The Week's Music...

New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 792, 24 September 1954, Page 10

The Week's Music...

by

OWEN

JENSEN

[N the past week James Robertson made his bow to New Zealand audiences with two National Orchestra concerts at Christchurch. Star item was the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Alma Trio as soloists (YC link), being performed (I think) for the first time in New Zealand. One must be grateful for the introduction to this work and for the opportunity of hearing the celebrated Alma Trio spreading themselves on such a spacious canvas. When it comes to the music itself, however, I must confess to finding it extraordinarily dull. Written in the same year as the Appassionata sonata and the Thirty-two Variations in C Minor, the Triple Concerto for Violin, ’Cello and Piano and Orchestra by no means measures up to these two piano works either in the material or its use. Apart from having worked off some of his corniest themes in the Triple Concerto-and, believe me (or perhaps you don’t), Beethoven can approach banality with his tunes at times-the composer seemed to have trouble knowing just what to do with his three soloists to keep them continually busy. How he did solve his problems made interesting if not highly exciting music. And, after all, it gave us the opportunity of hearing the Alma Trio, the National Orchestra and James Robertson all.together. A History of Music in Sound (YC link) is a much more attractive pro-

gramme than its staid title may suggest. Historically speaking, this new H.M.V. collection of recordings has great significance, In the past, students had to depend largely on hearsay in boning up on the more ancient music, whose secrets were only dimly revealed by the scores (if available). Now there can be no argument, for here is the music to answer the questions; and it is very beautifully performed, too. But, leaving out the history, here is, as well, music offering perennial énjoyment. H. C. Luscombe, introducing the music, aptly placed it in its perspective. "Music is for people," he said, and pointed out that in listening to this music of music’s earliest years, it.is well to remember that for its first audience it "satisfied the same needs as our music does for us today." Well, maybe not the same, but at least very similar needs and in that association of music and its people runs the ‘thread that takes us back to the delights of five hundred years ago, Dial twisting on Sunday in search of music, we were brought up with a round turn on 2ZB by Bertrand Russell giving his Nobel Literature Prize speech of 1950, an hour’s delight of good sense and good fun, almost especially the fun. From out all the wisdom and _ wit, one shaft went home. "Condemnation," said Bertrand Russell, *is the excitement of the old." Maybe I’d better take back some of those comments on the Triple Concerto!