Tuning out

SIR – Like many music lovers, I record the BBC broadcasts of Young Musician of the Year so I can listen to the music without the prattle of the presenters.

Last time we were thwarted in the preliminary rounds by garrulous presenters who continued to talk during the performances. This time the BBC has gone one better. It does not televise the preliminary rounds at all and, in the finals, during the performances, plays recordings of remarks made by the competitors, so it seems as if the people responsible for spoiling the performances are the performers themselves.

Why does the BBC insult young musicians in this way? And, given that it does, why do young musicians consent to appear in the programme?

St Albans, Hertfordshire