Wagner: Excerpts from Tristan und Isolde (Helen Traubel and the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, Artur Rodzinski conducting; Columbia, 10 sides). Rodzinski's men, going full blast, are outshouted by the queen of the Met's Wagnerian hive. Performance: good.
Beethoven: Sonata No. 7 in C Minor (Yehudi Menuhin, violin; Hephzibah Menuhin, piano; Victor, 8 sides). The first 5,000 of these albums were erroneously labeled Sonata No. 2; red-faced Victor is now trying to correct its wrong red labels. Under either label it is the Seventh, and an agile brother & sister act. Performance: excellent.
Samuel Barber:...