PERCY GRAINGER

Southland Times, Issue 22730, 5 November 1935, Page 6

PERCY GRAINGER

A MUSICAL EMISSARY.

LECTURE-RECITALS BY RADIO. Whether the radio has done aught for the cause of music is strongly debated by musicians throughout the world and among the most astute critics a negative view has been expressed rather more frequently than an affirm? rive. It must be generally admitted that wireless has suffered hitherto and will continue so to do from the growing pains of a potential art form in the hands largely of individuals with a bias towards mechanics rather than art. To the present the radio has leaned to far too great an extent on music because of a lack of original ideas in aural entertainment, arid the magnitude of the radio audience together with the general lack of appreciation for music has restricted the artistic scope of broadcasting. In these circumstances it is only to be expected that bad as well as good music is dispersed without much discrimination.

Some argument can thus be made out to the discredit of the musical influence of the radio, but New Zealand listeners are now being given an indication of the true musical value, of wireless from which such a perceptive critic as Ernest Newman believes that music lovers in the future will receive their finest musical experiences in the privacy of their homes away from the disturbing emotional atmosphere of celebrity concerts. The engagement of Percy Grainger, world famous composer, promises to do more for musical appreciation in this country than all the celebrity visits for generations, and the radio carries his genius into the homes of thousands. A composer of eminence, a celebrity pianist and conductor, Mr Grainger is essentially a student of music and the results of his research are being made available freely to music lovers in an ideal form. A friend of Grieg, who was in turn an intimate and admirer of Liszt, Mr Grainger has a direct link with the great musicians of the past, and his critical estimate of the stature of these giants, if unconventional, is the result of profound scholarship. A plea made by Mr Grainger in Australia some months ago for a revision of the blind adulation accorded “the Viennese classics” caused a storm of which the reverberations have not yet ceased echoing round the world. In the opinion of his critics these statements were extravagant, but the controversy they gave rise to was highly stimulating and unquestionably caused some necessary revision of values. In his New Zealand lectures Mr Grainger has so far eschewed controversial subjects, but he has introduced many striking ideas on the origin and development of music and racial influences. Such talks, illustrated with unfamiliar compositions, are ox intense interest to the musician and music lover, and are proving a rare experience for New Zealanders. The lecturer’s extraordinary erudition and his definiteness on a notoriously vague subject are highly refreshing, and even if the mechanical limitations of the radio make it difficult for distant listeners to capture all the magic of his pianistic performance, there is every reason for gratification that the tour, which, fortunately, is only half completed, has been made possible by the enterprise of the Broadcasting Board.