MUSIC AND RECORDS

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 172, 21 April 1928, Page 22

MUSIC AND RECORDS

(Bi/

C.J.M.)

Amy Evans and Eraser Gauge. Wellington music-lovers have been enjoying a feast of song during the past week at the Evans-Gauge concerts in the I'own Hall, and an extra concert will be given to-night to meet the heavy demand for seats. The popular singers have undoubtedly improved considerably since their last visit, Miss Amy Evans’s voice especially seems fuller and rounder, and the artistry of both, which was always at a high standard, has matured with experience. After a tour of the South Island, Miss /vans and Mr Gauge will tour the North Island, visiting Wanganui, Napier, Hastings, and other towns after their Auckland season.

Miss Esther Fisher—Pianist. o Mr. E. J- Gravestock announces that he has arranged for Miss Esther Fisher, the brilliant young New Zealand pianist, to give recitals in the main centres of the Dominion, on her arrival from Europe next week. Two recitals will be given in the Wellington Town Hall on Wednesday and Friday, May 3 and 5. Amongst New Zealand-born musicians' who have gained fame in Europe, Miss Esther Fisher, the young Wellingtonian, occupies a foremost position. Alter six vears’ intense study and hard work in Paris and the art centres of the Continent, she has won an enviable position in the front rank of great artists, and to-day is recognised as one of the finest women pianists now before the public. London musical critics recognised her extraordinary musical gifts on the occasion of her debut in 1923, and gave her the highest praise, and at every subsequent appearance remarked upon the splendid development of these talents, and now her recitals attract - crowded audiences, which include the 11 most discriminating music-lovers in - London. Miss Fisher is the daughter • of the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher, and will t arrive on the 25th instant by the Port J Auckland.

I A Human uiograpny. | “Many books have been written about i Sullivan, the most popular of all English composers, but. not one of their I authors has had the material which has been available to Mr. Herbert Sullivan and Mr. Newman Flower, and which gives ‘Sir Arthur Sullivan, his Life, Letters and Diaries’ the charac- » ter of an authoritative work” (says the “Yorkshire Post”). “The diary which Sullivan began in 1879, and kept till the year of his death, 1900—when the last entry, ’I am sorry to leave such a lovely day,’ has a peculiar pathos—has furnished much interesting matter. Mr Herbert Sullivan, his '■ nephew and his adopted son . . . and his collaborator have succeeded in giving a lifelike and attractive picture.” “There is nothing in the book which will appeal more strongly,” says the “Westminster Gazette” reviewer, “to the ‘Gilbert-and-Sullivan’ worshipper—and his name, even now, is legion—than the light it throws on the collaboration of the two men, with its obvious affecion, its differences, and its quarrels. “There was never, perhaps, a more perfect collaboration than theirs. Each of them, one brilliant success after another suggested, was the natural complement of the other. And yet each of them must have been a trying collaborator—Gilbert, touchy, irritable, as quick to take offence as he was to resent the idea that _ his judgment might be fallible; Sullivan, a constant invalid, often troubled by the notion that Light Opera was keeping him from higher things, disinclined to work until procrastination had reached the last possible limit and then starting at midnight to make beauiful music for countless hours on end. “That they should disagree, from time to time, was not surprising ;• and this biography shows us that they did it much in the way of a couple of boys quarrelling about nothing in particular, and each struggling against the inclination to ‘climb down’ and shake hands.” One of the most interesting chapters in the book deals with the composition of the music of “The Lost Chord.” Sir Arthur Sullivan was sitting at the bedside of his dying brother, and the authors state: — “His brother appeared to have drop ped into slumber. Arthur Sullivan drew together some odd sheets of paper and sketched out the complete setting from the first bar to the last of “The Lost Chord.” He drafted it from beginning to end while he sat beside the bed of the brother who was so soon to pass.

“It was his last composition for many months. When, on February 18, Frederic Sullivan died, his brother ceased to compose. • “Just as his ‘ln Memoriam’ had been his tribute to the memory of his father in 1866, so was ‘The Lost Chord’ his tribute to his brother in 1877. When it was published a few' months later Hie song swept through England as an inspiration. ... “In later years the first phonograph record ever plaved in England was that of Mrs. Ronalds singing this song, and it was performed in Sulivan’s drawingroom. All musical society was there to hear the new invention—actors, musicians, singers, Clara Butt, and all that uprising school of young singers that semed to encircle her. When the instrument scratched its indecorous way into the first notes of ‘The Lost Chord,’ and the voice of the singer rang through the room, clear, resonant, nearly a hundred people stared at each other m blank amazement. They might have been earlv Britons stained with woad, and somebody-—some magician—had by a freak dropped down among them the first motor-car. No one spoke. The song—ves, it was clearly Mrs. Ronalds singing, and yet she stood there smiling at them. “The song finished on the .grand ‘Amen.’ A man went up to hep and said: ‘God gave somebody a brain to invent this instrument so that we should never forget your singing. But it was quite unnecessary.’ “A prettv compliment, but the -speaker lacked vision. A new epoch in musical recording, a new addition to music had begun, and had begun with ‘The Lost Chord ’ ” All the reviewers bear testimony to the excellence of the biography, which should be appreciated not only by musical people all over the world, but by the general public. “A Musician's Narrative.” “A Musician’s Narrative,” by Sir Alexander Campbell Mackenzie, who will shortlv celebrate his eightieth birthday, tells of good things seen and heard, of the stars of the musical and dramatic world. Sir Alexander, on the subject of “pitch,” may surprise some people. He writes: "Nature did not endow me with that somewhat overrated gift, the sense of so-caled ‘absolute pitch,’. although—as a violinist—l easily acquired it. But my ‘ear’ has always been exceptionally keen; indeed, I have often thought that too delicate a sense of hearing may be the reverse of a blessing. It was my lot to experience one of the most distressing afflictions that can befall a musician, when, from overstrain, his ear not only deceives him, but when every musical sound causes acute suffering “Hubert Parry’s diary records that, as the result of a cold, he heard some notes a tone and a half higher than

their normal pitch. And Manns complained bitterly to me that for a considerable time certain wind instruments I sounded a third higher than others, al-

though, as a conductor, he had to conceal the fact. “I had to conduct a full orchestra on one occasion at St Paul’s, and at the rehearsal the brass sounded like nothing earthly; while the horns, in particular, provided a series of agonising aural stabs. At the following day’s performance I could only get through the piece by automatically following the first violins and totally ignoring the blatant chaos produced by the orchestra. Nor was my anxiety relieved when during a choral rehearsal at the R.A.M. the male voices treated me to similar, though somewhat less painful, eflects. The phenomenon lasted for several weeks; in time, however, my hearing was gradually restored to its normal condition ” In a final chapter, summing up his conclusions, Sir Alexnader says.— “The populace accepts what is offered, but does not always get what its immensely improved taste and growing critical discrimination deserve. The most ardent progressionist arrives at a bor-der-line over which conscience forbids him to step. Mine, though brought up on fairly strong pap, began to call me early.

“Merclv to say that there are indications of a repudiation of aggressive extremists on the part of a large section of the musical public is to understate the truth. “Revolt, not an hour too soon, is not only in progress, but in direct action. To what else can the revived interest in chamber music, folk song, the early periods of our music, lecture-concerts for children, wholesome community singing, the ever-growing popularity of Bach and Mozart (those great vacuumcleaners), as well as other reassuring signs, be attributed but to the craving for relief- from the infliction of :ncomprehensible and unlovely noises?” Sir Alexander’s book proves him to be at eighty one of the most energetic of men. RECORDED MUSIC Bavreuth Festival Records. Columbia offer to the gramophouist this month what will surely stand for a long while as one of the finest set of recordings ever made. This is nothing less than a series of recordings, foreshadowed in my notes a week or two back, of the Wagner Festival at Bavreuth, the Mecca of all Wagnerites, where the master’s operas are produced regardless of cost. All these records are issued with authority and approval of Siegfried Wagner, who himself conducts several of them. On the. technical side the recording is certainly far better than anything that has yet been given us. For this we thank not only the Columbia recording, but also the marvellous acoustic properties of the Festspielhaus, where the festival takes place. This fine theatre has no pillars, and the seats are arranged in the shape of an open fan. I can only briefly note some of the records so produced, details of the entire, set being given in the current Columbia catalogue.

“The Ride of the Valkyries.” “The Ride of the Valkyries”—“The Valkyries” (Wagner). Beyreuth Festival Orchestra, conducted by Franz von Hoesslin. Columbia L 2017,

This famous piece serves as the introducton to act 3 of the opera. It is a tone-picture of the warlike daughters of Wotan as they swoop down on the field of battle to rescue fallen heroes and bear them, on their winged horses, to Valhalla, the home of the gods. The music is thrilling in the extreme. The violins and strings play a wild turmoil of rushing sounds, representing the sky, and giving the impression of the vastness and vagueness of the heavens. Into this rushing sound come the trombones with the majestic scene of the Valkyries, which suggests the gallop of the winged horses across the stormy sky. The music is punctuated by the piercing battle-cry, “Ho, yo, to, ho” of Brunnhilde.

TCie Entry of the Gods Into Valhalla. “Entry of the Gods”—Rhinegold (Wagner). Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, conducted by Franz von Hoesslin. Columbia L 2016.

A stirringly dramatic record that illustrates part of the story of the opera. Columbia, in addition to the usual orchestral version, include the Rhineniaiden’s Trio.. These glorious voices blend superbly with the orchestration. The thunder and lightning created by Donner, the procession of the gods led by Wotan, and the wailing of the Rliinemaidens for the loss of their gold are all most graphically presented. Singers and orchestra “bring off” this extremely difficult piece to perfection.

“Parsifal" Prelude. “Prelude to • Act 3”—"Parsifal” (Wagner). Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, conducted by Siegfried Wagner. Columbia L 2012.

This music is truly Wagnerian in its rise and fall, and in its blending of intricate themes and subtle harmonies. It shows Wotan approaching a bleak spot at the foot of a mountain. He realises that the fate of the Gods is sealed, and is about to question the goddess Erda. The chief themes heard are the Valkyrie, by violins, and the “distress of the gods,” in octaves, by the ’cellos, tuba, double basses, bassoons, and bass clarionet. The record ends with « deafening burst of music, and it is a great tribute to the recording that this remains so clear. "Flower Maiden’s Scene.” “Flower Maiden’s Scene”—“Parsifal” (Siegfried Wagner). Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Karl Muck. Columbia L2Oll.

That “Parsifal” is the most popular of Wagner’s operas is shown by the fact tliat it has been produced far more times than any other in the Bayreuth Festivals since their _ inception in 1876. The music is seductive rather than turbulent. It ilustrates the garden created by Klingsor, the enemy of the Grail, and peopled by beautiful creatures, half maidens and half flowers. When Parsifal arrives the Flower Maidens attempt to entice him by their singing and dancing, but are repulsed. Clara Butt,

(1) “Deep River”; (2) “The Minstrel Boy.” Sung by Dame Clara Butt, contralto. Columbia 9002. A famous English critic declared the other day that only four artists could fill the Albert Hall—and, needless to say, Clara Butt is one of them. New stars come and go, but she, by**virtue of that glorious voice, goes serenely on. Her rendering of Thomas Moore’s famous song, “The Minstrel Boy,” is deeply stirring. They call her “the queen of song”; while she --an produce records of such fine calibre, her reign is likely to continue Apart from every other quality, her note-pro-duction alone is sufficient to merit the attention. La Scala Chorus. (1) “Humming Chorus”—“Madame Butterfly” (Puccini) ; (2) “Festa e pane”—“La Gioconda” (Ponchitielli) Sung by La Scala Chorus, of Milan Columbia 03523. One of the most effective moments in "Madame Butterfly” is wheye Susuki, Cho Cho San and her child, are waiting for Pinkerton’s arrival. From the town below comes a murmur of sounds and voices woven into a languorous, slowly moving refrain. The melody

is taken by the chorus, who hum with closed lips, and the effect is exceedingly beautiful. Quite in contrast is the vigorous and spirited festal chorus from “La Gioconda” (the Snake). La Scala Chorus lias the re. putation of being one of the best oper-. *atic choruses in the world, and they certainly give us a remarkable record. A Brilliant Violinist. (1) “Londonderry .Air”; (2) “Molly On The Shore” (Grainger). Violin solos by Albert Sammons. Columbia 03525. It is a great pleasure to see Albert Sammons recording more frequently now. His silky tone end invariably artistic phrasing are always a joy to hear. His own arrangement of the familiar Londonderry Air gives ns a taste of his musicianship. He takes it with less obvious sentimentality than is usual, but with none the less feeling. In the new Kreisler arrangement of “Molly the Shore” Sammons plays with a dash and abandon that will satisfy any lover of these jolly Irish reels. From “Aida."

(1) “Grand March”; (2) “Selection.” From “Aida” (Verdi). Percy Pitt conducting the 8.8. C. Wireless Orchestra. Columbia 02547. The imposing Triumphal March that forms the close of the first act is splendidly realistic, the brass rich and thrilling, and the important trumpet passages vividly given. The distinguishing features of the performance are its brilliance and vitality, and also a’ praiseworthy restraint. (It is so easy to outHerod Herod in this music. "Aida” was originally written for a Viceroy of Egypt at the opening of a new opera house in Cairo, and in the Selection the reverse side Verdi’s use of Oriental airs and an Egyptian setting are colorfully emphasised. From Burke. (1) “The Minstrel Boy”; (2) “Thank God for a Garden.” Sung by Tom Burke, tenor. Columbia 0911. Tom Burke is a great artist, and this record is worthy of him. His rise to fame in a single night at Covent Garden is still remembered, and following this he has just returned from a prolonged series of triumphs in America. Columbia have taken a big step in offering his latest records at a popular price, for Tom Burke is admittedly among the very great. In power, phrasing, and in subtle use of mezza voce he is a continual delight. We have, too, the authentic “Minstrel Bov,” for it is sung by an Irishman, and though in “Thank God for a Garden” he shows’ delightful vocalism, I fancy it will be for Tom Moore’s song that this record will find favour.

A Drinking Song Medlev. “Bacchanalia” (Drinking Song Fantasia) (arranged Herman Finch), and his orchestra. Columbia 02541. ,

Memories of many a festive night may be evoked by this hilarious potpourri of old topers’ songs—most of them traditional and all of them popular. There is a story that the sedate Queen Victoria once admired the playing of a famous band, and asked the name of the delightful tune they were playing. The answer was, “Come Where the Booze is Cheaper!” This is included, as well as “Little Brown Jug,” "Another Little Drink,” and many another bibulous anthem. The irrepressible band breaks into chorus every now and again, thereby increasing the atmosphere of hilarity. A very jolly record.

An Irish Election. “The Shamrock” —Irish selection. Played by the Band of H.M. Grenadier Guards. Columbia 02542.

Encouraged by the success of their English (“The Rose”) and Scots (“The Thistle”) selections of national airs, the Grenadiers now give us an Irish selection. The arrangement is again W. H. Myddleton’s, and is therefore well strung together, with clever contrasts from grave to gay, and my Irish readers will certainly find no lack of tunefulness in it. But surely even a regimental band can be broadminded enough to include such a familiar seminational air as “The Wearing of the Green” ? I sadly missed it. However, the Guards Band shows all the brilliance of tone and perfection of finish we have learned to expect from them. Johann Strauss. “Die Fledermaus” (“The Bat”), selection (Strauss). Johann Strauss and his Symphony Orchestra. Columbia 02543. More’s the pity, we are not overfamiliar with the merry and tuneful operas-boufies tliat delighted tlie laugh-ter-loving Viennese public of the last century. “Die Fledermaus” is the best of them, and still the most popular pro- ■ diiction of its sort in Continental Europe. 'Here a capital selection is played by the composer’s son—and who could be better fitted to interpret its merry melodious strains ? It could not possibly be better rendered. No one could help falling in love with this rhythmic and light-hearted music.

Two Fine Duettists. (1) “Move Into My House”; (2) “The Village Blacksmith Up to Date.” Duets by Mr. Flotsam and Mr. Jetsam. Columbia 0904.

There ought to be a big vogue for Flotsam and Jetsam records. This capital pair make a gramophone debut with Columbia. The first side gives their own little introductory patter followed by one of the most cleverly written songs put out lately. The second side shows that Mr. Jetsam is a tip-top singer, and any bass in the world might be proud of some of his lower notes Good stuff, this. What the Artists Say.

Here are some interesting “solutions by the artists themselves: —Mr. Peter Dawson says his favourite record, of course, it any, is the Prologue to “Pagliacci,” and for ballads, “Oh, Could I but Express in Song” (Malashkin), “Indian Love Lyrics,” “Lut£ Player,” “Floral Dance,” "She is Far from the Land ” In fact, all the new recordings are simply half-a-dozen of one and six of the other. .Madame Amel'ita Galli-Curci prefers “Lo, Here the Gentle Lark,” while Mr. John McCormack says he thinks the best record he ever made is the record of ’’Lullaby of Jocelyn,” "with my dear friend Fritz Kreisler.” Jascha Heifetz savs that the following appeal to him particularly:—"Andante” (from "Concerto”), Goldmark, because the mood in which it was recorded is so well caught in the reproduction; "La Plus que lente” (Debussv) ; “La Fille aux cheveux de lin,” the last because it is the first successful recording with mute; “Nocturne” (Boulatnger) ; “Meditation” (Glhbounofl) ; and “Hebrew Melody” (Achron), because it is Mr. Heifetz’s first, record with orchestral accomnaninient. Other favourites are “Rondo” (Schubert), "Havanaise” (Saint-Saens), and “Spanish Dance” (Granados). Miss Una Bourne likes best the Mozart "Sonata in B flat” for piano and violin, recorded with Marjorie Havward, and amongst her solos, the "Finnish Dances” bv Palmgren. the “Sevillanas” by Albeniz, and “En Troika,” byTchaikovsky. Bad News. It is distressing to hear, states a London contemporary that the twentyfifth anniversary, of the formation of

the Flonzaley Quartet Is to be celebrated by the dissolution of the combination—sad news, indeed. But we shall still have their records to console us, and rumour says that they have lately recorded the Dohnanyi “Quartet in D flat,” Op. 15, and other works which will add fragrance to the memories of their exquisite art. Another testimony to the value of the gramophone in perpetuating the memory of artists who pass. A Spiritual Appeal. “It is the fashion, I believe, for some musicians to speak contemptuously of Mendelssohn’s '“Hear , My Prayer,” writes a correspondent to h Loudon contemporary, “to say tliat it is over-luscious. I only know that it brings all heaven about me, and reconciles the sadness of the world with the peace of God. A boy’s perfect treble—that sweetest of all cieated sounds, because so unconscious of its pathos and beauty—floating on the top of the music, and singing as an angel might sing among the stars of heaven, came to my thirsty spirit like a draught of clear spring water. . . 1 left the cathedral as a cripple dipped in the healing well. While music is in the world, God abides among us. Ever since the days that David soothed Saul by his sweet harp and artless song, music has thus beguiled the heaviness of the spirit. And now to-day it is not necessary even to go to the cathedral to hear this work performed. As recorded with Master Lough and the choir of the Temple Church, under Mr. G. Thalbcn Ball, it is to be prized as one of the pre-

cious things of the world, and something which has power to make us as one dipped in healing waters.”

A Hint for Gramoplionists. I find cotton cord admirably suited for cleaning records (says a correspondent in a London journal). It does not create electric charges readily and it has a stiff pile which is able to shift those obstinate specks which lodge themselves in awkward corners of the grooves. The fact that it gets dirty itself in such a short time is sufficient indication that it is doing its job. I have to rinse mine out in soap and water once a fortnight, sometimes even once a week. To make a pad I fasten a piece of cotton cord, 4in. by 6in., by drawing pins to a flat cork block. Most tool shops sell cork “sandpaper blocks’’ for about 6d. It is a refinement to put a little flat wad of cotton wool between the material and the block; but this is not really necessary. The drawing pins, of course, sjiould be pushed through the material into the sides and ends of the block and not into the flat surface. Be careful, too, to see that the edges of the pins do not project above the flat surface. A Suggestive Selection

Here is one enthusiast’s list of “best records”: —Jeritza, “Vissi d’arte”; Edvina, “Depuis le jour”; Farrar, ’/Jewel Song”; Melba, "O soave fanciulla,” “Addio di Mimi”; Gluck, “Je dis que rien”; Hempel, ’Du meine Seele”; Destinn, “Miserere,” “O patria mia”; Galli-Curci, “Una voce poco fa”; Gigli, “Quanto e bella”; Ansseau, “Ah! leve toi, Soleil” (D. 8.951 ; Chaliapine, “Son lo spirito,” ‘’Death of Boris”; Schipa, “Death Scene” (Boheme) ; Hislop, “Salut, demeure”; Eriskay love lilt; “O, Mimi, tu piu.” Steel Needles.

A correspondent says in a contemporary journal:—"l always use steel needles, of varying loudness, according to room and record. I keep an account of the number of playings of .each record, and those played 50 times are no whit worse, sometimes even better, than new records, or those with 10 or so playings. This applies equally to all records from Tamagno (1903) to electrical recordings.” Treats In Store. Some splendid records by the talented Roman singer, Ezio Pinza, art going to attract a lot of attention, writes Mr. 'Herman Klein, in “The Gramophone.” Apart from their mechanical excellence, they are welcome because they bring to our notice a voice of noble proportions and a dignified artistic style for this basso (contaute or profondo, each in turn) stands straight in the line of Edouard de Reske and Plancon. He created a role in Boito’s “Nerone,” and is said to be the best Italian artist of his type now before the public. He is young, evidently very dramatic, and displays the correct traditions in Verdi pieces like “O tu Palermo and Ella giammai m’amo” or “Dormiro sol” (D.B.1087) ; also in the “Possente Numi” (Flauto Magico) and “Donne che riposate” (Roberto) (D.B.1088) ; and two airs in French from “La Juive” (DA.907, lOin), which last replaces a 12in. Italian disc cancelled last year. His voice sounds finest in his native tongue, but he has made an exceptionally good record of the celebrated "Air du Tambour Major” from Ambroise Thomas’s neglected light opera, “Le Caid” (DB.1086), which, together with the lullaby from “Mignon,” forms a specimen worth having.

How Big is Your Library? What constitutes a library of records ? A library of books, one woud say, must contain at least five thousand volumes. Yet most of our correspondents, says a London journal devoted to gramophonv, seem to be talking of hundreds or even dozens of records. Who buys the vast output of the English factories? It was rather staggering the other day to hear that from one London establishment two thousand records had been sent to various clients in South America during the last three months, and that one man alone has bought fifteen hundred records in the last year. From Their Point of View. Speaking of his own records, Mr. Robert Radford, the well-known bass says:—"Under the new conditions, I think the old Irish song, ‘Fatbe: O’Flynn,’ is as good as any. I was always pleased with the big bass airs of Osmin, ‘When a Maiden takes your fanev,’ and ’Ah, my pretty brace of fellows,’ from the Mozartian opera ‘The Seraglio.’ The latter is one of the most difficult songs in existence for bass voice Both these, however, were made under the old conditions.” M. Marcel Journet says of his that. “My favourite is the "Serenade de Mephistophele,’ from ‘Faust’ (Gounod) and ‘La calunnia e un venticello’ (‘Il Barbiere’).”

Getting Perfect Alignment, In a gramophone with perfect alignment the line joining the centre of the record to the needle point should always be at right angles to the face of the sound-box (says one well-informed in such matters). You can test this roughly by placing a piece of notepaper with one of its corners at the needle-point and one edge passing through the centre of the turntable spindle. The sound-box looked at edgewise should then lie in the direction of the other edge. Try it, with the needle resting at different points of a record. Don’t set the turntable moving, of course. Compliments to Schipa.

Tito Schipa, the well-known H.MV. operatic star, reminds me of no living tenor so much as Bonci—less by his voice, which is neither so round nor ringing in timbre as Bonci’s was twenty years ago, than by his art which I admire more and more every time I hear him (says a well-known London critic). There is no need to particularise over again concerning his technique. But Schipa’s is a singularly individual talent; he seems to imitate nobody; he phrases in accordance with his own ideas as much as with tradition; there is no seeking after effect. He knows he has a delightful mezza voce, and he takes care to make all possible use of it.” Old and New in Opera. The old operas of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and much of Meyerbeer were extremely florid and coloratura in style, not only for the soprani but also for the heavier voices, and though Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti wrote some very beautiful airs, their music never produces that deep, sensuous thrill one derives from Wagner, and the best of Verdi and Puccini (says a writer). These older composers were superficial and unreal, and called for light, brilliant singing, with a superb technique, such a technique as John McCormack has now (H.M.V. D. 8.324, Il mio tesoro). The modern dramatic singing necessary for Wagner, Verdi, and Puccini was once criticised as "bawling and screaming,” but one has only to compare the most popular singers at Covent Garden to-day with the coloratura singers of the past. The old coloratura work sounds poor stuff now, and it takes a very great singer like Frienda Hempel or Galli-Curci to brinj

it to life occasionally. (Compare HDI V. D. 8.256, Sonnambuia, GalhCurci, and D. 8.365, Magic Flute, Hempel..l Parlophone. Berlin State Opera House Orchestra, conducted by Mascagni: Overture to William Tell (Rossini), R. 20035—6) ; State Opera House Orchestra, Berlin, conducted by Dr. Weissmann: Scherzo and Wedding March from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Mendelssohn), E. 10649; State Opera Orchestra, Berlin, conducted by Dr. Weissmann: Overture to Poet and Peasant (Suppe), E. 10650) ; State Opera Orchestra, Berlin, conducted by Arthur Bodansky: Wein, Weib, * und Gesang Waltz (J. Strauss, junior), E. 10651; Julian Full’s Symphony Orchestra, with Miseha Spoliansky at the piano: Rhapsodv in Blue (Gershwin), E. 10645. The above are all very recent recordings, and may not yet be available locally. They are worth noting however. Tlie opening of “William Tell,” taken very slowly, attains fresh dignity and force. A good disc. The "Scherzo” from “Midsummer Night’s Dream” js a capital test for the new recording. The “Wedding March” goes with all seemly boisterousness, like a nervous bridegroom trying to pass it off with a ject. Tn “Poet and Peasant” the orchestra does a good deal for Suppe by taking him so seriously This suave, benignant treatment makes a new man of him. A first-class performance, the old tarnished tunes rubbed up to surprising brilliance.

“Wine, Woman, and Song” (Op. 333 from the never-failiii" fount) leaves (or leave) me rather cold, but that is not the orchestra's fault. Close your eyes, retire into the next room, and what need is there of a Cook’s tour? Put on this disc, and enjoy all the sprightly delights of Vienna without further expense The issue of a dozen of the best songs out of Schubert’s “Winterreise” Cvcle bv Parlophone, sung bv Richard Tauber with piano accompaniments by Miseha Poliansky, is worth noting. The orchestra of the State Opera House, Berlin, under Dr. Weissmann, have recorded for the Parlophone Company on two 12in. discs two movements of an unknown svmphony in C which is attributed to Beethoven. This delightful work was apparently discovered in 1909 by Dr. Fritz Stein in the library of the Concert Academy at Jena. On the second violin part was written “par Louis von Beethoven,” and on the ’cello nart was inscribed “Symphonic von Beethoven.” This, it would seem, is all the direct evidence to prove that Beethoven actually was the composer, but the character of the music lends support to the claim Brunswick.

Of the Berlin State Opera Orchestra’s , recording of the “Intermezzo” from ‘“Cavalleria Rusticana” (Mascagni), and “Mallet Music’ from “Aida” (Verdi), conducted by Mascagni for Brunswick, a reviewer says: I like the performances very much. The strings sting a little, and the whole sounds a trifle distant. The utmost sprightliness informs the playing, and the manv bits of woodwind piquancy pop out in the most delightful way. The Verdi gives nearly four and a half minutes of dainty music that everyone likes. "Miss Annabelle Lee” is a good tune to dance to, having the well-marked rhythm that is essential. It has been recorded for Brunswick by Ben Bernie and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra, who play for the reserve side “Swanee Shore” very attractively, with plenty of variety without losing the tune. The rapid rise to fame of Mr. Fred Elizalde, who with “His Music” has been the greatest attraction at the Savoy Hotel, and thence to wireless listeners, since the beginning of last month, is in no small measure due to his association with Brunswick. When a recording company takes up a comparatively unknown artist, and succeeds in making him world-famous in less than a year mutual congratulations are well earned and the outside world may add a blessing.

Walter Rehberg has recorded the “Fantasia” for Brunswick on seven sides (80022/5). the odd side being occupied bv Liszt’s “Consolations,” On. 17, beautifully played and recorded. Tt was to Liszt, bv the wav, that Schumann dedicated the “Fantasia.” Reliberr has done well; his technictue is eotial to the formidable demands made on it. but his virtuosity never blinds him to the imaginative qualities of the music and even in the few -places where, one disagrees with him one respects his judgment.