Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 4, No. 5 (1930-02)

146 The Phonograph Monthly Review February, 1930 ■hi Concert Series; C-7 is a collection of favorite hymns used in the Christian Science service, by Florence Middaugh, contralto, and Claude E. Saunier, organist, recorded at the Mother Church in Boston, while C-6 continues the Gilbert and Sullivan series with The Pirates of Penzance, done under the direction of Rupert D’Oyly-Carte. The latter is not only a splendid example of a Gilbert and Sullivan performance at its best, but easily one of the most effective opera recordings yet available on disks. The soloists’ clean-cut diction is especially praiseworthy. Dr. Koussevitzky appears on records for the first time outside his role as conductor with a coupling of two solos on the double bass, his own Chanson Triste and an arrangement of the Largo from a sonata by Eccles. His skill as a virtuoso on this instrument is well-known, but it is only seldom that he appears as a soloist in pub- lic, a fact that makes this excellent recording of particular value. Dr. Stokowski conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra in his own transcription of Albeniz’ Fete-Dieu a Seville, an astonishingly vivid and brilliant performance; Dr. Hertz re- records his popular Phedre Overture; Kreisler and Rachmaninoff are heard together in one of the less familiar Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano; Mary Garden reappears after a long recording silence with an exquisite coupling of two French songs; Galli-Curci sings Clavelitos, Estrellita, and the Russian Nightingale Song; Schipa is heard in two popular ballads; and Pinza sings Faust and Norma arias with the Metropoli- tan Opera Chorus under Setti. In the black label list are disks by the Victor Concert Orchestra (Turkey in the Straw and Irish Washerwoman) and Marek Weber’s Orchestra (Pagliacci Fan- tasy) that has been previously reviewed from the Educational or International lists; the Victor Concert Orchestra plays a Tap Dance Medley de- signed to meet the demand of the many devotees of this strenuous exercise; and Paul Robeson sings four Negro spirituals to accompaniments by Lawrence Brown. In the popular series, Jean- nette MacDonald and John Boles, talkie stars, make their phonographic debut. From Columbia we have Strawinski’s own capable recording of his great Sacre du Prin- temps, one of the most hotly discussed works in all music. The other Masterworks Sets are Grieg’s Sonata in C minor played by Seidel and Loesser (Set 127), the heavenly Quartet by Ce- sar Franck played by the London String Quartet (Masterworks 128), and Albeniz’s Iberia, orches- trated and conducted by Arbos (Masterworks 130). The last-named set has not arrived in time for review this month. Reviews of the two current releases in the Operatic Series, Aida and Madame Butterfly, both by artists of La Scala under the direction of Molajoli, have had to be deferred until next month on account of the ill- ness of our operatic reviewer. Among the other outstanding works on the Columbia list is a three-disk recording of the Prologue to Boito’s Mefistofele, conducted by Molajoli, and sung by de Angelis and La Scala Chorus; Senta’s Ballad from the Flying Dutch- man sung by Emmy Bettendorf—a performance that has attracted wide attention abroad; Web- er’s Jubilee Overture—conducted by Dr. Weiss- mann—a re-pressing from the Odeon lists; Franck’s Pastorale-for organ played by Edouard Commette; two concert studies by liszt played by Leff Pouishnoff; Albeniz’ Spanish Dance and Her- bert’s Serenade in quartet versions by the Musi- cal Art Quartet: and the song disks by Graveure, O’Shea, and McEwan. The supplements issued by the foreign depart- ments of all the leading companies are, as always, not to be overlooked by any record collector on the alert for works of unusual excellence and in- terest. Some of the leading Victor disks are: The White Woman Overture conducted by Dr. Blech, duets from Manon Lescaut sung by Per- tile and Sheridan with La Scala Orchestra, Masked Ball Fantasy by Marek Weber—one of the best of his fine series, My Buddy and I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles revived by Shilkret and the International Orchestra, very brilliant European dance music by Dol. Dauber’s Jazz- Symphonie, two records by the Cuarteto Agui- lar (Spanish Lutes) now touring this country, a Geisha Selection by Creatore’s Band, Fascisti Hymns by La Scala Male Chorus under Sabaj no, operatic and Japanese songs by the noted Japa- nese prima donna—Tamaki Miura. In the Col- umbia “foreign” supplement are a number of re-pressings from the domestic catalogue: Wein- gartner’s fine performance of the Blue Danube Waltz, Strauss’ Emperor and Wine, Woman and Song Waltzes by Jacobs’ Ensemble, the Lohengrin Bridal Chorus and Mendelssohn’s Wedding March by Bowers and the Columbia Symphony. Other disks to be singled out are Two Russian Romances and Have Pity On Me by the Beka String Orchestra, choruses by the New York Liederkranz, popular arias from! Mignon and Carmen sung by Ebe Stignani, arias from Tosca and Iris by Alessandro Grande, and the Pagliacci Prologo by Molinari. The Odeon headliners are Spanish piano pieces by Raoul Sergio, excellent tangos by Dajos Bela’s Tango Orchestra, the Maiden’s Prayer and Birds’ Evening Song by the Odeon Orchestra, Barber of Seville excerpts by Badini and Righetti, and two Lowe ballads by Richard Tauber. The Brunswick releases are confined to the Spanish-American and LLilian classifications, and long lists of noteworthy disks are issued in each. Piano record collectors who have long called for a complete album of Chopin’s Ballades will be gratified to know that a set appears current- ly from H. M. V. in Engand, as played by Al- fred Cortot. Cortot and Thibaud are heard to- gether in Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata. The H. M. V. orchestrals include Rimsky-Korsakow’s May Night overture conducted by Coates, Turi- na’s Danzas Fantasticas conducted by Goossens, Brahms’ Hungarian Dances Nos 1 and 3 con- ducted by Clemens Krauss with the Vienna Phil- harmonic, Rosse’s Merchant of Venice Suite con- ducted by Barbirolli, and Romberg’s Toy Sym-