IN THE WAKE OF THE WEEK'S BROADCASTS

Radio Record, 4 September 1936, Page 14

IN THE WAKE OF THE

WEEK'S BROADCASTS

Golden Stairs. WEDNESDAY | morning | last week at the-2YA. studios recalled. a reproduction of the BurneJones picture. of the "Golden Stairs." The women in_ the case last week, however, were differently dressed from the maidens in the original, and were doing more .- than just draping themselves on the stairs and against the balustrades. They had collected there for the microphone radio voice test in connection with the: Wellington Competitions, and it was no mean feat for those on business bent to get all the way up the stairs without reminding some young woman that she had developed corns. Most of them were knitting or reading. Perhaps: the main reason why there was so little speech was that the idea of approaching the cold, impersonal microphone was. not conducive to jocular whittie-whattie, -or even learned disquisitions on the fashions of the other women out of earshot. Try-Out. WELLINGTON wife asked her husband why Clive Drummond’s voice was absent from the mike for a period one afternoon. He hadn't fainted or anything. had he? No, He had been ‘going through a rehearsal of the ship- to-shore . broadcast. between 2YA and the new liner Awatea for the national link-up on Tuesday of this week. And believe you me, -there’s more in a job like that than meets the eye or ear. The people who, were running through their capers at that rehearsal were the 2YA chief announcer, a toll operator at the G.P.O., a traffic something-or-other in the same building and a "dummy" operator to take the part ‘of the Awatea’s operator for rehearsal purposes. The run-through

was supervised by the chief radio inspector, the chief engineer to the N.B.S.. and the head of the plays department for the N.B.S. The man at the control panel would have a fairly dizzy time if he had been new to the job. As for this snooper, the tangled talk about relays, switches, input, CAE BAD AEE ALE AGE BEE AEE BAA LAL GAEL ALL AEE ALE AEE EAL LLL GAL BLE BAD ABE ELE OAL OLE OPAL OAL th

TTT LLANE OLA L MGI OC GE gE Int id automatics, mixers, circuits and tapping threatened him with a sick-head-ache, so he fled. New "Orpheus." S if to tell the "Radio Record" what reliable opinions it publishes, Hamilton Dickson’s String Orchestra, in its performance of Offenbach’s "Orpheus in the Underworld" overture from 2YA last Wednesday ‘honestly sounded like a combination of at least 20 instruments. The colour and tone the conductor produced from his handful of 12 players, including a pianist. were extraordinary, and the whole effect of the overture was most satisfying. The piano, by the way, was used as an integral part of the orchestra

with an unusual and pleasing resultmore so, indeed, than the average performance with a larger orchestra. Or perhaps it was the new interpretation that gave that impression. The "Knick Knacks" suite, played later in the same programme, was dainty and tuneful. This first New Zealand performance was full of accent and expression, and came over the air most effectively. Like to hear it again some time. New Zealand EW ZEALAND composers appear in the broadcast programmes as‘ such at not very frequent intervals, and sometimes they slip in without the "New Zealand" qualification being mentioned. On Monday last week 2YA had a New Zealand section in their programmechamber music and songs.. Beatrice Tombs had written the songs which were charmingly sung by Zell O’Kane (soprano), and the other music was written by Hamilton Dickson, Eric Waters and R. A. Horne. Although chamber music generally doesn’t give me emotional palpitation of. the heart. listening deliberately to this programme left the impression that the compositions offered were well up to the standard of a good proportion of the chamber music numbers heard in recordings. Erie Waters’s Trio in D Major had previously been performed from 1YA when the pianist-composer was in.Auckiand. Ava Symons and-Hamilton Dickson (violinist and ‘cellist respectively) made up the trio last week for this. and Eric Waters’s Romance in G. Minor. Dr. Malcolm Sargent has shown us that New Zealand has splendid orchestral players, and this chamber music period proved that local. composers must be handed a further share of the honours. Real Life. . WHEN a talks series is entitled "Tales _ From Real Life" the listener is led to expect something out of the ordinary. Mr, J. M. Giles has managed to infuse into his talks, the second of which was broadcast last Monday night from 2YA, the sincerity and vividness which comes (Continued. on, page 16.)

Well Done! Play from 2YA WITH the same cast except for one principal, as that which performed the play for the Wellington Thespians two years ago, "Ambrose Applejohn’s Adventure"’ was broadcast from 2YA on Wednesday night last week. The production was really splendidly done. ’ Victor S. Lloyd, who produced. the show, took the part of Applejohn, and was able to turn on one) of the best characterisations he has been: heard in over the air. The rest of the leads ‘were uni-| formingly pleasing, and there were no technical hitches, Sound effects, without being obtrusive, were satisfactorily ‘‘there.’’ Let's: hope that the New Zealand Radio Play Competition can produce something which will make such. good entertainment. TTT Pe Te

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only from a personal contact with his subject. His first talk was about India and the second about Hawaii and its neighbouring islands. The speaker chose some unusual sidelights on this spot of the Pacific to entertain his audience, although on this occasion he did not: provide the continuity which was evident in the first. This week’s talk concerns Australia, where Mr. Giles’s travels had led him into some uncommon experiences. Frank. REBLARSIN G with Dr. Malcolm Sar gent in the grand studio at 2YA last Thursday night, the Wellington Symphony Orchestra didn’t have a holiday. The concert on Sunday night in the Town Hall had been booked out by Thursday morning, and for the sake of all concerned it was necessary to have things played properly. Dr. Sargent taught them, as an orchestra, the difference between piano and pianissimo, and knocked rough edges off such things as crescendoes. "Never show me that the music is crescendo," he said. "Just let me know that the music is getting warmer. Do it from within, rather than from without." Toward the end of the Grieg Concerto he admitted that "that’s beginning to sound like music." By Sunday night the whole concerto was in wonderful trim. It’s better for a conductor to be frank than flattering. Aperitif, | A FORETASTE of the spell of BHileen Joyce’s playing was enjoyed by those who attended the rehearsal last Thursday night when she fingered her way through the Grieg Concerto in A Minor with the Wellington Symphony Orchestra. The crispness and clarity of her performance were an example to anyone who feels moved to playing this concertv, These features were surpassed, however, by the volume Miss Joyce brought out of the grand piano. When one considers the Australian pianist’s size and build, this was noth.ing short of amazing. It whetted the appetite keenly for the Sunday night performance,