ORGAN RECITALS

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 118, 20 May 1932, Page 6

ORGAN RECITALS

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—Mr. L. D. Austin has voiced the concern of many in his apprehensions regarding the suggested discontinuance o£ the city organ recitals. Mr. Austin will no doubt also join in 'paying tribute to the very high standard of Mr. Page's performancesl and his presentation o£ many works of a character and magnitude .rarely attempted in this country. And therein* lies the problem. Mr. Page's programmes admittedly appeal only to a' very limited number, and it is quite obvious that a lowering of the standard by the introduction of more hackneyed and popular works to cater for the less musically studious would be necessary to popularise the recitals; but while our bands and other organisations are catering adequately for light and popular music, itTwould be unfortunate, and a distinct loss to sacrifice one of the few opportunities Mr. Paged recitals afford of studying the works of the "great- and in many cases otherwise unfamiliar composers.—l am, etc., . , CpNTINUANCE. ' (To the Editor.) Sir, —I had intended to write, in # s6me detail about the. proposed abolition of the municipal organ recitals; but Mr. L. K. Austin, in an admirable letter which you published yesterday, has.practically anticipated much that I myself should have written on'the subject. I will therefore only ask you to allow me to call the attention of all who are desirous of continuing these recitals to a meeting which, will be held in the Chamber of Commerce Room, Dominion Buildings, Mercer street, on Monday evening next, at 7.30, to decide what steps should be taken in tne matter. I, as the. senior musician, of the city, have been asked to preside at the meeting, and I shall regard it'as a privilege"'to do so.—l am, etc., . ' ' ■■...'. ROBERT PARKER. 20th May. , ■ (To the Editor.) Sir, —Having noticed in "The Post" a councillor proposing to abandon the Sunday organ recitals, and a letter on "the subject/1 would like to offtr a little comment. Having attended recitals in Salt Lake City, Sydney, Dunedin, and our own city of Wellington, "I was struck by the complete indifference shown in regard to the recitals here in Well, Sir, we are told "variety is the Bpice of life," and in these, depressing andtroublesome times why not the,variety? The attendances ?at' ea:h of. the ; above cities (Wellington excepted) /recitals are good and, a lasting encouragement to the officials providing thems and the' recitals are a feast to lovers of the organ, and each programme was varied, hot the "high' brow^' all the time._ In the case of Wellington,, I submit that if the are any criterion, the recitals do not succeed: The quality of the-music, or of the player, are no doubt excellent, but times are changing, likewise the general musical tastes. Surely your correspondent, Mr. L. D. Austi% as a musician will admit that! If, Sir, the Town Hall programmes were on a more "popular" scale, in other words, a brighter and lighter vein shown, attendances would soon show whether the recitals were worth while. We need not "jazz' at all for the Sabbath, but a cheerful programme, which in these modern times would be beneficial to us generally. Aa maybe you are aware, Sir, pleasing everyone is an impossible task, but I am sure a brighter Sunday is possible in moderation, and, in conclusion, I think every big city throughout the world (I have been in a few) has a brighter Sunday than we have in Wellington.—l am, etc., - HAROLD NICHOLLS. "Economy" and J. R. Brown commend Councillor Duncan for. drawing attention to the loss on city- organ recitals. "In good times (writes J. R. Brown), it is perhaps right and proper to make concessions to art and artistry,' but when one finds that the^ enthusiasm, for the art of our City Organist-is represented by less than £50 for a whole year, it is time for the authorities to.take notice. I would suggest that for the future the various organists of the city.be invited to gh'e recitals, on Sunday afternoons, in the winter, and Sunday evening in the summer, at, say, £28 2d a time. If that were done —and I believe the organists would.welcome the opportunity to improve their acquaintance with the citizens organ—we1 would get a wide variety of-programme and performance at a cost of a little over £100—a clear saving of. £400 on the present arrangement." • A silimar suggestion is made by "Economy."