NOTES ON PAST AND COMING EVENTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1813, 20 August 1886, Page 28

NOTES ON PAST AND COMING EVENTS.

Last Saturday's "afternoon-concert" was a good deal shorter than usual, and yet as much appreciated by the audience as any of the series. These concerts are doing a great deal of good by the introduction of the highest class of chambermusic, (most of it never heard before in Dunedin), and many people are learning to perceive the beauty of a kind of music that they could not thoroughly understand or fully appreciate before; but, for all that, we venture to think that if shortening an afternoon performance to an hour and a-half were a fault at all, it would be a fault on the right side, however excellent the music. The holders of double season-tickets only pay at the rate of 10|d a concert, so they ought to be, and no doubt would be well content with an hour and a-half of good music for their money ; besides which, it is not every one that likes to go out of a concert-room leaving any part of a programme unfinished. To return to last Saturday's performance, a quartet written by Mendelssohn, when only 12 years old, was well worthy of a place of honour on the programme; certainly only one movement was given, but it was creditably performed, and the introductory remarks, reported in the daily papers, were instructive. The duo for harp and piano was a pleasant novelty; one remarkable feature of this performance that very likely escaped the notice of some of the audience was this, — that the duo was written in B flat, but as it was feared that the strings of the harp would not stand well if tuned up to that key, Miss Broughton played her part one tone lower, and Herr Scherek therefore had to transpose, as he went along, the whole of the elaborate piano part into the key of D flat, a feat which would have excited great astonishment anywhere not many years ago, although now such a performance might be expected of any musician of a high order. A work of Dussek, the great rival virtuoso of dementi, is rarely heard in New Zealand, and this duo was all the more interesting on that account also. The somewhat un fortunate position and construction of the platform, and the dampness of the air prevented the harp from being heard to advantage throughout the room in the duo or in the senerade subsequently played, but those who had been in time to secure seats in the front half of the concert room heard the instrument well, and were able to enjoy both performances thoroughly. By far the most attractive number on the programme was John Field's " Divertimento Pastorale" for piano with string quartetaccompaniment; -Mr Coombe'stak ing first violin ; Mr A. Handel Gear, second ; Mr George Schacht, viola ; and Mr Charles Waud, 'cello. In his prefatory remarks, Herr Scherek said that none of Field's compositions were heard at the present day, except his " nocturnes ;" his other works were forgotten, but he would al ways be remembered as the originator of the nocturne, a form afterwards adopted by Mendelssohn under the bettor known description of " songs without words," and a pattern imitated and elaborated by Chopin, and more recent writers for the piano. Asapjano-player Field was

famous forthe"singing"qualityofhistouch. The slow movement of this " Divertimento" had been republished as a piano solo in the collection of nocturnes by Field under the title of " Nocturne Pastoral." Both of the two movements of the divertimento, the pastorale and the rondo, were both of a marked Scotch character. Want of space precludes us from saying more than that this piece of music is of exquisite beauty, and that it will be a strange omission if it is not ono of the numbers selected by the subscribers fof repetition at the promised " plebiscite" concert, which is to end the series. For particulars of the rest of the concert we refer our readers to the daily papers of Monday last. The next concert will be held on Saturday, 28th inst.