THINGS TO COME

New Zealand Listener, Volume 16, Issue 399, 14 February 1947, Page 4

THINGS TO COME

A Run Through The Programmes

Dunsany Fantasy "GOLDEN DRAGON CITY,’ Lord Dunsany’s fantasy for broadcasting, which will be heard from 1YA on Febtuary 17 at 7.30 p.m., and from 2YA on February 21 at 8.28 p.m., is one of the series of radio plays presented by the BBC under the general title, Mystery and Imagination, Although that title of the series has been borrowed from Edgar Allen Poe’s famous tales, Felix Felton, who is in charge of production, has eschewed the horrific. The plays all deal with the world of imagination and fantasy, to which the medium of radio: is ideally suited. "Golden Dragon City" tells of a youth who buys a window from a mysterious man he meets in the street. And that window has the queerest properties. Those who looked through it saw ++. but listen to the play and hear for yourself, Blood Sport HEN Themistocles was moving ‘with his army in close order, column of Toute or whatever was the military fashion those days, against the Persians, he saw a cock-fight, and stopped his troops to let them draw inspiration from the fowls’ valour and obstinacy, It worked. In honour of the Greeks’ victory, cock-fights were thenceforth held annually at Athens, at first in a patriotic and religious spirit, but afterwards for the love of the game. In the time of Henry II, English schoolboys took it up as a diversion on Shrove Tuesdays, the masters themselves umpiring the fights, or mains, from which they derived the reward of the dead birds. But to-day, in New Zealand at least, the sport is quite illegal. That in itself should be enough to add piquancy to the subject which Allona Priestley has chosen for her talk from 2YA at 7.15 p.m. on February 17. "Cock-fighting" will be the fifth talk in her series People Don’t Change, Stravinsky Ballet Music O the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation, administered by the Music Division of the U.S. Library of Congress, we owe Stravinsky’s Appollon Musagétes ballet, an excerpt from which will be heard from 1YX on Tuesday evening, February 18, at 9.10 p.m, This ballet suite, commissioned by the Foundation and first produced at Washington in 1928, reflects, when considered along with the half-dozen others which the composer produced during the "golden" period of Diaghileff, the changing vogues of Russian ballet. Where, for example, The Rite of Spring was a revolutionary innovation in its musical values, Appollon Musagétes is entirely in the classical tradition, in the strict form of an ancient dance suite, and the chastening of harmonic and orchestral colour is evident.

Listen to the Band (CLOSE inspection of the details of 3YA’s band programme for Monday evening, February 17, reveals something more than the usual run-of-the-mill session. Musically it is almost a UN show. It opens at 7.30 with the Sousa march, "Hands Across the Sea," and a Mikado selection follows closely afterwards, The first interlude comprises Welsh national

airs, and then, at 7.53, the Grenadier Guards Band presents Sibelius’s frosty Finlandia (arr, Winterbottom). In. a studio interlude at 8.0 Marjorie Nelson sings Scots songs and then there is a BBC recorded show by the Band of H.M. Horse Guards (Captain Thornborrow conducting), which at ® least sounds typically English. The pro-

gramme concludes at 8.34 with "America Marches." But what we like best is the bright little touch at 8.30 when ‘Peter Dawson will sing "Captain Harry Morgan." Hurrah for UN and all that, but at the same time Yo-Ho for a little picturesque anarchy.

Money-Spinners [N the programmes for Wednesday, February 19, Station 2YA 1 sts at 7.30 p.m. Million-Airs. And for the benefit: of listeners: who read only the first line of the item, we can explain that it has nothing to do with Nuffield, Ford or Rockefeller. Million-Airs is a collection of songs of which a million or so copies have been sold. And, according to the director of this studio presentat.on they include "Songs My Mother Taught Me," "Funiculi Funicula,"’ "Come to the Fair," and on the still lighter side, ""The Easter Parade." These established favourites will be presented by a group of studio singers. Songs from Switzerland THMAR SCHOECK, four of whose songs will be presented from the 3YA studio by Gerald Christeller (baritone) at 8.25 p.m. on Wednesday, February 19, was born at Brunnen on Lake Lucerne in 1886, and is generally regarded to-day as the most representative composer of German Switzerland. A pupil of Max Reger, Schoeck is known chiefly as a writer of lyrics, and his song-cycles include Elegie, composed in 1924, Lebendig begraben for bass and large orchestra (1927), and Notturno for’ string quartet and bass (1934). But he has also to his credit numerous chamber music and orchestral works, a cantata, and four large operas. His European reputation as a_ choral and orchestral conductor stands high. Nelson Revisited \V HEN the New Zealand swimming championships were held at_ Nelson in 1906, a young Wellington swimmer in a phenomenal display of endurance, won four national titles-the 100, 440, and 880 yds., and the mile. On Wednesday of next week he will be in Nelson for another championship meeting, but this time to declare it open, in his capacity as Governor-General. Times

have been clipped substantially since Sir Bernard Freyberg had his fourfold win-especially the time taken to publish results throughout the country. On February 19, at 7.40 p.m., 2YN will broadcast the offic.al opening, and commentaries on seven championship finals; further championship events will be broadcast the following evening, between 8.0 and 9.0, and again at 9.30; and on Saturday, February 22, 2YN will again be on the air from the baths between 8.0 and 8.46, and once more at 9.05 for the two Stalag Shield races (men’s North Island v. South Island relay, and women’s North v. South relay). For listeners outside of 2YN’s range, 2YA will provide recorded commentaries at 10.0 p.m. on February 19 and 20, and a direct broadcast on February 22, at 8.0 p.m. Hot Spot F all the outposts of our far-flung Empire, few have been flung further than the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan which, at the moment of writing (and if memory and Britannica serve), covers some 950,000 square miles. Scene of at least one major clash, between British and French imperial:sm (before the Entente was as cordiale as it later became), the Sudan lies wholly within the tropics and now looks like joining Indonesia, Indo-China, ‘Burma, and Palestine as one of the world’s political hotspots. As every Kipling addict knows, it is the home of Fuzzy-wuzzies, wadis, and hard drinking ("Here’s to you, Fuzzy-wuzzie, etc,"’), but it has one natural feature of even greater import-ance-the Nile Valley, which is the sub: ject of the first of a series of talks by -E. R. Harries, on the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan To-day, to be heard from 1YA. "The Nile Valley" will be heard at 7.15 p.m. on Thursday, February 20.