New Records

Antonio Vivaldi, the red-bearded master of counterpoint who was known in his native Venice as "Il prete rosso" (The red priest), composed some 40 operas and 400 concerti grossi. Some of them fascinated his contemporary, Johann Sebastian Bach, so much that Bach made numerous Vivaldi transcriptions. This month, on the heels of the worldwide Bach anniversary celebrations, Italy's Cetra-Soria Co. has put the case for its countryman in two handsome LP albums. The first includes the Piano Concerto in B Minor, rearranged from Bach's transcription, the Concerto Grosso in D Minor, Op. 3, No. n and a largo from a violin concerto. In the second are the Concerto in E Major for Violin and Strings and Overture to L'Olimpiade. All are worth hearing; the performances and recordings are excellent.

Other new records:

Beethoven: Concerto No. I (Walter Gieseking, pianist, with the Philharmonia Orchestra; Columbia, 2 sides LP). The first new postwar recording to reach the U.S. of one of the piano masters of this generation. Pianist Gieseking has lost none of his power, precision or beauty of tone. Recording: excellent.

Bach: Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D Minor (Gyorgy Sandor, pianist; Columbia, 1 side LP). Hungarian Pianist Sandor gives this astonishing and unequaled invention of Bach's a thorough doing, but occasionally adds a Chopinesque flavoring of his own. Recording: good.

Mozart: Excerpts from Don Giovanni (Ljuba Welitch, soprano, with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Fritz Reiner conducting; Columbia, 1 side LP). Next to her lurid Salome, red-haired Bulgarian Soprano Welitch gets her biggest hand at the Met in the role of the vengeance-seeking Donna Anna. A lesser man than the dashing Don would wilt before the fury of this thousand-volt voice. Recording : excellent.

Schubert: Symphony No. 8 (the London Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips conducting; London FFRR, 2 sides). Chicagoans and other record buyers can hear what they missed a fortnight ago when the U.S. Government halted Conductor Krips at Ellis Island (TIME, July 31). Here, in the familiar "Unfinished," he displays a fine sense of pulse and dynamics, achieves a startling clarity of texture. Recording: excellent.

Strauss: Excerpts from Der Rosenkavalier (Elizabeth Schwarzkopf and Irmgard Seefried, sopranos; Dagmar Hermann, contralto; Ludwig Weber, bass; with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Otto Ackermann conducting; Columbia 2 sides LP). For the Vienna company, singing Der Rosenkavalier is a matter of doing what comes naturally. Outstanding: Soprano Seefried's Octavian in the second-act love duet with Sophie (Soprano Schwarzkopf). Recording: good.

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