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

November, 1928 The Phonograph Monthly Review 51 Pouishnoff, Myra Hess, and Walter Rehberg alike give performances of insight, force, and musicianship, and all three are aided by splendid piano recording. The Myra Hess work, as bright and warm as sunshine itself, is the most immediately appealing and the finest introduction to Schubert’s piano works. On the odd record side it con- tains the best recorded version of the Rosamunde Ballet Music. The other sonata and the fantasy are on a larger scale and rank among Schubert’s major compositions. Leginska’s complete set of the Impromptus, Op. 142, and of the Moments Musicaux, Op. 94, (Columbia) make a noteworthy addition to Schubert literature. Her perform- ances are straightforward and capable, but somewhat lack- ing in warmth and color. Paderewski’s (Victor) record of the A flat Impromptu, Pouishnoff’s (Columbia) record of the Godowsky arrangement of the F minor Moment Musicale, and Gieseking’s (Homocord) disk of the Im- promptu No. 3 are all to be recommended. Alt Wien and Soiree de Vienne are each available in a single recorded version at the present writing; the former has been an- nounced for early release by the American Columbia Com- pany. The better of the two American versions of the Marche Militaire is easily Godowsky’s (Brunswick), and I doubt very much whether either of the two British ver- sions could surpass it. Of the song transcriptions two disks are to be particularly recommended: Godowsky’s (Bruns- wick) coupling of his own arrangements of Good Night and Morning Greeting, and Rachmaninoff’s (Victor) ten- inch disk of his own arrangement of The Brooklet and Liszt’s arrangement of Wandering. The Violin Works. With the exception of the two sona- tinas mentioned under Chamber Music, the violin record- ings are all transcriptions and as such not of particular significance to the more musically literate record buyers. Spalding (Brunswick) and Heifetz (Victor) have the best versions of the Wilhelmj arrangement of Ave Maria, al- though perhaps some will prefer the luscious Zimbalist (Columbia) reading. The Heifetz disk is a good one to consider for a Schubert collection since it contains Fried- berg’s arrangement of a Schubert Rondo on the other side. The Blinder (Columbia) record of the Wiegenlied (arr. Elman) is good. The Other Instrumental Works. One of the Tertis ar- rangement is issued in this country, an unspecified Allegro moderato (Columbia); it is not particularly interesting. Casals (Victor) plays a ’cello version of the Moment Musi- cale impeccably, but most record buyers will doubtlessly prefer the original piano version, or the orchestral trans- cription. The Munson (Victor) organ record is of very little interest. I believe that there are several of band records of Schubert selections, but as these are almost all acoustical and of British release, and as none seems of any real significance, no attempt has been made to in- clude them in the list. I have omitted a French Columbia record of Marche de la Croix Rouge and En Route, played by 2000 violinists! The Choral Works. None of these has been heard at the Studio, so no comment can be made. The choral ar- rangements of songs originally for solo voices are obvious- ly of less interest than the psalms or the Sanctus from the Fifth Mass and German Mass. The Songs. With the exception of a few necessary re- cordings of the most popular songs for schoolroom and elementary appreciation purposes, it can hardly be disputed that recorded versions of Schubert’s lieder should be sung in German to the original piano accompaniment. Fortun- ately the vast majority of the records listed are so per- formed. When a translated version of the poem is sung, an indication is made to that effect in that following list. Otherwise it is assumed that German is used. It has not been possible always to ascertain the nature of the accompani- ment. Orchestral or instrumental ensemble accompani- ments are used in the Hackett disk of the Serenade and Who is Sylvia? (sung in English), in some of the acous- tical American Brunswick, Columbia, and Victor releases of the more popular songs, and in most of the Parlophone and Odeon records by Lotte Lehmann and Emmy Betten- dorf. The Parlophone Company is the worst offender in this respect, while the Polydor Company in both its ex- cellent old and new series of lieder has almost invariably stuck close to the letter as well as the spirit of the music. In addition to the album sets named, the long Polydor lists by Rehkember and Mysz-Gmeiner are probably issued in album form. Manfred Gurlitt accompanies Rehkemper, Julius Dahlke accompanies Mysz-Gmeiner, and Michael Racheisen accompanies Roland Hell. Mme. Mellot-Joubert (accompanied by M. le Boucher) has a series of songs, sung in French, from Die Schoene Muellerin (French Col- umbia) which will probably be issued in an album when and if they are re-pressed by the English and American Columbia Companies. The Gerhardt (H.M.V.) album is easily the most signifi- cant single contribution to recorded lieder—by Schubert or any other composer. Three of the disks have appeared in the Victor German list; surely the others will follow in short order and the complete set issued in the Victor Mas- terpiece Series. It is difficult to make specific recommendations for in many cases two and more versions of a song are equally desirable. (I have retained a number of acoustical rec- ords in the list on account of the fame of the singers and partly on account of the fact that acoustical song records are by no means unworthy of study or purchase even in this electrical era.) The outstanding works are all those by Gerhardt (H.M.V. and Victor); the three magnificent disks by Kipnis—the real feature of the Columbia album of Selected Songs; the acoustical disks by Leo Slezak (Poly- dor) and Marcella Roeseler (Polydor) ; the Victor record containing four songs sung by Elisabeth Schumann; and the acoustical records by Julia Culp (Victor and Polydor). I have not heard the Rehkemper, Duhan, Mysz-Gmeiner, or Mellot-Joubert sets, but beyond doubt they are excel- lent. Tauber’s Winterreise (Columbia) set is good, but is overshadowed by Gerhardt’s. Of special interest is Sir Georg Henschel’s record of Der Leiermann and Das Wan- dern, sung to his own accompaniments, in the artist’s seven- ty-eighth year! Such singers as Onegin, Lehmann, Bettendorf, Schorr, Eames, Dux, Hempel, Jeritza, Schlusnus, and Branzell need no comment, except that many of the excellent perform- ances of Lehmann, Bettendorf, and Dux are handicapped by transcribed accompaniments. Such excellent foreign singers as Jadlowker, van Diemen, Roeseler, Olszewska, Jungbauer, Van Endert, Sonnenberg, Foerstel, and Soot are less well known in this country, but their records are all of magnificent merit. A number of acoustical records in the British catalogues (Olga Haley, Robert Radford, Eric Marshall, etc.) have been omitted from the general list inasmuch as they are now mostly withdrawn and as the artists are hardly of the first rank. Miss Haley’s disks, however, have been given considerable praise. Apart from the Gerhardt and Kipnis works, the two finest single disks are the electrical one by Elisabeth Schu- mann (Victor) of Die Post, Wohin?, Im Abendroth, and Die Voegel; and the acoustical (Polydor) one by Marcella Roeseler of Gretchen am Spinnrade and An die Musik. A Schubert Library. For those to whom the question of expense is paramount the nucleus of a Schubert Library might well be the Myra Hess (Columbia) Sonata in A, the Elisabeth Schumann (Victor) songs; the Sokoloff (Brunswick) “Unfinished” Symphony; the Londoners’ (Col- umbia) Satz Quartet; and the Stokowski (Victor) ten-inch coupling of Moment Musicale and Ballet Music. Next might be added the Harty (Columbia) “Rosamunde” Overture: some of the Gerhardt and Kipnis records; Godow- sky’s (Brunswick) disks of Good Night, Morning Greeting, and Marche Militaire; the Trio in B flat (Columbia or Vic- tor) ; the Sonatina in D (Columbia; “Death and the Maiden” Quartet (Victor) ; Quintet in C (Columbia) ; C major Sym- phony (Columbia or Victor) ; etc., etc., according to one’s tastes and pocketbook. Above all every effort should be made to divide one’s purchases among the various works so as to give equal representation to all aspects of Schu- bert’s genius, whether expressed through the orchestra, a chamber ensemble, or vocal or instrumental soloists. Recorded Schubert literature illuminates all facets of Schubert’s art. The music lover who is content to look on one alone can gain no true conception of Schubert’s great- ness nor obtain a clear comprehension of the qualities which make this gifted, simple soul one of the most lovable figures in music, speaking vom Herzen, zum Herzen, in a language that moves alike the trained musician and the musical novice. Schubert’s music is one of our richest ar- tistic legacies from the past. On the hundredth anniver- sary of his death, the phonograph makes it possible for us all to became his heirs.