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Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 93-104 -"London Symphonies", Vol. 9 (Philharmonia Hungarica; Antal Dorati, conductor; London/Stereo Treasury; 6 LPs; $20.94). Dorati herewith completes his collection of all the Haydn symphonies, one of the most successful and rewarding projects in the history of recording. Along the way, Dorati has offered many a joy. Among them are the zestful accounts of Symphonies Nos. 36-48 (Vol. 6), notably including the somber "Trauer" (No. 44), the amusing "Farewell" (No. 45) and the radiant "Maria Theresia " (No. 48), a rich collection of middle-period Haydn. He has also offered an "appendix" album, with alternate Haydn...
...solid year now, Billboard's chart of bestselling classical LPs has been topped by Scott Joplin rags. Last week there was a surprising change: Stravinsky's Rite of Spring led the list. Though revolutionary when first performed in 1913, the work is now a cliché of concert programming; 28 stereo versions are currently available. It seems likely that ragtime fell not to Stravinsky but to Georg Solti, who leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Solti (TIME cover, May 7, 1973) has quietly become the most popular conductor since Toscanini. A Solti appearance is sold out at once anywhere...
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...
Ludwig van Beethoven: The Late String Quartets, Op. 127, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135 (Vegh Quartett; Telefunken, 4 LPs, $27.92). These quartets are the summit of Beethoven's chamber music. It is music that makes no concessions, ei ther to brain or hand, and sets no store by charm. The Végh Quartett makes sense of these bristling compositions with their many movements, many rhythms, many ideas, abrupt changes of character. The group is most convincing in the melancholy opening fugue of the C-Sharp Minor but lacks the emotional reach required by the sudden deaths and harsh...
...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...