MUSIC.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 669, 20 November 1909, Page 9

MUSIC.

(Br Tazvhz'Cirj.TL

A Nsw.;,yiolinist. ■ -^f , '*'. A boy of 14, Eddy Brown, from America, ap. •pears to. have made a hit as a violinist at a re-cont-.London concert at- the.Albert Hall. l''or the last five years,-he-has been- a- pupil of Professor Hubay in'Budapesti whoro not long since he aroused; great 'enthusiasm. Tho lad, who speaks with a strong American accent,.w'asdis'covered away.'irtthe heart of Indiana. ..He. begaiito play when he was. five years-old, when he , was- receiving '.lessons from , his 'father;'.'an •amateur musician. .Such were bis'musicaljgifts that,his parents decided to do everything in their power to give him-a chance;-and accordingly; tho bby-hhd his/mother'-(who'camo:origi-inally. from Poland) travelled to.Budapest to, sieiHnbay; The fbnowned teacher declared him to ,be too young to be .his pupil, but-finally, agreed to take him. 'After his third year heplayed before 6000 people, and (says the London "Daily Chronicle") was hailed as a."now star" in the musical firmament. His principal contribution at .the/Albert Hall.lastmonth was Tschaikowsky's'Concerto, and, according to the critics,-if was- brilliantly played." • • - ; •■■ /.At.-.this'-'concer),'Miss Alice Vorlet .sang.-and :the : '-'New-: Symphony Orchestra""played,-.'conr. , duiite'd py Mr'. Lanflon Ronald. One of the acj was ?Mri Cyril. Tpwsby,. oi-;We|ling : , 'ton,. JTew? Ze3lan'd.'O: :';.:,:..-;'■;:. ;

Blanche.Arrat Again. '. ■..•:;.:.. '• ,1 ,lu--"Musical America" of September 2o\ap. pears.an article-contributed by Harold Bassott, wlio will-be remembered as the , . husband of Madame Blanche Arral; the'■ Frenc h,, soprano,who sang in Wellincton a couple of years'ago. ThVarticle is entitled "Australasia a-Mecca for Musicians," and is. interesting ' enough to quote from. . Here is some of it:-r : "Of all countries which: are visited by concert artists,' Australia is -probably, the most liked by both vocalists" and ! ..'instrumentalists who have made concert tours of any, extent. There is good reason for this feeling,' as the Australians are a.warm-hearted people, and,if. they 'receive' an'artist they do 60 royally, hot only by. attendance, by personal courtesy as well. ' ■ .-'■.. ' '. : ' ■;-

."It.is the Mecca of the.concert artist;.in no other • country do' the .people 'depend for their' amusement and instruction oh concerts as they' do in that country; l Every iown of, importance has'its-'town ;hair' whore _the principal musical attractions are fold, and'they have every 'reason to be proud of the magnificent halls vthich they have erected in Melbourne, Sydney, .Adelaide,. and' Wellington. The halls are particularly acceptable to the people-,because of the strong religious feeling'which exists and which is"prejudicial to.the theatrical attractions; and because nearly every .theatro is surrounded by a network of cafes where there.is a great deal of drinking, and oil'account of the limited seating capacity of the theatres. ■ • . . "Wellington, seven days' ride by , boat from Melbourne, is tho only town'which boasts of a town hall of any size in New Zealand. It is a magnificent auditorium, whoso acoustic properties' are excellent. It has tho reputation; of being the finest hall south of the line.. And Wellingtonians nro there to fill it when a: great attraction comes along. When Mmo. Arral sang, there she gave fourteen-.concerts in,one city, and over:,4ooo peoplo paid admission; night after night, to hear her. ,-■ . ;'■; ""It the present time there is being erected a hall in Auckland to cost 500,000 dollars, ..and when that is completed it will bo one of the finest: in . DominionV Christchurch is the city.whero .the recent International Exhibition Vas held. ■; , -. .. ■"When the exhibition authorities decided to havo an.orchestra at the grounds, Alfred Hill, a leading conductor of tho Dominion/was commissioned to organise an-orchestra of the finest musicians which he could gather together, and the result was. a .credit to tho foresight of the directors in giving him the position. The exhibition authorities cabled to Australia to arrange'for Arral to eing with the orchestra during her tour through the islands, and it was : a striking proof of her popularity thai, although the ■ prices \tere increased from one to six shillings, the'auditorium, was packed to the doors and many had to be refused admission at'- the two-occasions when she sang with them. This orchestra did more to, inculcate a love of good music in the people than could have been ac-complished-in any other manner in a generation. To give an idea of the class of music on the two occasions which Mine. Arral sajig with them,-the following is. a sample programme:— "Overture, I?lying Dutchman/ Wagner j 'Rone D'Amphale,' Saint-Saens; Feramors, 'ballet ; music,' four numbers, .Bubinsteinj 'Ah fors o ,Lui,' from 'Travia-fa,', Verdi, Blanche Arral; Prelndo' Act 1, 'Lohengrin, , Wagner; 'Ijo Eeve,' David; Tolacca,' .from 'Miguon,' Thomas, Blanche Erral." : ..'. . : .

Notes.; ...-■- v■ / • ; ; ::...,;■ '.'.'. , ■ ■'■ . v .Two-or three new.soloists nro.to bo included in tho Besses o' th''Banr Band,'whiclr'is to visit tho Commonwoalth in tho early part of next year. These are Messrs..S. Pyatt and "W. Kyder,"solo cornets;. A. : P. Henry, soloouphoniuin; and W. Weedall, solo trombone Othorwiso thei practically tho samo.as 1 that .which' toured Australia two or three years back.. Changes nre rarely mado in tho membership of such ■ an eminent band as the Bosses o' th* Barn, so that many of its Jjiembers havo attained long records of service. . :' i , Master Haydn Beck, ■■- tho JVVanganui boy ■riolinist,' gave a concert.-in -Sydney, on Tuesday last; to augment the" fund which" he is raising for tliß, prosecution of Wβ studies is Europi,;■:.;;■.:-V-. -•-■ ■■„. •••• .0, -•■^i il _^