THINGS TO COME

New Zealand Listener, Volume 14, Issue 339, 21 December 1945, Page 4

THINGS TO COME

' A Run Through The. Programmes

MONDAY T 8.26 p.m. on Monday, December 24, Station 1YA will begin a new radio series by one of Britain’s top-notch detective story writers--Freeman Wills Crofts, the man wh6é created Inspector French, and who never cheats his readers, nor leaves an untidy end to any of his plots. He has the gift of making you sympathise with his criminal even while you know that the gallows is the only place for him in the end. The BBC commissioned him to write this series of six detective plays, of which "The Case of the Invalid Colonel" is the first. Also worth notice: 2YD, 9.30 p.m.: "Mary Queen of Scots." 2YC, 8.0 p.m.: Septet in E Flat (Beethoven). TUESDAY E envy the Rev. J. R. Hervey his pleasant task of selecting "Poems for Christmas" for reading from 3YA on Christmas Day. We recall some fascinating carols and songs and praises — enough to make a fat anthology. We could begin with the old Cornish carol of Modryb Marya’s holly-tree, "the bush with the bleeding breast," we could include the cherry-tree carol, "Joseph and Mary Walked Through an Orchard Good," and the: hymn of praise, "Ideo Gloria in Excelsis, On this Day Earth shall sing." There are dozens of rhymes about the Yule log, the apple bowl, the plum pudding, and the holly tree. There is the English "Twelve" or memorygame song beginning "On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me A partridge in a pear tree,’ and continuing to the twelfth day when the true love sent a marvellous collection including such casual gifts as maids-a-milking, swans a-swimming, colly birds, gold rings, and two turtle doves. And we could not close our anthology without some of Mr. Hervey’s own Christmas poems, which we hope he will include in his reading at 7.20 p.m. on December 25 from 3YA. Also worth notice: " 1YX, 8.26 p.m.: "‘Petrouchka" (Stravinsky). 3YL, 8.0 p.m.: ‘Trout’? Quintet (Schubert). WEDNESDAY LAST minute amendment to the programmes printed in last week’s issue came too late to enable us to draw the attention on this page to the news it announced — namely that Maurice Clare, the English violinist, is now doing the ten Beethoven violin sonatas, from Station 3YA, with Frederick Page at the piano. They begin this Frida}, December 21, with No. 1 in D; then No. 2 in A follows on Wednesday, Decembet 26, and No. 3 in E flat on Friday, December 28. The times of broadcasting are different in each case, and will be found in the printed programmes. Also worth notice: 1YX, 9.0 p.m.: Bach Preludes and Fugues. 2YC, 9.1 p.m.: Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas. THURSDAY SCHUBERT'S Octet, Opus 166, which is not broadcast very often, will be heard from 2YA at 8.0 p.m. on Thursday, December 27. It is written for clarinet, bassoon, horn, and string quintet, and made its first appearance in 1824, when Schubert was 28, The work was commissioned by Count Troyer, an amateur clarinettist. and it is thought that

Schubert must have had Beethoven’s Septet (for a similar combination of instruments) in the back of his mind when he composed it. It was first played at the country house of the wealthy musical patrons, the Esterhazy’s, with and three years later Schuppanzigh (one some friends of Beethoven’s taking part. Also worth notice: . 1YX, 8.22 p.m.: Trio in E Flat (Schubert) 4YA, 8.36 p.m.: Symphony No. 7 FRIDAY { S an instance of our interest in international affairs, it is often pointed out that New Zealand newspapers carry a far greater proportion of world news than those of Britain or the United States. But what do we know about Tasmania, except that it was once called Van Diemen’s Land and that Tasmanians are touchy about it? True, we know that apples come from there-and sometimes even potatoes — but most of us know appallingly little about one of our nearest neighbours, though it is so like our own country in many ways. However, we can remedy our sins of onfission by tuning in to 2YA at 11.0 a.m. on December 28 when a talk prepared by Fred Usher, entitled "Tasmania’s Wild Wonderland" will be broadcast. Also worth notice: 1YA, 9.33 p.m.: Music by Holst. 3YA, 8.28 p.m.: Beethoven’s Violin seni SATURDAY STEVE DONOGHUE could claim before he died to have done something few jockeys have ever done. He gave, without trying, a new phrase to the Eng-

lish language. He was so popular and had so many wins on English race courses that, whenever he was riding the crowd used to yell "Come on Steve!" And for a time it was a catchphrase everywhere. The BBC’s Peter Eton has produced a radio programme on. Steve Donoghue and his racing career,

which 3YA will broadcast at 8.29 p.m. on Saturday, December 29. The cartoon we print here was done by "The Trout," a famous sporting cartoonist of Donoghue’s day. Also worth notice: 1YA, 9.30 p.m.: "New Spy." 2YA, 8.0 p.m.: "Itma." SUNDAY HREE compositions for strings by John Ireland, Benjamin Britten, and Denis Wright make up the programme of music played by the New London String Ensemble which 4YA is to broadcast at 8.0 p.m. on ‘Sunday, December 30. John Ireland is represented by an "Elegy," a simple and appealing piece which requires no explanations. The Britten work is the "Simple Symphony," already known to New Zealand listeners through a recording by the Boyd Neel String Orchestra. Denis Wright’s composition is called "Suite in the Eighteenth Century Style." Also worth notice: 1YA, 9.33 p.m.: Symphony No. 1 (Moeran 3YA, 3.0 p.m.: "Resurrection" Symp! ( Mahler).