Arts and Minds - Journals of an Arts Addict 2007-13
Episode 3 October to December 2007
John Tusa
SUBSTACK EPISODE 3 OCTOBER TO DECEMBER 2007
How do you talk about art, write about art? A long, narrow fissure runs the length of Tate Modern. Glorious “Walkure” at Covent Garden. Defining European culture. Why pragmatists not ideologues manage the BBC best. France’s historic views of Scotland. BBC World Service in an era of ‘news abundance’. Barry Humphreys on how to take a curtain call; Donald Sinden and stage diction. Jonathan Miller on interpreting the past.
October 26. Doris Salcedo’s “Shibboleth” at Tate Turbine, vulgarly called “Doris’s Crack”. It is very beautiful, the text surrounding it mostly rubbish. Kids at half term love it, straddling it, almost doing hop, skip and jump along it, a place to play. And the “crack” does open up the Tate’s foundations, symbolically. Alright, it “subverts” them!! The word should be banned.
There is something specially indulgent about an opera matinee. You are not exhausted when you arrive, you are not desperate for bed when you leave. You are fresh and so are the performers.
28 October. Sunday Matinee of Wagner’s “Die Walkure” with Placido Domingo, John Tomlinson, Lisa Gasteen, Anne-Marie Westbroek. “Nunc Dimittis”; not history in the making, history made. You will not gather such a cast again. Act One left us in shreds, only champagne at 4.15 got us together for Act Two. Elaine Padmore, Covent Garden’s director of opera, says “Where do I find the cast for the next run in 2012?” Quite right but Gasteen and Westbroek will still be there. Elaine said one of the reasons the performance was so shattering was that it was the last one and was well bedded in, with everyone really going for broke. At the end the house rises and cheers the cast to the rafters.
What does it mean to “be European?” Who better to play “Euro-identity” games with than Christopher Tugendhat, old Cambridge friend, “Financial Times” journalist, former EU Commissioner.
Saturday, November 3. Dinner at Tugendhats. Discuss with Christopher what the cultural definition of Europe is or ought to be. I say “Greco/Roman/Judaeo/Christian”. He prefers: “Greco/Roman plus the Enlightenment”. We agree that on that basis, many of the newly acceded countries would not qualify. I also point out that it firmly excludes Turkey whose entry he wants. I am against Turkish membership because of the “three ‘toos’ ”. Turkey is “too poor; too populous; too Islamic!” .Christopher agrees that it was a mistake to promise Turkish membership provided it met conditions. And as Turkey flexes its muscles over the Kurds, the prospect of accession recedes.
Most people who worked at the BBC for any length of time find it hard to throw off its atmosphere completely. It can be an obsessive organisation which breeds obsessiveness about its past.
Sunday, November 4. To Richmond book festival for a discussion with the broadcaster and journalist, Jim Naughtie, organised by the publisher, Clive Bradley. Jim tells me two “Birtisms”. They meet in Downing Street. Jim to John Birt: “How are things going?” JB: “Marvellous. We’ve really got the government organised, the system is really working like clock work!” Jim: “But Blair and Brown can’t stand one another!” JB (dismissively):“ Ah, that’s just politics!”
Bob Phillis, Deputy Director General under Birt, told Jim the moment that broke him was when he wanted to get routine agreement from Birt on a document late one evening. Phillis rang JB from his car to tell him that he was going to OK it and was just keeping him in the loop. Birt: “ Please wait till tomorrow and we can let the Strategy Unit check it out!” Phillis protests that it is quite unnecessary. JB: “ You don’t understand. They’re my spine!” Phillis decided it was time to get out.
I reviewed David Hendy’s excellent history of BBC Radio Four for the Times Literary Supplement. There are some puzzles about the book. Why does it stop at 1997, a full decade ago? The answer reveals things both about the BBC today and the academic world.
Monday, November 5. Hendy said that the archives hardly exist after ‘97 and are still in BBC departments so are not accessible. Mark Damazer, a former Controller of Radio Four, says the University of Westminster would not count it as an academic work unless it was ALL based on written archives. Jean Seaton, the former historian of the BBC, says the book was hindered by the general BBC policy towards archives. During John Birt’s “Bonfire of the Archives” all departments had to sacrifice, ie destroy, ten percent of their records. Thereafter, no one took archives seriously. I was told that Archives – now run by BBC Marketing – tried to get Hendy to pay for each quote he used, literally thousands! Jean says that is because they regard each quote from a document as “like” a video clip that makes a fortune on YouTube! She is appalled when I tell them I had to pay £1,000 for the rights to use the transcripts of my Radio Three interviews with major arts figures for my book of transcripts “On Creativity”!
Hendy’s book itself confirms that the “ideologues” –Ian McIntyre, James Boyle, John Birt – get the worst results out of the BBC. The “pragmatists” get the delicate balance between continuity and change just right. There are some conspicuous heroes: Monica Sims, aided by Richard Wade, for standing up to “rolling news” and saving the “rich mix “ network; Liz Forgan for “fixing” rolling news on Radio Five and getting Hussey to back it. I suspect that Mark Damazer, the intellectual who never becomes the ideologue, and who creates intellectually challenging ideas, could go down as one of the great Controllers. The wise pragmatists know that the BBC often needs a kick up the bum. Those who believe that it needs psychological reconstruction are tragically off the argument.
Monday, November 12. To the French Embassy where the ambassador, Gerard Ereira awards Neil Macgregor the “Legion d’Honneur”. All French Ambassadors end up having caught the English trick of witty, self deprecation. Ereira tells the story of the French Ambassador who said to Lord Palmerston that had he not been born French, then he would have wanted to be born English. “Pam” thought for a while and then replied: “I feel exactly the same way”.
Neil is as witty, emphasising in the lightest way how important the Scottish\French part of him is. He looked up an ancient Larousse Encyclopaedia to see how it defined Scotland. ”A country that has come late to the table of civilisation”. (Sounds even better in French). On another occasion, he needed to get a historic French view of Australia. “Large landmass to the west of French Oceania!”
I could not avoid the 75th Anniversary of the foundation of the BBC World Service without having my say.
Wednesday, November 14. The “Financial Times” media editor, Raymond Snoddy and his producer interview me for a programme about the WS 75th anniversary. Much questioning about political pressure on BBC World Service but I explain that with the exception of Gulf War 1, when the Saudis kicked up, there was very little. On that occasion, I set up my own, reliable monitoring of the BBC Arabic Service, accused by the Saudis of being pro-Palestinian, pro-Saddam, and got a clean bill of health on every score. Beyond that, my conclusion was that the BBCWS had of course been essential under conditions of news restriction. But so-called “news abundance” was itself very unreliable, very variable, often very opinionated. BBCWS remained a benchmark of truth and accuracy even in conditions of so-called “news abundance”.
Claus Moser was one of the real “behind the scenes movers and shakers” of the national arts scene. A former government chief statistician, head of an Oxford college, fund raiser in chief for the British Museum, Claus knew everyone, everyone knew Claus. His 85th birthday deserved recognition and celebration.
Sunday, November 25. The big one, Claus Moser’s 85th bash in the Floral Hall at the Royal Opera. Imogen Cooper plays Schubert Impromptus with a new intensity and subtlety. Christopher Maltman sang seven songs from “Winterreise” beautifully but almost ruined by the pianist Graham Johnson doing his “Songmakers’ Almanack” type introductions in between every second song. He seemed to think the whole audience was made up of government economists and statisticians who needed educating. Victor Hochauser, grand old man of concert promoters, was very scathing: ”He’s no Gerald Moore!” Tho’ I do wonder what we would think of that doyen of accompanists, Gerald Moore, today given the wonderful range of musicians who play with singers? Lots of people though think Graham’s introductions are ”lovely”! They include the BBC Director General Mark Thompson. “Shouldn’t there be more like that on Radio Three” he asks? “NO!”I reply, “ But then I’m an old-style purist. ”You are”, says Mark. “I know I am!”
We were longtime fans of Barry Humphries, whose raucous “alter ego”, Dame Edna Everage plumbed new depths of calculated risqué taste and pioneered a kind of “comedy of cruelty” which most were too faint hearted to attempt.
Saturday, November 24. Evening to the music critic Charles` Osborne’s 80th birthday party in Kennington. Huge scrum in small terrace house. Barry Humphries gives graceful, witty speech, including forgiving Charles for being born in Brisbane. Tells the story of how he - BH – asked an old trouper how he always managed to come on stage for his matinee curtains with a smile on his face? “Very easy. You just say ‘silly cunts’! It works a treat!”
Perhaps the least productive form of arts funding is the well publicised “prize” always associated with the donor usually a major or corporate or bank. When I was invited to be a judge of one such award, of course I joined in.
Tuesday, November 27. I ”play games” at the City bank, Morgan Stanley, choosing three arts nominations for their “Great Britons” award. Have great pleasure in vetoing Tracey Emin, despite some objections from the Serpentine Gallery’s Julia Peyton-Jones; then Ian McEwan whose acclaimed novel ”Atonement” was really not good; and then I veto the Arts Council chairman, Christopher Frayling, which everyone else there was very happy for me to do! I lose the argument with Julia over Damien Hirst versus Antony Gormley. She insists that Hirst is huge internationally, as big as Warhol and he can’t be ignored. I think Antony is a classicist and a greater figure than the opportunist, modish Hirst. It’s only a game yet should it be?
Sometimes larger than life people turn out to be just that - larger than life. Annie and I had always relished that most deliberately mannered actor, Donald Sinden. There he was, in the flesh, at dinner.
Dinner with Angus and Morar Stirling in Ladbroke Grove, handsome house full with rather good Scottish painting. The actor Donald Sinden, there in best Garrick Club form, regaled to Annie: “Noone teaches diction these days. In the RSC, they have ghastly people called ‘language coaches’. They make you lie on the floor! The latest one is even worse than the one before. We were always taught ‘Consonants for clarity, vowels for EMOSHIUN! In the dressing room before going on stage ,you would say: ‘ Hip-baath, Hip-baath! Lava-tory, lava-tory! Beeday, beeday! DOUCHE!’ “ We shout it all the way home in the car.
Another landmark birthday party for a great figure in the national musical scene, William Lyne, former Wigmore Hall Director. A love fest from great musicians and loyal audience members.
Wednesday, November 28. Bill Lyne 75th birthday concert at Wigmore. The Austrian mezzo, Angelika Kirchschlager is heartbreaking in Schubert’s “Widmung” and ”die Nussbaum” and generally passim. The baritone, Christian Gerhaher has a heroic, tenorial voice which he uses very artistically. The counter-tenor, Andreas Scholl, bores (some of) us with his painfully extended English lute songs accompanied by an exhibitionist lutanist who bobs and weaves, lifts the lute high over his head, hides his head behind it, drapes his hair over it - dear God! Kirchschlager ends with Schubert’s “Standchen” backed by nine really beefy young British conservatoire male singers who back her beautifully even as they are ogling her!
When I was invited to give the degree day speech at the Laban Dance Centre in Deptford, I agreed because I admired the place and also wanted to see Michael Craig Martin’s interior designs for the building.
Thursday, December 7. Degree day at Laban in Deptford. The external skin glows from a distance with the internal lights from the wonderful Michael Craig-Martin decorated corridors and foyers projecting themselves onto the outside. For my speech, I find some juicy Merce Cunningham and William Forsythe quotes suitable for dancers about the total way that the body understands. There is “muscle memory” but there is also memory and understanding that affects the entire body. But what a clever fellow Michael Craig Martin is. In short order we have seen a restaurant and dance academy interior designed by him; each has its appropriate character realised from within his specific palettes and images.
Of all Britten’s operas, I find “Billy Budd” the most difficult, one that requires the greatest focus of listening and understanding. Any performance was eagerly sought out.
Sunday, December 9. Evening to the Barbican to hear the LSO’s all star “Billy Budd” led by Ian Bostridge. Singing fine but the conductor Daniel Harding lacks a true line through the music, no sense of the great sea swell, or of the impenetrability of the ”mist music” which seemed becalmed rather than profoundly mysterious. Ian Bostridge as the riven Captain “Starry” Vere sang beautifully of course but he is not a credible grizzled man of action turned philosopher. It is also very slow. The television documentary director, John Bridcut ( author of ”Britten’s Children”) says it is at least 8 mins behind Britten’s own timing. This evening it felt a good deal slower than that.
An extraordinary after dinner speech. The theatre director, intellectual and polymath, Jonathan Miller, in full flow in the gilded surroundings and among the golden treasures of Goldsmith’s Hall in the City of London.
Tuesday December 11. Lavish ceremonial dinner at Goldsmith’s Hall, hosted by the Prime Warden, Richard Himsworth, an old Trinity, Cambridge contemporary. He says the invitation to Annie and me is a “thank you” for the Barbican years. Generous that. The great opera director, Jonathan Miller, replies for the Guests. Beforehand, he tells Annie that he never gives short after dinner speeches; usually he conducts two hour seminars on theatre and opera! In the event, JM does a brilliant ten minutes about “die nachlebens des antik”; “the afterlife of the ancient”. What does this mean? Every work of art has a life after its original life when it is new. Thereafter, you cannot create the conditions under which it was first alive, new, fresh. It has reached, or started, its “afterlife”. How it then needs to be treated is the challenge facing interpreters of all kinds; but plain re-creation of how it was is not an option or a possibility.
Wagner’s “Parsifal” is always a test of understanding and comprehension. Who better to reveal the work than Bernard Haitink, the Royal Opera’s former music director.
Saturday December 15. Matinee of “Parsifal” at ROH, with Bernard Haitink in the pit. The house cheers him to the echo, lovely, thanks for great times in the past. He draws lustrous playing from the band, but very, very slow. It emphasises too that ”Parsifal” needs a strong production/staging for it to work. After all, the piece is about the agony of loss of faith. Of course, John Tomlinson as Gurnemanz is grizzled and great and Petra Lang is fiery and wonderfully on the note. Willard White shows himself as a real Wagnerian. Christopher Ventris is a decent Parsifal but when you think that the great Swedish tenor, Jussi Bjiorling, used to sing it, well, things ain’t getting better.
I left my position as Managing Director BBC World Service at the end of 1992. I had fought for its political and editorial independence with the government. Yet fifteen years later, I was still being called on to speak in its defence..
Wednesday, December 19. My “Sunday Telegraph” article on the BBC World Service at 75 – rather good I thought - has got the fish stirring. Will I do the “Today” programme on Wednesday? Of course. Do I like being the WS spokesman on its 75th – of course I do! Is this vanity? Yes, it is. On air, I use a phrase that others then pick up: “The WS is a defining institution for British identity” because no other country in the world has a government funded broadcaster which HAS to be independent of government.
Substack Episode 3 Oct to Dec 2007 2,803 words