THE GRAMOPHONE LonOOn Offic~: 58, Frith Street, London, W. I Edited by COMPTON MACKENZIE

TELBPHO • Regent 1383

TBLBGRAliII8 :

Parma.xto, Westoent, London.

Vol. V.

JULY, 1927

No.2

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QUARTERLY REVIEW OF RECORDS

By THE EDITOR

IHAVE already observed several t imes that the

I lot of a gramophone reviewer in these days is a , hard one. Most of the music being recorded has been recorded in the old style already, and the level of the new recording is so high as to leave l i t t le opportunity for grumbles about technical defects. One of the signs of this dead level of excellency is a conspicuous decrease in the number of letters we receive blaming or praising the opinions in our paper.

The temptation of such a period of prosperity is to create some kInd of a scene, because one has an uncomfortable feeling that things are going too well. With a horror of complacency I feel that this quarter I must somehow wring a protest out of somebody, and yet when I read through the l ist of records during the last three months I really don't know how to do i t . A few months ago I attacked the organ with the feeling that I was hitting somebody bigger than myself, but expectin~ nevertheless a body of devoted adherents to attack me. It is true a certain number of people wrote more in sorrow than in anger to correct my combativeness, but I could not feel that I had really roused anybody, and the competition I started with the object of defending the organ produced one of the most lymphatic exhibitions I have ever seen. The Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings is jacobin compared with the defenders of the organ. In fact, i t appears that people who like the organ are naturally mild and benevolent creatures, and incapable of any kind of violence, whether by word or deed.

The last t ime I wrote about records I said that the three H.M.V discs of the Casse-Noisette Suite, conducted by Leopold Stokowski, provided the best orchestral records up to date. After three months I don't feel inclined to retract. I still think they are