SYMPHONY CONCERT

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 39, 14 August 1940, Page 5

SYMPHONY CONCERT

A POPULAR PROGRAMME

The Wellington Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mr. Leon de Mauny, presented at the Town Hall last night a well-balanced programme of symphonic music. The works performed were mainly from those of Mozart and Mendelssohn, but included two numbers by Tschaikowsky and a group of the songs of Schubert. The major work was Mozart's Symphony in G Minor, No. 40, which the orchestra had performed on another occasion. It contains all those elements that are of particular interest to the musician and it also makes a powerful appeal to concert audiences in * general by its simplicity and beauty, its grace and gaiety, and especially in its lovely andante or second movement. The concert began with the overture to "Don Giovanni," which received a spirited and enthusiastic rendering by the orchestra. Mendelssohn was represented by the performance of the nocturne from "The Midsummer Night's Dream" incidental music, and this number was noteworthy for the adroit manner in [which the difficulties of the solo for the horn were handled. The strings, especially in the symphony, were of high quality and approached perfection in the concerto, to which reference is made hereunder. Admirable work was done by the woodwind in the symphony and "The Midsummer Night's Dream" number. Mr. Maurice Clare was the soloist in, the Mendelssohn concerto for violin and orchestra. He displayed sound technical knowledge and a plenitude of resources. His tone (from the back of the hall) seemed somewhat thm, but he played always with grace and polish and as with an intimate acquaintance with and an affection for the work. The orchestra—reduced m strength for this particular number— (acquitted itself with credit, especially so in details for which the woodwind was responsible. The applause at the conclusion of the symphony and the concerto was well i deserved and rang true, and no doubt was gratifying to Mr. de Mauny and the forces at his command. Mr. Clare was recalled with great enthusiasm. Other orchestral numbers were "The Sleeping Beauty" waltz and. the "Marche Slav," both by Tschaikowsky. [The former was remarkable for its glowing colour, the latter for its stirring performance and massive tone effects. The leader of the orchestra was Mr. D. Lavin. The orchestral work taken as a whole was fully up to the high standard maintained by Mr. de Mauny. Mr. Lawrence A. North, baritone, who is endowed with a cultured and agreeable voice, sang three Schubert songs, "The Double" (der Doppelganger). "The Linden Tree," and "The Wanderer." His insight into the significance of what he was singing, his varied and appropriate shades of expression, and his clear diction were obviously highly acceptable to the audience, which insisted on his return to the platform when he sang "To Wander," also by Schubert. Mr. North's accompaniments were sympathetically played by Miss Ormi Reid. From a musical point of view the concert ranked high in the Symphony Orchestra's successes. The programme did not, however, pack the Town Hall as it should have done, for none of the numbers could be said to be "over the heads" of any sincere lover of music.

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