As Herreweghe is often mentioned on the list, I thought you might like to
know more about what a fine person he is.

I would like to applaud his recent venture in the small country town near
to where I live.  He is doing more for classical music than just delighting
the people who choose to buy tickets for his concerts.

He spent five days here and some rehearsals were open to the general
public.  He spent one whole afternoon with children, aged 8 to 10, from
five different schools, two in town, three in small country villages.  He
talked to the children about orchestras and about the different intruments
and different groups of instruments, all he said being clearly illustrated
by the musicians of his own Orchestre des Champs-Elysees.  This in itself
was good, but the best thing about it was that these children, knowing
of his visit, had enthusiastically studied and prepared for it with their
teachers for weeks, and were quite open to his very different rendering
of the New World Symphony, 4th mvt., performed for them at the end of the
afternoon.  He is a very approachable person, and from what I have heard,
the children were quite at ease with him and delighted.  Their enthusiasm
will go beyond this day.

In whatever domain, educating the children in an open, challenging, vital
manner can be the only way to prepare a better future.

And, yes, there was a concert.  The first part was Brahm's 2nd symphony.
The subtlety of Herreweghe's very personal interpretation with the Orch.
des Champs-Elysees on period instruments, might even have won over certain
members of the list - subtle in voice and colour and eminently Brahmsian -
no forced shades of Beethoven.

The second part was Dvorak's New World Symphony, music I thought I had
tired of.  But with Herreweghe, and his orch.  on period instruments, it
was a whole new world indeed - an exquisitely intricate, finely structured
performance.

Christine Labroche, impressed.