Another Station on the Air

New Zealand Listener, Volume 21, Issue 541, 4 November 1949, Page 24

Another Station on the Air

FIVE new radio stations -3XC Timaru, 1YZ Rotorua, 1XH Hamilton, 1XN Whangarei, and 2XA Wanganui — have been established this year under the expansion scheme of the New Zealand Broadcasting Service, and new _ studios, with a_ higher-powered transmitter, have been opened at 2XG_ Gisborne. Wanganui’s 2XA, last of the five new stations to take the air, was opened officially on October 22 by the Minister of Broadcasting (Hon. F. Jones) who was introduced by the Director of Broadcasting (William Yates). Wanganui, though the last to be completed, is the first of the "X" class’ stations to possess a stage and

euditorium so that an audience can take part in special programmes. The object of establishing the new two-kilowatt stations is to give the opportunity for purely local broadcasting of instrumental, choral and dramatic work as well as to provide listeners with better reception of important broadcasts from YA and YZ stations. Following the official speeches, the Wanganui station, which has a kt ,of more than 6,000 records, présented a programme by Wanganui performers, and ended its first evening’s broadcast with a programme froth the BBC show, Variety -Bandbox. . Like the others, 2XA is a part-time ie oie station. Commercial sessions are broadcast from 7.0 a.m. to 10,0 a.m., ‘ahd from 6.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m., on The non-advertising pro‘grammes are heard from 7.30 p.m. to 10. 30 p.m., on weekdays and throughall the broadcasting time on Sundays.

— — Piano Quartet WO-PIANO performances are fre quently found in the NZBS programmes, notably with Rawicz and Landauer, and Ivor Moreton and Dave Kaye, of the BBC, or Frank Hutchens and Lindley Evans presenting more serious programmes from Australia. But when an American pianist, Edwin Fadiman, created the First Piano Quartet there were no musical arrangements in existence to serve the idea for which it was formed. As it happened, each of four ~-pianists-Adam Garner, Vee Padwa, Frank Mittler and Edward Ed-son-was an accomplished composer and arranger. They combined and as a result of their efforts they now have an extensive fepertoire. Programmes featuring the First Piano Quartet will be ‘broadcast from 4ZB at 9.0 p.m. on successive Sundays, starting from November 13.