Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 4, No. 1 (1929-10)

The Phonograph Monthly Review 25 October, 1929 Instrumental PIANO Columbia Masterworks Set 120 (6 D12s, Alb., $9.00) Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier—Preludes and Fugues Nos. 1 to 9, played by Harriet Cohen. Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C major (Part 1) Prelude and Fugue No. 2 in C minor (Part 2) Prelude and Fugue No. 3 in C sharp major (Part 3) Prelude and Fugue No. 3 in C sharp major (Part 3) Prelude and Fugue No. 6 in D major (Part 7) Prelude and Fugue No. 7 in E flat major (Parts 8 and 9) Prelude and Fugue No. 8 in E flat minor (Parts 10 and 11) Prelude and Fugue No. 9 in E major (Part 12) Harriet Cohen is not a name familiar to most American concert goers unless they are also connoisseurs of imported records, but in England and the continent her musical gifts and marked personality are held in the liveliest esteem. She was born in London of a musical family and studied with Matthay. Her first recital was given when she was thirteen, but her career as a child prodigy was wisely abandoned and it was not until 1920 that she made her professional concert debut. Within a few years she quickly joined the company of the leading musical spirits of the day and her fame was established on a solid basis that not only included the customary solo appearances throughout England and Europe, but also the vastly more searching ap- pearances in chamber music ensembles. She was the first English pianist to appear at the International Festivals of Contemporary Music,—Salzburg, 1924, in Bax’s Viola Sonata and John Ireland’s ’Cello Sonata. But despite her vigorous efforts on the behalf of contemporary music, it is with the piano music of Bach that Miss Cohen is most closely indentified. She is no stranger to the recording studies, having made an acoustical recording of the first Bach piano concerto, D minor, several years ago for the English Columbia Company. It is likely that the American distribution (and popularity) of Miss. Cohen’s records will lead to her becoming better known in our concert halls. In view of most American’s unfamiliarity with her high standing abroad, I think I am justified in devoting so much space to the above information (for much of which I am indebted to an article by W. S. Meadmore in our British contemporary, “The Gramo- phone”). Comment on the music recorded here would be sheer impertinence, for who is unaware that the “Forty-Eight” are the very backbone of modern music? These preludes and fugues do not merely cover every key, they cover al- most every conceivable type and shading of musical feeling. They are the musician’s bible, a veritable musical fountain of youth. The person who knows them (which implies something more than and apart from the actual ability to play them) is equipped to hear with understanding and in- sight both the knottiest works of the past and the present. These records are the first attempt at something more than haphazard phonographic selections. A year or more ago H. M. V. and Victor issued the first two preludes and fugues on a single disk, by Harold Samuel, but the series was not continued. This set, however, appears to be the first instalment of the first book at least of the Well- Tempered Clavier. Given the support it deserves it un- questionably will be followed by further sets. The recording is good, although not perfectly even. It is not particularly reverberant, as befits the restraint and sweetness of Miss Cohen’s playing. She plays Bach a trifle slower with more use of legato than one usually hears, but her performances are perfectly balanced; they strike a clear-cut mood, always warm and gracious. Most marked of all is the quality of womanliness to her playing (which does not imply that it is lacking in force or breadth). There are moments where it is easy to differ with her conception of the works : she does not find the jauntiness in the third fugue that Myra Hess finds in her recording— also released this month; a little more snap to the second fugue would be more to my tas*e, but these are details. The significance of Miss Cohen’s performance lies in the eloquence of her lucid exposition of Bach’s faultless logic (there is a mathematical as well as a musical thrill in his works), her ease and simplicity and freedom from the slightest taint of affectation, above all the keen insight of her. intensely personal approach to the pieces. An admirable artist, the greatest of music, and recorded performances that blend musicianship and individuality,—what happier com- bination could be desired? (Owners of Stokowski’s recorded transcription of the pre- lude in E flat minor Victor 6786—will find the comparison with Miss Cohen’s reading of the original version highly interesting.) Brunswick 50159-60 (2 D12s, $1.00 each) Beethoven: Sonata in A flat, Op. 110, played by Edward Goll. No information is supplied by the Brunswick Company in regard to Edward Goll and I am unable to find him listed in any of the available musical guides and diction- aries of music and musicians. I like the natural, unforced directness of his playing. A very modest pianist, he is no unworthy one even for this great work. Other musicians have sounded greater depths in it, but Goll’s virtues of simplicity and clarity make for an admirable phonographic exposition. The recording itself is excellent, up to Bruns- wick s best standards, and the passage work comes through very cleanly. Goll does not hurry the magnificant fugal passages of the .final, nor unduly accentuate the appear- ances of the subject (an annoying trait of many pianists), but he loses nothing of their logic and force. The sonata itself is generally conceeded the most beauti- ful of the entire thirty-three. In it Beethoven has burst the. bonds of the archaic sonata form to find a new and satisfying vehicle for his utterance. There are movements but the songful soliloquy of the first, the fierce vitality of the second, the eloquent recitative and elegaic arioso are inseparably bound up with the matchless fugue into a superb musical drama. Goll’s is the second recorded ver- sion, preceded by Lamond’s H. M. V. recording of last spring. I have not heard Lamond’s, but he is a recognized Beethoven authority and it unquestionably is a worthy performance. But Goll’s is one of which both he and the Brunswick Company may well be proud. If it lacks some- thing in profoundly, its thrice-admirable merits of clarity and naturalness give this recording unusual significance The latter Beethoven sonatas have been reserved too often in the past for the few, but the merit and low cost of this work should find the larger audience the music should have. A red-letter month when the phonograph gives us two such major works as the nine Bach preludes and fugues and Beethoven’s Op. 110 sonata! Columbia 19S1-D (D10, 75c) Bach: Prelude and Fugue m C sharp and Allegro from the Toccata in G, played by Myra Hess. One ot the nicest of the many nice things about Myra Hess records is the refreshing choice of selections. She chooses things much better than one expects and she plays them better than one would expect from anyone else but her! This little disk—a gigantic seventy-five cents’ ^th— is to be ranked up with her other Bach record (2063-M) and the Scarlatti-Beethoven-Brahms combina- tion (168-M). The Prelude and Fugue is No. 3 in the first book of the Well-Tempered Clavichord and in Bach’s jauntiest mood. Miss Hess plays it with infinite gusto. The Allegro is a sturdy, business-like affair, very much intent on getting someplace, and needless to say Miss Hess finds the exact note of quaint intensity for it. Add un- usually fine recording and the combination makes a rare phonographic prize. I pray that it enjoys so lively a sale that Miss Hess will be called upon to do still more Bach. Victor 1426 (D10, $1.50) Schumann: The Prophet Bird, Op. 82. No. 7, and Stokowski: By the Brookside, played by Igance Jan Paderewski. The Prophet Bird is the very quintessence of Schu- mann’s moody genius, and Paderewski’s is one of the most Schumanesque readings I have heard. It is restrained, nostalgic, enigmatic—a notable recorded performance. But