NATIONAL ORCHESTRA TOUR

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 6, 17 March 1947, Page 6

NATIONAL ORCHESTRA TOUR

PROGRAMMES OF FAMOUS WORKS

After four months of preparation, the National Symphony Orchestra is now a compact, efficient and welltrained body of 67 musicians, with a repertoire of 150 major works. As an example of what may be expected from the orchestra during its forthcoming tour of the main centres, the Wellington programme may be quoted. The No. 1 programme for Wellington included the overture to “Carnival” (Dvorak), the Brahms Symphony No. 2 in D (Opus 73), the rhapsody “Shropshire Lad” composed by Butterworth, who was killed in the First World War (this was originally played at the Leeds Festival with sensational success (, the “Rumanian Rhadsodv, No. 1” of Enesco (teacher of Yehudi Menuhin); the Prelude and “Love’s Death.” an arrangement from Wagner’s “Tristan and Isolde,” and the gorgeously fantastical tone poem “Till Eulenspiegel,” by Richard Strauss. Both the last-named work and the Enesco rhapsody have never been heard before in public in this country.

At the second Wellington concert the'orchestra played the “Flying Dutchman” overture (Wagner); the elusively brilliant “Walk in Paradise” of Delius, the tone poem “Don Juan” (Richard Strauss), which has never before been played in this country. Weber’s “Invitation to the Dance,” Charbrier’s “Espana,” Vaughan Williams’ “London Symphony” (its New Zealand premiere) and the brilliant “Carnival Romain” of Berlioz. School Concerts In addition to the evening concerts there will be two concerts in each of the four centres for school children, the music for performance at these being slightly lighter in character, whilst there will be a “walk through the orchestra” interlude, in which the functions of the various instruments will be explained and demonstrated.

The first programme for school students will include the “Fingal’s Cave” Overture, composed by Mendelssohn after a tour of the Hebrides Islands (Scotland), “Handel in the Strand” (Grainger), “The Fair Day” (Harty), “Valse Triste” (Sibelius), “Moto Perpetuo” (J.. Strauss), two movements of the Saint Saens pianoforte concerto (with Madame Betts-Vincent as soloist), and Edward German’s “Welsh Rhapsody.”