New Records

Playing music for the movies and radio is like driving in traffic; everything depends on the red & green lights of the script. Four years ago, tired of stop-&-start performances, a group of Hollywood's best studio musicians organized their own symphony orchestra. Last week, their Santa Monica Civic Symphony Orchestra, with Jacques Rachmilovich conducting, made its recording debut with Aram Khachaturian's Masquerade Suite (Asch, 5 sides). Although it has little of the pounding, rhythmic vigor of the Soviet composer's later Gayne Ballet Suite (TIME, March 24), this graceful reflection of a glittering Imperial Russian ballroom makes smooth and pleasant listening. Dmitri Kabalevsky, another Soviet up-&-comer, gets a single side in the album with a galloping Fete Populaire. Both performances are excellent.

Other releases of the month:

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 (Boston Symphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; Victor, 10 sides). A highly polished version of one of the decade's chief musical achievements, by the maestro who gave the symphony its U.S. premiere in November 1945. Performance: excellent.

Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 (Robin Hood Dell Orchestra, Dimitri Mitropoulos conducting and at the piano; Columbia, 6 sides). An early opus--started in 1917, completed in 1921--which lacks the composer's later lyricism, is difficult to play and almost as difficult to take. Performance: good.

Handel-Beecham: The Great Elopement (London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Thomas Beecham conducting; Victor, 6 sides). The latest of five suites culled by Sir Thomas from little-known music of Handel makes a charming period piece for ballet and listeners alike.

Mozart: Quartet in E Flat Major for piano and strings (George Szell, piano, with members of the Budapest String Quartet; Columbia, 6 sides). Although not one of his great quartets, this delightful, sparkling slice of Mozart is almost a miniature piano concerto. The Cleveland Orchestra's conductor gives a crisp but playful assist at the piano. Performance: excellent.

Samuel Barber: Capricorn Concerto (Saidehberg Little Symphony, Daniel Saidenberg conducting; Concert Hall Society, 4 sides). Scored in Bach's concerto grosso style for flute, oboe and trumpet solo plus strings, it smacks more of Stravinsky than Bach, has a sensuous eeriness typical of some of Barber's later works.

The Gordian Knot Untied suite of Henry Purcell, Britain's earliest major composer (circa 1659-95), makes a delightful companion album by the same orchestra (4 sides). Both performances: excellent.

Hovhaness and Cage: Piano Compositions (Maro Ajemian at the piano with Alan Hovhaness assisting at piano, gong and drums; Disc, 4 sides). Hovhaness composes with ancient Armenian instruments (tar, kanoon, oud and saz) in mind, achieves a marimba-like effect on Jie piano which is near-hypnotic in its insistence on repeated notes. Maro Ajemian performs John Cage's Amores, I & IV on a Cage "prepared piano" (TIME, Feb. 22, 1943) which gives off intriguing thwacking sounds, graduated in pitch and timbre. Performance: excellent.

New Orleans Jazz (Kid Ory and his Creole Jazz Band; Columbia, 8 sides). Strictly for New Orleans fans, this album includes barrelhouse (Bucket Got a Hole in It), stomp, blues and a shouting version of Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho. Trombonist Ory sings two numbers in Creole French. The ensemble includes Barney Bigard on the clarinet. Performance: good.

Decca last week released its most ambitious project in Americana. In Our Common Heritage (16 sides, $10) Bing Crosby, Walter Huston, Fredric March, Pat O'Brien, Brian Donlevy and Agnes Moorehead recite (with background music) American poems and anthems that mark milestones of U.S. history. Best of the lot: Walter Huston's recitation of Vachel Lindsay's Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight and Agnes Moorehead's reading of Rosemary Benet's Nancy Hanks.

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