The weekend read: The slow death of a sacked NY arts director

James Hogg says:

Arthur Butterworth had a resounding success in 1959 when Barbirolli chose his 1st Symphony for a Prom performance by the Halle. The storm of applause with which it was greeted can be heard on a Dutton CD and shows how much the audience liked it.

In the intervening 55 years not a single Butterworth composition has been played at the Proms, despite his having written plenty of worthwhile music since that early success. His remarkable career began over 80 years ago when he joined his church band near Manchester, playing trumpet. He remained musically active into his 90s.

When I pointed out these facts to Roger Wright in a plea for a second Butterworth Prom appearance in well over 50 years I was met with stony indifference. No doubt Radio 3 will graciously “discover” Butterworth now that he’s dead, convincing itself that it has done him proud. The greatest crime at the BBC is to be out of fashion.