Classical Records

By Joan Downs

Among the best of recent releases:

Schubert-Mahler Lieder (Jessye Norman, soprano, accompanied by Irwin Gage, piano, Philips; $6.98). In her first solo recording released in the U.S., Jessye Norman, 26, leaves no doubt that she is worth listening to. Soaring from plummy contralto to luminous soprano, her range is flexible if not yet altogether secure. Her sound is heavy for the intimacy of lieder; yet underlying Jessye Norman's dark, lustrous voice, one detects a true lirica spinto that some day perhaps could rival Leontyne Price's.

Barenboim Conducts Elgar's Symphony No. 2 in E-Flat, Opus 63 (London Phil harmonic Orchestra, Columbia; $5.98). Wildly famous in his day, the stately, sunlit tonal landscapes of Sir Edward Elgar withered before the 20th century's neoclassic revolt. Elgar died nearly forgotten in 1934. In this stylish reading of the E-flat symphony Daniel Barenboim takes a fresh look at the elegant Edwardian, holding a course of gentle restraint against an exuberance of leaping octaves and rolling timpani. Barenboim reclaims the Elgar grandeur without losing any of the buoyancy that captivated 19th century audiences.

Bruch: Two Violin Concertos (Yehudi Menuhin, soloist, plays Concerto No. 1 in G Minor and No. 2 in D Minor, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult conducting, Angel; $5.98). The G Minor Violin Concerto was an instant success, but to Max Bruch's sorrow his second violin concerto won only initial acclaim that soon faded. While the world applauded the G Minor, the neglected D Minor remained Bruch's favorite. Now Yehudi Menuhin has recorded the pair in a performance of such luscious tone and melodic charm that even Bruch's duckling is at last a swan.

The New Trumpet (Gerard Schwarz, trumpet, Ursula Oppens, piano, play Peter Maxwell Davies' Sonata for Trumpet and Piano, Lucia Dlugozewski's Space Is a Diamond, and William Hellerman's Passages 13-The Fire, Nonesuch; $2.98). All too often avant-garde music looms as a forbidding wilderness of inhospitable sounds. Not this album of contemporary trumpet music performed by versatile Trumpeter Schwarz. The Sonata by Davies, who also composed the opera Taverner, is sequential but melodic. Composer Dlugozewski, who studied with Varese, employs a variety of mutes and experimental techniques without sacrificing emotional content. Composer Hellerman, a Columbia University faculty member, utilizes tape to heighten musical tension and not merely as a sound effect. In his performance, Schwarz gives us swooping glissandi, a simultaneous playing and singing technique, and he stretches the trumpet range to an incredible 4/2 octaves--a feat that is in itself worth the price of the record.

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