MISS BALK. PIANIST

Evening Star, Issue 17084, 1 July 1919, Page 6

MISS BALK. PIANIST

The first unsupported appearance of a voting musician is always an important occasion. It is especially important, _in Dunedin when the pertormer is a p.anisi.-. for the study of the piano_is here carried to the level of high proficiency. as_ many visitors, includim.' examining professors, have told ns. This being the position, ft was quite in accordance with the fit-nes» of things, and in lino with expectations, that the invitations to hear -Miss Hrid Balk at the Bristol concert chamber last night should be largely made use of. As a fact, the chamber was filled. It was a critical audience—friendly, of course, bn: knowledgeable, therefore demanding results, and we may safely assume that v.ie most exacting critic ip-resent, Mr Max Scherek. the young lady’s tutor, was saris-li--d with tlu* ]>lavmu' For a full hoiw Miss Balk held the close attention of theaudience, and she was repeatedly applauded, the hearers calling for an encore at the finish. It is a testimony to the thoughtfulness of the p'avmg that Mies Balk' should have kept the hearers interested. It was u feat on her part to go right through a taxincr programme wrtlinire a scrap of -nusic in front of her and wutli jio more than a few seconds’ interval. And it stands to her credit that tho re&Ui*s achieved were fought for under distracting conditions, since the cracking or urewoiks and street noises of tho rejoicing crowds were almost- continuous, and so loud as to occasionally make it difficult to bear the instrument. In such circumstances a Garrc-no or a Paderewski woum have been pardoned for getting a bit off the rails. To a debutante it was a most twins and unfair ordeal, let Miss_ ba-.v pluckily perwered, and, though obviou-K nervous, and no doubt annoyed about he-! one linger slip and a slight _ lapse ol memory, she v/on through with much cued it-, ’ leaving the pmpresainn lhn,fc m more serene smroundingis she will eau-tv herself more thoroughly., and in time do a good deal towards advancing the cause of music in New' Zealand. Of one thing the audience were quite assured: her technique Is all right. Evidence on that point was ample in the -playing pi Chopin’s scherzo in B flat minor and ax the -clarity of the concert study nr D hat by Liszt." These two peceo wore, wo think, the outstanding features of the rec’tal. There were some nice suggestions of the poetic in tire .treatment of Chopin’s popular ‘Nocturne m Q. and we liked tho andantino of Schumann s ‘Sonata in G Minor,’ the finaerwork here heuru noticeably even and the accompaniment' in true relation. Other composers drawn upon for the occasion _ were Debussy, Suint-Saens, and Tyravliit-.