THE ELLWOOD TRIO.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 806, 2 May 1910, Page 8

THE ELLWOOD TRIO.

t —— THESE MUSICAL GHILDEEN. A,DOMnnON representativei had an op« por trinity to meet the three EUwood children, for whom Mr. Hugo Goriitz foresees great things. , ' ; . . ' The .eldest, boy is Henry, who IS.W. years of agoj and ■ the violinist of the trio, a bright-faced youth of marked in- . telligence. and stn eager energy which promises that it will not be "his fault if he does not make headway in the artistic world. He was a little fellow of so veil years of age- when his liking for music 'was first taken notice of. The violin was the instrument he had .always been attracted to, more so because his fatter was a player in a modest ray. Seeing the lad's interest in the } instrument, "3£rEHwood used to play to him; then allowed him to hold it, and gradually the boy grasped the rudimentary. elements_ of note-producing or. the strings.. In Dannevirke, Mr. Lau-son took an interest m. him, and taught him a good deal, not so much in set lessons, as during the ideas, ant musical evenings they spent together. It was Mr. Lawson who prepared bim for the Trinity College examinations, in which he secured 94 marks .for practical violin playing, and an exhibition of mns guineas for the - highest marks scored in the Dominion. When the .family removed to Christchurch; Henry had half-a-dozen lessons from Zimmerman—that enumerates all -tho tuition the lad has had eo far. Yet he plays with taste and aeep feeling such music at Wieniawski's "Polonaise," the Schubert-Willielm] Ave Maria." the Polonaise of Yieuxtemps, "Les Pouch de Lutins," of Baazini, the "Hungarian Dance" of Trahms, and soma of Sarasate's difficult * compositions-all from memory. , ... Pauline is 15 years of age. Her tmtios has amounted to the one quarter silo "waa under Mr. Bunz, of Christchurch. yet such is her natural- ability that she id able to play all the intricate-accompani-ments to the compositions played by the boys, and to take her part ,m the trios. But Pauline does not yearn to become a great pianist. Her ambition is to becoma. a singer, and up till the time she left Christchurch she had been receiving tai. tion from Mrs. Mead, of Cashmere Hills. The child promises to have a sweet voice —development alone will prove its quai* ity and compass. George EUwood is a littlo 11-yeai-oM hoy, who does not seem to take mucu notice of anything in particular. Quito a healthy ordinary sort of boy—unta he embraces his 'oello. Then and not-tiU: then, does it strike one what a wonderful thing natural talent is. "With scarcely reach enough to encompass the instrument, and without ever having received a lesson in his life tlie boy is able to play such difficult pieces as Poppere "Rhapsodie Hongroise," the Cygite of Saint Saens, "Taig Tzig," and 9 gavotte, and the "Harlequinade oi Squires, and Goltermann's "Tarantelle, and as in his brother's case from men* ory. How he plays them .must be lexl to "Wednesday's concert to prove. : The present intention is for the threa children to tour New Zealand, and if that tour vields a certain sum, Henry is to 'be sent * to Vienna to -study under Sevcick,' perhaps the greatest teacher o( violin technique in the world, and George will-be placed under a good master'of the 'cello. Pauline will continuo her singing lessons at Christchurch—and await developments. . The children will be givon at .-At Home" this afternoon by Mrs. John .Prouse, who has kindly offered Mastei George the use of a very valuable cell? for the Wellington concerts.