The Chamber Orchestra of Europe: Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting the Arnold Schoenberg Choir: Erwin Ortner — chorus master A Midsummernight’s Dream Op.61: Pamela Coburn, soprano; Elisabeth von Magnus, alto; Christoph Bantzer, narrator The First Walpurgis Night Op.60: Birgit Rermmert, alto; Uwe Heilmann, tenor; Thomas Hampson, baritone; Rene Pape, bass NYONE FAMILIAR with the Shakespeare product that inspired this disc’s headliner won’t be confused by Harnoncourt’s literal inter- _pretation which can best be described as “spritely.” And anyone plagued .by -Misions of Mickey Rooney’s mel- ‘lifluous Puck in the 1935 movie Ross MacDonald MUSIC REVIEW the performance times are com- pared to other recordings. Regardless, combined with Harnoncourt’s reliable hand at the head of this excellent orches- tra, that single oddity lends an appeal to the piece that might very well attract not only first time Dream buyers, but those who already own another record- ing as well. The overture to this Opus 61 carries its own Opus number — 21 — because it was written, because, appropriately, it too is musical setting of literary text In this case, the text is a ballad by Wolfgang von Goethe who happened to be best friends with Carl Zelter, Mendelssohn's teacher. The task of writing it fell to Mendelssohn because Goethe had asked Zelter in 1799 to set it to music but the venerable tutor had never actually gotten around to it. When Mendelssohn set off on his European tour of 1830 he took the text with him and had completed a version of the work in Italy less than a year later, However, though it would appear that a good 13 years sep- arates Walpurgisnacht and A Midsummernight's Dream, they sport contiguous Opus numbers because Mendelssohn happened to be diligently rewriting Walpurgisnacht at just about the same time in 1843 that he was CID 0 o cnet sccese ce ok evesesneeseose: RESTAURANT GENUINE AND CALIFORNIA STYL MEXICAN FOOD AND FUN DINNER Save up to: LUNCH save up to: $95 LIVE MEXICAN ENTERTAINMENT Aft Karaoke in Spanish & English, Fri. and Sal. alter 10pm. * ONE coupon pet group * Canno! be used with olher coupons © NOT valid on special occasions inctuding specia! parties New Year's Eve, Valentine's, Mother's Day and others © Present coupon with order. er 6:00 p.m. Wednesday thru Sunday, SPORTS ON THE BIG SCREEN SA =) © THR cocvcccccce We cordially invite you and your quest to enjoy one complimentary LUNCH OR DINNER ENTREE when a Secend tunch or dinner entree of equal or greater value is purchased from our menu. 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In equally astonishing fashion, the now 34-year-old was able to cast his mind back and success- fully recapture the teenage sensi- bilities that inspired the first piece. Die erste Walpurgisnacht or The First Walpurgisnight, Op.60 is a natural escort to A Midsummiernight’s Dream Shakespeare commission. As both of these works rely heavily on the abilities of vocal- ists for their success, credit should be specifically noted for virtually everyone listed in the liner notes. There’s not a single screech or irritation among the soloists while the chorus ably fulfills its own more modest mandate, Though not the best recording I’ve ever heard, the marriage of these two pieces with such fine performers makes this disc a seri- ous contender for almost every Classical library. _ Traditions of the Mediterranean Corvo Bjanco-Duca di _ Salaparuta, 1992, $11.20 (Italy) . 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