QUINTET FROM SYDNEY

New Zealand Listener, Volume 19, Issue 483, 24 September 1948, Page 7

QUINTET FROM SYDNEY

October Tour by Musica Viva Group ee the Tasman there are at least two instrumental groups specialising in cham ber music that have, in their beginnings, a touch of the romantic. One, the Queensland State String Quartet (which visited New Zealand in May last) was formed by a benevolent State Government to give concerts throughout the country; and because all it charged its audiences was a penny booking-fee it became known as the "penny orchestra." Next month New Zealand will hear the other-the Sydney Musica Viva Society’s Chamber Players. The Musica Viva Society was formed by Richard Goldner, as violaplayer who, having made money in commerce, found himself in the happy position of being able to give up all his time to. music. The Society’s Chamber Players-a group of five instrumental-ists-will give concerts and broadcasts in the four main centres and in several of the provincial towns. Goldner played with the original Musica Viva organisation in Vienna and founded the Sydney society in 1945, but it was not till 1947 that the latter body achieved its ambition of forming a per"manent string quartet. The principal of the quartet is the Hungarian violinist Robert Pikler (a pupil of Szymon Goldberg) who became known in New Zealand last year in association with the pianist Lili Kraus. Edward Cockman, an Englishman, well

known in Australia for his concert and radio work, and his leadership of the Civic Symphony Orchestra (Sydney), is the second violinist. _ Goldner himself, oo was a pupil. of Tscherchen and imon . Pullman and has played in Europe with the Rose Quartet, is the viola player, and he was able to engage as ’cellist his friend Theo Salzman, former soloist with the Vienna and Pales-

tine Symphony Orchestras, who resigned from the latter to take a contract with Musica Viva. The fifth player is Maureen Jones, a young Australian pianist, who first came into prominence as winner of the Australian Broadcasting Commission’s concerto competition, and has since played concertos with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Eugene Goossens.

This ensemble, it is said, will not perform any work in public without preparation of at least 80 hours. There is a reason for the inclusion of the piano with the strings. It makes possi>dle the presentation of a wide range of works, the programmes being built up with items for string quartet, string trio, piano. quartet, piano quintet, piano trio and two solo violins, as well as violin or ’cello sonatas with piano. The Musica Bom Society has found that recitals offering such a veriety of formations have a wider appeal than merely string quartet concerts, Profiting by its suc- | cess in Sydney it has recently extended its membership to Melbourne and Adelaide. The New Zealand tour is being organised and managed by the Wellington Chamber Music Society, which brought the Queensland State String Quartet over here. The NZBS will present relays from the ensemble’s public concerts at 8.0 p.m. in each case, except in Nelson, where only the second half of the pro-gramme-from 9.0 p.m.-will be broadcast, and in Dunedin, where the performances will be included in the evening’s studio programmes. The dates will | be:-1YA, Saturday, October 2, and Sat--urday, October 30; 2YZ (Napier), Thursday, October 7; 2YA, Tuesday, October .19, and Thursday, October 28; 3YA, Wednesday, October 20; and Wednesbabe, October 27; 4YZ, Thursday, October 21; 4YA, Friday; October 22, and ‘Sunday, October 24; 2XKN (Nelson), Friday, October 29. In addition to the broadcasts there willbe public concerts also at. Hamilton, Gisborne, Napier, Wanganui and Palmerston North, and some recitals for | secondary school pupils.