Scandinavian Music At Turntable Club

Northern Advocate, 27 October 1949, Page 8

Scandinavian Music At Turntable Club

Tlie piano concerto in A minor, Opus 16, by Grieg, was the feature of the programme at the fortnightly meeting of the Whangarei Turntable Club on Tuesday night. In her introductory remarks on the subject of Grieg, Miss I. M. Graham gave a brief resume of the careeer of this composer. She said he- had an insignificant personality, and he did not attempt to poach on other composers. •- - • His shorter works almost smelt of the fresh mountain air of his native land. 'One critic had described his music as “bonbons filled with snowballs"

The concerto recordings were played by Benno Moiseivitsch with the Halle Orchestra, and were appreciated.

Three lyric pieces for the piano were also used as illustrations.

These were played by Eileen Joyce. In the same series of recordings was “Rustle of Spring,” by Sinding—also a Norwegian. BASED ON SIMPLE THEME

To conclude her programme Miss Graham chose the 11th variations on a Nursery Theme for the piano and orchestra written by a Hungarian, Ernst Dohnanyi.

This fairly lengthy work showed very forcibly what can be made out of a simple theme—in this case based on “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.’’ The introduction has some rather dramatic chords, with the piano taking second place to the cellos, tuba and double bass. In the first variation the piano is brought out with some brilliant passages, and in the third becomes pompous and almost takes charge.

As the variations go on, a humorous vein is -’ntroduced With the piccolo playing a leading part; the. seventh has some reminiscence of Strauss melodies, while the last is In a church style, with the bells in the background. The final fugato follows a Handel method of all instruments chasing .each other up and down the scale.