TV Radio Mirror (Jan - Jun 1963)

-M<-M( GREAT! -K^K GOOD LISTENING ,: FAIR SOUNDS not figured out the where, how and why of his immense talents. Considering his extremely early death and his large output up to his passing, it is impossible to imagine what he might have left, in quantity and quality, if he had lived to ripe old age. These two separate albums cover his four woodwind concertos. Three of them are the work of a very young Mozart. (The bassoon concerto was a product of a seventeen-year-old Mozart. As a matter of historical record, Mozart had written three of these before becoming twenty-two years of age!) The fourth, which is conceded by most musicians to be his best, was written much later in his short life. It is truly the most impressive of the four presented in these two "volumes." In this "Clarinet Concerto, K.622," Mozart deals with his materials as if they were completely under his thumb. There are few extravagances in the piece. Its slow middle movement may be the best musical section of this work and its three companions. Mozart did put together some strange elements. The strings, in this same middle section, play a second theme which is melodically a step-by-step affair, whereas the clarinet expositional parts seem to reside somewhere in the unholy ground in between, never quite being step-bystep, but a mixture of chromatic and scale-tone movement. In the hands of a less gifted composer, it would have been nothing but two musical viewpoints at war. But the genius of Mozart finds the way to combine the seemingly opposite materials. Anthony Gigliotti, the soloist, is an excellent player whose sense of pitch is incredible (the clarinet being an instrument which has registers that are almost naturally out of tune). William Kincaid's performance of "The Flute Concerto, K.313," is exquisite, except that musically the piece is not as strong as the clarinet work. Mr. Kincaid proves here conclusively that he is still the flutist in the country and possibly everywhere else. The cadenza at the close of the first movement is beautifully performed, even though it is a difficult section to bring off well. Mozart, himself, had a certain lack of feeling for the flute in a soloistic sense but, nonetheless, wrote a work that only pales when compared with his other concertos. "The Bassoon Concerto, K.191," is performed well by Bernard Garfield. It is an open and not too deep a piece of expression. It is pointedly a work of virtuoso intentions, with music running a close second. "The Oboe Concerto, K.314," is sort of a companion piece to the flute concerto. It is a work instilled with Mozart's peculiar brand of energy. It strikes this reviewer as the second strongest work of the four. John DeLancie's playing is on the same high level as that of his Philadelphia Orchestra colleagues. As a package, both LPs are worth having. If you feel one is the limit, I would pick up the clarinet and oboe LP, as these are the most impressive. PIECES OF EIGHT Wayne Newton Capitol's new starstuff — looks like his second release, "Danke Schoen," is a hit! ... Johnny Mathis has moved to Mercury Records. Is he falling? . . . Leslie Gore, of "It's My Party" fame, couldn't ask for more than a No. 1 record across the country, the first time out. Eddy Arnold, the wonderful "country" artist, did well during a week in Chicago. (Didn't know them city-billies loved that c. & W. music, did ya?) ... It sure is good not to receive those irate letters from Bobby Vinton's fans. I guess they liked the last review. . . . Dion, who looks like he may be sitting on another hit, has been around town looking for material. He is the big hope of Columbia Records now, with Mathis gone. The recent Bing Crosby album was a swinging package. Buddy Bregman covered the backdrops. . . . Bobby Darin is hunting and fishing on weekends to recoup the enormous energies he's expending to get his T.M. musicpublishing and production firm off the ground. His start has been great. (He not only purchased the companies that handled his songs but is also recording several artists independently.) Mercury has an advance sale — in the hundreds of thousands, I believe — on the album of speeches of the late Pope John XXIII. It seems a shame that Sarah Vaughan was delinquent with her taxes. The Government took her home in lieu of $19,000 back taxes. We're sorry, Sarah. . . . Singer Frank D'Rone has moved his talents to Warner Bros. Records from Mercury. Be on the lookout for a new group called The Coachmen. They hail from the old shipping port of New Bedford, Mass., and they sure can sing. . . . Wayne Newton, Capitol Records' new find, is also to be watched. Loaded with talent! . . . Chris Connor recorded an album in Paris. They tell me it's something else. I can well believe that. Is Sinatra ever going to put out any albums on Reprise that can stand up _ to the Capitol ones? . . . Frankie v Laine is making a big record come B back. Good to see him active again.