COMPETITIONS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1900, 7 November 1913, Page 5

COMPETITIONS.

MUSIC; ELOCUTION, DANCING .. GRAND PIANO CONTEST. Main interest centred yesterday in the New Zealand Competitions Society's Festival at the Town Hall in the contest in the grand champion piano solo for the grand Cliappell piano, presented by Messrs. F. J. Pinny, Ltd. The piano is valued at £130. Yesterday afternoon the second section of competitors played, and there was only pile recall, and this with the previous day's three recalls left four to contest the final in the evening, Miss Cresswell being the winner. Though only three other sections were decided in the afternoon, the contests in there were interesting ones, a.nd in the case of the humorous recital for ladies disclosed talent of a high standard. The attendances were fair, and by four o'clock in the afternoon there was quite a large crowd in tho Concert Chamber to hear the ladies' humorous .recitals. The following were the results of yesterday's competitions:— CHAMPION I'IANO SOLO. Grand Champion Piano Solo-—'Feet Piece: "Ballade in G Minor," Chopin. First prize, £130 Ohapjiell Grand Piano, presented by F. 3. Pinny, Ltd,, Wellington, Second prize, £3. Entrants: Miss Daphne Bell, Invercargill; Miss Bertha Baker, Dunedin; Miss Jean Burrows, Christchurch; Mr. Louis Austin, Island Bay; Mrs. H. h. Satchell, Masterton; Miss M. M'Beaa, Wellington; Miss Vera Moore, Bnliedin; Mr. Frank Bennett, Dunedin; Miss Kathleen Cresswell, Ashbuiton.

The second section of the piatio contest was taken in the afternoon, the judge making only one recall, namely, Miss Kathleen Cresswell.' "This has resulted in quite a good contest," said the judge, Mr. Harold Gregson, in giving his decision. "Though,the standard was not so high as when I judged two years ago, the plaving in this contest has been vpry good." The winner, continued the speaker, had given a distinctly meritorious performance, while that of the runner-up had been a very careful one. Result—l, Miss Kathleen CresswoU, 1-16 marks; 2, Miss K. Quill. 140 marks; 3, Miss P. Hanifv, 136 marks; 4 Miss Madeline Webbe, 135 marks Miss Vera Moore, 134 marks; 6 Miss Amy Remington, 129 marks. LADIES' HUMOROUS RECITAL. Humorous Recital (Ladies). —Own Selection. First prize, £2; second prize, £1. • Entrants: Miss Amy M. Bender, Wellington (.''Coming Out"); Miss Pauline Brown, Otaki ("The Pudding"); Miss Janie Petrie, 'Wellington', ("Lecturing On Matrimony"); Miss Lilian Pricllaid, Melbourne ("That Alan Jack'').; Miss CI well, Dagnmr Shepherd, Kilbirnie ("The Euling Passion ); Miss Mane Fix, Wellington ("Parlour Billiards"); Miss Maude Pitcher, Dunediii. ("Gctte-' ral Jano"). 1 "Recalls: Misses Pauline Brown, Lilian Pridianl, Marie Fix, and Maude PitResult—l, Miss. Lilian Prichard, 130 marks; 2 Miss Maude Pitcher, 114 marks; 3, !Miss Marie Fix, 110 marks. Oration.—Own selection, from., a speech by an eminent orator. Time I limit, eight minutes. First prizcy,£2; I second, £1> Eiitnints—Mr. W. W. Crawford, Dunedin (Pitt's Reply to Walpolo); Mr. L. W. Hanlon, Wellington (Shiel's Reply to Lord Lyndliurst); Mr. Kevin Dillon, Greymouth (Fitzgerald on. Equal Righti to the Maori Race); Mr. Henry E. .Moston, AVangaimi (Lord Rosebery's Welcome Home to tho Delcgates to the Imperial Press Conference); air. J. S. (ran dell, Wellington (Pitt's Reply to Waipolo); Mr. IS. P. Brown, Otaki (Curran on Universal Emancipation). The gre.it mistake in this section, said the (Mr. Daeyoi'tz), was that the competitors recited their orations instead of talking naturally. The competitor who was most natur.il, however, ■namely, Mr. Moston, did not win, be- ; cause ho had other defects in his oration, which placed him below the others. The last speaker, Mr. Brown, had given a very good performance, but his oration had been very short. Had Mr. Brown spoken n minute or two longer he would have won. Result—l, Mr. K. Dillon; 2, Messrs. H. E. Moston and B. P. Brown. BOYS' RECITATION. Recitation (hoys under 14), attending schools, and not having received professional tuition in elocution. Own selection.—First prize, Cecile Haines's medal; second, bronze medal. Entrants' —Master Erie Pankhurst, Wadcstown ("Song of the Sea"); Master Roy Tonks, Wellington ("All Things Bright and Beautiful"); Master Alfred Lancaster, Kilbirnio ("How Jimmy Tended the Baby"), Mastof Ernest Sean-Brown, Dunedin ("Guild's Signal"). The prevailing fault running through all. the children, remarked Mr. Baeyeri/., in naming tho recalls, was unnaturaliieSs. The judge assorted that if he could got hold of aiiy children for five minutes he could make them recito naturally.

Recalls—Masters Alfred Lancaster and Ernest Secn«Brown.

Result—l, Master Scon-Brown, 100 j marks: 2, Master Lancaster, 91 marks. ] SOPRANO SOLO. ! Entrants —Miss Kathleen Wheeler, Southland; Miss Hcriiiione L, Wiesner, Eketahu.na; Miss Oiga M. Nicholson, Levin. Mr. Baeycrtz remarked, in giving his decision, that Miss Wheeler had given the most finished performance, but she had not been placed, as she had not sung the cadenza. Result—l, Miss Nicholson, 123 marks; 2. Miss Wiesner, 118 marks. SONG WITH OBBLIGATO. Song with Obbligato (any inßtniiiientsj. Own selection. Entrants—Miss Dorothy Jonas, Wellington; Mrs. Ivo Syrnes. Wanganui ("0 Lovely Night"); Mr. Tai Hoketa ("Ave Maria, Cavalleria Rusticana"). All four competitors lv-cro supplied with a 'cello obligate by Mr. Sjnallboue. Resultr—l, Mrs. Ivo Symes, 115 marks; 2, Mr. Heketa, 148 marks. EVENING CONCERT. . There was quite- an encouraging attendance at the opening performance. Tim largo audience was well rewarded as tho programme was an excellent one. Two little tots, Miss May Evett and Miss Florence Fitzgerald, opened the programme with a pianoforte duet, given with all tlm machanicl precision usual to sueir diminutive performers. Tho .contest for the soprano solo s-dis-closed a most tuneful and finished performer in Miss Kathleen Wheeler. She was unfortunate in eliminating tho cadenza from her song, and was consequently unplaced by the judge. .Miss Hormine Wiesner and Miss 0. N. Nicholson also contested the soprano solo, but only the latter singer could in any way approach Miss Wheeler. With very lino effect Mr. Kevin, Dillon, the winner of the gent-lemon's ovation, gave forth ' Fitzgerald's ovation on equal rights to tlw Maori race. His words carried conviction, whito his guestitres and pauses were well placed. Probably tlw most entertaining items of the evening were those given by the four final competitors in tho ladies' humorous recital. In her selection ''The Pudding" a humorous "cont-fetfiinps" between husband and wifn on tho oonfltruntiaH of the lattarS fci-ab jottddiflg, Miss faulifie. Brqgn .was

very good. Perhaps her sole error was that she was apt to bo recitative at times; nevertheless she amused those present vastly with tho way she acted tho wife coquettish, pettish, or indignant in turns. There was no denying ■ that Miss Lilian Prfichard, in "That Man Jack" was excellent,\though_ perhaps she over-did her work at times. Miss Marie Fix, with her selection "Parlor Billiards" v as surely deserving of a bettor place in the final grouping of contestants, than that of third. Her alternation between the biting sarcasm of the husband on one hand and tho inane questions and childishness of the wife was excellently done. Miss Pitcher's sketch "General Jane" vvas well dono, though it did not require the subtle touch of those of her eorcciters. Perhaps it was rather monotonous for the audience to listen to Chopin's "Ballade" being repeated four successive time* 1 , and the stage manager would perhaps have been wise to alternate it with, other items on the programme, and thus add more variety to it; . As it was, however, the audience was treated to four very fine interpretations of Chopin's favourite musical poem, particularly so ail the part of the winner of tho contest, Miss Cresswellj who caressed every note of the "Ballade" with true reverence, due to such an emotional work. Miss Lillian Priclvard, as "Ophelia," gave the mad scene from "Hamlet" with fine dramatic effect. The final for the boys' recitation, Masters Lancaster and SeonRrowli competing, and the three cqiv testa.nts in the "Song with Obligate sectian completed the programme. TO-DAY'S PROGRAMME. There is a plcasiftg spice of variety in to-day's contests. Probably the most- interesting section will be the Shakespearean recital for ladies, and in this section there are lio fewer, than sixteen entrants. There is an equal number of entrants for the. saered solo competition among ,tlie gentlemen. Among tho other sections there is the children's piano solo contest, the vocal solo' and accompaniment contest for ladies and gentlemen, and the ladies' Scotch song contest. In. the evening there will be the finals for these contests, while plenty of amusement is sure to result from the comic song in character section. A comedietta, "How He Lied to Her Husband," will conclude the evening's programme, .