Letter of the day: The classics don’t die

Geneva, January 3

Aren’t so-called “classical” musicians dying? One might believe it by reading the article entitled “The world is less cult without the Delon, Hardy, Blanc”, published in your edition of December 28 and 29. Indeed, no classical music artist has the honors of your census of the illustrious dead of 2024, apart from Hugues Gall who was, certainly, a brilliant director of the Grand Théâtre de Genève, but who was neither a singer nor a composer !

Your columnist, who is above all a movie buff, could have at least cited Wilhelmina Fernandez, the Diva of the film of the same name by Jean-Jacques Beinex, or the world-famous pianist Byron Janis, son-in-law of Gary Cooper! And wouldn’t the immense conductor Seiji Ozawa deserve a brief mention, as well as the piano legend Maurizio Pollini? And what about artists who have repeatedly enchanted Geneva music lovers like the contralto Ewa Podles, the conductor Andrew Davis, the composer Peter Eötvös and our national tenor Eric Tappy whom the greatest conductors have wished to conduct , starting with Ansermet, Karajan and Harnoncourt?

Ironically, in the editorial of today January 3, 2025, the interim editor-in-chief affirms that the “Tribune de Genève” is that of all opinions […] thanks to a team of independent journalists, listening to your enthusiasm, your anger and your questions. Apparently, “classical” music lovers have something to worry about when they incidentally learned that the excellent critic Rocco Zacheo, fortunately alive and well, has left the editorial staff! Oh, my dear Julie, be careful, your culture is slipping away (not to use a more vulgar expression)!

George Schurch

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