Musical "Fair Exchange" in Hawaii

Radio Record, Volume VII, Issue 46, 24 May 1935, Page 18

Musical "Fair Exchange" in Hawaii

Western Music Becomes Popular as Hawaiian Ideas Are Cribbed by the West-Greatest Community Sing — Good News for D.C. Areas--Menuhin, "Greatest Violinist of All Time,"

THROUGH passenger on the R.M.S, Aorangi, which called at Auckland last week, Mr. Fritz Hart, the composer and principal of the Couservatoritm of Music, Melbourne, who was returning to Australia from Honvlulu, gave a splendid talk from 1YA. The possessor of a fine radio voice and a cultured speaker, he described the liveliness of things musical in Hawaii, where he has spent four months in each year for the past four years, conducting his Honolulu Symphony Or. chestra of sixty-five instrumentalists. Now the "season" in Honolulu has concluded, Mr. Tart returned to again supervise his work at the Conserya‘orium.. "We give about 60 concerts sach year in Honolulu, and the orchestra is a really fine combination," he said. "Although about one-third of eur audiences are Orientals, they are

rapidly turning to Western music and enjoy the compositions of Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, Wagner, in fact all the great works which are played’ at all big concerts everywhere... The brass and woodwind players are largely drawn from the American army and navy bands stationed at Honolulu. Ten different nationalities are represented in the orchestra, I have a Chinese clarinet player of tare quality and a wonderful Japanese drummer." According to’ Mr. Hart, (fonolulu is a delightful spot, a place which he described so graphically that it made one yearn to go immediately and book g passage-that is if one had the money to do so. ALTHOUGH warned fully a week ahead that tickets for the first of two Friendly Road community sings to be-held during the school holidays in

the Town Hall would have to be purchased early, hundreds were unable to enter the Town Hall last Friday afterhoon. The sing was in charge of "Uncle Tom" and "Aunt Daisy," and 800 of the Knights and Ladies of the Sponge took part in the singing, The night before every seat had been booked, and on Friday last so many hundreds turned up that officers of the city traffic department had to be summoned to control the crowds that surged and pushed at the doors, "Uncle Scrim" was farewelled during the sing, which was easily the most successful Yet held in Auckland, The next comnunity, sing was fixed for May 24, . At last a radio set for D.C, areas in Auckland has been evolved which (loes not have the distressing lew frequency whine that has ruined radio reception as far as many Auckland D.C. areas are concerned. The apparatus used is fairly inexpensive, and can be teadily attached to any D.C. set, and in a number of instances sets So fitted have been installed by a local firm with: complete success, Slowly but. surely, it is being demonstrated that there’ i: no source of interference that cannot be eliminated, provided that those concerned are prepared to bear the expense involved. A GLOBE-TROTTER,. Miss Loecbia * Dobson, who toured New Zealand some years ago with the Chautaqua entertainers,:is at present visiting Auckland, prior to returning to Australia. Last Saturday Miss Dobson, who is an accomplished pianist, gave a lecture-re-cital on the works of Schubert from 1YA. . "THE reports you have heard about Yehudi Menuhin are not in any way exaggerated," said Mr. Fritz Hart, in a talk from 1YA last week. "T heard him recently in Honolulu before he left for Australia and New Zealand. It is impossible to overrate his playing, which is like that of a god. YVPossibly he is the greatest violinist the world has ever known." N English pianist, Mr. Henry Penn, who will be remembered by many concertgoers as the accompanist with several big artists who Visited Australia and New Zealand during the last few years, has been engaged to tour the YA stations. He makes his first appearance at. 1YA next Sunday at 8.40 p.-m., when he will play Chopin’s "Ballad No. 1," Liszt’s "Rhapsody No. 13," and "Toceato," by Debussy. "THE British Post Office is making a * big drive against radio interference and has recently increased its staff of radio inspectors engaged on this work: to over 200, It is a pity that similar action could not be taken as far as Auckland is.concerned. From all reports interference is worse here than in any other area in New Zealand, a