BEETHOVEN MIGHT BE TOO HEAVY

New Zealand Listener, Volume 14, Issue 364, 14 June 1946, Page 19

BEETHOVEN MIGHT BE TOO HEAVY

Jan Rubini Will Play Lighter Classics

sian-Swedish-American violinist, who is now in New Zealand, about to begin a tour with his wife, Terry Walker, and his accompanist,, Vassali Ilster, has left the United States for a while to take a rest, and combine a holiday from Hollywood with a performing tour in this part of the world. He had hopes of fishing for trout at Rotorua. When we interviewed him we had to give him the disappointing news that he won't be able to do that. The trout are taking a rest too. Mr. Rubini, whose photograph appeared on our cover last week, was born in Stockholm. His father was an Italian, director of a grand opera company then in Sweden, and his mother was a Russian dancer: He started playing the violin when he was seven, gave a recital in London when he was nine, and went to the United States when he was 16. He has made it his home ever since. He has not been in New Zealand before, apart from walking along Queen Street in Auckland once when the Mariposa was in port a few hours, But he has played to New Zealanders before-in the Pacific Islands, when he was touring with a USO entertainment unit. He says he has heard we love music in New Zealand, and he is looking forward to playing to us. RUBINI, the Italian-Rus-

He will play "Classic music-not too heavy; I don’t think people at this particular time want it. I think Ill give

them a bit of a rest. Instead of playing the Beethoven Concerto, for instance, I'll play the Wieniawski, which is a bit melodious, and so on, and pieces by popular classical composers, transcriptions by Auer, Kreisler, of course, Hubay and some of my own; Tartini, Corelli." We asked Mr. Rubini to tell us something about himself. "I was the first one to start in the U.S. what we call star participation in radio programmes. My programme Hollywood on the Air was a coast-to-coast network broadcast and it went to South America too. It lasted one hour and we introduced all the world-famous picture stars in between musical items: Bette Davis, Wally Beery, John Boles, Barrymore, and so on. That programme began quite a few years ago. Then came Louella Parsons with her Hollywood Hotel programme." Some New Zealand listeners’ have heard Mr. Rubini in recorded programmes called Music at Your Firesjde, which he made together with Donal Novis, the singer. These were not broad-_ cast in America, he told us, but transcribed for selling to sponsors of commercial programmes, and they went all over the world. Australia’s Local Talent Mr. Rubini prides himself on having started something in Australia too. When he was there shortly before this last war he found there were no studio theatres in the commercial radio stations, so he thought it would be interesting if the Australian people could come and see how a radio programme was put on. He got permission to open a theatre on Sunday evenings in Sydney and an invited audience came an hour before broadcast time and heard his rehearsals, and then the actual broadcast programme. "While I was there I also sponsored some local talent-they have wonderful local talent out there in those towns," Mr. Rubini said. We asked him if He thought the musicians of international standing who are now in America would be finding time to travel abroad when they could make much more money in the United States, and his opinion is that they will. He thinks Americans are hearing so much now about other countries that they are realising that travel and meeting other people is a wonderful thing---and musicians will tour abroad in spite of ‘the lower rewards. He hifnself, he says, is taking a‘ rest from the American concert world. For some time now he has been appearing regularly in Ken Murray’s Blackouts in Hollywood, which he describes as a fabulous show. It is so named because each portion of the evening’s entertainment is distinct and separated from the rest by blackouts, and musicians, singers, dancers, jugglers and all kinds of entertainers are employed. Mr. Rubini was giving miniature recitals with the Metropolitan Opera soprano, Josephine Taminia. Ken Murray, Mr. Rubini said, has been offered fabulous sums to take his revue to Australia or India but he has decided that anyone who wants to see the show must come to Hollywood. Jan Rubini will be heard by listeners to 1YA at 7.30 p.m. on Saturday, June 22, and he will broadcast over 2YH on Thursday, July 4, at 8.24 p.m. Dates for further studio recitals in other centres are being arranged.