Radio Tells the World of MUSIC WEEK

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1052, 16 August 1930, Page 5 (Supplement)

Radio Tells the World of MUSIC WEEK

MUSIC has a kingdom all its own. That is the Universe. Its language is the common property of all the nations, and when it speaks its influence is a mighty and penetrating force for good. Through Radio music has risen superior to time and distance: boundaries it sets at naught. From Vienna, Milan, Berlin, New York, or London the nations broadcast their music, encircling the world and drawing its peoples closer in a common interest. To the scattered communities of New Zealand Radio has brought a boon and a blessing to many lonely dwellings. To the shepherds’ huts in the misty Alpine gorges and the bush farms of the Far North the music of the Four Cities comes whispering on the evening air. Music in every age and state was an aesthetic necessity. The tom-tom of the Zulus, the gongs and high-pitched reeds of the ancient Chinese, and the bard of mediaeval Europe filled the needs of contemporary civilisation. In New Zealand the nose-flute of the Maori and the mouth-organ and accordion of the early settlers served their time. But the means of creating music have advanced steadily through the ages until to-day, more than ever, music in its more cultivated forms fills a place in the lives of the people. To Radio is entrusted the task of carrying the message of beauty, inspiration and consolation, in the language of Music, to the hearts and homes of the people.

siders it both a dangerous and a fool- j ish policy, involving always an under- j estimation of the.public’s intelligence j and a continual lowering of standards, j There must always be regard for the | public taste, but it can be tempered j by a definite regard for musical and j artistic standards. Bach of the four main stations fn New Zealand broadcasts yearly about 300 concerts, comprising about 3,600 vocal numbers. It is obvious that there must be a certain amount of repetition among this number and, even though popular items can be repeated many times in a short period without becoming boring, it is as well to avoid any such risk. To this end programme j organisers have made out a “black ! list” of songs and keep a tally of j these selections put over the air. j Regular artists are encouraged to add ! to their repertoire.

Only the best is good enough for i broadcasting, since, with the visual effect of a rendition entirely lost, an item must indeed have high worth to delight the listening thousands. This restricts the number of artists who I are of sufficient talent to appear be- ! fore the microphone, and makes j broadcasting an expensive business which cannot be carried on without I many thousands of listeners. New j Zealand licence-holders can have no j cause to complain, since they have | heard every band and orchestra of j standing, either from the studio or on j relay, and there are few artists well I known on the concert platform who ! have not had the opportunity of appearing before the microphone. In England the 8.8. C. realised that j the future of music would be jeopard- | ised if broadcasting were organised | as a rival to the stage and the concert j

I platform. and evolved a scheme o£ I subsidising the main orchestral and vocal combinations o£ the country. In return, the company broadcasts a : proportion o£ the performances given, i A small paid orchestra is used by the : company for many items every week. Such a system would obviously be ; too costly in New Zealand and was i rejected some time ago when sug- ! gested in Auckland. For some years i to come listeners will have to rely on : the services of amateur and pt'oi t'essional singers and of instrumentalj ists. ; The question has been studied thorj oughly by the Australian organisation which is supplying programmes in that i country. It has been found that the ! old-fashioned concert programme is ; useless there lor broadcasting and | many important changes had to be ! made to adapt musical presentation i before it gqes over the air. A scheme . for balanced programmes, a blending i of classical and popular modern music, I was brought into being. Sometimes a broadcast will have a definite theme running throughout and, with suitable announcements, really forms a i continuous presentation. Others are | made up of sections dove-tailed together in such a way that the listener | receives almost every class of enteri tainment in the one evening, the I classical items acting as a foil to the ! lighter sections. It is recognised that listeners want i ; syncopated music, and it remains for i i those who desire to extend the move- i ment for better musical appreciation ! to create a love for classical music by j ' balancing the programmes in such a j i way that the devotees of jazz will j | really be listening-in to the other class \ 1 of music without realising it. The only way to inspire a love for good : music is to present it in such a way | that it will be listened to and, if people can be induced to listen, they will appreciate anything good, whether modern or classical.

HISTORIC OCCASION

: FIRST CELEBRITY BROADCAST j MELBA TUNES IN June 15, 1920, was an historic dale in the development of broadcast ins:. It was on that date that Dame Nellie Melba broadcast her memorable con- • cert from the Marconi Company’s ex- j perimental station at Chelmsford. | The occasion was the first on which I I an artist of international reputation j | had sung before the microphone, and j j was virtually the birth of entertainment broadcasting in Great Britain, t The few hundred experimenters wiio | adjusted their receivers to 2,500 metres on the evening of June 15. 1920, heard promptly at 7.10 p.m. a novel “tuning note” —a prolonged trill from the throat of one of the world’s sweetest singers. Five minutes later there rippled across the ether the sounds of “Home, Sweet j Home,” then “Nj’mphes et Sylvains” in French, and “Addio” from “La j Boheme.” Following the great public interest! aroused by this concert, the famous j Marconi experimental station at : Writtle, near Chelmsford, was established in 1921, to give occasional broadcasts for an ever-increasing number of listeners. The first 2LO. installed at Marconi House, London, made its appearance on the ether early in 1922 as a supplementary experimental station to Writtle. In November of that year the number . of listeners was about 20,000, com- ! . pared with the 3,117,000 registered on ; April 30 of this year. j j