Maestro of the French horn

Company bureaucrats have constantly strived to squash any chances of these recordings. However, in the last few years the situation has changed — one of the first major collaborations was when D.G.G. and E.M.I, followed Richter around Italy and, through mutual agreement, combined forces in recording. They then issued separate parts of the concerts.

A similar situation occurred in the spring of 1966 when Leonard Bernstein conducted the Vienna Philharmonic in a performance of "Falstaff" and a concert. Fortunately, C.B.S. and Decca came to an agreement whereby Decca recorded everything but gave the opera to C.B.S.

Overseas, these performances have been condemned by some of the purists. Admittedly, Bernstein's Mozart is full of mannerisms, but I can't agree with the critics who scorn the conductor's "affected" approach, One has only to listen to the beautiful, relaxed andante to be won over. His interpretation of the "Linz" follows the same pattern — careful phrasing, strict attention to tempi and a good, clean sound from the orchestra.

As is to be expected, the V.P.O's playing is faultless. The stereo recording is very good, with an excellent balance between piano and orchestra in the concerto. Incidentally, there is a very interesting sleeve note written by Eric Smith.

If you like concert warhorses with brilliant recording and stunning orchestral playing then you will like a recent R.C.A. release — the Russian conductor Kirii Kondrashin at the helm of the R.C.A. Symphony Orchestra in vibrant perform ances of Khachaturian's "Masquerade Suite" and Kabalerskv's "The Comedians. Op. 26" (RCA Victor LSC 2398 Stereo).

Kondrashin's brash but completely idiomatic interpretations have transformed two hackneyed "Prom" stand-bys into vivacious showcases of orchestral splendor.