Sir Simon accused the BBC and Arts Council England (ACE) of “working a pincer motion towards our artwork kind”, with the BBC cuts following the announcement that ACE would ship English National Opera outside London and minimize the touring grants of Welsh National Opera and Glyndebourne.
“We have to remind those that a complete artwork kind is threatened. It is a determined second, and it’s not time to be diplomatic,” he mentioned.
Sir Simon additionally claimed that the BBC has thought of “critically shortening” the Proms season, and requested: “Will this be the following huge battle we have now to combat?”
There may be little likelihood of presidency ministers standing up for classical music, he added.
“That’s what has modified a lot,” Sir Simon mentioned. “Somebody like Denis Healey could have appeared and acted like a tricky previous bruiser, however he was some of the broadly cultured individuals I’ve ever met. Even Margaret Thatcher got here to Glyndebourne, once we did Porgy and Bess.
“These days, if a politician attended an orchestral live performance or opera, it could be in secret. They’d be afraid of being seen. It appears that evidently increasingly more persons are beginning to imagine the argument that classical music is just for the elite.”
The BBC was approached for remark.
