EILEEN JOYCE

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 99, 16 May 1941, Page 4

EILEEN JOYCE

Sir,-In reply to his letter (Listener, April 24), let me give "Facts First" a few facts. He says, "Mr. Austin claims that Eileen Joyce had only a few lessons from Tobias Matthay." I "claimed" no such thing, Mr. Editor, What I said was: "Miss Joyce told me herself that she only had a few lessons from Matthay." This is an altogether different proposition. I got my information direct from the mare’s mouth, so to speak (Miss Joyce is now a meére, please note), and if it should prove to be a mare’s nest, surely I cannot be blamed. There are other people in Wellington, Mr. Editor, to whom Miss Joyce made the same observation, with the additional remark.that "she didn’t like the Matthay method of teaching, and she learnt nothing from it." I am permitted to refer you, sir, to these persons for corroborative testimony, and enclose their names. At the end of his letter, "Facts First" launches his dive-bombing attack on me personally. He says: "Mr. Austin tells us that Eile:n Joyce is the greatest

female pianist since Carreno. That is purely a matter of opinion-Mr. Austin’s opinion. It’s the sort of claim made by the publicity agent of every artist, and has about as much value, being entirely misleading." Ignoring the gratuitous offensiveness of this utterance, the insinuations it contains are clear-viz., (a) That my opinion on the subject has no value; (b) that nobody else shares that opinion; and (c) That I am merely acting as Miss Joyce’s publicity agent. Well, here are more facts for "Facts First." A longer experience of piano playing than that perhaps of anyone now in New Zealand surely entitles my views to some respect. During the past 50 years I have heard practically every instrumentalist and singer of renown, including almost all the celebrated pianists, male and female-not merely once but several times, in actual recitals and concerts. The catalogue of pianists begins with Madame Clara Schumann, whose rendering of her husband’s famous "Carnival" I heard at a Monday "Pop" in St, James’s Hall, Piccadilly, over half a century ago (incidentally I was present at her funeral in Bonn, in 1896, and stood beside Brahms at the graveside). From that time onward, except when at school, I missed no concert of any importance. For about 20 years I attended every piano recital given by such artists as Paderewski, Hofmann, Rosenthal, d’Albert, de Pachmann, Busoni, Sauer, Godowsky, Grieg, Lamond, Leonard Borwick; Mesdames_ Essipoff, Clothilde Kleeberg, Sophie Menter, Teresa Carreno, Fanny Davies, Gertrude Peppercorn, Adela Verneand scores of others, too numerous to mention. Contemporaneously I studied music myself, both in Eng-

land and on the Continent, receiving lessons from several eminent masters-Rosenthal, Borwick, and Cohn, pianoforte; Lonas (of Neuwied, Germany), and Sir Frederick Bridge (then organist of Westminster Abbey), organ; and Professor Ebenezer Prout, music theory. In 1910 I came to New Zealand. For 25 years I was almost continuously before the public as a successful conductor of orchestras, so there is no need to enlarge upon that aspect of my career. In 1934-35 I re-visited London, and made up for lost time by attending 217 concerts in 15 months170 of which were piano recitals by leading contemporary pianists; including, of course, Eileen Joyce. I heard Myra Hess, Harriet Cohen, and Irene Scharrer, among other star ex-pupils of Matthay, and have no hesitation in asserting that, although unquestionably fine players, they are in no sense virtuosi. I came to the conclusion then, which I still hold firmly, that no female pianist comparable with Eileen Joyce has appeared since Carreno died. Does "Facts First" still maintain that my opinion has no value? Let me add, sir, that the same opinion is held, and has been expressed to me personally, by Sir Henry Wood, Dr. Malcolm Sargent, Frederick Lamond, Egon Petri (from whom Miss Joyce had a "few lessons" in 1938), Andersen Tyrer, and by a prominent Wellington musician who was once a pupil of Madame Carreno. Finally, Mr. Editor, I am not, unfortunately, Miss Joyce’s publicity agent. If I were, I would print her fame in headlines stretching across the world.

L. D.

AUSTIN

(Wellington).

Postscript Since writing the above I have received proof positive that Miss Joyce was a pupil of Matthay for three years, as stated by "Facts First." There seems to have been a misunderstanding of remarks made by her which will doubtless be cleared up later, However, my first letter was written in absolutely good faith. and it only remains now'to express sincere

regret for the mistake-

L.D.

A.