LISTENERS' TASTES

Radio Record, Volume I, Issue 25, 6 January 1928, Page 5

LISTENERS' TASTES

GOOD MUSIC DESIRED. cently contained the following interesting article on ‘‘What.Radio Listeners Want" :- Certain facts regarding popular preferences in connection with radiocast miusic as just made public by Arthur Williams, vice-president of commercial relations of the New York Edison Company, will doubtless be a surprise to some. The information referred to was obtained through a questionnaire recently distributed by the company in_ connection with the "Edison Hour,’ which is radiocast weekly from station WRNY, New York. By the method used 4800 radio listeners: cast 79,800 votes in regard to fifty composers and eighteen types of musical compositions, Lhe opinions registered are both significant and surprising. The first ten composers in order of choice are: Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Victor Elerbert, Richard Wagner, Felix Mendelssohn, [fritz Kreisler, Franz Liszt, Charles Gounod, Peter ‘chaikovsky, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The first ten compositions are: Overture to ‘"Yannhauser," Wagner; ‘Poet and. Peasant"’ Overture, von Suppe; "Marche . Militaire,’ Schubert; Lifth | Symphony, Beethoven; "Untinished Symphony," Schubert; Ballet Music from ‘‘Tfaust," Gounod; Meditation | from ‘Thais,’ Massenet; ‘Liebesfreud," Kretsler; ‘‘H.M.S, Pinafore," Sullivan; ‘Nutcracker’? Suite, Tchiai-_ kovsky. Mr. Williams sheds additional light on the voting by analysing the ballots in these words: The standard of’ musical taste of radio audiences is.very much higher ‘than. perhaps it is commonly _ rated. Vollowing close aftér Beethoven, considered by musicians the master of composers, with 8245 votes, comes ... Vranz Schubert with 2971 votes. Third is . . . Victor Herbert, whom 2935) included in their preferences. Second in popularity to Wagner’s overture to ‘"lannhauser" as a type of musical composition comes tlie ‘Poet and Peasant" overture by Franz von Suppe with the "Marche Militaire" o! Iranz Schubert third. The musical tastes of men and women are practically alike. Instrumental solos proved to be more popular than vocal solos with 2720 votes favouring the former and 1422 the latter, For orchestral music alone 2110 votes were cast. One of the significant things shown in the questionnaire, which seems to indicate that the tastes of ‘listeners everywhere are alike, is that the relative positions cf the leading composers and compositions were the sane fo: each thousand of the questionnaires tabulated. ‘The space left on the questiontlaire for remarks provoked lively coniment.. The men had more to say and were more positive in'their opinions -than the women. ‘Thirty asked for jazz and 135 denounced. it in no gentle . terms. In the few questions appended concerning the radio-casting of household matters the women indicated a. preference'for talks relating to cooking. These figures may be studied with ‘profit by the makers of radio’ musical ‘progranimes, They indicate plainly wtliat radio audiences ate in no ‘fespect | | } lhe "Christian Science Monitor" re .

-ditierent im their tastes from those that gather to hear music in symphony halls or in public parks, where band concerts are given. The people of all grades of society prefer the best music. ‘They call for it in their requests. They show their enjoyment of it in the vigour and spontaneity of their applanse. Particularly as indicating the trend of popular taste would it be well for radiocasting companies to ponder on the fact that on the Edison questionnaires, while thirty persons asked for jazz, there were nearly five times that number who warmly objected to that sort of composition. It is made perfectly plain by the votes sent in that efforts to raise rather than lower popular taste in music through radiocasting will meet with hearty response from the listening public.