GLOBE-TROTS

Radio Record, 22 July 1938, Page 22

GLOBE-TROTS

ALEXANDER KIPNIS CANNOT LINGER "THE life of a world-famous singer is not all music and applause. According to Alexander Kipnis, Russian basso now touring New Zealand under contract to the NBS, it’s "just one big rush." ~ Think what lies ahead of him. His. tour of New Zealand ends in a month. From here he sails for Los Angeles, thence travelling by the fastest train oftainable to his home in Chicago. This does not mean. he can look forward to a pleasant sojourn with his family. From indications at present he will spend only 10 hours there before he crosses the border into Canada, where at Montreal he will board the Empress of Britain, bound for England. The length of his stay in Wngland will be exactly two hours, and then he should be off again to Ostend, there to begin a concert tour of Belgium. : FOR such a man, time is important -so important that, should his boat berth behind schedule at. Los Angeles, he will be forced to fly to Montreal. If he misses the Empress of Britain, there’s an end to the Belgian tour. . . . This "split-second" travelling has made up much of the life of Alexander Kipnis in the last few years. . N arrival at Dunedin, Mr. Kipnis ‘was given a reception accorded few visiting singers. When he stepped off the train to be greeted by officials of the NBS, waiting members of. the Royal Dunedin Male Choir broke into a rousing Russian song of welcome. Mr. Kipnis was delighted. He said it recalled for him the youthful days when he himself sang in a choir "TI liked choir singing." he added, "for two reasons: because it helped me to train my ear and because it gave me enough money to pay for my singing lessons." NE peculiarity about English-speak-ing countries upon which. Mr, Kipnis remarked is the dislike of hearing songs sung in English. He admitted some songs sounded much better sung in a foreign tongue, for English was hard and musical fluency: was lacking. Nevertheless it seemed only reasonable that songs sung in English should mean more to English people, At: least the words could be understood. Mr. Kipnis believes operas would be better understood if presented in English. : , Moreover, if musical taste in this country were to be developed singing in English was essential, he thought.

Band Music BLL-LIKED band, the Auckland Artillery Band, conducted by Captain George Buckley, will be heard in a recital from the studio of 1YA on Thursday, August 4. Included in the numbers to be played are the tone poem "Winlandia," by Sibelius, and Tosselli’s "Serenata," the latter as a solo by George Clayton, the Dominion’s champion euphonium soloist. . Slaps And Claps MAKING weekly a heavier load for the postman is the "Slaps and Claps" session at 83ZB. This has caught the. public fancy. Listeners can slap as hard as they like, as long ag they are more or less reasonable about it. Some

of the mail is abusive, but when a slap ig given sportingly, the station can "take it" in the same spirit, Actually the claps are by far in the preponderance. Matmen’s History VERY listener in Christchurch who ‘follows wrestling will have his radio set tuned to 3YA on July 28 between 8 and. 9 p.m., when # recorded feature, "Scenes from the Sporting Past," will be presented. This is an actual commentary by Paul Boesch on the world championship mateh between Lofty Blomfield and Nagurski, at Vancouver in March last. Wedding T wa. Erie Gilfillan’s: wedding-day. "Uncle Tom" was about to begin the ceremony in the 1ZB big studio when Eric’s brother-technicians arrive

ed, microphones and all. A lead-in had been prepared-a bumper lead-in-and Rric’s wedding went over the air. He is national construction engineer for the NCBS. Nobody was more surprised at this than Mr. Gilfillan. Caste PROFESSOR JAGAN NATH( manager of the Indian hockey team, prefers to be interviewed on the air rather than to give straight talks. He wili give a talk, however, on the "Caste System" in India from 2YA on July 28. Purely Personal "THROUGH pressure of business, Mr. Pat Lawlor has had to discontinue his "Purely Personal" talks from 2ZB Wellington. His final talk on July 16 was his twenty-ninth from the station. one of the longest contracts work: ed by anybody not permanently employed by the commercial stations. During his series, Mr, Lawlor has in-

troduced into his talks nearly 400 wellknown New Zealand personalities. Anybody discussing personalities is natnrally treading on dangerous ground, but with Mr. Lawlor’s extensive newspaper experience to guide him, nothing but favourable comment was received from listeners. Own Compositions FORMERLY a member of the ship’s ‘ orchestra of the giant ship Empress of Britain, which visited New Zealand some months ago, Mr. Thomas Gray, violin’cellist of experience, is at present in Auckland. He has an engagement at 1YA, and will be featured on the concert programme on Saturday, July 30, playing three of his own eompositions, ‘‘A Simple Melody," "A Bedtime Story," and "Lullaby." Studio Orgatron NEW feature from station 4ZM is the presentation of items on the Everett Orgatron. This orgatron, which has all the volume and tonai qualities of a large pipe organ, has been installed in the studio, and two 15minute broadcasts are made during (the Sunday night transmissions. Performances to date have been given by Messrs. Arthur Pywell, Athol Wise and Axwell Newton. Mr. Arthur Pywell {3° well known to radio listeners for his’ periodie broadeasts on the Christie organ of the Empire Theatre from 4ZB,

Maori Recordings EW series of Maori recordings made recently by 2ZB includes traditional chants and hakas previously not available to any Europeans. The Maori library at 2ZB is now reputed to contain as fine a collection of authentic Maori recordings as are to be found in any part of the world. In The States AMERICAN policy to-day is largely dictated by what George Washington or Alexander Hamilton or Thomas Jefferson said at the end of the eighteenth century. This is one of the points made in a talk that is to be heard at 38YA. on July 25 by Mr. S. K. Ratcliffe, who recently visited New Zealand. Mr. Ratcliffe visited New Zevland annually for 25 years and was invited to lecture at the famous universities of Yale and Cornell. He speaks of American politics from firsthand knowledge that gives added significance to what he says about "Roosevelt and America" to-day. Mr. Ratcliffe is a practised broadcaster, well known to listeners in England,