Word: lps
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande (Angel, 3 LPs). Herbert von Karajan creates a lucid, lyrical recording. Frederica von Stade, as Mélisande, stands out for her exquisite French style...
Mozart: The Magic Flute (Deutsche Grammophon, 3 LPs). Karajan, again, casting singers freshly and coming up with a reading that is both authoritative and sumptuous...
Verdi: Aïda (Mirella Freni, soprano; José Carreras, tenor; Agnes Baltsa, mezzo-soprano; Piero Cappuccilli, baritone; Ruggero Raimondi, bass; é van Dam, bass; Katia Ricciarelli, soprano; Thomas Moser, tenor; Vienna State Opera Chorus and the Vienna Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, conductor; Angel; three LPs). That old Ethiopian slave girl and would-be war bride finds a new and glorious incarnation in Mirella Freni, whose voice may not move pyramids but finds its way to the heart of the role. This is particularly true in the Nile Scene, where Aïda tussles with her passion for Radames...
...Arnold Schönberg: 17 short piano pieces. Anton Webern: Variations for Piano. Pierre Boulez: Second Sonata for Piano. Luigi Nono: Music for Soprano, Piano, Orchestra and Magnetic Tape (Slavka Taskova, soprano, and the Symphony Orchestra of the Bayerischen Rundfunks, Claudio Abbado, conductor; Deutsche Grammophon, five LPs). Pollini's herculean fingering stands out even in that select circle of great young pianists to which he belongs. His Chopin Etudes may set a new standard for his generation; his performance of Schubert's difficult late sonatas is a triumph of athletic as well as artistic ability. Pollini is also...
...chanty-like instrumental called "Lucky" precedes "Rain," which kicks off with a vintage Nashville feel. Then "I'm an Automobile" features a hard rock thump and a lighthearted come-on called "Schoolgirl" arrives with a skipping, folksy tempo. True to the ways established on the first two LPs, Forbert's melodies are catchy and his lyrics hang around to provoke rethinking. The songs not so much demand attention as engage it, sidling up to a listener's imagination with payloads of humor, observation and, sometimes, frustration. Whatever other items may be on the singer's imaginary schedule, whatever psychological armor...