12th Sept 1967 (probably) - Audition

Undated, as usual, but postmarked the 12^th. A Tuesday.

Well, dear old mother, Things are slowly sifting along. Today was A-DAY (audition day) and Crowl duly went along. But let me start from the beginning.

John Hammond

This morning I woke up feeling just a trifle panicky about not having been able to do any practice for nearly a week, so rather than do it blind and practice on the bench-top in my room (which I tried!) I scouted round to see if I could get a studio. Well, I looked through all the likely places in the Pink pages, and finished up ringing Palings, a big music store. I knew from passing that they were a large place, but they didn’t have any now, so I was probably a few years too late! However, they suggested (at my request) ringing the Conservatorium, but they couldn’t help either. They suggested Ricordi’s, who did have one. So I screamed in and booked it. They’re on the 5^th floor on a place in Pitt St, and like the Chess Club building it’s a very old (and slightly sleazy) place. But they had a piano! So I John Hammond (who apparently played correspondence chess with Dad quite a bit). In spite of the name, he’s some sort of European (a ‘semi-millionaire’ according to Cecil) and anyway, he very kindly gave me the name of a guy who is very up in the music world, with his (Hammond’s) card. So!
walked fairly solidly (in about 150 degrees heat) and then went and had lunch with Cecil and a friend of his,

Next, (after another free lunch!) I returned to K.C., and spent the next half-hour or so getting nervously ready, (including pressing my suit pants!) Actually, at that stage I wasn’t greatly concerned about anything; the music had gone all right at the practice, so I wasn’t very worried. BUT!, I soon got to be! Anyway, I got round to the Trust (about 10 minutes’ walk) and found my way to Mr Oxenbold (who turned out to be much younger than expected) and he directed me to a studio. By this time I didn’t feel like practising, but I warmed up (ha! ha!) a bit and fiddled about till they came for me. [This may have been Moffatt Oxenbould, later the artistic director of Opera Australia.]

Three men in long, tall suits arrived – Mr Hall, Mr Bynel, and Mr King.  (The first two are producers) (the other a not very good conductor – according to Anne). They asked me to play something I was comfortable in (!) and so I whipped into the Beethoven. But I don’t think it was terribly inspired. Anyway, they stopped me before (after some effort) I’d finished it and plunked three horrible scores down in front of me – in quick succession. First Trovatore, a snaky soprano area which I started, and was asked to take faster! Well, I ploughed thru that. Then, (ho! ho!) (but I didn’t tell them till after that I knew it) Fledermaus. The Czardas, to be precise, which I also had to start again, because I played an incorrect note that I seem to recall playing for a while back in ’66! Then, ugh, ugh, the most fiendishly fast baritone aria that Mozart ever wrote, from Giovanni – Presto (multissimo) (it might as well be) – well, we didn’t get on too well (like the Trovatore, I already had a fair idea how it went) but we finished it; it’s a louse. (The baritone in NZ sang it in Italian because he couldn’t manage it in English!) Don’t suppose that would have mattered anyway. [This was toured in 1965, if I have my facts right, along with Trovatore. I ushered at His Majesty’s for at least one performance. Coincidentally, as I retype this, I’m just working my way through the score of Don Giovanni, including that notorious Presto, in preparation for Opera Otago’s production in August 2018.] 

Well, after that, they walked and left me to gather up my shattered nerves! (Sorry about all the “!”s, but life’s full of them just now!) BUT, Stephen Hall said he’d like to see me in about half an hour’s time, so I went and had some coffee, not really caring what the outcome was, but slowly gathering back my calm! One hour later I finally got hold of him again, and he was surprisingly encouraging.

He reckoned that I’d got ‘quite a lot of talent’!!!!!! So I modestly said, ‘Yes, I knew that already,’ ‘what else is new?’[I’m not even sure whether this is a joke, but I hope it is.] Anyway, after a small chat, (wherein he took down quite a few details) he asked me if I’d come back in a couple of days, when he’ll get some others to hear me – so, that seems to be reasonable. He sez it’s unlikely that I’d get any work until next year (which I’d expected) but he reckons that there’s limitless opportunities for coaches if wanted, and all in all he was quite nice, in spite of the fiasco. He reckoned, in fact, that I coped fairly well with the music, because I didn’t take one look at it and go – ‘Oooh!’ (I didn’t tell him I probably would have if they’d given me something I didn’t know.)

So, since then I’ve rung the Conservatorium, and they suggest coming along and seeing them about accompanying the teachers. IF (I said ‘if’) I can get work (I’ve still to try the Rockdale and State Opera Cos) both of which should be paying propositions!) I might stay here – you wouldn’t object too strongly would yuh! I’d miss you too, terribly, but it might have to be. If I did stay, I’d see, say the priests at St Mary’s and see (or even St C…) if they could get, or knew of, some board, or even a decent flat, I could share. (I don’t think I’d like to live alone too long!)

Sooooo! We’ll see what happens, and I’ll keep in touch! By the way, I got a letter from YOU today – sorry about the car – but it’s nice to see you still love me!

LATER Went to see Flying Dutchman tonite – percussion box practically empty – so sat there. [This was because I’d played with a number of the members of this orch in NZ, and the percussionist and I were good friends: so he gave me free access to the performances.] Very dreary production – hardly any attempt made at acting by the principals, but singing great. Orchestra very weak throughout, particularly the horns and brass. Quite effective lighting – 1 and 3 acts (on boat and wharf) done behind a gauze cloth, which gave it all a misty effect. Krug came into the box during the 3^rd act – and had a wee chat.

Love Mike

Another chess photo

Back in January 2009 I received an email from Paul McKeown, which included the photo shown below.  I'd meant to include it in the blog but for some reason it slipped my mind.  Coming back to it the other day, it turned out that the photo had been found for Paul (who was in the process of writing a biography of Robert Wade, another chess player) by Bob Meadley, who's recently been in touch with me about my father, Frank Crowl.  Frank is in the front row, second from the right.  Note that only a couple of other players are in both this photo and the one published in the last post. 

Standing left to right: official, Maxwell C Salm, Frank L Vaughan, Harry Klass, Martin Green, Daniel McGrath, Arthur C Harris, Maurice E Goldstein, Aubrey G Shoebridge, Allen L Miller, official, James Stewart (official);  Seated left to right: Charles GM Watson, Stefan Lazare, Cecil J S Purdy, Garry Koshnitsky, Lajos Steiner, Robert G Wade, Frank A Crowl, A R de Coek (official).

Update on Chess Championship Photo

Back in August 2009, I published this photo on this blog, and a few days later attempted to interpret my father's scrawl on the back of the photo in order to give some idea who these various chess players were.  (My father was Frank Crowl.) That was as far as things went until late last year when a chess player and musician from Australia called Nigel Nettheim picked up on the photo and said he would attempt to let me know who the various men were.  However, he was short of time, and passed a copy of the photo onto Bob Meadley, who is an Australian chess historian (he may be an actual historian as well; I'm not sure about this).

Bob has written to me twice since then, and has filled in some details about my father that he had to hand, and that I hadn't heard before. He's also sent me a letter with information about the men in the photo.  He's concentrated on getting the names right; the additional and almost illegible information my father put on the back of the photo is in the earlier blog post.

Here is what Bob has told me:
Here are the names from the left as I see it:
Front row: Vladimir Bagirov, Yuri Averbakh, Brian Harkin, Karlis Lidums, ?McAuliffe.
2nd row: Cecil Purdy (arms folded), Garry Koshnitsky, A. Cuntala.
3rd row: (3 at left and 2 at right) Lucius Endzelins, Karlis Ozols, Ortvin Sarapu, P. Purkalitis and Phil Viner.
4th row: (2 only) W[olfgang]. Leonhardt, John Hanks.
5th row: John Purdy, Frank Crowl, Emmanuel Basta, A[rthur]. Teters, Vas Lapin, L. Cohen.
6th row: R. Stalley, A.L. Miller, (and over on the right) W.J. Goss.

Bob writes that he is awaiting confirmation of these names, and he adds: I may have some wrong.  There are 24 people and 23 played in the tourney.  There are 3 officials - Harkin, Lidums, and McAuliffe, so 2 players are not in the photo.  One [of those] is Dr P. Kalinovsky, and the other is Peter Wren. 
My father had written about the 'pin-up boy' and the 'conveyor of Crowl from Griffith to Adelaide and back'.  Bob writes: The pin up boy would be John Purdy.  [He was Cecil Purdy's son and became a Family Court Judge.]  The player who gave your dad a lift is Phil Viner.  

Mini-reunion, and Frank Crowl

There hasn't been much happening on this blog recently, nevertheless I haven't forgotten about it!

We had a mini-family reunion in Mosgiel for Paul Stokes' 60th birthday some months after the actual event: it was to have been in September (which was still late) but the Christchurch earthquake interrupted Mary Fraher's preparations, as well as the fact that she got swine flu in that month. It finally took place in November, with a smaller number of people than originally intended. It was still a good catch-up, and invariably on these occasions bits and pieces of family history and small events from our various lives are shared.

On another tack, I received an email the other day from the Canadian, Alan McGowan, a chess player and chess historian who writes for a magazine called Chess Scotland. Alan and I had had some conversation on an earlier occasion about my father and chess, but this time he was alerting me to an online article that Edward Winter, a chess historian, had uploaded. It included the myth that Frank Crowl had been born in Melborne and brought up in Shanghai - where he learnt chess. There was a statement towards the end saying that he hadn't been born in Melborne, but Surrey, England.

I wrote to Edward and told him about the fact that my father had grown up in London, attested to by his brother, Reg. Edward came back wondering if I knew my father's birth date, (he knew the year, 1902) as it wasn't mentioned in any of the information he had. I discovered it wasn't on the family tree, which surprised me, and I thought I didn't have it.

This morning I woke up and thought: I've got my parents' marriage certificate; the birthdate will be on there. Nope, it wasn't, only the fact that my father was 40 when he married, in 1942. Searched through the various papers in the old tin box that such stuff has been kept in for as long as I can remember, and found...my father's birth certificate. Born on the 24th August, 1902, in the registration district of St Pancras, with the sub-district of Kentish Town. I have no idea why I haven't put this information on the family tree before....just one of those things!

Furthermore, on the birth certificate, it says that his name is Frank, rather than Francis, which I'd assumed.

But wait! There's more...

Sorry, found another three...

Dad on the right, and Max Green, the chess player on the left. Note on the back says, 'taken at Bot[anical] Gardens Lake, 30 Dec, '34, by Bobbie. {Another chess player.]


My mother and father on their wedding day. This appears to be the full photo of the one that is in an earlier post. It was taken by Artophot, 276 Lonsdale St, Melbourne. The woman in the background would have been the bridesmaid, most likely. If my memory serves me rightly, her name was Molly, and she and my mother wrote to each other for years.


This is also a wedding day photo. Even though Mum appears to be wearing different clothes - at first glance - she is, in fact, in the same dress and hat as in the previous photo. There's no indication what studio this was taken in.

Translation of the notes - an attempt!

I make no apologies for the following. It's a first attempt to get some sense out of the scrawl on the back of the photo in the last post. The notes began with the centre section in which my father names the various people on the front of the photo. Then he makes notes about those people (and doesn't quite seem to line up his alphabetical system) and then shifts to the top of the page when he runs out of space.

Cecil Purdy was one of his best and closest friends, someone who cared for him in spite of his errant ways and difficult behaviour. Koch is another name familiar to me; it's short for Kochnitsky. He'd won back in Sydney in 1939 and 1933. Purdy senior had won the championship four times, on previous occasions. His son, John, would win it in 1963.

It looks as though the Championships were held in Adelaide that year and Lucius Endzelins won. There's a note about him - (d).
Soviet Ch [champion], 2nd in this, lost to Koch in 1st rd [round]; Soviet Ch. 1954, won this tournament? ..beaten and with two ….?, to Koch and Vier? only; (i) Aust. Ch. ’34, ’36, ’48, ’51, Aust. ref? in …..?? as ??? can’t make it; (j) Aust. Ch. ’32, ’38. = Which explains ?? round ?? neck, Br?? ’51 at every opportunity, Love from Frank

Left to Right:

Extreme back – (a) Stalley ? NSW, Miller, SA
Next row, all heads approx. level –
(b) John Purdy NSW, Crowl NSW, (c) Bacta? NSW
Zeters ? Vic, Hanks Vic, Lafin? Q[ueensland], Genes? Vic, ?? SA;
Next, ?? – (d) Endzelins, SA, (e) Orols? Vic, Sarafin? NZ, Purkalitis SA, (g) Viner NSW;
Next, ?? – (g) Bagirov USSR, (h) Averbakl USSR, (i) Cecil Purdy NSW, Harkin (non-player), SACA Secty, and Tourney Director of Play), Kochnitsky, NSW, Lidmus? (non-player, SACA President & fruitful? financier of tourney), Gondala? SA, MacAuliffe (non-player, SACA treasurer).

Notes by Crowl - ?? ?? Pin Up Boy, Aust Ch, Perth ’54 when aged 19;
© 1960 Vic Cham ?? ?? play off not yet complete – also ?? 1958 ??, when latter’s junior? won ?? for him, Brek? ;
(d) Aust champ 1960, as highest placed resident player – first title holder from a minor state;
(e) Aust Champ 1956, ’60 on ?? and above for state title;
(f) conveyor of Crowl from Griffith to Adelaide and back – only Aust born player to beat ??
(g) 4th in 1960 (above)

I'm sure this is all very obscure stuff, but it would be interesting if someone could sort some of it out!

Update January 2013 - this list has now been updated and clarified, and corrected, thanks to Bob Meadley in Australia. 

Some Crowl relatives

Some Crowl relatives:



Grandfather Brock - my great grandfather on my grandmother's side, about whom I know very little.



My grandfather, Arthur Charles Crowl.



As you can see from the scribble at the bottom, this could be either my Uncle Reg, or my father, Frank.



This photo has my father, Frank, in it. He's up the very back on the left, with glasses and a cigarette holder (his trademark). He's beside the fellow with the big grin. This set of men were amongst the best chess players around, in their day. They were attending the Australian Chess Championships, in 1960; this was five years before his death, so he would have been around 58 at the time. The next picture shows what's on the back of the photo (in my father's virtually illegible handwriting). Unfortunately it's not as clear as I'd like, but there were definitely some Russians amongst this group. If I can get the time, I'll type out what I can make out of it in due course. One person is described as someone's Pin Up Boy