BEETHOVEN. Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60. Coriolan Overture, Op. 62. Suisse Romande Orchestra conducted by Ernest Ansermet. Decca Mono LXT5507; *Stereo SXL2116 (12 in., 28s. 9d. plus 9s. 41d. P.T.).

I played these two versions immediately after Jochum's account of the second symphony, and the immediate reaction (confirmed on repetition) was surprise that a German should understand Beethoven less clearly than a French Swiss. Notwithstanding Ansermet's reputation for elegance and neatness and a special gift for the French Impressionist composers and the Russian nationalists, he interprets Beethoven 4 with grandeur and authority and perfect spontaneity. His earlier record of the fifth symphony was less successful, and it may be that he finds himself at home with the more Haydnesque Beethoven—though he doesn't attempt to under-emphasize the bigness and great heart of the fourth symphony. Very occasionally the rhythm or the phrasing or the accentuation doesn't fall in place with the rest (first movement,, pulse of codetta group, first limb; second movement, basic rhythm sometimes slackens into triplets, and sforzandi are weak; finale, coda not very lively), but these are minutiae beside the strength and perception of the interpretation as a whole. The orchestra plays robustly; timpani are sharp at the end of the Adagio, and first oboe sounds rather querulous in the Trio of the third movement. The stereo recording is very "bassy", the mono version all right in this, but the strings sound steely. In both versions the violins tend to swim at the start of the second movement. Ansermet repeats the expositions of the outer movements.

It's generous to offer a fill-up, in one sense. In another frame of mind, wouldn't customers have preferred the symphony by itself, at a lower price? Ansermet's reading of Coriolan is fine, except for a clumsy accelerando in the transition to the second subject. The attack and chording, and the shaping of the overture otherwise, are all impressive, and the vividness of the drums is particularly striking. W.S.M.