THINGS TO COME A Run Through The Programmes

New Zealand Listener, Volume 1, Issue 3, 14 July 1939, Page 6

THINGS TO COME

A Run

Through The Programmes

A Happy Marriage If your friends include a couple celebrating the seventieth anniversary of their wedding just now you may tell them truthfully that they were married almost at the same time as Wilkie Collins married the great British Public to Sergeant Cuff, the’ first detective in fiction. Sergeant Cuff was not lucky enough, however, to appear in the first crime story, for "The Moonstone" was published in 1868, eight years later than "The Woman in White." In the seventy-one years since then, the Sergeant Cuffs of fiction have multiplied as fast ds successors to Wilkie Collins have been able to manufacture new names for precious stones with dangerous associations. The first New Zealand radio presentation of "The Moonstone" will begin from 2YC, Wellington, on Wednesday, July 19, at 9.45 p.m. and will be continued weekly at the same time. Restful and Soothing Those who favour a restful, soothing type of entertainment will be interested in "Dream Time" which begins from all ZB Stations on July 17. Every morning from Mondays to Thursdays at ten o’clock this feature from the famous C.P. MacGregor Studios, Hollywood, will bring to listeners the best in music and in verse. The songs are sung by Sylvia Jones who has forsaken motion picture work for radio, and is the vocalist with some of the major network programmes of America, notably Jack Oakie College and Hollywood Hotel. Miss Jones’s singing, Lewis Teegarden’s commentary, and the organ artistry of Ruby Lloyd combine to make this an altogether unusual feature in its particular type. It has been prepared with scrupulous care, the songs and verses having been chosen so that they will please the most fastidious listeners. New Zealand Tenor Many people interested in music will remember when the tenor, Ray Trewern, won the operatic contest at the Wellington Competitions a few years ago. Since that time, Mr. Trewern has been to Australia, where he continued his studies and appeared in

many recital, operatic and oratorio programmes. He has returned to this country with the backing of months of work with leading Australian musical societies, and must be regarded as one of the finest singers New Zealand has ever produced. In November of last year he was tenor soloist in the magnificent Bach "Mass in B Minor" in Melbourne, when a concert was presented under the direction of Sir Granville Bantock by the Australian Broadcasting Commission. He will be heard in a recital from 2YA on Monday, July 17. Between You and Me Too often, when people criticise, they are greeted with a "do it yourself, and see what it’s like," when there is not the vaguest possibility that they would really be allowed to try. But for listeners who have an idea or two about what a radio programme should be, there is the interesting feature, "You Asked For It," which will be broadcast from 2YD on Saturday. This programme is designed by listeners themselves. Fiddles Worth Fortunes? We take no responsibility for your actions after you have heard the programme on "The Genuine Strad" from 3YA on Sunday, July

16. Doubtless many of you will start looking in out-of-the-way recesses for grandpa’s old violin; and if you find it doubtless you will peer into its aged interior in search of a label marked Stradivarius. You may find one, too. But that does not mean it is genuine. It is most unlikely that there lies, unsuspected,

a treasure trove in the linen closet, or the cupboard under the stairs. Besides, Jascha Heifetz and a physicist informed the Accoustical Society of America recently that Stradivarius violins, when played slowly, are not superior in tone to the best modern instruments. But happy hunting! "Ghosts of the Tower" "Ghosts of the Tower," the feature programme from all ZB stations at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, provides a wealth of drama and romance from England’s history. Here are the stories of kings and queens, of statesmen and great ladies, of plot and counterplot through the ages, told by ghosts from the past who come to life again in this feature. The script is by John Ormiston Reid, the author of many successful radio features, and the parts are taken by a talented Australian cast. This is a feature suited for children as well as grown ups. In fact, as far as the children are concerned, it might be described as history without tears. Wooden Walls of Hollywood "The City with a Fence Round It" is the title of the first of four talks on Hollywood to be given from 3YA, Christchurch, by P. W.. Maddock. Hollywood is the home of the biggest, most complex, most publicised, and yet the most exclusive entertainment industry in history, and Mr. Maddock knows a good deal about it. He was in Hollywood recently, and proposes to tell us how it all workshow hard it is to get through the wooden walls of Hollywood’s studio cities, and what a strange world-unto-itself there is inside: sound stages which would hold an eight-acre farm, shops, streets, studios within studios, with 92 per cent. of technicians working to put the eight per cent. of stars and players at the disposal of the outside world. The series will begin on Tuesday, July 18. & You Won't be Bored 3 Many people are frightened of the idea of classical music — frightened they will be bored. If you happen to be one of those, try listening to Professor V. E. Galway’s talks on "Masterpieces of Music," and your attitude may change. The Professor addresses himself to the man in the street in a language he can understand. He plays the themes of the great works he is discussing on the piano

and then plays the record so that listeners ‘may study the construction of the music, If you would like to know more about great music, and why it has lasted down the years while most of the music of to-day lives for a month and then is forgotten, tune in to 4YA, Dunedin, on Monday, July 17. You'll Enjoy These Chestnuts The older the joke, the better it goes. We can’t remember who wrote that, but it is exemplified by the new 4ZB feature, "Bed-time Stories for Adults," presented by Uncle Percy every Tuesday and Thursday at 10 pm. Uncle Percy is already well known to 4ZB listeners through his Sunday evening children’s sessions. He is a real old-timer and can spin a yarn with the skill that is only acquired by years of experience. Cavalier of the Rose To those people to whom the name Strauss means only waltzes, the opera " The Cavalier of the Rose" (Der Rosenkavalier), by Richard Strauss, will prove a revelation. It is one of the most colourful operas written in the last fifty years, with a really good story that everyone will enjoy. You will find _also that one of the principal parts is taken by Lotte Lehmann. In a recent performance of this opera at Sadler’s Wells, the Ranfurly singer, Denis Dowling, was called on suddenly to replace another singer who was ill, Listen to 4YA, Dunedin, on Sunday, July 16, How " West Wind" Began A certain evening recently was the second anniversary of the radio serial "Wandering with the West Wind," by W. Graeme Holder. Mr. Holder tells how the idea for these episodes was discovered. He was listening to some records, and one of them was called "West Wind." That gave him the start, and he had soon begun a series of tales about the wanderings over the face of the earth of an old artist-philosopher, The Wayfarer. The . Wayfarer is an old bachelor, a humorous ‘fellow, who is able to laugh at himself and his failings, and whose travels take him to all parts of the globe, known and outlandish. He comes across quaint customs and modes of living, meets all sorts of interesting people, has adventures and amusing experiences in places as opposed as Bechuanaland and the Bosphorus. He observes all things with the calm rumination of an old savant, seeing all, knowing all, and just saying enough to make one realise what great fun life really is. A

feature of his wanderings is the weird music he hears in different lands, from the clang of Chinese crash cymbals to the wail of the Gaita of Spain. Another episode of " Wandering with the West Wind" will be broadcast from 1YA Auckland on Thursday. English Gentleman You have probably heard the song about the "fine old English gentleman." Perhaps too, you have already made the acquaintance of Captain Geoffrey Somerset, the modern "soldier of fortune" who has taken upon himself the duty of guardian of the mythical Balkan state of Borovnia. This devil-may-

care aviator, who enjoys the privilege of being rude to Borovnia’s queen, will be heard in an exciting escapade on July. 18, from 3YA Christchurch. Old Masters If you are susceptible to the mellow tones of the ’cello, be sure to listen in to 2YC on Thursday, July 20, at 9.5 p.m. when Claude Tanner will play a group of compositions by old masters. In London, Mr. Tanner was a sub-professor at the Royal Academy of Music, and he has played with the big orchestras there. In Wellington he has played numerous concertos with the Wellington Symphony Orchestra. He is a brilliant exponent of his instrument, and his programme includes compositions by Bach, Handel, Leclair, Gluck, and Madame Marin-Marais.

The Voice of Wellington "Wellington Speaks," conducted by Gladstone Hill, is a novel weekly broadcast by 2ZB. The session is broadcast on Tuesdays at 12.30 p.m. from the assembly platform of the Wellington railway station, and affords an opportunity for the "men in the street" to air their views on topics of current interest. These "vox pop" programmes are regular features of both commercial and non-com-mercial stations in Australia, the United States and England. Catch That Spy! The sinister designs of two brothers and their gang of spies, one of whom is a beautiful girl, matched against the British Secret Service; the apparently foolish dandy, Roger Milray, playing a lone and dangerous hand against inscrutable Orientals; intrigue and death in the hidden places of a great cityyou will hear more about all of these if you listen to the serial, "Singapore Spy," episode 12 of which will be presented from 2YC Wellington, on Wednesday, July 19. Other People’s Lives Probably you have seen those little notices in the "Personal Column" of your paper? Sometimes they are pathetic, sometimes enigmatic. Have you ever wondered what lies behind "B----. Come home quickly or it will be too late. J .", or the many little bits of other people’s lives which come into that column every. day? "Personal Column," another episode of which will be heard from 3YA Christchurch on Thursday evening, is a dramatic conception of the comedy and tragedy behind those brief sentences which appear among the advertisements of a daily paper. The Spice of Life If thrilling experiences are the spice of life there is spice in the lives of most people, Nearly everyone, as Lord Northcliffe said, has had something in his life that would "make the front page." This fact explains the popularity of "Thrills," a series of which another episode will be heard from 4YA Dunedin on Wednesday.