MODERN CHAMBER MUSIC

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27670, 28 May 1955, Page 3

MODERN CHAMBER MUSIC

Sir,—On April 1, 1953, an Oamaru correspondent alluded to my remark an insufferable Bartok item” as emanating from one "incompetent to evaluate the works of that composer.” A London musical critic, In the November (1954) issue of "Musical Opinion,” * alluding to the formidable difficulties of Bartok’s sixth Quartet, emphasises his viewpoint by adding very striking and unmusical comment, using some original language, viz., “Acerbities,” ‘grotesqueries” and “perversities.” This critic questions whether the Bartok composition is really true quartet writing. I submit that my remark “insufferable” is an apt summary of "acerbities, grotesqueries and perversities” regarding musical rendition This week a London cable announced that Sir Thomas Beecham told officials at the Bath Music Festival that “in eighteenth century music (the period of Mozart) you stand “alone and naked. Every note you play has to be perfect, but nobody notices how many wrong notes you play in modern music.”— Yours, etc., W. H. WARREN. Timaru, May 26, 1955.