Northern Echo from Darlington, Durham, England (2024)

May 13, 1972

Publication:

Northern Echoi

Location:

Darlington, Durham, England

Issue Date:

Saturday, May 13, 1972

Page:

10

Extracted Article Text (OCR)

PACE 11 THE NORTHERN ECHO WEKABOUT Saturday May 13 1972 A gem for Beethoven lovers ATER a experi ence I believe tbit Beet ten sonatas for violin and piano are the best ever written for two instru ments They are a nover failing source of inspiration for lis teners and even more for per formers and all subsequent composers have been in debted to th era for the trans cendental manner in which Beethoven resolved Jte prob lems posed The instrumental and the musical dialogue is always beautiful RCA have just released the complete set on four records in live performances made in 1944 in the Congress Lib rary in Washington by Joseph Szigeti and Claudio Arrau I earnestly recommend them for their sheer musical beauty Though the record ings would hardly be used to demonstrate the highness of the fi of any equipment after 30 years the sound is astonishingly acceptable The performance of the rentier Sonata coupled with the Spring Sonata is perhaps the plum of the et and if you buy it (the cot is under a pound) you will probably get the rest In these performances nothing is lost of the music's sweep power passion lyrical aspiration and tenderness IftJorld of Music 5111111 The technical assurance of the players is superb Throughout gives model demonstrations of what perfect intonation means and can do lor a performance The recordings aro valu able also for my generation because they confirm that though the past may be a foreign country as Hartley says it is my good ness how marvellously they did things then It is for me a consolation to realise those performances which in my youth I thought were shining marvels 30 years later are still miracles CBS on 72973 oiler an attractive recital by Dietrich ischer Diskau accompanied on the piano by Leonard Bernstein of songs by Mah ler a great master of the art of lieder They are mostly unfamiliar and include a splendid account cf Um Mitternacht and an intriguing selections of Songs (if Youth Though the singnr is below hie best he is still wonder fully persuasive and Bern stein one of the best inter preters of Mahler is faultless The World of Musical In struments (Hamlyn fl 75) by Alan Kendall a former Barnard Castle schoolboy now a member of the Queen's ree Chapel at Windsor ex plores musical instruments ancient and modern and looks at the electronic in struments of tomorrow The style is easy and a notable feature of this hand some book is its lavtsn illus tration There are numerous photographs and reproduc tions some in colour of pic tures including works by Breughel Zoffany Ben Shahn Pieter Claesz and Degas In fact the eve catch ing illustrations boguhe your attention from the text lovely book Tom Little The brilliance of Toscanini A HAPPY week for Schubert lovers Symphonies No 1 and 2 by the Berlin Philhar monic under Karl Bohm on Deutsche Grammophon (2530 216) and Symphony No 9 the by the Philadel phia Orchestra conducted by Toscanini on RCA (AT 102) The Deutsche album is a towering recording of the two symphonies which so clearly show the young Schu growth from the teach ings of Mizart to the inspira tiontion of Beethoven the development of his in dividuality of expression A fascinating interpretation by Bohm The RCA album one of an edition of Toscanini perform ances is more of a show case for the conductor rather than the work it it's pos sible to divide the two says the sleeve become legendary all over the world The moral stature and personality of the man together with the ublime genius the effort of per fection and the extraordinary ascendancy of the musician have yet to be surpassed" or this reason RCA is pub lishing this edition world wide Perhaps the blurb is a little fulsome which is a shame for Toscanini requires no fanfare Let the recording a fin one speak for itself And an equally happy week for those opera lovers who sigh that fings what they used to be Too often the younger ones among us are left unable to do more than politely agree whether or not we really do necaue such surviving records as there are tend to do much IN THE GROOVE PETERSmSH less than justice to the per formers This week we are in a posi tion to make more concrete comparisons thanks to Ember and to RCA Ember using recording techniques which I do not understand but unreservedly admire have somehow separ ated the grit from the per formance on old recordings to provide the living voices of Gigli Nellie Melba and Jan Peerce on their Great Voices of the Century label The Gigli (GVC 1) Peerce (GCV 2) and Melba (GCV 3) are certainly of a quality to allow present day compari sons On the strength of them I rather fancy Gigli is the only one of the three not to have been sur passed since My own equipment is unforgiving to less than good recording and were it not for the dated sound of the orchestras on these albums it would be dif ficult to place their age Cer tainly no operatic collection is going to be complete with out these RCA's collection of the work of singers who have given their names and their art to the world on the Victrola Sovereign Great Singer Series Golden Age Aida (VIC 1623) The irst Butterfly (VIC 1600) and The Art of eonard Warren (VIC 1595) Cast in the Aida excerpts is Caruso Johanna Gadski Louise Homer and Pasquale Amato Perhaps more than most operas Aida is valuable on record for it is so difficult to stae that it is too seldom seen on the stage Caruso again is the tenor the Butterfly with Homer Geraldine arrar and An tonio Scotti The Leonard Warren with a variety of orchestras and conductor features the baritone gems from Pagliacci Rigoletto the Barber aust Carmen Il Trovatore La Traviata Othello Tosca and The Masked Ball Something in fact from almost the whole range of grand opera The three albums are quite spec tacular Brahms Variations on a Theme by Paganini Op 35 and our Ballads Op 10 coupled with Study No 2 in lat Majr from Six Grand Etudes After Paganini stand among the most difficult works for any pianist On Vaneuard Car dinal (VCS 10006) Earl Wild takes up the challenge and scores a memorable tri umph Pianist and com poser are completely at one through the medium of the piano An excellent record ing HAVING just eaten the last of my purple sprouting broccoli it is time to think of next year's supply I consider this fine vegetable the most valuable of all those I grow and it is perfectly hardy providing one plants it quite firmly and not too early in the season If planted before mid June it tends to grow too large and soft before winter and is more prone to dying off in hard weather Purple sprouting fills the gap between the sprouts and the spring cabbage and has a flavour all of its own The young purple shoots are just snapped off and cook in about 20 minutes and are delicious It is surprising how many people still do not know of it A pinch of seed sown now will provide plenty of plants for planting in June A paragus is another favourite Although it needs plenty ot space to give enough shoots for a normal family it is a worth while crop to grow If looked after and kept clear of perennial weeds a bed will last for ten years or more If one is prepared to wait asparagus can be grown from seed sown now but it will be three years before large enough plants are produced for cutting I started by buying a few two year crowns and planting them in March Then I raised a few plants each year to extend the bed Now after three years I have a good bed It is the one vegetable that should be eaten within two to three hours of cutting to enjoy the full flavour Aubretias have been particularly good this year and these fine colourful plants are easily grown They love sunshine and prefer rather poor well drained positions to grow and flower freely They are easily raised from seed sown now in a seed box in a frame or cool greenhouse or purple and delicious POSER THE WEEK When is the best time to sow cyclamen seed? Answer Sow in July August in a temperature of 55 60 deg using John Innes seed compost At this time of the year they should germinate in about eight weeks could even be sown in a cool sheltered place out of doors Seed produces far too many poor pale colours so to get the best and brightest displays buy plants of named varieties The following will give a good colour blend: Bonfire deep pink Mrs Lloyd Edwards purple Violet Carpet Red Carpet a now compact variety with the deepest red of any I know Joan Allen a double kind with deep pink flowers and Mrs Milne blue with white eye After flowering all aubretias should be trimmed back hard to encourage fresh new growth and keep the plants tidy They make much better plants for this annual cutting As the aubretias finish flowering the dwarf phlox which grow in the same way as aubretia and flower freely come into bloom keeping up the colour display on the rock garden and walling These have a good colour range Two species are normally grown Phlox subulate grows larger and covers much more space than Phlox Douglasii which is closer and more compact After flowering treat in the same manner as aubretia by cutting back hard Phlox root easily from cuttings or layers Primula Denticulate is now finishing flowering This primula is known as the drumstick primula and the modern kinds have a good range of colour including white red and purple as well as the more frequently grown paler mauve They can be lifted and divided in September after the foliage has died down Alfred Proctor All about the Wall OUR ROMAN WALL is well enough served by books (a new Robin Birley paperback was included here last week) but the average sightseer is apt to find in them more than he wants and paradoxically to want more than he finds XV Davies of Sunderland' College of Education comes to the rescue with Hadrian's Wall: A Practical Guide to the Visible Remains (60p or 66p by post from Eyewitness the publishing PAPERBACKS side of the College's history department) His descriptive account of the Wall and its sites is as detailed as anyone could wish for the purpose with ground plans but he also admirably organises his guide to include access opening times and even toilets There are map references too and references to the definitive Handbook (Bruce and Richmond) for those who want to go into something more deeply In The Northern Echo next week another EXTRA for Travelling around in fine weather revives interest in signposts Names and Places succinct introduction to the history of English place names including a short dictionary of specimens and a glossary of common constituents is now republished by Dent as an Aldine Paperback (60p) Curiosity ranging wider afield is fed by Mr and Mrs de Camp Sprague and Catherine in their guide to a dozen Citadels of Mystery (ontana 45p) sites or notions like Atlantis Stonehenge Tintagel Troy: packed with description arid facts or legends Also in ontana are Prof David study of The Norman Achievement in Europe over a mere half century (50p) and very readable History of the Scottish People (£125) In this region we know about Life on the Dole The title of a Davis Poynter paperback which is a new study (£125) Mervyn Jones looking in depth at Merthyr Tydfil as a typical town on the verge of collapse system that discards the men and women about whom I have written" he continued a system that condemns A complimentary copy should go to Sir John Eden who despite his Northcountry family name told us last September to unemployment in and not be obsessed by it (We know how perspective works a dole queue looks shorter from higher up the street) Up above Stanhope 18 Rookhope liS litToSTANHOPE I HAD intended to take a our readers A REE ULL COLOUR POP STAR POSTER GEORGIE AME ALAN PRICE in the Echo next Wednesday plus our regular editorial colour feature World in Colour The week after next our final free pop star poster features the latest pop sensation MARC BOLAN forget our highly popular Under A iver and Under A Tenner eatures every Tuesday and Thursday only in The Northern Echo There's always something EXTRA in The Northern Echo ACROSS 1 Withdrew a religious pamphlet in a rush (9) 8 By Jove she was wooed (4) 9 L3Ac ClearJv no sudden departure (9 5j 11 The cabin is the place for drinks (6) 13 See 9 Across 15 Ring 6 500 for Roman poet (4) 16 The tree is not so young (5) 17 It sounds like what is used in trans mitting the spirit of Shakespeare (5) 18 Means a new order for titles (o) 19 Stupefy with an unfinished gimmick (4) 20 Schedule for ihis kind of tennis (5) 22 One who yearns for a protracted time (6) 25 Sovereign restrictions for literary pay ments (9) 26 Ot money for a small room har (4) 27 Dramatic trial (9) DOW 2 Mischievous demon decapitated 3 Descriptive of a sailing ship unscrupu lously manipulated (6) 4 Gold standard? (5) 5 Part of a treatise on solar epochs (4) 6 Old fashioned place from which the stone may be removed: (3 2 4) 7 Going round the bend in getting control of the market (9) 10 Paid fifty for a mallet (5) 12 Don't usr so many hand signals it's ro no avail 1'3) 13 Pull down cloak (9) 14 Raise one in the army (5) 17 li could blooming well make you stare! (5) 19 One of the too men In the building trade? (6j 21 A complex arrangement to cause con sterrralion (5) i i2 I I5 I 5 wmm nH url 19 LJ 1 22 2JH KHI BB Ih 23 Capital to wander round at will one hears (4) 24 Gamble on the first letter or the second in the (4) SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD No 761 ACROSS: 1 Idaho 4 Rose red 8 Running 9 Rolls 10 Glee 11 Teenager 13 Dock 14 lat 16 Reft rooni 17 Plan 20 Earth 21 Sackbut 22 Besides 23 Riled DOWN 1 Irregular verb 2 Annie 3 Odin 4 Rigger 5 Strangle 6 Relight 7 Discriminated 12 Scorched 13 Deserts 15 Posses 18 Isabel 19 Scar Send us this crossword correctly filled in and you may win a £2 Premium Bond Entries with on the envelope must reach The Northern Echo Priestgate Darlington by last post on Tuesday high walk in North York shire but a gale was blow ing so I took the easy course However this is one of the most pleasant walks and the valley of the Stan hope Bum is delightful at any time of the year Starting from Rookhope turn north up the narrow track almost opposite the inn and follow this uphill over a stile and one or two gates Once in the clear with the straight railway track stretching ahead some ruins will be seen at the top of the hill a good mile from Rookhope These are the old engine sheds and just below them on the south side is a clear spring of water The old sheds are in a cutting which flattens out where the track starts to swing to the fast Now the valley opens out before you with the hills to the south the burn and a shooting box right away downhill and the old track hugs the northern rim of the valley with nothing but hills for miles The track swings gently to the east and finally south east after crossing the road to Steward Shield Meadows arm in the bot tom of the valley This is one of the prettiest of pictures The track ends where at one time it crossed the road by bridge This is a right of way and an easy ten miles return If it is walked in the opposite direction you can arrive at the inn for refreshment around midday IL Wade DO lf YOURSELI Now for what you do need RIGHT Wo ve dipoed of what you don't need in your tool kit Now to run through what you do apart from from the routine stuff And by routine I moan a claw hammer pliers pincers a tenon saw and a crosscut no real need for a ripsaw in the handyman's kit because a crosscut will do anything a ripsaw is meant for whereas a will not cleanly cut across grain) Add to these a hacksaw for metal and a pad or keyhole saw for cut ting holes a hand drill and a set of bits and drills large small and Philips cross point screw drivers and a sharp handy knife So much for the basic kit which will see you through run of the mill repairs and maintenance Now add a few of the time patience and labour savers for those who have the itch to make something for themselves cramps are a must when things have to bp glued and the more the better Preferably with a Sin or Bin jaw Big ones can always he screwed down to attend to small jobs little ones stretch And for the extra big job a couple of pairs of bar cramps are in valuable or instance glue ing a chair or a drawer which has come apart Add a brace to the drill you already have in your basic kit even if you seldom need to drill a hole bigger than iin almost cer tainly want to fit a Yale type lock somewhere some day you can always find work for a brace titled with a screw driver bit And the screwdriver bit is almost certainly the most valuable little extra that I possess The screw doesn't exist that a brace and screwdriver bit won't shift and it puts screws in much faster than a hand driver More useful I'd say than one of those new fangled push drivers A bit gauge is a worth while addition too Measure the depth of hole you re quire tighten the gauge this far up your bit or drill and you plunge out of the other side of your timber leaving a ragged hole Obviously a vice is a good investment Again the bigger the better and for regular use a vice with a ratchet release saves a lot of tighten ing and slackening time Add a coping saw for cut ting curves and if as ham fisted as I am keep a few spare blades by you Oh and before I move on from saws always keep a stub of candle handy to give your saw blades a quick rub be fore you start working This (V i prevents the blade from sticking in the ent yet isn't oily enough to stain the wood Then there are a whole new breed of shapers which weren't invented when my woodwork master was laying down the laws about wood work forget to keep your index finger extended down the handle of whatever you are using It keeps the tool travelling in a straight Bless you Dickie it does too This useful tools: (1) cramp (2) handy knife (3) crosscut saw with tenon saw dotted in and even smaller dove tail saw dotted inside its out tail saw dotted inside its out line (4) auger bit with hit gauge fitted (5) screwdriver bit and (6) brace rank Peters VeteranjlM and Vintage VETERAN AND VINTAGE A series of 32 colour pictures arranged In association with the National Motor Museum telling the story of the motor car from its early days On 16 Wednesdays in The Northern Echo starting May 31 Make a note of the date And in addition a special Veteran and Vintage Car Album price 28p in which to keep the colour pictures as they appear to form a valuable record With a foreword by Lord Montagu of Beaulieu the album contains much of interest for all con cerned with motors and motoring pictures dates of rallies tn 1972 year by year history of the motor car Production of the Album at Beaulieu will entitle the holder and his party to con cessionary entrance fees to the museum Reserve your copy of Veteran and Vintage Cars Album by using the coupon below It will be as well to get your order in early To VETERAN AND VINTAGE NORTHERN ECHO PRIEST CATE DARLINGTON DLI IN Rewvi copycopie of Veteran and Vintage Album for Nam Address I enclos chequepostal order for (at the rate of 28p per copy including postage and packing) Signed If you wish to send in more than one name and address pleas use a separate sheet of paper and attach it to your coupon 1.

About Northern Echo Archive

Pages Available:

87,863

Years Available:

1870-1985