1 he biter a Reet Shar some eat fine Sika! Se amic, Seen Sadie arena Community would lose anything at Spare So tas Settlement but which do not indulge sre oe de bee Sar man vita salina, one Sam Seer, Mate Bre obit ta fit that I can well dispense with the ens, See ne anaes Sencar cee f Phas Sing cp ne fen pate eataspithte ae Saket to the citizens of this metropolis, Seat oh a Sect rh dana foul Sa a" Hitlad Ser nee, The ial tars mals Sei Preis meet te coe Seek tH wel ore shad epic ena ace Se sat stay el 2 any time in the future, the duplicn- m ion of the present' organization, however excellent it may be, woul offer no diMeulties, This Shanghai Jof 1996 is not the Shanghai of, let us sy, 1907, "and the development. of mechanical transmission of musie has progressed so far, that we ate, "America "towdey than the. good speak, no further from Swope
People who. actually live' dhere and "listen in" on the excellent musical and other programmes which are made available to them, "As far 28 Shanghai broadcasting stations are concerned, there are at east two which give excellent pro-Jerammes at certain hours of the day. fand one always has the advantage of being able to disconnect when the offerings are not to one's taste, I do not have to listen to Professor So-jand-So trump the piano nor to Miss This-and-That wail into the mictophone in some strange tongue, But T can listen to Symphonies, " Con. cortes and lighter music of ihe best, Presented by the best, Shortwave set owners have the advantage of hearitig Berlin, London, Moscow and other seats of true musical culture and it is to be pre-[sumed that their needs are satiated without the additional offerings of a $200,000 local Orchestra, Tt might be asked, but what of those who have no radios? Well, do those who are debarred from musical entertainment thereby patronize the)Munielpal Orchestra to any great extent?
The Shanghai Municipal Orchestra has outlived its purpose some years ago; to-day "it is definitely super-nous and for that very reason greater luxury than it has ever been before, This 1s no time for such luxuries, Shanghai, Mar, 1, 'A Reader's Misunderstanding To the Baitor of the "Nonrut-Cuuxa Dany News"
Sm—In your editorial on behalf of the Shanghai Municipal Council Orchestra, you state that in 1996 no provision' was made for the Orchestra and the whole question was left open to the ratepayers, then does the Council priate $200,000 to-day? Does this mean to imply that they consider this amount justinable—and 80 put it up to the ratepayers to oppose it they 0 desire?
Would it not be more appropriate similar steps to 1996 were taken? {it the same questions that were pre sented by the Rev. C. L. Boynton in 1096 white presented to-day, could they honestly rate a similar answer? most decidedly, No!
"Your reference to the Parks needs comment. The "Shanghai, Eve~ ning Post and Mercury" replies to that remark clearly.
"The fact that the Orchestra cost but 1 per cent, of the budget outlay, certainly no reason for us. Indulge In needless expenditure! Phe fact that this cultural project puts us on a par with other civilized feountries, is also of no consequence, Would other civilized—countries—who have to receive funds. from abroad (The Lord Mayor's Fund) for the support of the necdy—Indulge in similar expenditure?
'The apathy of the Shanghai rate payer is well known—the answer the attendance seen at, the 'Ratepayers' Annual Meeting. It is thigh time that our community take danite stand in this matter, and not be led by arguments of the [small minority of musie lovers—who feould receive all the music that they desire by the simple means of buying gramophone and records.
Economy.
Shanghai, Mar, 3, PS, It would be interesting 10 know how many of the members of the Orchestra have other sources of income. est paragraph, chestra for, the fmatea tials oil we chind Bee a ead Satta The Case for Retention To the Editor of the "Norru-Cuixa Dany News Sm—Your correspondents appear to" have each an axe to grind and use the Municipal Orchestra as their whetstone. Some make it re-[sponsible for the filthy condition of the streets, others use it to vent their feelings on the subject of Munteipal salaries. Incidentally, the latter overlook the fact that when the Orchestra was re-organized in June 1085 the pay.of the musicians was out down to 'a minimum and they were deprived of home leave privileges, rent allowances, and free Heal attendance for their families.
All, however, agree that the Municipal Orchestra is a luxury and that the Metropolis. of the Far East is 40 down at heol that it ean~ not afford any luxuries. There re Juxuries and luxuries. Some superfluous, others might be ce sidered necessary, and T would dare express the opinion that good music a necessary luxury, Our orches~ tra is one of the few claims to benny '2 cultured community that Shanghai possesses, The Sunday concerts re-[present a gathering of all nationali~ ties and races who meet in a spirit of cordial comradeship. The open air concerts in the parks attract all classes and conditions of people who rub shoulders in a friendly way, while the educational concerts given fat the different schools, preceded by short lectures, have done much to instil musical' culture in the minds of our boys and girls, One of your correspondents suggests the radio as a substitute for the Orchestra. He is lucky it he satisfactory, connections with Europe and America, Most of our radio. programmes come from local stations and are but a transmission of gramophone records inferspersed with "walla-walles" from Chinese stations and long-winded advertisements of somebody's cigarettes or somebody else's soap. At the best they can give us only "tinned" music, But then the said correspondent may be of those who consider tinned salmon just as. good, if not better, than the fresh variety.
Another correspondent—recommends the abolition of the Orchestra jand suggests the formation of Brass Band and a "salon orchestra"
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.