RADIO IN THE HOME

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22224, 26 September 1935, Page 17

RADIO IN THE HOME

PROGRAMME FEATURES

ARTISTS FROM OVERSEAS 8.8.C. RECORDED ITEMS BY ALL-WAVE On Saturday, commencing at 8.15 p.m., IYA will present a series of oboe solos played by Mr. Leon Goossens. These will be followed by a number of tenor solos sung by Mr. Denis Sheard, with orchestral accompaniment. On Sunday, at 9.5 p.m., listeners will be afforded an opportunity of hearing the Governor-General, Viscount Galway, speak on "The Health Stamp Campaign." Immediately after His Exc6llency's speech IYA will broadcast the British Broadcasting Corporation recorded programme, Chopin," based on the life and works of the great composer. The Zoe Bartley-Bax-ter Players will be heard on Monday night in "Thirty Minutes of Shakespeare," while the Bijou Players will contribute the radio sketch " The Burglar."

Arrangements have been completed for more, overseas artists to appear at the Now Zealand stations. Tho Australian pianist and composer Mr. Percy Grainger will be heard from IYA on November 27 and 29, and December 3, 5 and 9, and he will also perform in a charity concert to be presented by the Broadcasting Board in the Auckland Town Hall. Following Mr. Grainger will come Mr. Barend Harris (bass-baritone), who has previously sung here, Miss Florence Austral, Mr. John Amadio and the SpivakovskyKurtz trio, who are now appearing at the main Australian stations.

Two exceptional broadcasts were beard from 2YA, Wellington, last week. Tho first of these, "Meet Mrs. Beeton," a comedy sketch presented under the direction of Mr. W. S. Wauchop, producer of the Wellington Repertory Society, was very excellent indeed. The second was the unheralded appearance of Miss Marion West, who last Saturday provided a humorous interlude in the evening programme. Miss West is a talented comedienne, and her items found great favour. She is a well-known broadcaster, and has appeared before the microphone in England, the United States, Africa, the Straits Settlements and Australia. It was unfortunate that arrangements for her broadcast were completed so shortly before the performance as to preclude notification.

The Rugby football relays from England which are carried out by the four main stations all originate at the Brown's Bay receiving post of IYA, where the short-wave transmissions of GSB-D are received and conveyed by landline to the studio of IYA. The clocks of tho four stations are carefully synchronised and Wellington keeps in touch with IYA by means of a receiving set. Thus all stations are able to shut down their ordinary programmes to schedule. When the rebroadcast is due 2YA relays IYA, and the southern stations 3YA and 4YA relay 2YA ap the Auckland station is too weakly received in the South Island for a successful rebroadcast. So carefully was the rebroadcast carried out on the last occasion that the chimes of 2YA coincided with those of the Auckland station.

The 8.8.C. recorded programme, " It Seems Only Yesterday," presented by IYA last Monday, was unusual in that it was in the main a narrative relieved slightly by musical numbers. On the whole it was probably not quite so appealing to the average listener as " Seven Days of Sunshine," which was

lighter in type. An entirely different kind of 8.8.C. programme, "Chopin," will be heard from IYA on Sunday night. This 50 minutes' production is largely musical and based on, the works and life of the composer. Further 8.8.C. programmes to be put on the air shortly include:-—" Old W°rd s to New Music," a humorous play on the assumption that Shakespeare returns to earth, and " The Air-Do-Wells," a typical English concert party. *

The background noise on Auckland's transmitter hns resulted in the station receiving many complaints. It is now stated that the cause of the trouble is beyond the control of the Broadcasting Board and lies in the relay lines laid by the Post and Telegraph Department. These lines appear to be causing trouble owing to proximity to high tension cables, and according to semiofficial information it may be necessary for the department to lay fresh ones. The department is endeavouring to remedy the trouble without resorting to the laying of fresh cables.

A comprehensive review of broadcasting activities in Great Britain is provided by a film depicting the 8.8.C. " with the lid really off." The film is entirely without plot, but is of absorbing interest in that it permits one to fjo behind the scenes and peer into tho ives of the group of people in control of British broadcasting. The film is very artistic and a technical achievement of unusual merit. It cost £7OOO to produce.

Some interesting figures are contained in the report of the Broadcasting Board. A illustrates that the growth in licence figures has been remarkably steady frem the commencement of 1933, leading one to tho supposition that by tho end of next year there will be over 200,000 receivers in operation. During the past year transmission hours were increased by 2700, bringing the total for the year to 25,700, out of which only 26 hours were lost owing to power failure or technical faults. An interesting table indicates that provincial centres are able to show, in most cases, large percentages of listeners than metropolitan areas. For instance ; Blenheim heads the list with 16.7 licences per 100 of population, and Auckland comes 16th with 10.31.

FROM IYA To-day.—B p.m., continuity programme, "All the World'ssa Stage"; 9.5, talk by Mr. C. Tisdall, 'Travels in Persia"; 9.20 to 10, band recordings; 10 to 11, dance music. Tomorrows 8 p.m., concert programme, featuring the works of Sir Edward Elgnr, "Pomp and Circumstance"; 8.8, Peter Dawson, "The Sword Song," from "Caractacue"; 8.12, Menuhin (violinist), Concerto in B Minor, Op. 61; 9.5, recorded talk, "Causes of War," by the Rt. Hon. Winston Churchill: 9.28, recording, Symphony No. 1 in A Flat Major, Op. 55; 10.12 to 11, "Music and Melody." Saturday: 3 p.m., Rugby football relay from Eden Park; 8, recordings by Maori Choir: 8.15, Leon Goossens (oboist); 8.30, Denis Sheard (tenor), with orchestra, "The Garden of Your Heart," "I'll Sing Thee Songs of Araby," "For You Alone," and "I Did Not Know"; 8.45, Hnmbourg recotdings; 9.5, Studio Orchestra, "Four Old English Dances"; 9.23, Gillis Potter (humorist), "The Truth About Society": 9.31, orchestra. "The Cossacks" and "An Old-Time Tune": 9.37, "Superstition"; 9.50, orchestra, "Everybody's Songs"; 10, sports summary; 10.10 to 11.15, dance music. Bunday: 11 n.m., relay from Ponsonby Road Church of Christ; 7 p.m., relay from Salvjition Army Hall, Newton; 8.30, concert programme; 9.5, talk by the Governor-General, Viscount Galway, "The Health Stamp Campaign," followed by a 8.8.C. recorded programme, "Chopin." Monday: ft p.m., ctring quartet, Vincent Aspey, Lalla Hemus, and Dorothea Ryan, "March Militaire" (Schubert): 8.4, Zoe Bart-ley-Buxter and players, "Thirty Minutes With Shakc9peure"; 8.34, Diamond series; 8.49. Bijou Players, radio sketch, "The Burglar"; 9.5, wrestling relay. Tuesday: 8 p.m., orchrstra, "Hullo, America"; 8.10, "Eb and Zob"; 8.20, Music at Your Fireside"; 8.35, "Japanese Honseboy" episode; 8.50, orchestrn, "Song Memories"; 9.5, talk by Professor It. M. Algie, "The Law as the Citizen Sees It"; 9.20 to 11, dance music. Wednesday: 8 p.m., Beethoven's Krcutzer Sonatu, played by Haydn Murray (violinist) and Owen Jensen (pianist): 8.30, recording, Capet String Quartet: 9.5, talk by Mrs. B. F. Richards. "Trends in Modem Literature"; 9.20, recording, "C. B. Cochran"; 10 to 11. "Musio and Melody."