Wireless News

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21133, 7 April 1934, Page 8

Wireless News

|l:y MIW.U. I j "Two Readers'' from Fendalton write: "Dear Ariel.--Will you please (ell us what you lliink of Duke Ellington a.s a pianist? We have been arguing about it. Will you also please tell us when XER v. ill be heard on spec in 1 transmission'.'" Well, it was bound to come sometime. Sooner or laler I knew that somebody would ask mo something awkward, something difficult to an-' swer. The letter arrived early last week, and during Easter I was conveniently able to forget all about Station XER. and the pianist ic capabilities of Duke Ellington. Hut Eastertide is over, realities have lo be faced. What aboiil Duke Ellingh.nV What about .Station XER'.' j The. Mill"' j Duke Ellington is a nc r..id j.'.entle- | man. lie is regarded by many as rather a handsome fellow. Eruesi Newman, musical critic of the "Sunday Times" has described him as a shoddy synthetic Harlem Dion.vsius drunk on bad bootleg liquor. U have quoted this opinion before but it will bear repetition.) Edgar Jackson, dance band critic of the "Gramophone, _ says that the Duke's records are fascinating examples of what can be done nurely by exploitation of rhylhm. j,,.., - : , i present. Ellingtons "Mood indigo" is rath.,r popular m C u ,- church among those members o vouicer -el who wear "the popukn new llaf'hats will. Ihe l'"l" Tin- opinion of new-rhythm c .pc ; s • ends on the whole lo the behef that Ellington >s a shade .100 tone of >oU line, out his old friends the wa-wa Mo 13.it "Part from tins minor • he is on the whole recognise I "' an accepted leader and exonent of hot music and new rhythm P What about i>d<e Whnglon as a reore. may object that once st a who is wot. For instance, nrm and a brilliant p.m.ist on the d s • ,"h<.ri.-is Cortot does not record as well : h hLortoL Hyouwanttolindoul whether a pianist ,s a good p < n vol, will have to see him m the il h and watch his playing. In this connexion Harold Nieolsou makes the iolowing observation: "f can el A man plays badly: the only test loi the ignorant is the pianist s reatment o the single note. Th. ; pmM.st will Hist put one finger on that single no c ■ ...; if indeed it were a simple thing to do- the good pianisl, who, during the involved passages, will have leant back idlv letting his square hands browse miraculously on the key-board, will suddenly be galvanised into passion at Ihe approach of the single note 1 is whole bodv will hi'/..me rigid with the intensify of his concentration: he will lean close down over Ihe key-I board, his trembling lmg-rs nul-j trctchtd. and then he will Hick at that | nolo with that forefinger, as if a den-i !,.,(. extracting a dying nerve When that happens I lling myself back in my chair. 'Dili.:' I cxcl'inn. 'commc il join: bien! Quel doigte!' ' So on Ihe whole, my advice to two readers is to watch Duke Ellington play. Note his treatment, of the single not''-. —And the Doctor And now for nation XEH. This station -as its prelix X would presuppose -is in Mexico. The transmitting pant is at Villa Acuna. Mexico, the station t'-ansmils on 73a kilocycles, and can be heard with the dial pointer quite near CCL Adelaide. The studios, however, arc at Millord. Kansas, U.S.A. Mix- station appears to be the property of an American doctor, one Dr John Hrindley. Dr. Brmdley is a surgeon, and cording lo Dr. Hrindley, a very good surgeon He flies his own aeroplane to visit patients, and after having operated on them with invariable success, he then explains his procedure to the world at largo via the medium of station XER. If you are fortunate enough to hear this station you will be struck with the amazing generosity of this MexicoAmerican combination. First you will hear an address by Dr. Brindlcy. oflcring lo cure you of the- most astounding ailments. Then there will be a musical number, followed by the announcer offering to send 71b boxes ot candy to listeners free of all charges. Occasionally, even. Dr. Brindlcy oilers five pounds in money for a cable from long-distance hearers. There were some special transmissions for Australian and New Zealand listeners on several clays last month, but I am unaware of any special transmissions for the month of April.

No Vision. People Perish And now I feel I have performed my duty towards "Two Readers" of Fcndalton. That being that. 1 propose to gj vc —in a manner of speaking—a little song and dance about programmes and art. Until recent years the appreciation of art lias been for the few—the very few. Hard work, insufficient education, economic circumstances, all these have combined to make art as caviare for the general public. Even at present in New Zealand, this country of infinite opportunity, very few "Intellectual" books are read by the general public. Very few "Intellectual" muuieians are heard by the general public. Now there is a fetish held by "intellectuals" that popular art is degrading, that popular taste is a synonym for lack of taste. As example, "intellectuals" will say that they do not go to lilms, because films are not worth seeing. They will say they do not own a radio, because programmes are not worth the hearing. And on the other hand, the makers of lilms will tell you that they cannot produce "good" films. They say that they must cater for the popular taste. And I have been told by several people associated witli the New Zealand Broadcasting Board that the people of New Zealand will not stand good programmes. "We must educate the public slowly up to the standard of good programmes" say these officials of the Broadcasting Board. Well and good. But is there anyone associated with the Broadcasting Board in New Zealand capable of educating the public? I doubt it. I really doubt it. Is there anyone at present associated with the Broadcasting Board who has the capabilities necessary for guiding the people's taste? Again, I. doubt il.

t sec letters to the newspapers complaining of llic classical programmes as given by the Broadcasting Board. Quite a number of them. These letters are written by well-meaning people, who have toned in to something tliey cannot understand. And as has been the custom of savar.es the world over, they attempt to destroy the incomprehensible. Therefore, there are Iwu alternatives. One is to abandon all ideas of educating the public of New Zealand to an appreciation of good music, good books, good art. This is, of course, an unvisionary procedure. "Where there is no vision the people perish." Where there is no vision, the Broadcasting Board will certainly perish. The other alternative is to find people capable of teaching the broad mass of the public an appreciation of ait; to teach them that art belongs to the people, that it must be under-

NOTES FROM FAR AND NEAR

stood and loved by them. The truth of the matter is that the broad mass of the public is far more intelligent than is supposed by the Broadcasting Board. In fact, it is more intelligent than the Broadcasting Board itself. Bernard Shaw stated a few days ago that one of the remarkable features of New Zealand newspapers was that there is a literary press in the country. The art societies of New Zealand are in a flourishing condition. The conceit halls are filled when reputable musicians visit the country. Stygian Gloom Nevertheless, the broad mass of the public of New Zealand is groping about in the gloom. It has no standards. It has no guides. II has few teachers. And as radio represents a solution for this lamentable slate of affairs, for heaven's fake let Ihe Broadcasting Board experiment in this direction. I hope for its own sake that it will steer clear of the professorial, class of the country, which class, owing to its intellectual and financial semi-starva-tion, still wallows vaguely in a lateVictorian translucency. But even the professors would be an improvement on the present lamentable state of affairs.