Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 3, No. 9 (1929-06)

290 The Phonograph Monthly Review June, 1929 ' - —— twelve Chopin Nocturnes. I have not had an op- portunity of hearing this set, but the reviewer as- sures me that it is exceptionally good. Another ex- cellent Masterworks set is Dohnanyi's perform- ance of the Mozart Piano Concerto in G major, No. 17, in which he conducts the Budapest Philhar- monic from the piano. This is the first of the Dohnanyi series to be released in this country and its merits give good promise for the works to fol- low. The third Masterworks set this month is Dukas' La Peri played by Gaubert and the Paris Conservatory Orchestra, a set which can also be highly recommended. The first work by Arbos and his Madrid Symphony Orchestra to be released in this country, the Three-Cornered Hat Dances of de Falla, arrived too late for review in this issue, but they will be given full mention next month. Among the remaining celebrity releases from Columbia are violin recordings from Szigeti (Sla- vonic Dance in E minor and Kreisler's Liebesleid) and George Lipschultz (Estrellita and La Golon- drina), a fine piano disk by Pouishnoff (a Glazou- now Polka and his own arrangement of the Rosa- munde Ballet Music) ; guitar solos by Pasquale Taraffo; vocals by Graveure and Rogatchewsky; transcriptions of To a Wild Rose and Mighty Lak' a Rose by the Musical Art Quartet; a Strauss waltz and mazurka by Johann Strauss' Symphony Orchestra; and novelty duets by the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra under Sir Dan Godfrey. The dance release is unusually long and meritous; if one disk were to be singled out, it might be Don Vorhees' recording of The Riff Song and One Alone from “The Desert Song." Brunswick issues one of the best records in its series by Godowsky, a coupling of the Liszt Rigo- letto Paraphrase and Mendelssohn's Rondo Cap- riccioso. Sigrid Onegrin is at her best in two beau- tiful Swedish songs; Danise sings a French and an Italian Serenade; and there are two outstanding operatic disks, one by Karin Branzell in arias from Samson et Dalila and La Favorita, and the other by Florence Easton and Mario Chamlee in duets from Faust and Traviata. The last-named record should be given special praise. There is the usual excellent popular and dance miscellany, made more extensive than ever this month by the addi- tion of a new race series. Among the light instru- mentals I should mention the fine record of De- bussy's Two Arabesques played by the Heermann Trio, one of the best recording trios in the class of light and half-classical music. There are two piano disks besides that of Godowsky, one by Ig- nace Hilsberg heard in pieces by Chasins and Scriabin, and the other by Rosita Renarcl heard in pieces by Chopin and Mendelssohn. From Odeon we have received one record of Schilling's Meistersinger Prelude. As the second disk failed to arrive in time we are unable to give any final estimate of the entire recording, but what we have heard (parts 1 and 2) is excellent. Dr. Weissmann gives fine versions of the Overture to Rossini's Barber of Seville and the Dance of the Hours from La Gioconda. Dajos Bela and Edith Lorand are in usual high spirits in Bardi's Egyp- tian Suite and Selections from Die Fledermaus re- spectively. From the Hawaiian Music Company of Hono lulu we have received a set of special Hawaiian records actually taken in Hawaii by a traveling outfit from the Columbia Company. They arrived too late for review in this issue, but the few I have heard (particularly Na Lei 0 Hawaii, Columbia 1570-D) seemed very original and striking. As Mr. A. D. Baillie, Manager of the Hawaii Music Company, writes us, “Most of the Hawaiian rec- ords on the market at the present time are really American Hawaiian." These records, however, are played and sung by native Hawaiian artists and have all the appeal of real Hawaiian music. Every- one who goes to the Hawaiian Islands feels that appeal in the native music as it is played and sung there, and it is that something that has been cap- tured on these unusual records. I do not know whether they are as yet released in this country, but I shall try to have full information for the next issue. Topping the foreign lists of the American com- panies are two wonderful recordings: the Mas- aniello Overture of Auber, played by Dr. Blech and the Berlin State Opera House Orchestra; and Rossini's Gazza Ladra Overture, played by Feder- ico del Cupolo and a Symphony Orchestra, the lat- ter of which is not to be released before June 14th. These are two of the greatest finds in the inter- national lists for some time. The Auber overture is especially interesting on account of Dr. Blech's original choice of tempi, making it far more effec- tive than I have ever heard it either here or in the old country where it is very popular. A few days ago as we were playing this disk, a musical friend, a leading member of the Boston Symphony Or- chestra, paid a visit to the Studio. We were just comparing this recording with Bourdon's old acoustical version. We had to agree with our vis- itor that Dr. Blech's version was not only superior, but far more attractive than is ever heard in con- cert in this country. Last week I visited Camden, Philadelphia, and New \ork, and while at the Victor Plant in Cam- den I had the pleasure of renewing my acquaint- ance with Messrs. DesFoldes, Timm, and Smith of the Foreign Department among other Victor officials. They were all quite excited over a new recording just approved and ready for the presses. Arriving at the audition room, I found it was La Gazza Ladra Overture of Rossini. I shook my head, but what a surprise! I have seldom heard so realistic a recording, and certainly never heard so excellent a performance of this rather hack- neyed composition. It appears in the Victor In- ternational list for release June 14th and if your dealer does not have it, by all means implore him to get it, as I am sure that anyone interested in the half-classics performed and recorded like this work will buy it after hearing the first few bars. Another excellent June 14th International re- lease is Marek Weber's Merry Widow Potpourri. Weber has made many excellent records in the past but here he almost outdoes himself. Other Victor foreign releases of note are two symphonic