Music: New Records, Nov. 23, 1953

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To the rich and growing roster of recording labels in the U.S., two new and distinctly major labels have been added. Their names are Angel and Epic, both feature luxurious recorded sound, and U.S. record buyers are due to hear a good deal more of them.

The Angel label reflects the decision of Britain's big and prosperous Electric & Musical Industries Ltd. (which controls the catalogues of H.M.V. and British Columbia) to invade the U.S. market. With a wide-ranging selection of classical and modern music priced to meet U.S. list prices, Angel is offering its first imports this week. Among them: Ravel's Concerto in G, played by Pianist Marguerite Long (to whom Ravel dedicated it) and the Paris Conservatory Orchestra, the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra, played by London's crack Philharmonia Orchestra under Herbert von Karajan, and four Beethoven sonatas, played by Pianist Walter Gieseking.

The Epic label will bring to the U.S. another strong European catalogue controlled by Philips of The Netherlands. Unlike Angel, which is importing finished recordings, Epic imports master tapes, manufactures its records in the U.S. Epic's first releases concentrate on such symphonic war horses as Beethoven's Fifth, Schubert's Unfinished and Tchaikovsky's Pathetique, in performances by such orchestras as Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, The Hague and Berlin Philharmonics.

Other new records:

Copland: Symphony No. 3 (Minneapolis Symphony conducted by Antal Dorati; Mercury). A major work by a man who has done as much as anybody to establish a modern American style of concert music. The symphony is broadly conceived, includes a bubbling scherzo, and, by use of spacious, interwoven patterns, manages to give the effect of melody without ever quite stating one.

Honegger: Symphony No. 5 (Boston Symphony conducted by Charles Munch; Victor). A modern master in his most serious mood, Composer Honegger subdues his early musical trickery (as in Pacific 231) to make music of noble proportions.

D'lndy: Istar (Westminster Symphony of London conducted by Anatole Fistoulari; M-G-M). A symphonic striptease, this romantic score tells the story of a Babylonian maiden's visit to the house of death. As she passes each of its! successive gates, she is stripped of a piece of clothing until she stands naked at the" seventh. Suitably enough, the musical variations are stated in reverse, starting with the most complicated; at the end, the naked theme is heard for the first time.

Montoya (Cook). Eight flaming flamenco guitar solos by the gypsy master, Carlos Montoya. Each number, whether in reflective waltz tempo or a syncopated Bulerias, thrums the gamut from smooth seductiveness to bursts of passion. Carlos Montoya's finest recording.

Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress (Hilde Gueden, Blanche Thebom, Eugene Conley, Mack Harrell; Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra conducted by the composer; Columbia, 3 LPs). When this three-act opera had its first U.S. performances last season (TIME. Feb. 23), audiences had difficulty with its baroque mannerisms and supercilious satire. Without distractions to the eye, this excellent recording allows the listener to sit back and select his pleasures: some melodious arias, some fine choruses, and some of the world's most inventive orchestration.