France has 6 new music directors, Britain two. Why is that?

The French open their season with fresh faces.

Marc Minkowski at Bordeaux, Mikko Franck (pictured) at Radio France, Michael Schønwandt at Montpellier, Douglas Boyd at Paris Chamber Orchestra, Rani Calderon at Nancy and Grant Llewellyn at Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne. Daniel Harding is soon to come at the Orchestre de Paris. That’s a sweeping set of changes.

Across the channel, meanwhile, no new hands on the baton – apart from Mark Wigglesworth at faltering English National Opera and Lars Vogt at the Royal Northern Sinfonia.

Birmingham and LSO both enter the season without a music director (though LSO knows who it’s getting in 2017).

There is a sense of stagnation in British music. It must not be allowed to turn into a stench.