Ferenc Fricsay gives down-the-middle interpretations of the Brahms in the best mannerless mid-century manner, yet the concluding bars of the symphony are most impressive. The attraction here is Gioconda de Vito, who made few commercial recordings in the course of a comparatively short career. Her much-refined Brahms concerto is fleet and lyrical, with a bright and attractive tone. She also made a studio recording with Rudolf Schwartz, and there are broadcasts with Van Kempen (1941) and Furtwängler (1952). While Furtwängler is to be preferred to Fricsay, this is in good sound and presents itself as a first release.

A remarkable offering on several counts. First, there's the sound, which is unbelievably good for a 1954 concert performance. Yes, the brasses can be brittle in fortissimo passages, but there's plenty of orchestral detail and even some surges of warmth now and again. Even more impressive are the four solo voices, which come across with startling immediacy. So should this wind up being of interest, don't let the sonics deter you in the least.

What will affect you the most, I suspect, is Fricsay's conception of the piece and the artistry he brought to it. A devout Catholic, he loved this Stabat Mater, programming it numerous times in an era when no other conductor active in Germany would go near it. He approached Rossini's handiwork with reverence, refusing to simply ladle on the marinara and let the operatic games begin. His soloists do not have big, juicy voices, though the bass is plenty dark and deep when the occasion calls for it. Indeed, there's an intimacy to the singing that seems more suited to an oratorio than to opera. The voices are beautiful as well – bel canto. So while Haefliger may not leap tall phrases at a single bound, his 'Cujus animam' is warm, humane, and more prayerful than most. (With a pretty convincing high D-flat tacked on for good measure, I might add.) Maria Stader's 'Inflammatus' is less a fiery anticipation of Judgement Day than an inner cry for the soul to be cleansed. And never has the 'Qui est homo' duet sounded more compassionate, with the alto and soprano knowingly contemplating the mother's anguish as her son undergoes the agony of the cross.

In some of the most powerful conducting I've heard in a long time, Fricsay builds it all up interlude by interlude, aspiration by aspiration, and prayer by prayer into a true journey of faith. It's a revelatory performance that hangs together tautly, yet every word of text is savored and no rose is left unsmelled. Our perceptions of Rossini, I suspect, have been colored by the familiar idea that his Stabat Mater is a superficial affair where hot tunes trump any and all yearnings of the spirit. Think again. Under the baton of a great conductor, yet another bit of "conventional wisdom" bites the dust.

Now here's the perfect gift for chamber music
fans who have everything: the only available
recording of two superbly performed and engi-
neered piano trios written in standard 19th-
century four-movement form by little-known
German composer Eduard Franck (1817-93).
Trio 1 in E minor (Opus 11) is a bit thin in
the first movement: rather than using counter-
point, all too often one instrument merely
repeats what another has just played. But in
the Adagio Franck exhibits his lovely gift for
melody, and the Scherzo with trio has the
infectiousness of Schubert and Schumann. By
IV I caught myself foot-tapping and swaying in
this fiddler's mini-feast.
By the time Franck wrote Trio 4 in D (Opus
58) his melodic phrases had become more
long-lined, his harmonic progressions more
imaginative and affecting, and his develop-

ment of ideas less imitative and more expan-
sive. The first movement is highly engaging,
the Scherzo playful, the Andante a Schubertian
"walking" tune, and IV a folk-inspired, Schu-
mannesque, really clever finale. I was com-
pletely engrossed from beginning to end.
And what players these are, each superb in
his or her own right: Edinger is never on
autopilot, lyrical but never dominating. Claret
understands how his cello line functions har-
monically and melodically. And Hellwig can
make even low bass chords and lines transpar-
ent and buoyant. But it is as an ensemble they
absolutely excel, shaping phrases with sensi-
tivity and deep expression as they balance
Franck's cleverly woven lines. They turn play-
fulness into buoyancy, and their grasp of har-
monic movement keeps the flow forward-
looking yet without any impetuousness.
These players are not sensationalists by
any means. Their approach is as modest as the
engineering, which serves up an utterly natur-
al, integrated, concert-hall palette without any
exaggerated effects. Both players and produc-
ers are at the full service of Eduard Franck—
sounds like a cliche, but this is one instance
where it's true.

Audite has obtained access to the original tapes for these 1958 recording sessions that Elisabeth Schwarzkopf made with pianist Michael Raucheisen for RIAS Berlin. The monaural sound is quite good though rather dry, as was typical for the time. There are some moments of distortion to remind us that the Sources, though original, were not in perfect condition.

The song texts are in the original languages only (German, of course, for the Wolf, Schubert, and Strauss that make up the bulk of the program; English for the unexpected selections by Purcell, Arne, and Quilter). The notes dwell mostly on Schwarzkopf's career (a bit too indulgently), making reference to the program material only when it has a bearing on her artistic development.

Beyond this what can one say about an artist whose position is so firmly established? We hear the 43-year-old Schwarzkopf near the peak of her powers, which should be self-recommending to her admirers seeking to fill out their collections with as yet unheard performances. For the general collector, though, her commercial releases from that period will probably suffice.

I do tend to squirm when faced with yet another Fledermaus, but this 1949 Berlin radio broadcast grabbed me from the start and never let go. If ever you want proof that Die Fledermaus is, indeed, the summit of Viennese operetta, listen to this.

Mind you, this is not its first appearance on CD. It was released not that long ago in an excellent series of German radio broadcasts of operettas on Membran, and it has also appeared on Melodram 29001. But the sound here is excellent, beautifully remastered by Ludger Boeckenhoff.

The cast members are not just top notch and in the flower of youthful energy. Their acting is also on a far higher, fizzier level than is usual in studio recordings. There's none of that whispery reading of the lines tfiat so disfigures a number of EMI operettas. This is due to the libretto adaptation and radio direction by Heinz Tietjen, a theatrical figure of importance before, during, and after the Nazi era. One really has the sense of being in a theatre on a particularly good evening, and the whole performance is infused with a slightly inebriated quality – the fault of King Champagne, naturally.

Ferenc Fricsay's conducting has a well-thought-out deliberateness that is in piquant counterpoint with the dialog. "Schani" (Strauss) would have been pleased with Fricsay's results. There is also a Berlin buoyancy to the performance that spices up the Viennese lethargy one often settles for in a typical Fledermaus.

Anny Schlemm and Rita Streich are wonderfully vivacious as Rosalinde and Adele, acting out their numbers charmingly and pointedly. The handsome Peter Anders must have been a wonder to see and hear as (a tenor) Eisenstein – he sings robustly and openly. By contrast, the Alfred of Helmut Krebs sometimes ceases singing altogether and drops into a sort of parlando mannerism I found novel but not necessarily refreshing. But this is different from the usual ham opera-tenor characterization one gets from an Alfred. The Orlofsky of mezzo-soprano Anneliese Mueller is also quite rich, and the Dr Falke of Herbert Brauer sets a nice, fruity tone as the evening's sly compere.

The excellent notes by Habakuk Traber (in German and English) help unravel the complicated political situation in immediate postwar Germany. Indeed, this recording was made just at the time of the Berlin Blockade!

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