THANKS FROM A "MIDDLE-BROW"

New Zealand Listener, Volume 5, Issue 118, 26 September 1941, Page 4

THANKS FROM A "MIDDLE-BROW"

Sir,-May I offer a bouquet to Station 2ZB for the splendid programme with which they provided us on Sunday, September 7? The beautiful renderings of "The Blue Danube," "Liebestraume," the selections from "The White Horse Inn," "Sally," "The Desert Song" and all the other tuneful melodies by orchestras, popular vocalists, and the Light Opera Company, constituted a feast of music for that vast audience composed of those, like myself, who may perhaps be termed "middle-brows." The request sessions which have been held from time to time, have proved that this is the type of music which is widely appreciated, and prove also that, while a number of the listening audience prefer the crashbang variety of "swing," and are fully entitled to hear some of it, real music is nevertheless appreciated by the majority. Saturday night. programmes are hopeless for those who want to hear anything other than jazz, and surely one station somewhere could cater for these listeners with a desire for something in between classical music and swing bands. Sunday’s offering from 2ZB was particularly enjoyable. But why do we’ not hear more of the work of Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon? Their BBC broadcast feature is billed in London as the "most popular war-time programme," and yet we seldom hear them.

PASTORA

(Wanganui).