Reinterpretations
Sir: As one member of the audience who, without having known exactly what to expect from this 'programme of reinter- pretations' nevertheless stayed to enjoy the Scratch Orchestra's concert 'Beethoven Today' at the Purcell Room, may I protest at the one-sided and misleading im- pression given by your music critic Gillian Widdicombe? Judging by the reactions of most of the audience, I was not alone in find- ing their unconventional approach both stimulating and entertaining. Far from being 'reduced to night- mare pulp and ramble', the `Pastoral' symphony was recreated in a way which deserved serious appraisal. It did not seem to me to be intended in a vicious or destructive spirit. It is rare enough to experience, as I 'did at this con- cert, the sheer exuberance of creative music-making.
Unfortunately your critic's vitu- peration at experiment and mind- less worship of a classic as some- thing fixed and untouchable, is far more commonplace.
Nicholas Dromgoole 90 Great Brownings, College Road, Dulwich, sE21
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