Orchestral Funding under review

[Mr Pee]

From last weekend's Sunday Times Richard Brookes column, in the Culture Section:-

The House of Commons culture select committee has just recommended that the BBC and the Arts Council "identify duplication" and seek "joint working" over the different orchestras they fund. Yes, classical music is costly. The mistake, of course, was for composers such as Mozart and Wagner to have created such long pieces with lots of different instruments. Yes, I jest. And yet a certain member of that select committee did publicly opine that "Mahler should not have written works which require so many musicians". I think he was being serious.

That last remark is alas all too believable when one considers the current dumbed-down approach to culture which exists across Government. And in that climate, and given the current financial squeeze affecting the BBC- notwithstanding their ludicrously expensive and counter-productive move to Salford- one has to ask how long it will be before a BBC Orchestra- or two- gets the chop.

Certainly, if I were a BBC musician, I'd be more than a little worried at the moment.

[MrGongGong]

Cheese and Beer and Music

three areas of life where we need MORE not less so called "duplication"

Whereas what on earth is the point of being able to choose who you get your electricity bill from ?

"dumbed-down approach to culture which exists across Government"
Governments don't really have an "approach to culture" (not Capitalist ones anyway !)

Moving sections of the BBC to Salford is actually a very good idea if they really are a British Broadcasting Corporation...... its funny that when I work at the BBC you aren't "supposed" to mention the "M" word ! (a bit like saying the same word in Liverpool.......... and I KNOW that they aren't the same place !!!!!)