Every music student knows that both oratorio and opera were developments of the early form of drama; indeed opera of a kind existed long before the Christian era and is as old as the drama itself. In England oratorio may be said to be the successor of the medieval Mystery play, and opera that of the Morality.

The question of the composer's livelihood is always with us, a source of anxiety to the composer himself, his family, and his friends. It is not the purpose of this article to attempt a solution of the whole problem; and indeed, I should be at a loss to offer a solution were I asked.

As long as I can remember, the music at Stratford has been restricted to the Edwardian musical-comedy genus—and I am afraid that Stratford was by no means unique in its musical insensitivity.

A distinguished musician, having glanced through the programme of the twentieth Festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music held in London this July, asked “Why in a festival of modern music is there so little modern music?”—thus alluding to the large proportion of works by long-established composers.

The American Ballet Theatre has held its first London season at that Mecca of every ballet-company outside Soviet Russia, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Ballet Theatre is, for the most part, a young, long-limbed and eminently adaptable company, presenting the classics with a rather touching wariness and their own creations with zest.

The “appalling popularity” of music—to quote the phrase of the moment in the Most Advanced Circles—is nowhere more obvious than at the Promenade Concerts this summer.

The days are gone when the knowing ones could walk into Queen's Hall with a ‘complimentary’ bestowed with almost desperate eagerness, or, at worst, with the certainty of being able to buy a ticket for any part of the house. Try now to buy a seat, a week after the box-office has opened—then join the army of those who will listen-in at home.

The most interesting recent event in the concert world was the performance by the National Symphony Orchestra, very well conducted by Walter Goehr, of Michael Tippett's Symphony 1945. A lengthy programme note hopefully describes this work as difficult only in texture. In truth it is very difficult altogether though the movements fortunately get progressively less so, the opening sonata movement being the least assimilable at first hearing.

The London County Council has taken the historic step of granting £10,000 to the London Philharmonic Orchestra for one year, thereby giving official recognition to one of the leading cultural institutions of the capital.

George edwardes was a great man. He was not in any sense an artist, and was curiously insensitive to music, being unable to whistle correctly any of the tunes from his numerous successes. Some of the things he did to music were atrocious, for example the amputation of the opening music from Gypsy Love and the casting of Joe Coyne for the part of Prince Danilo in The Merry Widow.