MUSIC OVERSEAS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23012, 13 April 1938, Page 19

MUSIC OVERSEAS

INTEREST IN FINLAND L'AND OF COMPOSERS RETURN OF DR. PHILLIPS M usie abroad was the topic of interest to Dr. S. Kenneth Phillips, of Auckland, who returned by the Maetsuyeker yesterday after an absence of ]1 months. In that time he visited England, Holland, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. "And the most welcome sight since my departure was the first glimpse of Kangitoto," said Dr. Phillips. "The T people of Finland appear to be more interested in music to-day than those of any other country in the . world," added Dr. Phillipps- "At any rate, more com-

posers are being produced there than anywhere else. I was privileged to visit Sibelius and have a long talk with him at his home in Finland, and in Stockholm I had luncheon with Joseph Hislop, who toured New Zealand in recent years, and who is now a professor at the Stockholm Conservatorium. '-'Europe seems to be orchestrally minded in music," said Dr. Phillips. "Orchestral concerts draw the largest audiences, and I was surprised at the large proportion of men who attended the programmes, which usually included standard works. As a conductor, Beecham seems to have the greatest following in England, although Wood and Sargent are also great favourites. Among the greatest of the foreign conductors. are Toscanini, Mengelberg, Weingartner, Furtwangler and Bruno Walter."