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. Jürgen Klopp wouldn’t take my Sunday league team to the Champions League and Rattle/Gražinyte-Tyla wouldn’t get a great Mahler 9 out of my local community orchestra. However, with a bit of long-overdue investment in music education, British orchestras might soon find themselves spoilt for choice again.
Patrick Massey
London SW11

The whole truth

Sir: As David Crane says, Sathnam Sanghera is anxious for the truth to be told about the British Empire (Books, 30 January). He would surely also want the whole, more recent, truth to be told. What can sometimes be overlooked is the work done by legions of people across the world whose only purpose in life, in all spheres of government, was to build institutions and improve people’s lives. This has to do on an untold scale with the scope and quality of governance. There were jobs to be done and there was much goodwill on both sides. The phrases imperialism and colonialism have no meaning in giving recognition to the achievements of these people whose legacy has also given shape to modern Britain.