Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 1, No. 10 (1927-07)

436 The Phonograph Monthly Review — Analytical Notes and Reviews BY OUR STAFF CRITICS Several major works have been issued by the European recording companies this month, among which the most important are perhaps the series of Elgar records issued by H.M.V. in connection with his seventieth birthday on June 2nd. His Second Symphony {in E flat) is re-recorded electrically\ under the composer's direction by the London Symphony Orchestra, which also plays his Chanson de matin {Op. 15 , No. 2) on one side of a disk which contains, too, the Chanson de nuit {Op. 15 , No. 1 ) by the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra. There are also two records of selec- tions from The Dream of Gerontius made during the actual performance of the work in the Royal Albert Hall, London, last February. Entirely apart from one's personal reaction to Elgar and his work, there can be nothing but the heartiest praise and sincerest admiration for the British for their ivillingness to have a leading native composer so adequately represented on records, ah example ivorthy of general imitation. Other H.M.V. releases are those of Mozart's Overtures to Figaro and Cosi fan Tutti played by the Berlin State Opera House Orchestra and Dr. Leo Blech; these are a group of Polydor record- ings re-pressed in England under the H.M.V. label. Also: Meistersinger, Tannhauser, and Oberon Overtures {Dr. Blech) ; Johann Strauss' Fledermaus Overture {Ernst Viebig); miscellan- eous vocal and choral records. Among the instru- mental works, the issue of Chopin's Sonata in B flat minor {with the famous Funeral March) by Arthur de Greef is most noteworthy; many Am- erican enthusiasts have been looking forward to a recording of this sonata, which has been sug- gested several times in the Contest, Is Your Favorite Work Recorded? The Paderewski rec- ord of Schubert's Impromptu in A flat has been re-pressed in England, as has the recent organ record by Reginald Foort. Two more Turandot records of orchestral and vocal selections conclude the H.M.V. list. From Columbia comes a new electrical L'Ap- prenti sorcier, Dukas' delightful scherzo, played by the Orchestra of the Paris Conservatoire, con- ducted by Phillipe Gaubert. The recording is in three parts with Mozart's Overture to Figaro on the fourth side. Dame Clara Butt sings the four Biblical Songs of Dvorak, Op. 99 , an interesting addition to the list of this composer's recorded works. Among the miscellaneous releases, we note some Purcell and Arne pieces played by A. M . Henderson {piano), and a novelty record, called A Musical Switch — Humoresque, played by the Plaza Theatre Orchestra. The Parlophone Company continues its Wag- nerian series conducted by Siegfried Wagner with a four-part Wotan's Farewell and Magic Fire Music from Die Walkure, while Dr. Weissmann brings out a two-part Don Juan Overture {Mozart). Vocalion issues a new Freischutz Overture played by the Festival Symphony Orch- estra conducted by Boult and a new piano record of Sapellnikoff, Schumann's Traumeswirren and Rubinstein's Staccato Etude—the labelling of the latter, we hear, is unique in that it candidly states the piece is abridged, a bit of honesty that de- serves emulation! The English Brunswick Com- pany, it should be noted, is issuing nearly all cur- rent American Brunswick records, including the Kreutzer Sonata as played by Huberman and Schultze and Elizabeth Rethberg's record of Dich, teure Halle from Tannhauser. A record which deserves special mention is the only electric re- cording by Lotte Lehmann {Brahms' Von ewiger Liebe and Mendelssohn's On Wings of Song) in the Odeon and Fonotipia series released through the English Parlophone Company. Among the outstanding domestic releases is first of all the William Tell Overture by Bourdon and the Victor Symphony Orchestra. As R.D.D. states so emphatically in his review, this is one of the most realistically recorded works heard to date. In fact the Storm section was so real that u Dido," our official Studio mascot, was nearly frightened out of eight of his black kitten lives by it! The records arrived one dark and cloudy morning and u Dido" as usual was on hand to help unpack the boxes by energetic tearing of paper wrappers and tugging of strings. His tastes run to quiet music and when he followed us into the Studio to hear the 'cello passages at the begin- ning, he was about to give his hearty approval of the work. But when the thunder on the sec- ond side began to roll, he cast one terrified glance at the sky for possible lightning and scurried to cover in the nearest closet. His endorsement must be added to our opinion of the realism of the recording! Nor can theJSecond Hungarian Rhapsody and the Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue, also released by Victor, be passed by without special mention. The former certainly goes to the very limit in both interpretation and performance, but the composition is one which can hardly be overdone. The re-recording of Symphonic Jazz's masterpiece has been anticipated for some time; it too, must not be missed. In the field, of chamber music, the new Columbia recording of Haydn's string quartet in C, Op. 54 , No.- 2, is significant not only for its own artistic and technical excellence, but as the first release by the most promising Musical Art Quartet, to