NIELSEN. Clarinet Concerto, Op. 57*Flute Concertot. *Josef Deak (clarinet), 1. Paul Pizmandi (flute), Phil- harmonia Hungarica conducted by Othmar Maga. Turnabout TV34261S (19s. 11d.).

Selected comparison—coupled as above:

Drucker, Baker, NYPO, Berstein (6/67) 72639

Neither of these performances equals the earlier versions on Decca and CBS. Both soloists are good players but the orchestral support is less than first-class. It all sounds a trifle under-rehearsed and although the recording produces a more immediate and truthful sound than Bernstein's, there is little bloom on the strings. There are one or two inconsistences of tempo in the Flute Concerto and the conductor sets a very measured tread in the first movement. Those who know Gilbert Jespersen's mercurial account on a now deleted Decca record will find this lacking in humour and personality. The Clarinet Concerto also sounds very pedestrian and leaves the impression that neither the conductor nor the players have really got inside the idiom. Of course there are some good moments (the coda of the first movement of the Flute Concerto) but in general this is not a very distinguished record. R.L.