THE WORLD OF MUSIC.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 267, 10 November 1928, Page 8 (Supplement)

THE WORLD OF MUSIC.

GOSSIP OF THE PLATFORM,

FROM TAR AND NEAR,

(By ORPHEUS.)

Tho Royal Christchurch Musical Society,is to perform Mendelssohn's "St. Paul" somo time this month.

Owing to the now theatre not being ready in time, the-visit of the Royal Wellington Choral Union to Nelson has been abandoned.

The soloists for the Palmerston North Choral Society's performance of "Elijah" on December 5, will lie: Soprano, Miss Myra Sawyer, of Wellington; contralto, Mrs. W. Andrews; tenor, Mr. Hubert Carter, and baritone, Mr. John Prouse.

It was as pleasant as it was unusual to hear a radio singer one evening this week -who enunciated his words in such a way as to make every one distinct and fully recognisable. I refer to Mr. John Prouse, whose singing at 2YA on Monday night was a delight to listen to. . ."..'•

Mr. Hubert Carter is to he very busy during the next two months. After giving concerts at Wanganui on October 31 and at Palmerston North on November 21, he will sing dn "Elijah" for the Palmerston North Choral Society on December 5, and in "The Messiah," at Wellington, on tho 15th, and at Nelson on tho 17th.

Tho Christchurch Orchestral Society, in ats last concert of the season, will perform a violin concerto with full orchestral accompaniment, composed, by Mr. Angus Gunter, the conductor. It is, I understand, very modern •in its flavour. Also a pianoforte concerto by Delias, with Mr. Fred Page as soloist, and a Slav Dance' of Tchaikowsky's, played :by tho orchestra.

.. Fortune Gallo, director of tie San Carlo Grand' Opera Company, says, he has no great fear of radio and the "ramophone as a cause of falling boxoffico receipts. Tho thing that gives him tho greatest anxiety is tho motor ear. Instead of remaining in town over tho week-end and going to theatres on Saturday night, large numbers of people are now enabled, as a result of good roads and cheap motor cars, to spend tho week-end out of the city.

What is perhaps the noisiest shout ever raised in the United States _ on behalf of musical art (says an American paper), reaches its full force the week of November 18, when Schubert commemorations will be carried on continuously, to announcements, by the Columbia Phonograph Company; the whole scheme sanctioned by an advisory body, certain members of which have been associated with music in a distinguished way and certain others hot, but nearly all of them familiar in the grand roll-call of publicity, or'"public relations," as they are calling it nowadays.

Robert Burns' prayer has at last been answered—in part, at any rate. An American paper says: "Hitherto there has been N a drawback in the training of speakers for the microphone, in that they could not hear what they themselves sounded like. This has been overcome by the Berlin Academy of Music, where, a.phonographic record, is made via the microphone. Thus the speaker is able to hear .his own performance immediately after." Judging by some radio items I have listened to; I. should imagine this to bo a very dreadful business from the performers' point of view.

Tho programme for the Royal Auckland Choir's next concert, on the 29th of this month, will include items by the choir as follows:—"Song of the Vol"-a Boatmen," "The Wedding of Shon Mac Lean," "Hail to Our Native Land," from "Aida," "Break, Break, Break," "Brothers in Song" (DardJanin), "Swabian Dance" (Johann Pache), "Traumerei" (Schumann), and "The Chapel" (Kreutzer), with male quartet. Miss Molly Wright, 'cellist, will play "Kol Nidrei" (Max Bruch), and "Guitarre" (Moszkowski), and Miss Mina Caldow will sing "O Ma Lyre Immortelle" (Gounod), "Cloud Shadows" (Rodgers) and "Awake, My Heart" (Densmore). In addition to these items, there will be a quartet, "Avo Maria" (N. von Wilm), sung by Messrs.. Wrigley, Augur, Hawarth and Mitchell.

Percy Grainger, tho famous English pianist, who has heen performing on the platform almost -without .respite for some considerable time, is devoting the coming winter entirely to composition. Remarking on his metliods as an orchestral conductor, a writer in tho "Christian Science Monitor" says: "Grainger, such are the promptings within him, conducts according to a more individual and painstaking method. He possesses an interpretative outfit of his own. Is a Bach concerto wanted? He lias a version which is authentic Bach in respect to the notes, but is himself, rather than some editor of nineteenth century habit, in respect to indications of phrase, accent and nuance. So, when he starts put on the concert trail,' lie shoulders a pack; and when he returns —well, here was the whole burden flopped down on the floor, some packages .still in their wrappings, others the brown-paper broken open and showing the engraved pages, marked with down-hows, and doublefortes in the boyish Grainger chirography."

The programme for the Bohemian Orchestra concert on the 22nd of this month will be mainly composed of Schubert numbers,, to celebrate.' the centenary,'which occurs on November 19. The great"C'Major Symphony will be performed, and owing to its' length it will be -divided into three parts, which will be played at different times in the programme. This is generally regarded as Schubert's masterpiece. He began composing it in the last year of his life, within eight months of his early death. The freshness and. fertility of the work have made it a, favourite orchestral number for the last SOyeaTS or. so. If Schubert had written nothing else, this symphony would have' heen sufficient to rank him with Mozart and Beethoven as a master of the greatest of musical forms. Other Schubert numbers on the programme -will be the overture to "Bosamunde," and "The Wanderer," which will be sung by Mr. Barry Coney. Mr. Coney will also sing "Alleluia" (arr,; O'Connor—Morris). In addition there will be the Prelude to Act 3 of Lohengrin" and Lalo's "Two Aubades," for small orchestra. I hope to be ahle to, glV e account, next week of the great Bach Concerto, whidh will be played'iby Mrs. Macandrew, Miss Edith' Whitelaw and Miss Simpsc-m ' '•■'"" l --'- :;