CHAMBER MUSIC

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28869, 14 April 1959, Page 21

CHAMBER MUSIC

Year's Fine Programme

The Christchurch Chamber Music Society has this year arranged five concerts which promise to be of exeptional quality. There is also this year a great variety of performers. The first concert, on May 6. which was to be given by the Barylli Quartet, will now be by the Feld String Quartet. Walter Barylli, the leader of the Barylli Quartet, became ill just before the quartet was to have left Vienna and the tour was cancelled. The New Zealand Federation of Chamber Music Societies quickly engaged the Feld Quartet as a substitute.

The Feld Quartet, the members of which escaped from Hungary during the 1956 uprising, is the resident quartet at the University of Redlands, California.

On June 15, the Czech Wind Quintet, which was formed in 1945 by soloists of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, will appear in the city on June 15. Their repertoire includes works by classic Czech composers and world classics from Haydn up to the present time. The instruments of the quintet are flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn. A new departure for the New Zealand chamber music societies is the engagement of a singer. The world-famous French baritone Gerard Souzay will give a concert in Christchurch on July 21. He is one of the foremost singers of German lieder and is equally renowned as a singer of French art songs and music by the French masters of the 17th and 18th centuries.

A violin and piano duo, Igor Ozim and Ilse von Alpenheim, will appear on September 5. Igor Ozim is a Jugoslavian violinist who is a pupil of Max Rostal and a winner of the Carl Flesch Medal. Ilse von Alpenheim is a well-known pianist in Austria. The Quartetto di Roma, which will appear on October 13, consists of Ornell Santoliquido, who is considered to be Italy’s finest pianist, Arrigo Pelliccia, violin. Bruno Giuranna, viola, and Massimo Amfitheatreof, ’cello. All the members of the group are known for their solo recordings and the pianist, violinist, and ’cellist form the Santoliquido Trio, which is also known for its recordings. A sixth concert has yet to be arranged. All these concerts will be open only to members of the society, of whom there are at present 800. The society can accept only as many members as there are seats in the Civic Theatre, and it is anticipated what with such an outstanding programme for this season membership will rapidly approach the limit. The subscription which covers the cost of admission to the six concerts, is 30s.