MUSIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 126, 18 August 1927, Page 16

MUSIC

(By

F.1.R.)

A series of concerts in Australia and NV-w Zealand will be given in association next year by Miss Marie Hall, the violinist, and Mr. Mark Hambourg, the pianist. * * * The famous Belgian violinist, Eugent Ysaye, who is 69 years of age, has married his 25 year-old pupil, Annete Dinein, daughter of a Brooklyn doctor. * * * Rosina Buckman, the New Zealand soprano, and her husband, Mr. Maurice D’Oisley, tenor, sang at the National Advertisers’ Benevolent Fund Dinner in London.

Mr'. F. J. Ricketts, composer of “Colonel Bogey,” the famous march familiar to almost every soldier during the war, is to be bandmaster of the Royal Marines Depot at Deal. For nearly 20 years conductor of the 2nd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders’ Band, Mr. Ricketts took over his new appointment last month. Known in the musical world as Kenneth Alford, he is also the composer of the popular medley, “The Lightning Switch,” which proved an exceptionally popular item during the recent visit of the Argyle and Sutherland Band to the Dunedin Exhibition.

The tour of Heifetz, aptly described as “The Wizard of the Violin,” has been nothing short of a series of sensational successes, and he has “been acclaimed as one of the greatest violinists the world has ever heard or seen. His New Zealand season is under the management of J. and N. Tait. For his opening recitals, Heifetz has chosen a programme indicative of his catholicity of taste. It includes Charlier’s charming arrangement of Tommaso Vitalis’ “Chaconne”; Mendelssohn’s beautiful concerto in E major (Op. 64) ; Tschaikowsky’s haunting “Melodie”; Bazzini’s “Ronde des Lutins,” remarkable for its brilliancy and extreme difficulty, which taxes every resource of the violinist’s technique; Schubert’s wonderful “Ave Maria,” which needs no comment, as it is one of the very rare gems of the world’s musical wealth; Mozart’s atractive and stately Minuet; Chopin’s soulful “Nocturne in D major,” with its beautiful theme and its undercurrent of sadness and deep feeling; and Ries’s “Perpetuum Mobile,” which has a ceaseless movement, and is not only very brilliant, but technically difficult. New Zealanders will thus see what flowers of sweet fragrance Heifetz has chosen from his musical bouquet, and how he has selected compositions that will tax his capacity and powers endurance. It is not generally known that James Hislop, the British tenor who opens his Australian and New Zealand tour under the direction of Messrs J. and N. Tait, early in September, in the Sydney Town Hall, sang -in grand opera with Amelie Galli-Curci, the famous singer who delighted New Zealand

audiences with her glorious voice. Yet such is the case. Galli-Curci and Hislop have appeared together more than once. In the great balcony scene from the second act of “Romeo and Juliet,” they achieved a brilliant success in Chicago. “So loud was the cheering at its conclusion,” wrote u spectator, “and so tumultuous was the scene that followed, that many anticipated that the whole programme would have to be re-arranged. GalliCurci was at her best, and this handsome, shapely Romeo sang with 'beautiful, clear voice, and with wonderful expression. This British singer fully shares in the honours, and in faith, he richly deserved them. Rarely, if ever, has there been such a demonstration.” Hislop has placed himself in the front rank of the world’s tenors by the magic and the beauty of his voice. He has, strange to say, become as great a favourite on the Continent as he is in Britain, and to the proud position he has attained none will say him nay. Acclaimed as “a worthy successor to Caruso,” he comes to the Antipodes in the zenith of his power, with his silvery voice at its best. That he will receive a fitting welcome from his fellow-countrymen goes without saying. Successful recitals have been given in London recently by several New Zealanders. Miss Thelma Petersen gave a song recital, in which Norwegian songs were the principal feature. Mrs. Blanche Levi and her daughter, Miss I Kathleen Levi, of Dunedin, probably made history by appearing together in a recital for two pianos. Miss Stella Murray also gave a vocal recital, and critics praised the very even quality of her voice and rich and resonant tone.