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The Wireless Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Landon Ronald

Part 1. The faun is a sort of minor god Pan, a rural half-deity, the upper part that of a man, with horns, and the lower part that of a goat, with hoofs and tail. He is resting slumberously in the heat of the day, and half dreaming. There drift through his mind thoughts of the Nymphs he has pursued with his affections : he reflects on the woods, the pools and the meadows where he has sought them, and, at last. vaingloriously and sacrilegiously, he wonders whether the time may not come when upon the slopes of Etna he may perhaps meet the great goddess Venus herself. With a start he realizes his sacrilege, and dreads punishment. This piece of Debussy exhibits at its highest development his 'impressionistic' manner. It is all very vague and indefinite and hazy, as the picture of a summer afternoon should be. It glows with sunlight and palpitates with heat. The orchestral colouring is wonderfully delicate; the thought extremely poetical.

THE Eighth Symphony, the shortest of all - Beethoven's works in that form (if we except the early First one), is full of lively good spirits. It shows how the great artist rises above unfavourable conditions. At the time he wrote it Beethoven had a lot of worry about the domestic affairs of his younger brother. His general health was not good, and, worst of all, deafness was creeping upon him. Yet he never wrote a gayer work than this. The Symphony is in four Movements. The First and Last are quite vigorous, and have delightful touches of humour. There is the usual Minuet as Third Movement, and instead of a slow Second Movement, we have one of the most delicious, care-free little pieces imaginable.

COUNTRY folk in Elizabethan days danced the hey (or 'hay'), a lively measure, having something of the style and jollity of the reel. Constable Dull, in Love's Labour Lost, says: 'I will make one in a dance, or so; or I will play the Tabor to the Worthies, and let them dance the Hey.' Shepherd's Hey is still a popular folk-dance.
Percy Grainger, in this effective Orchestral arrangement, has peppered and salted it 'to taste.'

LAFFITTE with THE WIRELESS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, conducted by Sir LANDON RONALD MANY of the modern Russian Composers have shown themselves to possess the spirit of pioneers. Rachmaninov is not one of these. His music is not very progressive ; he does little to extend the bounds of musical expression. But what he composes is well written and attractive, and hence it gives pleasure to large numbers of people. The Second Pianoforte Concerto first appeared twenty-three years ago. There are three Movements, as follows :- 1. At a moderate speed. Some opening chords for the pianist alone, beginning very softly, and gradually becoming louder, lead straight into the First Main Tune of the Movement, a broad, impassioned one given to Strings and Clarinet (the Piano meanwhile accompanies, with rapid, harp-like passages). This continues for some time. and then works up to a climax, and stops dead, the Viola and Clarinet just keeping things going for a bar or two by a softly-played phrase that leads into the Second Main Tune of the Movement, a song-like, rhapsodical passage, given out as a Piano Solo, with occasional orchestral trimmings. The chief material of the Movement has now been heard, and all that follows grows out of it. 2. Slow and sustained. Here the Stringed instruments wear their mutes throughout, so producing a silvery tone.
After a few bars of very quiet Introduction, the Piano is heard alone, and then, whilst it continues, there creep in little solo passages for Flute and for Clarinet. A few moments later the Piano takes over these bits of tune. and the Clarinet with the First Violins (plucked, instead of bowed) takes over the accompaniment formerly played by the Piano. Much in this style the Movement continues.
In one place, towards the end, a brilliant Cadenza (or showy flourish) 'offers the Pianist an opportunity. 3. Quick and playful. This opens with quiet, detached chords in the Orchestra, which gradually get louder and lead into another Cadenza by the Pianist. A few more bars of Orchestra, and then the Pianist takes over again, this time giving out, near the top of the keyboard (the Orchestra taking a rest meanwhile) the First Main Tune of the Move- ment, a florid, light-handed one. This is then repeated (in a shortened form) with a light orchestral accompaniment.
The passage works'up to an impressive climax, answered by the Piano alone, and there enters the Second Main Tune, played by the Oboe, in its lower range, with the Viola doubling it (soft Horn chords and plucked 'Cellos and Double-basses as accompaniment).
This is the musical material of the Movement, and having noted it and so attained a sub-conscious intimacy with it, the listener will readily' follow the rest of the music.

Contributors

Conducted By:
Sir Landon Ronald

2LO London

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About this data

This data is drawn from the Radio Times magazine between 1923 and 2009. It shows what was scheduled to be broadcast, meaning it was subject to change and may not be accurate. More