PIANIST ARRIVES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 239, 9 October 1935, Page 8

PIANIST ARRIVES.

TOUR OF DOMINION.

MR. PERCY GRAINGER.

HOPES TO COMPOSE AGAIN.

At the age of 53, Mr. Percy Grainger, noted pianist, who arrived by the Wanganella to-day from Sydney, is looking forward to taking up composing again—work which lie smilingly admitted he had not been able, for personal reasons, to pay much attention to since he was a youth of 18.

For more than 20 years Mr. Grainger has been touring in Europe and America, appearing on concert platforms and, since the riso of radio, in the broadcasting studios. He has spent the last 18 months in a broadcasting and concert tour of Australia, and has come to New Zealand under contract to the Broadcasting Board. Ho will first visit Duncdin and will bo in Auckland toward the end of November, while lie will sail for America on December 10. For many years Mr. Grainger has made his home at White Plains, about 22 miles out of New York City. He is an Australian by birth and last toured New Zealand with Ada Crosslev in 1000.

"The last few years have been ideal for serious music," he said; "in fact, there never had been such good conditions until the depression started. Not only are composers able to earn more, which does not matter so much, but they have many more opportunities for serious work. No doubt this is largely due to broadcasting with its necessity for large and varied programmes. The broadcasting studios are always on the look-out for new work, whereas, when it was a matter merely of pleasing the public, composers of serious works were at a great disadvantage."

Mr. Grainger said one thing which lie endeavoured to emphasise was the immense amount of good music that had been composed by English-speaking people since about the thirteenth century. It was not only of interest historically, but in its beauty and appeal was still just as fresh as the day when it was written.

He also believed in presenting Oriental and native music in addition to Kuropean. He thought that the theory of the diffusion of culture was true in the musical field and that native music, whether it was Australian. Maori, Chinese or Greenland, betrayed this in its underlying similarity.

Mrs. Orainger. who is accompanying her husband, is a painter and poetess and was born in Sweden, but it is a long time since she lived in her native land.