Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 1, No. 7 (1927-04)

The Phonograph Monthly Review 295 va l i — ■ i ™ Recorded Symphony Programs T WO European orchestras have already be- gun to send their programs in to the Studio for use in the feature. The Halle Orches- tra of Manchester England and the Budapest Philharmonic are the first of the foreign organi- zations to co-operate with us, stating their will- ingness to do so and their interest in “Recorded Symphony Programs” in very cordial letters. The excellent program books of the “Halle Concerts Society” (complete files for the season have been sent to us) contain many valuable fea- tures which other orchestras might well imitate. Copious illustrations in notation are given of all works played; a most helpful convenience for a few bars of the actual themes help one to follow a work more intelligently than pages of un-illus- trated analytical notes. The notes themselves are brief, but very much to the point, concerning themselves almost exclusively to a discussion of the structure of the composition itself. In the center of the book, between the two sections de- voted to notes on the corresponding sections of the program, are several pages devoted to notices of future concerts, various announcements of the Halle Society, etc., and a time-table of trains to and from Manchester, enabling concert goers to plan their schedules. Of even greater conveni- ence is the feature of printing beside the title of each work played the number of minutes neces- sary for its duration. The program books of the Philadelphia Orches- tra, undoubtedly the most beautifully printed and bound booklets of all those sent in, give the time of the duration of the entire concert, but not of each individual work. It should be added, how- ever, that a charge of one shilling "s made for the booklets of the Halle Orchestra, but even so, they are fully worth their price. Among the other American orchestras, the Boston Symphony issues the thickest program booklet of all. The notes by Mr. Phillip Hale are usually of considerable length. However, he deals more with the historical aspects of the works played than with the structure of the com- position itself; illustrations in notation would be a great improvement and convenience. The Minneapolis, St. Louis, and Los Angeles Sym- phonies all publish neat appearing program books of a somewhat smaller size than those of the Philadelphia and Boston Symphonies. The notes are simple, clear, and very helpful. The notes of the New York Philharmonic concerts are by Lawrence Gilman, but unfortunately the program is not bound with a cover like the others. Most of the other orchestras’ programs are unbound, containing only brief notes on the works played. Dvorak: Symphony No. 5, E minor (“From the New World”) Played by: Boston Philharmonic—Leginska, Oct. 31,1926; Atlanta—Leide, Dec. 12; New York Symphony—Fritz Busch (guest), March 18, 1927. Recordings: Victor (6565-9) (10) Stokowski—Philadelphia. Columbia Masterworks Set No. 3 (10) Harty-Halle H.M.V. D536-7, 587, 613 (8) Ronald—R.A.H. See review of the Victor version (the only elec- trical one) in the October issue in the article on the Philadelphia Symphony. Stokowski’s version is very brilliant, one of the first great electrical recordings, but of course it is more a work of orchestral virtuosity than an authentic interpre- tation. Harty’s version is exactly the reverse, a sincere and authentic interpretation, but an old recording with all the weaknesses of the old pro- cess. Those who are thoroughly familiar with the work will undoubtedly prefer Harty’s set in spite of its actual recording, while those who are looking for brilliance and magnificent orchestral display will choose Stokowski’s. Ronald’s H. M. V. set is an old one and will probably soon be replaced. Strawinski: “Fire Bird” Suite Played by: N. Y. Philharmonic—Mengelberg, Nov. 21, 1926; Boston—Koussevitzky, Dec. 10; Cleveland—Sokoloff, Jan. 13, 1927; Halle-Harty, Feb. 10; St. Louis—Ganz, Feb. 11. Recordings * Victor 6492-3 (4) Stokowski Philadelphia.. Polydor 66337-8 (4) Fried—Berlin S.O.H. H.M.V. D958-9 (4) Coates—Symphony. All versions have many points of particular ex- cellence. The fine Victor set is somewhat marred by the severe scratch (it is mechanical of course), but Stokowski’s reading of the Infernal Dance is the finest of all. (See re-review in March issue, page 276.) Strauss: Ein Alpen Symphonie Played by: Budapest Philharmonic, Bernat Tit- tell, Nov. 8, 1926 (also by many American orches- tras during the season of 1926-1927). Recording: *Polydor 69803-7 (9) Fried—Berlin S.O.H See mention in October issue, page 39. One of the most remarkable of acoustic recordings in ad- dition to being one of the most remarkable “sym- phonies” (strictly speaking, it is not a symphony at all, but a tone poem). The recording is prac- tically complete, several short cuts are made. Liszt: Piano Concerto in Flat Played by: Budapest Philharmonic—Rekai (Mitja Nikisch, soloist), Dec. 6, 1926; Atlanta— Leidel (Rosita Renard), Dec. 19, 1926; Minne- apolis—'Verbrugghen (Maurice Dumesml), Jan. 9, 1927; St. Louis—Ganz (Joseph Lhevmne), Feb. 4; N. Y. Symphony—Klemperer (Alexan- der Brailowsky), Feb. 20; Rochester—Goossens (George McNabb) March 3. Recording: H.M.V. D890-2 (6) De Greef—Royal Albert Hall. The version by De Greef for H. M. V. is an effective acoustic set, one of the few in which the triangle is recorded with any success. But in- deed this concerto could hardly deserve its name if the triangle part, almost as important a solo as the piano,-was omitted.