THE ORCHESTRAL CONCERT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2162, 19 August 1907, Page 1

THE ORCHESTRAL CONCERT.

[To the Editor.] Sir,—As one of tho members of the Gisborne Orchestral Society since its inception, I feel that your criticism of last Friday night’s concert was distinctly unfair, and to my mind is calculated, if the report is of any value at all, to put a damper oil the cultivation of orchestral music.'in Gisborne. It can hardly he said 1 that your report oan he taken as a reflex of the opinion of the audience, as, judging by the applause and nndoubitod encores the performance of the orchestral music was at least acceptable,. Your reporter loses sight of the fact entirely that the society composed of amateurs, somo of whom, >erhaps, have never appeared in' pubic before, and it might have been more generous to have written words of encouragement instead of trying to dishearten the members with a damaging critique. I would concede you everything in your report if the performance had been distiinc-tly bad, hut, as I said before, the public opinion is quite the other way, and I therefore have some ground for challenging the justice of your judgment on orchestral music. Your last clause condemns you, as in it you state, referring to the last piece, that it was not lit music for an orchestra to perform. I can say that the piece referred to .is by a good composer, and has been considered of sufficient merit to warrant its being arranged for a full orchestra, and moreover has been performed by largo orchestras .in other parts of the world.—l am, etc., JAMES BUOAVN. Gisborne, Aug. 17.