Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 5, No. 3 (1930-12)

74 The Phonograph Monthly Review Editorial L EAN years test the staunchness of the foun- dations of any movement and give the en- thusiasm and courage of its followers an easy opportunity to burn out. Along with every- thing else phonography has felt the choking grip of depression at its throat, and if good music on records had no fundamental place as an educa- tional and entertainment factor in the scheme of modern life, it would be running a poor second today to the pastime of backgammon. It speaks well for the artistic and economic justification of phonography, and for the discernment of the leaders of the record industry, that through the last year there has been a steady increase in- stead of a curtailment in both number and qual- ity of album sets and celebrity discs. Naturally the sale of records has felt the blight of tight money, and particularly the sale of for- eign language, hill billy, and race records whose public is obviously the most seriously affected by unemployment. But there has been an almost exact ratio between the artistic significance of records and their sales strength, and considering the dubiety three or four years ago of many of- ficials as to the sales worth of the better class of music on discs, it is exceedingly gratifying to find today that almost without exception the directing forces of the industry have unshakable confidence in the economic soundness of album set and celeb- rity record production. Sales may be limited to- day, but such works possess permanent appeal and worth. Meanwhile we have the example of Europe with its truly amazing powers of production and' consumption of important music on discs. And right at hand, in the magazine’s office, phono- graphy’s unslackened rise is testified to by the constantly accelerating ratio of increase in circu- lation. Our correspondence from readers has never been heavier than this fall. There are many plaints of temporarily curbed buying power, but interest in records and the desire to buy were never more enthusiastically expressed. Perplexed record budget makers will be de- lighted to hear of the Columbia Company’s well considered change in its Masterworks price pol- icy. The flat $2.00 rate for twelve-inch records in the Masterworks series has been given a thor- ough trial, and the new policy with a more care- fully adjusted scheme of values effectively elim- inates the inconsistencies of the single price classification. Recordings of the Bayreuth Fes- tivals and of large symphony orchestras conduct- ed by Strawinski, Mengelberg, Walter, and Wein- gartner, will remain at the present rate, while all other Masterworks discs are reduced to $1.50 for each twelve-inch record. This is an eminently justifiable division into celebrity and standard price classes, and I hope that the lowered cost of the majority of the series will enable them to com- mand a much larger audience. The current Mas- terworks have certainly been of unusual interest and merit. The release of Strauss’ Bourgeois Gentilhomme suite before it has been put on sale in Europe is a brilliant stroke, and even more significant is the anticipated American release of Sibelius’ second symphony (one of Columbia’s— and the phonograph’s—greatest achievements), which may be expected, I understand, by another month. Brunswick continues its brilliant work, with increasing emphasis on the works of Bach. This month we have two of the finest chorale preludes (in Schonberg’s transcriptions), a remarkably ef- fective piano recording of a organ concerto after Vivaldi and two more chorale preludes, and two choral works sung by the chorus of the Thomas- kirche in Leipzig where Bach himself was once organist and choirmaster. Two discs on this month’s Brunswick Hall of Fame release have not yet reached us for review—Wolff’s perform- ance of various preludes and entr’actes from Carmen , designed to complete the abridged opera album issued by Brunswick several months ago. Next month Brunswick continues its splendid series with more Bach (plus Mozart, Gluck, Bee- thoven and Ravel). Discriminating choice of selections, effectiveness of the recording, and the freshness of the artists’ readings combine to give this series uncommon appeal and significance. Yet “uncommon” and “unusual” are becoming almost usual terms for the cream of current re^ leases! The Victor Company continues its monu- mental and indefatigable achievements with an Educational release list added to the domestic and “foreign” issues—including a symphony, a string quartet, the larger part of a Wagnerian music drama, and many first rate single discs! A separate paragraph goes to the Victor Com- pany in appreciation of its kindness in installing in our studio its latest model instrument—the combination phonograph and radio, RE-57—tak- ing the place of an RE-75. The new instrument is an interesting one, and I am much absorbed by two of the new features: the tone control and the home recording devices. The latter has a fas- cination for the veriest amateur, but it is partic- ularly valuable as a reminder to the disc critic that the microphone has a technique very much its own and that recording progress comes through an understanding and extension of that tech- nique. R. D. D.