Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 3, No. 2 (1928-11)

November, 1928 The Phonograph Monthly Review 39 Set No. 96, has not yet reached us for review, but all the others are of the very first rank. The Octet, in particular, should not be missed by any lover of Schubert's greatest works. Announced for early release are three splendid single disks in the Masterworks series which have already been reviewed in these pages from the English pressings: the splendid Christian Bach Sinfonia by Mengelberg and his Concertgebouw Orches- tra (probably his very best recording to date), and Sir Thomas Beecham's notable disks of Delius' On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring and The Walk to the Paradise Gardens. These are among the best of all orchestra recordings and are not to be missed by any collector. Kurt Atterberg's Symphony, winner of the first prize in the Schubert Centennial contest, has not yet reached us, but it is due for early appear- ance and if it should come in at the last moment, some mention of it will be slipped in. The performance is by Sir Thomas Beecham and will occupy four records. Among other works on the Columbia domestic list is the first Columbia disk by Zimbalist, his first recording for some years. He plays Schu- bert’s Ave Maria and Tor Aulin's Impromptu, and the work is issued in the new $1.00 class. Sas- cha Jacobsen plays From the Canebrake and Chant Negre; Catterall plays Raff's Cavatina and the Rimsky-Korsakow Danse Orientale; the Lon- don String Quartet has a fine record of the Lon- donderry Air and the slow movement of Debussy's G minor Quartet; Jose Echaniz plays Albeniz's Tango and the Minuet from Bizet’s L'Arlesienne Suite; and Pouishnoff plays the Schubert-Godow- sky Moment Musicale and Paderewski's Caprice in G. The only vocal disk is by Frazer Gange, singing Annie Laurie and The Little Irish Girl. A special word of praise should go to the long and remarkably fine list of dance records and to a new installment of the ever-delightful Black Crows. The Okeh Company issues two splendid or- chestral disks, Siegfried's Death Music conduct- ed by the distinguished Wagnerian conductor, Max von Schillings, and Weber's Jubel Overture conducted by Dr. Weissmann, both with the Grand Symphony Orchestra. Both are excellent recordings, worth inclusion in any library, but I was particularly interested in the Jubel Overture which reveals Dr. Weissmann in a return to his old form. In the light orchestral class are new releases by Dajos Bela and Edith Lorand and their orchestras, the former in Mozkowski's Ser- enade and Paderewski's celebrated Minuet, and the latter in a Gypsy baron selection. For the first time in over two years the Victor monthly release list was late, failing to reach the Studio until nine days after the usual date. As special efforts are necessary to give them all ade- quate reviews even when they are on time, it was impossible to have some of the November sup- plement reviewed in this issue. La Boheme, issued in, complete form on thirteen records by Sabajno and La Scala Opera soloists, chorus, and orchestra (Masterpiece Series M-35), seems in every Way fully as adequate as the recent com- plete set of Rigioletto from the few disks we have had the opportunity of hearing. However, it will be reviewed in full next month by A. A. B. The other works which were necessary to postpone are the Brahms Violin Concerto (Album M-36) played by Kreisler and the Berlin State Opera House Orchestra, vocal disks by Werrenrath, Lashanska and Reimers, Jeritza, and Schipa, and a number of popular and dance releases. Among the other works, reviewed in this issue, are the Norma Overture played in Bourdon's usual fine style (indeed we have come to expect of every disk in the splendid Victor overture series), Ferdy Grofe's Blue Fantasie “Metropolis" played on two records by Paul Whiteman's augmented Con- cert Orchestra, piano records by Paderewski and Julius Schendel, a wonderful record of excerpts from the King's Henchman sung by Lawrence Tibbett and the Metropolitan Opera House Chorus, Mary Lewis in a delightful record of Old Folks at Home and Dixie, Heifetz in a re-record- ing of his famous version of On Wings of Song, and an excellent organ record of a Bach Fugue in D major, played by W. G. Alcock on the organ of the Salisbury Cathedral, England. I should also give particular mention of two special Arm- istice Day releases conducted by Shilkret, Over Here and Over There Medleys sung by the Victor Male Chorus, and Hail, Hail the Gang's All Here by the Victor Orchestra. The feature of the Brunswick list is a new record by the Minneapolis Symphony of the Pre- lude to Moussorgsky's Khovantchina and the Schubert Marche Militaire in Verbrugghen's own orchestration. This is hardly as successful as the Cleveland Orchestra's recent releases; the performance of the Prelude is the better of the two. For a really amusing disk is Katzman's delightful performance of Ragging the Scale, done in masterly fashion indeed. The vocal re- leases are all fine: Chamlee's Brindisi and Sici- liana from Cavalleria Rusticana, Bonelli’s Bird Songs at Eventide and Love Was With Me Yes- terday, and Grace Moore, a most promising young American soprano, heard in Pour Toi and By the Bel#! of the River. The sole instrumental wfark is a mry smooth violin performance of Chopin's C sharp minor Waltz and the currently popular ballad Chiquita by Max Rosen. Among the “Foreign" releases is a very note- worthy disk from Odeon, Richard Tauber's Wein- lied and Gern hab' ich die Frau'n gekiisst, sung and recorded in most admirable fashion. Other leading Odeon foreign releases are the records by Harry Steier and Dajos Bela in the German list, Sandberg and Olquist in the Swedish list. Brunswick has no Isa Kremer release this month, but there are good light orchestrals by the Inter- national Concert Orchestra and waltzes by the Municipal Band, and the usual extended Spanish list. The Victor list reveals fewer “finds" than usual, but there several, notably Weber's Clarinet Concertino by the Republican Guard Band, the Mikado Overture conducted by Dr. Blech, Elena Gerhardt's disk of two songs from Schubert's