RADIO IN THE HOME

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22046, 28 February 1935, Page 16

RADIO IN THE HOME

FEATURES FROM IYA NEW SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ANALYSIS OF PROGRAMMES BY ALL-WAVE To-night Harry Thurston, who lias gained considerable fame as a comedian from his stage presentations of the Bairnsfather character " Old Bill," will broadcast from IYA a humorous interlude, " Laughs From Life," followed at 9.2 by a talk on " Manchuria and Her People," by Mr. Arpnd Szigetvary. On Sunday, between 8.30 and 10 p.m., the Auckland Municipal Band will broadcast on relay from Albert Park a concert of more than usual interest, the programme including clarionet, flute and xylophone solos. Harry Thurston will be heard again on Monday and Tuesday evenings. A change has been made in thg announced programme for IYX, in that the broadcast for Saturday evening is now to consist of musical comedy items from S to 9, and a Gilbert and Sullivan hour from 9 o'clock. On Wednesday, Ariosti's " Sonata " and Coleridge Taylor's " Variations in A Minor " will be played by Trevor de Clive Lowe and Leo Whittaker, commencing at 5.38 p.m. These numbers will bo followed at 9.30 by a further offering of the " We Await Your Verdict " series. The Broadcasting Board has recruited a new Radio Symphony Orchestra, which is to make its first public appearance under the baton of Paul Vinogradoff, the Russian pianist, at a concert to be held in the Wellington Town Hall on March 24. This concert is to feature Lionello Cecil, world-famous tenor. The Auckland violinist. Vincent Aspey has been engaged by the board to tour the Dominion and he will appear with the orchestra and play Mendelssohn's '' Concerto in C Minor." It is not yet known whether the concert will be relayed by all the YA statious, but it is likely that the broadcast will be confined to 2YA. " Yachtsman " complains that the sporting results broadcast by IYA oil Saturday evenings are usually inaccurate. He says:—"l refer more particularly to the yachting results, in which I am interested. It is some weeks now since the placings of the boats have been given correctly, and on comparing the results broadcast last Saturday evening with those published in Monday's Herald I find that owing to the errors in the broadcast, listening to the results in the news "session was a sheer waste of time. ... It should be no great difficulty for IYA to obtain its information from a reliable source. Otherwise the broadcasts should be discontinued, as at present they are misleading and cause a lot of unnecessary trouble to the yachting officials concerned. For the benefit of IYA I might add that an official copy of the results is usually posted up in the clubhouse some hours before they are announced from IYA." On referring the matter to IYA, All-Wave was informed that the report broadcast last Saturday was from an official of the Devouport Yacht Club.

Omitting Sunday, the new weekly programme plan for IYA allocates the evening period from eight o'clock until the closing hour as follows: Dance music, 225 minutes; music and melody, 180; popular musical and vocal gems, 120; classical and symphonies, 100; talks, 100; spoken plays, 60; chamber music, 60; continuity and theme programmes, 60; abridged operas and choral music, 60; light orchestral and ba*llad music, 40; band music, 40; miscellaneous records, 40; sports results, 10. An analysis of the programmes from eight to ten o'clock gives the following results: —Popular items, variety, revue, etc., 120 minutes; classical and symphonies, 100; talks, 100; spoken plays, 60; chamber music, 60; continuity and theme programmes, -60; abridged operas, 60; light orchestral music, 40; dance music, 40; miscellaneous records, 40; band music, 40. From this analysis it is evident that what is commonly described as " classical " music has been given the lion's share of the eight to ten transmissions, occupying 28 per cent of the time on the air. An oyen greater predominance of classical music is evident in the IYX plan, in which 50 per cent of the evening sessions is to consist of classical numbers.

Sir Thomas Beecham, the famous British conductor, has attacked the British Broadcasting Corporation for its transmissions of what he terms " mutilated operas." The present argument has arisen over an abridged version of " Hansel -and Cretel," which in full length 'takes two and a-ha.lfj •hours to perform, admittedly too long for a continuous broadcast. " To massacre the music of a piece like this." said Sir Thomas, "is as rational as omitting half the lines in a blank verse play of Shakespeare. In the interests of both art and decency there should be no further tampering with the masterpieces of music." Notwithstanding the opinion of Sir Thomas Beecham it must be admitted that so far as New Zealand is concerned listeners welcome an intelligent abridgment of an opera, particularly if accompanied by explanatory comments, and. the programme organisers are to be congratulated ill that their efforts in this connection, far from detracting, have heightened the interest and pleasure of listeners in abridged operas. t PROM IYA, To-day (also to IZQ°): 8 p.m., concert programme; 3.3, Harry Thurston, character comedian, iu "Laughs from Life"; 8.20, lon Swinley, Gray'B "Elegy" with curfew and organ; 8.28, J. W. Bailey and Players, "Voices of Nature," n one-act radio fantasy; 8.47, "Roast Pig," a Japanese Houseboy episode; 9.2, talk, Mrs. G. A. Hurd-Wood, "The Welfare of tho Hard of Hearing"; 9.20, operatic eacerpts; 10 to 11, popular music. To-morrow (also to 1ZH): 8 p.m., classical programme of modern works, "Crown of India Suite" (Elgar); 8.14, Dora Labette, soprano, Cradle Song and Nightingale; 8.18. recorded presentation of "The Fire Bird": 8.54, Dmitri Smirnoff (tenor), "Lilac" and "Berceuse"; 9.2, talk, Arpad Szigetvary, "Manchuria and Its People"; 9.20, recording, "Symphony No. B in B Minor" (Tschaikowsky), movements one to four: 10 to 11.10, popular music. Saturday: 8 p.m., concert programme; 8.18, Richard 'i'auber singing German love songs; 8.33, Alexander Brailowsky (pianist); 8.51. Swedish male chorus; 9.2, old-time dance music; 9.15, "Eb and Zeb"; 10, sports summary; 10.10 to 11.30, dance and popular music. Bunday: 11 a.m., service from Salvation Army Congress Hall; 3.30 p.m., Dijon Cathedral Choir until 4.20; 7.0, evensong from St. Matthew's Church; 8.30, Auckland Municipal Band relay. Monday (also to 1ZH): 8 p.m., "Indian Temple Dance"; 8.4, Mrs. Zoe Burtley-Baxter, "The Crescent Moon," Indian poems by Rabindranath Tagore; 8.23. "Those Four Chaps," "Taking the Air"; 8.31, Harry Thurston, comedian, "Humour and Philosophies," followed by recordings; 9.2, talk, J. J. S. Comes, "With the Maoris on Mutton Bird Island": 9.20, light orchestral and ballad music by Studio Orghestra, "Love Tales"; 9.30, glee number. "Gwm Rhodda"; 9.34, Reg. Richards (baritone), with orchestra, "The Little Irish Girl" and "The Lost Chord"; 9.46. Cyril Scott (piano), "Souvenir de Vienna": 9.53, Studio Orchestra, "Portsmouth Town"; 10 to 11, popular music. Tuesday (also to 1ZH): 8 p.m., programme of recordings; 8.30, Harry Thurston, "Old Bill"; New May. fair Ensemble, "We're Not Dressing" and "Melody in Spring"; 9.2, talk, H. J. Gillmore, "London Enst and West"; 9.20 to 11, dance music. Wednesday: 8 p.m., chamber music, "Flonzaley Quartette; 8.28, Robert Simmers (baritone), "Through the Night," "E'en as a Lovely Flower" and "Love Went a-Riding"; 8.45, relay of farewell to the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe. and Lady Bledißlce by the citizens of Auckland; 10 to 11, popular'music.