Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 2, No. 5 (1928-02)

166 The Phonograph Monthly Review then Schubert's “Unfinished” (Wood or Stokow- ski), Dvorak's “New World " (Harty or Stokow- ski), Franck's (Stokowski), Elgar's Second (El- gar), and Mozart's D major (Harty), C major (N. G. S.), and “Jupiter” (Godfrey). Leading the other album sets (excluding sym- phonies and concertos) are the Columbia Iberia, Mother Goose Suite, and Bruno Walter's Sig- fried Idyll —three recorded masterworks of the first rank; Stokowski's Scheherazade and Nut- cracker Suite follow; then the composer's ver- sion of Ein Heldenleben and Rosenkavalier Suite (H. M. V.) ; Herz's Midsummer Night's Dream album; and Elgar's Enigma Variations. Concluding with concertos, there are the two great Kreisler Beethoven and Mendelssohn works; the Tchaikowsky and Beethoven piano concertos; the Saint-Sains 'Cello Concerto; Mozart's for Bassoon—a real novelty; Franck's Symphonic Variations; the re-played Schumann Piano Con- certo as yet unheard in the Studio; the N. G. S. disks of Debussy's Danses; the Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue; de Greef's Hungarian Fan- tasia and Grieg Concerto; and Thibaud's Mozart Violin Concerto in E flat. There are innumerable omissions in the above list, but all the outstanding orchestral works are included. These works were the one s that aroused our admiration and enthusiasm on first hearing and which have not been vanquished by the further test of familiarity. Revisions of opinion have been necessary in some cases, of course. In glancing over the reviews one should say that a more critical discrimination might better have been applied to the Harty Mozart Symphony, Herz's Spanish Caprice, and possi- bly the Sorcerer's Apprentice; and it would now seem that greater praise should have been given to the Coates Pathetique, the Stokowski Got- terdammerung Finale, Harty's Abu Hassan, the Odeon Good Friday Spell, and Beecham's Sec- ond Beethoven. Possibly the technical brilli- ance of such works as the Stokowski Second Hungarian Rhapsody and Invitation to the Dance, the Odeon Light Cavalry Overture, and the Victor Symphony's William Tell won them greater attention than their purely artistic quali- fications deserved. Popular opinion reversed the mildly adverse verdict on Stokowski's Blue Danube Waltz, and set a surprisingly unanimous seal of approval on Paul Klenau's Iberia. Dr. Britzius has voiced the minority report on the Beethoven Seventh Symphony in brilliant fashion, but Stokowski's and not Weingartner's version will continue to win the more friends. Not all American gramophiles have shared all of our personal enthusiasm over the Abendroth Brahms Fourth, and few apparently are as dis- appointed with the Cortot Symphonic Variations. In several cases disputes have waxed hot and merry oyer the comparative worth of two or more versions of the same work. The Tann- hauser Overture is the most famous instance and the Beethoven Ninth Symphony a close second. In the end, of course, the individual's personal prejudices and tastes determine his choice be- tween, say, Stokowski's and Harty's New February, 1928 ; .... .lev World Symphony (some will even cast a vote for Ronald's) ; Klenau's or Stokowski's After- noon of a Faun; Strauss' or Morike's Rosenka- valier Waltzes, etc., etc. Where two or more versions exist of almost equal excellence, no re- cord buyer should purchase one or the other before all have been heard and carefully com- pared. Chamber music literature has received no less notable contributions than orchestral. Among the complete string quartets the Lener Beetho- ven series take precedence. If individual sets must be singled out for special praise the first that come to mind are the Quartet in C, Op. 59, No. 3; F minor , Op. 95; and that in B flat, Op. 130. The G major Quartet, Op. 18, No. 2, and the last one, Op. 135, are available also in the Flonzaley's versions, which are of equal excel- lence; a choice can be made only according to one's preference of interpretation. Perhaps the most significant quartet recording of all is the N. G. S. Ravel Quartet, approved by the com- poser. Further behind come the Haydn C major (Musical Art) and D Major Quartet (Elman) and the Budapest-Dvorak “American” Quartet. The Quintets are led by the superb Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor by Bauer and the Flonzaleys, together with the Bax Oboe Quintet issued by the N. G. S. The latter organization's Dvorak Piano Quintet is of far less significance. The Cortot-Casals-Thibaud Trio is represented by two recordings and artistic triumphs, the trios of Schubert in B flat and Haydn in G major. The Mendelssohn C minor Trio by Sam- mons, Tertis, and Murdoch; and the Tchaikow- sky Trio by Catterall, Squire, and Murdoch, fol- low, with the Sammons-Squire-Murdock Beetho- ven B flat Trio much further behind. Of the single disk string quartet recordings only the Debussy movements by the New York Quartet deserves special mention. The Kreutzer Sonata is well represented by thr£e fine versions from Brunswick, Columbia, and Victor. Sammon's version of the Devil's Trill Sonata is good, but is surpassed by the Grieg (Salmond) and Delius (Harrison) 'Cello Sonatas. The Beethoven 'Cello Sonata in A by Salmond is also good. (Here again the omission of acoustical versions makes it necessary to pass over works like the Columbia and Victor Franck Sonatas and the Polydor Hindemith, Bartok, and Strawinski works by the Hindemith Quartet.) Going on to major piano works, one finds the Grainger Brahms F minor and Chopin B minor Sonatas still unsurpassed, although the Bauer Moonlight and Appassionata Sonatas are of the highest excellence. Not far behind come Friedman's Moonlight Sonata, Cortot's Twenty- Four Chopin Preludes, Murdoch's Pathetique Sonata, and the Kathleen Long Ravel Sonatine. A special place of honor goes to the Chicago Gramophone Society's Prelude Choral and Fugue of Franck. Among the many fine miscellaneous piano re- cords only a few may be mentioned. Samuel: two Bach Preludes and Fugues; Grainger : De-