The Golden Age of Sauchiehall Street: April 1920 – A Violin and Pianoforte Recital, by Theodore Crozier and Herbert Carruthers, in the McLellan Hall (McLellan Galleries), on Wednesday the 7th

There is an advertisement for the recital on page ten of The Glasgow Herald, on Wednesday the 31st of March, 1920.

 

There are some very interesting comments in the review, which is on page twelve of the Herald, on Thursday the 8th of April.

 

It reads:

 

“VIOLIN AND PIANO RECITAL

 

In the McLellan Galleries, Glasgow, last night Mr Herbert Carruthers and Mr Theodore Crozier gave a recital in

which they were heard individually and jointly in their respective capacities as pianist and violinist. That the hall

was not crowded was not surprising, for the comparatively unknown musician treads no easy path to success in

Glasgow. The audience, however, was appreciative, and the perfomances of the players deserved the warm

acknowledgment that they received. The programme was cast on somewhat ambitious lines – the music of Schubert,

Chopin, Bach, Grieg, and Liszt is the medium of great artists, and the pieces given last night tested the powers of

interpretation not less than the technique of the performers. Mr Carruthers has plenty of mechanical dexterity, and

is not lacking in musicianship. He will become a better artist with longer experience of public playing. At present, if

one may use the paradox, his weakness is his strength – at any rate the use of a full concert grand piano in a hall that

was by no means full emphasised the too marked character of his tone contrasts. Still there was a fine fluency in his

playing of Chopin’s Impromptu in A Flat and in the A Flat Waltz (Op. 42). The range of his ability was further shown in

one of the Polonaises and in pieces by Liszt and Frank Bridge. The solos of Mr Crozier included a Suite by Bach – a

finished performance – and numbers by Kreisler and Wieniawski, which were also well played. Grieg’s Sonata in C

Minor and a Rondeau Brilliant of Schubert for violin and piano were enjoyable items of the recital. Mr Philip Kiddie

was accompanist.”

 

 

Further information about Herbert Carruthers (1891-1969) can be found at https://wiki.scotlandonair.com. In addition to details of his

musical career, there is his appointment as Station Director of the BBC’s Glasgow Station in 1923.

 

 

Details of Theodore Crozier’s performance with The Wireless Quartet, in 1925, and other BBC broadcasts can be found online at

https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk

 

 

 

George Fairfull-Smith, October 2022.