Horses for courses

I wonder how many people are in my position, wanting the BBC to be seen to represent their own special interest, quick to belabour the authorities with their righteous indignation when they feel left out. It is too easy to expect a service which is publicly owned and paid for in effect by us all to play ‘my kind of music’ with the prominence it affords other repertoires, the desired prominence reflecting our private opinion of its worth. Incidentally, I still think that since Josquin was as great a genius as Beethoven he deserves more air-time, but I’ve said this before. Perhaps there are people complaining that the symphonies of Franz Schmidt or George Lloyd or even of Karol Szymanowski are under-represented. The job of the controller of Radio Three in adjudicating between all these demands and expectations while maintaining good listening figures must at times resemble that of the cricket umpire confronted by 11 screaming fieldsmen and a partisan crowd, claiming a dismissal he is not at all sure about.