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

142 IRA Novelties Quilter: A Children’s Overture, two parts, played by the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Stanley Chapple Broadcast Twelve 5055. Since this was the first time that I had seen or heard one of the heralded “Broadcast Twelve” discs (claimed to con- tain on a ten-inch record the amount usually found on a twelve-inch), I was much interested in trying it. Although the recording is naturally somewhat rough and unsubtle, I was really very pleasantly surprised in it on the whole. More- over, there appeared no diminution in quality as one ap- proached the extremely small label. I am thoroughly con- vinced that the compression here attempted is practical, and considering the price, one certainly gets one’s money’s worth. Roger Quilter, an English composer chiefly noted for his songs, was bom in 1877. He has also written incidental mu- sic for various dramatic productions. The overture here re- corded is based on tunes from Crane’s book of nursery rhymes. “Baby’s Opera.” It is music of a very pleasing sort, gay and jolly as one could wish, neither empty nor trite. The conductor immediately enters into the spirit and gives us an agreeably light-hearted and unlaboured performance. Granados: Marche Militaire and A la Cubana, played by Eldridge Newman with symphony orchestra. Edison Bell Winner 4995 (DIO). Two more additions to the slim recorded repertory of Gra- nados. I must confess to finding, them rather uninteresting— especially the commonplace march. The “A la Cubana” has a slightly more exotic flavor, but is scarcely distinguished. The playing is rather routine. Friedemann : Slavonic Rhapsody, op. 114, played by the New Margate Concert Orchestra conducted by Herbert Lodge. Edison Bell Electron 0292 (D12). I can nowhere discover any information as to the identity of Carl Friedemann, but in the selection under consideration, he follows more or less in the Lisztian tradition, with, quite naturally, at times more than a suggestion of bombast. Of its kind, however, I should say that it was rather good. Her- bert Lodge certainly enters into the spirit with the greatest zest and helps a great deal in the success of the effect, by his exuberant leadership. The recording is remarkably brilliant and effective in a sensational way. R. H. S. Ancient Instruments Monteclair (arr. Casadesus) : Les Plaisirs Champ&tres, played by the Casadesus Society of Ancient Instruments. French Columbia LFX-19-20 (2 D12s). Available through the American Importers. Monteclair’s “rustic pleasures” comprise a Ritoumelle et Passepied, Entree des Bergers, Cortege des Musettes et des Vielles, and Ronde du Bonheur, each occupying a record side. The music has considerable animation and charm, but one is inclined to agree with R. G. of disques in wondering why M. Casadesus, with such an abundance of unplayed music, actually written for viols, available to choose from, he should see fit to arrange music by minor eighteenth cen- tury composers. R. G. inquires where the Casadesus group actually do play old music on their antique instruments. They do in concert, although as yet there are no phono- graphic examples of authentic writing for these instruments. Lorenziti’s fine Venetian Symphony (Concertante) was com- posed for Quinton, Viola d’Amore, Clavecin, and Orchestra. The MS. was discovered by Henri Casadesus in Marseilles and was performed for the first time with the Boston Sym- phony, April 20, 1928. Now that the technique of the' old instruments has been mastered by competent musicians and recordings are being made, it would indeed be a pity to confine the repertory to transcriptions. The present records are delightful for all their slightness, but they merely point the way to permanent enregisterments of important music originally composed for viols and for which there is almost no opportunity for performance today. The Phonograph Monthly Review THE PHONOPHILES BOOKSHELF The Strawinski Enigma Stravinsky’s Sacrifice to Apollo. By Eric Walter White London, The Hogarth Press. 150 pp. 6 shillings (in Great Britain). A mercurial fellow like Strawinski, who has a way of set- ting the public gaping with his quick-change acts and his miraculous escapes from musical strait-jackets, is a difficult subject for sober examination and estimate. Is the man sheer- ly a sensationalist? A clumsy and barbaric “red” who is en- deavoring to upset the established musical order in revolution and chaos? Or a talented composer who wrote two master- pieces— Fire Bird and Petrouchka —and then went bersek and has written nary a note since that is not offensive to every good and righteous artistic sense? Notwithstanding the fact that Strawinski is the most talked and written about composer of this generation, his work is almost never judged in its entirety and in any kind of proper perspective. The older school clings to the talent gone wrong opinion expressed above. The less orthodox youngsters sneer a little at the somewhat Debussvian Firebird, not wholly free from the taint of sentimentality, and exult in the earth- shaking convulsions of the Sacre. Both are left at a good of a good deal of a loss by the newer ballets— Apollo and the Fairy’s Kiss. Oedipus Rex is reminds them of Verdi or Handel, and yet there is a disturbing and unascribable feeling in it. The Capriccio carries them along a little better, but the new Psalm Symhony leaves them utterly taken aback. Up through Petrouchka it is clear sailing. Strawinski’s de- velopment can be traced clearly and logically, and his talents and weaknesses examined rationally. From the Sacre on the debate begins, a debate that is usually based on the slightest thread of genuine understanding both of what Strawinski has actually done and what he is driving at. The average con- cert goer has not heard (or has heard only once) most of the later works, and he is not informed on the chain of sequence of these works. He may hear the Capriccio and never have heard Les Noces and Oedipus. He is almost sure never to have heard the chamber works—the octet, the pieces for string quartet, the Soldier’s Tale, Renard, etc. Mr. White’s book is the first full-length critical study of Strawinski that has appeared in English. If it had no other merit it would be invaluable for its presentation of brief de- scriptive information on the chain of Strawinski’s composi- tions. But it does have other merits, both in the way the in- formative material is handled and in the sympathetic yet un- biased examination accorded the separate works. Mr. White does not swallow Strawinski whole, as more than one forward- looking writer has done. He never neglects to point out some of the surprising crudities and deficiencies in even Strawin- ski’s most important works. But he relegates such weakness- es to their proper significance, and emphasizes the larger qualities and achievements. He is not entirely adverse to somewhat literary descriptions of various pieces (those of the piano concerto, Oedipus and the Sacre are especially good), but he backs up his remarks with an abundance of specific references. He is not afraid of technicalities: there is excellent information here on the technical methods Strawinski em- ploys or has developed, but Mr. White is not intoxicated by his ability to analyze and define. He has thought out his material well, and he sets it down on paper clearly and with very considerable convincing force. Instead of the six styles of which Strawinski has been ac- cused, Mr. Wjiite reduces them to two: the romantic and the neo-classical, a discussion of which forms the two major chapters of the book. The others are: “Preliminary,” and “Transitional.” There are appendices devoted to a list of the major works and the phonograph and pianola recordings, a very interesting note on the MS. of the Fire Bird (Strawin- ski’s scores are miracles of deft design and exquisitely formed notes, as I can attest from a glimpse of the score of the Psalm Symphony), and index.