Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Tuesday, September 16, 1969 Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Tuesday, September 16, 1969 records' Like a dinner in Ann Arbor.. . JUD SPUT By R1. A. PERRY Whleni vou find in your fay- orite record store a set of the complete ymlphonies of Beeth- oven selling for less than $10, you have every right to be sus- picious, especially whien its cover sp~orts a childish drawing of the composer: Nevertheless, Mercury has crammed all nine synmpho- nies onto six records of their cheapie Wing series and the re- sults definitely warrant a sus- pension of your suspicion. 'Wing SAW 6-19502) The recording orchestra is one of Europe's finest and most prestigious, the Leipzig Gewand- haus: the' conductor, better known abroad than in America, is Franz Konwitselhny. The stereo sound, which I will dis- cuss- in more detail in a moment, is absolutely first rate. Konwitschny leads performi- alc(,s that are both solid and elegant: very few lapses in taste or in intensity occur. The Leip- zig Gewandhau~s produces a massive, solid sound, but one that can be light where need be. The strings, for the most part excellently precise, arc definitely stressed. at times to the detri- ment of the voices and colora- tions of the other sections. This emphasis on the strings (cellos and basses are very evident) in- deed leads to one of the set's flaws: while the woodwinds and brass playing appears quite comn- petent, it seldom achieves its due prominence, as in the Pas- torale. where the winds are so important. It is not that the winds arc drowned out by the strings. simply that the balance is not in their. favor. The dependability of the or- chestra and the predictably sen- sible tempi chosen by Konwits- ehny provide both the assets and the liabilities of the perform- ances. Oni the one hand, the per- formances resemble a meal in a good Ann Arbor restaurant: ex- pensive sounding, proper, every- thing in its place, excellent pre- paration and delivery, and the aura of aristocracy. On the other hand, there seldom is found any real imagination, any real ex- hilarating zest. any true sign of unusual taste. Everything is quite excellent, but nothing overwhelmingly memorable oc - curs. In this set of Beethoven sym- phonies. then, the "easier" sym- phonies-numbers two, four. and eight-are the most suc- cessful. In moments w~here a conductor can exhibit imagina- tion and passion-~Such as in the 'Presto of the Ninth Sym- phony-Konwitsclhny p r o v e s mundane. In the "Ninth," his adagio molto e cantabile has neither interior tension nor com- plete post-orgasmic lassitude; it just moves solidly along. Kon- wvitschny has excellent soloists for the "Ninth," but cannot whip up the exaltation that Toscanini or Horenstein could effect. Also, Konwitschny uses the same stylistic approach- the same solid hand-for Opus 21 as for Op. 125. In general, then, the forces employed surpass their direc- tion,' yet I do not wish to give the impression that this set fails. There is so much excellent in it (listen to the final allegro of the "Fourth,," for instance) and certainly enough refinement to rescue solidity fi'oni stolidity: at its price it is an exceptional bargain-and there are far more prever'se performances to be found at five times the charge. Sonically, there is much to i'ecommend also. The stereo separation is admirably wide and life-like:;';air" exists between mike and orchestra and inner voices are never boosted for- ward in the manner of flse Col- umbia and Victoi' engineering. You can really visualize an or- chests' sitting "back there" be- hind the speakei's. Because the symphonies occcpy six, records, the sides ai'e necessarily long, but the dynamic level remains quite high. Some end groove dis- tortion occurs and the surfaces vary from the silent to the crackly, A decent booklet of notes is enclosed. Incidentally, speaking of bud - get labels, some of the more exciting releases continue to come out on the low -priced discs. MercurylPhilips will be re- issueing this fall, on their World Series label, one of the most cher'ished sets of chamber music performances: the complete vio- lin and piano sonatas of Beeth- oven as played by Arthur Grum- iaux and Clara Haskil. These recordings, . originally available on Epic pressings, have never been touched foi' their irefine- ment and communication of style and feeling. Some short notices: Von Web-' er's Oberon appears iii the Schwann catalog at last with a hivhlights recordi why not the whole thing? by Vanguard. VCS-10063) The lyrical and dramatic music, a link between Mozart's Seragio and Beeth- oven's Fidelio, is quite effulsive and inv igorating, especially in the enthusiastic and vocally secure singing of Jess Thomas, Ingrid Bioner. and Erika Koth. Rezia's Aria "Ozean !" fi'om the second act (sung here by Bjon- t er is a drama in itself and >rprojects -much the same grand- eui' as Leonoi'e's "Abscheulich- U of IT JUDO CLUB DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN A~zotiat'dPress A West G;ermuan demoqnstrator against an election meeting of the National Democratic (Party got all tangled up in Bremnen last night. The demonstrator was one of a crowd of young people protesting the existence of the ultra-right wing NPD. Order Your Daily Now 'The Michiganm Daily, edited and man- aged by' students at the University of Michianin. N(,w, phone: 764-0552, Second Class, postage paid at Ann Arbor, Mich-i M ichigan 48104. Published daily Tnes- ih 4014 anr n ro. O X dai thiiroh Sunday rtes!ring University H 1 yer. Sub iriptfion rate-' $9 by carrier.. $10 by mail:. Summier Ss onai si i t'd I'usdaoeusda x tion rates: $'2.5 bya rrier, $.i.00 by ., .r Thiursday, Sept. 18 AT7:3OP.M. IN THE IM BUILDING'S WRESTLING ROOM This Co-ed Sport Is Open To All Students STARTS CLASSES Official pu blic.at ionl0f the Un iver- 'ity of Michigan ,Notices should be scant in TlYPEWRITT1EN f o r mi to Room 35''.8 L... Bldg., before '? p.m. of thle day preceding publi - cat ion anid bx. 2 p.m. Friday for Surday~ and Souday. General Not ices mtay be published a max\i- mum of 01twt~ i me's on retlut's t : Day ('alenida r item'is appear once only. "student organizationls notices a r e ntot accepted for publication. For mor01e infor01mati on, phlone 7 61-9270. T UESD1AYiX, SEPTELMBER 17 1) av (C" l)j(((,, Thma AL C, . ooley Lecture: PolitIics, Thle Const itut ion, aiid the W ia r r e ia Coo:: t, Philip B, Kurladl Professor of The a U 1lelniversity' of Chicago, '''Tle t'oigc th le President. antd the Court'': 100 H-utchins Hall. 4:15 p in. 'lhe tBaroq ue 'T'rio : Nel~onii au"t - tein, flute: Floriaii Mueller, ('ohio: La- rence Hurst, double ba' s: Cha;rles F'isher ic.harpsichord: Racki iaaiIc- Tlore Hall, 8:00 pIo General ANi es Unider'graduate1'Econ. Majors: 1 I 'r wxill be a meeting of ll u nde'rgrad- in te economiisi'>imajors oilNvednes- dlay, Setemt(iber 17 ait 7 :30 p.m. III room 101 Econ. Discussion of the recent report onlie role of st udents in die- oairtminata 1 decision-inaking, and iioii- iniations fior officers of the new steer- ilug commit tee will ta ke place. 'the compi tng Ceniter annouinces a oue-hoiur short course on ''The Ushould be directed to Giary Pirkola at the Comiput ing Center, 114 North Uni- t ersity Building. 764-2410, 'the Computing Center announces a oine-hiour short coturse oin Project Ac- coun t t be hieldi Thursday, September 25, 1969O, at 4:00 pin. in room 1024 of the East Engineering Building. The liibriary program Project Accouiit enab- les project directors and instructors to iionitor and vary the mnaxiimi money, disk aind daita cell space, terminal and pOtt