Edmund Haines: Concertino for Seven Solo Instruments and Orchestra (Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra, Guy Fraser Harrison conducting; Composers Recordings, Inc.). A high-spirited, multi-gaited piece that has its moments of surrealist shiftiness and of sheer pyrotechnics. One movement—the third—stands out with a lovely, brooding string solo. Expertly rendered by the first-desk men of the orchestra.
Beethoven: Fidelio (Mezzo-Soprano Christa Ludwig, Tenor Jon Vickers, Basses Gottlob Frick and Walter Berry; the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Otto Klemperer; Angel, 3 LPs). An easy-breathing, expansive performance notable for the clarity of its orchestral effects....