CONDUCTOR Sir Simon Rattle has hit out at cuts by Arts Council England and their effect on the British classical music scene. Pulling no punches, the British-German conductor described the recent cuts as an “an act of cultural vandalism” which is “illiterate”, “shortsighted in the most astonishing way”, and “a real violence to the British music scene”.
Sir Simon told Australian media: “The type of cuts that are going on, countrywide, are making a mockery of the government’s claim to do levelling up.”
His words come after ACE’s slashed investment in London’s cultural organisations by around £50m last November, part of the government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda which claims to be redistributing money around the country. The English National Opera (ENO) was told its funding would be reduced from £12.8m annually to zero unless it moved out of London, in a bid to divert money away from the capital.
Addressing public backlash, ACE announced in January that National Lottery funding would help prop up the ENO. And last week it was confirmed that the ENO could continue staging performances at the London Coliseum, and was set to receive £24m over three years to soften the blow of having to move its headquarters outside of London.
Other musical organisations, including the Barbican, London Sinfonietta, and Britten Sinfonia, as well as other music charities, have all had funding cut.
Sir Simon added that he suspects some classical music-loving MPs are keeping quiet over the cuts as they are “worried that they may be tarred with being elitist or fat cats.” Talk about sabre-rattling.
