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Music. Notable artists from overseas were engaged for the programmes, but owing to the outbreak of war the number of these was smaller than in previous years. The usual practice was followed of giving broadcasting engagements to the best musical and other talent available in New Zealand. Throughout the year seventy-three concerts by New Zealand musical societies, choirs, &c, were broadcast, and approximately sixteen hundred performances were given by local artists. Among the artists and combinations from overseas to broadcast in New Zealand were the following: Richard Crooks, Lotte Lehmann, Olga Coelho, Gladys Moncrieff, Grace Adams East, Clifford Huntsman, Josef Kaartinen, the Vienna Mozart Boys' Choir. Two others, Maurice Clare and Haagcn Holenbergh, have now settled in the Dominion. The extensive library of recordings was substantially added to, and some outstanding programmes of famous artists and combinations were presented through this medium. A special feature of the year was the presentation in full or shortened form of recorded versions of fifty-one different operas and ballets and the regular presentation of the most important of the world's symphonies and concertos. Talks. Owing to the celebration in 1940 of the New Zealand Centennial and to the momentous significance of events connected with the war, an especially large number of distinguished speakers in England and elsewhere have been heard over the stations of the National Broadcasting Service. Included among these speakers were : Their Majesties the King and Queen, the Right Honourable Neville Chamberlain, the Right Honourable Winston Churchill, the Eight Honourable C. R. Attlee, Lord Halifax, and President Roosevelt. Overseas visitors who appeared in person before the microphone in New Zealand included : The Marquis of Willingdon, representative of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom at the Centennial Celebrations; Mr. D. R. Grenfell, C.8.E., M.P., representative of the United Kingdom Branch of the Empire Parliamentary Association at the New Zealand Centennial Celebrations; Captain W. E. Parry, C.8., of H.M.S. "Achilles"; Major-General B. C. Freyberg, V.C., C.8., C.M.G., D.5.0., Commander of the New Zealand Forces overseas ; and Dr. R. A. Millikan, the world-famous scientist. Among numerous distinguished speakers within the Dominion were : His Excellency the GovernorGeneral, Lord Galway ; the late Right Honourable M. J. Savage ; the Right Honourable Peter Fraser ; and Sir Harry Batterbee. The value of the educational broadcasts to schools is now firmly established, and at 31st March, 1940, there were 1,106 schools and 73,261 pupils participating in these broadcasts. Plays. Plays and dramatic serials have become increasingly popular, and a liberal proportion of these was included in the year's programmes. Plays by the following authors were among those broadcast during the year: William Shakespeare, John Galsworthy, St. John Ervine, G. Bernard Shaw, Edgar Wallace, P. G. Wodehotise, and T. W. Robertson. Many of the dramatic serials broadcast were based upon well-known literary works such as : ■' The Woman in White," " Lorna Doone," " Silas Marner," " John Halifax, Gentleman," " David Copperfield," " The Cloister and the Health." Serials of this type have been very popular with listeners, and the interest of the reading public in the books themselves has been stimulated. The writing of plays, serials, and features is now a recognized branch of the National Broadcasting Service, and some of these productions have been broadcast by the British Broadcasting Corporation and other overseas broadcasting authorities. An increasing number of plays by New Zealand authors is being broadcast every year, and the Service endeavours to give encouragement to local radio-play writers by the payment for plays that are reasonably close to broadcasting standards, the holding periodically of play-writing competitions, and the tendering of expert advice where plays of promise fall below the standard of acceptance. Overseas Rebroadcasts. The war has brought about a closer relation than ever with the British Broadcasting Corporation, and the rebroadcasting from England of news, commentaries, and speeches has become a daily feature of the programmes, upon which the listening public has come to depend for its knowledge of world affairs. In addition to rebroadcasts connected with the war, varied interests have been catered for by rebroadcasts such as the following : The departure of Their Majesties the King and Queen from England to Canada ; the arrival of Their Majesties in New York ; Memorial Service to those lost in the submarine " Thetis " ; review by His Majesty the King of the Reserve Fleet; commentaries on the shooting for the King's Prize at Bisley ; the Derby from England ; the race for the Chipping-Norton Plate from Sydney; the Louis-Galento fight from America ; and the cricket match England v. West Indies. News. The regular news services provided by the Prime Minister's office, as well as cable news, market reports, &c, were maintained during the year, but the facilities provided by courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation and Messrs. Reuters Ltd. for the rebroadcasting of the news from Daventry have far outweighed in importance any other source of news.

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