I heard a fantastic young harpist the other night. Her name is Catrin Finch. Yes, Catrin Finch. And, since it apparently takes at least three sightings of a name before it registers, – and you almost certainly won’t be allowed to see it anywhere else – Catrin Finch is twenty-three, attractive and has a story to tell (she is harpist by Royal Appointment to The Prince of Wales). She also has a new CD on Sony Classics. Yet Sony cannot find one TV programme interested in featuring a harpist – however brilliant they may be. That is more than disgraceful – it is pathetic. On the one hand we have a media that is forever telling us that young people are not interested in classical music while – on the other – it denies us the opportunity of hearing a fine young British talent. That is both manipulation and censorship. It is time for Britain’s TV companies to stop pretending that classical music doesn’t exist and give a chance to our brilliant young musicians. After all, what is the point of producing musical talent if it is then denied a chance to be heard?
With these thoughts in mind, I set off to the first of the Berlin Philharmonic’s recent Proms. I have to admit to experiencing a surge of national pride as a British soloist, Tasmin Little, arrived on the platform to play Ligeti’s Violin Concerto with this legendary orchestra, closely followed by their British conductor, Sir Simon Rattle. Somehow – against all odds – we still manage to produce top rank musicians. Just imagine what might happen if we had a decent music education system!
Talking of which, a ‘survey’ has revealed that seventy-five percent of the public have no idea whose distinguishing features currently adorn the flipside of our twenty pound notes. I can’t imagine the Germans having such an identity problem with Beethoven, but more Brits seem to think Lord Kitchener is the possessor of that estimable moustache than its true owner, Sir Edward Elgar. Never mind. Next month’s ELGAR-THON should put matters to right as – during the week of October 6th-12th schoolchildren up and down the country will be donning replica moustaches and performing ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ to raise money for COINS4NOTES – a joint appeal by the Elgar Foundation and Sargent Cancer Care for Children. ELGAR-THON will raise money both to preserve Elgar’s birthplace and to provide music therapy for children with cancer. Any school wanting to register can do so on line at: elgarthon@coins4notes.com
Fun and games in Somerset, where battle-lines are drawn in an unseemly row about music education. In the Red Corner we have Somerset’s County Music Adviser, Graham Bland. In the Blue, Ms Maureen Lehane Wishart of Jackdaws Educational Trust. Mr Bland is incensed by Ms Wishart’s use of the word ‘serious’ to describe classical music and Ms Wishart is riled by Mr Bland’s reference to ‘museums’ and ‘ivory towers’ in relation to same. The argy-bargy has got so bad that Ms Wishart is calling on the county’s musicians to demand Mr Bland’s resignation. Before the fisticuffs deteriorate still further, may I offer the adversaries the following tips? In future could Ms Wishart please refrain from calling classical music ‘serious’ music? Classical music encompasses the full range of human emotions and is demeaned by suggesting otherwise. And, as County Music Advisor, Mr Bland should himself be advised to steer well clear of emotive phrases like ‘musical museums’ and ‘ivory towers’ when talking about classical music. Twenty-eight new works from twenty-six living composers at this year’s Proms hardly consigns it to the museum. And the 14,000 people who crammed into Mr Bland’s backyard at Bath’s Royal Crescent to hear The Three Tenors last month (with double that number watching onscreen nearby) would be hard-pressed to fit into any ivory tower that I know. Likewise, the many millions who will be watching tonight’s Last Night of The Proms and Proms in the Park. Now, can we concentrate on the business of teaching Somerset’s children music, please?
