THE WORLD OF MUSIC.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 138, 13 June 1931, Page 8 (Supplement)

THE WORLD OF MUSIC.

GOSSIP OF THE STUDIOS.

FROM FAR- AITD NEAR

(By ORPHEUS.)

COMING CONCERTS. To-night.—Levitzki, fourth and final recital. July 9. —Auckland Choral Society. July 20. —Auckland Chamber Music Society. July 25. —Leys Institute Orchestra.

A lecture upon "Interpretation" will be given at the Auckland Piano Students' Association's fortnightly meeting on June 10. The lecturer will he Mr. Len. Barnes, one of the most artistic interpreters of vocal compositions we have here; his remarks, therefore, should be both instructive and entertaining.

It is very seldom that Mr. Harison Cook, the well-known Wellington basso, gets his Christian name correctly spelt in print. Conscientious compositors, seeing only one "r" in the copy, quite pardonably assume that the name has been mis-spelt, and make, as they think, a necessary correction; hence we see "Harrison" Cook 1 no less than seven times in the June issue of "Music in New Zealand," despite the fact that "Harison" is the singer's baptismal name.

A society is being formed by the •Amateur musicians of Hamilton, under the title of the Hamilton Music Students' Association, with the object of providing an opportunity to meet together for the study of musical subjects. This body is being organised along the lines of the Auckland Piano Students' Association, except that, for the present, its activities will not be confined to piano study alone. It will, in all probability. affiliate with the Auckland Association.

The Auckland Chamber Music Society's programme for its second concert on July 20 will be as follows: —Schubert's string quartet, opus 125, No. 1 (four movements); concerto for two violins by J. S. Bach (this will be played by Mrs. Winifred Hayes, first violin, H. Engcl, second violin, and Miss Jean Clarkson, piano); quintet for two violins, two violas and 'cello, by Beethoven. This may be the first public performance of this work in Auckland. The players will be: — violin, Mrs. Winifred Hayes; second violin, H. Engel; first viola, C. Munro; second viola, R. E. Fenton; and pianist, Miss Jean Clarkson. This welldiversified programme should provide fare for a most interesting evening's entertainment.

The June number of "Music in New Zealand" is a decided improvement upon its predecessors. The name of the editor appears only once on the cover instead of three times as in the Mayissue. The "Leading New Zealand Musician" of the month is Dr. W. K. Thomas, of Auckland. Miss Gladys E. Watkins, the earilloneur, contributes an interesting article on "Bells and a Player." About 18 columns are taken up with critiques and reports of concerts given in various parts of the Dominion. Five columns are devoted to Christchurch and half a column to Auckland doings. The original musical contribution is not of a particularly high standard. One advantage of this paper is that it gives us an opportunity of learning about what is going on in music in other parts of the Dominion, Christchurch and Wellington in particular.

In the person of Mary Brett (Mrs. R. H. Neil), Auckland possesses one of the most gifted composers in the Dominion. Some of her charming 6ongs have already been heard on the concert platform, and one of these "Horses of the Dawn," was set as a test at the Suffolk competitions. At the reception given to Mr. Lcvitzki by the Auckland Piano Students' Association last week, Miss Molly Atkinson sang one of these songs, and the distinguished pianist was so impressed by it that he asked to be allowed to sec some of the clever composer's other songs. The sequel is both interesting and gratifying, for Mr. Levitzki will take back to America with him one song at least, "Eily Aroon," and possibly others. With his expert endorsement there is every chance that they will find a publisher there. Kind-hearted and disinterested actions such as these explain why Mischa Levitzki enjoys such a tremendous personal popularity.

There were several concert pests in evidence at the Levitzki recitals. One of these was the individual who seems to delight in punctuating pianissimo passages with a pentrating cough, given sforzando and ad. lib. Then again there were the late comers, who rush in between items and disturb the continuity of the concert with their hurried, noisy entrance. The drop-down scats at the Town Hall seem to have been specially designed to come into action with a loud, sharp, nerve-racking bang, possibly with the intention of testing the acoustics of the auditorium. This auditorium is a wonderful place to hear things in. That is why it is called an "auditorium." Filtering in from outside could be heard the other evening the plaintive hoot of the "baby" car, the care-free laugh of attendants gaily discussing the 10 per cent "cut," the open exhaust of the motor bike rushing the hill, the engagement of gears, the resonant "clang" of the traracar gong, the squealing of brakes, and—nine o'clock. Inside, the sibilant whisper of the excited student, "00, he's playing the one I'm learning now," and one of the greatest pianists in the world playing like an angel to a half-frozen audience seated- in overcoats. It's a lovely hall!

One of the things that may be placed to the debit, or tho credit, of the "talkies"—it all depends on how you look at it—is the extinction of the cinema organ. The following extract from the correspondence of the "Musical Times" shows how one English church organist at least looks at it: "Every time a new cinema is built we are treated to the same farrago of fatuities: •Mighty Organ—ls,o79 pipes—lool miles of wire,' etc., ad libitum, ad nauseam. When, out of curiosity, one is tempted to listen to the contraption, one is then (rented to the sight and sound of an individual who gradually materialises from the depths by tho aid of an electrically elevated rostrum, thrown into a kaleidoscopic limelight, and proceeds to dole out remorselessly 'storms,' monastic gardens, so-called 'theme songs,' and the usual jazz paraphernalia, which have been well summed up, once and for all, by the most trenchant writer on music, Kaikhosru Sorabji, as being * . . . far below the lowest depths ever reached bv tho Victorian or Edwardian ballads, which are virile and sturdy in comparison . . . the entire genus is pervaded by a drooling, bibulous snivelling which makes it unspeakably repulsive and disgusting to all those who arc not besotted bv it°or those who flatter it from interested motives.' To allege, that this sort of thing requires musicianship, even if it necessitates arranging at sight from a pianoforte copy, is to betray a very curious and entirely new conception ot the term." "Orpheus" would like to hear !Mr. Sorabji play golf!

The story of the lady who said, "Brahms? (the name was pronounced "brawms"), I've not tasted them; do you eat them pickled?" has a companion now. It is this: "How did you like the barcarolle at last night's inusicaleY" "I never partake of refreshments at public functions."

At Glasgow the theatre .was so full (for "Die Fledermaus") that people were literally hanging on by their eyebrows.—Colonel Eustace Blois. The Scots are a hairy race, but I query that "literally."—Philip Page.

One of the features of the organ iu St. George's Chapel, Windsor, is that this four-manual instrument has been reconstructed with complete independent control from two keyboards. Two players can sit at these keyboards and sec each other as they play. Watford Davies, describing this rebuilt organ in "The Musical Times," says: "We can imagine two such eminent friends as Sir Hugh Allen and Dr. Henry Ley sitting, one at each keyboard, and vieing with each other in the accompaniment of the Psalms, answering one another, verse by verse, as Decani and Cantoris have done for centuries." He concludes this article by saying ho can "issue a hearty invitation to fellow-organists. ... to apply for the freedom of the organ loft whenever finding themselves at Windsor, they should so desire it." We commend this idea to our city organist and council authorities.

The broadcasting of concerts must be a boon to some critics, who are thus enabled to hear a performance without having to go to the trouble of putting in an attendance. Mr. Ernest Newman, the famous critic for the "Sunday Times," has been known to review a performance from hearing it over the air This is a much safer way of domg it than by getting-hold of the printed programme and writing up the concert at home with the aid of some stereotyped musical phrases and a little imagination. There is an old story, told of a Christchurch pressman, who, about 40 years ago, had been detailed to report an orchestral concert in the cathedral city It was a shocking night, raining "cats and dogs," and he succumbed to the temptation of writing an account of it in the cosy seclusion of Warners Hotel. It didn't take him long to look at the programme and write up a wholly imaginative description as he knew, from experience, the performance would go. Just to give an artistic touch to his report he added a few details, such as "there was a fair attendance considering the state of the ami that the "brass was much too loud" (lie would be quite safe in saying that m any circumstances). Having got the business off his mind he spent a pleasant evening playing billiards, until about II o'clock, turned in his account of the conceit at the office, and went to bed. His critique of tho concert duly appeared in the morning paper, and then, in the afternoon, the evening paper contained the news that "owing to tho poor attendance consequent upon the inclement weather, the performance had been postponed to a later date!" Something similar once happened in 'Auckland, but "that's anther tale."