PERSONALiTiES of the week

Radio Record, Volume VIII, Issue 45, 17 May 1935, Page 10

PERSONALiTiES

of the week

FOUR "VIRTUOSI’ TNE ambitious title, "Virtuoso Quit tet,’ was given to q string quartet by four brilliant players, with every justification for its use. These four wusicians are Marjorie Hayward, Edwin Wirgo, Raymond Jeremy and Cedvie Sharpe. The first and the lJastnamed are well-known to radio listeners by their records. Marjorie Hayward is an English violinist now in her 50th year, who has a very powerful style and is a former pupil of Emile SNauret and Otakar Seveik. Miss Hayard enjoyed, therefore, tuition in both the French and the Czech schools. Older readers will recall the tour years ugo of Marie Hall, who was also i pupil of Sevcik. Cedric Sharpe, the English ‘cellist, who has a fine tone and good style, is known also through the Gedric Sharpe Sextet. He is + und is a pupil of W. T. Squire. ‘ "THE WINTER GARDEN" ‘PHERE hag recently been collected into book form by the widow of the author, four dramatic pieces by John Galsworthy. The first, "The Win-

ter Garden," is a one-act play written about 1908. It was never published during Galsworthy’s lifetime-in fact, he sub-titled it "A Symphonic Squib" and laid it aside in a drawer. ‘he second of the four pieces is a complete scene from that excellent play, "Tscape." It was written in 1926 but it was ¢ciscarded from the finished play

as "not advancing the action sufficiently to justify its inclusion." In Mrs. Galsworthy’s opinion this action was regrettable, as the act showed a decidedly new angle in Matt Dennant’s attitude {o his misfortunes, and if is certainly eutertaining, The third, "The Golden Begs" was written in the Christmas midsummer sun of Cape Colony, and ihe fourth-just a fragment-was wrilten after the completion of Galsworthy’s last novel, "Over the: River." The volume was published by Duckworth. A NATIONAL FIGURE ROADCASTING is such a powerful factor in daily life that it can make 2 man into a_ national figure. Wenry Hall is a national figure in Great Britain; his name is synonymous with dance. band music; he has an audieuce. seven times every week, that every front bench politician might envy, Tall. slim, dark in appearance, he has quiet thoughtful eyes which flame, on occasion, with an eloquent smile, Henry Tall hag never become infected with the virus of West-Hndism; he does not spend his spare evenings in nightclubs, nor, being «a teetotaller, is he of the bar-leaning, cocktail-gulping type of lounge lizard. Sophisticated by years of professional work in cinemas, on the stage and hotel-band-ing, he is at the same time versatile in outlook. Sueh an outlook is essential {0 4 man who plays to small groups of four or five people. gathered rounil six million: firesides. oe

"THE MORNING OPUS" MoSssE MENUBIN, father of Yelindi and Hephzibah Menuhin, divulged some rather interesting domestg" details six years ago, when the famos violinist wags a mere boy of eleven. Mr. Menuhin said the best gramophone recordings of symphonies, sonatas, etc.. were played for the children at breakfast and supper time. The biggest punishment he could invent for ‘his children was to say to them:-"This "morning we shall have breakfast without Béethoven’s ‘Ninth. Symphony. which we intended to have to-day." The noon meal was kept for family round table talk; usually sweet little Hephzibah would monopolise it with her. never-ending, always new and delightful French stories, which she read at her leisure and recited with great delight and, original flavour daily. CHILD OF THE "GRAM.’} OLGA HALBY may be said to Me the child of the gramophone. At five years of age, Mr. Ricketts, of the Gramophone Co., Ltd., heard her sing and was so struck with her voice that he said: "When she is old enough. let her make her record debut with us." For every year after that period until she was ready to do this, Mr. Ricketts heard her, with the result that she ultimately got her contract and recorded for them.. Although she has made for other companies since then, Olga Haley owes much to Mr. Ricketts. She furnishes a brilliant example of what home training can do, for she. was taught entirely within the walls of her own home-by her mother for piano. by her- father for voice. Here is an allBritish product of which we should be proud. ERNEST IN EARNEST RITING in "Music in New Zealar j" on the subject of "The Fetish Wt Memorising" (with special reference to musicians), Mr. Hrnest Jenner says: "There are other essentials far more valuable if one is to be a real musician than either faultless memory or faultless technique. The over-cultivation of these two things often means the neglect of great interpretative power, and this is the thing that matters most. It is the music that matters, the meaning of that music, and the handing of that ’ meaning .oyer to the audience that should be the concert artist’s chief concern. If the artist is at his greatest ease when playing from memoty,! by all means let him; but there is a type who has so-much to express, who not play from mere habit, but ‘sho receives new and better interpretations under concert conditions; and this type of interpreter, because of these new creative impulses, needs the printed copy because he is no longer playing from, memory. Were it: mere memory

he would be relying on the past, and lis performance would no: be the Wiving thing that it is. LITTLE JACK HYLTON BeErory the birth of the cinema and the countless other outside shows which have made mere domestic cutertainments seem less inviting, the pro-perly-managed English public-house was often the social centre of the immediate neighbourhood. George Hylton. father of Jack Hylton, kept such a "house," and made it . favoured spot for all the likeable cronies for miles around. There, in the atmosphere of tinkling tankards, sawdusted boards and healthy recreation, little Jack Hylton made his first modest appearances as pianist, singer and clog «dancer. \ | i

COMPOSER-PIANIST HLENRY ERNEST GEEHL, Ruglish composer, pianist and conductor is 58, and one of those Inusiciaus of solid merit-the salt of our national artistic ‘life. He has devoted a large share of his best work to the educational side of music, Teachers of pianoforte and singing owe him much for the way in which he has enriched their libraries with music which is at once thoroughly sound and well laid out for its purpose, and so melodious as to attract the young aspirant. Listeners have heard some of his best-known songs. but his more important works deserve to be better known.

FRITZ HELPS HUGC F the many compositions of Fritz Kreisler, we have heard iuch lately, especially the devices he adopte.! when a young man to extend his reper toire for concert programmes by com posing pieces and putting old masters’ names to them. In the throes of this youthful creative fever he turned oui piece after piece which had a market yalue with a certain Leipzig publisher. to the tune of £5 each. When the late Hugo Kreisler, the ’cellist brother, wen! from Vienna to Leipzig to study under the famous Klengel, money was pretty scarce. Fritz gave young Hugo a folio of six unpublished pieces, which he sold one at.a time, and by dint of very careful managing, he contrived to live on the £5 each month for six months,