Young people’s concert

Press, 22 June 1987, Page 8

Young people’s concert

Young Persons* Concert In the Town Hall, Sunday, 1.10 p.m M with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by William Southgate. Reviewed by Allan Francis. While music plays such a minor part in schools’ curriculum, concerts of this nature are vital to the survival of the art in young people’s minds. The choice of the "Carnival” theme was an excellent idea for the purpose and on paper, the hosts, Danny Watson and Frank Flash looked the ideal exponents for the job. After Oily Ohlson’s dismal performance on a previous occasion one wondered just how well the new team of Danny and Frank might rate; but fears dispelled almost immediately, the pair got the afternoon away to a » grand start, the orchestra following in with the appropriate “Entry of the Gladiators.” ; The programme was suitably , scaled for the' young and young in heart, “Roman Festival” by Berlioz, Khachaturian’s “Masquerade Waltz” and Kabalevsky’s “Galop froriu thsTComedians.” The first!

novel note arrived with “Not Mozart 40,” obviously the result of an internal plot by New Zealand Symphony Orchestra arrangers. This one would be as far as one could go with the famous theme from the “Symphony 40” much to the universal delight of all concerned. The venture was initiated by the Cashmere Primary School, who undertook the brave task of mounting the concert and filling the auditorium. As it turned out their efforts were fully rewarded with a capacity audience of mixed age groups, all of whom entered into the spirit of the occasion., Generally speaking, New Zealand schools are not well endowed with musical appreciation, the bogy of "classical music”, being a likely candidate for the young Kiwi “clobbering machine.” This concert set out to redress the balance in the most palatable form and would, I imagine, succeed admirably. Helped in no small way from William Southgate’s rather self-conscious notes

and jokes, the afternoon would have proved that one can enjoy music in all forms with a minimum of suffering from the participants. Danny and Frank needed no introduction, but they got it with Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns,” a ready-made setup for one of several clever skits. The case, of the intrusive guitar player, in particular was a brilliant piece of inventive clowning. Nor did they forget to introduce audience participation. In between, the orchestra was not relegated to playing second fiddle; the same bright pattern of easily digested pieces was continuing. Stravinsky’s angular “Circus Polka” • for a circus elephant was a dry little work that received suitably laconic treatment.

The afternoon finished with Britten’s “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra” — again a logical choice, if somewhat a shade long for the very young. Everyone, agreed though, it was a grand idea, worthy of a repeat long tefore another year has pfced.