ON THE AIR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26132, 20 April 1946, Page 3

ON THE AIR

BROADCASTING REVIEW By Coda Last Saturday afternoon I listened to a programme called “ Rambling Through the Classics” from 4YA. It was hard to know at first just what to make of this programme, but at last I realised that the N.B.S. was trying to please all its employees at one and the same time. Such a feat is obviously quite impossible, but nevertheless the N.B.S. apparently thought itself equal to the task. The title alone was designed to catch the unwary, and the reasoning of the N.B.S. must have been like this: “ Rambling ah, yes, that will attract the “popular” section. ” Classics ’’—now that should snare the other side. And the rest will simply tune in to find out what it is all about. The programme itself was designed along the same hopeful lines. First came Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, a very lovely work; but to even up the score, it was not back anonunced as every longer work should be. Instead, the Racing Results followed hard on its heels. The music lover was left to wonder why 4YO could not have given the Results, and the race follower must have felt annoyed to have the racing news delayed by the music. After five minutes or so of racing news came various tit-bits, hurriedly announced and never back-announced. By tnat time the section of listeners m the Rambling ” mood must have felt that they had been fooled,, and the “ Classics ” section were grinding their teeth. The N. 8.5., trying to please everyone at the same time, simply sat down heavily between two stools. As long as we have the same station broadcasting all types of entertainment for listeners wilh varying preferences programmes should be so designed th they are directed towards °ne section of listeners at a time. Any attempted compromise over broadcast music can never be successful. If the N.B.b. is trying to make background noises only then it should not dra-g m good music. Either have a properly announced, welMrranged and unmter rupted programme of good music, or build up a variety programme that can be interrupted, around the racingnews The general N.B.S. efforts are neither fish nor fowl, and some more intelli gent planning would be welcomed. The Passion of Our Lord The musical event of the week was the performance of (? ach , According to St. Matthew, last nesdav from 4YO. This was the first lime one of the greatest , wor kf HU?* 1 music literature W f s^ro^ r dc wl 1 i t(?the edin and we must be grateful to_tne choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral and to Dr Galway, the organist, for this in spiring performance. The dfficulty of having to do with one choir, instead of the ß two for which this work calls was well overcome, and all the artists were superb. It is hardly fair to single out anyone for particular praise, tout thp lovely purity, of Miss uora Drake’s soprano, the moving conSalto of Mis Mona R ° s ®’J^SUke expressive bass of Mr Bryan Drak are unforgettable. Yet in music the individual artist does not count only the blending of all the voices and of the organ in a s - forgetting hymn could give us performance we were privileged t > E Bach’s vision of the inexorable fate of the Saviour, of His sorrow and His death, and of the in our hearts over the passing of the Son of ivian, was communicated to us through the sincerity of the choir and organist, can never thank you enough for that experience.

“And Chanted in Tones . . •” To-morrow night, at 8, Station 4YA will play the first part—the second comes next Sunday-of Mozart s opera “Don Giovanni.” The N.B.S. synopsis of the plot, in the official programme, is quite a little masterpiece in its way, and an old acquaintance of mine, Deadeye Dick of Rock Bottom Gulch could find nothing but praise for the NB.S version of this operas libietto. D D." of R. B. G. felt, however, that the N.B.S. programme annotator had not quite caught the spirit of the last act and he therefore obliges listeners by’revising it for this column; “ Here comes The .Don all a-trremble with Evil Passions. Th Woman he Wronged is after him, and look! who is there! Her pop, with his tribe of bloodthirsty Injuns! But does The Don despair? Nope! His trusted steed Heigh Ho Silver races to his side. The Don is in the saddle, and oh boy, watch him going! The Injuns are after him, they are drawing nearer, they are closing up and my! he nearly snuck out by the side door, but Hell opens before him and The Dons goose is cooked. But does he flinch? Not The Don! He takes his last plunge into Hell with a Smile on his Lips, and listeners will now hear the Final Aria‘Take Pippin’s Purple Pills, they Loosen up the Liver! ’ ”

Mv dear friend D. D., of R. B. G., as vou notice, has all the qualities of an N.B.S. programme annotator. Compare his version with the one in the official programme if you don’t believe it. Despite D. D„ of R. B. G., and the N.B.S. annatator, do not fail to listen to this opera. The performance of “Don Giovanni” in its entirety is one of the great musical events of Dunedin If the introductory remarks over the air are as inane as the_programme advertisement, then you might care to consult Professor Dent s brilliant book, “Mozart’s Operas,” on this masterpiece. The Public Library will have a copy of Professor Dents book in the music section.

“My tongue is my ain . - - I wonder whether, one can buy Fairyland? You might absorb some of its spirit, but one man, at least, went further and actually bought the charm of H. C. Anderson and the brothers Grimm and all the other enchanted singers of that better world, so it might be worth while to find out just how it can be done. Turn to 2YA to-night at 8 and listen to the 8.8. C. programme of the man who was lucky enough to make a corner of this rat b<-r intangible commodity! These 40 minutes’ entertainment appear very wellV worth listening to. If. however, you should ask for a more real world, then Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony from 2YC at 8 in the evening should attract you. After the symphony, the same station has a programme by composers of the romantic period. What actually is the “ romantic? ” You know how it followed on the strictly delined “ affect ” of the Baroque which in turn gave way to the subdued passion of the classics. Beethoven’s individualism went beyond. the limits which the classicists imposed on themselves, and the break made by Beethoven in the classical structure was then widened by the romantisicts. These composers, of whom we shall hear Mendelssohn, Wagner, and Chopin, used the new factor of sentiment” to set up against the preceding schools. The great stream of the passions is divided by these composers into smaller parts, and the individualism of a Beethoven becomes broken up into its psychological components. Musical technique had to be adjusted to the new contents it was asked to hold, and you will, therefore, notice a more complicated harmony as well as a general loosening of the old forms until in the end the architech-tonic-cyclic form of the symphony was succeeded by the “stream of sentiment ” found in the wide programme of a tone-poem. And this, in turn, was the point from which our “moderns” took their departure. You will be able to follow this development in 2YC’s programme to-night, and after the Chopin Piano Concerto turn to IYX for Walton’s Symphony to find out how our contemporaries are shaping a new form to fit this age. This whole programme should be most stimulating. To-morrow afternoon we can hear a modern Violin Concerto by the Russion composer, Lopatnikov, at 3 from 3YA, and then a witty ballet-suite by Milhaud. Easter carols at 3.19 from 4YA are seasonal, and the whole programme from this station, from 2 onwards, should be interesting. Do not miss Dorothy Sayers’s play, “ The King Comes to His Own,” at 4.15; it is from the series “ The Man Born to be King.” In the evening, the choice is very difficult. We have “ Don Giovanni " from 4YA, as well as the second part of Bach’s B-minor Mass from IYX between 8 and 9. Somehow, I shall stick to the opera and wait to hear

the Mass in the excellent series of Monday night broadcasts by Professor Galway. FOR THE WEEK Monday.—B-9, 2YC: Beethoven chamber music and ” L’Apotheose de Lulli,” by the eighteenth century French master, Francois Couperin. 8-9, 2YA: Gilbert and Sullivan’s “ The Sorcerer.” Tuesday.—B-10, IYX: Symphonic music by Brahms, Sibelius, and Moerau, 8-10, 4YO: Chamber music by contemporary English composers. Wednesday.—B-9, 2YC: Symphonic music by Mozart. 9.2§-10, 3YA: Chopin’s First Plano Concerto. Thursday.—B.l6, 4YA: Bertha Rawlinson singing songs by Hugo Wolf. 7.30, 2YA: “Russia,” a Symphonic Poem by Balakirev. Friday.—B.2B, 2YA: BBC Brains Trust. 910, 2YC: Sonatas by Mozart, Corelli, and Grieg. CHARIVARIA Don’t tell anyone, but I heard it whispered that the national stations are joining the commercial network. To break us in gently, the national stations are now advertising the Listener, a supposedly commercial undertaking. What is the difference between advertising this journal and Pippin’s Purple Pills? Here is good news: Professor Adams has now resumed his readings from our classics at 9.28 from station 4YA. Next Friday, Dickens’s “ Mr Boffin Declines and Fails ” will be brought to life. “ Southern Cross.”—Thank you for your note. Would you care to borrow my copy of Ormond Wilson’s booklet, in case you have not yet been able to obtain one? 4YA’s afternoon classical hour will feature Flute Sonatas from the Dunedin stations between 3.30 and 4.30. This is a rare treat, and X would like to remind you that on Monday and Tuesday, Station 4YO is taking over this Hour from 4YA. Or, Anzac Day, the time will be 4-5, from 4YA. This is a black-out poser from a 8.8. C. talk by Colonel Walter Elliott: “.... a small nephew of my own said, ‘ I know mummy, that it doesn’t matter now about the light getting out. But how do we stop the dark from getting in? ’ ” A neat summing-up of our post-war problems. Who are Boylioss, Haden, and Schubare? Could the names of composers not be pronounced properly even by N.B.S. announcers? These three examples all came within one week from our Dunedin stations.