From Birmingham
THE BIRMINGHAM STUDIO ORCHESTRA conducted by JOSEPH LEWIS
THE Fantasia, an orchestral version of one of the Hungarian Rhapsodies, consists cf two main parts-one slow, in the style of the' gipsies' Lassan tunes ; - and the other, lively, containing a number of short sections, corresponding to the melodies described in their speech as Friszka.
PREFATORY note to the score of this
A work gives Tchaikovsky's reason for putting it together. ' A large number of the most beautiful of Mozart's smaller works,' he says, ' are. for some reason. little known, not only to the public, but to musicians. The composer's object in arranging- this Suite was to bring more frequently before the public works which, however modest in form, are gems of musical literature.'
All the Movements except the Third were jriginally Piano pieces. The Third piece is an . arrangement of the little choral piece, Ave Verum
Corpus (' Hail Pure Body'). The titles of tho four pieces are (1) Gigue ; (2) Minuet; (3) Prayer ; (4) Air with Variations.

MELUSINA, the wife of a Knight, was turned into a mermaid every Saturday. Finally she was compelled,by a spell, to wander for ever through space. The idea cf writing :i Overture on this subject came to MenJ dclssohn after he had seen an Opera based en that legend, the Overture to which displeased him. He writes to his sister that' it was encored, and I disliked it exceedingly .... ; but not Mile. Hahnel, who was very fascinating, especially where she appeared as a mermaid combing her hair ; this inspired me with the wish to write an Overture which the people might not encore, but which would cause them more solid pleasure ...' The music, we may take it, suggests first the sea, next (in its minor-key tune) the ,Knight, and then the lovely woman. Its leading ideas are clearly those of the love of the two, and their grief at the sad fate which in the end separates them.
"BEETHOVEN rarely gave titles, to his iristrumental works, apart from Overtures. One or two of his Sonatas for Piano, however, were named by himself, and this is one of them. The ' pathos ' is not deep, though the Sonata is full of genuine feeling.
Through this early work there speaks the cmo' tion of restless youth rather than that of one who has known much sadness.

JOSEPH FARRINGTON (Bass)
Relayed from the Grand Hotel, Eastbourne

From Birmingham