1 MAY 1976, Page 17

Disbelieving Sir: Like your contributor, Jeffrey Bernard, I found the

TV item in Omnibus concerning the composer Alkan rather odd. It was the first of April if you remeMber, and the broad smile on the face of the usually (faintly unnerving) Scandinavian-type interviewer, and the strange floor-level camera shots of the pianist led me to the conclusion that it was a belated All Fools' Day joke.

I do not believe that the musician Alkan ever existed. Admit it, BBC.

E. Roberts 73 Meeting Street, Quorn, Loughborough, Leicestershire