Around The Nationals

New Zealand Listener, Volume 5, Issue 115, 5 September 1941, Page 24

Around The Nationals

"boosted" the clarinet in the interview he gave The Listener before playing Debussy’s Rhapsody for Saxophone from 1YA on August 15, listeners have no doubt taken more interest in this partly neglected instrument. An excellent opportunity to listen more carefully to it will be given by an item to be broadcast by 2YA at 7.56 p.m. on Tuesday, September 9. Fredrick Thurston and Ralph Clarke, two members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, will play Alan Frank’s Suite. Frank, himself a clarinettist as well as a composer, wrote this suite for and dedicated it to the two musicians who play it in this item. Evidently clarinettists are all versatile. Mr. Montgomery plays the saxophone expertly (although not very willingly), and graduated to his favourite instrument from drum and fife bands and playing the flute. Alan Frank plays, composes, and publishés music, and also writes about it as a musical journalist. Like William Walton, he is self taught. His wife is that promising young British composer, Phyllis Tate. *% * * S INCE Laurence Montgomery ([™ his autobiography Gillie Potter describes himself as a "comedian," who was born at an early age and educated at Borstal and Dartmoor, although the governors of these institutions deny all knowledge of him. Before the microphone he oftem appears in the capacity of a publicity agent for Hogsnorton, of which he claims to be a prominent citizen. In actual fact, he lives in a perfectly sane and respectable place and even gets his picture in the society papers wearing an old school blazer, complete with tie and straw hat in approved old school colours. He says, in spite of this evidence, that his principal hobby is taking his hat off to the Directors of the BBC, but proof that this is not an entirely disinterested gesture of respect may be found in 3YA’s item at 8.46 p.m. on Saturday, September 13. "Heard at Hogsnorton" is the title of it, and it pretends to be: "The Truth About the BBC." ae m % A SAMPLE of the good work made possible by the creation of the NBS String Orchestra will be heard from 2YA at 8.21 p.m. on Monday, September 8. Frank Hoffey is to broadcast with Dorothy Davies-viola and piano playing a Brahms sonata. Frank Hoffey originally played -the violin, but was converted to the viola and encouraged to keep it up by Harold Baxter, whom Mr. Hoffey praises highly for his work with: the: 1YA- Orchestra: Mr. Hoffey had been touring New Zealand as a violinist with" musical shows, taking the viola along as a spare time relaxation. Now he concentrates on it, and prefers it as a means of musical expression. Like many other fine musicians, he has been attracted to Wellington by the String Orchestra, plays mainly for it, and now, we notice, is a member of the new Chamber Music Club 41, which is itself more evidence of the magnetic effect which broadcasting is giving to music in the capital city.