British Music Critic to Tour N.Z.

New Zealand Listener, Volume 28, Issue 721, 8 May 1953, Page 15

British Music Critic to Tour N.Z.

NEw ZEALAND musicians and music-lovers will, later this year, receive the stimulus of a brief lecture tour by one of Britain’s abler music critics. He is Arthur Jacobs, lately act-ing-Editor of the Musical Times, and guest criti¢ for The Scotsman at last year’s Edinburgh Festival. Mr. Jacobs's tour is expected to begin about August 31. He has been engaged to record 18 programmes for the NZBS, and will lecture at the University Colleges of Auckland, Canterbury and Otago. Twelve of his broadcasts will be self-contained programmes of music and commentafy, and six will be straight talks. Of the latter, four will be about British music today, one will be on the function of criticism in amateur music, and one a critical review of music in New Zealand.

Mr. Jacobs is at once a forceful and amusing speaker. He prefaced a talk on the Edinburgh Festival in the BBC’s Home Service with the comment that, "We’ve just had a fascinating glimpse into the Dark Continent of Music-I mean America." What phrase he will coin for the musical condition of these islands. remains to be seen. He will be writing a number of articles for The Listener based on his observations in the four main centres, and will probably conclude with a summary of impressions gained during the tour as a whole. Born at Manchester in 1922, Arthur Jacobs was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Merton College, Oxford. He served in the Royal Artillery during the war, and has, since 1947, written on music for London’s Daily Express. He gives his spare-time occupations as playing, Choral singing, arranging and listening.