THINGS TO COME

New Zealand Listener, Volume 11, Issue 284, 1 December 1944, Page 6

THINGS TO COME

A Run Through The Programmes

MONDAY F we were asked to-day to write a radio talk on "The Story of Shoes," we would be faced with that same problem that used to daunt us when our English teacher required us to write a "composition" of 150 lines-on "A Visit to the Seashore," or "Mustard," or that hardy perefinial, "The History of a Shilling." Though we might have seen the sea, tasted mustard, and even handled a shilling, the task nevertheless put a strain on our youthful imagination. And even after a glance at the Encyclopedia Britannica entry under "Shoes" we feel that anyone who can make a radio talk out of "The Story of Shoes" must surely have some imagination and something to say about so pedestrian a_ subject. Dorothy Freed, of Dunedin, has done so, and her talk will be heard from 4YA at 10.0 a.m. on Monday, December 4. Also worth notice: 2YA, 8.0 p.m.:Quartet in C Minor (Brahms). 3YA, 9.25 p.m.: Trio in B Flat (Schubert). TUESDAY SOLDIERS who are coming "Back to Mufti" are not the only ones who will be interested in the talk to be heard from the Main National Stations at 7.0 p.m. on Tuesday, December 5. Its subject is "Housing," which is an urgent problem to thousands of people, as you may learn by seeing the crowds who wait for the first editions of the metropolitan evening papers or by comparing the number of "Wanted to Rent" advertisements with the number of "To Let" notices. Returned men come first, and the "Back to Mufti" talks are designed for them, but if any of the thousands who are concerned should care to tune in they may find some little comfort in hearing the situation discussed, and in hearing returned men being advised what to do. But it might be cold comfort. Also worth notice: 1YX, 8.0 p.m.: Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, 4YO, 8.0 p.m.: Handel’s "Messiah" (relay). WEDNESDAY ‘THE Children’s Session from 2YA on Wednesday, December 6, features a ‘character whose appeal to millions of Americans is still a puzzle to sociologists, psychologists, and otlter learned men. His name is "Superman," and if you have seen him in an American comic strip, or in a, coloured cartoon at the pictures, you too may have wondered why millions of Americans turn to him Before they read their news. But if you cast your mind back you will probably have to admit that the things you yourself read as a child were much the same in the final analysis. We had not heard of Superman on the radio before, but the very nature of him means he can go anywhere he pleases. The children will no doubt be spellbound when they hear his "Christmas Adventure" at 5.45 p.m. on Wednesday. Also worth notice: 2YA, 9.18 p.m.: Stories by Henry Lawson. 3YA, 8.0 p.m.: Male Voice Choir Concert. THURSDAY T may be a far cry from Purcell’s "Faerie Queen" dances to Beethoven’s "Egmont" music; it may seem just as far from Schubert’s "Rosamunde" pieces to Grieg’s "Peer Gynt" music. But they are all of one kind -that species of

music that brings dozens of different styles and forms under the one generic title "incidental." Purcell wrote a great deal of it-his "Faerie Queen" dances were written for an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night's Dream; Beethoven wrote a good deal"Egmont" and "The Ruins of Athens" for instance; Bizet’s music for "L’Arlesienne" is familiar too; and nowadays composers can make a living by writing for the films. Station 3YL will present the first in a series of programmes of "Incidental Music" at 9.1 p.m. on Thursday, December 7, Also worth notice: 1YX, 8.41 p.m.: Quartet in C (Haydn). 4YA, 8.13 p.m.: Clarinet Concerto (Mozart). FRIDAY VW OULD you be able to answer, even if it were worth £20 in a quiz, who was the well-known English author who wrote as Michael Angelo Titmarsh? Could you answer "Who was the first classical author to be filmed in Glorious Technicolour?" Would you know "Who was the English author who wrote under the name of George Savage Fitzboodle in Fraser’s Magazine in 1842?" Perhaps not, and perhaps you don’t feel that anyone should expect you to know either. The answer, as it happens, would be the same in each case-William Makepeace Thackeray. If, now that we mention him, you wonder just how much you do know about Thackeray, you could tune in to 4YA at 9.33 p.m. on Friday, December 8, and hear some readings from his works by Professor. T. D. Adams. : Also worth notice: 1YA, 9.25 p.m.: Symphony No. 1 (Dvorak). 3YA, 8.27 p.m.: Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.

SATURDAY F you are fond of Spanish music, whether it is by Spaniards or not, you may enjoy a programme which 3YA will present in its "Masters in Lighter Mood" session at 10.15 p.m. on Saturday, December 9. First there will be an orchestral Nocturne, "Cordoba," by Albeniz, then a- group of pieces by Granados, including his well-known piano composition "The Lover and the Nightingale." By way of contrast, there will also be Moszkowski’s "Caprice Espagnole"’ (Moszkowski was a Pole). Then a song by the Spanish operatic composer Ruperto Chapi, and a guitar piece by the Brazilian Villa-Lobos. To end the programme, there will be "Festivo"’ (in Bolero time) by Finland’s Sibelius, and a Spanish dance by Manuel de Falla. ° Also worth notice: 1YA, 7.30 p.m.: Italian Piano Music. 3YL, 8.0 p.m.: Handel’s ‘‘Messiah." SUNDAY "SCIENCE FOR SALE," a comedy by the New Zealand writer Grace Janisch, will be broadcast for the first time from 4YA at 9.30 p.m. on Sunday, December 10. A professor, travelling in a train on his way to give a lecture on Echinoderms, receives a message that he must turn back and sail for America. He gives two men in the carriage a message to deliver, saying that he will be unable to give the lecture. The two men, the ‘illains of the story, decide to give it themselves. Their efforts to discover what the echinoderm really is' having failed, they come to the conclusion that it is a new form of diet, and prepare their script. But to tell you whether they actually delivered their lecture would be to spoil the fun of listening. Also worth notice: 1YA, 8.15 p.m.: "Waldstein’" Sonata (Beethoven). 3YA, 3.0 p.m.: Verdi’s Requiem.