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London’s loss
The brutal and reckless decision of Arts Council England to strip ENO of all its core funding from as early as April 2023 shows that ACE has scant understanding or concern for the future of professional opera in England. A move of ENO to Manchester or another major city such as Birmingham risks undermining the performance schedules and financial resilience of Opera North and Welsh National Opera. There is no evidence to support the notion of unmet demand for more live opera performances in the English regions. As with live theatre, the biggest demand for opera has always been and will remain focused on London with its huge centre of population and significant tourism industry. Another major consideration is the impact on the livelihoods of performers and the fulfilment of performances beyond next April. And what of the future development of young English singers, a role in which ENO has excelled over generations? It is grossly irresponsible to put all this at risk without a properly costed and fully researched plan for ENO’S future. That takes time. The only sensible option is for ACE quickly to reverse its decision and commission a full review of the future structure of opera in England.
John Greenway, London
Bring me my Ball
I wonder why Jason Whittaker, in his survey of the different versions of Jerusalem (December), failed to mention the most frequently played arrangement, that for organ by Sir George Thalben-ball? It’s indispensable to all organists! Jeremy Nicholas, Essex
Triangle trauma
One cannot disagree with Stephen Billington (Letters, December) that essentially music is about listening, though surely most of us have visual memories that have played a major part in our appreciation or enjoyment. I recall the first time that I realised that the higher notes in a string quartet were being played on the cello, something that my untrained ear had missed. However, one early memory stands out. The first time that I heard Mahler’s Fifth Symphony was sitting near the front with Norman Del
Mar conducting the orchestra of the Guildhall School of Music, probably in 1953 or ’54. Looking around the orchestra, my eye was caught by a young man whose face was becoming a darker and darker shade of red … until he played a note or two on the triangle and relaxed. I have often wondered if he later played with a major orchestra but also remembers what must have been his very first public performance. Frank Taylor, Northampton
State of independence
Was your Full Score Soundbite (December 2022) about the Incorporated Society of Musicians revealing its ‘wild and radical side by changing its name to the Independent Society of Musicians’ not a little subconsciously snide? The previous name sounded somewhat Victorian and proestablishment – something the ISM certainly ain’t. Christopher Morley (ISM member for 55 years), Halesowen
A child’s eye
In his review of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony (November), Misha Donat writes that ‘[soprano] Sabine Devieilhe doesn’t, perhaps, have quite that elusive quality of breathless innocence and wonder…’ but adds that ‘it’s hard to fault her singing’ and then awards the disc five stars. Surely Mahler’s setting is the emotional heart of this beautiful symphony? If the almost aching sense of joy is not forthcoming then the performance is seriously flawed, however fine the actual orchestral detailing may be. We are not listening for faultless ‘classical’ singing here but the tremulous voice of a child seeing a vision, febrile, in a state of awe.
David Ledden,
St Just-in-penwith
Young love
On reading the November issue’s cover feature on Marin Alsop, it states that she is the first woman conductor of international significance. Alsop is in the good company of Simone Young, who was the first woman to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and is now the chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. It’s such a treat to have her back home. I was fortunate enough to hear her conduct the inaugural concert this year, which included Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony, at the newly refurbished Sydney Opera House. I’ve yet to attend an event conducted by Alsop but will be keen to do so when she visits our shores again! Penny Smith,
Wangaratta, Australia
Funeral music
Do you know if the funeral music for Queen Elizabeth II is available on CD as a collection? It was all so beautiful.
Brian Topley, via email
We are not aware of any such recordings having been released yet, but will report on any that are made available.
Touchin tribute
I was sad to see Colin Touchin in the ‘Farewell to…’ column (December). I came across Colin many times over the years in his role as clarinettist and course tutor. At Benslow Music Centre music courses in Hitchin, he was well known for his amazing memory of all the relevant scores in its enormous library. No incredible combination of instruments could defeat him – ‘Ask Colin!’ was the inevitable response to a duo such as trombone and cor anglais. Fortunately, his prodigious knowledge was handed down to posterity in a well-laid out spreadsheet of library pieces and the instruments required for each. Thank you, Colin.
Craig Maxwell, Radlett
Lenny not Bowled over
Here’s a postscript to your recent letters about Leonard Bernstein’s famous 1987 Royal Albert Hall performance of Mahler Fifth Symphony with the Vienna Philharmonic. A mere two days later, I heard Lenny and the band play the same programme 5,440 miles away at the Hollywood Bowl. Imagine the disorientation: they’d spent at least 12 hours in the air, crossed eight time zones, likely had minimal sleep (if any) and minimal rehearsal (if any) to adjust to playing outside at night in the Bowl’s notoriously tricky acoustic. No matter. It was a thrilling concert. The audience of 12,000 was on its feet cheering for a good ten minutes. A year later, as a CBS News reporter, I had the good fortune to interview Bernstein at Tanglewood on the occasion of his 70th birthday, and mentioned his triumph at the Bowl a year before. He was fighting off a bad cold, but his face lit up at the mention of the concert and he said: ‘What can I tell you? I love LA!’
David Browning,
Studio City, CA, US
Flagging spirits
Anyone reading Richard Morrison’s frequent inveighings against the state of musical education in Britain, not to mention the consequences of Brexit and recent political turmoil, might easily conclude that the country is indeed in a distressful condition. Even so, I was somewhat alarmed on reading the otherwise delightful piece by Rick Jones about his peregrinations in the personage of Ralph Vaughan Williams (October issue). The photo at the top of page 43 shows Jones outside The Owl pub in Kingsfold, with the Union Flag clearly displayed upside down, in distress mode, yet defiantly nailed to the mast, it would appear.
Michael Russell,
East Amherst, NY, US