THIRD CONCERT

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 9, 10 July 1931, Page 3

THIRD CONCERT

DAWSON AND HAMBOURG

Mark Hambourg and Peter Dawson appeared at the Town Hall last evening for the third time during. their Wellington Season, and achieved another popular success. The chief work to which Hambourg, dynamic • and yet smoothly moving, addi'tsssed himself was the "Moonlight Sonata" of Beethoven. He made of it,a highly dramatic picture. • Massive tones and piled climaxes in the presto were in jutting relief against the placid Adagio, wjth its occasional minor ninth the only emotional ripple. The semi-quavers were given at extraordinary -speed and the urgent finale was one long surge of quickening tone, pace on pace. ' Hambourg is a remarkably powerful pianist, great tones leap to a quiet fall of his hand, but he has a love of sustained cantabile playing and at moments is a whispering romantic. Other . times show him' large, forceful, painting his tonal picture in broad strokes with striking contrast and a deeply dramatic sense. He dramatises most things, even the Chopin "Waltz in G Flat," which he played as an encore. His group of six Chopin- Preludes, the "Nocturne in E Major," "Mazurka in • B Minor," and "Waltz in A Flat" were delicate interludes, and he tossed off the SchumannLiszt "Widmung," Cyril Scott's "Lullaby" (in a. special arrangement), and Granger's "Handkerchief Dance" airily to make way-for real business, the technically baffling first book of Brahms's "Variations on a Theme of Paganini," a considerable feat. ' His encores included Beethoven's "Turkish March," "Shenandoah," and "Billy Boy," two sea chanties, Debussy's "Cathedrale Engloutie," • and Chasm's "Flirtation in a Chinese Garden." Peter Dawson, immaculate in interpretation,- strongly individual, of wide musical culture and adventurous spirit, brought his rich personality to a strange assortment of songs. They ranged from "O Ruddier than the Cherry" to Ivor Gurriey's "Lights Out" and Besley's "Donkey," the thin musical substance of which did not give justice to beautiful words. But with; a singer of Dawson's calibre it. is all one.' Hei. was :best in-, the strong rhythms of "Boots," sung as an: encore; "The Kangaroo and the Dingo" (German), and Brahms's "Blinde Kiih." His other numbers were "Vision Fugitive" (Massenet), "0 Lieblicha Wangen" (Brahms), arid "The Fairy Laugh" (Stanford); and at one stage he had to sing sis encores in succession, including "Boots" (M'Call),' "The Floral Dance" (Moss); "Sea Gypsy, (MichaelHead),."Turn Ye to Me" (Moffat)v, "The Song of the Flea" (Moussorgsky), and "The.Lute-Player" (Allitsen). Additional encores were Afne's "Hail Immortal Bacchus" and "The Bonnie Earl of Moray". (Moffat). The final concert will be given to-mor-row night.________