Host of Artists for 1954 Season

New Zealand Listener, Volume 30, Issue 764, 12 March 1954, Page 6

Host of Artists for 1954 Season

HIS winter should prove a rich and interesting one for ‘New Zealand concertgoers. The National Orchestra of the NZBS is to give 36 public concerts as well as its usual lunchhour and schools’ performances. A new conductor, James Robertson, will be taking over in August. And, to add to the season’s interest, more than 20 guest artists will be appearing, some in solo recitals as well as with the orchestra. The most famous of these are Solomon, Jan Smeterlin, Leon Goossens and Bela Siki, about whom information was given in a recent issue. Some of the others are almost equally well-known, while a number will be appearing for the first time with a major orchestra. Continuing their practice of recent years, the NZBS and the N.Z. Federation of Chamber Music Societies wi!! again be sharing several artists during the coming season. Leon Goossens and Perry Hart, both engaged by the NZBS, will be performing for the Fed-

eravuon. ihe rrencn pianist Charles Lilamand and the violinist Brigitte de Beaufond, and the American Alma Trio, all coming to New Zealand under engagement to the Federation, will be giving some _performances for the NZBS. Broadcasts of concerts by both organisations will carry them to wider audiences outside the concert hall. According to D. L. Irwin, Secretary to the New Zealand Federation of Chamber Music Societies, the Dominion’s reputation for chamber music fis spreading abroad. Prominent artists were now applying to the Federation for opportunities to appear in New

Zealand. The quality of this year’s guest artists points to what can be expected in the future. Brigitte de Beaufond was, at an early age, the pupil of the late Jacques Thibaud, who said of her: ‘I love her talent and believe in it." She was awarded the first prize at the Conservatoire National de Paris in 1937, and has since played as ‘soloist for the French Broadcasting Serwce, the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, and the Concerts Pasdeloup. Both she and Charles Lilamand have toured extensively, and they will come to New Zealand after performances. in IndoChina, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Charles Lilamand won first prize for the piano at the Conservatoire National de Paris at the age of 16. He was soon giving ‘concerts throughout France, but his real debut came in 1945 when he appeared in eoncerts conducted by Charles Munch at the Théatre des Champs Elysées. Alfred Cortot has said of him: "Only a few artists are capable of being the medium between the public

and the composer; Lilamand is fortunate to have this gift." For the Chamber Music Federation Beaufond and Lilamand will give 10 performances between April 20 and May 18. They will appear in Auckland, Hamilton, Otorohanga, New Plymouth, Gisborne, Hastings, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin. Six of these performances are to be broadcast. Each of the two artists is to give a concerto performance also with the National Orchestra. Brigitte de Beaufond will play Mozart’s Concerto in D (K.218) at Christchurch on

May 15, and Charles Lilamand at Dunedin on May 17, Liszt’s Concerto No. 2 in A. The Alma _ TrioAdolph Baller (piano), Gabor Rejto (‘cello) and Maurice Wilk (violin)will be touring New Zealand in August, September and October. It was formed in 1944 at the California home of Yehudi Menuhin, taking its. name from. -the violinist’s estate. The trio’s violinist was originally Roman Totenberg, Maurice Wilk replacing him only last year. A young New Yorker, Wilk is the only American-born member of the trio. Before joining the Alma Trio, he

had played with the NBC Syniphony Orchestra and Stuyvesant String Quartet. Gabor Refto, the trio’s ’cellist, has been in New Zealand before. He toured the. country with Yaltah Menuhin in 1953. Born in Budapest, Rejto graduated. with honours from the academy there, and continued his studies with the famous Casals. When he left for the U.S. in 1939he is now an American citizen-he had given concerts throughout Europe and had appeared with a number of orchestras, including the Philharmonic Orchestras of Rome and Warsaw, and the Vienna Symphony. He plays a Domenica Mon agnana ’cello (Venice, 1721), which once belonged to André Hekking. Adolph Baller, a Viennese, first found fame in'the world of chamber music when he gave sonata performances with Yehudi Menuhin. . Baller and Wilk will arrive in New Zealand on August 20, and will conduct a school of sonata playing at Wellington for a week._Baller, in particular, is a celebrated teacher, and the Federation expects him to prove a major attraction for students. At the end of the school, Rejto> will join®the pair, and the trio will tour till October 5... They are scheduled to give three performances at Wellington, two each at Christchurch, Auckland, Dunedin and Hamilton, and

single performances at Gisborne, Hastings, New Plymouth; Blenheim, Nelson and Otorohanga. Timaru, Invercargill and Wanganui may also be visited. Twelve of these concerts are to be broadcast. In addition, the trio will perform Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the National Orchestra at Christchurch on September 11, and Wilk and Rejto Brahms’s Double Concerto with the Orchestra at Dunedin on September 15. For Leon Goossens, who will be heard first at the Wellington subscription concert of June 26, the Federation has planned a series of con-

certs in company with Ruth Pearl, violin, Jean McCartney, viola, Marie Vandewart, ’cello, and the pianist Jessie Hall. Perry Hart, an Australian violinist engaged by the NZBS, will be giving four performances for the NZBS and one for Wellington’s Chamber Music Society. Miss Hart showed an early aptitude for music, playing first on a’ violin specially constructed for her when she was two and a half years old. She arrives in New Zealand about the end of March and will give three studio recitals with Doris Veale at the piano before appearing with the National Orchestra at Auckland on April 10. Her chamber music recital will be on April 14. Other artists to appear with the Orchestra, excluding those already mentioned, are:Piano: Janetta McStay, Doris Veale, Ernest Jenner, Julie Clarke, Jocelyn Walker and Cara Hall. Violin: Vincent Aspey, Francis Rosner, Maurice Clare. Viola: Winifred Styles, Eric Lawson. Soprano: Linda Parker. Tenors: Ronald Dowd, Andrew Gold. A New Zealander, Janetta McStay graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, where she won a number of prizes for the pianoforte. She has toured Britain as a concert pianist and broad(continued on next page)

(continued from previous page) cast for the: BBC.-Her appearance with the Orchestra will beat Auckland on_ August 14. — Doris Veale, recently returned after seven years in London, has been on the staff of the Reyal Academy of Music and has been accompanist to the London Philharmonic Choir and the Croydon Philharmonic Society. As a solo artist she has performed at the L.C.C.’s Music Appreciation Concerts and on the Commonwealth Artists’ programme of | the BBC. She will perform with the Orchestra at Christchurch on May 153. Ernest Jenner, the Christchurch pianist, will be well known to most New Zealanders. He. is a frequent broadcaster, and conducts music. appreciation sessions in the Broadcasts to Schools. He will play at the Christchurch subscription concert of July 10, at which half of the programme will be of John Ireland’s music. Christchurch at the time will be holding a festival of that composer’s music. Jocelyn Walker, of Wellingten, a former Royal Academy student, has appeared previously with the National Orchestra, as has Julie Clarke, of Christchurch, a 16-year-old, who made her debut during this year’s Promenade series. Jocelyn Walker will perform with the Orchestra at New Plymouth on April 12, and Gisborne on April 27, while Julie Clarke will be heard at Palmerston North on April 14, Christchurch on September 9, and Dunedin on ned ber 13. Cara Hall will play at on October 12, and at Wellington on November 6. Vincent Aspey is leader of the National Orchestra and the Vienna-born | Francis Rosner a member of it. Maurice Clare, formerly leader of the Boyd Neel | Orchestra, has toured extensively in this country. The violist Eric Lawson is also a National Orchestra member. He was formerly a member of the Liverpool Philharmonic and Halle Orchestras. Vincent Aspey will perform with the Orchestra as soloist at Hamilton on August 10, and Timaru on September 16, Francis Rosner and Eric Lawson ‘at Hastings on April 29, Wellington September 25, and Christchurch on October 28. Maurice Clare will be heard at Auckland on August 12. Winifred Styles will appear at Auckland on June 3 in the course of Auckland’s Music Festival, and Andrew Gold at Christchurch on July 8, and Dunedin on July 14. The Australian soprano Linda Parker and tenor Ronald Dowd, who appeared at several National Orchestra concerts last year, will be appearing at Auckland ‘on October 14, Wellington on October 20, and Christchurch on October 26. ‘Many of the works to be performed this year will be making only their first or second appearances. Among those mentioned by the conductor, Warwick Braithwaite, as being of special interest are. Walton’s Symphony, Stanford’s Irish Symphony, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 2 in D Minor, and his "Othello" overture, and the ‘Sibelius Symphony No. 6 in D Minor. At Christchurch on July 8 and Dunedin on July 14, the Orchestra will give an entirely Russian programme consisting of works by Rimsky-Korsa-kov, Tchaikovski, Balakirey and Moussorgsky. Andrew Gold, who will be soloist on each occasion, will sing Russian operatic arias. Listeners who intend travelling in order to hear the pianist Solomon should note that since the announcement of his" performances a few weeks ago his programmes have been amended. He will now give Beethoven’s Concerto No. 5 ("The Emperor") at Wellington on April 3. and Brahms’s Concerto No. 1 in D Minor at Auckland on’ April 8.