"Must" for Music-Lovers

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 438, 14 November 1947, Page 20

"Must" for Music-Lovers

EVENINGS WITH MUSIC.

By

Syd

Skolsky.

| Faber & Faber Ltd., London.

RE is an up-to-date publication which might be termed a text-book for the reader whose knowledge of classical music is limited or even non-existent. According to the brief biographical note supplied with her book, Mrs. Skolsky is a_ well-known American lecturer on music for both adults’ and children’s groups, and her Evenings with Music (an aptly intimate title, that) provides an attractive project spread over 27 "Evenings" altogether, with an added enegested list for further listening. The writer begins with a survey of the Symphony Orchestra-first, a seating plan, then she goes on to illustrate by means of diagrams the various types of time "beat" employed by the Conductor, and supplies little model figure drawings of the members of the different gections of the Orchestra-strings, wood-wind, brass, and percussion-each complete with instrument, showing the actual playing positions of these per-

formers. This last is extremely valuable -after one of our National Orchestra Symphony concerts this year I remember meeting an acquaintance who told me that she had spent practically the whole evening vainly trying to figure out which instrument might be the oboe. Beginning with Bach, the course mapped out by Mrs. Skolsky continues chronologically through the music of the various periods, dealing competently not only with each musical form and the characteristic style of composition adopted by each great composer, but also very ably sketching in biographical details of his life and the social environment of his time. When discussing the actual master-works the language is simple and not over-technical and the copious thematic illustrations from these works are of great value, Each quoted theme is written out on single stave only, so it should not be beyond the capabilities of even the "one-finger artist" to play over and learn to recognise it. Sectons 24 to 27 are grouped together under the title "Evenings in the Concert Hall"’-the idea being that the teader-student should be encouraged to show, by means of recorded concerts (supplied with excellent programme notes), how he, or she, has applied the information set out in the foregoing chapters. I consider this book a anak yap not only for record collectors, operat-. ing solo, or in groups, but also for any person who is sufficiently interested in good music to wish for a greater understanding of it.