BOHEMIAN ORCHESTRA

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 205, 30 August 1935, Page 9

BOHEMIAN ORCHESTRA

THE TSCHAIKOWSKY. ADMIRABLE PERFORMANCE. There was a very fair attendance in the Town Hall last evening when the Bohemian Orchestra presented its second programme of the season. The major work of the evening was Tschaikowsky's universally popular "Piano Concerto, No. 1, in B Flat Minor," in which the soloist was Miss Eva Stern, who undoubtedly carried off the principal honours of the evening. This glamorous work affords many opportunities for a pianist with an intellectual aud emotional command of technique to make a personal display, and Miss Stern made the most of these openings, especially in the brilliant and elaborate cadenzas. Her touch in the lighter passages was delightful, and she obtained all there was to be got from her instrument in the heavier of the ensembles. At the same time her solo work did not stand apart from the orchestra. There was warm applause at the conclusion and Miss Stern returned to play Chopin's A Flat Etude, in which she displayed a liimpid tone and much taste. She received a number of beautiful floral tributes.

Considering the lack of opportunities for adequate rehearsal, the work of the orchestra throughout was surprisingly good. There were, it is true, a few rough edges, but against this, there were many occasions when the ensemble was more than satisfactory. The strings were smooth and rhythmic in the pompous introduction; the wood wind scction was very effective in the slow movement; the violas and 'cellos were heard to advantage in the introduction of the allegro vivace assai, while all sections combined well to give a vigorous performance of the Slav dance in the allegro con fuoco, and the final brilliant coda. Next in interest on the programme came the three numbers from the suite, "London Every Day," by Eric Coates. These were very tuneful and attractive, .and most effectively played. The first of these, "Covent Garden," was a lively number, whicli brought in the air, "Cherry Ripe." In the second,- "Westminster," Big Ben was heard. The third, "Knightebridge," a bright and joyous number, gave the brass a fine opportunity for some effective playing. The whole suite was played "con amorc" by the orchestra, which gave in this some of its best work of the evening, and that this was recognised by the audience was evidenced by the enthusiastic applause which followed. The performance of the incidental music to Mendelssohn's "Midsummer Night's Dream" was somewhat uneven, but there was some beautiful work by the horn in the overture and nocturne, in which, also, the woodwind was very effective. The

famous "Wedding March" was given with gusto. The performance of Massenet's Suite, "Scenes Pittoresques," was the least satisfactory of the evening. In the "Marc-he," the oboe was sharp. The 'cellos in the "Air de Ballet" were uneven, and the whole performance gave an impression of insufficient rehearsal. The programme would have been better had this suite been omitted—quality being preferable to quantity. Auber's sparkling Masaniello" overture, with its effective contrasts, made a lively opening number. The assisting vocalists were Mrs. Harold Owe re (soprano) and Mr. J. McCarthy (tenor). Mrs. Owers' first programime number was "One Fine Day," the popularity of which may be gauged from the fact that it has been given at* three consecutive Town Hall concerts this month. Mrs. Owers has a soprano voice of beautiful quality, which she uses with charm and discretion; at the same time it might be observed that those at the back of the auditorium last night had some difficulty in determining the language in which the operatic numbers were being sung. This may, perhaps, be due to faulty acoustics. In response to appreciative applause Mrs. Owers returned to receive a bouquet and to sing a song by Frank Bridge. The hackneyed sentimental drawing room ballad, "For You Alone," chosen by Mr. McCarthy for his first number, seemed out of piace on a more or less "classical" programme. However, it is only fair to state that the audience appeared to enjoy it, while the singer's rendition was quite in keeping with the character of the song. |

Mr. McCarthy favoured the audience with the song hit, "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life, from 'haughty Marietta.' A popular item was the "Miserere," from "H Trovatore," sung by Mrs. Owers and Mr. McCarthy, who were warmly applauded for their performance, which was quite tive. A pleasing feature was the excellent tone of the brass playing the chorus portion of the scena. On the whole the programme was very enjoyable and considerable credit is due to Mr. Muston for the success of the concert. Miss Edith Whitelaw was the efficient leader of the orchestra and the accompaniments were in the safe hands of Mr. Owen Jensen.