MUSIC IN OUR NATIONAL LIFE

Radio Record, Volume I, Issue 10, 23 September 1927, Page 4

MUSIC IN OUR NATIONAL LIFE

THE PART TO BE PLAYED BY .BROADCASTING

4 Mr. W. J. Bellingham, the newly appointed Director of Music to the Broadcasting Company with responsibilities covering the four stations, arrived ‘in Wellington last week in connection with the policy of development and organisation. One of Mr. Bellingham’s initial acts in Christchurch was the formation of a high-class permanent instrumental trio which will regularly be heard from 3YA. Much the same pol-

icy will be offered by Mr. Bellingham in Wellington, Auckland and Dunedin as opportunity permits, Mr. Bellingham brings to his task of development a sound taste and business experience in his field and listeners may expect a steady advancement as his policy bears fruit. As to the importance of radio in influencing the musical life of | the people Mr, Bellingham is fully seized. "J can conceive of no_ greater medium,’ he said in conversation, ‘‘for tlie intellectual and artistic uplift of the nation than broadcasting. . It is in the universality of its appeal, in the fact that whasoever is broadcast © reaches the most cosmopolitan audience in the world that wireless is blessed, or burdened, with its outstanding power to influence. the lives and character of the people. Radio is destined to become one of the most potent influences affecting the de- | velopment of the human race.

"Music," continued Mr. Bellingham, "is the one language that is common to all nationalities. Education authoritics throughout the world have long recognised its power to develop and to refine character. Our own Government has taken an important step in this direction in the appointment of a director of music to supervise and control the study of music in the primary schools. Radio presents the best ‘means for the continuation of this study in after life, firstlv, because it wili be the cheanest possible form of musical

entertainment, providing miusie for the great mass of the people virtually free of cost; and secondly, because it will make possible the employment of per--mafient professional musicians. The Value of a Permanent Market. "It is from this angle that, as director of music of the Radio Broadcasting Company, I propose to tackle the difficult question of programmes. Not everyone realises the great service that .some of our leading picture orchestras have been to music. Owing to the fact that the pictures*have enabled orchestral musicians to be permanently engaged, large numbers of musicians have reached a standard of efficiency in| erformance which was undreamt of a ew years back. Whereas in the past our orchestral societies would require months of hard practice to prépare an hour’s programme of music, the present picture theatre orchestras are able to read the same music satisfactorily at sight and present a weekly change of

music, the programine lasting from two to three hours, ‘This means that the public hear an infinitely greater amount of mitsic to-day than was ever heard in the past and, in addition, at a lesser tost, "The work of the Broadcasting Com-~ pany is, however, a much more serions task than that of the picture orchestra. Some 1080 different programmes have to be provided and annually in New Zealand by it.

A Wide Appeal to Enthusiasts. "Tt is our aim to entertain and educate. That is to say, while we will not lose sight of the entertainment factor, we will endeavour to. eliminate that which is harmful. In order to obtain the best possible results, the Broadcasting Company authorities need the ase sistance of every sincere musician, Our municipal authorities, local mimsical societies, and leading musicians should join in assisting towards the attainment of a high standard of music. It must be recognised that the Broadcasting Company is not purely a commercial enterprise and that service in its widest sense is the real aim of the company, Such a service, properly directed, must result in the greater degree of musical appreciation among the mass of the people, and will encourage rather than hinder the individual study of music, This will be a direct benefit to the teaching profession and musical societies, and will prave a potent factor (in the developmicnt of national char acter."?

Cultivate Professional Talent, "A task of this magnitude could hardly have been imagined by the entertainers of the past. It follows that in order to get efficiency it will become necessary to develop a number of high ly trained professionals, as has been done in the case of picture orchestras, who will be able to read at sight and intelligently and artistically interpret the whole range of music from classical to modern times. This is the polic which will be followed by the Broadcasting Company. _ 0 "As radio must inevitably become most direct, popular and. efficient means of developing the public. appreciation of good music, it is manifestly .essential that the utmost care shall be exercised in supervising the. class of music selected for broadcasting. While all good music must have a refining and elevating influence, it cah‘not be overlooked that certain music ‘is apt to have the reverse effect. As ati example of the harm that may be done to the community by music, I would point to the hold which ja7z has had om the American people. I do not mean to say that all music commonly called jazz is bad, and I do think that in the course of years a style may possibly develop from the present Americar jazz which may be a distinct contribrtion to musical progress. At the pre» sent time, however, jazz music has ex~ cluded the better forms from the knowledge of the great mass of the | people, and this is distinctly harmful,