I actually adore the whole Barbican complex from an aesthetic and architectural point of view. I always look forward to going there but we really do need a modern world-class concert hall with state of the art acoustics that will draw in the best performers to entertain classical regulars and tourists alike. With a range of proper restaurants, bars, cafes etc Rocket science it ain't.

All our London venues are 'historical' now and as much as we might appreciate them it's just embarrassing that we are so far behind the rest of Europe in this regard.

"Ever wondered why you sometimes hear Mozart and Bach blasting out of the speakers while you eat your Big Mac?"

Wonder no more.

www.mylondon.news/news/zone-1-news/canny-reason-mcdonalds-sometimes-plays-19422097.amp

Royal Albert Hall confirms £20.74m loan offer from Culture Recovery Fund
December 2020, By Craig Hassall, CEO

I am delighted that the Royal Albert Hall has been offered a £20.74m loan from the £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund announced in July – a desperately-needed lifeline from Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Arts Council England (ACE). 

As an independent charity, the Royal Albert Hall does not receive regular Arts Council England funding and we have not received one-off government grant funding to take us through this challenging year in which the Hall has foregone approximately £30m in income and additionally refunded £8.9m of tickets.

This Culture Recovery Fund loan, for which there is a four-year interest and repayment holiday, will enable us to repay the £5m Coronavirus Business Interruption Scheme (CBILS) loan we took in order to keep trading in November this year. It will also cover the net deficit we will see up until April 2021, and will allow us to restore our minimum reserves and operating finances to a level comparable to before the pandemic struck.

This loan is a lifeline, but we will not be able to recover from this seismic shock without the support of our audiences. I have been touched at the generosity and kindness of people who, during the pandemic, have donated the cost of their tickets instead of requesting refunds, who have renewed their Friends and Patron memberships, or who have contributed towards our fundraising efforts. Thank you. And thank you too to our Members, Honorary Fellows and partners who have stuck by us since we closed our doors on 17 March.

Out of adversity comes opportunity. So, while 2020 has undoubtedly been tough, we remain committed to Albert’s vision, which was always about ingenuity and thinking about doing things differently. This is not how we would have hoped to celebrate our 150th birthday, but I am determined that the Hall will rebuild stronger and even better than ever. Prince Albert envisioned this building as a place for the democratisation of ideas to share the inspiration of the arts and science. I imagine that today he would be championing sustainability, diversity and innovation. 

We know that the Hall will be needed more than ever after this period of upheaval and isolation; to bring people together, to change lives through music, to inspire and create moments of joy and togetherness. This £20.74m loan from the Culture Recovery Fund will help us to do all this once more.

Craig Hassall, CEO

I confess I've not heard of him.

The new issue of Gramophone features a certain JS Bach.

Must be interesting.

EDIT - It's actually a special edition.

From Doris Brendel, one of my Farcebook "friends".

Nice FT article on the most excellent Benjamin Grosvenor: 'the prodigy who lived up to his promise'

www.ft.com/content/76696e68-9635-4242-9d88-b5c065b7b1bf

Part of that "investment" was the promise of a new concert hall. Shortly before joining the LSO he told the BBC that London's concert halls were "not up to international standards." It was reported that the City of London Corporation's offer to build a new Centre for Music was a deciding factor in his taking up the LSO post.  That didn't happen, and he lives in Germany now, with his wife and three children, and he's the permanent guest conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic in neighbouring Austria.

He's also extending the contract he signed with the LSO for the extra year Jules mentioned, and will take up a lifetime role as Conductor Emeritus with them from 2023 onwards, so he's not exactly leaving them in the lurch

It sounds like a simple decision for a 66-year-old to make. 

It seems a shame that he wasn't able to head up a concert hall build as was promised as I believe he would have championed it well.

Whether you like him or not, he's a good figurehead for classical music but I agree that at his age he probably just wants a more peaceful life where his family lives.