Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 3, No. 5 (1929-02)

February, 1929 The Phonograph Monthly Review Milan. From Victor is a new release by the Prague Teachers’ Choir, now on American tour; a Creatore record of unfamiliar marches; Strauss’ Wein Weib und Gesang waltz in a vocal arrange- ment sung by the Wienner Mannergesangverein; and Marek Weber’s Dreimadlerhaus potpourri. Brunswick releases a coupling of Glinka’s Night in Madrid and Langer’s Little Grandmother play- ed by the Brunswick Concert Orchestra, and two waltzes played by the Russian Salon Orchestra. Under the Odeon label are interesting disks by the Augmented Odeon Orchestra (Parisian and Jolly Coppersmiths marches), Mary Vellner (a piano medley of Hungarian folksongs), and La Scala artists (Scena della Borsa from La Travi- ata.) It would be impossible to enumerate in detail all the imported records received at the Studio during the last month; only a few of the most significant can be listed here. From the Gramo- phone Shop: the Choruses from Boris Godounow (with Chaliapin) recorded during an actual per- formance at Covent Garden, London; Beetho- ven’s Eighth Symphony played by Schalk and the Vienna Philharmonic; excerpts from Bach’s B minor Mass; Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial By Jury performed by the D’Oyly Carte Company. From the H. Royer Smith Company: Chopin’s E minor and Liszt’s E flat piano concertos and several single piano records played by Alexander Brailowsky; overtures to The Huguenots (con- ducted by Priiwer) and Pedrotti’s Tutti in Maschera (conducted by Molajoli)—both very brilliant performances; and a remarkable series of organ recordings by Sittard. From the New York Band Instrument Company: Dvorak’s Fourth Symphony in an energetic and virile per- formance by Basil Cameron—a real addition to the list of recorded symphonies; and a long series of Victor Russian disks of arias from well-known and less familiar Russian operas sung by such artists a S. A. Baturina, A. A. Zelinskaya, S. J. Lemeshoff, D. T. Sprishevskaya, K. L. Knijnikoff, V. Shushlin, M. Sadovskaya, A. Z. Karmalinsky, and the Russian Opera ehorus,—all of which are of unusual significance to anyone interested in the Russian national school of opera. A new version of Tchaikowsky’s Fifth Sym- phony appears currently in Great Britain: Sir Landon Ronald is the conductor and H. M. V. the manufacturers. Re-recordings provide the remainder of the H. M. V. larger works: Petrouchka (in four records) is played this time by Albert Coates, who also re-records his version of Tod und Verklarung and the Prince Igor Dances (two parts) with chorus. Beatrice Harri- son re-records her celebrated performance of Elgar’s ’Cello Concerto, accompanied by the com- poser. Sargent conducts Quilter’s Children’s Overture; Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the noted Bach authority, plays Bach’s Organ Prelude in E minor; Bachaus plays his own arrangement of the Serenade from Don Giovanni, Liszt’s arrange- ment of Schumann’s Du meine Seele, Moszkow- ski’s Caprice Espagnole, and Smetana’s Bohemian Dance; and Moiseivitch plays Godowsky’s Fle- dermaus paraphrase. For vocals there are: the 147 Flying Dutchman Spinning Chorus and Senta’p Ballad, Inflammatus from Rossini’s Stabat Mater, and The Night is Calm from Sullivan’s Golden Legend, sung by Florence Austral with the Royal Opera Chorus and Orchestra; familar Carmen and Samson et Delila arias by D’Alvarez; Mous- sorgsky’s Song of the Flea and Elgar’s Oh! My Warriors by Peter Dawson; Madamina and Nella bionda egli ha L’usanza (Don Giovanni) by Chaliapin; a two-part medley of Plantation Songs by Paul Robeson and chorus; and a new disk of sea shanties by John Goss. There are also many American re-pressings. The leading Columbia release is a Bruno Wal- ter version of Schumann’s Fourth Symphony, followed by the British zone-winners in the re- cent Schubert contest: Frank Merrick’s com- pletion of the Unfinished Symphony and J. St. A. Johnson’s Pax Vobiscum; the Ballet Egyptien of Luigini played by Chagnon and the Paris Sym- phony Orchestra; Chopin’s twenty-four Pre- ludes played by Robert Lortat; Handel’s Sonata in F arranged for viola and piano and played by Tertis; Rigoletto arias by Lomanto and Gentile; Pagliacci arias by Pampanini and Vanelli; and six operatic disks of gems from Yeoman of the Guard, Faust, Gondoliers, Bohemian Girl, Lilac Time, and The Mikado. For Brunswick A. Bernard conducts the Lon- don Chamber Orchestra in Corelli’s Christmas Concerto (previously recorded by the N. G. S.); the Brosa String Quartet plays Mozart’s Quartet in D, Tchaikowsky’s Andante cantabile, and Grainger’s Molly on the Shore. Parlophone lists the first recording of excerpts from Strauss’ opera The Egyptian Helen: Helen’s Awakening (Act 1) and the Funeral March from Act 2, conducted by Fritz Busch. Manfred Gur- litt conducts Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra Overture; Cloez conducts Saint-Saens’ Le Rouet d’Omphale (three parts) and Schubert’s Marche Militaire; Edith Lorand plays Komzak’s Vienna by Night; Joseph Lindlar and the Berlin State Opera Chorus and Orchestra under Dr. Weissmann are heard in the finale of Die Meistersinger; and the Sieber Choir sings a vocal arrangement of the Blue Danube Waltz. The Columbia Company in France lists a num- ber of significant works: Dukas’ La Peri con- ducted by Gaubert (five parts) and the Sicilienne from Faure’s Pelleas; Charpentier’s Impressions of Italy (three records) conducted by the com- poser; Ferroud’s Sarabande and Rameau’s Airs de ballet de Platee played by Witkowsky and the Orchestre de la Societe des Grands Concerts de Lyon; Witkowsky’s Poeme de la Maison sung un- der his direction by the chorus of the same or- ganization; the Capet String Quartet in five im- portant works: Schubert’s Death and the Maiden, Beethoven’s “Harp”, Beethoven’s Op. 59, No. 1, Ravel’s, and Debussy’s G minor quartets. Szigeti plays a three-part version of Tartini’s Sonata in G; Rabaud conducts his own Procession Nocturne (four parts) and Marouf Ballet (four parts) ; Poulenc plays Numbers 2 and 3 of his ballet “Les Biches”; Szigeti plays the Tijuca from Milhaud’s Saudades do Brazil; and there are several rec-