Gramophone Notes
SCHUMANN'S music, like the writing of Robert Louis Stevenson, suffers today from that kind of neglect which does not often permit us to make any effort to study it, even though, when by some chance we do, we seldom fail to find enjoyment in it. Stevenson's neglect (except in schools, where the little innocents, unaffected by literary fashion, are still offered up to his cult) is probably the more general, because there is no literary substitute for a new set of gramophone records to provide the necessary incentive. So Stevenson remains unread, while a new recording of the Third Symphony —an excellent one, by Piero Coppola and L'Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire (H.M.V. DB 4926-8, 18s.)—makes us turn our attention once more to Schumann. ' It is improbable that as a result we shall revise our opinion of him : we shall listen to these records with pleasure for a week or so, and then forget about them until the next set of Schumann records arrives to remind us of him once more. Like all the others, the Third Symphony is poorly orchestrated, and, more than them, it lacks symphonic cohesion. But it has many qualities which make it worth listening to, and it is admirably recorded.
To the Pro Arte Quartet must be given the credit of pro- ducing two of the most attractive sets of records that have appeared in the last few months. The first is Borodin's String Quartet No. 2 in D (H.M.V. DB 2150-3, 24s.), the other Mozart's Piano Quartet in G Minor (H.M.V. DB 2155-8, 24s.). which three of them play with Arthur Schnabel. The third movement of the Borodin quartet, the Nocturne, will be familiar to most people, but the rest of it will probably be less so. It has never, so far as I know, been recorded before, and it is satisfactory that so attractive a work should have received as admirable an interpretation as this on its first recording. The playing of the Mozart is not quite so satis- factory. The piano part obtrudes a shade too much, and the interpretation as a whole is a little solemn. But it is ' only by the severest standards that it can be criticized, and even by them it remains a notable success.
Paul Hindemith's Second String Trio is one of his latest works and one of his most important, and the greatest credit must be given to the Columbia company for recording it so promptly. If it is still too early to say whether Hindemith is a great composer, it is obvious that he is one of extreme importance to his period : not least for showing that the development of chamber music need not necessarily follow Stravinsky. The recording of this trio (Columbia LX 311-3, 18s.) is by Simon Goldberg, Emanuel Feuermann, and Hindemith himself, and seems perfect. It is a set of records which must be recommended to everyone.
Other records of interest include : Franck's Symphonic Variations, delightfully played (H.M.V. DB 2185-6, 12s.) by Cortot and the London Philharmonic Orchestra ; a lively performance of the Overture to Don Giovanni, by Sir Henry Wood and the London Symphony Orchestra (Columbia DX 587, 4s.) ; Chopin's Polonaise in A Flat, Op. 53 and Etude in A Flat, Op. 25, No. 1, brilliantly played by Solomon (Columbia LX 314, 6s.) ; an extraordinary record containing Don Pizarro's Air from Fidelio on one side, and The Two Grenadiers on the other, both sung by Friedrich Schorr accompanied by the New Symphony Orchestra (H.M.V. D 2112, 6s.) ; and Stravinsky's Octet for Wind Instruments (Columbia LX 808-9, 12s.), played by an octet conducted by the composer ; the last recommended in the conviction that it will give greater pleasure to other people than it did
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