New Records

Mozart: Don Giovanni (Mariano Stabile, baritone; Alois Pernerstorfer, bass; Gertrude Grob-Prandl, soprano; Herbert Handt, tenor; Hilde Konetzni, soprano; Alfred Poell, bass; Hedda Heusser, soprano; Oskar von Czerwenka, bass; Vienna State Opera Chorus, the Vienna

Symphony Orchestra, Hans Swarowsky conducting; Haydn Society, 8 sides LP). This first complete new recording in years of Mozart's masterpiece should be an event of the season; unhappily, it is not. The soloists are not quite up to the mark; altogether it does not bubble and boil like the Glyndebourne Company's old performance (for Victor). The recording of this version, however, is superior.

Berg: Lyric Suite (the Juilliard String Quartet; Columbia, 2 sides LP). Austrian Atonalist Alban Berg, who died in 1935; is rapidly coming into his own. His opera Wozzeck is enjoying a spate of concert performances (Columbia and Artist Records have recorded excerpts), and it will be a featured work at this year's Salzburg Festival. The Lyric Suite, composed six years later (1926), comes far more strangely to the ear, is not recommended for those not already pleased to make Berg's acquaintance. Performance and recording: excellent.

Debussy: Images, Books I & II (Claudio Arrau, pianist; Columbia, 2 sides LP). Debussy's subtle sonorities and shimmering colors are a challenge to any pianist. Arrau meets the challenge brilliantly and with apparent ease. Recording: excellent.

Haydn: The Seasons (Trude Eipper-le, soprano; Julius Patzak, tenor; Georg Hann, bass; the Vienna State Opera Chorus, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Clemens Krauss conducting; Haydn Society, 6 sides LP). Haydn's last oratorio, given a dramatic performance. Recording: good.

Handel: Sonatas for Violin and Figured Bass, Vols. I, II & III (Alexander Schneider, violin; Ralph Kirkpatrick, harpsichord; Frank Miller, cello; Columbia, 6 sides LP). A chance for those who know Handel through his booming oratorios to get a more intimate glimpse of him. Performance and recording: excellent.

Montemezzi: L'Amore del Tre Re (Sesto Bruscantini, bass; Renato Ca-pecchi, baritone; Amedeo Berdini, tenor; Clara Petrella, soprano; Aldo Bertocci, tenor; orchestra and chorus of Radio Italiana, Arturo Basile conducting; Cetra-Soria, 4 sides LP). A powerful and passionate performance of Montemezzi's opera about a blind king who throttles his adulterous daughter-in-law. Chiefly remarkable for the beautiful bass singing of the king (Bruscantini). Recording: good.

Prokofiev: Concerto No. I (Andor Foldes, pianist, with the Lamoureux Orchestra, M. Martinon conducting; Vox, 1 side LP). This concerto, bold, brittle and brilliant, proves how formidable a composer the contemporary Russian master was, even at 20. Foldes gives it a fresh and clean performance. Recording: good.

Strauss: Fledermaus (Lily Pons, soprano; Ljuba Welitch, soprano; Richard Tucker, tenor; Charles Kullman, tenor; Martha Lipton, mezzo-soprano; John Brownlee, baritone; orchestra and chorus of the Metropolitan Opera, Eugene Ormandy conducting; Columbia, 4 sides LP). The Met's hit of the season, minus Patrice Munsel (who has a Victor contract). Recording: good. -.

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