THE WORLD OF MUSIC.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 85, 11 April 1931, Page 8 (Supplement)

THE WORLD OF MUSIC.

GOSSIP OF THE STUDIOS, FROM FAR AJTD NEAR. (By ORPHEUS.) The Aeolian Orchestra's dates for its 1931 series of concerts are May 21, July 23, September 17, and November 2(j. These concerts will be given on Thursday evenings in future, instead of Tuesdays as heretofore. The Auckland piano students will hold their next meeting on Monday April 13, when the lecturer will be Mr. John Tait. Other lecturers during the season will be Messrs. L. A. Eady, L. C. Barnes, Owen Jensen and Tracy Moresby. On March 14 one of the most interesting personalities in the musical world, namely, Coleridge-Taylor, will be represented on this date by his "Petite Suite ;de Concert," an extremely me'odious example of his work. The composer, who died only a few months ago, was probably one of the most famous composers of the day, this being the more interesting when it is considered that he was of negro extraction.—"New Zealand Radio Record." How time does fly in "Radio Land"! Coleridge-Taylor died in 1912.

The trio to be played at the Auckland Trio's chamber music concert on Monday night is by the celebrated Russian pianist and composer, Rachmaninoff. This was composed in 1893, when Rachmaninoff Avas 20 years of age. It was dedicated to Tschaikowsky, whose death had occurred a short time previously, and serves as a musical requiem over the untimely death of a genius. The elegaic aspect of Rachmaninoff's temperament is displayed to the full in this fine composition, which enjoys wide popularity with musical executants. Schubert's "Trout" quintet will also l>e played, and Mr. Len Barnes will sing the "Dichter Liebe" of Schumann's.

What is the ideal number for a committee? Some people Bay one; it all depends, of course, upon circumstances. However, in tie case of a musical society, the •writer is decidedly of tie opinion, from experience, that three competent and enthusiastic men, as a committee, will get far more done than a committee of say, 12. Three live members can . get together and make vital decisions so much quicker than the larger number. On practically every elected committee, with a large membership, there is sure to be a certain percentage of "passengers"—even as there are. on town and city councils —and these can easily, with their petty jealousies and small-mindednees, render abortive most of the good work of the more capable minority. This, of course, never happens in Auckland.

How often do we see in the notice of a concert, tagged away at the end, the words "Mr. Blank conducted with his usual ability." Has the average concertgoer, or even the journalist, any idea of how much work that simple phrase covers? I doubt it. For example, when Mr. Colin Muston brings down his baton at the final bar it is the culmination of two, or may be three, months' hard work and worry. An item that has taken ten minutes to perform may have meant ten hours' solid work, sometimes lasting into the early hours of the morning, rearranging parts to suit his orchestra. Then think of the time and trouble taken in drilling sometimes inefficient performers, for these are not all polished professionals. Think of tho tact, patience and concentration exercised during the -long hours of rehearsal, and consider the worry of being responsible for the success of the concert. If things go wrong, who gets the blame? However, as they seldom do, he gets his reward when he reads in simple words that he "conducted with his usual ability." The writer would like to venture the opinion that if everybody connected with musical societies put into his or her work for the society only half the energy and enthusiasm that the conductor puts into his share, the words "debit balance" would never be seen in the annual reports.

The following appeared on a programme of a recital of music given at a country church recently:—"Hymn 431 (during which an offertory will be taken to supplement the organist's salary). Solo, Tt is enough.'" Then why the collection ?

When commending the aims of the Juvenile Concert League, Mr. Robert Parker, the veteran Wellington musician, referred to the good work done by Mr. Maughan Barnett in Auckland some years ago in giving organ recitals to children. I think everybody will agree that Mr. Barnett's idea was a most excellent one, but there will not be many who will agree that an organ recital is the best medium to cultivate musical appreciation in the young. However, the City Organist, no doubt, was using practically the only means at his disposal at the time. There is no doubt that an orchestra, which will be used in Wellington, will be much more attractive to the children, for the use of each instrument in the orchestra car be explained and its tone value demonstrated, and how the various units combine and blend in the performance of a composition by one of the great masters. It is to be hoped that some similar project will some day be- launched in Auckland.

At the annual conference of music teachers held recently in Christchurch Mr. John Bishop suggested that it j might be possible to organise a national musical festival at intervals in which [ the best performers from all over the Dominion could take part. This would give the public an opportunity of hearing works that might possibly be beyond the capabilities of any of the smaller local organisations, and would certainly be more likely to attract the public generally than the performance of music that might be more or less well known. The suggestion was generally approved, though the opinion was expressed that the scheme was too ambitious. Such a festival as proposed by Mr. Bishop would do an enormous amount of good to music in the Dominion, and to choral singing in particular. Some day this festival will be held, but I am afraid that it will be confined to societies south of Hamilton, judging from the state of choral affairs in Auckland just now.

"The referee was loudly oboed after the game owing to some of his decisions not meeting with the approval of a section of the crowd." (Provincial paper.) Don't let him complain of that, says "Punch"; ha might have been, saxophonecL

In response to the invitation of the Auckland Music Teachers' Association a number of young performers have come forward to undergo a preliminary test before being chosen "to appear before a critical audience." Members of the council are to make a selection from the most promising of these, who are to appear at a concert to be given at the Lewis Eady Hall on Tuesday evening, May 5.

The professional musicians! in conference deplore, the "lack of serious musical criticisf by the Press," but, unfortunately, in the majority of cases serious musical criticism is relished by everybody except those criticised, and as all newspaper men have exceptionally tender hearts they generally try to avoid hurting anybody's feelings. Now, here is what I consider a brilliant suggestion. If any professional musician is not satisfied with the. report of a concert, let him write to the paper, and then in the correspondence columns would appear what he thought about it. For instance, he might write: "In your alleged critique of last night's performance of Beethoven's Choral Symphony, No. 9 in D minor, opus 125, given by the Freeman's Bay Philharmonic Society, you say that 'Madame Scooper sang the beautiful soprano passage, beginning with the words "Freude schoner gotterfunken" with charm and distinction.' Unfortunately for the long-suffering audience, the lady was never on the note; as a matter of fact, she hasn't been on it for years. There should be a prohibition order taken out forbidding singers such as Madame to be heard outside their bathrooms. Then, again, your critic (?) says: 'The inner parts were nicely displayed.' Did he think that he was doing the write-up of a butcher's shop at Christmas time?" And so on. A few betters like this would clear the air in a very short time. (Note.—The names, places, etc., given in the above are entirely fictitious.)