Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 2, No. 2 (1927-11)

50 The Phonograph Monthly Review November, 1927 presided a young man representing the Camden company. He had a goodly selection of discs, properly apportioned to suit the tastes of a thou- sand travellers. There could have been a larger supply of prime orchestral recordings, since the installation was used lavishly as an adjunct to the motion pictures. But it is yet new and the collection should grow during the winter. So much for five happy days at sea. Paris, unless you have plenty of spare hours, will hardly hold your attention, gramophonically speaking. I may have chanced upon an unusually poor lot of shops but in any event the records I wished were invariably out of stock. I make an exception to this in the case of the estimable Pathe Freres, whose larger house held a good li- brary. This firm is the leading one in France and as a result, most of the foremost French artists are under their banner. The manager of the retail store, Mr. Hurteaux, was exceedingly kind, taking great pains to give me a good picture of the phonograph situation in his country. Cheaper machines are purchased, it appears, in preference to the more costly ones, even though the customer is well to do. Record prices are about the same as in America. I was surprised to see the old rebate system still in vogue, that is, you are allowed so much for worn discs when purchasing new ones. The Pathe concern still uses the sapphire stylus, though some of the issues are by the Actuelle process, thus permitting changeable points. I also noted a few transfers from the old to the new system, particularly of the artists who are no longer active. The Pathe catalogue proved very attractive. There is quite a list of recordings by Edmond Clement, many of which have never been heard over here. This was a rare feast, more especially to me as I have long placed the little Frenchman on a pedestal where few are permitted to stand. On another page I found several things by Emma Calve, which the collector might fancy. There were likewise listed eight reproductions by Edouard Risler, who, despite the rather apathetic reception tendered him by the metropolitan musi- cal populace several seasons ago, remains one of the leading pianists in Europe today. “The paths of glory, etc.” M. Hurteaux extended to me the privileges of his parlors during my short visit and promised his best attention to whatever I might order at a later date. I should say that those who are in search of Pathe recordings would do well to com- municate with this gentleman at 30, Boulevard de Italiens. My average for concert and opera-going was exceedingly low, that is, in Paris. There are a few voices that now come back to me from visits at the Opera Comique. Guenot, a bass-baritone, we shall hear of ere long, if he continues to sing as he did upon the occasions I happened by the house. His name appears in the Pathe lists but I did not notice it until after I had left France, so could not try him out. Willy Tubiana, we have heard on the French H.M.V. Micheletti, is quite the prize tenor of the lot, Italian to the extent of repeating “Le Reve”, and slurring a la Schipa throughout “Manon”. Yet he sings easily, with freshness, and is altogether a pleasing artist. The feminine element did not find my favor. One of us had an off day. The American soprano, Hallie-Stiles, is very popular, drawing many cur- tain calls and much mid-act applause. Most likely we shall have her back soon, if rumor be true. The Orient Express took me out of Paris and after some changing and stopping I found my- self in Stuttgart with a few hours to while away. Said hours were whiled away in a small gramo- phone shop, where I picked up two records from “Tristan” that had I been seeking for a couple of years. That was a thrill. Now I have all I can find recorded from the world's greatest show and if some kindly soul will delve into his archives and furnish me with an authentic list of all that has been done I will be faithful unto death. Further hope brought me to Bayreuth, quaint yet modern, teeming with history but not neces- sarily Wagnerian, and quite as delightful as ever one could imagine. Between tramps to the Her- mitage and attendance at the performances, I did quite a bit of gramophoning. The store of Carl Giessel, held the largest stock in town and what was not immediately available they quickly pro- cured, so my wants were soon satisfied. The familiar makes were in evidence, particularly Parlophone, Odeon, Grammophon, Vox, Colum- bia and even the new Brunswick. All recording, of course, is now electric. Most fans are acquainted with the German catalogues so little discourse is necessary. I found some very delightful choral things done under the direction of Prof. Riidel, also some excellent op- eratic excerpts. The best known vocalists and instrumentalists of the country are well repre- sented, as we are aware. The chief craze just now seems to be for Richard Tauber. He sings anything and everything, “Don Ottavio” one night and then a week in “Paganini”. Some Ameri- can impressario will make his everlasting fortune with this tenor if he only realizes it. Tauber is not a completely satisfactory artist by a good deal but he has an appeal, a certain sense of knowing how far to go with each particular audience and in the bargain, a lovely voice only spoiled by strange usage. Perhaps it is well to mention here that there are practically no large machines in Europe such as the electric methods have given us. The manu- facturers have changed the tone arms and sound boxes but left the tone chambers and cabinets about as before. Often I longed for a good Cre- denza to try out an especially fine bit of record- ing. I presume in this case it is again the finan- cial situation that has governed the output. The factories point out that if the old cabinets can be sold unaltered there is small percentage in chang- ing them. In Germany I heard mention made of the Panatrope but did not find any dealers who possessed one. In England the sale was excep- tionally large. Just a word about the Festival. Right off I am