Doris Howe says:

>Alas, for those of us on terrestrial TV who are restricted to what the BBC
>think we want to see.

The thorny issue of new technology has raised its head in the middle of
the musical debate.  Only the new, relatively unpublicized, digital BBC
stations have carried anything other than the final.  The final concerto
performance was at least carried on BBC2 (digital or analogue).  It really
is making the point that minority audiences will have to be prepared to pay
extra.

Anyway, back to musical issues:  Jennifer Pike won, playing the Mendelssohn
violin concerto.  There is no doubt she is a wonderful performer and a
prodigy.  We will hear a lot more of her in years to come, and I look
forward to hearing her in, say, a couple of years time doing the Sibelius.

But I cannot help feeling she did not have the absolute freedom of
expression that came with the maturity of Sarah Williamson - the most
staggering performance of the Copland clarinet concerto I have ever heard
- far more accurate than Goodman's and more flexible than Guyot's.  Even a
live performance by Gervase de Peyer many moons ago did not strike the same
sense of amusement, awe, joy, raunchiness ...

I won't comment on the dress though ...

CR