Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
FEBRUARY 4, 1922
PROBLEMS OF MUSICAL DIRECTOR IN THE LABORATORY
Must Be a Genius at Picking Out Selections That Will Appeal to Popular Favor and Selecting the
Right Artists to Sing Them—Recording of Symphony Orchestra Presents Difficulties
Making records that "get across" is very much
like producing successful moving pictures, says
a writer in The New York American, who points
out that a clever story will often be ruined and
fall flat because of poor acting or as a result of
casting the wrong actors for the leading parts.
Just as often the reverse is the case, and a poor
story with a weak plot will go over by the sav-
ing grace of the star's winning personality and
delightful characterization.
The musical director at the recording labora-
tory has exactly the same problem to face.
First he must choose a musical "story" or com-
position that is sufficiently interesting to insure
its popularity and then determine which artist
will sing it to the best possible advantage. He
must select one whose art is most suitably adapted
to that type of song or music and who, because
of a particular quality of voice or style, is most
likely to infuse into the recording that lyrical
grace of execution or that charm of interpreta-
tion which makes the record a living embodi-
ment of the art of its creator. There must be
more than mechanical reproduction of sound
behind a record to make it good. The phono-
graph is no longer a novelty.
Have you ever stopped to consider what there
is in a record that attracts you besides its charm
as a musical composition? There are three ele-
mental points on which a recording should be
judged—clarity of recording, expression or in-
terpretation and tonal purity or fidelity.
Clarity of recording is not easily achieved, and
in spite of the fact that they have been at it many
years there are still many and varied difficulties
which are eternally presenting themselves. Take,
for example, the problem of recording the many
instruments in a symphony orchestra of approx-
imately one hundred pieces. Do not forget that
the diaphragm which catches and transmits the
vibrations sent out by these hundred different
musical instruments is less than two inches in
diameter, and that each instrument produces an
entirely different set of vibrations, all of which
strike the diaphragm at the same instant. All
this must be recorded in one single groove, one
continuous sound wave in the wax matrice.
That it is possible to produce the beautiful
symphony records which are being offered today
is remarkable, and it is due only to unremitting
scientific research and experiment, combined
with the serious and tireless efforts of the artists
themselves.
Expression of interpretation is perhaps the
most important single consideration in produc-
ing a record of artistic worth. The artist must
register the dramatic quality so vital to a song
such as "Danny Deever," or "On the Road to
Mandalay," or the subtlety of interpretation nec-
essary to Massenet's "Elegie," otherwise the re-
cording will prove flat and uninteresting. The
artist must infuse into the record that intangible
something that makes you feel his presence.
The matter of tonal purity and fidelity can
perhaps be best illustrated by a consideration of
violin recordings. Wonderful strides have been
made in this direction and it is not unusual to
find a record possessing a tone of surprising
purity, a tone round and warm in feeling or of
scintillating brilliance. Unless a record reflects,
with close fidelity, this beauty of tone much is
lost, for in the limpid tone of a violin is the
fullness of expression, the delicate shading and
color that distinguishes artistic achievement.
Tone is the foundation of expression for the
virtuosi. The difficult little tricks of technique
can be mastered with persistent practise; they
are more or less mechanical. Supple fingers can
be taught to respond instantly with unerring
precision and agility to an instinctive wish, but
tone—that is an entirely different matter.
Tone is infinitely difficult of accomplishment.
There is a certain something not readily de-
finable about a pure and limpid tone that is hard
to separate and analyze as a thing apart. The
artist feels, as he plays, that it is the soul within
him that breathes into his beloved violin as it
pours forth its melody.
BELIEVES IN BILLBOARDS
HEIFETZ PLAYS FOR BLIND GIRL
Enterprising Columbia Dealer Uses Billboards
to Advantage—Sells Many Grafonolas to Schools
Victor Artist Plays Strangest Concert of His
Career With an Audience of One, Miss Helen
Keller, Famous and Accomplished Blind Girl
Although A. F. Hibbard, Columbia dealer at
Huntington, W. Va., has had his store only two
years, he has already sold quite a number of
Grafonolas to schools in his territory. He not
only pushes Grafonola sales, but has a systema-
tized method of attack in the record department,
•
SO3* 4 V AVE, HUI*T»tt6T0ft W.W,j
How A. F. Hibbard Advertises
which consists of an intensive circularizing cam-
paign among the schools, school teachers and
principals, coupled with a unique sales idea.
Among Mr. Hibbard's latest publicity enter-
prises is a thirty-two sheet billboard, located near
a street-car switch, where every car stops to
wait for others to pass. This billboard is seen
by many passengers who pass the switch day
by day and it represents timely publicity. A
photograph of the billboard is shown herewith.
lo double
Vourlncome
and the proposition could be proved
sound from every angle, you wouldn't
hesitate, would you? Of course not,
but do you realize that a talking machine
department can be made to provide
sufficient revenue to take care of the
overhead on your entire establishment ?
Thousands of other retail music mer-
chants have proved the above made
statement true and thousands of retail
music merchants have looked to T h e
Talking Machine World for guidance
in the matter of selecting the make of
talking machines they would handle, the
way they would map out their talking
machine department, etc.
DENVER, COL., January 30.—Jascha Heifetz, the
brilliant young violinist and Victor artist, re-
cently played what was probably the strangest
and at the same time one of the most appreciated
concerts of his career. The audience consisted
of one person, Helen Keller, the most celebrated"
deaf, blind and formerly dumb girl in the coun-
try, and the setting was the suite occupied by
the artist in the Brown Hotel.
Miss Keller placed her sensitive fingers under
the body of Heifetz's Stradivarius while he
played and thus listened and was swayed by the
playing of "The Hymn to the Sun," from the
opera "Le Coq d'Or."
The Talking Machine World is the
oldest and largest trade journal in the
world devoted exclusively to the talking
machine industry.
Some book, eh? Yes, and some encyclo-
pedia of the kind of information that
will positively double your income.
A CLEVER PUBLICITY STUNT
Roy Swanstron, manager of the Brunswick
Shop, in St. Paul, Minn., has adopted a clever
idea for advertising his new records. He had
built a clever replica of the Brunswick record,
label and all, and had a glass plate fitted
therein to carry the name of the newest record
hit. A light back of the glass serves to make
the title of the record stand out, and the name
of the record is changed as the new favorites
develop.
INCORPORATED
A charter of incorporation has been granted
to the Drucker & Baltes Co., New York, under
the laws of that State, with $30,000 capital stock.
A. N. Baltes, C. D. Kaufman and H. Fabry are
the incorporators.
Don't miss your chance.
coupon now.
Send in the
TALKING MACHINE WORLD,
373 Fourth A v c , New York City.
Please enter my subscription for one year. I want to
learn how to double my income via a talking machine
department. Bill me $2 at your convenience to cover cost
of same.
Name
Firm
Street
City and State