Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 3, No. 8 (1929-05)

254 The Phonograph Monthly Review May, 1929 lar vocal releases are unusually fine this month, led by records of Annette Hanshaw, Willard Rob- ison, Lee Morse, Oscar Grogan, and Ruth Etting. The Victor Company gives us the long awaited recording of Tchaikowsky’s Fourth Symphony played by the Philadelphians and Dr. Stokowski. What a difference from the old version by the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra under Sir Landon Ronald! Anyone who can possibly afford it should not miss this set. Nathaniel Shilkret gives us another album set in his concert series, this one devoted to melodies by Schubert (five rec- ords), including several songs by John McCor- mack. These can be highly recommended, as can the interesting release by Dr. Stock and the Chicago Symphony of a Suite by Dohnanyi re- corded for the first time,—a very fine set of rec- ords. Victor also deserves credit for bringing out Gershwin’s latest composition, An American in Paris, played by the Victor Symphony with George Gershwin, under the direction of Nathan- iel Shilkret. This work was first performed at a New York Philharmonic-Symphony concert last December and its success has been so great that a recording is already made available, a remark- able example of promptness. Also on the Victor list is a two-part recording of the Temple Scene from Aida by Pinza, Mar- tinelli, and the Metropolitan Operal House Chorus and Orchestra (arriving too late for review in this issue); two popular re-recordings by Galli- Curci, two Italian songs by Gigli, a new record by the young violin virtuoso, Yehudi Menuhin, and a very fine piano record by Harold Bauer (a Bach Chorale and Chopin’s A flat Impromptu). The excellent popular and dance lists are topped by the first Victor recordings made by Leo Reis- mian and his Hotel Brunswick Orchestra, and Maurice Chevalier of Paris, recently imported to appear in the talking movies. There are a number of significant finds in the Victor foreign list, including noteworthy records by Zenatello (whose photograph we will publish in next month’s issue), Sofia del Campo, the Continental Symphony under Coppola (Ravel’s Pavanne and Five O’Clock), and the Contin- ental Symphony under Diot (Zampa Over- ture) . This last work is the Zampa Overture be- yond a doubt, but not as Messrs. Bourdon or Mola- joli would do it. We are still awaiting adequate version by these two conductors of Herold’s splen- did overture. From Odeon we have a fine Merry Widow fantasy by Becce’s Orchestra, a Mefisto- fele fantasy by the Royal Italian Marine Band, and interesting releases by Richard Tauber, Edith Lorand, and Dajos Bela. The latter’s tango records are particularly good. The Columbia leaders are medley waltzes by the Colonial and Columbia Concert Orchestras, Ave Maria and Largo sung by Marion Szekely of the Berlin Opera House, and the usual outstanding Irish re- leases. The Brunswick lists are led by Gilda Mig- nonette’s Neapolitan songs, dances by the Banda Tafarella, and the usual extensive and interesting Spanish release. From the New York Band Instrument Com- pany we have received a very fine performance of Chabrier’s Espafia Rhapsody played by the Continental Symphony under Coppola—a record well worth the $2.00 it costs. Also Sir Landon Ronald’s version of Tchaikowsky’s Fifth Sym- phony, and an amazingly brilliant performance of Rossini’s Semiramide Overture played by Mo- la joli and La Scala Orchestra. From H. Royer Smith Company we have received the long await- ed re-recording of Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony, splendidly performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under Horenstein (Polydor) ; also a sensational performance of Liszt’s tone poem Mazeppa under the direction of Oscar Fried, and Rabaud’s own version of his Precession Nocturne. From The Gramophone Shop we have received the following album sets: de Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain,—in an excellent performance, Albeniz’s Iberia, Rabaud’s Marouf Ballet, Brahms’ Clar- inet, Liza Lehmann’s song cycle, In a Persian Garden, the complete Petrouchka ballet conduct- ed by Coates, and an album of records by La Ar- gentina the great dancer and castenet virtusoso. Most of these works are reviewed elsewhere in this issue. In England last-month’s H. M. V. releases of excerpts from Das Rhinegold and Siegfried are followed this month with two more Wagnerian al- bums, one of sixteen disks of representative pas- sages from Gotterdammerung, and the other an eight-disk recording of the third act of Parsifal. Dr. Muck conducts the latter set alone. In the former the conductors are Coates, Muck, Blech, and Collingwood. The rest of the H. M. V. list consists largely of American and other re-press- ings already mentioned in these pages. Among the new works are: German’s Henry VIII Dances conducted by Sargent, Liszt’s Venezia e Napoli Tarantella played by Frederic Lamond, Franck’s Organ Finale in B flat, Op. 21, played by Guy Weitz, songs from “Now We Are Six” sung by Master Christopher Robin himself to accompani- ments by the composer—H. Fraser-Simson, the finale of Der Rosenkavalier (one disk) recorded at an actual performance at the Berlin State Opera House, Leoncavallo’s Mattinata and Tosi’s Non t’amo piu sung by Fertile with accompani- ments by La Scala and Sabajno, Purcell’s Trump- et Tune and the Adagio from Bach’s Toccata in C played by Stanley Roper (organ), the Madre Pietosa Vergine from La Forza del Destino sung by Dusolina Giannini with chorus, Mendelssohn’s 0 Rest in the Lord and Landon Ronald’s 0 Lovely Night sung by Essie Ackland. Columbia also has an opera album on this month’s lists, La Traviata, in fifteen records by La Scala principals, chorus and orchestra, Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli, Conductor. The English prose translation of the text is written by Compton MacKenzie, Editor of “The Gramophone.” For orchestrals there are: Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins played by Alma Rosengren-Witek and An-