23 AUGUST 1935, Page 28

Gramophone Notes

Some Recent Recordings

Tim summer months are always a lean time for gramophone- addicts and the only advantage of the situation is that.; un- embarrassed by any surfeit of delights, we can give our attention wholeheartedly to the few notable recordings which brighten the prevailing gloom. By far the most ambitious undertaking of the last three months has been the recording by Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra (H.M.V. DB2327-35, 54s.) of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. This is not an ideal recording (that we shall probably never get), but it is certainly the best that has been produced. For once the recording of the final movement is as satisfactory as that of the rest of the symphony—indeed, from an indifferent beginning, it improves gradually as it proceeds. In the first movement the tone is not as clear as it should be, and the pace is un- warrantably slowed down in the unison passage before the close. There is a bad blemish too in the second movement when the famous drum passage is absurdly muffled. But after this—apart from an occasional passage where the tone again lacks clarity—Stokowski's interpretation is almost faultless. The adagio and the majestic finale are both superbly played, and the voices—apart from a weakness in the tenor—have never been better recorded. But must we have this appalling device of " fading " which ruins the beginning and end of almost every record ?

It is a pity that the Menuhins should have chosen to record the " Kreatzer " Sonata so early in their careers, for of all great works it is probably the one least suited to immature playing.' Some day Yehudi Menuhin may well be a great violinist, at present he is only an astoundingly talented one. What his sister may become it is too early to guess, but it is clear that music of this kind is still a considerable way beyond her. Only the second movement of this set (H.M.V. DB2409-12, 24s.) is at all satisfactory. The rest is pedestrian and sounds sadly empty of authority. Far better is the recording (Decca- Polydor: DE7083-35, 7s. 6d.), by Frank von Vecsey and Guido Agosti of Beethoven's Sonata in E Flat, Op. 12, No. 3. In this charming work, as in several of Beethoven's early violin and piano sonatas, the violin is largely subordinated to the piano and at times seems little more than an accompanying instrument. Signor Agosti, the pianist, shows himself a really talented interpreter of Beethoven, and Herr von Vecsey, though his opportunities are much more .limited, plays with his usual sensitiveness and skill. But good though Signor Agosti's playing of Beethoven is, it has not the distinction of Baekhaus's, whose two fine records (H.M.V. DB2407-8, 12s.) of the Sonata in E Flat major, Op. 81n (Les Adieux, L'Absence, Le Retour) arc probably the best of the last three months' output.

Two extremely interesting and unexpected sets of records are provided by the new recordings of Chausson's Symphony in B Flat, Op. 20, and Roussel's Symphony in G minor, Op. 42. The Chausson (H.M.V. DB4953-56, 24s.) is played by the Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire Orchestra, conducted by Piero Coppola, the Roussel (Decca-Polydor. 8199-8201, 12s.) by the Lamoureux Orchestra of Paris, conducted by Albert Wolff. Chaussori's music had a certain vogue about twenty-five years ago, but little has been heard about it recently, and the Gramophone Company must be warmly congratulated for issuing a work of such unusual interest. In theme it recalls Wagner, occasionally Grieg, and Cesar Franck, but Chausson's orchestration is a great deal more lucid and less monotonous than Franck's. The symphony is by no means a great Work, but it is well constructed, has passages of great beauty, and some most refreshing rhetoric. Roussel's music is probably . even less known-in this country than Chausson's, and this new recording of his sythphony is at least as welcome. Super- ficially it may suggest Stravinsky, but a more apt comparison would be with Hindemith. Roussel is as much a romantic as Chausson, and his music is quite free from the humourless aridity which Stravinsky now so painfully cultivates. One hopes that the Decca Cothpany will be rewarded for their courage in issuing this interesting and most enjoyable work.

Four other. recordings demand to be mentioned. The best of them is the really admirable recording (Columbia, LX886-8, 18s.), by Szigeti and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham, of Mozart's Concerto No. 4 in D major—perhaps after all these are the best records of all those now under review. There is also a very enjoyable recording (Columbia LX894, Os.) by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Hamilton Harty, of Bax's lively Overture to a Picares4ue' Comedy, and a pleasant performance (Deeca- Polydor LY6109-12, 12s.) of Dvorak's " Duanky " Trio in. P; minor, Op. 90, by the Lily Ney Pianoforte Trio. Finally, We may recommend a collection of Rossiniana, played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Thomas, Peechain (Columbia LX391-2, 12s.) : these are some of the piano pieces composed by Rossini near the end of his career, richly orches- trated by Respighi. They are delightful pieces, and both performance and recording are delightful too.

Auzolivcus.