"WE ARE LUCKY"

NZ Truth, Issue 1262, 6 February 1930, Page 20

"WE ARE LUCKY"

N.Z. Women and Their

(By Miss Iraelda Fama, distinguished New Zealand pianiste, of m a special interview with "N.Z. Truth.") luittriiiiiiitiiMMiiiiiiiitiiiitiiiitifiiiiiitiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiii'iiiiiiiiitiiiiriiiiiifiiiiitiiiiiiiiiitf iiitifiiiiiiiiifitiiiiiiiiiititiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiijiiiiiiiitttiiifiiiiiiiftniiiiiiiiiii^ | Women m New Zealand do not seem to realise what | | a priceless heritage they have m their descent from | 1 those pioneers whose hardy lives laid the foundations | 1 of our glorious, womanhood. . ' | 1 The rich traditions of the older countries offer con- | 1 trast with* the newer, perhaps fresher, outlook of New | 1 Zealand, but the novelty of the more mature mode | §V' of living which one finds on the Continent is extremely \ | interesting. , ■ 1

.?iiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiuiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii DO . New Zealand women, for example, realise how fortunate they are m the social status they enjoy? The status of women on the Continent and particularly m Germany and Austria is inferior to that of the men. Not so m New Zealand. The man is always the supreme authority m the house on i the Continent and the woman most subservient. ' Austria is so near to Turkey that the influence of that country is, to a large extent, responsible for this. In spite of this, state of affairs the Austrian women and parti- , cularly those who live m Vienna are most, charming and delightful people.

Tall, blonde, graceful, beautiful and cultured they are hospitable and kind; nevertheless one feels that the New Zealand girl is more self-reliant and physically superior to the women of the older countries. New Zealand women , /are extremely fortunate m many ways. They have more freedom and live under better conditions

The working women of Vienna have a very hard time. : They start work m the factories at 4 a.m. and toil until 3 p.m. m the afternoon — and this for a paltry wage. Domestic servants receive only 30/- per month. I knew a girl m r part - time offlci job (she worked three hours a day) who received only six shillings a week.

Can one imagine any New Zealand girl tolerating such conditions? Of ( course, economic factors weigh largely ! in deciding this poor status of working 1 - women on the Continent, but nevertheless the women of the Dominion have every cause to congratulate themselves on their superior advantages. . Musically we are, of course, far behind the older lands, but nevertheless we are hot at all unmusical and I feel j that as out student's go to the Continent' for study they will bring back, to this country a musical training which will be passed on to those-re-maining here, thus establishing the foundations of a more solid musical culture. Vienna is now recognised as the greatest musical centre m Europe and hundreds of students go from. "England to study m the Austrian capital^ In the higher branches of • music there is little or no oppor-

tunity for really good tuition m England. Most of the great artists have studied m Vienna. The magnificent art galleries, the great musical festivals, the opportunities of hearing frequently and sometimes meeting the world's greatest musicians, artists and literateurs are advantages which come only to those who live m some great European centre such as Vienna, Paris, Rome or Berlin. ' ; In Vienna (now recognised as the world's greatest musical centre) music is cultivated to such an extent that two of its finest orchestras never play m public, but exist for- the sheer /pleasure of satisfying a desire for musical expression.

One large orchestra m Vienna contains over 1000 musicians who occasionally play the accompaniments of a choir numbering over a thousand.

Berlin and Vienna, but as I am going to reside m Wellington I will not be altogether out of touch with music. What part does the Continental woman play' in this feast of music? A very considerable part, but that, after all, is characteristic of our sex. Any development of art m New Zealand must inevitably be pioneered by women, for it is they who are the principal patrons of musical and vocal recitals. Mv travels on the Continent have convinced me that considering the brief life of the Dominion this country has laid the foundations of an art culture which m time will be worthy of this — the most beautiful country m the world. Women are playing 1 , and will continue to play, no small part m this excellent work Avhich means so much m the national development of a young country. We certainly have the incentive to inspiration here. All that ■is required are suitable avenues of expression. ■ I . .

The mode of living m Vienna is now, as it was m pre-war times, a gay and irresponsible one, yet there is no doubt as to the culture. The Vien nc se are not at all prejudiced against British musical artists and when giving my recitals I was always thrilled to see people paying real money to hear a New Zea la n der playing the piano. I miss the wonderful musical festivals, the round of operas and re- ' citals of Paris,