Mozart arias record one of Kiri’s best

Press, 23 January 1984, Page 15

Mozart arias record one of Kiri’s best

Clossicolrecortls review ALLAN FRANCIS . ... -___

MOZART. Kiri Te Kanawa, soprano, sings seven Concert Arias. Gyorgy Fischer conducts the Wiener Kammerorchester. DECCA SXL 6999. WORLD RECORD CLUB release.

Kiri is but a part of an over-all plan — one-fifth, to be exact — in which she shares 34 arias with Edita Gruberova, Teresa Berganza, Krisztina Laki and Elfriede Hobarth. The recording company has wisely decided to match the differing qualities of each singer with the particular requirements of the aria. As far as Kiri is concerned, at least, the results are particularly rewarding. Generally, this disc made the top of most reviewers’ polls for 1983 and rightly so. If one had to choose two of the New Zealand soprano’s best for the year, this would be one of them.

Not all of the arias are, strictly speaking, for concert; two of the latest were constructed for stage. The others were taken from Mozart’s late period, two from the middling and one early (K 79 composed when Mozart was 10.

However, once past the primitive quality of the latter, Kiri matches the extraordinary chromatic writing of the grander pieces with skill and colour. Small wonder that overseas critics simply boggle at the sounds of this lovely voice. How easy it is to sit back and bask in the radiant tones of a superb voice until one’s critical quality is blunted. Kiri’s share of the total set comprises “Ah, lo previvi,” K 272; “Vado ma dove? oh dei,” K 583; “Oh, temerario Arbace,” K 79; “Chi sa, chi sa qual sia,” K 582; “Non pui Tutto ascoltai,” K 490; “Bella mia fiamma addio,” K 528; and “Nehmt meinen Dank ihr holden Gonner,” K 383.

If one could afford two only of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa’s output, I would suggest this one and the Verdi/Puccini arias on CBS

DBR 003 might do very nicely. FRANZ LISZT. Orchestral Works Vol. 6. Heroic Elegy, Prometheus and Second Mephisto Waltz. Kurt Masur conducts the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig. WORLD RECORDS WI 5076. Kurt Masur is rapidly becoming something of a Liszt specialist as this saga progresses into the sixth chapter and so far has certainly not lost way. There is no sign of flagging interest and one could hardly fail to be impressed by this rarely attempted effort with the complete repertoire. Plenty of other criticism may be levelled at the composer, his “flashiness,” his incompleteness or even the banality which sometimes creeps into many of his works.

One can forgive the missing last movement of his “Dante Symphony” or the bittiness of the “Heroic Elegy” played here and simply enjoy what is left. In fact, this feeling of fragmentation increases with each piece so that one gets only a hotchpotch of disjointed but brilliant ideas strung together with a flour and water paste. With all due respect, Liszt does show his mastery of polyphonic writing with “Prometheus” and again in his encore of “Mephisto,” which was lashed by the critics at the time as “The Excessive Second Waltz.”

Of the new versions around which could be competitors with Masur, only Solti approaches the spirited performances by the

Leipzig Orchestra, which rises masterfully to* the occasion with these immaculate recordings. MAHLER. Symphony No. 1 played by the Chicago S.O. conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini. WORLD RECORDS WI 5079. Curiously enough, the attention given to Mahler’s later symphonies is lacking in his first. Apart from the Abbado version with the same orchestra in 1982, there is a strange absence of any others, hence the repeats of these older recordings. This particular performance was recorded in 1971 and has reappeared in several guises since, firstly as HMV Concert Classics and now through the courtesy of World Records. Others of much the same vintage, though more attractive, are those by Kubelik or Horenstein.

Here we have a sturdy, reliable account by a conductor who recorded only the Ist and the 9th and characteristically ignored the rest.

Certainly, there is nothing wrong with the recorded sound, despite the age, and the Chicago Symphony gives the work a certain added lustre which was also evident in the 4th under Reiner — now deleted. Perhaps too much emphasis is placed on the age of certain recordings. Many from the 50s bear favourable comparison with those from the 80s.

Back to this particular recording, it must be stated that there are more idiomatic performances available and many far more emotive, but for sheer power, this middle-of-the-road version is quite satisfying without reaching the heights of say, Walter or Horenstein.