N.Z. NATIONAL BAND

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27128, 26 August 1953, Page 3

N.Z. NATIONAL BAND

“TALENT OF FIRST-RATE QUALITY ” (Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 7 p.m.) LONDON, August 25. The various solos heard proved abundantly that New Zealand has nurtured much talent of first-rate quality, says the “Manchester Guardian” after a concert in the Free Trade Hall by the New Zealand National Baad. The paper’s music critic says: “An ad hoc ensemble of this character, especially when it is augmented considerably beyond the normal limits, is not necessarily an accurate indication of general prevailing standards, though a high degree of technical competence is assured. The band, as a whole, produces a tone that is brilliant and incisive—and in the long run tiring to the ear. It is more than probable that individual bands in New Zealand, as here, can command the warmth and cohesion of tone that develop from long association as a team. “Regrettably too, the programme was too slight in character to give one an adequate opportunity to judge the interpretative insight of the band and the conductor. But there were numerous hints of musical sensitivity, especially, and significantly enough, in the solo numbers. The New Zealand Government has done well to sponsor the formation of the National Band.”