Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 4, No. 10 (1930-07)

356 The Phonograph Monthly Review July, 1930 Corti: Grave, and Drdla, Souvenir, played by Yelly D’ Aranyi with piano accompaniments by Arthur Bergh. Col- umbia 2203-D (DIO, 75c). This is the best recorded exposition of Miss D’Aranyi’s tone that I have heard. Her violin tone is thin-spun but never brittle. Unless the recording is just right it is liable to sound wiry, but here it is exquisitely rounded and intense. The inevitable Souvenir is taken with a little more animation of feeling than one usually hears it. The Corti Grave, a slow expressive melody, reveals the vibrancy and warmth of the playing more effectively. Mozart (arr. Kreisler): Rondo, and Borowski: Adoration, played by Renee Chemet with piano accompaniments by Anca Seidlova. Victor 7253 (D12, $2.00). Correspondents to the magazine have accused me of harsh- ness in commenting on Miss Chemet’s releases. Perhaps I have been, but not for the reason advanced,—that she has recorded only salon and popular works lately. Kreisler also records salon music,—but with a difference, for in his case, no matter what the music may be, the treatment is invar- iably distinguished and musicianly. Miss Chemet often falls into the error of suiting her reading as well as her choice of selection to what is usually considered popular taste. How- ever, that is fortunately not true in the Rondo, where she plays with a virtuoso flourish and an electrical thin-spun tone that are in sharp contrast with the over-lush lyricism of some of her other releases. Mozart is more or less sub- merged in Kreisler (the elaborate cadenzas make the piece rather top-heavy), but there is good opportunity for viva- cious fiddling and Miss Chemet tosses it off with the proper verve. The song without words on the other side is by Felix Borowski, the Chicago music critic and composer. Its title gives accurate index to its content. Viola Brahms (arr. Tertis): Love Song (Minnelied), and Old Irish Air: Londonderry Air , played by Lionel Tertis with piano accompaniments. Columbia 2192-D (DIO, 75c). Hearing this disc purely as a sensuous experience is one of the phonographic thrills of the month. Never have I heard Tertis’ incomparable tone so rich and broad, caught by the recording in its full sonority, yet undistorted. Undoubt- edly it is amplified beyond its natural concert hall breath, but as long as there is no distortion and the dark viola tone qualities are unfalsified, who is to complain? And the sheer tonal richness of the disk is matched by its musicianly quali- ties. For once the Londonderry Air moves surely forward instead of dragging, while the Minnelied—with its breath- catching soaring melody—is to be compared only with the finest lieder “singing” available on discs. Never for an in- stant does the melodic line of either piece slacken or lose its firm, beautifully rounded fullness. There is a haunting qual- ity to these performances that can be found in only the rare few of their type. One cannot hear them too often. Both end with an irresistible “Da Capo!” in the air. I know of no other disk of transcriptions that I can commend so un- reservedly, nor of few recordings of any instrument that are as likely to find an appreciative and discriminative favor. Flute Doppler: Hungarian Pastoral Fantasic, and Briccialdi (arr.) : Carnival of Venice, played by John Amadio accom- panied by an orchestra under George Byng. Victor 9695 (D12, $1.50). Amadio is one of the best British flutists. He has made a number of recordings for H. M. V., including a Mozart flute concerto, but until the present Victor release he has been known in America only by his concert appearances with his wife, Florence Austral. A consummate technician, he plays these show pieces with a disarming absence of showmanship, stressing to the full such purely musical qualities as they do possess. The recording of the lower register at the begin- ning of the Doppler piece is particularly effective and the fine pianissimos on this side are also noteworthy. The flute tone is somewhat less pleasingly captured in the more bril- liant passages in the upper range, but it all comes off well, the accompaniments are well handled, and the pieces give an excellent idea of the instrument’s capabilities in the hands of a virtuoso. R- O- B. POPULAR Medleys from the Filins The Brunswick medley series is augmented this month with hits from Puttin’ on the Ritz and the Vagabond King (Brunswick 20098). The former is a spirited potpourri; the latter less striking. Both are played by the Colonial Club orchestra with vocalizations by Ranny Weeks and a male quartet. Song of the Flame The Victor Light Opera company does its usual competent work in the two big hits from Gershwin’s “Song of the Flame” (Victor 19954, ten-inch), issued in connection with the filmed appearance of that musical comedy. It might be well to draw attention to some remarkable recordings made when the “Song of the Flame” was originally produced as a stage show: Song of the Field, Village Pines, Down the Mother Volga, Christ- mas Carol, etc., sung by the Russian Art Choir, which took part in the original production. These discs were issued by Columbia, Nos. 677-D, 622-D, and 581-D, and are remarkable examples of Russian choral singing. Suite Orientale Popy’s flamboyant but well-turned fantasy, recorded in such sensational fashion by Dr. Weissmann for Odeon, is now available in briefer, less overwhelming version by Marek Weber’s orchestra (Victor International list V-50022). Two pieces are played to the record side: Les Bayaderes and Au Bord du Gange on part 1; Les Alm6es and Patrouille on part 2. The playing is bright and supple, and the re- cording is vigorous although somewhat coarse. A compe- tent version, if not as striking as the elaborate tour de force by Dr. Weissmann. Everybody Tap The tap dance craze draws out new fuel from the Victor Novelty orchestra in the way of a skillful potpourri of good tapping tunes (arranged by Shilkret) and a waltz clog ar- rangement of Donaldson’s Daughter of Rosie O’Grady (Victor 22386). The waltz is deftly done, but the potpourri—with a highly effective introduction of Foster’s Camptown Races—is particularly sharply outlined and well paused, a piece that no tap dancer can afford to miss. Max Schmeling The newly-crowned world’s heavyweight champion is a man of considerable parts, if report be true. He is supposed to paint well, act, write,—indeed to possess all the accom- plishments of a present-day boxer who follows in Tunney’s footsteps. At any rate, Schmeling uncontestably can sing, for Victor makes timely release of a record by him—Boxer- lied, from “Liebe im Ring”—V-6071 in the German list. The song itself is a sturdy, mildly blustering lyric devoted to boxers’ affairs of the heart, and Schmeling and a couple of seconds troll it out with spirit, if rather jerkily, and Schmel- ing distinguishes himself by remarkable clean-cut diction. On the other side the Grosses SalonorChester plays a martial Der Treue Husar march. Salon Syncopation Shilkret and the Victor Salon orchestra abandon outright sentiment for a very cleverly type of discreetly animated salon pieces—Syncopated Love Song and Mood in Blue (Victor 22410)—combining quiet tunefulness with sprightly rhythmic life. The arrangements are not too elaborate and the blue note is well sounded. A touch of one of the Gersh- win preludes for piano is apparent in the Mood in Blue. Male Quartets The RoUickers and the American Singers both turn back to old styles in vocalizing. The former choose the senti- mentality of Coates’ Bird Songs at Eventide (with real twit- terings) and Tipton’s A spirit Flower (Columbia 2204-D), while the American Singers turn to the more genuine senti- ment of two favorites of the mauve decade—On the Banks of the Wabash and Dear Old Girl (Victor 22387). The lat- ter disc has a very strong appeal. Other vocal ensembles include the Happy Chappies, doing light-hearted harmoniz- ing, sprinkled with rather mildly amusing dialogue, in Sunny California and When the Bloom is on the Sage (Columbia 2194-D); and Earl Burtnett’s Biltmore Trio with its familiar close, blue warbling in a sad You Will Come Back to Me and a brighter Where the Golden Daffodils Grow (Brunswick 4825).