BOYD NEEL NEXT WEEK

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 417, 20 June 1947, Page 18

BOYD NEEL NEXT WEEK

Famous Orchestra " Open NZ. Tour on June 28

) ARLIER this year we an- ) nounced that the first large- | scale operation of the British _Council in this country would be |a visit from the Boyd Neel Orchestra. And since that announcement, the music critics of Australia | have used up many superlatives in saying how the orchestra has delighted them as well as the public. This famous British group will start its New Zealand season at Auckland on Saturday, June 28; arrangements are being made for it to visit Wellington from Saturday, July 5; to Monday, July 7, and Christchurch, Dunedin and-some of the main provincial towns la‘er. The Boyd Neel Orchestra, said to be the finest string group in. Britain, and possibly in »the world, was formed in

1933. Boyd Neel’s immediate object was to establish an orchestra of which the membership would be fixed, and the rehearsing equivalent to that of a chamber music group. These ideals are at all times difficult to maintain, but at that time, they had hardly been attempted. For all its apparent lack of discrimination, the British public is quick to discern:a good thing; and the fact that, in little: more than’ a year, the BBC end a recording company, were giving contrac s to .this new body of players, was a sign that it had. something to offer. What that distinctive thing was, appeared in the first instance to be that polished and precise work which comes only from diligent rehearsal; but subsequently the discovery of a repertory for strings alone was the orchestra’s most noteworthy achievement. —

Some Little-Known Works Since its formation, the orchestra has taken part in most of Britain’s important musical events. It has a large repertoire, consisting of the major classical string works, together with an amount of little-known music. specially written for it ‘by contemporary compo:ers. It has made excellent recordings, some of its latest being Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos. (A _ recording of No. 2 is programmed by 1YX for June 28.) (continued on next page)

(continued from previous page)" Six’ different programmes have been made up for the New Zealand tour, ranging from the Concerti Grossi of Handel, and the symphonies of Abel, to such moderns as Delius, Britten and ‘Bartok. Outstanding offerings will probably be Bach’s third Brandenburg Concerto, and Ricercare; Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and Divertimento. in. D., and Britten’s Simple Symphony, and Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge. Popular works of Tchaikovski, Grieg and Dvorak will also be played. Birthday: Tribute: Writing on the occasion of the orchestra’s 10th birthday, The Times, in a leading article, said: "The occasion is worthy to be. marked. because the orchestra has made history, because it has made a ‘distinctive contribu: ion to our national musical life, and because > it has made a great impression abroad as an ambassador of British culture." — Coming nearer home, here is What Neville Cardus had to say about the concert seazon just ended in Australia: "The Boyd Neel Orchestra has revealed to us the range of compositions ,available for expression. on a t sens? smaller than the orchestr ee .'compositions of intimate "subflety and thought, yet not timid to take advantage of sonorities and dynamics. .:. Every string player in Sydney should have

attended, if only to hear the warm, changing shades, full and musical... ." The conditions under which the tour is being made preclude any broadcasts y the full orchestra, but itis hoped that listeners will have an opportunity of hearing ‘studio « broadcasts by members of the ‘orchestra, either as soloists or as chamber music groups,