has his place./A Jew who is a winner is adisgrace!"

It is unfortunate that this sense of objectiv-ity is not reflected in the evening's serious mo-ments. Here sentiment predominates, and thesongs reach for cheap effects. The Boy With aFiddle is a horror story about a child who wasforced to play his violin while he watches hispeople being put to death in a Polish extermi-nation camp. It fails to stir because it is soheavy-handed.

Still, there is enough joy and melody in thistwo -record set to merit a listen. By the timeyou reach the finale, you can hardly help your-self: To Live Another Summer/To Pass An-other Winter makes you want to clap yourhands in time to the music. H.E.

BLESS THE BEASTS AND CHILDREN.Music from the film composed by PerryBotkin, Jr., and Barry De Vorzon. TheCarpenters, Renee Armand, and BarryDe Vorzon, vocals. A & M 4322, $5.98.Tape: 0. 8T 4322, $6.95; 1 CS 4322,$6.95.

For several years, composer -arranger PerryBotkin, Jr., has kept a large group of studiomusicians working almost constantly as hemoves from one project to another: albums,TV, commercials, motion pictures, or what-ever. Botkin is flexible and always in motion,having worked with nearly every artist in thebusiness. He does his work very well andreceives little press for it.

For instance, the promo material that ac-companied this album was three pages devotedexclusively to film producer Stanley Kramer,his credits, his quotes, and the controversythat "raged" over this film. There was nothingabout the album.

The best things that happened to Bless theBeasts and Children were that Perry Botkin, Jr.,and Barry De Vorzon did the music and thatits title tune was recorded by the Carpenters.Botkin's score is simple and fitting, stickingclose to its title track and becoming a theme -and -variations score. The Carpenters' versionof the pretty title tune is expectably well done.

The album also serves to introduce a beau-tiful new singer named Renee Armand, whosings a track called Lost. Its lyric sounds hastilywritten but the vocal is excellent. It was so

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impressive that Renee Armand ended up witha contract at A&M and will make an album ofher own soon. Lyricist De Vorzon sings a trackcalled Down the Line. It's a fragment actually,but it works.

This is a highly listenable filmscore albumsimply because it does not jump violently fromone mood to another, jarring the listener inan attempt to resell him on the movie. Botkinand De Vorzon produced the album wisely,making sure its feelings flowed smoothly.Full points. M.A.

in briefBILLY JOU: Cold Spring Harbor. Family Pro-ductions FPS 2700, $4.98.An engaging set delivered by a fresh new tal-ent who possesses one of the highest -pitchedvoices rock has had in quite some time. H.E.

Ds molt WMI Mimi RYDER: Detroit. Para-mount PAS 6010, $4.98.This group's music is Chuck Berry pouredthrough the high-energy, high -volume rockscene that has existed around Detroit for sev-eral years. Their LP is the best example of De-troit high-energy rock since the MC5 "KickOut the Jams" album of three years ago. Best,logically, are the up -tempo songs, like LongNeck Goose or Let It Rock. However, Ryder'sindulgence in blues or Wilson Pickettry (IFound a Love) is not to be ignored. At times,this band is awesome. M.J.

DAVID Bowls: Hunky Dory. RCA LSP 4623,$5.98. Tape: a P8S 1850, $6.95; EMI PK 1850,$6.95.David Bowie's new set of musical cryptogramsseems almost impossible to decode. Never-theless, Bowie is a performer of remarkableintensity, and his work is always compelling.For good measure, Bowie even includes in thisnew album an effervescent performance ofthe Rose -Williams gem Fill Your Heart. Now,there's a song I understand! H.E.

Bossy SHORT: Loves Cole Porter. Atlantic SD 2606, $9.96 (two discs).Twenty-two lesser -known Cole Porter songs(including three unpublished numbers) deliv-ered with both respect and affection by BobbyShort. Lesser -known Porter is better than bet-ter known anybody else, and Short is one ofthe few performers left who still functions inthe cafe -society world that Porter immortal-ized. Need anything else be said? H.E.

ELTON JOHN: Empty Sky. DJM DJLPS 403,$4.98.Elton John's first album, released belatedlyin this country, contains rock that's more tra-ditional than John is now known for. Thereis also some undeveloped lyric writing byBernie Taupin, and John's voice seems a bitdeeper than the one he now uses. Quite a dif-ferent Elton John than the one that has be-come so familiar in the past year or so. M.J.

MARC BENNO: Minnows. A&M SP 4303, $5.98.Moderately light rock with blues and rock-abilly influences, and good use made of theLeon Russel Singers: Rita Coolidge, ClydieKing, and Venetta Fields. M.J.CIRCLE 55 ON READER -SERVICE CARD CIRCLE 56 ON READER -SERVICE CARD

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APRII 1972115

the tapedeck BY R.D. DARRELL

Don't Shoot the Piano Player! Save yourfire for his computer -minded tape editorwho is so obsessed by the convenienceand economy of equal -length cassettesides that he's willing to chop musicalentities into bleeding chunks to achievehis arbitrary objective. No less than threecurrent releases, all starring Van Cli-burn, suffer from such butchery-andwhile Cliburn may not be my ideal pi-anist, I have too much respect for hisgreat skill and bravura command of the"grand manner" to let his victimizationpass uncondemned. In his set of Beetho-ven's Moonlight, Pathetique, and Appas-sionata Sonatas (RCA Red Seal RK1200, $6.95), the side break does not logi-cally occur between the second and thirdmovements of the Pathetique (as in thedisc edition): Instead, only the first fifty-three seconds of the third movementrounds out Side 1 with a disconcertinginterruption of musical continuity.There's an even more jarring break inthe Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Themeof Paganini, coupled with the Liszt Sec-ond Concerto in performances with thePhiladelphians under Ormandy (RCARed Seal RK 1199, $6.95): Each work iscomplete on its own side in the disc edi-tion, but the cassette Side 1 follows theend of the Liszt with the first 1:37 min-utes of the Rachmaninoff, irrationallyhalting the musical flow until the cassettecan be turned over or reversed. And in"My Favorite Concertos" (RCA RedSeal RK 1201, $6.95), an anthology ofexcerpts from earlier releases plus Vari-ation 18 of the new Rachmaninoff Rhap-sody, it's the finale of the RachmaninoffSecond Concerto that's edited with acleaver, leaving the last 2:05 minutes forSide 2-again a break unthinkable in adisc edition.

In the corresponding 8 -track cartridgeeditions (R8S 1200, 1199, 1201, $6.95each), there are other musically irra-tional breaks, but these, well-nigh im-possible to avoid in the endless -loop for-mat, have come to be reluctantly ac-cepted in carborne audition. But whyshould musicassette listeners play theroles of poor stepbrothers and stepsistersto discophiles? I've complained bitterlyon several occasions, once (March 1970)ascribing such barbarous editing prac-tices to penny-pinching on tape costs.That drew a long and eloquent manufac-turer's reply, citing the various problems(other than economy) that are indeed in-volved, and defending the side -breakchoices as the "least objectionable" ineach particular case. I wasn't convinced

then, and I'm less so now, that a manu-facturer's notion of the "best possible"corresponds even remotely with that of amusic lover. In the present instances, Cli-burn's effective performances andRCA's first-rate recordings certainly aredone rank injustice.

Dr. Dolby's Panacea can't cure the vic-tims of tape -editing surgery, of course,but it can make a world of difference tolisteners unable to filter out mentally theconsiderable surface noise still charac-teristic of un-Dolbyized cassettes. Suchbenefits, even in a program of often veryloud piano music, are notable in one ofthe most successful to date in Columbia'snew series of Dolbyized cassettes: Phi-lippe Entremont's four Chopin scherzos(Columbia MT 30945; also MA 30945,8 -track cartridge; $6.98 each). Perhapsit's just as well that I no longer have theacclaimed Rubinstein/RCA taping ofthese superb large-scale works for directcomparisons, but if young Entremont ismore objective and less poeticallyeloquent than his elder colleague (as mymemory suggests), he surely is no lessdramatically exciting; and above all hebenefits by a whole decade's tech -

ADVERTISING INDEXis on page 92.

READER SERVICE CARDSappear on pages 25 and 93

nological progress. This is one of themost ringingly brilliant and sonicallysolid examples of piano reproduction Iknow; furthermore, the instrument hasbeen captured in a warm, open acousti-cal ambience and modulated at a levelhigh enough to make the Dolby -B noisereduction optimally effective at normalplayback levels.

H.M.S. Flotsam & Jetsam. In the past I'vecriticized some Ampex -processed cas-settes for not exploiting the full poten-tials of Dolbyization, so now it's a plea-sure to hail what probably is the bestexample of Dolby -B technology I've yetencountered: the new D'Oyly CarteCompany's Gilbert & Sullivan H.M.S.Pinafore (London/Ampex J 94066,double -play cassette, $9.95, libretto pre-sumably available on request; also K75066, double -play 71/2-ips reel, $11.95,libretto included). Yet immaculatelyquiet surfaces are not the only technicalattraction here: London's Phase -4 engi-neering achieves overpoweringly vividpresence along with unambiguoussound -source differentiation and move-ment. Such sonic lucidity, combinedwith the entire cast's clarity of enuncia-

tion in both song and speech (for the dia-logue is included), actually makes fol-lowing the libretto quite unnecessary.And for extra measure-whether good orbad will depend on individual tastes-there is extensive, indeed almost contin-uous, use of sound effects: ship timbersand ropes creaking, waves lapping, andabove all gulls crying. London must havebrought out of retirement and givencarte blanche to the seabird -obsessedsoundman whose embellishments ofFrank Chacksfield's Ebb Tide, years ago,made it an international bestseller.

Alas, it's necessary to warn that thisaudiophile's delight is likely to be a vet-eran G & S buff's nightmare. Even if hedoesn't feel completely gulled by thesound effects, he's sure to be shocked bywhat will seem to him the deteriorationin the D'Oyly Carte Company's execu-tant qualities. Younger listeners may notbe bothered at all by some lack of tonalrefinement in the Royal Philharmonic'splaying or the frequent jerky vehemenceof conductor James Walker: but eventhey may find it hard to take the bleatiestof British tenors and most tremulous ofBritish sopranos in the romantic leadroles, or a formidable female baritone asthe not -so -Little Buttercup. John Reed'sSir Joseph Porter is at least deftly profes-sional, and the rather small chorus singswith fine gusto, but for the most partthe singing amateurishenough to delight some contemporarylisteners as sheer camp. In more than onerespect, then, this is something that in-deed has to be heard to be believed.

Reserve Scotch; Bar Slivovitz. One ofthe most prized jewels of many open-

reel collections is Peter Maag's delec-table combination of the MendelssohnHebrides Overture and Scotch Sym-phony in a decade -old London taping (L80083) that I'm delighted to find still re-mains in print in the 232 -page 1972 Am-pex stereo tapes catalogue. Incompa-rable in the strict sense, this masterpieceis at last outstripped in sonic trans-parency and atmospheric effectiveness,if certainly not in interpretative sensi-tivity, by Herbert von Karajan's cou-pling of the same works in enchantinglycolored Berlin Philharmonic perform-ances and Deutsche Grammophon's fi-nest engineering (DGG 3300 181 cas-sette; 89 432 8 -track cartridge; $6.98each; also DGG /Ampex L 3126 71/2-ipsreel, $7.95). The usual Von Karajanmannerisms are entirely absent, and ifhe isn't quite as lyrically poetic as Maag,he has the advantage of utterly bewitch-ing sound. The cassette edition (the onlyone I've heard so far) has exceptionallyquiet surfaces for non -Dolby -B process-ing, but perfectionists undoubtedly willbe satisfied by nothing less than theopen -reel edition.


Introducingthe definitivethe TEAC 350

HI/CrO, MIC/DIN IN

e e 0NORMAL LINE IN OUT

BIAS/E0 REC MODE DOLBY

This stereo cassette deckrepresents the best ofTEAC's two worlds oftape technology-bredfrom the combinedtalents of our AudioProducts and DataProducts Divisions.

The result: a new standard in Dolby decks.In fact, we're so certain this is the Dolby

cassette of the decade, that its high -density ferriteTEAC heads carry an original -owner lifetime guarantee.

Every facet of the 350sparkles with sophistication.We've integrated a factory -calibrated Dolby type "B" sys-tem with all new computer -designed solid-state, ultrawide -band, low -noise circuitry.Switch -in the Dolby circuitand the overall S/N improve-ment is 10 dB.

As the deck of the future, the TEAC 350 deliverssuperior performance with all tapes: conventional,high -density, high-energyand chromium dioxide.And its independentlinear, studio -style inputand output controlsassure precise leveladjustments.

The VU meters on thisdeck are another TEAC exclusive. We've designedthem with expanded scales. This feature, combined

'Dolby is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories Inc.

I.

with the on-line. Peak -level irdicator assuresdistortion -free recording at optimum levels andsignal-to-noise.

The 350 is packed with user convenience:strobe -type tape -runindicator... standardphone jacks for profes-sional 600 ohm mics and8 ohm headphone moni-toring...light-touchfingertip pushbuttons...

U

r.111.101.ttIR!fR

TAPS RUN

R

MIC R0 0 )

350-71 r ,r,r IF

DCIF,

TEAC

RIRC000

0

electronic end -tape sensorand automaticstop. All thisand more foronly $299.50.

Write forcomplete information. Then test the 350 at yourlocal authorized TEAC deale''s. You'll see (andhear) why we think the 350 is the definitive Dolby.

Frecuency response: 30-16,000 Hz with cobalt, chromiumdioxide and super dynamic tapes

30-13,000 Hz 3 dB Signal-to-noise: 58 dB (with Dolby) Wow and flutter: 0.13% Tape speed: 17/s ips

TEAC Corporation of America, 7733 Telegraph Road, Montebello, California 90640TEAC Corporation. 1-8-1 Nishi-shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku. Tokyo. Japan TEAC EUROPE N.V.. fabelweg 45-47. Amsterdam -W 2. Hclland TEAC:In Canada: White Electronic Development Corp.. Ltd.. Toronto


the silent touch of DOLBYto enhance the

"Super Sound" of KENWOOD

NEWKENWOODKX-700 Stereo Cassette Deck

...with Dolby Noise Reduction System Super -Ferrite Head 3 -Way Tape Selection

Luxurious in every respect, the KX-700 combines reel-to-reel quality with cassetteconvenience. Its patented Dolby Noise Reduction System virtually eliminates highfrequency background noise without affecting high frequency signals. The super -

ferrite record -and -play head, with its precision micro -gap, utilizes bias frequenciesto optimum advantage for top quality reproduction; and a three-way Tape Selectorpermits a choice of the correct bias for Regular, Low Noise or Chromium Dioxidetapes. A measure of the unit's fine performance is indicated by a few of its excellentspecs: Frequency Response, 25-15k Hz (Cr02). Wow and Flutter, less than 0.15%.Signal -to -Noise, with Dolby, 58 dB (Cr02); without Dolby, 48 dB.

For complete specifications, visit your nearestKENWOOD Dealer, or write...

IA. naead n pIrtmek outlay

KENWOOD15777 So. Broadway, Gardena. Calif. 902487202 Fifty-first Ave., Woodside, N.Y. 11377In Canada Magnasonic Canada, Ltd., Toronto,Ontario' Montreal ')trelsetc: Vancouver. B.C.


icd .111101h fl de litlir lab test reports marantz 2270 ... · lab test reports marantz 2270...

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