OUR MUSICAL TASTE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1991, 23 February 1914, Page 6

OUR MUSICAL TASTE.

mmtimtis opinion.

BY THE R.A, BAND CONDUCTOR (By TdesTaph.-*spccial 'CflfrespoßdoliU AuaWand, February 22. The eall of. syncopated.-ragtime- lias not • enslaved the New Zealand public, accordiftg t<» Sir. E. C.' Station, the condfictor of the Koyal Artillery Band, which this morning'fflturned from its toar of the Domimosi. The itinerary has embraced most- of the towns, small afid large, botsveau Auckland and Invcrcar* gill", iutd tire musickiia Imyo returned enthusiastic over the reception accorded them throughout t-ho country. On Saturday Mr. Stretton imparted fecrne of his impressions of New; from tlio musical point ef view. Everywhere, ho said to a reporter, ties baud had found their alidieftces mast ent.irU&iftstie. and what Lad stiruck him most was the. predilection shown for classical musie, Mr. Stre-tton instanced the appreciation of .WnSner's ■ seductive* music ill the "Tannhausor" ) ovßfture, aiid of tlto tender beauty and ■, Tare esprossion of "Mignem. , * _ "Such ] pieces as these were qntnveiastieaDy oft-1 t'ored," ssid Mi?. Stwtton, "aiid jt speaks tvcll for a, eountiy that i.9 not supposed to be musical. They seem to '■ kiiow what is bast.in music, and, far , fr&m having a lukewarm reception from ■ an unnpprcciative. ptiblic, the tour lias been quite a triumphal pjocessfon lor. the band throughout the wsuntry." , ; Asked why New Zoo-laud should 06 ; supposed t-o be devoid of tnosieal taste, Mr. Strctton replied that the a««satioh was one that they had'made themselves. "Tho whole peiut of the matter is that the New Zealanders run theasclvea down, ftttd to a %'cty large «s> f-o-nt- that is absolutely unwarranted, In reply to a tjttestKm as to wlwftejther© was any evidence that the lovo of music is confined to the better educated classes in thp Daminiottj the eondttctor expressed tho apiuiou that good music, well played, was hist ai.mueli appreciated by the- mail in the street ai by the more cultured clssSes, Thathad "bc-ftn his espeiioncQ thro Mahout tho tour.- Compared.with the British pali-1-ic, Jfew Ztnlsndt-rs- «erii quite as a.p-precia-tiv& of good Bttisic, and *huen hefo as elsewhere, cornet and'piccolo solos.were highly popular, the classical. *ofks received tho niost cordial plaudits. "We played no ragtime, and wo ! were asked far none," said Mr. .Str-et-toft. ".People jieroj like those at Heine, favourably receive ft good work' when itis well played, and -More, is tifl need to descend to cheap music. Possibly tho demand for that type of liwsic itt some places is because bands classical works without the' instrniiwnts to play them as- thej- should - be interpreted" and, censeQUent-ly, the rarasicis not presented in tho proper Spirit and the people receive it unfavciurably. . IneidcntaHly, Mr. Strettoii mentioned that- the musical Spirit -was not confined to the largo tewns, te some of the snialio-f communities were, evett more enthusiastic than a big town like Dun* ediii, where, althottgJi the, . .■vudiencea wwe approciativo oiiotigli, the pcop-lo ■ failed to turn out in such numbers as : the bft-n-d had expeeted. Oao, interesting feature- of the tO«r had been that large iiuwttes of Maoris were included in t-h:o ■ audiences, said they were evidently very •much impressed by English baitd musis of tl» natee of which, they jkclared, they had not preriou6-Iy.au.* -idea. .At Botefua tire band Hd had a, great Maori reception.