I have just received news of the death of the English composer David Bedford. He was 74.

His biggest impact was with the Mike Oldfield album that launched the Virgin label in 1973.  Bedford orchestrated and conducted the richer-sounding album that followed two years later.

He also worked with Elvis Costello, Keith Moon and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

But he was an assiduous composer of modernist and post-modern works, many of them underappreciated.

The Royal Opera House has announced the death of Alexander Grant.

One on Frederick Ashton’s favourite leads, he went on to head the National Ballet of Canada.

RIP

seen here with Nadia Nerina

Here’s my view, out today in Standpoint magazine.

The word at the bar is that all four of EMI’s rivals – Universal, Warner, Sony and BMG – will bid for the Citibank-owned label, along with billionaire investor Ronald Perelman, whose motives are rather more obscure.

The four biggies would break up the business and keep the juicy parts. Perelman may just want the juicy publishing part for itself, and discard the record bits.

But this may not be the full pack of cards. A Murdoch bid cannot be discounted and various disgruntled record executives are doing the rounds trying to engineer a buyout. They have until tomorrow morning, LA time, to make their move.

Here, to mark the day, is 10 minutes of Melvyn Bragg’s SBS television profile.

Note the clarity and literacy of Melvyn’s script. All too rare on telly, these days.

photos: (c) Betty Freeman/Lebrecht Music and Arts

And here, more recently, is Tommy Pearson’s filmed interview.

The visual arts and public enlightenment have been thrown out of Whitehall by the Hulture Secretary and put under the management of Arts Council England. There is no perceptible cost saving and not much change of personnel.

It just gives more power to the bumbling ACE and more misery to artists and readers. Here‘s the press release.

Jakob Hrusa is the new top man at the Royal Danish Opera. He starts work immediately and assumes the title of music director in September 2013.

A protégé of Jiri Belohlavek, Hrusa has earned his spurs at Glyndebourne as director of the touring opera.

He has just turned 30 and is going places, fast.

The Royal Danish Theatre website does not list a previous music director. The house is mired in a drugs scandal at its ballet company that the present administration has persistently refused to address.