THINGS TO COME

New Zealand Listener, Volume 19, Issue 472, 9 July 1948, Page 4

THINGS TO COME

A Run Through The Programmes

Music For All SOME people like opera, and some dote on swing, but nearly everybody must have a soft spot for those popular traditional airs and English folk songs -the kind we used to learn at schoolover the radio these days. In Britain in Music, a BBC programme, listeners. will be able to hear some of the loveliest of these old traditional airs gathered together and played and sung by the BBC Theatre. Orchestra and Chorus, with several well-known English soloists assisting. The music is linked together with a narration spoken by the actor Laidman Browne. Britain in Music will be heard from 3YA at 10.15 p.m. this Sunday, July 11. Immortal Omar |F Omar Khayyam didn’t ‘invent that popular philosophy of making merry while life lasts, he is at least one of its best known advocates-vide his immortal lines, "I heard a Voice within the Tavern cry, ‘Awake, my little ones, and fill the Cup, Before Life’s Liquor in its Cup be dry." Edward Fitzgerald’s translation of the Great Persian’s quatrains became indeed one of the most

popular books of the end of the last century, and Omar has been quoted so often since (and so often mangled in the process) that it should be a pleasure to hear his Rubaiyat read by one who is an artist in the spoken word. In the programme to be heard from 4YA at 2.1. pm. this Sunday, July 11, The Puhaiyat of Omar Khayyam is read by Sir Rainh Richardson. Though better known to local audiences through his film roles, Richardson has attracted an immense following amongst theatreloversfin England as leading actor with Sir Laurence Olivier in the Old Vic : Company. Probably his two most highly | praised roles in recent, years have been "Peer Gynt" and "Cyrano de Bergerac." Coal Miner Psycholoay O-DAY the constant cry in Britain is for increased preduction, Frequent pleas are made to all the workers, but when the appeal is addressed to the coal miners there is a special urgency about it. Because of our close economic ties with Britain the problem is a matter of keen interest to New Zealanders and to cater for that interest many articles have been written and talks given. But the ground covered by P. A. Lockwood, a recént visitor from an

English coal-mining district, in two radio talks to be given from 1YA, will discuss an aspect of the subject which will be new to many listeners-the present attitude of mind of the miners.

Mr. Lockwood discusses the history and environment of the miner and the important effect they have had upon his outlook, and the reasons why recent changes in the industry, including nationalisation, have

brought new problems, or, perhaps more accurately, new developments of old problems. His first éalk, which is entitled The Miners’ Attitude, will be heard from 1YA at 7.0 p.m. on Tuesday, July 13, and the second, on Nationalisation and the Miner, at the same time the following Tuesday. Poet Speaks on Poet PERHAPS no New Zealander is better fitted to understand and interpret the verse of Walter dé la Mare than Eileen Duggan, and she has written a charming, modest, and _ perceptive appreciation of his poetry which will be broadcast from 2YA at 7.15 p.m. on Monday, July 12. What is the essence of de la Mare’s writings? "In poetry and in prose," Miss Duggan says, "he has a certain magic which is: the adult equivalent of the silver nutmeg and the golden pear." And she proceeds to illustrate that quality (and other characteristics of his poetry) with quotations, comparisons with other writers, and her own illuminating comments. She speaks, too, about’ his friendship with Katharine Mansfield, and discusses his once-expressed desire to visit New Zealand, ‘a desire which, she feels, he will not now be able to achieve. Paul Temple Again N Monday, July 12, at 9.30 pm, Station 4YZ will offer its listeners the first episode in another Paul Temple serial from the BBC. This will be Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair, originally broadcast in the Corporation’s Light Programme. Once more Francis Durbridge (author) and Martyn C. Webster (producer) renew their partnership. This time Temple is played by Kim Peacock, who recently had a big success in another BBC serial, The Phantom Fleet. The part of Steve, his wife, is in the experienced hands of Marjorie Westbury (she has played this part in most of the Temple serials), and Lester Mudditt has kept his unbroken record of appearing as Sir Graham Forbes, Chief Commissioner of Police. The serial, the BBC tells us, gets away to a promising start, with Temple being called in to investigate the connection of an unknown criminal, signing himself "Mr. Gregory," with the disappearance of two young women. Britten and Ireland BENJAMIN BRITTEN’S Piano Concerto No. 1 was originally written in 1939, but the composer later revised it, completely re-writing the third movement. In recordings recently received

from the BBC the young Australian pianist Noel Mewton-Wood plays the revised work with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Basil Cameron. Included: in the same programme is John Ireland’s overture Satyricon, played by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sir Adrian Boult. This work is one of Ireland’s two concert overtures. It is based on the adventures of the three Roman youths in the Satyricon of Petronius, but Ireland makes no attempt to tell the story in his music, seeking merely to convey some aspects of its mood. Music by Britten and Ireland will be heard from 4YA at 8.0 p.m. on Thursday, July 15. Odd Man Out DD MAN OUT was one of the most talked-of British films, in recent years, and now the BBC have adapted it for radio in a way that recaptures much of the tenseness and excitement of the original story. Those who saw the film will remember the thrilling moments of suspense that led up to the bank robbery, and the subsequent pursuit of the wounded gunman through the streets of Dublin. But Odd Man Out was more than a dramatic tale of cops and robbers. The deep psychological interest of the story lies not so much in the effect of circumstances on the fugitive, Johnny McQueen, as in his effect on the people he comes in contact with-the priest who wants to,save a soul, the little gutter-rat who hopes to get a reward, the mad artist who wants to paint him, and the girl Kathleen who loves him and finally dies with him. In the BBC adaptation Gilbert Thomas wrote the Script and Hugh Stewart was the producer, while. the strong cast includes James McKechnie as McQueen and Joyce Redman as Kathleen. Odd ManOut will be heard from 2YA at 7.30 p.m. on Friday, July 16.