Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 1, No. 6 (1927-03)

258 The Phonograph Monthly Review 3IGV The Editor does not accept any responsibility jor opinions expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken oj un- signed letters, but only initials or a pseudonym will be printed if the writer so desires. Contributions of general interest to our readers are welcomed. They should be brief and writ- ten on one side of the paper only. Address all letters, to CORRESPONDENCE COLUMN, Editorial Department, The Phonograph Monthly Review, 64 Hyde Park Avenue, Boston, Mass. Editor, Phonograph Monthly Review : Having only looked over the February copy of the Phonograph I do not feel that I can get to my typewriter fast enough so that I may answer what appears to me to be the most inane, the silliest, and puerile argument, as pro- posed by a New York dealer signing himself “‘S. K.” In as much as I started this discussion under the initials of “V. F.” I claim the right to have at him first. Let me, then, follow him paragraph by paragraph. He maintains that he cannot keep all these “wonderful things’’ in stock, and that the “jazz-hound” is the one that keeps him alive. No one, certainly not I, has advo- cated or even suggested that dealers keep on their shelves all the very fine foreign recordings. To anyone with a modicum of intelligence the. obvious difficulties are at once apparent. All that I ask. and demand, is that in the deal- er’s shop there be someone who knows something, the more the better, about music and the music that is obtainable on the phonograph. I do not for a moment criticise Mr. S. K. for his all too obvious lack of musical interest, but I do say that it is most unfortunate that he should be in a business whose interests are devoted almost exclusively to that subject. I do not want my argument in any way to flow along the lines of jazz vs. the concert hall music. That is not my object; but does it seem unreasonable for those of us who do buy something other than jazz to de- mand that there by someone who knows at least a little about what they are selling? I do not condemn the buyers of jazz records, I have many in my own collection, (are you surprised Mr. S. K.?) but the demand is growing so very fast for the other kind of music (I will not even say ‘“better class of music,” but rather symphonic and chamber music so that there can be no mistaking my meaning) that I should think it would behoove the enterprising dealer -to look at what is going on around him. It is a very human trait to make fun of that which we do not understand: but to deliberately take a name of re- nown and try to distort it thinking to gain a laugh smacks of schoolboy horseplay. It is very tiresome to people who have known the name for years and at the same time dis- tasteful. Mr. S. K. may not like Igor Strawinski, I do not blame him for that, but suffice it to say that that com- poser has exerted more influence on the trend of modern music than any other one man, and that he has claimed the very serious attention of the critics of all nations. Mr. S. K. is the very dealer to whom I addressed my first article in this column; he is the very one who should at once take with him someone who is interested in records and at the same time knows music. But from his com- munication, I am much afraid that he will sit back and let the bandwagon with Strawinski in the driver’s seat, go by. I am sorry that we poor people who do go to concerts and do enjoy quartet music, those of us who eagerly await the new lists of the various recording companies, have to take up so much room, but, as one of those persons, I will now throw out a challenge: I will be glad to debate, argue, exchange ideas, duel, in short, almost anything, with any dealer who should care to throw his glove into the ring, upon the subject of recorded music. Tories Fisher. Opon Fort t m, Phonograph Monthly Review : My fellow dealer, S. K., in last month’s Open Forum, writes in a way that will probably excite phonograph en- thusiasts to a frenzy, but there is much truth in what he says. * We dealers have to look at the matter both from the viewpoint of the demand for the more popular type of music and from that of our own personal tastes. Personally, I agree with the enthusiasts that jazz should not predominate, but I agree with S. K. that most of this modern, supposedly classical music, is nothing but ugly and discordant noise. The familiar overtures and light classics are the finest things in music to me and I think to many people besides me. A little grand opera, too, is perhaps not too far to go. But a whole symphony is long and dreadfully tiresome; people can’t really stand it. I. like many others, feel that music should not be so complicated and involved, a thing to bore you or deafen you to death, but something melodi- ous, simple, and enjoyable. A Lover of Light Overtures. Atlanta, Georgia. Editor, Phonograph Monthly Review : My most hearty thanks to Mr. S. K. for writing his let- ter to the Open Forum of last month and to the magazine for printing it! Could any better proof be given of the utterly impossible attitude of the dealers than this self- expos£? Here we have perfectly revealed the incredibly conservative spirit shown at its very worst. The careless air, the humor—if such it could be called—in dealing with a most serious subject, every word, every line bears out the enthusiasts’ assertions that the dealers are absolutely hopelessly unmusical. One might go a great deal farther than that on the grounds given, but it might be hardly advisable. I have met too many S. K.’s in person to feel angry at him or more than usually contemptuous of his abilities. The trouble of it is that such men should ever engage in a busi- ness which, after all, is a musical one. What can their business mean to such men? All the beautiful, imperish- able works of art of the greatest minds of the ages lie neglected and unknown on their shelves. Like the savages of old who played with diamonds and precious stones as if they were so many pebbles, all unwitting of the wealth and beauty within their grasp, these dealers seem not to have the slightest idea of the treasure mines their shops really are. I cannot echo my friends’ angry demands that such men be put digging sewers. After all, such men can only hinder, not really harm us. But for the men themselves, I could weep. Are their souls utterly dead? Is there not one spark of artistic fire within them? Can they actually listen to the exquisite melody of the Princess and the Golden Apples in the Fire-Bird and indulge in such crude mockery as S. K.? Such men cannot hold back the new day. New light will dawn (is dawning) in the phonograph world, but I fear that on the old guard as these men no light will ever fall, that they will remain musically and spiritually insensate until the end. ,W alter T. Colton. Cleveland, Ohio. Editor, Phonograph Monthly^ Review : For some time I have felt the need in America of a magazine devoted to the phonograph and recorded music, and I am more than pleased to find The Phonograph Monthly Review meeting this need so thoroughly. The first three numbers have been found very interesting. I like your courage and independence, and your enthusiasm is refreshing. As you say your magazine is “intended to be the clean- ing house for ideas and findings,” I am venturing to ex- press my views on a subject of interest to every gramo- plionist—the price of records. Why shouldn’t records of the world’s great music be as cheap as those of popular music? Why should jazz be subsidized by making it more easily accessible to the pub- lic? Few things would do more for the cause of good music in America than the cheapening of discs on which such music is recorded, and it should be one of the aims of the Phonograph Societies and The Phonograph Month- ly Review to bring this about. How often in music stores one sees people refusing to buy good music that has ap- pealed to them on hearing because the record is double the price of those of popular music. The recording industry is a comparatively recent one, and thus far has too often followed the principle of “‘charg- ing all the traffic will bear.” It has been only a few years since some of the single-sided records were selling for six or eight dollars each. There have been decided reductions