[ Ref. Rick Alabaster in 140223 MMDigest --

I attended the [Rachmaninoff Live] event -- it was amazing, thanks
to Harold Ball and Rick Alabaster.  It made me feel that there is
hope for our hobby.

While I was in the concert hall (I arrived at about 11:30 p.m. and
left at about 1 a.m.) I was truly amazed at the size of the audience.
People came and went as they were inclined but whenever the piano was
playing (and it sounded fantastic in that huge hall) the audience was
silent and attentive and applauding heartily after each piece.  It
was a "fluid" all-night event at many venues throughout Melbourne.

Viva the Ampico and Rachmaninoff who finally performed in Melbourne!
He was booked to tour Australia in the late 1920s, I understand, but
"pulled out" -- we were just too far away and I gather that he did not
like sea travel, the only option then.

John Semmens