Comments on: BBC Treats Classical Musicians Like Commoners, Columnist Aghast

By: BakerStreetSaxSolo

BakerStreetSaxSolo — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:15:20 +0000

@RaptorAvatar: but this is the BBC, which is funded by a state-enforced public tax (we Brits can go to jail for not paying £110 a year for BBC programmes like this). People only put up with this because guaranteed funds mean the BBC doesn't have to chase advertising fees by showing lowest-common-denominator shows. The BBC News, for example, is far more credible than the sensationalist ITV News (which relies on advertising).

but yeah, she's a joyless snob, etc etc etc

By: Reidicus

Reidicus — Tue, 13 May 2008 01:35:53 +0000

This makes me even more proud that I occasionally donate my work to our local efforts to separate chamber music from its overserious straitjacket: http://www.fringeatlanta.org

By: Lax Danja House

Lax Danja House — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:36:07 +0000

Pretending it was all tremendous fun

I hate these kids that are just in it for the hard work and lengthy periods of concentration.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:51:38 +0000

Ok, Tomes is definitely “soppy-stern” and stickupherass but is she wrong about this? Is it wrong to say that classical music shouldn’t be dragged through the mud in such a context?

By: revmatty

revmatty — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:07:58 +0000

She is a tedious and takes herself and likely everything else in life far too seriously. That is all.

By: Clevertrousers

Clevertrousers — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:08:30 +0000

Wow. Susan Tomes is hillarious - she's like a cartoon of the prissy, stuck-up classical snob. Check out some her other blog posts, where she rails against standing ovations and, beleive it or not, FUN:

[blogs.guardian.co.uk]

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 12 May 2008 07:44:10 +0000

"Delivering classical music as lowest-common-denominator entertainment is never going to bring in new audiences."

Il Divo, Vanessa Mae, or Sarah Brightman might possibly disagree.

Also, until the time I was 16, I was a dedicated student of classical piano, and I finished my full course at a prestigious conservatory. I love me my punk, hip-hop, and electro as much as the next person, and also happen to think classical music is extremely joyous and rich and it's really disappointing to see that someone jealous and possessive would try to ruin this beautiful music by treating it in the same stereotypical way that precisely causes people to lose interest... unless they're willing to put up with the endless drivel and pretense that folks like this writer insist on drenching the classical music world in.

By: RaptorAvatar

RaptorAvatar — Mon, 12 May 2008 07:20:05 +0000

Fuck this noise and the powdered wig it rode in wearing!

In slighlty more seriousness, I still don't understand why the writer wants to make it sound like it HAS to be joyless. Also, big surprise, a TV show is acting like a TV show. It's almost inherently lowest common denominator. I don't know what he even expected in the first place.