NOTARIELLO.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 August 1921, Page 5

NOTARIELLO.

BRILLIANT CONCERT PARTY. LAST NIGHT’S PERFORMANCE. The audience that greeted the visiting artists of the Notariello concert party at the Empire Theatre last evening was keen with expectation of a feast of the finest and choicest presentation of a varied and exacting programme, and their expectations were fully realised. The intense hush that settled down on the house in the early numbers showed that the performers had a full grip on their audience, and the audience realised they were hearing performers whose finish and standard are only too rarely beard lit New Plymouth. The combination of three such artists makes it I very difficult to single out any one of them |as displaying the greatest artistry; each in their several spheres evinced a refinement, and, withal, such a vigorous grasp of their own realm that held the audience absolutely enthralled. Miss Ray Fox is a violiniste possessed of rare musical perception, and displays a wealth of feeling and emotion that carries one away. Her Caesar Franck violin and /piano sonata displayed subtle emotions and delicate neuances of tone that were intensely captivating; the imitation between the two instruments was wonderfully charming and most neatly executed. Her next was Fantasia on Gounod’s "Faust”, by that most exacting writer Sarasate. None but a violinist can justly appreciate the immense intricacies with which the whole work bristles; but even the most casual listener can at once realise the masterly execution and the fire and impetuous vim with which the work was carried through. The effects of double stopping, mixed bowing and pizzicato, her own accompaniment to her own melody playing, showed her command of her instrument; and with it all there was not the least appearance of strain or effort. New Plymouth violinists might well go to-night and learn something about tone, use of the bow, neuance effects, simple and double harmonies that would be a worthy lesson. As an encore she played a transcription of the Bach-Gounod “Ave Maria’’, the second section of which was a masterly exhibition of octave double stopping faultlessly in time. This number was a rare treat; the devotional atmosphere was intense. Her last solo was Bazzini’s “Dance of the and the whole audience were breathless with attention, while her amazing execution was an exhibition hardly ever seen Jiere before, her springing bow with never a scratch, her double harmonies and furious speed were crushing in their faultless execution. Signor Notariello is in everything Italian, with all the natural dramatic and forceful-declamation that is the pronounced feature of their incomparable style. Though quite young, he is possessed of a voice of great range and power, and displays in every song, almost every line, the perfection of his training. What struck the listener most of all, perhaps, was the complete command he possesses of the mezzo voce. We could not detect any step or break as he passed from the full, firm tone to the mezzo quality or vice versa; in his head voice, called by the Italian professors the “falsetto”, he displayed a great beauty of delicate tone that was most captivating, while his climaxes were worked out with boundless power and declamatory verve. The beauty of his opening solo, “Thy Little Hand is Frozen”, from “La Boheme”, was most passionately sung; and for a most enthusiastic recall he responded with Tosti’s “Serenata”. His second number was a beautiful song by Tosti, “My Life Ideal”, to which, his recalls being more and more insistent, he had to respond with a double encore. In each of these he displayed a varied form of emotion, and completely captivated his audience. His last number was a “Spanish Serenade”, which so roused his hearers that three times he had to sing again and yet again, and yet his audience were loth to let him go. It was in every way a rare treat.

Mr. Gordon Short, as a solo pianist, knows how to get the very utmost out of the instrument at his disposal; his technical equipment gives him absolute command of every shade of piano tone. His opening solo, the well-known Chopin Impromptu in F sharp, was poetic in the extreme; particularly noticeable was his leggierissimo scale passages, perfectly clear, beautifully graded and finished. In this, as well as the Ballade in A flat, he gave a finished performance. As an encore, eagerly asked for and readily given, he played a delicate little study of Schutte; throughout his playing the hush of the audience fully indicated the rapt attention of the house. He played as his next solo Liszt’s exacting Polonnaise in E, which he took at a high speed, and again displayed the wonderful control of tone, the delicate pass ages in the cadenza being a revelation of what pianissimo playing should be. Again an enthusiastic encore was responded to with the Schubert-Tansig “March Militaire”. Besides this he had the whole of the accompaniments to play for both the other artists; and perhaps the most captivating passage occurred in the wonderfully delicate arpeggio accompaniments to Miss Fox’s Bach-Gounod “Ave Maria”. But all through his accompaniments were played with all possible care and skill, and contributed in no small manner to the success of the whole programme. The party appear to-night, and a full house is guaranteed by the surpassing excellence of the whole of last night’s COBOBSU