Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 2, No. 12 (1928-09)

The Phonograph Monthly Review 431 September, 1928 tfdl i .. J L ■ 11 — attempt to—the exposure of his deficiencies in this respect! The same holds true of Stock as well. I can think* of many works whose qualities would be perfectly and beautifully expressed in his perfor- mances. His personality would synchronize with the warm romanticism of Schumann, for ex- ample; but to the fierce fury of Tchaikowsky (as expressed in the last movement of the Fifth) it is absolutely antagonistic. In the Second Movement where another side of the composer is represented, Stock succeeds to better advan- tage, because here his personality harmonizes in- stead of clashes. Coates made his version of this work under all the handicaps of the old process of recording. The players had to be huddled up in a small group before the recording horn; many of them had to perch on high uncomfortable stools; they played in their shirt sleeves, and the atmosphere was probably stifling. I doubt if the orchestra was of the calibre of Stock’s Chicago Symphony. But, (and what a large and black “but” it is!), Coates could truly glimpse the inner life of the composition, not only in part, but as a whole; and whether he had greater physical strength or not, he was able to find some well of power within himself to communicate the life of the work, Tchaikowsky’s personality and his own, to his men, and through them into the music and the minds of those that hear it. It is the personality that convinces us. The actual volume of tone may be far, far greater on the electrical disks than on the acoustical; the quality may be purer, the definition clearer. Technicians listening to these two sets could see only the superiority of the electrical one. But we as musicians know better. The intangible but all important element of personality is lacking in Stock’s and present in Coates. You might play the former on an auditorium instrument and the latter with your finger nail, and the difference between life and the simulation of life would still be apparent! It is of interest, in connection with the earlier remarks on the physical factors of the conduc- tor’s make-up, that a study of the photographs and concert manners of Stock and Coates would reveal almost as effectively as their actual per- formances wherein their strengths and weak- * ' I" » SV nesses lie. Big, burly, exuberant, impetuous, yet sensitive Coates: it is obvious in a moment that he can encompass the demoniacal energy and force of Tchaikowsky’s great works, while his sturdy masculinity prevents Tchaikowsky’s weaknesses of near-hysteria and nervousness from under- mining the strength of his music. In other words, Coates’ personality acts as a sort of filter which permits Tchaikowsky’s good (artistically speaking) qualities to pass through, while the bad ones are filtered out. Stock’s make-up is radically different. Here we have mellowness, warmth, romanticism, and all the sentiment which is lacking in Coates. Of course he is noted for his performances of Schumann, of Brahms, very likely of the early impressionists, because his en- tire physical and emotional equipment is adapted for the expression of the qualities which are characteristic of those composers. I think that we all (I know that I do) get away too often from the all-vital human and sensuous elements of music. We deal in abstractions and theories, when a man’s facial expression, his manner of stepping onto the conductor’s plat- form would supply the answer to the problem our theories cannot solve. The phonograph is valuable in that it enables us to escape the danger of paying too much attention to the artists and their movements, forgetting to listen intently enough to their playing, but we mustn’t let listen- ing to records blind us to the fact that hidden in those black disks are not layers of clay and shellac, but living, breathing men! The phonograph does not give us canned or impersonal music; that claim is the rankest heresy. It merely concen- trates an orchestra, even a whole concert hall, into the tiny space of a twelve or ten inch disk. The men are still there, existing in a sort of fourth dimension: their personalities supersatu- rating every bar and note of the music that is played. And very often I am seized with the uncom- fortable realization that the photographs of Harty, Stokowski, Bourdon, or Sokoloff on the front cover of this magazine are better clues to the analysis of their art than any number of pages of this article could be. But perhaps my pages are not valueless if they make this truth evident! {To be continued) Hints on Score Reading By W. A. CHISLETT {Continued from the last issue) The Appearance and Use of an Orchestral Score Having become familiar with the instruments that are likely to be encountered, the next step is to acquire a score. As has been stated before, string quartet scores form an admirable intro- duction to the larger scores of orchestral com- positions, but no one need hesitate to start with an orchestral score providing a suitable one is chosen. Most of the Symphonies of Haydn and Mozart and even some of those of Beethoven are eminently suitable for the first attempt and for the purpose of illustration my choice is Beetho- ven’s Eighth Symphony (Phil, score, Columbia Masterworks No. 64).