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Schubert: Symphony No. 8 In B Minor ("Unfinished") (DM 1039). To issue a new recording of such a popular work as the Schubert "Unfinished" is always a risky venture because of the large number of previous performances. Koussevitzky's interpretation must necessarily be compared, for the most part unfavorably, with the older readings by Beecham and Walter, but dynamic balance, a restrained direction, and a great deal of feeling make this performance one of the best Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony have ever done. The recording is excellent...
Prokofleff: Sonata No. 7, Opus 83 (DM 1042). This second of Prokofleff's three "War" Sonatas was only completed in 1942, and shows its composer at the peak of his skill as a piano writer. The grotesquely dramatic changes in mood and tempo certainly do not make for particularly pleasant listening but they reveal a highly ingenious and original style of composition. Vladimir Horowitz, who has introduced all of the "War" Sonatas in this country, does a fine job on music that is highly suited to his style of playing. The recording is good...
Prokoieff: Scythian Suite, Opus 20, (DM 1040) displays almost to a fault Prokoieff's acute sense for the bizarre. Originally written as a ballet, its frenzied turbulence made it unsuited to that form. The Suite is Prokoieff's first work of any major importance and its lack of profundity puts it within the reach of the somewhat limited capabilities of Desire Defauw and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, but even the technical difficulties are sometimes too great for them. Recording is poor...
Dorothy Maynor's anthology of sacred music (DM 1043) is, unfortunately a collection of rather easily obtainable selections from Mozart, Bach, Handel, and Mondelssohn. Her interpretations and performances of them are reasonably good but do not reveal either the inspiration or the vocal proficiency of which Miss Maynor is probably capable. Accompaniment by The Victor Orchestra is only mediocre. Recording is good...
...substituting harpsichord for piano, Victor has produced a version (DM-1035) of J. S. Bach's Third Sonata for violin and clavier in E flat more faithful to the Seventeenth Century style than the recording cut several years ago by Yehudi Menuhin and his sister Hepzibah. Although the harpsichord part may be slightly less important than the violin, the precision and vigor commanded by Wanda Landowska provide a better accompaniment for Menuhin than the carefully uninspired piano performance by his sister...