AUCKLAND MUSIC

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22725, 11 May 1937, Page 15

AUCKLAND MUSIC

Sir. —What has come over music in Auckland? Pending over the elaborate programmes to' be broadcast at Coronation time by a combination of all the vocal and instrumental societies at Wellington, Christchurcb and Dunedin, one is struck with the total absence of anything of the kind so far as the Queen City is concerned. What is the matter? Is it that we must lower our flag as the leader in the art, at any rate of music, and that Wellington and the South Island have forced us into the " also started " class? Or is ,it .that the "mildness" of our Auckland climate has sapped our energy to do things well? Or is it that the want of cooperation (not to put it too bluntly) is the real cause? Whatever the reason music in Auckland appears to be in the doldrums. The Bohemian Orchestra is a case in point, while the fine organ in the Town Hall is mute, sad and lonely. The vocal societies also do not seem to possess that vigour one would expect in our otherwise beautiful and progressive city. When one listens in to the excellent music (band, orchestral and vocal) broadcast from the South, especially Dunedin, it makes one feel rather ashamed of the comparison with Auckland. Canj anyone more,versed in musical matters than one of the general public who appreciates good music supply the true reason? B. Sharp.