Sanity In Music And Films Demanded

Chronicle (Levin), 22 June 1948, Page 5

Sanity In Music And Films Demanded

Received Monday, 7 p.m, LONDON, June 21. Tlie British music world and films have been subjects for direct criticism by Sir- Thomas Beecham and ,\l r Harold Wiisou, Bresident of the-Board. Sir Thomas has dedared that he is going to start a nation-wide campaign-L ' ' deadiy and unstoppalde ' ' — among English musicians, urging thepi to form an institution f ' to protoct music anu rcsusfitate some measure of sanity in 1 pfi+)]ie"thiirkiirg. "speeeh dast'ing an liour, iie deplored ihe practice of inslaJIing foreign musical executives in Urilisli institutions. "We put them everywliere and not a voice is raised, ' ' he said. "I know half a do/.en people who could do a danin siglit better than some who are niaking a mess of things. What, in God's name, is the use of us having all these colleges and academies if we cannot produce executive musicians of our own. If we can't staff our institutions with English musicians, close them down. ' ; Sir Thomas also revived - his campaign for nalional support of British opera. "Sixty years ago I found the English musical world in a state of anarchy, chaos and misery. Today it is worse than evcr, " he added. II e did not want subsidies for foreign operas but he did want to see a subsidy for English opera. When he saw the unfortunate products of British musical colleges and academies stryggling with the translation of foreign operas with voices lialf the power of their foreign rivals and redueed to an inaudilde point l»v "vile words" used to interpret the originals, he wondered what evervone was thinking about, "Covent (farden is the laughing 1 stockof the world and the present state of music is a blot on the escutcheon of our national music life," he -added. Mr. Wilson criticised British films' during a debate in the Commons and said of screen writers: "I think we are a little sick of some of the stuff thev have been turning out recently, I think we are especially tired of some gangster films and some of the sadistic 1 and psvchological films of which we. have seen too many — these films of diseased minds, of schixophrenia and amnesia. I would like our screen writers 'to get up to the North of England, vScotland and West Countrv and I would like them to go to parts of London which are not always so fre quentlv portrayed jn our films. They would then indeed be making films which could not be made any wliert; else in the world."