Till Dawn Sunday. On the LESS THAN A YEAR AGO Shostakovich' "Quin-tet," for piano and strings, was awarded the Stalin prize of $17,000, thereby also falling heir to the title of the most expensive piece of chamber music ever composed. Its first American performance was In New York last Spring - by tha Stuyvesant Quartet with Vivian Rlvkln at the keyboard, and tha . same artists now officiate at its turntable premiere (Columbia Set M-483; eight sides). Considering what a small monetary return the average composer gleans for a so-called classical work, it Is nice to realize that the young Russian Is an exception.
There is much In the "Quintet's" five movements to admire. Yet one may question, without lessening one's enjoyment an lota, how many better contemporary things will fall by the wayside virtually unheard. ' Wealth of Moods Like Shostakovich's . "Sixth Bymphony," which it followed by eleven months, the "Quintet" Is weakest in Its last movement, although from the layman's point of view this easily might be the most popular, even with Miss Rlvkln and the Stuyvesants (Sylvan Shulman and Maurice Wllk, violins; Emmanuel Vardl, viola, and Alan Shulman, cello) not according It all the dash we would prefer. The opus Is expressive and covers a wealth of moods, but Records the breadth of Shostakovich's reactions seems to be maturing at the expense of his ability to weld a , worthy climax.
, Predictions are futile, yet we dare to think that his present structural ' divarication is but a prelude to Increased inspirational Intensity. Certainly the "Quintet," if turned out by one who had not reached such past heights, could only be regarded as quite an achievement. From any angle It is a welcome addition to platterdom. . Poet and Prime Minister OF MAJOR historical Importance Is the engraving of Winston Churchill's address before Congress Just after this country entered World War n (Columbia Set C-85; eight sides).
Made from a broadcast, the entire speech Is given, together with the laughter accorded the British Prime Minister's sallies and the numerous outbreaks of applause won by his eloquence. NOT SO LONO ago the recitation of poems was a recording rarity. Recently, however, various companies, large and small, have been stumbling over each other In their eagerness to harvest this field. The latest extensive presentation la Edna St. Vincent W Mlllay In 19 of her poems (Victor Set M-836; eight sides).
The lengthy "Renascence," which probably helped to spread her fame more than any other one work, Is given entire, as Is the longer-thah-average "Ballad of the Harp-Weaver." Why separation grooves are used on one side, but not on others containing more than one poem, Is beyond us. Easier to understand Is the slip on side 2, where engineers stopped the record before Miss Mlllay had 'finished her fifth and final sonnet there. The words she Is not permitted to give are: being all nndt For mortal love, that might not die of It." New Two-Piano Team v APPEARING for the first time as a two-piano team, Robert Casadesus and his wife, Gaby, neatly mirror the Irony with which Chabrier Invested his three "Valses Romantiques" (Columbia Set X-209; two 10-lnch). THE LEAST , known, and probably the most eloquent of Rachmaninoff's famous group of piano preludes Is the B Minor (Op. 32, No.
10). Brnno Molsei-vltch, responsible for Its Initial waxing, makes it sound like a miniature tone poem (Victor 18295). On the reverse Is the more familiar martial a Minor (Op. 23, No. 8)..