Letters
I agree with your correspondent John Rogers (Letters, August) that it is a fine thing to get young children started in music by giving them recorders when they enter infant school. But he perpetuates a misconception by saying: ‘if they showed any ability whatsoever they were then encouraged to take up a more demanding instrument…’. The recorder is indeed good for beginners, but it does not follow that it is somehow a lesser instrument than others. My son also began playing the recorder at an early age. He showed some ability, so he stuck with it. Now, some years on, he has passed Grade 8 and is enjoying exploring its rich and varied repertoire. Anyone who has heard virtuosos like
Piers Adams (to name but one) will know that the recorder is at least as demanding as other woodwind, and it is encouraging to see talented young artists like Charlotte Barbour-condini and Sophie Westbrooke (BBC Young Musician category winners in 2012 and 2014) taking centre stage as ambassadors for this wonderful and versatile instrument.
Andrew Hadley, London