They Come From Far and Near

New Zealand Listener, Volume 15, Issue 379, 27 September 1946, Page 23

They Come From Far and Near

\WHEN listeners hear the applause over the air from one of the concerts given by the overseas musicians who are now being brought to New Zealand by the NZBS, they probably think of an audience consisting entirely of people from the city where the congert is being given, But the actual audience, in the Wellington Town Hall during a Solomon concert for instance, contains people from far and near, many of whom have made special arrangements to get to town for the concert. Apart from people who are coming to town anyway, in time to book their own seats, the NZBS hears of parties made up in provincial towns and country districts, who write in to the booking office in advance and apply for seats. Some come in taxis, some in their own cars, many presumably by rail, and some fly. For the Solomon concert given in Wellington on September 12, for instance, there were applications for seats

from these places: Wanganui (8), Masterton (6), Taihape (5), Levin (5), Palmerston North (4), Dannevirke (4), Blenheim (4), Hastings (3), Otaki, Feilding, Waipukurau and Nelson two each. Not all these were single bookings. There were four applications from Wanganui, and two each from Masterton, Taihape, and Palmerston North. Doctors seem to be regular applicants -there were three among the instances named above. And some applicants have their own special and sometimes exacting demands. One woman, who said she would send the money when she got the tickets, asked to be near the front downstairs "for that closer contact which is necessary for study." The same story went for the single concert in Wellington given by Lili Kraus-but the records had been destroyed by the time we talked to the booking clerks who are familiar with these things, and familiar even with the names and addresses of the "regulars." The booking for Solomon’s concerts in Wellington was all over in a few hours. The 11/2 seats were opened on the first day and all sold from the queue by noon. The 8/5 and 5/9 seats (which included student concessions) were opened the following day and were all gune by 11.0 a.m,