BRITISH MUSIC

Grey River Argus, 1 March 1939, Page 10

BRITISH MUSIC

UNPOPULAR IN PLACES. RONDON, January 7. Mr Kenneth Wright, assistant-direc-tor of the 8.8. C., told the conference of the Society of Musicians in London, that we paid about £lO,OOO a year in performing rights for serious music to some eight or nine European countries. “For every pound that goes to those countries we receive back sixpence for rights on British works played in them,” he said. “We pay France £5OO a year for every £1 they pay us. We love French music and perform her works here, but they don’t seem to love ours. From Germany we receive £1 for every £75 i sent.” On the credit side Holland paid us four times as much each year as we paid them. Denmark paid one and a half times as much, Poland twice as much and for Italy the payments were equal. Sir Thomas Beecham, who presided, said France was looked upon almost as a hopeless case as far as the performance of British music was concerned. “We may find some consolation i.i this reflection,” he said, “that the French do not like the greater part of their own music and do not listen to it. Germany entertains the idea, even more firmly and consistently than France, that there is no music in the world but German music.” These countries looked upon the question very much as we did in regard to certain branches of literature and drama. It was quite impossible to get one of the masterpieces of Racine performed in England. We did not even listen to the bulk of our own great dramatists. The business of introducing English art to the Continent was very slow, but it appeared that, with the exception of France and Germany, we were on the up grade.