It is obvious from Daniel Barenboim’s work with his West-Eastern Divan orchestra – which is made up by an equal number of young Arab and Israeli musicians – that he believes classical music is for everyone whatever their race, religion or colour. This was certainly apparent during the first of his BBC Reith Lectures earlier this month at Cadogan Hall. By coincidence I had received an invitation the same morning to play at New York’s Lincoln Center with an orchestra whose origin is even more extraordinary than Barenboim’s – the Royal Oman Symphony. Twenty years ago the Sultan decided that his country needed a symphony orchestra. There was only one problem : nobody played an instrument. Undaunted, the Sultan sent the conductor of his military band into the hill villages with a tuning fork. Anyone who could sing in pitch was allocated an instrument and an orchestra was born. Twenty years later they are good enough to play at the Lincoln Center. So why do we keep being told that classical music is only for a Western, middle class elite?
Evidently believing that a classical musician’s life on the road is not as exciting as it should be my son helpfully slipped a copy of ‘Hip Hotels’ into my Christmas stocking. Like all those guides to ‘Pubs That Adore Children’ and ‘Places That Relish Your Rottweiler’ it is already proving an invaluable guide to ‘Places To Avoid At All Costs’. On my travels I have stayed in some wonderful hotels and some absolute ‘pits’. The worst was undoubtedly the hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria, back in the sad, dark days of communism. After a check-in procedure designed to make you believe you were really staying at the Kremlin, I was finally allowed into the supposed safety of my room.
Two things were immediately apparent: the room was bugged and the loo didn’t work. The first problem was easily solved. Unpacking my transistor radio, I tuned carefully to Radio Moscow and shoved it up against the microphone but the loo was an altogether tougher proposition which proved –regrettably – untreatable, along with the sewage.
The truth is that some hotels are right for business trips and others right for holidays. During a concert tour I need to be able to receive faxes and e-mails: on holiday those are the last things anyone needs. But the so-called ‘hip’ hotels with their ‘boutique’ bars, ‘boutique’ bedrooms and especially ‘boutique’ prices are best avoided altogether. Many times I have been booked into these places by doubtless well-meaning concert promoters only to end up with a thoroughly demeaning experience. Like the occasion in Glasgow when I attempted to switch on the bathroom light from my bedside table only to swish open the curtains instead, revealing my naked condition to the doubtless un-impressed denizens of Scotland’s proudest city! Perhaps someone could come up with a guide to ‘Deeply Boring Hotels Where You Can Find The Light Switch’?
Good to see the tabloids paying so much attention to classical music last week. Because of Mozart’s 250th, of course? Er, no. Bra Wars was the matter ‘in hand’ as a previously little-known Russian soprano,Marina Laslo, ‘burst out’ with a ‘thinly veiled’ attack on her fellow ‘Cleavage Diva’, Katherine Jenkins. An industry source said “Marina cannot understand why these girls have got to get everything out for the cameras just to sell records”. Another source at Ms Jenkins’ label retaliated “Maybe Marina covers up because she hasn’t got much to show off”. Meow! Oh yes, Mozart did get a mention with the news that Salzburg’s lingerie stores were selling a commemorative bra that plays Eine Kleine Nachtmusick. I trust it’s an uplifting performance.
