AUGUST 1981 Vol. 59 No. 699

Publisher & Editor ANTHONY POLLARD

Editorial Manager

OUITA CHAVEZ

Audio Editor JOHN BORWICK

Audio Consultant

JOHN GILBERT

Advertisement Co-ordinator

DERMOT JONES

Circulation Manager STEPHEN PRESCOTT

Subscription Manager

LILIAN SHERER

Deputy Publisher & Advertisement Director

BARRY IRVING

CONTRIBUTORS

NICHOLAS ANDERSON

DENIS ARNOLD

MARY BERRY ALAN BLYTH WILLIAM A CHISLETT

JOAN CHISSELL

JOHN DUARTE DAVID FALLOWS

lAIN FENLON ROGER FISKE ROBIN GOLDING EDWARD GREENFIELD

MAX HARRISON TREVOR HARVEY GEOFFREY HORN ANDREW LAMB ROBERT LAYTON MALCOLM MACDONALD

WILLIAM MANN

IVAN MARCH MICHAEL OLIVER RICHARD OSBORI\JE STEPHEN PLAISTOW GORDON REYNOLDS

STANLEY SADIE LIONEL SALTER

JOHN STEANE JOHN WAR RACK ARNOLD WHITTALL

Incorporating CASSETTES & CARTRIDGES

CONTENTS226IndextoReviews226NewRecordandCassetteReleases227TheRoyalWedding227EditorialNotes227Contributors'Notes227Correspondence 241 A Quarterly Ret rospect by Robert Layton 247 Gramophone Perspective Sir Georg Solti by Edward Greenfield 248 Here and There with Bryan Crimp, Carolyn Nott and Alan Sanders 327 Video Report

REVIEWS256282288299309315316316317318324325

Orchestral Chamber Musi c Instrumental Choral and Song Opera Bart6k Complete Edition . Or chest ral and Piano Music Contour Classics New from the North Historical-Vocal Nights at the Round Table Cassette Commentary Jazz

AUDIO328Commentary

Equipment Reviews 329 Meridian M2 active loudspeaker system 330 Sharp Optonica Rack System 332 Audio News 333 New Products

FRONT COVER Sir Georg Solti is featured on this month's front cove r and he IS interviewed by Edward Greenfield in "Gramophone Perspective" on page 247 . His recordings of Bruckner's Fourth Symphony and Tippett' s Fourth Symphony are reviewed on pages 264 and 280 .

NEXT MONTH Itzhak Perlman is the artist featured in "Gramophone Perspective " in the September issue, and Michael Oliver reviews a selection of musical books in " Bookshelf". In the Audio section the Tandberg power amplifier C003, control amplifier C002 and tuner COO 1 will be reviewed, along with the Alpage AL300 cassette deck. The September 1981 issue of GRAMOPHONE will be published on Wednesday September 2nd GRAMOPHONE is published by General Gramophone Publications Limited 177 -179 Kenton Road Harrow Middlesex HA3 OHA (telephone 01-907 4476) Trade Sales Counter 23-27 Tudor Street London EC4Y OHR (telephone 01 - 583 9199) GRAMOPHONE IS published on (he Wednesday nearest (0 the l SI of each month and is ava ilable from a/l newsagent~ and bookstalls. Annual sUbscriptions: see page 340: US air speeded rate 132 ·50, second class postage paid New York.. US mailing agents : Expediters of {he Printed Word Ltd., 527 Madison Avenue. New York, NY 10022. Printed in England bv Watmoughs Limited, Idle. Bradford; and Landon. Whilst every effort has been made to enSl,Jre the accl,Jracy of sta temenrs within lhis magazine. we cannOf accept responsibihry for any errors or omissions. or for mallers arising from clerical or primers' errors, or an 8dverriser not completing his contract. It is requested th at allle({ers to the Ed/lor requiring a personal reply should be accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope. Subscribers, both at home and abroad. are requested to advise change of address details to our SUbSCflplion Deparrmenr at leas( five weeks prior to th e change becoming effective. ISSN 0017-31 OX © General Gramophone Publocalions Ltd.-1981