Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 6, No. 5 (1932-02)

February 1932, Vol. VI, No. 5 85 creative art, it can pit itself against the test of time. There remains the probability that when records are the most vivid reminders left of a performer’s art, posterity may think less highly of some whose fame is dependent as much on a striking presence as on ability, and more highly of some who enjoy little personal popularity during their lifetimes. These reflections are occasioned by the gift to me, by my friend Mr. Wallace Dancy, of a set of records that emphasized the fact that, in spite of ten years of what most peo- ple would admit a very lively interest in pian- ists and piano playing, I might easily have passed another ten, except for the phono- graph, without becoming acquainted with the career and art of at last one genuinely fine pianist. And since both his records and career are as worthy of attention as they are apparently lacking it in this continent, I offer this remedy for their neglect. Jose Vianna da Motta, the distinguished Portuguese pianist, is not, as a matter of fact, entirely a stranger to this country. But his visits in 1892-93, and again in 1899, were during the initial Paderewski furore when many fine pianists, including the Pole, Sliv- inski, and even Busoni, were not receiving from the American public the attention they might have expected. Da Motta was born in 1868 on the African Island of St. Thomas—proof that concert pianists can come from almost anywhere. The following year he was taken to Lisbon, where his musical training began. The influence of Sophie Menter, one of Liszt’s greatest pupils, induced King Ferdinand to have him sent in 1882 to the Scharwenka brothers in Ber- lin. That was the beginning of the impor- tant part the Liszt tradition was to play in his life. Liszt himself in Weimar was the next step, in 1885, when da Motta became one of that still considerable band of gifted disciples who gathered around the great mu- sician during his last years. Work with von Bttlow after Liszt’s death no doubt intensi- fied the tradition; perhaps it was a final echo, in 1915, when da Motta was chosen to suc- ceed Stavenhagen, another Liszt pupil, at the Geneva Conservatory. In Europe, his ability won him for many years the title of court pianist in Berlin, and more recently, the directorship of the Na- tional Conservatory and Symphony Orches- tra of Lisbon. South America since 1902 has also known him for a distinguished ar- tist. In 1907, he presented ten different pro- grams in Buenos Aires alone—no doubt more of a feat then than now, when Godowsky, Levitzki, Moiseiwitsch, and others, have had to satiate the growing appetites of the less toured parts of the globe. His last visit to Brazil, a few seasons ago, was referred to by Novaes as one of the events of the season. So much for the career. The records reveal a highly sensitive, poe- tic musician, free from exaggeration of style, and well-equipped technically and tonally. The recording, not equal in realism and son- ority to the best modern piano recording, is superior to that of other Pathe piano rec- ords I have heard. Certain tonal subtleties are notably caught—sometimes a silvery clarity that, with da Motta’s other qualities, make one hope that he may record some of his admired Bach playing. Two of the records are worthy of wide at- tention. On 5453, da Motta and Mme. de Castello Lopes have recorded a Duettino Con- certante by Mozart-Busoni. I am not famil- iar with the original form of this piece, but here it makes a stimulating, brilliant, con- cert work, a notable addition to the limited list of Mozart piano recordings, played with an engaging verve and digital fleetness. Even more important is X5451 with an In- termezzo from Bussoni’s ‘Gynecee du Turan- dot’ and the Eglogue from Liszt’s ‘Annees de pelerinage suisse’, played by da Motta alone. The boldness and vigor of Busoni’s mind, combined with some of the sensuousness of the impressionist school, result in a rather strange emotional appeal in the former—if one doesn’t confine emotionalism to roman- ticism—which is reflected in the playing. There is something lovely about this record that, among the rather choice additions I have made to my library during the past year, makes it stand apart from the rest. As for the Eglogue, many fine artists of da Mot- ta’s generation have forgotten how to play this type of music as poetically as he, and younger players, in comparison, seem to in- ject into it a false sentiment. Schubert playing of a high order is found on X5454, in the Menuet de la Fantaisie, Op. 78, and Liszt’s transcription of ‘Wohin?’. Rachmaninoff has recorded his own tran- scription of the latter for Victor (1196— The Brooklet). The comparison is worthwhile —the Russian’s more realistic version, Ham- let in modern dress, and the older version, to the modern ear, left Schubert much as it found him. The Chopin Polonaise in A Flat, Op. 53, on X5452, is impressively played, but I find this record less distinctive. The other records, of da Motta’s own com- positions, are from a definitely dated period of salon music. Entitled Portuguese scenes,