BRITISH BANDS THE BEST

Evening Star, Issue 15606, 24 September 1914, Page 7

BRITISH BANDS THE BEST

Is there a British musicians* boom? Sir J. Beecham, *t the • close- of his Russian opera and ballet season .at Druty Lane at the end of July, declared that his "all-Bri-tish" orchestra was the finest that'had been hoard ih the theatre. Inquiries made by a representative of the 'Daily Citizen' in the theatre district of London tended to show tliat there are greater t-pportunites tor the British musician than ever- " Certainly the standard grows higher every year," sni'i the conductor at one of the bestknown houses, " but the British instrumentalist is now awake to his own capabilities and possibilities, and the consequence is that there is much more of the native product in our orchestras than there used to be. In these days a first-class British . player will earn between £3OO and £6OO a year." Mr C. J. Jcsson, of tho Amalgamated Musicians' Union, was strongly of the view that, on the whole, the British instrumentalist is quite ns good- ns those who come to us from the Continent. "If I were selecting an ideal orchestra I should have ,it mixed, with a prepondenance of British players, but I should want a certain number of foreigners to impart just the amount of cwot'onalisni and temperament required for completo success."