Monday, Aug. 08, 1938

August Records

Some phonograph records are musical events. Each month TIME notes the noteworthy.

Symphonic, etc.

HAYDN : SYMPHONY No. 13 IN G MAJOR (NBC Symphony, Arturo Toscanini conducting; Victor: 6 sides). Top-notch Haydn, as only Toscanini can do it.

DVORAK: CONCERTO IN B MINOR FOR CELLO AND ORCHESTRA (Czech Philharmonic, George Szell conducting, with Pablo Casals; Victor: 10 sides). Superb performance of a light but proverbially knotty concerto by the world's No. 1 cellist. The Czechs give him worthy support.

MOZART: SYMPHONY No. 29 IN A MAJOR (K. 201) (London Philharmonic,

Sir Thomas Beecham conducting; Columbia: 6 sides); SYMPHONY No. 39 IN E FLAT (K. 543) (Royal Philharmonic, Felix Weingartner conducting; Columbia: 6 sides); SYMPHONY No. 38 IN D MAJOR (K. 504) (Vienna Philharmonic, Bruno Walter conducting; Victor: 6 sides). Of the month's three Mozart symphonies, that of Beecham's Londoners is the most important. Hitherto unrecorded, it is fine-vintage Mozart, excellently played. Weingartner's and Walter's are both first-rate interpretations of well-known symphonies, but Walter's is somewhat unevenly recorded.

BACH: PRELUDES AND FUGUES Nos. 44. 45, 46, 47, 48, from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2; and ENGLISH SUITE No. 2 (Edwin Fischer, pianist, Wanda Landowska, harpsichordist; Victor: 12 sides). Volume 5 of the Bach Society's custom-made series. Fischer's preludes and fugues are scholarly, Landowska's English Suite brilliant.

PROGRAM No. 2 (NBC String Symphony, Frank Black conducting; Victor: 10 sides). Conductor Black's second album is of interest because of one previously unrecorded item: a cerebral Sinjonietta by the late French composer, Albert Roussel (1869-1937).

LISZT: BALLADE IN B MINOR (Louis Kentner, pianist; Columbia: 4 sides); CHOPIN: RONDO IN E FLAT MAJOR, OP. 16 (Anatole Kitain, pianist; Columbia). Good additions to the shelf of popular pianistic showpieces.

Popular

ORIENTAL SWING (Lil Armstrong; Decca). Famed Trumpeter Louis' wife sings and plays several deft and spirited choruses on the piano.

SOLD AMERICAN (Glenn Miller; Brunswick). Lucky Strike's tobacco-auctioneer chant provides the motif for an urgent stomp.

Now IT CAN BE TOLD (Bing Crosby; Decca). Melody-of-the-month, by Irving Berlin. Some 30 Berlin ballads are played throughout the new film, Alexander's Ragtime Band. Most of the best are available on a new Decca series. Recommendable: The International Rag, Everybody Step, Say It With Music.

POR CORRIENTES VA UNA CONGA

(Panchito; Victor). There are few better Cuban bands than Panchito's; few more exciting congas (rhumba's cousin) than this one.

MOTEN STOMP (Fletcher Henderson; Vocalion). Hot classic, powerfully played.

PYRAMID (Duke Ellington; Brunswick).

A welcome return of Ellington to his rich, romantic style.

RIVERBOAT SHUFFLE (Wolverines; Hot Record Society). A good revival of one of the most earful of the classics of the Chicago style.

COCKTAIL HOUR AT THE SAVOY-PLAZA (Emile Petti; Liberty Music Shop, Manhattan: 4 sides). Twelve random tunes played to recreate the blue hour.

HONEYSUCKLE ROSE (Quintet of the Hot Club of France; Decca). Django Reinhardt's rhythmic and inventive guitar sounds as though it were played on the banks of the Mississippi, rather than the Seine.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.