N.Z. SINGER IN LONDON

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27985, 4 June 1956, Page 2

N.Z. SINGER IN LONDON

CRITICS COMMENT FAVOURABLY (Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) LONDON, June 1. Edna Graham, of Christchurch, who is by no means yet in full control of her voice, left no doubt that she has some very fine raw material to work on and a vivid musical imagination to make all the arduous training worth while, states “The Times” musiccritic, after attending a recital in the Wigmore Hall by New Zealand artists Lnder the auspices of the New Zealand Music Society. He says. “The most lively performance of the evening came from Miss Graham, who sang son”s by Mozart Verdi, and a group of Chinese lyrics bv her compatriot. Ronald Tremaine These last songs had a sensitive, elusive, fragile charm wholly in keeping with the text.” The “Dailv Telegraph’s” critic states that Miss Graham displayed “a very attractive natural voice insecurely controlled and disconcertingly variable in timbre.” He adds that the playing by Peter Cooper, of Wellington, of Beethoven wa«s erratic and incoherent, but that Wilfred Simenauer, expertly accompanied bv Emily Jean Maire. gav° an intelligent. force f ul performance of Peothoven’s C. major ’cello sonata which would have been more eloquent had his tone possessed a greater range