THE WORLD OF MUSIC.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 165, 14 July 1928, Page 8 (Supplement)

THE WORLD OF MUSIC.

GOSSIP OF THE PLATFORM.

FROM FAR AND NEAR.

(By ORPHEUS.)

Ignaz Friedman has been playing in Germany recently.

Vaughan William's English opera was recently given a very euccesful American premiere at Washington, D.C., during the international opera festival.

The dates of the Haselmere Festival, one of the big events of the year in English music, which promises this year to be a greater thing than ever, have been set for August 20 to September 1, inclusive.

Alfredo Gasella is composing a violin concerto for Joseph Szjgeti, who will be given the sole rights of performance for a year after it is completed. Szigeti is at present concertising in Russia and Germany with great success.

The post of conductor to the Royal Choral Society, which has not been officially filled since the death of Sir Frederick Bridge, has now been given to the young English conductor, Dr. Malcolm Sargent.

Edna Thomas, who delighted us two or three yeare ago with her negro spirituels and street cries, has lately returned to her native city of New Orleans, to fulfil concert engagement, the first she has undertaken since her world tour, extending over some years.

Two more tenors have been added to the 1 ist of Covent Garden singers, namely, Joseph His lop, the celebrated Scottish artist, and Carl Oehmann, a Swedish singer who has recently been making a name for himself in Wagner.

• The orchestra which the Radio Broadcasting Company has been trying to organise for IYA promises, on paper, to be one of the finest combinations in the Dominion. It will be a pity if the company does not succeed in its endeavours to get the orchestra under way.

A now Strauss opera, "The Egyptian Helen," had its world premiere on June 6, at the Dresden Opera House, with one of Germany.'s most famous sopranos, Elizabeth Rethberg, in the title role. This formed the opening performance of a festival opera. Fritz Busch, a great German conductor, wielded the baton.

The programme for the Male Choir's Concert on August 30 promises to be one of the finest yet put on by that body. Felicien David's "The Desert" will be given by a choir of 85 voices, with the assistance of the Bohemian Orchestra. (This number will be repeated at the Bohemian Orchestra Concert a fortnight later.) In addition the choir, with full orchestra, will sing the beautiful cantata, '"Great is Jehovah."

PERSONALITIES OF THE WEEK.

The playing of the juvenile violin choir at the Bohemian Orchestra concert is a good augury for the future of orchestral playing in Auckland, and too much praise cannot be given the conductor for his efforts to bring on our amateur musicians. The picture-theatre orchestras are absorbing so many of our players nowadays that one sometimes has fears that concert orchestras may be unable in time to carry on successfully for lack of experienced players. This being the case, it is pleasant now to hear that the recently-formed amateur orchestra of

the Auckland Operatic Society is makin" splendid progress under its coach, Mr. Richards. In Mr. Richards the society is fortunate in having a conductor who not only lias had considerable experience with such famous musical combinations as Sir Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orchestra and the Royal Italian Opera, but also has the gift of being able to •inspire and encourage his players to give of their best. The orchestra, we understand, ig practically complete now, with the exception of drums, which Mr! Richards hopes to secure soon.

The annual festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music, which is to be held at Siena this vear[ wjll take place from September 10 to 15. The complete prograriime is not yet known, but the English works to be performed are Frank Bridge's third string quartet and William Walton's Facad, for speaker, flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, 'cello and percussion. The poems are by Edith Sitwell.

The Christehurch Male Voice Clioir will give its next concerts on August 23 and 25. The choir numbers will consist exclusively of works by Sir Edward Elgar. The choir managed to fill the Concert Hall at both of its concerts a week or two back, when Dr. Bradshaw and.his men and boys (Cathedral choristers), treated the audience to some lovely part singing. One of the best items was the 18th century glee, "When Winds Breathe Soft" (Webbe).

In engaging Miss Naomi Whalley, Mr. Hubert Carter and Mr. William Watterß for the soprano, tenor and bass roles, respectively, the Christchurch Harmonic Society has secured possibly the finest oast procurable in the Dominion to interpret the "Creation" solos at its next concert in August. Miss Whalley and Mr. Carter are well-known in Auckland. Mr. Waters, who comes from Palmerston North, will be rememb»»red as having taken Ihe bass solos in "The Messiah" here about five years ago.