On the Debussy trail

Press, 20 January 1982, Page 17

On the Debussy trail

Classical records review

ALLAN FRANCIS

DEBUSSY. Fantasy for piano and Orchestra. Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra,, Saxophone and Orchestra. Louis de Froment conducting the Orchestra of Radio Luxemburg. Marylene Dosse, piano. Jean-Marie Londiex, saxophone. Serge Dangain, clarinet. Candide vox CE 31069.

If Suite Bergamasque may be classed as one.-of Debussy's highways then the little Clarinet Rhapsody is unquestionably one of that composer’s many delightful byways. And the Fantasy is surely a concerto. All three pieces are a bit ‘ undervalued, even by the testy originator of the-works. Hardly, a creditable or logical criticism for the close relations of other cherished works so readily accepted but with such good soloists and orchestra these “lesser lights" do make very attractive listening. The Rhapsodies were both commissioned pieces; one for a lady in Boston who played the saxophone for her health and the other was a quality work for the Paris Conservatoire. Whatever the reason, the results are entirely satisfactory. It matters little that the Saxophone .Rhapsody took some 24 years jn the retaking or that it was finished only with the help of one RogerDucasse for in the hands of the expert alto player, JeanMarie Londiex, it comes across as a very fine piece indeed.

Nothing could be more closely related than the Piano Fantasy to the Suite

Bergamasque yet this delightful work gets very little airing these days either on record or in the concert hall. It certainly deserves a better fate.

All three works are highly recommended regardless of their beginnings. The results now are in the best Debussy tradition.

THE HOROWITZ CONCERTS 1975/1976. SCHUMANN, Grand Sonata No. 3 in F minor. SCRIABIN. Sonata No. 5 Op 53 played by Vladimir Horowitz, piano, on RCA ARLI 1766.

Pianists seem to be ageless in their skill and tireless in their efforts to bring their art in front of the public. Horowitz is no exception as these recordings were taken during part of a 15 concert tour of the United States and Canada in 1975 and 1976. True, Horowitz hadn’t made any such ambitious journeys for some time before this, but his skill hadn't diminished neither had his flair for artistic interpretation. Unlike the Golden Jubilee recordings of Rachmaninov, this one seems to have been treated more as a “routine flight” instead of the occasion it undoubtedly was. Being live performances one might expect a good deal of extraneous sound from the audience, but there is hardly any, and no applause. From the outset the pianist tackles the Schumann “Concerto without Orchestra” with the vigour which belied his years.

Tagged by the player as being “full of bold, wild ideas” the piece fits the

unique temperament of Horowitz like a glove. It is all highly characteristic of the pianist as we have always known him. Full of passion, on an elevated plane of refinement, he shows equal affinity to the Scriabin as he does with the driving force of the Schumann. Different as. chalk from cheese, Horowitz plays Scriabin on a par with the mighty Ashkenazy versions; certainly with rare authority, but no more than Ashkenazy on Decca SXL 6705.

Very good versions, both and with the contrast the RCA disc offers, this must be a very interesting addition to the collection, at the very least.

MOZART SERENADES 11 and 12 played by the Sydney Wind Soloists on RCA Red Seal VRLI 0166.

This recording of the two serenades for eight players supplements the lovely K 361 for 13 players already issued on VRLI 0039 — a must for any Mozartian. just as it was in the earlier form laid down by Otto Klemperer back in 1966 (SAX 5259) and 1968 (SAX 5290). Naturally, what gives these later discs an advantage over the ancient Columbia recordings is the sound. RCA have done an excellent job of two very important pieces of chamber music, capturing perfectly the air of gracious sociability. Both serenades are totally different in character, the K 375 with its festive suavity while the K3BB has a more sombre, fateful note underlying the seriousness of in-

tention. until the final few bars at the end of the fourth movement.

THE ART OF LAWRENCE TIBBETT. Lawrence Tibbett sings 12 tracks from his early recordings reissued on Victrola VICS 1340.

My goodness, this one takes me back to the days when, as a small boy. I visited a privileged Aunt who owned a portable HMV gramophone with real steel needles and the respect demanded during the three minutes silence when playing The Road to Mandalay of Peter Dawson, the songs of Heddle Nash and the rich baritone of Lawrence Tibbett.

These are primarily opera excerpts, but the one I haven’t heard in all this time was Edward, a song of Victorian tragedy. Song of the Flea survived a little longer, perhaps because of the wry humour, than the others, consisting of Bizet, Gounod, Verdi, Puccini. Leoncavallo and Tchaikovsky arias showed this singer to be in the top of his class at the time, if somewhat dated in technique by today’s critical standards. This one will strike hard at the nostalgic.