MUSIC IN AUSTRALIA

Hokitika Guardian, 22 April 1929, Page 8

MUSIC IN AUSTRALIA

AIK A!• id'il) MIMAS PLACE

SYDNEY, April 11

Ah - Allred Hill is one oi' the lew New Zealanders, who. ha vine aihieven a lair measure ol saccuss in Australia, nas .succeeded in retaining his national, ity. 'I hat is U> say, the newspaper.sli.l refer to him as a New Zealandei and not an Australian. It is an unfortunate fact that the other day the “.Sydney .Doming Herald” describee him as an AusLraiasian, but that was surely a sliji of the pen on I lit l jairt o. .i'.e y.riter, and can only be c.-.cu.-.cb on tliat account. Air Hill in nest known for his delightful Aiani iomp..sitions, ami that is perhaps the reason why lie has beet able to retain Ins nationality. In tin musical world of Australia he is alums, a ivunantic limine, lie certainly occupies a hiyli place in the amvtions o. iby people with whom he and his musi.

are in close contact. Id course, llier> are thousands wiia do not know Ai. Hill and bis music. .Mr Hill is one to Lliase impassioned believers in 'da mystery, tae wonder, and the signii. caiico, the religious importance oi o.usic. ’I Ik: progress of music in Aus India lias ne»or l.:-oc-u Letter exemplifies than during the Easter week wiiei hundreds ol ii,.usiemns gathered at tin Sydney Conservatonum, the heart o music in Hie (ommonwi a.tii, and dis

cussed the problems Lewd ting tlioi profession.

It has been said ol Air Allred Hih that lie has readied tin? status and tin slate of mind where he can say wha! ne pleases, and calmly ignore the posse, ie consequences. He is one ol tin l ~-w world-1 a moils composers in Australia, hut to have heard him talking at the conference a stranger wouli. i.ave- thought tiiat he was a geiitien'mi I rum out ark with musical sympathies and a determination to interest hi lice.lid's by pretending that he was wha. the Americans eali a rough neck. Con ■i.der this example ol his oratory takei verbatim as he sat crass-logged on i chair and addressed crowds oi inn. and score- more of lady teachers:

‘‘You know. 1 walk ah- tit the Con servo to riu m here and listen —they thin, o.d ni!l does not Keep Ids ears open. IP.it he does. There are dozens of boy studying here, and they want to phi' the iast quai'lettes or JJetdli .veil firs' •Yell, I thought it was up to me l

■oinpose something easy for them, i give them a din lice. Well, I have don it. Here it is (holding aloft son siieets of music). “The Kids’ Quai h-tte. And if any of you any where i New South Wales, want some inns < oinpo.sed for any special purpose thelp your pupils, I or any ol the olio composers kicking about• the Cr-nserv: toriitni wiil he happy to do it for you.

There is not an utteianee of Ai Hill’s that is not sound at bottom but f ir some esoteric reason the man nuns twittered am ng themselves lilo .-■<) many happy birds throughout Alii ill’s heartening lecture. Perhaps the mistook his phil .sophisings for piersantries. His tube t was suppo-sed I •io music in the home, lie referreto it in the last sentence. “1 hav said all that. I can say about, my sid ject— which is nothing—because my ex perienec tells n:<‘ that there is no musi in the home, unless you count in tin wireless and the gramophone.”