An appeal for calm

As further allegations surface of sexual abuse at Britain's top music schools, it's becoming clear that we've only seen the beginning. It has taken the suicide of a fine violinist and mother of four to bring to light the scale of exploitation, mismanagement and cover-ups within the various establishments through which she was unlucky enough to pass. As a result, everything that contributed to the death of Frances Andrade is under scrutiny: the legal system that she felt accused her in court of lying, the police that allegedly advised her not to seek psychological help during the arduous two-year trial of Michael and Kay Brewer, and, of course, the educational institutions in which it all happened in the first place.

The wider domino effect began with the publication the other day of Martin Roscoe's correspondence with the then head of the Royal Northern College of Music, Edward Gregson (who has since retired), pertaining to the appointment of Malcolm Layfield as head of strings - an appointment over which Martin and some other professors in his keyboard department resigned their posts, after expressing concerns about the nature of the violinist's relationships with some of his students. It appears that the college was more eager to defend its decision than to retain the services of some of the best-respected pianists in the country.

Martin has now claimed that after he chose to make a stand over Malcolm Layfield's appointment, he was subjected to a vicious smear campaign against his own (unimpeachable) character that has had long-term repercussions on his health. "For the next 2 years I had panic attacks, agoraphobia, claustrophobia and heightened performance anxiety. I have been on medication for high blood pressure ever since," he has stated.

Expect more about this soon in The Guardian. It's a clasic case of "shoot the messenger" and, unbelievably, it has taken nearly 11 years for the truth to be publicly revealed, even though many of us could see exactly what was going on back in 2002.

Now ten women have come forward to allege that they suffered sexual abuse by yet another teacher at Chetham's around the same time, this time a violinist named Chris Ling. More on this here. Rumblings offstage suggest that there is yet more to come, involving other top music schools in the UK.

Amid this disgraceful state of things, people are inevitably asking: what is wrong with these musical establishments that such events could take place there?

I think that isn't quite the right question - at least, not completely. And while the inevitable witch-hunt commences - there'll be finger-pointing, hysteria, 'lists of shame' and so forth - we should appeal for calm and look beyond that at the underlying problems of culture, attitude and atmosphere if any of this is to be healed in the long term.

First of all, the combination of the intensive one-to-one relationship necessary between a music student and his/her teacher and a boarding situation in which the student is far from home and, in certain cases, in an isolated setting, is undoubtedly noxious. But the vital question is not only about ths music: it's about the boarding. After all, sexual abuse of the young and vulnerable is anything but confined to the music world.

Britain. as you know, is famous for its boarding schools. I can think of no other country in which the finest education is supposedly achieved in places which families pay through the nose for the privilege of sending their children away from home into the "care" of strangers. I don't need to remind you of the number of people at the top of British establishments of all kinds that have been through these places. When I was preparing the ground for Hungarian Dances, I decided, in order to give the heroine's husband a measure of verisimilitude, to interview a few people who'd been sent away to boarding school as young boys, in some cases aged only five. What was the worst thing about it, I asked. The sense of abandonment, entrapment, betrayal? "Being buggered," said my first interviewee, loud and clear. But this strand never quite made it into the book: apparently being buggered at boarding school is so common that to include it in a novel would be "a cliche".

But why are UK music schools, on the whole, boarding schools too? Other countries around Europe don't have this situation. We have very, very few music schools. In France there's a structured national system of local conservatoires. In Russia, local specialist music schools cater for gifted youngsters. Supposing Britain were to encourage more music schools, spread around the country to take in the local gifted children without necessitating boarding?

In a country where the boarding school culture is ingrained at the very top of society, along with other organisations that have been exposed for their cover-ups of sexual abuse, notably certain branches of the Catholic Church, it's perhaps no wonder that a sense of entitlement pervaded the decades of permissive atmospheres that preceded the advent of AIDS. It's about power; it's about corruption; it's about celebrity, adulation, talent, charisma, woolly ideals and structural failure.

There are no easy answers, of course.; only many, many questions to ask. And many of these remain about why the abusers were so often protected instead of the vulnerable young people around them, why some individuals at the RNCM - apparently fearing that its name would be "brought into disrepute" if the situation was discussed - preferred to exercise power over good sense. It's that other endemic matter in Britain: bad management. Beware those mealy-mouthed words "bring into disrepute" and "moving on" - they are often employed by organisations that are afraid of the former (rather than actually suffering it) and unable to do the latter. Several motivations are possible in such cases: a) headless chicken syndrome, where a management simply has no clue how to handle the situation; b) cover-ups and scapegoating that mask deeper, still more sinister issues; c) as Schiller wrote, "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain."

But it shouldn't take a death to make society listen. It shouldn't take a death to make us wonder why it is easier for establishments to accuse women of lying rather than to investigate properly. It shouldn't take a death to bring so much iniquity out of woodwork in which it's been gnawing away for the better part of 30 years. If Frances Andrade is not to have spoken and died in vain, we need to keep calm, ask the right questions and make sure it never, ever happens again.

The Guardian publishes Roscoe's correspondence with Gregson

Today the Guardian has published the correspondence between Martin Roscoe, Edward Gregson and other concerned parties - including Frances Andrade - pertaining to the appointment of Malcolm Layfield as Head of Strings in 2002. There are 45 pages. Please read.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/interactive/2013/feb/08/correspondence-appointment-malcolm-layfield-rncm

I will write something more about this shortly. (I'm still "on holiday", btw. If anyone wants to contact me, my phone isn't working here, but I'll be back on Tuesday.)

A hideous history with far-reaching implications

The British music world has been shaken to the core today by news that Frances Andrade, the violinist at the centre of the case against Michael Brewer, has died by her own hand after giving evidence in the trial. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/feb/08/sexual-abuse-victim-killed-herself-trial

Brewer and his wife have been found guilty of indecent assault. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/feb/08/choirmaster-ex-wife-guilty-abusing-student?intcmp=239

The Guardian has now revealed that this incident is the tip of an iceberg with far-reaching implications - one that will undoubtedly require further and ferocious investigation.

I refer you to this new report about a second teacher at Chetham's around the same time, an individual who subsequently won a very important post at the Royal Northern College of Music in 2002. He was appointed despite a number of individuals voicing serious concerns. Some, including the college's head of keyboard, Martin Roscoe, resigned in protest. Many of you will remember this all too well. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/feb/08/sexual-misconduct-teacher-chetham-school-music

More on the tragic history of Frances Andrade here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/feb/08/michael-brewer-victim-teacher-abuser?intcmp=239
and here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/feb/08/frances-andrade-force-creativity-violinist?intcmp=239

Trifonov signs with DG

I interrupt my Nile-side G&T after a day of basking by the pool intensive work on my novel to bring you the news that Daniil Trifonov, 21-year-old winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition and general piano marvel of the best kind, has been signed by DG.

Yes! They got him. Whatever were they waiting for? Recording contracts are few and far between, these days, and it's good to see a good one going to someone who really deserves it.

His first album for the Yellow Label is to be recorded TODAY: ie, it's his Carnegie Hall debut recital. The programme is the same one he performed in London in early December: the Scriabin Sonata No.2, the Liszt B minor Sonata and the Chopin 24 Preludes. Hopefully there will be no intrusive of the Fon by the Phone at the climax of the Liszt, though - unlike that memorable evening at the QEH. So if you're in NY and going to hear him, please remember: Trifonov...Try.Phone.Off.

Valentine, plus brief Vale

I'm pushing off for a week to work on my new novel, which needs this before it can go out into the big wide world. So I'll leave you with a Valentine's Day gift recommendation. Love Abide, a brand-new CD of choral pieces by Roxanna Panufnik, is not only pink and sunbursty in aspect, but also contains some truly gorgeous music.

Roxanna, in case you haven't come across her work before, is the daughter of Sir Andrzej Panufnik and was a student of Hans Werner Henze at the Royal Academy. She has developed a distinctive musical language drawing on bitonality and world music of many traditions and her choral music is in especially great demand. Love Abide is the latest in her series of idealistic multifaith projects, in this case bringing together settings of sacred love poetry from traditions Christian, Jewish, Zen, Sufi, etc: "Be certain in the religion of Love there are no believers or unbelievers. Love embraces all" - Rumi.

The CD is out this month on Warner Classics and there's more info here at the project's designated website.


The artist Mischa Giancovich has produced beautiful animations for two of the tracks. Above, the Zen Love Song, sung by VOCES8 with Kiku Day (jinashi-shakuhachi), conducted by Barnaby Smith.

Have a good week.