PERSONALITIES of the WEEK

Radio Record, 31 July 1936, Page 10

PERSONALITIES of the WEEK

Patriot Pianist [Ty the days of the Great War the world refused to extend at first to Paderewski.the politician, the same admiration and affection it gave freely to the musician. He warned England that tussia was "a. colussus with feet of clay." .No one believed him. At a’ luncheon one day Lloyd George said to him: "Russia is a steam-roller which will flatten all resistance and roll triumphantly into Berlin." Paderewski retorted: "The ball-bearings of that steam-roller are of wood. and its chauffeurs hail from Germany." And in time Lloyd George came to profess a profound respect for the Pole’s opinion of international affairs. Ignace Paderewski, pianist, will be heard at _3YA on Sunday, August 2. Irish Sponsor RICHARD CREAN is the outstanding link between broadcast and stage variety. It has fallen to him within the seven or eight years he has been musical director at the London Palladium to act as musical sponsor to many tadio favourites making their first appearance at ‘"London’s premier music hall." And there is Bo one in the long list-Jack Payne, Elsie and Doris Waters, Christopher Stone, Ambrose, the late John Tilley, Eddie Pola, Elsie Carlisle, and Sam Browne-who has not had cause to be grateful to the quick wits, the sympathy. and the adroit support of this little Irishman with the baton. ‘The calmest artist he has ever seen is Arthur Tracy, "the street singer." 8YA listeners will hear the Palladium Orchestra on Tuesday, August 4, Edgar Broadcasts BEFORE his untimely death, Edgar Wallace, the thriller writer, broadcast a series of stories in Lone don. Dean of the Faculty of Detention, Edgar Wallace was he superlative best of best-sellers. His racy, colloquial style, wags admirably suited to broadeasting. . Mr. Wallace knew his crime; there was a ring of reality about his wildest stories. An all too rare legacy survives the © brilliant author-this is an actual recording by Edgar Wallace himself in which he tells one of his characteristic yarns. This recording will be heard from 3YA on Tuesday, August 4. Fritz Busch "THE career of Fritz Busch, conductor and pianist, may really and without exaggeration be referred to as "wr -teoric." Before he was forty he was not only the chief of one of the v ‘ld’s greatest opera houses, but also without doubt one of the most

celebrated and highest-paid corductors of the world. Music seems "hereditary" in hig family. He is the son of a well-known violin builder at piegery (Westphalia); one of -his brothers } Adolf Busch, one of the greatest of the German lolinists, and one of Yehudi Menuhin’s tutors; another, Hermann, is a quite prominent ’cellist in Vienna; a third is an esteemed pianist. Fritz Busch is conductor of the Dresden opera, a post he holds for life, from which he cannot be dismissed under

any circumstances, but he may resign if he chooses. Music under the baton of Fritz "usch will be heard from 1YA on Friday, August 7. The Musicians’ Pianist VERYBODY knows that Au.red Cortot is one of the foremost living pianists, Not everybody knows that

he was once a foremost conductor. Very early in hig career he wag assis-tant-conductor at Beyruth, and later on he conducted the first performance in Paris of "The Twilight of the Gods." Unlike some famous executants, he is a real musician; he has taught at the Conservatoire, and he has long been known for his close association with the Ecole Normale de Musique. Cortot not only has interpreted the composers through the medium of the piano and the symphony orchestra, but by his gifted pen he has given us some penetrating essays on the piano works of Debussy, Franck, Faure, Chabrier, Dukas, Ravel, d’Indy and Saint Saens. The exceptional combination of solidity and subtlety puts Cortot high among

the musicians’ pianists. He will be heard from 2YA on Monday, August 3. " Lucky Stars IN giving a horoscope of Evelyn Laye, whose birthday fell on July 10, Naylor said last year that she had "a many-sided baffling personality." Pleasingly versatile, always bright (in working hours), she finds life full of interest. She has a curious faculty of pre-vision-she will sense coming events. Better still she will be able often to turn that gift to practical] advantage. Her most

cherished ambition is probably to go round and round the world seeing everything and everybody. (This sounds good to New Zealanders!) A strong sense of dignity is hers; very sensitive-she feels things deeply. She talks freely, but conceals a marked reserve underneath. She always feels grateful for the appreciation which is undoubtedly due to her. The child of lucky stars, all will be well with and for her. The year 1944 will see her even more famous than now.