YOUNG PIANIST

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 138, 9 December 1930, Page 5

YOUNG PIANIST

SOME-PROMISING PLAYERS

Whither music is trending in the twen-: tieth century ti is difficult to £jay,: but so long as the treasures left to;-us by the' great composers are reverently and earn-, estly studied, there is no fear that the heritage .of the ages -will be lost. It id only by an insight which ,J is wide and deep that a musical culture can be maintained, and herein, lies one of the chief tasks of the music teacher. The student must be shown that; a composition is not a succession of ■ phrases, but a synthesisj that behind the harmonies is, a thought; and that these, harmonie^ rgo to make up; a poem in' tone. It must be demonj strated alsio that without technique' a player is like a carpenter'without tools,1 but that the more,.the,', technique is 6ub-i servient to the poetic instinct the greater! will be the artistic achievement. Fluency,' a sense of rhythm, and'light and ■ shade,1 are perhaps the artist's greatest attri-i hutes in achieving proportionate expression, and it was gratifying ..to see that; sonic of Mr. John Bishop's pupils are. working.towards these attainments. Two' studentsHnthe pupils', recital:last nightMisses Judith Giesen and Eileen Roache— stood out in this respect. Miss Giesen played the impressionist "Jeux d'Eau" by Ravel with deftness and cqlouring. Her, tone was 'always well, defined,- in spite of ; the technical difficulties, and in her in-' terpretatiott of Brahms's "Rhapsody in G Minor" there ( was Rood rhythmical insight and balance, Miss Roache attacked York Boweta'a,: "Caprice", with assurance and firmness-'of.' touch, but • still better was her almost .fiery expression in Rachmaninoff's strongly rhythmical ."Prelude in G Minor,?' .which has been unfortunately overshadowed by the more notorious "C Sharp, Minor Prelude." To the "Ballade in G- Minor" (Brahms) and "Nocturne in C Minor" (Chopin), Miss Phyllis Sealey brought: adequate ' technical skill, and Master Morris Solomon s!howed_ proj mise in Mozart's "Fantasie in D Minor." Miss Christine Browne went a long way towards achieving the lightness of touch demanded by Debussey in the composer's "Arabesqfie, No. \ 1 in E," and showed noise in Chopin's '"Nocturne in G Minor. Alistair Wilson, aged eight, won all hearts with his- playing 'of a bracket of four pretty little pieces; by Stanley Wilson.: and another boy a'few years older. Eric Cooper, showed that he has made fine advancement in "A Bunny Mornine:" ami "March" by Markham Lee. Miss Barbara Bannister's playing <jf Lisztit "Rhapsody in E Minor" was nicely! shaded,:'and Alan Brash'brought out tlip singing ;melody of Schubert's- "Impromptu in A Flat." Miss Dorolhy Hahify gave k proportionate performance1 of Chopin's* "Ballade in A Flat." ': ' - '■