Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 1, No. 4 (1927-01)

The Phonograph Monthly Review 155 VBI hundreds of orchestrations. The best he had in him was put into the Victor Salon arrangements and—the results speak for themselves. Just how well they speak is perfectly reflected in the sales of the records of this orchestra, but these are not accessible. A mass of dry statis- tics might not be nearly as interesting as having Shilkret himself describe what it is he has put into these records which makes them such favorites. “My aim,” says Shilkret, “was to touch the heart of the girl who sells the records. Now, that might not seem so important, but I have always believed that what a salesman became enthusi- astic over was half way to being sold. I reasoned that if I could make the salesgirl like the records of the Victor Salon Orchestra, she would push them to her customers.” “The next thing was to find out what she liked. I figured that a little romance in the music, a luscious strain here and there, a sweet- ness in the instrumentation would be likely to appeal so I tried to put them all in. It proved to be a winning combination and the record-buying public has shown that it likes it. “I think a very important factor in the success of the Victor Salon Orchestra has been the man- ner in which we play the records. Every man in the orchestra is enthusiastic. They all want to get every atom of musical value out of the num- bers we play. You can see by the number of in- struments which each man can play that the instrumentation of any number can be quite elas- tic. Well, whenever we need special effects we get them, just because each man is willing to pitch in and do all he can to make the recording a successful one. If we need a lot of traps in a number any one of the boys is quite willing to drop his regular instrument and work an effect. This is what gives our numbers the freshness and verve they have and I can’t overstress the impor- tance of this fine spirit which the boys put into their work.” There is no music used by the Victor Salon Orchestra which has not been specially arranged for it by Shilkret. He takes each number which he intends to record and analyzes it thoroughly. Then he seeks for special effects, always seeking, to allow the melody to dominate, yet beautifying it with a surrounding of counter-melody and in- strumental tone colors. Some of his scores might well be held up as models of their kind and he has opened up a field which might well be cul- tivated by the dance orchestra. The Victor Salon Orchestra never plays numbers in strict dance tempo, it is true, but there are plenty of occasions when the dance orchestra wishes to show what it can do in the rendition of pure melody. On such occasions, arrangements such as Shilkret makes for the Victor Salon Orchestra would be just the right thing and it is hoped that some publisher or publishers will have the acumen to publish a series of the Shilkret arrangements. Following the success of the Victor Salon rec- ords, it is only natural that there should have 3IGV Nathaniel Shilkret been a bid for the orchestra’s services on the radio. Last summer, they played a series of con- certs for the celebrated Eveready Hour and re- ceived thousands of commendatory letters. This season they are known as Hire’s Harvesters and as such have presented programs of national music which have been distinguished for their novelty and tunefulness. These programs have also brought in thousands of complimentary mes- sages. The Victor Salon Orchestra, under Nathaniel Shilkret, has also officiated on many of the Victor broadcasting programs. In fact, it was the Vic- tor Salon Orchestra which served as accompanist to John McCormack in the memorable first con- cert broadcast by the Victor Talking Machine Company and also played several concert num- bers In passing, too, it should be noted that Na- thaniel Shilkret has probably conducted for more famous concert and opera artists than any other maestro on the air. However, to return to the subject of the ar- rangements which Shilkret has identified with the Victor Salon Orchestra, for this is of paramount interest to the orchestra player and leader. It might serve a useful purpose to select one such arrangement and note exactly the effects which Shilkret uses on a well known number. For this purpose let us take that favorite song, “Just a Cottage Small by a Waterfall” which has re- cently been released by the Victor Company. The selection opens with a piano cadenza for an introduction, a rippling arpeggio, supported