MUSIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 635, 11 April 1929, Page 14

MUSIC

(By F.1.R.)

Signorina Dusolina Gianuini, the Italian grand opera and concert star, is appearing during Covent Garden grand opera season, London, before her Australian tour, which commences in August. • • • Barrie Music Air. Norman O’Neill, who has written so much “Barrie” music, is composing a special prelude to each act of -Quality street,” and also new dance music for the ball scene. This is the first time that any special music has been written for this play. Canary Trills Elisabeth Schumann has a wonderful flat in Vienna, built above the ISth century riding school, w'here all the aristocrats of the day used to learn to ride in the old, stiff style. The two most important inhabitants of it are her canary, with whom she practises trills by the hour, and her Pekingese dog, which has an unpronounceable Viennese name. Her husband, who accompanies her on most of her tours, is Alvin, conductor of the opera orchestra in Vienna. Delius’s Gratitude Mr. Frederick Delius, the blind British composer, who is 111 in France, sent a telegram of gratitude to Sir Thomas Beecliam, who conducted a broadcast programme of his works recently. He also sent a letter: “With my new radio set I heard the concert perfectly, and I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed it,” he writes. “How you understand my music; every nuance is there. ... I heard the second Dance Rhapsody for the first time, and I am quite overjoyed with the result as you revealed it to us last night.” Sir Thomas also received a letter from Mrs. Delius, who said: “1 wish you could only have seen n m looking so serene and happy. As the piece unrolled itself his face was transfigured with delight. He sat up until the end and did not seem at all tired.” High Pitch Various opinions are expressed by English musicians upon the decision of the Army Council to adopt Continental pitch for regimental bands—nearly a semi-tone flat, compared with army pitch. Lieutenant-Colonel MaeKenzie Rogan, senior director ol! music from 1900 to 1920, thinks that for brilliancy and carrying power, the high pitch is preferable for purely military purposes. He admits, however, that there will be a distinct gain of mellowness for concert and indoor playing by the use of the lower pitch. I)r. Malcolm Sargent forsees a great advantage on State occasions, or when bands play in church, the present discrepancy in pitch between bands and pipe organs, producing “horrible” results. Regarding the great waste of the present stocks of high-pitched instruments, Dr. Sargent suggests that they be shipped off to the jungle, so that the natives can soothe their savage breasts with the sweet tones of unwanted trombones. Mr. E. Boosey, however, makes a more utilitarian suggestion. He says, “Why not keep them for young players to practice on and learn their fingering?”

Smoking Objected To There was a remarkable incident at a municipal orchestra concert at Burnley, England, at which Elizabeth Schumann, the German soprano, had been engaged to sing. She surprised the audience by walking off the stage at the end of the first three groups of songs which she was to have sung, and declined to appear further. It was stated that she had done so as a protest against smoking being permitted in the Palace Theatre, where the concert was being held. Shortly afterwards Miss Schumann left for Manchester—without having been paid her fee. An official of the corporation told a Press representative that some of the most famous English and foreign vocalists had appeared at the Sunday evening concerts in Burnley during the past ten years, but never had there been a single complaint about smoking by the audience.

Richard Strauss is to present for the first time five Oriental songs. Opus 77, in a concert to be held next May in the castle of Charlottenburg. says the “Signale.” The text is based on Chinese and Persian poems translated by Hans Bethge.

A German version of “The Beggar’s Opera,” under the title “Die Dreigroscenoper,” has achieved a marked success iu Berlin, where it has been playing for several months. The book has been freely adapted by Bert Brecht, with music arranged in the “modern” manner by Kurt Weill.

An opera by the 20-year-old Russian composer, Dmitry Shostakovich, based on Gogol’s fantastic story, “Noss” (The Nose), is to be produced either this spring or early next season at the Leningrad State Opera. His orchestral works have been performed in Berlin and other cities on the Continent.

MUSIC WON Business Man Turned Composer MR. FRASER-SIMSON “Mine is no story of genius starving in a garret for recognition that tarried; rather it is the story of a business man turned composer because music insisted.” Mr. Harold Fraser-Simson, the well-known English composer, who writes entertainingly concerning “The Days of My Youth.” “Yet,” he states, “I have had my ups and down —and the ups have not been remarkable for their altitude: also, without immodesty, I think I may claim to have helped several others to greater fortune than I myself have achieved.”

His early life was spent in a bank but banking apparently did not suil his taste and still early in life he found himself in Mincing Lane, where his life became associated with ship ping and sundry other of the com mei;cial things in which Mincins Lane specialises. “Meanwhile,” he writes, “I had achieved a sort of limited social re putation as a pianist. I was askec to play after dinner, and that sort of thing, which was very much the fashion in those days. Also I com posed little things for my own amusement —waltzes, songs, etc. Time passed on, and then, one day, I mei a friend who was in the firm of Novello and Co., the music publishers, and he said reproachfully to me: “Still in Mincing Lane? I though? you would have written music year* ago!” “Did you?” said I. “Then I will! I’ll write something for you during the week-end.” I carried out my threat. I wrote two part-songs and two ballads. And I sent them to him. The ballads were of no use to Novello’s, but they wanted one of the -part-songs. I think I received a couple of guineas for it. “DREADFUL BALLADS” About three months later they asked for the other part-song, and paid me more for it. And they in troduced me to Boosey’s as possible purchasers of the ballads. It was in this wise that my doom was more or less sealed. I wrote ballads for John McCormack, Ada Crossley, Harry Dearth, Lane Wilson, Evangeline Florence, and a number of other sing ers whose names have become well known. Boosey’s ran ballad concerts at which many of my things were sung, and sometimes I went to these con certs. I think those ballads of mine must have been positively dreadful, for at the Albert Hall they sounded like nothing on earth in my ears! Thank goodness that type of ballad has died out —though jazz is worse’ MUSICAL PLAYS Meanwhile came the War, and with I it the exclusion of German and Austrian musical plays, so I got my ; chance, and thus came to write the music of “The Maid of the Mountains,” which as it happened beat all the German plays with a run of 1,352 performances at Daly’s Theatre against “The Merry Widow’s 750 performances. During this time I was working as honorary secretary to the French Red Cross —music writing was only done at odd moments by seizing scraps of spare time. After this, I wrote a succession of musical plays: “The Southern Maid,” “Our Peg,” “The Street Singer,” “Our Nell,” “Betty in Mayfair,” etc. I have had nine or ten plays produced. Besides plays I have written two ballets: “A Venetian Wedding,” produced at the Vaudeville Theatre, and “The Nightingale and the Rose,” for Anton Dolin. One of the things I have enjoyed most has been setting A. A. Milne’s “Christopher Robin” songs to music. Fifty of these I have set —the last collection was published this Christmas. I have also turned some of these songs into easy pieces for children, which seem to be quite popular with the “Very Young” who are learning the piano. Managers of Yehudi Menuhin announce that a contract has just been signed with the State Opera of Dresden for Yehudi to appear as soloist with its orchestra on April 17. The opera company has agreed to suspend its evening performances to enable the boy violinist to appear. He will play the Bach, Beethoven and Bralims concertos. This is one of three engagements made for him this season in Europe. Following the Dresden concert Yehudi will retire from public appearances for nearly a year. The musical public of Rome has always protested against the modern experimental music, says the “Allgemeine Musikzeitung.” “These hostile manifestations, however, were never so strong as recently at a performance of Malipiero’s ‘Sette Canzoni.’ The first movement was listened to in relative silence, but later on the audience started a demonstration which stopped the concert.”