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New Zealand Listener, Volume 32, Issue 814, 4 March 1955, Page 5

Sir-May I add oné or two cornsiderations to the timely letters. already published on the above subject? Fritz Kreisler thinks that the golden age of music is past, and that modern music is "noisy and incoherent." This may be true, but surely the Broadcasting Service has a duty to licence-holdérs who love good music that is neither too highbrow nor too intolerably lowbrow. When broadcasting records, due consideration should be given to the time of day, for who can enjoy extremely good or extremely bad music before breakfast? We always have with us many elderly and sick subscribers who enjoy their little bedside radios. Most of these unfortunate folk are awake long before 5.0 a.m., and would enjoy music they can understand and appreciate. But the only listeners who could tolerate most of the records played at this time are firmly locked in the arms of Morpheus, and well beyond the sound of any music. ° It has been said that an index of the demand for this "Light Music’ may be taken from the Request Sessions, but this estimate is all wrong, for what lover of tuneful music could sit and listen to, say, a dozen popular records while waiting for his favourite to be played? So he just keeps out of it. And what shall we say of "The Last Six" passions (1YD)?2 Some. of these séssions aré good and very enjoyable. Others are not so good. And I often wonder what some of these enthusiasts would think when they were 40 years older if their musical fare had been limited to the records they had chosen.

G.A.

H.

(Auckland).