Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 5, No. 5 (1931-02)

162 The Phonograph Monthly Review SALE! SALE! SALE! GENUINE VICTOR RECORD ALBUMS Brand New and Perfect The same albums that are part of the equipment of genuine Victor Ortho- phonic Victrolas. Each album holds 10 records Reg. Sale Price Price $1.50 10 inch Victor Albums 55<t $1.75 12 inch Victor Albums 65$ eac ^ On orders for 12 or more albums (as- sorted sizes if desired) we will prepay all delivery charges in U.S.A. On or- ders for less than 12 please add 50c to your remittance. H. ROYER SMITH CO. “The World's Record Shop ” 10th & Walnut Streets Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A. The Seasons Glazounov: The Seasons Ballet, played by a Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexandre Glazounov. Columbia Modem Music Album Set. Set. No. 5 (5 D12s, Alb., $7.50). Glazounov has composed the music of three ballets— Ray - monda, Ruses d J amour } and The Seasons. The first, in three acts, is the best known in Europe. The other two, each of one act, have been great favorites in Russia for many years; all of them are little known in America aside from an occa- sional exerpt played by an orchestra. The music of the great Autumn Bacchanal to which Pavlowa and Mordkin danced so sensationally fifteen or more years ago, and which was retained in Pavlowa’s repertoire, is from this ballet. The Seasons was composed in 1899 and was staged by the great ballet master Petipa, to whom the work is dedi- cated. It is a ballet in the old classic style where all the fair sex wore tights and toe slippers re- gardless of their characterization. Yet in this music one can- not help but sense an advance over the pastry-like music of Tchaikowsky’s Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. It is mu- sic of the theatre, but separated from its proper sphere, it still holds the interest and, best of all, is easy on the ears. This type of ballet music differs from that of the modem Russian ballets of the Strawinskian group in that it consists of separate dances, each complete in itself. In ballets like the Fire Bird and Petrouchha, the music i^ built to the fused pantomime, dancing and story^ The ballet, divided into the four seasonal tableaux, has a very meagre “storyeach season displays her wares and is overcome by the next season in order, who in turn has her glory and dies. There are snowflakes, frost, ice, hail, gnomes, flowers, birds, zephyrs, naiades, etc., etc. In the Introduction, on the first record side, Glazounov paints quite the proper musical picture to suggest the dark and brooding mood of WHnter; the somberness is only relieved by a sudden blast of wind or flurry of snow. The tableau of Winter contains a series of “variations.” The first variation, in 3/4 tempo, is dance by Frost; the second, in 2/4, by Ice; the third, in 2/4, by Hail; the fourth, in 3/8 by the group of Snowflakes. The music is very characteristic, especially the pizzicati patter of Hail and the swirl and bluster of the Snow which ends with fluttering arpeggios on the harp. Dur- ing the remaining section of Winter (on the third side), gnomes enter with torches and drive all vestiges of Winter away. Spring enters to a lively 6/8 dance tempo, with the flowers and birds (fourth side). Then there is a dance of the Roses (early variety evidently!) followed by a dance of the birds. Summer then triumphs over Spring. Summer opens with a broad noctume-like movement in 12/8 tempo and is followed by a “Waltz of the Cornflowers and Poppies” which is truly waltz-grandeur. The Barcarolle is danced by a group of naiades with scarves (to resemble water). On the sixth side the same theme is developed in the Variation with many instrumental pyrotechnics. The brilliant 2/4 Coda brings Summer to a tempestuous close and ushers in Autumn. In the Autumn Bacchanale section (probably the most in- teresting and best known section) on the seventh side, all the seasons re-enter to join in the presto 2/4 dance. It is fast and furious and suggests admirably the brilliant tints of Autumn. It is followed by the inevitable classic adagio— the usual beautiful melody embroidered by Tchaikowsky (though not so sugary) harp work. The work ends with the melody of the Bacchanale, this time in 6/8, and, we presume, much pre-Volsteadian revelry. The recording of the set in generally good although at tames there is lack of detail due to a bad reverberation, caused perhaps by Glazounov’s orchestration. The records are heard at their best on all electric machine with the loud- est amplification. I especially like Glazounov’s modesty in avoiding a too sensational reading, a fault in some conductors which has spoiled many a concert reading of ballet music. To those who enjoy the ballet music of Tchaikowsky and like composers, this set provides fine fare and we heartily recom- mend it. The odd side is devoted to the Naila waltz of Delibes and is played by the Lucerne Kursaal Orchestra, evidently a small organization. The conductor is not named, but he has taken liberties with the original, bringing in new orches- tral effects (which are at times interesting), making copious cuts and adding a brilliant ending. While not being up to the standard of the Glazounov records, it is well recorded and played. One wonders, however, why we could not have been given one of Glazounov’s Scenes de Ballet on this odd side, or perhaps one of his cleverly orchestrated Chopin piec- es from Chopiniana. William H. Seltsam. ECHOES: Selective Music Charles Dickens. Victor Hugo, and their contemporaries, whose rights to space in the library have, until now, re- mained unquestioned, have had to move over to make room for newcomers on the book shelf. Although classics in their own right, these late arrivals to the family book nook, save for their leather bindings, bear little resemblance to their predecessors. Instead of a treasury of words, they offer their owners a wealth of music composed by such writers as Bach and Beethoven and interpreted by the world’s finest musi- cians. Since the inception and popularization of the radio, the demand for these “album sets” of records has shown constant increase. According to E. F. Stevens, Jr., record sales mana- ger of the Brunswick Radio Corporation, the reason for this increase lies in the current demand for selective music. “Although with the coming of the radio, it was the con- sensus of opinion that the phonograph record was doomed for early extinction such has been far from the case,” said Mr. Stevens in commenting on the situation. “Through the radio, hundreds of thousands of people have become habit- ual followers of music Being unable to find the better types of music in sufficient quantity or of satisfactory quality on the radio, a great proportion of these radio listeners, whose appetites have been whetted but not appeased by what they have been able to find on the air, have turned to the album set. Composed of the works of the greatest composers and embracing selections of well defined types, it offers a ready means for the satisfaction of the recently stimulated demand for selective music.”