Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 4, No. 8 (1930-05)

276 The Phonograph Monthly Review May, 1930 THE PHONOGRAPHIC BRAHMS LITERATURE Editor, Phonograph Monthly Review: The notable Brahms Festival given by Dr. Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra testifies anew to the tremendous growth of this composer’s popularity. Who would have dreamed, twenty-five years ago or even ten years ago, that a solid week of Brahms concerts could be successfully un- dertaken by a leading American orchestra? Our phonograph- ic Brahms literature echoes only in part the favor with which his works are held in concert. The second piano concerto is at last available (from H. M. V. in Great Britain), but with the exception of portions of the Requiem none of the larger choral works are out. The “Tragic” Overture was announced in these pages sometime ago, but it proved to be on the basis of false information. It is the only major orchestral work still unrecorded. The first piano concerto, a large num- ber of choral works—led by the Rhapsody—and some of the more important songs and piano pieces should be next on the list. In view of the success with which most of Brahms’ chamber music has been recorded it seems odd that we have not yet had an electrical version of the first string quartet (C minor, Op. 51, No. 1), nor a recording of either of the fine piano quartets (Op. 25 and 26). I hope to hear some more Brahms piano pieces recorded by Myra Hess, Harold Bauer, and Ossip Gabrilowitsch. More off the beaten path is Brahms’ last composition, a set of chorale-preludes for organ, and the finest of their kind since those of Bach. Very few people seem to be aware of these beautiful pieces. I myself have never had the opportunity of hearing them in the original form, but only through the piano four-hand ar- rangements. A recording of one or more would be very wel- come indeed. Chicago, Illinois George Hawley Phonographic Echoes COSIMA WAGNER One of the last personal links with a great musical era of the past—the age of Liszt, Wagner, von Billow, et al. —was broken with the death of Wagner’s widow, Frau Cosima Wagner, on April 1st, at the age of ninety-two. She was the daughter of Liszt, and the wife of first von Billow and then Wagner. Where Wagner himself was totally unsuccessful in establishing the Bavreuth Festivals on a practicable basis, his widow established on a profitable financial basis and for many years ruled them with an iron hand. She was a woman of the most marked personality and force of will. Her long rule at Bayreuth was one of ab- solute despotism, but by it she established a powerful Wagnerian tradition and ensured the permanence of the Bayreuth festivals. In recent years her advanced age led to her turning over the direction of the festivals into the hands of her son Siegfried, who. presumably now falls heir to the Bayreuth crown. During the last few years she has been unable to attend the actual concerts. It would be extremely interesting to know whether the recordings the Columbia Company made in the Bayreuth Festspiel- haus were played to her, and what was her reaction to them. She must have been shrewd and far-seeing enough to realize that in recorded form Wagner’s works—in tradi- tional performances—would reach a far wider audience than the festivals could ever accommodate. Indeed, it is very unlikely that Siegfried Wagner would ever have signed the recording contract unless it was with the approval of the remarkable woman whose name will always be linked with that of Bayreuth as closely as that of Wagner’s own. 8th SALON DE LA MUS1QUE The eighth season of the international “Salon de la Mu- sique” is to be held in Paris from May 17th to June 1st. This remarkable Paris Fair devoted to the music trades has developed into one of the most extensive world mar- kets of its kind, particularly signicant in its exhibition of the enormous progress made in recent years in the phono- radio industry. The Salon is sponsored by L’Office General de la Musique, 5 rue de Madrid, Paris, well-known to the trade and to phonophiles thriugh its excellent publications, “Musique-Adresses-Universel,” and “Machines Parlants et Radio.” BRUNSWICK PRICE CHANGES Effective April 1st, the Brunswick Company is making a return to its old prices for its Hall of Fame purple and gold label records. The price reduction made in these series two years ago resulted in an increase in the volume of their sales, but not to sufficient extent to off-set the heavv tal- ent cost involved in making the best possible of the better class records. The change is not altogether unexpected, as the recent Polydor and British Brunswick re-pressings necessitated an increase in price. It proved to be impossible to issue rec- ords of this calibre, those of the Cleveland and Minneapo- lis Symphony Orchestras, and Brunswick’s many celebrity artists at the lower rates, and the new revision brings Brunswick’s prices into accord with those generally estab- lished for these types of records. We trust that the change will lead to the issuance of more European and domestic celebrity recordings than has been possible in the past un- der the lower price scale. The new prices in brief: ten inch purple label (ten thous- and series) $1.00, ten inch gold label (15M) $1.50, twelve inch purple label (25M, 27M, 30M) $1.50, twelve inch gold label (80M) $2.00, 12 in. gold label—International series (90M) $1.50, 12 in. black label (20 M, 77M, 78M) $1.25. COLUMBIA INCREASES RECORD PLAYING TIME Our readers have probably noticed that most of the Col- umbia records released during the last months have smaller labels than those in the past. These are the first of the somewhat longer playing records, in which the playing time of a ten-inch disk is increased to three and one-half minutes, and that of the twelve-inch disks correspondingly. The increase is due to the additional surface made avail- able by the use of smaller labels, and presumably by the use of more record grooves to the inch. The exact details have not yet been given to us. VICTOR RECORD OF THE MONTH CLUB The Book of the Month, Literary Guild, and similar clubs have proved such a profitable and popular success that the idea has been imitated widely, among others by record dealers. In Boston, for example, one large dealer has form- ed a record of the week club and has already gained a very considerable number of members. In this instance the records are chosen from the popular lists only, and re- leases of all the leading companies are represented impar- tially. The Victor Company has been testing out the plan, in a quiet way before venturing on any large-scale adoption of the idea, but it has proved its soundness so conclusively that it is now being put into operation throughout the coun- try. The Victor Record of the Month Club is conducted from Camden, N. Y., through the vast net-work of Victor dealers. The subscriber signs up to take one record a month in either or both of the two divisions—“Popular and Concert Music” and “Great Music.” The records are charged for at the regular list prices, and shipped post free to the member’s home on the last Friday of the month preceding its release. About two weeks previously the member has received a folder from the Club announcing its judges’ choice of the record of the month in each divi- sion. A complete advance list of the next month’s release accompanies the folder, so if the member wishes, he may choose a substitute selection for the one picked out by the Club itself. If he does not request a selection of his own, by the last Friday of the month, the judges’ choice is automatically sent him. For added attraction, each member is given a twelve- pocket record album as soon as he has completed six months’ active membership in the club. The plan as outlined seems very likely to attract lively and widespread support. It will be interesting to see if its success is as meteoric and sudden as that of the corres- ponding Book of the Month Clubs.