Classical Records

Mozart: The "Great" Mass in C Minor, K. 427 (New Philharmonia Orchestra, Raymond Leppard, conductor; Seraphim; $3.98). Over the years, publishers have used the word great to distinguish this work from a Mass in the same key written when Mozart was still in his teens. But if ever a score deserved that adjective without qualification, it is K. 427. Composed in 1782-83, its style looks backward to the cantata-type Mass of Bach's day, but its expressiveness and symphonic drive anticipate Beethoven and the romantic era. The performance, led by Conductor-Musicologist Leppard, would be worth having at any price. Offered on Angel's low-priced Seraphim line, it is not to be missed.

French Masterpieces for the Cello & Piano (Jeffrey Solow, cello; Irma Vallecillo, piano; Desmar; $6.98). This is one of the first releases of a new classical label that plans to feature unusual repertory by young artists along with previously unissued historic performances. Debussy's cello Intermezzo is a concert rarity never before recorded. It is dreamy, emotionally vague and inconsequential. His piano and cello Sonata No. 1 in D Minor is another matter. Here Cellist Solow gets the chance to display his flawless intonation and generous technique as the cello imitates a guitar, flute, mandolin and tambourine. The Saint-Saeens C Minor Sonata is a work of contrasts and Pianist Vallecillo masters both its turbulent and serene passages. If this LP serves as an indicator of Desmar's artistic and recording quality, its future should be cheerful.

Charles Ives: Holidays Symphony (Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, conductor; RCA; $6.98). The holidays are Washington's Birthday (winter), Decoration Day (spring), the Fourth of July (summer) and Thanksgiving (autumn). Ives, the great American innovator, originally composed this symphony as four separate pieces, starting in 1897. Some 16 years later he fused them to make a series of aural reminiscences of his boyhood holidays in Danbury, Conn. Firecrackers explode, a village band escorts the parade to the cemetery to decorate graves, fancy fiddling and a twanging Jew's-harp reverberate through a winter barn dance. Turkey in the Straw, Columbia the Gem of the Ocean, Camptown Races--Ives borrowed quotes from the sound track of his youth. Beneath this patriotic gloss, his own thorny rhythms and free-form counterpoint combine to create music that remains imaginatively American.

Dvorak: Piano Concerto in G Minor, Op. 33 (Justus Frantz, soloist; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, conductor; Columbia; $6.98). Critics frequently poke fun at this stepchild of the late 19th century piano repertory. The orchestral Sturm und Drang, it is said, overpower the naive keyboard design. There is nothing naive about Frantz's virile interpretation, however. The young Polish pianist effortlessly bounces off rippling melodies and roaring cadenzas.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A, Op. 92 (The Marlboro Festival Orchestra, Pablo Casals, conductor; Columbia; $6.98). Few performances of this eloquent work can stand comparison with the 1936 recording by Toscanini and the New York Philharmonic (still available on RCA Victrola). This one can. Taped during a live performance in 1969 when Casals was 93, it is a summing up of all the attributes associated with him as a conductor: full-blooded sonorities, razor-sharp attacks, irresistible rhythms, shadings of almost chamber-music delicacy. Are there more like this in the Columbia vaults?

Vivaldi: Juditha Triumphans (Birgit Finnilae, contralto; Ingeborg Springer, mezzo-soprano; Elly Ameling, soprano; Annelies Burmeister, contralto;. Berlin Chamber Orchestra, Vittorio Negri, conductor. 3 LPs; Philips; $23.94). Vivaldi composed his 1716 oratorio for his students at the Ospedale della Pieta. the Venetian orphanage where he taught music. The subject was a bloody one for schoolgirls: after beguiling the barbarian commander with words and wine, Judith seizes his sword and chops off his head. The score is sumptuous, propelled by the Baroque master's typical unflagging vitality. In this recording both male and female solo roles are sung by women. In the part of the servant Abra, the ease and accuracy of Soprano Ameling's clear shining passage-work--as in the the aria "Armatae face"--complements the noble style of Contralto Finnilae's Judith.

Wagner: Overture to Die Meistersinger, Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, Prelude to Parsifal, Preludes to Act I and Act III of Lohengrin (Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, conductor; Philips; $7.98). If records like this did not come along occasionally, one would tend to take these familiar excerpts for granted--as Herbert von Karajan obviously does in a bleary competing version on Angel. The freshness and vigor of Haitink's interpretations stem, surprisingly enough, from his scrupulously orthodox approach. He is less interested in conveying his own message than in getting his men--all of whom seem to be virtuosos--to play precisely what Wagner wrote. What they play is fortunately given some of the finest sound available on disc today. For a sample, try the massed brass midway through the Parsifal prelude.

Carl Nielsen: Wind Quintet plus three other chamber works (Vestjysk Kammerensemble Denmark; Deutsche Grammophon: $7.98). Nielsen's 1922 quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon sought to unveil the individual personality of each wind instrument. In this idyllic piece evoking wild birds and long tree shadows, the flute is very much at home in the forest. The mood quickens, driven by a jazzy oboe, and the clarinet squabbles with the bassoon. The Western Jutland Chamber Ensemble plays with grace, rhythmic drive and a certain sense of mischief.

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