MUSIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 144, 8 September 1927, Page 16

MUSIC

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It has been decided to produce Alfred Hill’s “Hinemoa” at Lower Hutt in the near future*, Miss Naomi Whalley, of Palmerston North, having been secured for the soprano role. The work will be sung in costume.

The Hamilton Operatic Society has pencilled dates commencing on October 10 for its production of “Katinka.” The To Kuiti Society, which is now engaged rehearsing “H.M.S. Pinafore,” will stage the production, next month.

Messrs. J. and N. Tait have engaged the Australian violinist, Miss Lelia Dotibleday, wife of Professor Max Pirani, who is now in Australia as examiner for the Royal Academy of Music, London, to appear with Joseph Hislop, the famous tenor, during his Australian and New Zealand tour.

Following the promenade concerts to be given at Queen’s Hall by the British Broadcasting Company a commencement will shortly be made with the National evening concerts as planned some little time ago by the 8.8. C. The National concerts will be given from Queen’s Hall starting on October 7, and will continue twice a month until April next year. All the National concerts will be broadcast.

Jascha Heifetz (says “Everyone’s,” Sydney) handed the director of the State Conservatorium £325, his share of his farewell concert at the Sydney Town Hall recently. In accordance with his wish that the money be devoted to a musical purpose, it will be employed for the purchase of orchestral music, to be kept in a separate collection and known as the Heifetz Library.

Arthur Honegger, replying to an interviewer: “Teehinque, technique!. Without it a musician can do nothing. One has never enough technique to say what one wishes to say; it is a ladder which one climbs to reach one’s artistic ideal. One is always lengthening it, but it is always too short.” “The ideal never remains static. At each stage of progress it is seen to be farther off. and the distance which separates us from it remains ever the same.” “Anecdotes Musicales,” by Ernest van de Velde.

OUT OF TUNE WITH WORLD

OUR MUSICAL PITCH AUCKLAND’S CITY ORGAN A recent recommendation made by the municipal concert sub-committee that advice be obtained as to the advisability of raising the pitch of the Town Hall organ to concert pitch, is one that will probably not find a great deal of favour among Auckland musicians.

In Australia and New Zealand a somewhat novel situation exists in regard to this question. In New Zealand concert pitch is general. It is fairly general in Australia, although Continental or international pitch, as it is becoming known, is steadily making headway in the Commonwealth, and it is only a matter of a few years when all tuning in Australia will be on the lower pitch. Australia and New Zealand are now practically the only places in the world using the English concert pitch,, which in Great Britain has long been abandoned in favour of the international pitch.

English concert pitch is approximately half a tone higher than Continental, and singers visiting Australia and New Zealand have found that it has made a considerable difference to their singing. The all-over increase of half a tone increases the strain on the voice, and while it may appear a trifle to the general public, it is important in that it affects the various ranges of voices. QUESTION OF EXPENSE

It was for that .reason that Dame Melba presented a full set of orchestral instruments tuned to international pitch to the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Dr. E. Harold Davies, director of the conservatorium, is one of the pioneers of a. great movement to bring Australia into line with the rest

of the world. M. Henri Verbrugghen introduced the international pitch into the State Orchestra of New South Wales, and many official institutions in Australia have adopted it. Of late years Kneller Hall, the famous English band school, has also lowered its pitch, and this can be considered as significant. The greatest difficulty in the way of effecting a complete change of pitch throughout New Zealand is the cost, lowering the pitch being a vastly different matter to raising it in the same proportion.

In the case of brass and reed instruments it would mean, in some cases, the purchase of new instruments. Even with those instruments which could be altered the cost would be considerable.

Owing to the expense involved in the change New Zealand is likely to remain in its present state for a few years yet, but it is fairly obvious that in time international pitch must be adopted. If not it will be the only country out of tune with the rest of the world.

F.I.R.

The following programme was selected. by Mr. Joseph Hislop for his opening concert at Sydney on Saturday last: —Aria from Andrea Chenier (Giordano). Che gelida mania from La Boheme (Puccini), The Swan (Grieg), The Dream (Grieg), Aubade (Lalo), Flocca La Neve (Cimara),

“The Unforeseen” and “In the Silver Moonbeams” (Cyril Scott). Five Eyes

(Gibbs), I Heard You Singing (Coates), Kishmul’s Galley (Kennedy - Fraser), My Love is but a Lassie Y’et (Burns), Mary of Argyle.