NIGHT OF MUSIC

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 130, 5 June 1933, Page 3

NIGHT OF MUSIC

DAWSON-CABALLERO

CONCERT

The famous baritone Mr. Peter Dawson and the brilliant young pianist Senor Tapia Caballero, made a deep appeal to a large audience at the Town Hall on Saturday night when they gave their second Wellington concert. Every item was greeted with rapturous applause, and even at the end o£ a long programme which included a generous number of encores the audience was loath to bid the performers goodnight. Mr. Daw-son's songs covered a wide range. They varied from the florid and difficult old English numbers "Hail Immortal Bacchus," by Arne, and "When Valiant Amm6n," by Battishill, to his own virile compositions such as "The Pirate Goes West," "Route Marchin'," and "Boots" (which are written under the nom-de-plume of J. P. McCall), from the "Xicht mehr zu dir zu gehen," by Brahms to Loewc's dramatic ballad "Edward," from sombre "Marins d'lslande," by Fourdrain, to the imaginative ''Spirit Flower," by Tipton, and from ''The Mountains o' Mourne" (Collison) to Moussorgsky's satiric "Song of the Flea." Mr. D.rwson is a great interpreter. He uses his magnificent voice as an instrument of expression. He lives through every song he sings, and his presentation of them carries conviction. By artistic use of tone colouring, by gesture and facial expression, by appreciation of musical values, and clarity of enunciation he makes his singing eloquent and impressive. It is little wonder that he carries his audiences with him, as lie did on Saturday night, for his art is distinctive. The young pianist, Sen or Tapia Cabal-1 levo, seems to be ordained to proclaim the spirit of romance in music in .a language transcending mere efficiency. His playing is convincing in value and weight and pleasurable in its free but personal form. His big number on Saturday night was Schumann's "Etudes Symphoniques." This is a monumental work with which the pianist seemed to share a pronounced affinity. He avoided .ambiguity in revealing its many moods and its poetic beauty, and liis performance was justly acclaimed. Mozart's "Sonata in D Major" was something off the beaten track, as most pianists seem to have contempt for the technical simplicity of the Mozart Sonatas, but the power to reveal their gossamer beauty to the full is a test of musicianship, and Senor Caballero was equal to the task. His flair for tone colouring was illustrated in a Moussorgsky bracket which included "Gopak," "The Old Castle," and "La Conturiere," and he painted a fanciful picture in Ravel's "Toccata." Among his encores were some spectacular Spanish compositions, including "The Fire Dance" and "The Miller's Dance." by de Falla, and "Malagnena," by Albeniz. Mr. Dawf/m's accompaniments were played by Mr. Hubert Grcenslade, who was responsive to every mood of the singer.