Word: grammophone
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Hector Berlioz: The Damnation of Faust (Seiji Ozawa conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus; Deutsche Grammophon, 3 LPs, $23.94). Rhythm and an instinct for drama animate Ozawa's shaping of this Berlioz semiopera. Although it overflows with melody, Berlioz's musical transformation of Goethe is generally known only by three orchestral pieces- the exuberant Rákdóczy March, the Dance of the Sylphs and the Minuet of the Will o' the Wisp. With out diminishing the lushness of the com poser's symphonic texture, Ozawa's crisp tempi...
...Bach: Mass in B Minor (Michel Corboz conducting the Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Lausanne; RCA, 2 LPs, $13.96). J.S. Bach: Mass in B Minor (Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic with soloists and chorus; Deutsche Grammophon, 3 LPs, $23.94). Is a cathedral or a chapel the proper setting for Bach's mighty Mass? These two recordings are not likely to resolve that longstanding controversy. The Von Karajan production is monumental, sumptuous and well planned, with the attention to detail and seamless le gato that are his trademark. In Von Karajan's hands, the six-part chorus...
Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 93 to 104 "Salomon") (London Philharmonic, Eugen Jochum conducting; Deutsche Grammophon; 6 LPs; $33). Individually, these symphonies delight unceasingly with their diversity, wit, bounteous melody and, at times, power. Collectively, they are the crown of Haydn's lifework. Though particular tastes may lean, say, to SzelFs "Surprise" or Bernstein's "London," this is by far the best integral set available of the complete dozen. At 71, Jochum eloquently states the case for interpretative orthodoxy...
Dvorak: Nine Symphonies (Berlin Philharmonic, Rafael Kubelik conducting; Deutsche Grammophon; 9 LPs; $49.50). Those who like their Dvorak in plural doses, but with budgets to balance, may safely investigate the late George Szell's album of the last three and best symphonies (Columbia; 3 LPs; $ 11.98). Most other fans of the Czech nationalist will want to save their pennies for this set. Kubelik's surging way with the music catches its color and drama and seems to belie the uneven moments in some of the early symphonies. The Berlin Philharmonic, reduced so often to a static silkiness...
Rossini, La Cenerentola (Teresa Berganza, Luigi Alva, Renato Capecchi, Paolo Montarsolo, London Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Opera Chorus, Claudio Abbado conducting; Deutsche Grammophon, 3 LPs, $20.94). Despite the greater popularity of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, this is actually the composer's comic masterpiece, a work in which the stuff of childish fantasy is transformed breathtakingly into the best kind of adult fun and games. In the title role, Spain's Teresa Berganza sings with a bravura coloratura style that (among mezzos) only Marilyn Home might match. Conductor Claudio Abbado not only has opted for a newly cleaned-up version...