Main Performers | Lord Pender (RAH President), Mr Victor Hochhauser, Mr Malik (Russian Ambassador) - speakers |
Performance Notes | "COSSACKS' IMPRESARIO. For the Albert Hall the coming visit of the Ukrainian State Cossacks will be a special occasion. It will be acting as impresario (a joint one) for the first time for nearly 40 years. At a cocktail party last night in honour of the coming visit, Lord Pender, the president of the corporation, told me that in the early days the Albert Hall attempted to be an impresario and lost a lot of money. Its last attempt, with similar lack of success, was in 1919. The Cossacks, who have never before been to Western Europe, are therefore something of an experiment. If successful the corporation will be prepared to work jointly with other promoters who have likely turns to introduce. Last night Mr Malik, the Russian Ambassador, himself a Ukranian, commended the Cossacks for "the agility of the dancers and the lyricism and sincerity of the singers." Then he passed on to political matters and spoke at length and at tremendous speed about good neighbourliness neutralised zones and the non-aggression pact idea." (The Daily Telegraph, 28 January 1958) |