Ironclad Minority Programmes And the Cultural Mission

Radio Record, 18 March 1938, Page 6

Ironclad Minority Programmes And the Cultural Mission

M. POWER, a new "Record" contributor, * touches the province of the progremme organiser in this article. There are two sides to every argument-and in this argument he states HIS side lucidly.

FEW weeks ago BE. M. Dorkin wrote on this ~ page: "The classical hours of the nationals to-day smack far too much of the music mistress men-

tality to do anything but antagonise John Citizen." The statement is one which will bear further consideration. One might put it more strongly. Whatever programme organisers may say, there has been little appreciable effort to coerce the listening public of New Zealand into an ‘appreciation of good music, other than by the force of arbitrarily selected and presented programmes. The education of an adult population is a matter which requires supreme tact and supreme wile. Thus, if I am told by the Director of the National Broadcasting Service that a greater apprecation of classical music would improve my soul, I might agree; but no force, no arbitrary presentation of a programme of classical music would make me desert my standards of judgment in selecting my radio entertainment. On the other hand, if no indication had ever been given by the radio authorities that they intended to save me and if the slow development of higher standards was determined upon, unknown to me, it is a worthwhile assumption that my tastes would develop unconsciously. I would have no feelings of apostasy in suddenly discovering that, I did like that baritone singing "‘The Erl King,’’ or that pianist playing "‘ Sonata Pathetique.’’ The enjoy-

ment would be mine; and mine the discovery that those fellows, Schubert and Beethoven, for all their fearsome names, could compose entertaining music after all. 7?

It is fairly true, ] think, that most people well: entertained do not bother to reason the sources of’. their enjoyment. In view of the peculiar psychology of the public, I suggest that the National Service’s present method of providing arbitrary programmes for a minority 1s open to criticism. A demand that an unenlightened public should forsake lifelong standards of appreciation and make sacrifices for a musical education is a Utopian demand. It cannot be answered. The classical hour in the afternoons is a "‘ classical’’ instance of the suggestion of force. So far as my experience of 2YA is concerned, I have observed that the hour generally begins with an overture--"Rienzi," and ‘"‘Barber of Seville,’ and so on. Pleasant stuff. often brilliantly played, and easy to listen to. A song or a couple of songs follow: Lehmann in lieder, or Gigli, and soon. Exceedingly pleasant. So far, so good. But-and I always suspect here, that the station staff settles down to the fourth chapter of the latest Dorothy Sayers-the rest of the programme becomes definitely "‘advanced.’’ A concerto lasting anything from 20 minutes to half an hour is played, almost without exception. If I understand musical terms correctly, I concerto is one of the highest developments of intellec-tually-composed music. Devoid almost completely at times of melody, concertos (Cont. next page.)

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are happy hunting-grounds for the trained musician-trained to recognise the artistic composition of a conversation between the soloist and orchestra, trained to understand just how the harnionic scheme igs developed. But how many of the listeners to 2YA at that strange hour of the day are trained musicians-and how many settle to an intellectual pastime at a time when it is so difficult to capture a mood? On: in five hundred is possibly a jaundice estimate. The Sunday afternoon broadcasts of the same station are another case in point. For many weeks the session has begun at 2 o’clock with a major Beethoven work-for nine weeks, each of his nine symphonies; for the last few, each of his pianoforte sonatas, I suggest that there is an implication of force in a programme of the type, an NBS mutter that, "if you don’t like it you know what to do." Most listeners do know what to do; they switch off, paying a silent tribute to an entertainiment organisation which cannot recognise the wisdom of the showman's axiom, "that you can lead a man to the box-office, but you can’t make him buy." I recognise, just as everybody recognises, that there are listeners to whom concertos at 2.80 in the afternoon and Beethoven just after Sunday lunch (bring -the greatest possible enjoyment. sf recognise that there are some whu turn automatically to 2¥A on winter nights for the. chamber music hour préliminary to the wrestling relays, But I suggest that thosé are concerts which require a greater degree of concentration and intelligence than can reasonably be expected of a population remote from recognised centres of ¢ulture. Produce such concerts, by all means; but do not forget, if cultura: improvement is really wanted, that the task of radio organisers is the cultivation of the largest audience for the longest proportion of time. To my way of thinking such ironclad ‘ininority programmes" are calculated to hinder.rather than help Professor James Shelley’s admirable whe sion.