Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 4, No. 11 (1930-08)

August, 1930 The Phonograph this set, but the warmest adjectives are quickly exhausted on Stokowski’s discs. “To be ranked among his best releases” is less satisfying rhetori- cally, but it carries more conviction. The remainder of the lists is surprisingly ex- tensive and interesting for between season re- lease. A number of them would retain their dis- tinction among the most prolific supplements of midwinter. The ones in which I found particu- lar pleasure included the gracious Furtwangler disc and contralto Wagnerian airs by Emmi Leis- ner (Brunswick) ; arias by Anna Case, lieder by Kisselburgh, and duets from The Bartered Bride (Columbia) ; violin pieces by Ruth Posselt, Coppo- la’s sensitive, vivacious reading of Ravel’s Span- ish Rhapsody , and Moiseivitch’s piano disc (Vic- tor). The Columbia export (Spanish) list reveals the Arbos disc reviewed in this issue, plus several others of Spanish music that are being reviewed by Mr. W. S. Marsh for next month. The new Brunswick celebrity release, an- nounced in this month’s advertisement, again feat- ures the redoubtable Wolff—from whom we can never have too many records, Max Rosen, Brail- owsky, the Guarneri String Quartet, Michael Bohnen, and La Scala Chorus. Since the first issue of The Phonograph Monthly Review books on the phonograph or of pertinent interest have been reviewed more or less sporadically. Inj response to constant requests and in recognition of the growing appreciation of the fact that the complete phonophile enjoys his records better the more he knows about music and composers,—a regular music book review department is inaugu- rated in this issue. Books on various aspects of phonography and contemporary developments in music, studies of composers and their works, in fact everything to cultivate keener musical sensi- bilities and to make for a more thorough under- standing of music—on records or off—will be con- sidered there. As the record buying and concert going publics coincide more and more completely, their musical interests also approach congruity. The interest in lives and studies of composers, in music text books and particularly convenient di- gests of theoretical and historical information, shown by record buyers today is gratifying con- firmation of our staunch belief in emergence of a new type of phonophile, absorbed in an art— phonography—rather than a collecting fad. Some remarks on folk song and the phonograph, with particular reference to the records and work of Juliette Gaultier de la Verendrye, that were written for this column, are given more conven- iently as a brief, separate article elsewhere in this issue. A note of acknowledgement is due the Victor company for its kindness in installing a splendid RE-75 in our office, replacing the RE-45 that has previously represented Victor among the various instruments with which the manufacturing com- panies have generously furnished us. The phono- graph and Radiola units of the Victor RE-75 are the same as those that have given such capable service in the RE-45, but the cabinet is much more elaborate, executed in Oriental and American wal- Monthly Review nut, in classical Italian design, a happy example of the practive of modern manufacture to com- bine beauty with utility in a musical instrument that satisfies the eye as well as the ear. I had hoped to publish in this issue descriptive information on the new lines of phonograph-radios announced by the various leading manufacturers and which are to be placed on the market in the immediate or near future. Some of this material has already reached me, but as several companies were not able to furnish the necessary informa- tion in time for this issue, I shall defer publication of the article until next month when it can be made more fairly inclusive. In the meantime sev- eral new lines are already on exhibition at dealers’ shops. According to the Talking Machine World and Radio-Musc Merchant , the lines for 1930 and 1931 are without question the best that have been produced so far. “The new features, while far from revolutionary in character, represent refine- ment of importance ... and the very lack of start- ling changes drives home the thought of the sta- bility of the radio industry... The most encour- aging feature is that the manufacturers this year have developed a far finer product without in any way disturbing the equilibrium of the industry. There is no need for the consumer to hesitate about buying one of these new sets, nor is there any need for him to delay with the expectation of something better or revolutionary in a week or a month. The industry has passed through that phase and the chaotic disturbances characteristic of the past are now history and the danger of re- petition is slim.” For Early Publication From the Rio Grande to Cape Horn, a survey of the recorded music of Latin America, by W. S. Marsh. Church Music, a survey and discography, by Rev. Herbert B. Satcher. The Ballets of Igor Strawinski (continuation)—The Fire Bird, Ptilcinella, and Apollo, Leader of the Muses, by William Henry Seltsam. A comparative study of the electrical and acoustical processes in vocal recording, with reference to a number of operatic discs, and accompanied by a self-caricature by the author, by Richardo M. Aleman. Heinrich Schlusnus, Master Singer, a study of his records of German lieder, by Richardson Brown. The Theremin, and Its Correlation with the Phonograph. Gregorian Chant, with special reference to new re- cordings by Benedictine monks. The Matter of Class, embodying a review of “Phono- photography in Folk Music”, by R. P. Blackmur.