MUSICAL JOTTINGS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 71, Issue 237, 6 October 1928, Page 21 (Supplement)

MUSICAL JOTTINGS

By ‘ I C Sharp. ’ ’) Perusing the list of success Jul candidates al the recent examinations of the Associated Board, 1 thought 1 wovld like to know lio’.v much money Wanganui pays away to overseas musical bodies for such examinations, and whether we get our money s worth. 1 calculated that the successful candidates this year spent not less T han £172 on examination fees. Assuming that the jwreentage of passes was as high as b'h a further £43 was paid by those who failed. T supposy that Trinity College will <-oilert a similar sum shortly. This *oes not represent all the fees collected, sim-e there are theoretical examinations whi< h «r<’ not part and parcel of any pra« ti<al examination. But the figures that I have shown give a total of LI-" collected by the two examining bodies. What must the figure reach for th - whole of New' Zealand? Of «ours.* th«* ■salaries and expenses of the examiners be a first charge on all such inone hardlv believes that they amount'# half that >um. Manag - jnent and overhead expenses «-nnn«»t be very great when one considers that th- y are spread over the whole of tin* Empire, so that there must be a nice little surplus every year. I suppose it would be too mm-h to ask th se b-»<!ies to subsidise a cons-Tvatorium tor N<wv Zealand, but if a New Zealand Symphony Orchestra were instituted. f think these bodies should give a handsome subsidy. Admittedly the Associated Board gixes three exhibitions annually, entitling New Zealanders to free tuition at the 11.A.M. or th - Jl.' .AL for two years, but of course, travelling and living expenses, which far ex<-< e.l the tuition fees have to be borne by those who win such exhibitions. The question arises as to whether it would not be reasonable tn expect th s« • <- amining bodies to s[»end some port <<n of their surplus actually in New 7.--a--land, for the ad vane niont "f mimi<-al culture. Recent mention of a forthcoming performance <»f Mendelssohn's •‘Hymn of Praise’' by Trinity and Gornille Methodist Choirs has prompted a musical

I enthusiast to lend me, for perusal, tlie , programme of a previous performance j of this fine work, given on September 1, ! lvG9, by the Wa?;ganui Choral Society (not the pet sen!, body of that name, of [ course). The pr< >i.h‘nt and vice-pre-sident at that time wore I’r Uatherly land Mr F. Leslie !’•■'k. respectively j (hot’; .-:nee deceased . The conductor was Mr Louis Coheti. whose brothersi Mnuricp and Leon assi-ded tho orches-I Itra. The soloists were Madame Briggs, I | Mrs Peter Lewis, am! .Mr ( liarles 11. ] i Stephen*. The organist was the vet-I { eran Arthur Tows y. ind the pinnist, j •Mrs (Irecnwootl. Familiar names still] associated with orchestral affairs in the ! I city are Collier. Trownson. Turvey, | Northey, Hughes Johnson, O’Hara, Bur ; net, and .MeCaul. Some of these play- ; I ers will assist the orchestra in the forth I coming production. < * * it. Mr and Mrs Leon De Mamiv, the i weil known W e llington musicians, were i visitors to Wanganui during last weekj end, as guests of Mr ami Mrs Will Hut .•hens. Mr De Manny is establishing •a symphony orchestra of his own in Wellington, the professional orchestra, of which h.- was formerly conductor, being now defunct. The new organisation will give a concert in Wellington in a few weeks’ time, when a feature of the programme will be the Grieg Pianoforte Concerto, the solo part being played by Madame De Mauny. It will be remembered that this work was last performe<l here, with orchestral nrrompanin.ent. by Aladatm* Bettse # # • Ductor Aubert Middleton organist and choirmaster of Ely Cathedral, de-t-lares that women make better accoinpanists than m n. He says: —“You must be awfully sympathetic to play j accompaniments well. .As women, on | the whole, are more sympathetic and • romantic, and have more sensitive i minds than m< n they have the advtmI tag.* of being able to anticipate a singer’s wishes better than a man can do. * $? «= * The commencement of the “Promen .•:de Concert s ’» at Queen’s Hall is always 4i n “ \ent“ in London \s musical year. The Daily Mirror says:—When Sir Henry Wood mounts the rotrum at lh<‘ Queen’s Hall it is like seeing a skipper taking the bridge of his old ship, ami indeed he calls it the “cruise

of my Queen’s Hall slip.” One year, Sir Henry made friends with a policeman on duty near vfie Queen’s Hall, having discovered in him a keen and intelligent music-lover. Suddenly he missed him. He was absent for quite a number of days, Tnit on Tils return £ir Henry asked [he reason for his absence. “Oh,” was the reply, “L syneojiated ■ for a day or two, but now thank good I uess. 1 ’m back on the right beal | again. ” * * * ♦ • What is surely the greatest piano playing contest ever inaugurated. is that organised by the Daily Express (London), to take place shortly in Great Britain. This contest, known as the National Piano Playing Contest, is under the patronage of the British Federation of Musical Competition Festivals. The Federalhm of British Music Industries. The Music- blasters' Associa-i i lion, and the British Music Society. I The Advisorv and Executive. ComI milieus inc!u<'<‘ sm l. names as Sir i Hugh Alien, Dr Granville Bantock. Dr •Beland. D: Br.d-o. Dr Bullock (or iganisl of W. stminst. r Abbey). Dr j Percy Buck, Sir Henry Haduw. Myra ; Hess, Dr Stanley Marchant. Tobias I Matthay, Dr McEwen. Sir Landon j Ronald, Harold Samm I. Dr Malcolm I Sargent, Sir Henry Walford Davies. I and hosts of oti;c.-s. The lot.nl compc- | Ilitions will be held in 250 towns, from October 1 to November 10. Fifty nd- | indicators will pick the local winners. I who w ill then be assembled at e ; ghlccn larva centres tliioughout tie* country. J’wo members of the Board of Ac.indicator* will visit <-a«-li of these cen’res, 1 ami stdect se\enty-two area winners—- ' eighteen in eacli of the four grades, to ' compete in the finals in London. Travelling and hotel expenses of the final- ■ -Sts will be paid by the Daily Express. The prizes are six grand pianos and sixtv-six upright pianos with diplomas. In certain special cases scholarships ■ will be awarded. Special awards of twenty guineas each will be mad<‘ to the teachers of the four final winners. The grand and upright pianos offered as prizes will be Broadwoo<l, Brinsmead, ( Collard and Cidlanl. Cramer, Marshall ami Rose and Rogers. 'The tost pieces have been specially composd for the Occasion bv York Bowen, John Ireland, 1 George Dyson. Orlando Morgan. Felix Swinslead. Alec Rowley. Thomas Dun- ’ hill. Dr Markham Lee, Adam Carse, and R 11. Walthew-. Lesson “records” of the tests, with ••xptanations and performances by William Murdoch, have ’been issued by the Columbia Company. The Daily Fxpiess. In announcing this Icontest, says: —“The piano will always - have, a unique ]dace in the affections - of music Ibvurs. Ils music is “inlin--1 ite riches in a little room.’’ The greatfl est composers the work! has known t have written piano music. it is th? i chosen instruim-nt of a. multitude of 1 i-omposers of al] ranks, performers of c every grade of proficiency anti listenrs

to music from the centres of life to the outskirts of civilisation. Above all, it is essentially the instrument for the home, where its educative, its social, and its recreative capacity give it a high place among the home amenities.