At a talk about Pierre Boulez (1925-2016) at the Barbican last Sunday, one of the speakers dared suggest that the BBC is no longer the cultural beacon it was in the French composer-conductor’s lifetime. The exhalation of oufs and pffs from the audience – reminiscent of one of those short, avant-garde pieces consisting only of outbursts of breath that Boulez himself might have written – was indicative: part you’re stating the obvious, part how can you say the unsayable in a discussion being broadcast on BBC Radio 3. After some hasty throat clearing, the matter was clarified: other platforms now exist, from YouTube to Spotify to TikTok to all the rest. We are our own curators. The very next day, tacitly acknowledging its changed status, the BBC admitted it faced an unprecedented financial challenge, with an annual income drop of £1bn compared with 15 years ago. Its chair, Samir Shah, said (among other things) that the BBC still had a vital role as “the place where people come together for unforgettable shared moments”.
Later this month, the new season of Proms, the biggest coming together for classical music, will be announced. The BBC orchestras and BBC Singers, endangered for as long as anyone can remember, will play a central part. However sceptical we may be about aspects of Radio 3, or its new sibling, Classical Unwind – designed to awaken the senses and simultaneously relax you into sleep – their very presence is still remarkable. This thought pressed constantly, and urgently, at Total Immersion: Pierre Boulez, an all-day BBC Symphony Orchestra tribute to the brilliant and paradoxical maverick who, in his time as the ensemble’s chief conductor (1971-74), shook up concert life – including the Proms, with his Roundhouse series.
