Unlike operas, which are best seen in opera houses, and symphonies, which are best heard in concert halls, chamber music is meant to be enjoyed at home. Originally designed for the palaces of the rich, it now makes ideal hi-fi listening, but for years American record buyers ignored the fact, turned the volume up and delightedly let the high decibels of opera and symphony beat them down. Chamber music accounts for only a small fraction of U.S. classical record sales, but there are some signs that the situation may be changing.
U.S. record companies have put out a huge repertory, covering the range of chamber music from its charming origins in Renaissance Italy and England to Schoenberg's atonal lung-and-mind exercise, the Quintet for Wind Instruments, Op. 26 (Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet; Columbia) and beyond. Eight of Boccherini's Quintets, sparkling with gaiety and glowing with warm Italian exuberance, have been polished up and lovingly presented on four LPs with two more to come (Quintette Boccherini; Angel). All of Haydn's 80-odd Quartets were planned for recording, and 47 were put on vinyl by the Haydn Society before it went down to noble defeat (1955) and had to go out of business. Almost all of Beethoven's chamber music has been recorded and most of Mozart's (good recent Mozart bets: two versions of four gracious, lighthearted Flute Quartets, on Vanguard and Epic, and six String Quintets on Columbia).
Many reluctant record buyers believe that chamber music is colorless and dull, hear only the scraping of strings. But often there are no strings attached, as in Rossini's racy, unfailingly amusing Quartets for Woodwinds (Period). Many listeners have come to realize that even string works—Schubert's Death and the Maiden, Beethoven's last quartets—can be as poignant as any symphony. In some cases, record buyers have bitten hard at chamber music, e.g., the Westminster version of Schubert's lusciously Viennese "Trout" Quintet sold 100,000 copies in five years and is still going strong; the peppery, well-publicized Budapest String Quartet sells about 50,000 records a year (Columbia). Most significant shift in the wind: RCA Victor, after acting for three years as if chamber music did not exist, put out four chamber music releases last month (including the eighth current, and rather saccharine, LP version of "The Trout"). RCA's reasoning: hi-fi and good sense will gently lead listeners to the delicacies of chamber music.
Among the latest delicacies:
Mozart: Divertimenti (Vienna Philharmonic Wind Group, Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet; Westminster, 5 separate LPs). Three of these disks for various combinations of woodwinds have an outdoor note that adds a tart delight to indoor listening. They are cleanly played, gay, youthful craft pieces composed for special occasions. The music bounces and jumps, always with 18th century dignity, puts no strain on the intellect. The other two disks are scored for strings and have a bit more body and substance.