Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 5, No. 4 (1931-01)

120 The Phonograph Monthly Review THE POSTMAN brings us every day orders for records from far-off corners of the world, and every day other postmen are delivering packages of records to customers thousands of miles away. Day in and day out, hundreds of parcels traveling thousands of miles, bring to our clients scattered throughout the world, the very finest recorded music, for their enjoyment and study. It is such a simple matter to order records by mail. And, as safe delivery is always guaranteed, more and more collectors are taking advan- tage of the opportunity of selecting their discs from the largest stock of records avail- able anywhere. H. ROYER SMITH CO. “The World's Record Shop" 10th & Walnut Streets Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A. Howard Jones and Harold Samuel Editor, Phonograph Monthly Review: Having been one of the first to suggest the idea of a regular series of recordings of Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavi- chord,” I naturally lost no time in adding the new Columbia album of preludes and fugues to the earlier set played by Harriet Cohen. I am not familiar with the career and stand- ing of Evelyn Howard-Jones, although I understand that de- spite the Christian name' the pianist is a man, but a care- ful study of the records has aroused a very lively admiration for the sane musicianship and interpretative penetration he brings to these great piano works. It angers me almost beyond endurance to hear such well balanced and understanding playing as that of Howard-Jones or Harold Samuel referred to so casually as “scholarly” or “austere,” with the implication that their playing is dry and almost wholly of academic interest. Except in New York and a few large musical centers, Samuel has never command- ed the audiences he deserves in this country on this very account. The critics have repeated each other so parrot-like that the average music lover has come to believe that an all Bach program played by Harold Samuel is something only a professor of music can listen without boredom. On the contrary, I know of no recitals as thoroughly enjoyable and as satisfying as those by Samuel. In Howard- Jones’ playing, at least in his fine Bach discs, there is like- wise no conceited posturing or flourishes. The music is played simply, competently, and sympathetically. The pianist’s per- sonality is not exploited at the expense of the music, but on the other hand, the playing is by no means colorless or de- void of personality. I am grateful to Columbia for introduc- ing me to so admirable a pianist as Howard-Jones (and at the revised prices, tool). I hope that Victor will give us some more of their fine Harold Samuel records. Pianists like these are almost ideal for recording, for their records may be played with respect and liking years hence, when the affected and ex- aggerated interpretations of many a feted virtuoso will be received with the ridicule they deserve. Lancaster, Penna. “Sebastian” Record Prices and Buyers Editor, Phonograph Monthly Review: It seems like old times to unlimber my typewriter for a brisk canter on phonographic topics for the columns of the P. M. R. The revision in the prices of the Columbia Master- works Series occasions this letter, only one I suppose of the many you have received on the subject. I have been round- ly berated both in these columns and in personal letters for some of my previous comments on record prices, for I do not partake of the delusion shared by so many otherwise intelli- gent record buyers that if prices are only reduced, the sale of records will rise a hundred-fold. The last two or three years have seen considerable experi- mentation with prices, and any one who has any clear esti- mate of the sales results will agree that a few points have been established. First, that lower prices of celebrity records will not increase the turnover enough to warrant the decrease in revenue. Second, that an indiscriminate price classification either high or low—hurts sales. Columbia has found that the blanket $2.00 rate for all its celebrity twelve-inch .discs puts a tremendous handicap on the works than least stand it. The revision of rates meets the problem squarely and intelli- gently. I know something about the cost of record produc- tion, both here and abroad, and it is mounting rapidly in both places. It has been my contention from the first, that until use of some new material or other radical reduction in production expense can be made, the cost of recording a large orchestra under a celebrity conductor demands the $2.00 rate. On the other hand, less extensive and high-paid orchestras and conductors, soloists and small ensembles can be recorded and sold at the $1.50 rate with justice to both manufacturer and the public. The $1.00 book experiment was on exactly the same lines as the cheap record plan so many record buyers both here and in England have called for. It was to increase the sale of books by millions^ and to bring the higher life into every family no matter how small their income. Did it? It did not! Today all but one publisher has abandoned the scheme of publishing new books at $1.00, and the exception is pub- lishing only mystery stories at that rate. The lesson is a good one. It was excellent that the experiment should be made, so that the eventual result (which was obvious to most business men) should be made clear to the vast public whose thinking on any subject dealing with economics is still in the free silver days. There is no royal road to Parnassus, with selling records or books or anything else. The sincere phonophile who is anx- ious to enjoy records to the utmost and to advance the move- ment can best do so by practicing constructive criticism and intelligent support. Buy as many records as possible, but buy them intelligently, supporting the works which best ad- vance the mechanical and artistic standards in recording. Write to the manufacturers, not only when you don’t like a record, but when you do like it. Show the makers of records that there is a sympathetic public for their work, that while some new or unusual work may not sell in great quantities now, that it is appreciated and understood. The kicker al- ways has the loudest voice, and I know for a fact that the record manufacturers often obtain a very distorted idea of the record buying public through the letters they receive from the small but noisy minority of cranks and chronic grouches. If the better balanced and more intelligent phonophiles would “speak up” a little more often, they would soon find that their words have a tremendous influence, and that they can advance the cause of fine recorded music as well as paying courteous and just tribute for the splendid works they enjoy now. New York City, N. Y. Edwin C. Harrolds