“Whenfirst They Listened. Ok
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Bditiong Baitio Times, November 25, 1927, Gouthern PROGRAMMES YOU WILL WANT TO HEAR(Nev, 27—Dee, hee Xi 3 ae LowyDon onal : sai<rEEa," PNiene ‘Z Journa! of the ‘British Broadcasting Corporation, — Vol. Te“No. 217. os“ieri relateredotat LEth NOVEMBER{2,1927, Every Friday.Two Pence. ——— et “WhenFirst They Listened. ok Norman Edwards tells how various Famous People first reacted to Broadcasting. 35 GOON after a gular broatleasting ser- want to listen to the things | don't want S yace Wasetarted from the old 2L0. to hear, although admittedly I can refraim | mack up oy mind that. it would | from listening when the programmes don't b | inda work if logave various | appe ul to me, Still, t have often thought Well-known people an opportunity of 1/15 that. the idea of listenme to a Beethoven being In these carly days,. long before Sonata while in. my bath micht be very the ficence firures had ‘re: he a. quarter entertainime [* eta miltin,-- breac ASting Was very much Mr. Hamboure. was optinnsti shout broad = Ol fi. WiVstery. ler Tay petite, ind T remernber casting helping music. “Anything,” he said, one “EVER ohne Pha Been anvited ta ‘that brings “music to a mass of people is cine with Mr, Mark Hambourg, [took w Wh broned- eno; for when alls said and dene me what was, in those days, rather a noveity casting 5 40° reproduction ane, sooner or portable set. GEORGE BERNARD SHAW later; it will make people interested enough - = ne Vhat’s all this?” queried. my Te P= E smd "Liea] them heat theif on langFL pee poker to hear the real thine, le would b e lumped the portable on one of his by Str Jobraton Forbes Robertson, Chi another oceasiow I colic on -sir Henry a Etactlinge move ley to-wit ok them!” Lo chars, i Ji Wood and Bayt fun his 5 first opportunity ‘] after ted. a Nysieris air, and s§ elled of listening to braadeast Programme. time excerpts--fram. ay Opera at Covent bie bray Conta vd some. rather valuable And, by the WwAy, in those days Ht was no Gaatden amd, considerme that an those earhy cictn't avant to ‘Jet ont ot easy matter carting portable set. about, papers which J dais of ctbropdcashing lowed apauikers had my sight: Mr, Hanibourg. looked -at me hardly been developed, the result was, and 1 think T must have spent something like rather Sc prically, and. IT. -beheve ho began a sitall fortune im taxi dares! Dull emitter en the whole, cate prcvencl to.woneer. wi ther: muight nok be-an azit= walves were wok more, than im-their infancy, “What's: the idea?’ asked omy host; ehist clisteipal Anyway, we Sat doWil and the portable set [ hacl—really the list “a new gramophone 3 ' foi cine, and -hati-way through the meéal I word in portable séts at the time—used "Wo," T° sawd= a portable wireless 6ct enrreptitiously switched on ihe set, six bright emitter valves, two very heavy for hearing the ‘broadcasting programmes. Ti old BBC. wis broadcagting at the Mr, Hambourg-said something in Russian, alin which I took to be expressive of cmpliatic surprise ; but for whe ‘rest of ‘the evening ama hie could not keep away from the set. | Later on he began to talk abeatt-the fiture i of ayvitcless. It certainty appe:ated to his imagination, He said he liad ‘often danced to the programmes, ancd-thought -them -ex- céptionally: varted, “Ate they “programmes you would choose 7° 1 asked dhim, ‘Well’ he said, ‘I am what vou might call a Specialist, and the things T should MARK HAMBOURG, SYBIL ‘THORNDIKE want to-hear would not make a programme the celebrated pianist, who foresaw the happy day ada w teak i ape<nelred vehicle Broadcasting for abig tacdio faudience. Perlvaps that's oemake for inpresseng woon listeners the need wher he wou lel bet absle tes bre tiv hike bath istening io fer a National Theatre. why Lf haven't got a ‘wireless set. 1. don't nh Béeethoved Sonata. — RADIO TIMES — [Novewumr 25, 1927. ee ee ee| —_ = -_= ae — ae eel ~ When First They Listened. (Continwed frank preriowa jie.) AAT. baiteries and a substantial accumu- and, im «due course, | fitted him: up with ] NEVER had an opportunity of demon- fator. Po usually ‘moved at my destination a set in his Hampstead home. _At the bine stratinga wireless set to Mr. Bernard Shaw, ma state of senii-liquefaction and” ex he was extremely busy, bit one evening but I once asked hina whether he thought hanstion, bat T must Say that my hiasts | when Ftiad. yust: got the set wired LED), he broadexsting could be advantageously utilized an these occastons were—er—very hae brought some of his work ont of his: stody | for-educational purposes, and he replicd — pitable, inte the drawme-toom, where the ST was ' | suggest getting Sir Johnston Forbes- L have met few men who showed greater htted and, with ins: daughter and son, Robertson to speak good E nebsh to listeners Keenness about wireless than Sir Henry prepared to listen tor the first-time: He was every day for half an hour, to give them Wood, He is a man with a vivid imagination, busy writing all the tine, -D never knew some motion of ther own languape—that and anything novel always appeals to him. would be a startling novelty to most of He listened with a calm and critical air, them.” Which 1 think is characteristic and was obviously anxious to be fair when of Gs. B.S. ne gave Ins verdict, Even in-those early Mr. Norman Edswards, sathior of the accompanying Miss Sybil Thotndike ako answered the article, ts the well-known Edite+ of our contemporaries, days he foresaw the great effect the innova- Popular Wireless and Modern Mireleas, His mterest question m a very charactenstic way. She tron of -broadeasting would have on the in both the programmes and reception dates from the said? "Tt would be an excellent thing if musical education of the public. But his en- early days of broadcasting, His enthuaaam may he it were to be. well rubbed in by wireless the thusiasm was finely temipere d by discretion ; fidged trom the expernences which he describes here. fact that we want a ‘National Theatre. if he appreciated the fact. that members of that can be repre ated, say, fifty times during families where music had been enjoyed with each programme it might be of great public a child practising on a4 piano would, with man with<snch powers of concentration, benefit |’ the aid of broadeasting, learn to appreciate Of all ‘the: people IT have introduced: to the Great Masters. ior,’ although “an organ recital was ae the room with mwsic ve the loud speaker, the pleasures of broadeasting, I thmk | ~Thstened to his enthusiastic and curiously and although he was writing hard at the was instrumental ‘in giving the igeest business-like suggestions with interest. tes time, he kept up a running commicntary surprise of all to Dame Ellen Terry, because, contained no intolerant ideas about déstroy although she is rather ‘deaf these days, ing jazz, but were calm and calculated pro- of eriticisths, giving a musical ear. to what was being broadcast’ and yet concentrating when she puts on a pair of wireless posals as to how good music should be in- on his work at the same time, That is the telephones, by one of these happy chances troduced into broadeastiig ‘programmes with of fortune ‘shé can hear quite clearly, I discretion and’ how these programmes must; sort of teat I wish I could emulate. To do two things at once is not possible for the man shall never forget how She sat Bierni ef necessity, be organized in such 2 way as with ordinary-talents, bet Mr. MacDonald a certainly did-at that-evening. And his criticisms were extremely pene- trating. Mr. MacDonald has averyfine mu<ical ear, and, although space will not permit me to give a full account of what he said, I can assure my readers that there are few men wha could have intuttively diagnosed some of the technical troubles which the F.B.C., I believe, at that ‘time were attempting to solve, | have no doubt Captain Eckersley will remember that a considerable amount of trouble was taken by the B.B.C. in finding J. RAMSAY MACDONALD, the right positions for various members of ELLEN TERRY omwhe latened while he went on with his writing— the dérchestra, when ° playing In a. studio, could not believe at first that the music came gave oo odetoled eriticiem of the que he and when a band selection was given Mr, threwgh’. the headphonesnet. “She ig pew one ot ft had heard, MacDonald spotted at once that certain tmost ‘constant of fateners. instruments were playing in positions wn- io appeal to large and suiar -public suitable to the micrephone and studio broadcast programme, and how excited she ec eS cConcitians. was that she could hear it so clearly. “it must not-be overdone, you know,’ All that, of course, has been altered since ; Dame Ellen has a set of her own these days, hesaid. “You cannot foree Bach and Bee- but in those days, when experiments were and [am sure she must be one of the most thoven down people's throats, Give it them constantly being made, it was very im- consistent listeners in the country, | It was in small doses, and, perlraps, after a little teresting to come across a man.