Two Notable Musicians On Tour For NBS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 6, Issue 136, 30 January 1942, Page 6

Two Notable Musicians On Tour For NBS

Thomas Matthews and his wife, Eileen Ralph, whose experiences in Hawaii are described above, would probably not now be in New Zealand. Their luggage, their music, and the orchestra which they had assembled for a very important engagement, have now gone astray, but although this is bad luck for Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, New Zealand music lovers may take consolation frorn one good turn that war in the Pacific has done them-the fact that they are thus enabled to hear two such notable English musicians. For Thomas Matthews, violinist, was until recently leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra; and his wife, Eileen Ralph, a pianist, was recently playing Mozart sonatas with him in Dame Myra Hess’s National Gallery Concerts. They are now making a tour of the main NBS stations. Bu for the fortunes of war, Distinguished Career Thomas Matthews’s career as a violinist is a distinguished one. He was a pupil in London of Albert Sammons, and on the Continent of Carl Flesch, the Hungarian teacher. His public career began in the Halle Orchestra, Manchester, under the late Sir Hamilton Harty, and after tours in Finland and Sweden, and many concert tours in England, he settled down as leader of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Sir Thomas Beecham was guest conductor of this orchestra for a season, and just after the

outbreak of war he asked Mr. Matthews to lead the London Philharmonic. The first performances in England of Benjamin Britten’s violin: concerto were (Continued on next page)

VISITING MUSICIANS (Continued from previous page)

done with Mr. Matthews taking the solo part (Brosa having been soloist in the first performance proper, in New York). In an interview with The Listener he recalled an amusing experience connected with this concerto. He and his wife were on their way to America, and about three-quarters of the way across he tuned in to London on the ship’s radio, and heard the Britten concerto. Mr. Matthews just began to say how impressed he had been with the fine performance when his wife interrupted — "Be modest now!" The performance he had heard was a recording of his own playing, made without his knowledge. Perhaps because of imperfect reception Mr. Matthews had failed to recognise his own interpretation of the concerto! In America the time passed quickly, rushing from one concert to another, renewing acquaintances-Barbirolli in New York (where he conducts the Philharmonic Symphony), Eugene Goossens in Cincinnati, Benjamin Britten, and other English musicians, who are now in the States. Mrs. Matthews’s career began when she left Perth, her birthplace, at the

age of 16, on a scholarship to the Royal Colleges of Music. In London she studied the piano with Eric Grant, then had lessons from Tobias Matthay, and later from Solomon. Egon Petri, after reading press notices of her playing, wrote to her from Poland, and she was to have had lessons from him when Poland was invaded. Her namesake and countrywoman, Eileen Joyce, who is in London now,

married and a mother, but still playing in public, was known to Mrs. Matthews since her childhood in Western Australia, "Solomon is playing marvellously now," Mrs, Matthews said. "He is right in his prime. But do you know who is the best pianist in England now? Clifford Curzon; he is marvellous. "Pye discovered a relation here in New Zealand. After our first broadcast someone rang up from Christchurch and said ‘Have you got red hair,’ so I said ‘ Well, it inclines that way,’ so then he said ‘Then you are a niece of mine." Mrs. Matthews has a special bent for playing contemporary music, and feels that as it was on her playing of modern music that she made her reputation, she should be playing some to New Zealand audiences. She had played a quantity of Schonberg, Stravinsky, and Kodaly at concerts, and wondered whether she would be able to obtain such music in New Zealand, as her music was unfortunately on another boat, bound for no one knows where. In New Zealand the Matthews will play violin and piano music from their classical repertoire, and may do some concerto work with the NBS Orchestra. They will be heard from 2YA at 9.25 p.m. on Tuesday, February 3, and at 8.19 p.m. on Friday, February 6; also from 3YA at 3.15 p.m. on Sunday, February 1.