A MUSICIAN'S ANNIVERSARY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10439, 19 April 1912, Page 4

A MUSICIAN'S ANNIVERSARY.

It is more years than one cares to remember since Mr H. M. Lund, solo pianist and distinguished musician, first came to Christchurch. To be exact, it is thirty-five yeaTS, and the genial maestro admits that in those days his musio was regarded with suspicion, and he was stigmatised a faddist. Yet it was a kind fate that determined that here in this City of the Plains he should settle down and become a mentor of the piano, and an exponent and discriminator of classical music. Mr Lund came through a remarkable sohool, and his associations were with many of the most distinguished luminaries that have brightened the sphere of the muse of melody. In Mr Lund's young days it was not the custom for parents to accede, so willingly as now, to the requests that their sons should be trained musically; and one reads of peculiar experiences of children who have proved precocious in Euterpe's art, and have become the most favoured of her court. Mr Lund admits that being musically inclined his father was " prevailed upon to allow him to be trained. It was a wise for in the years that followed Mr Lund became a very distinguished solo performer and accompanist, and he toured in many lands with aTtists of distinction. His young days were blest, for he had personal asquaintance and playing experience with Carl Tausig (his first great master), Bulow, Johannes Brahms, Clara Schumann, Franz Liszt, and others whom the Muse has favoured; he lived in the whirl and excitement of the days of the Wagner challenge and strife, and he witnessed the triumph of that great man. He was present at the first, performance of "Tristan and Isolde," on which occasion," says Mr Lund, " little was needed to convert the Munich Opera House into a battlefield," and Mr Lund tells of happy days spent in Paris in musical association with Stephen Heller and in England with Charles Halle. When Mr Lund arrived in Christchurch there was not a piano in almost every home, as there is to-day. " Teachers were fewer in number, and the young army of diploma holders that has since risen was not dreamt of. Yet the soil must have been choice to work and the air balrtiy, or one so gifted as Mr Lund could not have undertaken to live in the outskirts of the musical world and become a pioneer of the art. .Just how well he succeeded is well known, and now the wheel of the long, long years has turned and recorded his jubilee as a performer and teacher in the profession. It was to mark the occasion that the concert was given in the King's Theatre last evening. The building was well filled, and Mr Lund was accorded a most enthusiastic reception. For a man of his years he set himself a formidable task, for not only did ho perform works that are tests of stamina for much younger men, but he played all the accompaniments to the vocal numbers and to Mrs Twyneham's violin solo. Mr Lund lacked the virility of earlier years, but the hand of the master and the mind of the artist were, always in evidence. Tho mental effort was superb and held the physical captive. The nimble fingers of the veteran swept the keyboard with marked facility and with exceeding sureness. One wondered which most to admire, the dexterous manipulation of the brilliant passages or the deliberate treatment of the massive movements. Mr Lund has not of late years undertaken any serious public recitals, and this being considered, the expertness, finish and masterly deliverance of his several solos was the more astonishing. His principal work was a concerto by Tschaikowsky, "with an orchestral accompaniment played by Mr A. Bunz on a second piano. This tour de force was attacked confidently, and was attended with considerable suocess. It was somewhat long, and would have been more appreciated had it been familiar to the audience. The andantino movement was, however, one of the artistio successes of the evening. In lighter vein, and as an example of delicacy of touch, his rendering of Henselt's "Si Oiseau J'etais" mav be mentioned. And there were other gems. What moro beautiful in cantabile playing could be desired than Mr Lund's portrayal of Grieg's "Notturno," or in daintiness and grace than in his interpretation of Mendelssohn's "Spring Song." Grieg's "March of tho Dwarfs" was delightful, but it just lacked the fire of youth. Scarlatti's "Pastorale" was dignified and reposeful, Bach's "Courante and Gigue" was joyous, and the Gluck "Minuet" was stately in deliverance. With his daughter, Miss Margaret Lund, Mr Lund played Schumann's Andante and Variations for two pianos. The performers were in excellent accord, and the result was most gratifying. The little love chase of the motif from one piano to tho other was admirably described, and the rhythmical difficulties were well dealt with in the syncopated fragments. Miss Lund deserves praise equally with her father. Turning to the vocal portion of tho programme, Mrs J. Fraser sang several numbers in capital style. In the opening aria from "Figaro" (Mozart) sho seemed just a shade nervous, but it passed quickly, and her singing gave much pleasure. Mrs Fraser i 6 a mezzo-soprano. Her upper register is thin, but the middle and lower ones are full, the tone is warm and the intonation is quite true. Mrs Fraser should have been trained as a contralto. Her lower notes are rich. Of her several solos, Chopin's "Litthovian Air" was the best effort. It it semi-dramatic, and Mrs Fraser has decided capacity in that sphere. The solo admits of much colouring, and here again the vocalist succeeds. Mr George March was in good voice, and gave a satisfactory account of himself in " Wotan's Farewell " from Wagner's opera, "The Valkyries." Both Mrs Fraser and Mr March sang several ether numbers. Mrs Roy Twyneham (violin), accompanied by Mr Lund, played "Pensees Fugitives," for violin and piano, by Stephen Heller and Ernst. It was a clever display and a thoß>&sfffly f/ajcyab'e me. A number of floral tributes were handed to the j several pevformers, and Mr Lund received two laurel wreaths from old pu- ' pils. During the evening Mr Lund played Chopin's magnificent "Funeral March" as a tribute to those who lost their lives on the Titanic, and the audience stood while it was being playpd.