MUSIC IN THE HOME

Taranaki Daily News, 23 August 1930, Page 27 (Supplement)

MUSIC IN THE HOME

' WAGNER’S CLIMAX. - Act 3 of •‘Parsifal. - ’ electrically recorded by His Master's Voice in album form, is a worthy companion to the "Rheingold” and “Siegfried. - ’ It contains the glorious Good Friday miisic. The opera was the last that Wagner wrote, and this act is a fitting close to the great life-work of the last of our really great composers of the nineteenth centurv. The darkly-tinted harmonics of the short Prelude are wonderfully played by the Berlin State Orchestra, and the orchestral background of the whole act is highly impressive, which is what might be expected from a Wagnerian authority like Dr. Karl Muck, the conductor. The work is, of course, sung in German. The soloists are Gottheif Pistor (Parsifal). Ludwig Hoffman (Giirnernanz), and Cornelius Bronsgeest (Amfortas), and their finely sympathetic voices contribute their full share to the success of the reproduction. These eight discs will certainly be wanted by all who possess the earlier portions of the work already electrically recorded by H.M.V. AMBASSADOR-COM POSER.

There is a recording on the- Wurlitzer- organ this mouth of more than usual interest. Ou the ’giant cinema organ of the Capitol Theatre, London, F. rßowland-Tims, F.R.C.0., plays' n. piece entitled "Melody,” by General Dawes, the American Ambassador in London. It has. oeen said that diplomacy’s gain is music’s loss, and there is certainly a great deal in the saying, but .it is to be hoped that Genera! Dawes will find a few spare hours in the future to give us further little treasures of musical composition. He has a rare gift of melody; and the infinite range of tone colours on the Wuriitzer gives full realisation to the theme of this charming piece. On the other side the organist plays a transcription of the famous song, “For You Alone” (Geehl), and introduces several beautiful effects. (H.M.V., 833-08).

TWO MORE KETELBEY GEMS.

“Tho Clock and the Dresden Figure”; (2) "Wedgewood Blue.” Albert W. Ketelbe.y’s Concert Orchestra. (Columbia WX 21). , Kctelbey, our prime genius ot descriptive music, paints a pair of musical pictures in delicate pastel colours on his latest Columbia dise. They are j soothing, agreeable trifles. One can rely on him never to shock or surprise us, but his fertile imagination and really sound musicianship (why do his critics deny him this latter—it stands out a mile) more than atone for his refusal to stampede us into excitement. He conducts the music himself. . "'The Clock” is a sheer joy of happy frolic. THE SHEFFIELD CHOIR. "Elijah” (Mendelssohn) —(I) Thanks be to God; (2) Baal, we lay to thee. Sir Henry Coward and the Sheffield Choir. (Columbia DOX 15). This is a very enjoyable record, with a more telling orchestral part than is customary. As usual with these Yorkshire choirs, there is a wee bit of hardness in tho women's voices when singing loud and high, but this seems a tradition, so we must assume that tho North Country likes it that way. In “Thanks be to God” the pace is maintained furiously; as the waters rush along they scein to take the voices with them. The Baal outciy is properly fierce and compelling, and unison all the way through is remarkable. Orchestra and organ provide the accompaniment.

CHOU IN—WITH AN ORCHESTRA. Concerto No. 2 in F Minor for piano and orchestra (Chopin). Marguerite Long (pianoforte) and the Paris Conservatoire'Orchestra. (Columbia LOX 11-4). Chopin wrote surprisingly little for the orchestra, and that little was always in the form of an accompaniment to his one and only love, the pianoforte. Nevertheless, it has more than a sentimental interest. If his thoughts found their happiest expression on the keyboard, tho same thoughts, poetic and utterly beautiful, and not marred by a single banality or commonplace, are still there for our delectation, even if not so naturally expressed. This Concerto is the outcome of his student days; more precisely of a student love, and the spirit of the passionate adolescent amour pervades it throughout in unrestrained and coruscating brilliance. Mlle. Long is most sympathetic in her treatment and touch. The temperamental listener who will aL low himself to be swept away, will find her dashing pianism in the thrilling ecstasies of the sixth part little short of intoxicating; no less gorgeous are the wealth of treble runs on the last side, like cascades of water tumbling down a deep ravine. The orchestra is full-toned and satisfying in its. few climaxes, but the pianoforte part is the important one.

TSOHAIKOWSKY’S “PATIIETIQUE.”

An authoritative rendering of Tschaikowsky’s ‘-Pathetique” symphony by the Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Landon Ronald, is one of the outstanding H.M.V. orchestral recordings. An unusual and praiseworthy sanity is the conspicuous feature of the performance, which completely lacks the unbridled hysteria and abnormality too often regarded as an integral part of a successful interpretation of Tschaikowsky. Dissipated energy and exaggerated expenditure of emotion give place to nicely calculated control which, far from robbing the heartrending climaxes of their legitimate prominence, rather adds to their intensity. Particularly effective are the temperate sweep of rhythm in the second movement which replaces the conventionally heated tempo and the genuinely affecting treatment of the closing passages of tho Adagio Lamentoso, which easily become gruesomely morbid. (H.M.V., Dll'JO-4). ENGLISH ELOCUTIONIST. The English elocutionist, Clifford Turner, is an excellent antidote to the nasal twang of some of the American talkies. In a further record thia month he gives an excerpt from Milton’s "Samson Agonistes,”'. in which

the tragedy of the blind Samson is dramatically realised. The famous Shakespearian soliloquy, "When to the Sessions of Silent Thought,” is another delightful piece of elocution, a rare art nowadays, but perhaps the most striking piece of all is Blake’s mystical poem, “The Tiger.” The music of the words is wonderfully well conveyed, and the fourth piece on the record, Wordsworth’s “Westminster Bridge,” is another artistic performance. This record wood make a valuable, addition to any school library, for not only are the selections interpreted by a famous elocutionist, but they are among the finest in English poetry. (H.M.V., B 3151). i CASALS AND CHAMBER MUSK - . Chamber music has always had an especial appeal for Casals, and his colleagues have included Paderewski Kreisler, Bauer .and nearly all the fin-. cst musicians of his day. The most ■permanent of all his musical associations has proved, .to be . the trio, foundi ed in the early part of. their careers, by himself, Alfred Cortot and Jacques Thibaud. The performances that these three friends give the world are unsurpassable. Their gramophone records of the Haydn No. 1 Schubert. B flat, Beethoven B flat, Mendelssohn D minor and Schumann D .minor trios are among the triumphs of recording, so vital, so rich in tone-colour, and with such won derful finesse of ensemble playing. LEVITZKI. Levitzki’s experience as a recording artist , began with an American Re-, cording Company some years ago. just as his fame was becoming firmly established in the States.. They offered him a recording fee of £2OO a side with £3500 advance against royalties for eight sides It was a fee that exceeded his wildest hopes, and consequently he jumped at the chance. Two days in the recording room, however, put a different complexion on things. The first piece he recorded was. Mendelssohn’s "Spring Song.” He played it 24 times before they were satisfied, and, says Levitzki, quite candidly, "the twenty-fourth was, if anything, worse than the first. ’ But as far as the ordinary gramophone enthusiast is concerned, his career as a recording artist'dates from his first His Master’s Voice record—the “Sixth Hungarian Rhapsody” of Liszt, issued in February, 1928,

GAIETY OF THE WALTZ. Those who reinember the fascinating overture of Johann Strauss’ opera "Die Fledennaus” (The Bat), which was recorded hy the Berlin State Orchestra, will welcome the equally delightful aria from the same opera, “What Inferences Would You Draw,” sung by ’Lotte Schoene. The aria has the same melodious gaiety characteristic of the Strauss waltzes, which have now been accepted as classic examples a beautiful musical ring in the upper of their kind. The singer is fully alive to the gay atmosphere of her song, and blithely does the voice trip along with notes. The orchestral accompaniment by the Berlin Orchestra is brilliant, On the other side Schoene is heard in the wonderful Strauss waltz, “Tales from Vienna Woods.” Here again there is a delightful stream of waltz melody sung with gay sparkle and fluent grace. Again the orchestral background is very impressive. (H.M.V., D 1733). VIRILITY OF DAWSON. The robust and resonant voice of Peter Dawson., perhaps the most popular of all recording vocalists, makes ■ an outstanding number’of Sir Edward, German’s "Glorious Devon.” This is one of the most popular of all the South of England songs, anti its virility is given.. adequate expression by Dawson. Another song admirably, suited to ; his talents is - “ThA Drum Major” (Newtown).- •Dawson always has a rendering of his own hi numbers like this one, .and perhaps this accounts in a. measure for his popularity, although the clearness’ - of his diction and manly singing are also strong points in his favour. (H.M.V., B 3280). : INTERNATIONAL LECTURES.

Not only educational bodies, but the ; thoughtful private collector, should : make a point of exploring the wonderful list of International Lecture Records issued by Columbia. There are now well over a hundred of these discs. They range over an extraordinary wild, field of subjects, and in every case, the speaker is a pre-eminent authority on his topic. Music lovers will, be Uy interested in “How to Listen to I Music,” by Dr. Percy Buck, of Harrow, l and a series of six Great Composers by authorities like Sir Henry Hadow and j Dr. Markham Lee. , Sir Oliver Lodge [gives a fascinating lecture on "Time and Space.” Literature is handsomely covered by such men as John Drinkwater (“The Speaking of Verse”) and. Professor Ifqr Evans ("Twentieth Cen-? tury Poetry”). Sir John Forbes-Robert-son, the famous actor, gives ft “Shakes- - pearean Recital.” Among the subjects, treated are history, physics, chemistry, economics, Greek and Latin literature. Truly, the eager explorer will find many, treasures in this wonderful series.

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