Third Supplement 1953-1955 to The World's Encyclopaedia of Recorded Music by F. F. Clough;G. J. Cuming; E. A. HughesReview by: Richard S. HillNotes, Second Series, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Jun., 1957), pp. 357-359Published by: Music Library AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/891825 .

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Kinsky family towards Beethoven's an- nuity or a summary of all the letters dealing with the publication of Op. 104 and Op. 106 in England. In connection with the letter to Ries to which this second table belongs, it might be ques- tioned whether the reader is as inter- ested in the 33 corrections sent by Beethoven for his String Quintet, Op. 104 (a transcription of Op. 1, No. 3) which are included, as he would be in the 50 corrections for the Piano Sonata in B flat, Op. 106, sent to Ries a few days later, which in the corresponding letter are not included. If space is a problem why not leave out the former? The later letter, by the way, which has only once been given complete in Eng- lish (The Musical Times, May 1, 1896) is a particularly interesting one because, as the editors point out, it contains sug- gestions for cutting or changing the order of the sonata movements, to suit the London publishers, which are completely uncharacteristic of the composer in any of his other dealings. In this period (March, 1819) Beethoven's preoccupa- tion with money as guardian of his nephew was obviously great.

As to translations, those that are direct from the German are very readable and, granted the policy of re-editing for the benefit of the reader, as accurate gener- ally as the source on which they are based. But with letters already trans- lated into English occasional difficulties occur when a new version is offered. In the case of the second letter to Ries men- tioned above, the original translation is used with one or two changes based on other sources. On the other hand, in a

letter of June 15, 1819, to an unknown person, already translated by Oscar G. Sonneck (Beethoven Letters in America, New York, 1927), the retranslation does not seem to be an improvement. For example, the words "Unterdessen werde ich ihnen in einigen Tagen dariiber schreiben" (with the capital i in "ihnen" characteristically missing) become with Sonneck "However I shall write you about it in a few days." The present editors change this to "However I will write you. . . ," which no longer ex- presses the simple futurity that was surely intended.

This collection of letters covers almost the whole span of Beethoven's corre- spondence from the year 1791 when he was still in Bonn to 1827, the year of his death. Of the many recipients of these letters a few names may be cited as being generously represented here: the piano manufacturer, Johann Andreas Streicher; the writer, Josef Earl Bernard; the music publishers, Tobias Haslinger, Breitkopf and Hi.rtel, Adolf Martin and Maurice Schlesinger, Nicolaus Simrock, Sigmund Ainton Steiner and George Thomson; Beethoven's two close asso- ciates in the last years, Karl Holz and Anton Schindler; his friend of long standing, Nicolaus Zmeskal; his pupil, Ferdinand Ries; and his nephew Karl. The editors are to be thanked for pro- viding an index of incipits as well as a list of correspondents and a thorough general index. These features, along with the extensive annotations, enhance greatly the use that this volume can provide to the student of Beetboveniana.

ELLIOT FoRBEs

Third Supplement 1953-1955 to The World's Encyclopaedia of Recorded Music. Compiled by F. F. Clough and G. J. Cuming; Asso- ciate editor: E. A. Hughes; Research associate: Angela Noble. London: Sidgwick and Jackson Ltd., in association with the Decca Record Com- pany Ltd., and in the U.S.A., Canada, and South America: London Rec- ords Inc., 1957. rxxvi, 564 p.; ?$/8/0, $25.00]

Several colleagues have looked slyly down their noses on hearing that I had appropriated (with Mr. Lichtenwanger's connivance) a $25.00 volume for review. "After all, when you are involved in a

similar publication, is it altogether proper?" The question under other cir- cumstances might be very pertinent in- deed, but in the present instance i,t is wholly beside the point. My relatively

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slight. involvement in a "similar publica- tion" serves only to increase my basic admiration for the job that Messrs. Clough and Cuming are doing. To get it out of the way right, at the start, I must admit to a strong negative reaction to their flamboyantly inaccurate title. The book in point of fact covers only the "Western" nations of the world, it is a di.scography rather than an encyclopedia, and even within the territory covered it does not attempt to deal with more than the upper fifteen percent of the recorded music issued. That their chosen area is likely to coincide with what the average "Western" record collector wants to have covered is no excuse for the title. Indeed, that area is itself so large that a title properly delimiting it might still have an impressive ring to it without claim- ing much that simply is not there.

Once past the title, however, my un- happiness evaporates, and everything seems worthy of praise. Perhaps that praise comes all the more easily to me because I have never considered that WERM and RR were in anyway equiva- lent-except, of course, that they both deal with recordings. WERM aims to report the existence (or the prior exist- ence) of as many recordings in as many issues as possible, but does not attempt to express any qualitative opinions on those discs. RR's main justification is exactly this qualitative aspect, expressed through the indexing of reviews and the reduction to symbols of the opinions of the reviewers. The assembling and analysis of so many reviews takes so much time that the descriptive element in the entries not infrequently is slighted. MIr. Myers is forced to depend on the reviewers for the contents of a record, and since reviewers are notably casual in this regard, the result can on occasion leave something to be desired. If an entry seems particularly obscure, the edi- tor tries to do some last minute patching, but it is a rare installment when time permits the checking of as many as five percent of the entries.

With WERM, on the other hand, the exact determination of what is on a record is of primary importance. Aside from the fact that this is its principal

reason for existence, it would in any case be essential in a dictionary eatalog in order to bring the wilder descriptions. of contents supplied by manufacturers into a sensible schematization of a com- poser's works. For a virtuoso example of the technique, examine the section in the Third Supplement devoted to the Loeillets, and compare it with any other discography in existence. The listing goes back to pre-1936 releases and comes down to early 1956, with each work- even single movements when necessary- neatly and clearly identified. Anyone who has attempted to track down correct titles from the ridiculously inadequate, not to say flagrantly inaccurate, informa- tion supplied by performers (and passed on by manufacturers) will greet this demonstration of skill and pertinacity with loud huzzas.

This constant attention to detail seems to run throughout the book. I hunted up quite a number of the entries that had given me trouble, and invariably the cor- rect solution was given. There were, of course, differences. C & C ran down all the movements in Marais' synthetic "Suite in D minor" as performed by Doktor and Valenti on Westminster WN18088, but did not note that less than half the varia- tions in one of the movements, "Couplets des Folies d'Espagne," were actually played. And where I had indicated that the Augustana Choir sang Britten's 4 Ceremony of Carols complete on Word W4005, they noted that only Nos. 2, 3, 5, 6. and 10 had been performed-and then slipped up unaccountably by omitting three other titles on the disc in their analytics. The almost endless time needed for running down such details in quantity-time that never shows up in the neat, corrected entries-gives me a deep respect for the publication that no one who has not sweated through similar identifications could feel.

Another sharp difference between WERM and RR is to be found in the ground they cover. RR is limited inten- tionally to discs that have been releasd in the United States, whereas WERM lists the releases of all accessible "West- ern" nations-including Australia. Some rather extensive checking throughout the

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-original volume and all three supplements led me to a conclusion which at first I simply could not believe. Vast as this difference in approach would appear, it actually ends by making relatively little difference. We are apparently far better served in this country by our multiplicity of record companies than is any other country in the world-bar none!-and the quantity of recordings originating here or released subsequently from for- eign tapes tops that available elsewhere by a very large amount. Take, for ex- ample, such a "war horse" as the Men- delssohn E minor violin concerto, op. 64. WERM lists 33 recordings (some of which are early 78rpm releases), and all but six of them have been or are now available here; and generally the six that are missing are performances by Danish or Swiss violinists with only a local reputation.

In general, the picture is very similar with regard to major composers, both early and late. Where we begin to miss out badly is with such relatively minor early composers as Abel, Benda, Michel de la Barre, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Claude Le Jeune, Clementi, Dittersdorf, Hotteterre, and the like. And the situa-

tion is sometimes even more acute with modern composers still chiefly appre- ciated in their home countries-see, for examples, the entries under Jose Ardevol, Malcolm Arnold, Auric, Ben-Haim, Bad- ings, Bliss, Casella, and Jolivet. Clearly, there are times when it becomes almost essential to know that the only recording by some such composer may be had in Cuba or Denmark; and although the lack of knowledge may not be quite so de- vastating, occasions may certainly arise when-with 17 recordings of music by Dowland available here-it becomes im- portant to know that three others may be imported from England. I doubt if many people will be tempted to import any of those six missing Mendelssohn violin concertos, but surely there will often be times when, if only for statistical reasons, it will be useful to know that they exist. In short, even if a "world" catalog is likely to be needed here less often than in a country with fewer recordings of its own, still such a catalog has many uses for us as well, and its purchase by all libraries that take their record collections seriously seems indicated. I feel certain that none of them will regret the expendi- ture. RICHARD S. HILL

First and Last Love. By Vincent Sheean. New York: Random House, [1956]. [5 leaves, 305 p., 8vo; $4.75] My Record of Music. By Sir Compton MacKenzie. London: Hutchin- son, 1955; New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, [1956]. [280 p., 8vo; 25/-, s5.001

Whatever truth there may be in the popular belief that only some one-seventh of an iceberg's bulk is ever visible above the water level, it is no myth that a far more disproportionate ratio exists between the fundamental mass of musical literature written by-if not invariably for--practising musicians and the tiny superstructure contributed by listeners only. The amateur in any art tends to be valued primarily as a paying consumer, but perhaps nowhere else is the formal expression of his personal reactions less frequently volunteered-or encouraged. And while this state of affairs was hardly unreasonable as long as "serious" audi- ences were largely restricted to profes- sionals and "connoisseurs" of near-pro-

fessional competence, it has become de- cidedly unnatural, not to say unhealthful, in the present era of a mass public char- acterized more significantly by the extent and intensity of its sheerly aural expe- rience than by its lack of executant ability and technical training.

At any rate, with or without encourage- ment, these long tongueless "voices of silence" are beginning to find spokesmen among and for themselves: the new pub- lic includes many a professional writer on other subjects who, like the rare Stendhal or Bernard Shaw of earlier years, feels the irrepressible need to find words for the raw feelings aroused in him, as in every other less articulate listener, by the tonal dramas, creators.

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