I have been following the rumpus over the Hilary and Jackie film with some
interest.

I ought to point out that I've neither read the book by Hilary and Piers
du Pre, nor have I yet seen the film based on that book.

However, I have been interested in the controversy because it has raised
wider issues that have concerned me for some time.

My love of classical music has been tempered for a long time by worrfies
and concerns regarding the cult of personalities within the classical music
business.  CD booklets, magazine covers, advertisements for concerts - all
display to some degree this obsession with the personalities of performers.

One refreshing thing about Naxos, when it burst on the scene, was its use
of previously unheard of performers.  The Naxos discs were - and largely
still are - promoted on the strength of the music, not the performers.
The booklets are usually carrying a piece of artwork on their covers, not
another image of a "genius" performer.

The world has had more than its fill of "geniuses", as our own bloody
century testifies.

The world of classical music has also been blighted by its array of
"geniuses".  Far too much store is set by standards of excellence,
whatever they might be.  When will someone celebrate mediocrity?

I get a great deal of pleasure from listening to my local amateur
orchestra.  I derive more pleasure from listening to them - split notes
on the horns and all - than I ususally do from hearing top proffesional
orchestras play.  The reason for this is that the local amateur orchestra
is rooted in the local community, and exists so that amateur musicians can
play for the love of their music and at the same time give something to
their local communities.

The Jacqueline du Pre cult was due for a corrective.  I don't know the
facts of the case (how can any outside of her immediate family know?),
but it is perfectly possible that Jacqueline du Pre was both (a) a gifted
cellist and (b) a manipulative and selfish woman.  The two categories are
not mutually exclusive.

What is clear is that making "saints" of "geniuses" is dangerous.
Musicians are more likely to have something to say to us when they
recognise what they have in common with us, rather than when they are
placed on a pedestal, enjoy a luxurious jet-set lifestyle separated from
the rest of humanity, etc.

Ian Foster
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