A decent, equal and well-resourced music education for everyone in the UK would be more useful than a "world class" concert hall for London, says Charlotte Higgins.
What price Sir Simon Rattle? £100m? £200m? The conductor has long been in discussions with the London Symphony Orchestra about the terms of his taking over the music directorship of that orchestra when he leaves the Berlin Philharmonic, and when Valery Gergiev’s tenure in London ends. His condition is a new concert hall for London, or at least a strong political will supporting its creation. That political will is growing: chancellor George Osborne and London mayor Boris Johnson have agreed to fund a £1m feasibility study, under the aegis of outgoing National Theatre artistic director Nicholas Hytner, “to progress plans to give London a world-class concert hall comparable to those present in other major cities across the world”.
It is part of Osborne and Johnson’s newly announced economic plan for the city, designed to add £6.4bn to its economy by 2030... Keep reading on The Guardian
What price Sir Simon Rattle? £100m? £200m? The conductor has long been in discussions with the London Symphony Orchestra about the terms of his taking over the music directorship of that orchestra when he leaves the Berlin Philharmonic, and when Valery Gergiev’s tenure in London ends. His condition is a new concert hall for London, or at least a strong political will supporting its creation. That political will is growing: chancellor George Osborne and London mayor Boris Johnson have agreed to fund a £1m feasibility study, under the aegis of outgoing National Theatre artistic director Nicholas Hytner, “to progress plans to give London a world-class concert hall comparable to those present in other major cities across the world”.
It is part of Osborne and Johnson’s newly announced economic plan for the city, designed to add £6.4bn to its economy by 2030... Keep reading on The Guardian