Cuts to school music programmes in Queensland – Simone Young comments

The dreaded ‘C’ word. Not ‘Classical’, but ‘Crossover’.  The very name implies an abandonment of values, of stepping over to the dark side, of crossing the floor. Regarded by ‘classical’ followers as lightweight, and by ‘pop’ afficionados as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, ‘Crossover’ is like a bastard child, desperately wanting to belong whilst simultaneously trying to shape…

The International Tchaikovsky competition held every four years in Moscow, is one of the most exacting and exalted music competitions. Inaugurated in 1958, past winners in its four categories of piano, violin, cello and voice have included Vladimir Ashkenazy and John Ogden( shared, 1962, piano), Gidon Kremer (1970, violin), Deborah Voigt (voice 1990). The XIVth International Tchaikovsky…