PADEREWSKI RECORDS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 84, 30 June 1927, Page 14

PADEREWSKI RECORDS

In view of the visit of Ignace Jan Puderewski, the world-famous pianoforte virtuoso, his latest recordings will prove of great interest. In the world of recorded music Paderewski is a general favourite, especially among those who delight in the highest forms of interpretive art. Paderewski’s recording has- not, perhaps, been so successful as Aloiseintiti’s, De Greef’s, or Bachaus’s, but it is, nevertheless, of a very high order of merit, according to the exacting H.M.V. standards. The Paderewski list recommended here includes:—Dß 374 “Valse C Sharp Alinor,” Op. (f 4, No. 2 (Chopin); Warum (“Why?”) Schumann; DB 375. “Nocturne F Sharp Alajor,” Op. 15, No. 2 (Chopin); “Polonaise Militaire” (Chopin); DB 376, “Campanella” (Liszt); “Aufschwung” (Soaring), (Schumann); DB 378, “Hark, Hark, the Lark” (Schubert-Liszt) ; “Chant d’Amour” (Stojowski) ; DB 379 “Cracovienne Fantastique,” Op. 14, No. 6 (Paderewski); “Minuet in G,” Op. 14. No. 1 (Paderewski); DB 380 “Nocturne in B Flat” (Paderewski); “Valse in A Flat,” Op. 42 (Chopin); DB 381, “Hungarian Rhapsody,” No. 2 (in two parts), (Liszt); BD 833, “Impromptu in B Flat Major,” Op. 142, No. 3 (Schubert). There are others, of course, on the catalogue, to which gramophonists may refer for further explanations.

The approaching visit of the famous tenor, Joseph Hislop, to New Zealand, lends a special interest to his latest records, “I Heard You Singing” and “Nightfall at Sea” (piano accompaniment by Percy Kahn). Coates’s wellknown ballad, “I Heard You Singing,” is enhanced by a lovely violin and ’cello accompaniment. * * *

Fritz Kreisler has resurrected two old numbers in “Libesfreud” (“Love’s Joy”)—“Liebslied” (“Love’s Sorrow”). Something of the lavender grace of the old-time Viennese is caught up in the two old waltz tunes which Kreisler has rescued from an undeserved oblivion. Perhaps it is in no small measure, due to Kreisler’s playing, but the delicate perfume which these bewitching little melodies exhale lingers for a long period in the memory. The full, round tone of the violin “stands out” remarkably from its background.

Among Columbia’s numerous Wagner discs is “The Alagic Fire Scene” from “The Valkyrie”—in which is some of the most electric and scintillating music this great composer wrote. His orchestration of the music necessary to such a subject is amazing, and although this is not a just-issued disc, the clarity and tone of the- recording is remarkable, even in the impressive volume sound called for in depicting the moment when Wotan strikes the rock with his spear and the God of Fire is summoned. Here sonorous chords and crashing octaves, whirling strings and vibrant brass combine with majestic power.

Air. T. Lindsay Buick, F.R. Hist S., whose books on New Zealand history are so well known, has temporarily departed from his usual theme and has written a book entitled “The Romance of the Gramophone.” This volume will provide lovers of the gramophone with a clear and comprehensive history of the development of the mechanical production of sound from the earliest times down to the most recent instruments designed to reproduce the new electrical recordings. An*. Buick has made a close study of the gramophone for a number of years and the fruit of that study he is now giving to the public in a book that will at once be informative and entertaining. The volume will be published by Air. Ernest Dawson, of Manners Street, Wellington. and will be issued early in August.

Famous as both a composer and magnificent exponent of the ’cello, W. H. Squire figures in a wonderfui new* set nf pAinm.

new’ set of Columbia discs—three giving Saint-Saer.s' exquisite Concerto for viol incello (L 1800-02). It is long indeed since we have had such delicious music, such flawless string recording, and Columbia has earned the gratitude of all serious students by this addition to classical music

spheres. This Concerto belongs to the early Saint-Saens, and was written at a time when in addition to unique gifts of form and structural architecture and a wonderful understanding of the capacity of the modern orchestra, he put verve and spontaneity into his work. Squire’s fascinating “singing style” is admirably adapted to the delightful melodic rhythm that lifts this concerto out of the ordinary run. The interpretation is in the hands of the Halle Orchestra, led in faultless style by Sir Hamilton Harty, who makes the most of the spirited and animated orchestration.