Music in a Younger Britain

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XX, Issue 239, 27 September 1930, Page 9

Music in a Younger Britain

Discriminating New Zealanders

(By Walter Impett in the London "Daily Telegraph.")

J7AR REMOVED from world centres of musical palpitation and cherishing only the faintest hopes of ever seeing the approach of the orchestral armies of Toscanini, Furt Wangler, or Wood, the Dominion of New Zealand yet contrives to keep abreast of the times' in its development of talent. Much sound work, in fact, is being registered by masters, English and Italian, in the four thriving centres of this young and tranquil country.

]y£Y present visit to England after a long absence has enabled, me not only to compare notes, but fees and methods. The outcome of close observation is the firm conviction that the New Zealand student who loves musio for its own sake can embark on a course of musical instruction in his own land with a capable and careful tutor at a third the cost of the same tuition in London. It may be that some of these excellent teachers have taken up their residence in New Zealand primarily to escape the rigours of climate; the fact remains that the knowledge imparted, especially in the early stages, is almost as perfect as it could be. Add to this that an elegantly furnished home for a professional man in this fair Dominion is available, complete with sunbalcony, garage, and half an acre of garden, for less than £l6 per month! RISING STANDARDS New Zealand's appetite for serious music is fed fairly constantly by the visits of overseas artists of renown, and usually these appearances are so arranged that no two “importations ’ hold sway in the same city at the same time. Hero, too, perhaps, lies the secret of the rising standard of musical taste to 4'" found among the people. Much store is set by the promised performance, and a discerning public are not slow to appreciate the virtues of an artist. Enthusiasm for an event of this kind in the largest city, Auckland, with a highlyeducated population numbering nearly 250,000, is, for instance, always likely to run high, for the concert-goer in the Antipodes has the extra satisfaction of knowing that some impresario at work at this end has been occupied long before in

sifting the good from tho bad before committing his precious choice to a five weeks’ sea voyage from Tilbury or Naples. TOURING MUSICIANS The custom, established years ago, of presenting each artist for a season of five or six concerts in one town is still adhered to. Best seats cost eight shillings to ten in modern town liqlls accommodating 3,000. I can recall, through the years, flattering vet critical receptions being accorded Kreisler, Galli-Curci,. . Friedman, Daisy Kennedy, Moiseiwitsch. Backhaus, Hislop, Clara Butt, Heifetz, McCormick, Giannini, Dal Monte, Paderewski, Harry Dearth, Kirkby Lunn, and Melba to mention but a few. Where these individual performances were concerned I believe that in some cases the box-offioq receipts have been remarkable. Larger orchestral and choral organisations, with one eve on the baton and another on the scenic beauties, occasionally strive to do the same thing. I think John Philip Sousa, Dr. Henry Coward, and the “Besses o’ tho Barn” Band are the only examples of those who have ever recorded a net result. EMULATING THE HOMELAND New Zealanders, then, deprived for the most part of the opportunity of hearing world-famous orchestras and choral unions, turn instinctively to their own municipal music, as well as programmes given by local musical societies, which, under resident British conductors, are perhaps the country’s loftiest effort in emulating the Homeland. Choirs, well trained and with a score of programmes ready for any occasion, can be met with m all the larger centres. Even native melodies of the Maori race, with their fascinating lilt, form part of the repertoire, and. rearranged by Alfred Hill, the gifted Wellington composer, are now being utilised in solo and chorus work of various kinds.