THE WORLD OF MUSIC

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 136, 11 June 1927, Page 28

THE WORLD OF MUSIC

COMING SEASON'S EVENTS. Ignace Friedman, the famous pianist, due here very shortly, recently gave a recital at the Albert Hall, London, and played with his piano in the centre of the hall, and his audience all round him. Miss Lois Evans, who was one of Auckland's favourite sopranos last year, is now with Fuller's Vaudeville, and is stall ing with their Stiffy and Mo company. She is singing numbers that were favourites of local audiences.

Sing loudest when things look blackest. Such was the advice given by Sir Henry Coward to the Hull Rotarians recently. • He claimed that men who followed music showed a higher grade of business mental capacity and personality than those who ignore music. At the London Musical and Elocutionary Festival, held last month, 12,000 competitors gave tests before 27 adjudicators. The set test pieces, were in some cases, heard by the judges one hundred times. Mr. Robert Simmons, an Auckland baritone who has been connected with Williamson's musical comedies since leaving here, is now understudying the principal role in the comedy, "Tip Toes." He was broadcasting from "Farmer's," Sydney, on Thursday, singing several numbers. Mr. Travels McGuire, who is also in Sydney, was broadcasting from 2BL on Friday evening.

A cable from New York announces the possibility of Feodor Chaliapin appearing in the cast of the screen version of "The Darling of the Gods." Chaliapin certainly displayed an abundance of emotion when delivering numbers on the occasion of his recent visit, and it ia more than likely that such a forceful personality as his would reflect to advantage on the silver screen.

Mr. J. M. .Prentice, the late chief announcer to the Radio Broadcasting Company of New Zealand is, besides an authority on current world's affairs, also a great authority on grand opera, which he has studied extensively. He is thoroughly acquainted with modern as well as the old operas, and first instituted the complete operas from the gramophone with illustrations from 2BL, Sydney, and these proved such a tremendous success that they became a regular feature of that station.

To celebrate the opening of the Hastings (England) Pavilion a special musical festival was arranged in April, and lasted for four days. The conductors were: Sir Edward Elgar, Sir Henry Wood, Sir Herbert Brewer, Edward German, York Bowen, and Norman CNeil. The singers included: Dora Labbette, Carrie Lubb, George Baker, Norman Williams, and among the instrumentalists were Beatrice Harrison, Pouishnoff, Albert Sammons, and Victor Watson. A number of new works by British composers were heard during the festival.

The Auckland Amateur Operatic Society have commenced rehearsals on their chosen opera "La Mascotte," which the conductor, Mr. Colin Muston, expects to ontshine all previous productions. "La Mascotte" is very spectacular and tuneful. The plot centres round Bettina, ,who is La Mascotte (or luck bringer), who is carried off to cqurt by the monarch "Laurent XVII," is followed by her lover who recaptures and marries her at the end and by doing so breaks the Spell of luck. The court scenes are brilliant with bright and catchy music. Mr. W. Crowther is sole selector for the cast and he will find a difficulty in securing a soprano to suit the role of Bettina, who besides possessing a good voice, must be of the same type as the "Belle of New York."

A project for a New Zealand and Australian tour of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra is under way, and if carried through will provide music lovers with a series of performances greater in value and interest than any that have taken place since the disbandment of the New South Wales State Orchestra. Transport and maintenance of DO players with a salary list of approximately £2000 per week is a big undertaking, but the financial difficulties are not insuper* able if adequate support for the scheme can be obtained. This would involve the co-operation of the towns and cities to be visited, in the creation of a guarantee fund to cover the initial expenses, but as it is intended that any profit earned by the orchestra would be donated to Australian and New Zealand hospitals and charities, the incentive of a direct local interest in addition to the aesthetic advantages should make subscriptions easy to obtain Each individual player of the orchestra is a higlily qualified soloist, and in precision, balance, and responsiveness, leaves nothing to be desired. Alfred Rertr, well-known in England and Europe as a Wagnerian conductor, will have charge of the orchestra.

The concert notice does not as a rule offer much scope for innovation, and it is with a pleasant shock of surprise that one recently read in the "Manchester Guardian":—On Saturday evening, in the Free Trades Hall, a conference was held of the "Ancient Order of Popular Tunes Compositions." Sir Henry Wood was in the chair. The proceedings opened with a vote of (thanks) sympathy and condolence to RachnianninofFs Prelude in C Sharp Minor, unable to appear owing to slight attack of chromatics. The gathering, however, was representative, and included Handel's Largo, Shepherd's Hey, The Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Boccerini's Minuet, the "Hoffmann Barcarolle, the "William Tell Overture," the "Intermezzo" from "Cavallieria," and Watford-Davies' "Solemn Melody." It is really a notice of the Brand Lance Concert (which is mentioned in a headline), but one is more interested in the fact that Handel's Largo boasted that he never felt better, was able to walk several bars daily.

Heifetz Kisses Melba's Hand. The age of chivalry is not dead. When Dame Nellie Melba handed Jascha Heifetz a massive laurel, inscribed in gold letters, at the Sydney Town Hall, he stooped gracefully and kissed her hand. The vast audience appreciated his gesture as much as Dame Nellie and recalled the brilliant violinist time and time again. Australia's song bird, her face suffused with smiles, returned to her seat amid another storm of applause. The kiss of chivalry came at the close of the animated last movement of Joseph Achron's First Sonata for Piano and Violin, which was produced for the first time in Sydney and which so delighted the audience that it seemed disinclined to let either Heifetz or Achron, the latter at the piano, leave the platform. For both violin and piano the Sonata presented difficulties, the mastery of which was enthusiastically appreciated. Isador Achron is the accompanist and assisting artist to Heifetz. They were boys together. Achron is well-known as a composer.