THE WORLD OF MUSIC.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 224, 21 September 1929, Page 8 (Supplement)

THE WORLD OF MUSIC.

GOSSIP OF THE PLATFORM. PROM FAB AND NEAR. (By OKPHEUS.) The next Bohemian Orchestra concert will be held on September 26. The soloist for the evening will be Madame Cora Melvin. Freida Hempel, the famous operatic star, has contracted to appear in tho talkies. The fee is a fabulous one, reaching into many thousands. The visit of Dusoiina Giannini to New Zealand still remains indefinite. She is at. present in Melbourne, and if the comes to Auckland it' will probably be about the middle of next month. However, I understand that there is a bare possibility that she may not be singing in New Zealand at all. The next Municipal Band concert, to be held on October 5, will be a citizens' concert. Tho items will all be selected by the public, and anybody wishing to choose items, even a whole programme, should communicate with the bandmaster at the Town Hall, Auckland. The singers engaged for this concert are the Clarion Quartet, comprising Miss Alma McGruer, Miss Beryl Smith, Mr. James Simpson and Mr. Duncan Black.

The next concert of Mr. Leon de Mauny's Wellington Symphony Orchestra is fixed for October 31. The first half of the programme will be devoted to the works of Schubert, including the "Rosamunde" overture and the Unfinished Symphony, and Mr. Harrison Cook will sing "The Erl King." The. second portion of the concert will consist of the

"Tannhauser" overture (Wagner), Schumann's Pianoforte Concerto (Madame de Mauny at tlie piano), tlie whole of the ballet music from "Faust," and the concluding item will be the favourite "Pomp and Circumstance" march. This programme will be broadcast from 2YA. The next meeting of the Auckland Piano Students' Association will take place on Monday night, when a Bach evening will be held. A. special feature of the evening will be the playing of several 'cello sonatas by Mr. Leo "VVhittaker and Dr. de Clive Lowe. The remaining fixtures for the season will be as follow: —October 7, musical programme, followed by a lecture on Schumann, by Miss Pene Satchwell; October 21, English composers, with a lecture on Elizabethan music by Mr. John Tait; November 4, Liszt evening; November 13, grand final night in the Lewis Eady Hall, musical programme, dancing, etc.

The Leys Institute Orchestra is still making good progress, the membership now numbering about eighty players and the average attendance at rehearsals about sixty-five. This orchestra was formed a year or two ago with the object of training junior players and giving them orchestral experience, and in this way it is doing work of inestimable value. In time to come it will no doubt be the chief recruiting ground for the larger orchestras of the city. The average age of the players is about fifteen, but some of them are considerably younger than this. The conductor, Mr. Harold Baxter, is at present working hard with the orchestra, and it is expected that a public performance will be given in about a month's time.

Having listened to several dance orchestras lately, I have found myself wondering idly how much longer the saxophono will hold sway in the ballroom. It is, without doubt, a noble instrument, exceedingly useful for punctuating the none-too-subtle rhythms of a foxtrot. And when it is hacked up in its endeavours by. the extraordinary collection of percussion instruments usually found in dance bands, there is little fear of the music not being heard in the remotest corner of the ballroom, or even two or three blocks away. All this is excellent. But I imagine that people who attend dances regularly must find the incessant bellowing of the saxophones and the clash of the cymbals a little wearing on the nerves. I think if some dance orchestra were to halve the number of its saxophones, introduce two or three stringed instruments and eject four or five of those ingenious but pain-

ful devices which are used at present I to give the music a solid background of I noise, it would achieve instant popularity. There would certainly be fewer headaches next morning. REVIEWS OF NEW MUSIC. We have received a number of popular pieces from Messrs. Allan and Company (Melbourne). "My Dear" is a tuneful waltz, with a good swing. "I'm Just a Vagabond Lover" is a rather pretty foxtrot, with a solid swinging rhythm. A good dancing number. "When the Sunset Bids tlie Day Goodbye" has an unusual flavour. It is a lullaby and the music is soothing, even if the words are barely distinguishable, as regards their sentiments, from those of two or three hundred other ballads I have seen. "My Melody" is one of the best waltzes I have come across for some time. It has a pleasing lilt, like one of the old-fashioned waltzes. "Then I'll Know Why" pleases me less. It is a little monotonous, and is not as melodious as the others in this batch. "I Wonder," apart from its dreadful cover, is a most attractive piece, lather sentimental and sweet. "To-morrow, a foxtrot, is perhaps the best of the present, lot. It has a good swing, a catchy and tuneful air and an excellent accompaniment.