TRUE MUSIC

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 88, 14 April 1930, Page 7

TRUE MUSIC

ARTISTIC BATTLE OF THE AGE

With the machine there is no remorse. It has no ethical standard, and, once set in motion, it often sweeps aside relentlessly that which it hoped to foster. Happily, the march of science and invention has been, on the whole, upward as well as onward, for the minds of great thinkers and experimenters have directed mostly along normative .paths. It is the , machine that is ever widening the facilities for the enjoyment of life. By its 'displacement of man in the production of man's material needs, it has given him an ever increasing number of leisure ■ hours, but it is the encroachment of the machine .into these leisure hours that is providing a problem for the present day. .For the machine has not only been designed to work for us, but to amuse us, • and if it takes yet another step and begins to do our thinking the whole of its advantages, may disappear in one fell sweep. The loss of individuality in both arts and crafts is one of the dangers that faces the present era, and in no art is'the danger m«re eminent than that of music. Our fathers scoffeo. it the hurdygurdy aiid the barrel organ, nnd the first Edison gramophone was looked upon as a. noisy novelty rather than a musical instrument, but science did not allow the processes for the reproduction of sound to remain, in so crude a state. As the gramophone became a commercial proposition the best brains from the ranks of the physicists, mathematicians, and chemists were applied to its improvement, and the greatest artists of the day were engaged to express themselves through its medium.: Thus gramophone catalogues resemble, musical . encyclopaedias. This amazing reproduction of sound was carried into the field of wireless, which has become, next to the printed word, the most powerful means of expression. But science has not rested here, and its latest triumph in this field is the talking picture, which is so amazing an achievement that there is the peril that artistic expression might become the monopoly of the favoured few. No greater illustration could be given of the ruthlessness of the machine. Just as the stage has certain artistic attributes which the camera cannot reproduce, so has the flesh and blood instrumental, and singer vital characteristics that are lost in mechanical reproduction. These attributes and characteristics are accompaniments necesfcary for artistic' expression, and it, is just a question how soon this will be realised. It is obvious that the gramophone, the radio, and the talking picture have come to stay, and it is also certain that they ■will be still further improved, but there is no reason why they should monopolise individual expression, and they will not if the stage and the musicians give a lead , etrong enough to awaken the minds of the. public. Last year in Wellington a symphony orchestra was , formed, by a number of ardent musicians, and their energy and talent has placed the movement on a hopeful footing. Now the musicians who have been driven from the picture theatres by the "talkies" have formed a similar orchestra, and it must be evident that they will have to make a big effort to compete with the mechanised forms of entertainment that has displaced them. These musicians, combined under the name of the Philharmonic Orchestra, took the first step at the Town Hall on Saturday night, when they presented a programme that must have been'a rare treat for those who responded to the appeal. The orchestra justified its clajm for attention of the music-loving public, and if it receives sustained support" there is no reason why Wellington should not enjoy the greatest musical works of all time. Under the conductorship of Mr. John Bishop, the initial performance of the Philharmonic, in view of its short existence, was amazing, and the programme was worthy of the occasion. The chief ■work was. Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5 in. .'C Minor," which is perhaps the most popular of all works in this form. It is Beethoven throwing aside tradition and expressing himself through a music all ' his: own. There is an entire absence of frivolous dallying with themes, a striking contrast of succeeding melodies (especially towards the end of the third and fourth movements, which, against all ' tradition, follow each other without a break)', and above all, the iteration from beginning to end of a certain short passage of but four notes with the whole orchestra at times hidden in the basses and drums, now in its grim, terrible severity, again in a dancing measure, then in timid, mysterious discord, until it ends in the clearest note of triumph. The rugged first movement was marred a little by the sluggishness of the bass and the oboe cadenza was uncertain, but these instruments later become spontaneous and certain., The wonderfully sad and wonderfully beautiful andante was played with a better body of tone, and the woodwind was remarkably fine. In the majestic marching subject the orchestra swung along excitingly. There was eloquence in the bass passages of the merry scherzo, but the horn figures were not always steady. The weird bridge passages and long sustained chords on the strings and march-like coda with its light graceful contrasts were brilliantly read by the conductor and well performed. The scherzo insinuates itself into the finale near the coda, and the final proud, fiery movement ends with a .presto in which •• every instrument combined in glorious tones. The applause showed that many had been carried away by the music. This symphony alone had more than justified the new orchestra. The opening piece on the programme was Schubert's "Rosamimde" .overture, and, as was only to be expected with a new orchestra eager tci' do its best, there were one or two faltering"s and a lack of tone here and there, but the whole was fine music without statics or needle scratch. As Liszt has said, Schubert was "the'most poetical musician that ever was." The fertility of his artistic imagination has never been excelled. In his orchestral work his treatment of particular instruments, especially the wind, is quite his own happy conversational way, and the delightful melodies that are entwined through the overture were expressed with lyrical beauty.' Two Hungarian dances by Brahms were played with nice rhythm and an improving body of tone. Brahms was become so interested in the music of Hungary that he took up residence in Vienna, and his group of dances, issued as pianoforte works, are among the most delightful. The variety of rhythm is astonishing, and the conductor was always alive to these. The reading had both grace and vigour. There is no doubt about the popularity of the Peer . Gynt Suites. They are remarkably picturesque, and with the orchestra gathering confidence and certainty the performance of the first Suite was a notable one. There could have been more definition in the "Morning Mood," in which the players were not sensitive enough to some of the harmonic contrasts, but the strange haunting "Death of Ase" was something memorable. Muted strings sighed out drooping harmonies, and notes rose shade-like in the wood-wind. Here was the finest sensibility we have heard since Verbruggeu. The bright "Anitras Dance" was given a flexible style and pointed accent, and the gradual- climax of "In the Hall of the King" was adequately realised with the brass now crisp and clear. The brass gave of its best in the final work of the evening, the orchestral setting of. Liszt's "Rhapsody No. 2," a work of strong rhythms, attractive tunes, and rich melodies. The scoring is lavishly caparisoned and the clangour with which it marches to a pompous climax gave scope for the ' "videst variety oi! orchestral colouring. The vitality of the beat met with spontaneous reply, and in the wealth of1 derail nothing was missed. No finer blend of tone has been heard locally for many years. The performance was great—the abused word can be used this time with complete justness of expression. A duet from Weber's opera "Der Freischutz," by Mrs. Amy Woodward (soprano) and Mrs. Wilfred Andrews (contralto), with orchestral accompaniment, .was beautifully. sung, and Mrs- . Woodward also gave "Agatha's Scena" from the same opera. Mr. William Haydock's violin solos were the rather worn "CapTJce Viennois" and "Meditation" from Massenet's "Thais."