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

172 The Phonograph Monthly Review February, 1930 Instrumental PIANO Columbia 2053-D (DIO, 75c) Liszt Two Concert Studies Waldesrauschen and Gnomenreigen, played by Leff Pouish- noff. Pouishnoff releases have been few and far between late- ly, but there is a total freedom from ostentation and sen- sationalism to his performances and make them always welcome. Hie can be serious without being pedantic and vigorous without being strenuous. The recording here en- hances the somewhat metallic quality of his piano tone, but the playing is as neatly and effectively turned as ever. A disk of unassuming but solid merit. Odeon (International list) 3553 (DIO, 75c) Granados: Danza Andaluza No. 5, and Carillo-Castro: Preludio Nos- talgico, Vais Azul, played by Raoul Sergio. I asume that this is a Spanish recording and as such it possesses considerable value. The Granados dance is the same as the second of the Spanish Dances recorded in or- chestral form by Eugene Goossens for Victor; knowing the orchestral version that for piano sounds rather thin and ineffective. The Preludio comes off better and is quite interesting musically. The instrument Sergio plays does not appear to be an absolutely first class one. STRING BASS Victor 7159 (D12, $2.00) Koussevitzky: Chanson Triste, Op . 2, and Eccles (arr. Koussevitzky) Sonata—Largo, played by Serge Koussevitzky with piano accompaniments by Pierre Luboshutz. This disk has been long awaited, for the fame of Kous- sevitzky’s string bass virtuosity is scarcely less than that of his conducting and since first he began to record with the Boston Symphony it has been generally known that some solo records were “in preparation.” The recording director’s problem was not a severe one, for the tone that Koussevitzky’s elicits from his instrument is so pure and limpid that the recording apparatus has no apparent difficulty in refracting it. (What a sensation this record would have caused in the acoustical era, when the double bass was distinctly non grata, and had to be assisted or entirely replaced by a tuba.) It is said that when Kous- sevitzky was attending the Moscow Conservatory he found it necessary to obtain a scholarship. Only one was avail- able, that offered in the string bass course. He applied himself to that instrument with such energy that he not only won the scholarship that was his immediate objective, but before long succeeded to his teacher’s post at the con- servatory and eventually won a position among bass vir- tuosi comparable to that held by Casals among ’cellists. It is remarkable that his strenuous years of conducting, and especially the recent ones divided between the Boston Sym- phony and his Paris concerts, have left him any opportuni- ty for maintaining his skill as a soloist. Perhaps his agility (if one may use the term in connection with this particular instrument) is not as great as during the years when he was on tour as a soloist, but it would seem im- possible that his tone could ever have surpassed its pre- sent refinement. Both melodies played here are broad and dignified, somewhat ponderous even as befits the char- acter of the instrument, and lie mostly in the upper regis- ter. One might say that it bears the same^ relations to the best ’cello performances that Lionel Tertis’ viola playing bears to good violin performances. Koussevitzky appears but rarely in recital, so a recorded example of his art on an instrument that seldom enjoys the opportunity to display its powers is very welcome. (The term chosen here to designate the instrument it- self is to be commended. Since Koussevitzky plays a spec- ial instrument perhaps it is intended that a distinction be drawn between it and the ordinary orchestral double bass. But none of the familiar names double bass, contra bass, or bass viol is as good as string bass. Bass viol is per- haps the most popular, but it is often incorrect since only a certain bass is actually a member of the viol family. The term double bass is misleading. Bull fiddle is excellent, but too rowdy for polite usage. String bass. is the logi- cal choice and one that I trust will come into general usage.) ORGAN Columbia 50194-D (D12, $1.25) Franck: Pastorale, played by Edouard Commette on the Lyons (France) Cathedral Organ. The Pastorale is not one of Franck’s major works. One misses in it that extraordinary quality of restrained ecs- tacy that we find in his best and most characteristic writ- ing. It is pretty and well turned in an unindividual way It runs its course smoothly, breaking into a graceful scherzo that contains its most distinctive moments. Some hearers may find it monotonous, partly due to the subdued and un- contrasting qualities of Commette’s registration. Apart from that his performance is a conscientiously capable one, well thought out, carefully played, and recorded very ef- fectively. STRING QUARTET Columbia 2068-D (DIO, 75c) Albeniz: Spanish Dance, and Herbert: Serenade, played by the Musical Art Quar- tet. The Musical Art Quartet’s ten-inch disks are not to be passed over lightly, despite the fact that the pieces played are of the lighter sort. The performances are as compe- tent as if the works were maior ones; there is no sense ostentation that would be in ridiculous keeping with their nature; nor is there any of the sentimentalization or “play- ing down” to the public that makes so many performances of similar pieces utterly indigestible to people of any sen- sibilities at all. The Albeniz Spanish Dance is none other than the familiar Tango in D, and why it is not so labelled is a mystery. The arrangements by an unspecified tran- scriber of both it and the serenade are as simple and free from mannerisms as the performances. LUTE QUARTET Victor (Spanish list) 9396 (D12, $1.50) de Mena: Tres Caprichos para Vilhuelas, and Turina: Orgia—Danza Fan- tastica, played by the Cuarteto Aguilar. Victor (Spanish list) 9397 (D12, $1.25) Croft: Allemande, and Turina (arr. Aguilar): Fiesta Mara en Tanger, played by the Cuarteto Aguilar. All four members of this quartet are recruited from a single family, the highly talented Aguilars, playing vari- ous sized Spanish lutes. One seems to be hearing a four- fold Segovia, except that the guitar effects are augmented by those more commonly associated with the mandoline. The range of expression, dynamics, and tone qualities is remarkable. It is small wonder that their current Ameri- can tour is closely emulating the success attained by their soloist compatriot on his first appearances in this country. The Victor Company again is alert and prompt in mak- ing recordings available. The second disks, 9397, is much the more attractive one, with its grave Bach-like Allemande contrasting with the Turina’s forceful and angular Moorish Festival. The other Turina piece is less striking, and de- spite the occasional other worldly effects obtained by the lutes, one is reminded (singularly!) of merry-go-round mechanical organs. The rapid vibrato, mandoline-wise, makes an astonishing impression of sustained, but oddly colored tone. The music by de Mena, dating from the fifteenth century, is more hymn-like in character, and al- though rather charming in its quaint way, it strikes one as less well adapted to the lute quartet idiom. Both rec- ords are well worth a trial, however, for they exemplify genuine musicianship expressed in decidedly novel chan- nels and revealing rhythmical and coloristic qualities that will be unfamiliar to most American music lovers. R. O. B. Operatic Columbia 50195-7-D (3 D12s, $1.25 each) Boito: Mefisto- fele— Prologue, by Nazzareno de Angelis (bass) with the Chorus of La Scala and the Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Lorenzo Molajoli. This is a re-pressing from the Italian Columbia Com- pany’s catalogue and is already known, through the im- porters, to a number of collectors in this country. With- out checking up by the score, I imagine that the prologue