Letters: How to revive Britain’s orchestras

Good conductors

Sir: Yes, it is sad to see talents like Sir Simon Rattle and Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla leaving our shores (‘Rattled’, 30 January) and yes, the Brexit complications faced by British musicians are ludicrous. But both might be bearable if there were sufficient investment in grass-roots music here. At least then we could hope that the gap left by departing maestri would be quickly filled by homegrown talent. Unfortunately, the government continues to turn a blind eye to musical education, despite the many studies evidencing its benefits. Even before Covid-19 restrictions drove a stake through the sector, a recent report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Music Education showed that half of primary schools were failing in their curriculum obligations, while in over half of state-funded secondary schools, 11- to 14-year-olds were given no musical education at all.

Conductors, like football managers, are in large part a symptom of excellence more than a cause.