MUSIC CONVERSATION

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 94, 15 January 1936, Page 5

MUSIC CONVERSATION

Members of Spivakovsky-

Kurtz Trio

CONSERVATORIUM WORK

Fof artistic excellence New Zealand lias heard nothing liner than the Spiva-kovsky-Kurtz instrumental trio, a combination of artists of the highest rank. who.have now been together for over four years, and have achieved that polish which long intimacy with each other’s technical gifts ami temperaments alone can give. This‘'famous trio visited New Zealand two and a half years ago, when they made a deep impression on their audiences. After returning to Australia, Mr. Edmund Kurtz, the ’cellist, returned to Europe,' and was for a year vii the faculty of the Conservatoire of Music attached to the University of Prague. But after being there a few months he realised the differences between life in Europe and in Australia, the different outlook in the two places, the absence in Australia of those things which in Europe worry and harass. “And then,” said My. Kurtz, “you Icnow what' it. is—when you are in one place you want to be in another. You who go to England wish you were back home in New Zealand, and the other way about. A s I reached Australia again (in 1!>34) I thought. ‘Thank God. I am 13,000 miles away from it all!’ —the turmoil and distress and worry of Europe. I think if it were 14.000 miles I would like it even better. Then I wanted so much to rejoin my friends, the Spivakovskys. whom, I am sure, must have missed me. Besides, none of us wanted to break the continuity of our work as a trio in which we take a serious delight Work in Australia. “Since my return we have had a lovely time in Australia,” said -Mr. Kurtz. "As you know, we are attached to the Melbourne University Conservatoire of Music. There we conduct master classes for pianoforte, violin and ’cello, and play with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under Bernard Heinze, a very distinguished musician and conductor, under whom it is a pleasure to play. This still leaves ns four or live months to tour. We were to have’gone Home this year for a European tour, but this had to be cancelled owing to the disturbance caused by the Italian-Abyssinian war.” Mr. Jascha Spivakovsky said that the trio had done a good deal of broadcasting in Australia. After completing their engagement with the New Zealand Broadcasting Board they were going to give 1G concerts in 21 days in New Zealand, commencing in Wellington on Saturday next. On Tuesday afternoon next they will fly to Blenheim, give a concert there and then go on to Nelson for two concerts. The trio will leave here for Sydney by the Monowai on February 10, and will edmmene’e another tour of Australia at Hobart or February IG, returning then to Melbourne to give a six-concert cycle of Beethoven music. Success of Conservatorium. Mr. Spivakovsky is greatly struck with the excellence of the work being done by the Conservatoriums of Music in Sydney, Melbourne and .Adelaide. “In view of the success of these institutions, I wonder at there being no conservatorium of music at all in New Zealand. At least there should be one. preferably in 'Wellington, which is so centrally situated. With so much likely material about, so many with the gift for music. I wonder that one of your universities does not take up music, and so give your young people the opportunity to concentrate upon the study of music and its performance, and so create new standards.

“I am quite sure the people have just as much in the way of natural gifts as have the peoples of Europe, but they do not think so. They believe real talent has to come from a long way off. Thar is not so. I do not say you have achievements equal to those of European artists, but. I am sincere when I say your people have the same natural gift for music. It only needs rhe opportunity, the environment, to bring it out, and that can only be supplied by a conservatorium of music.” Mr. Kurtz went as far as to say that in view of the disparity in population, interest in and appreciation of music was greater in New Zealand than it was in England, or in Europe, for that matter. He also pointed out that in countries with five or six months of winter, there was more opportunity for the study of music than in Australia and New Zealand, which offered more open-air life, ami much more sport. Still, there was no reason whatever for people in (his part of (he world io get an inferiority complex in the matter of music. The gift was there; only the means of cultivation were restricted.