Sir, - The article "Symphonic Variations" (The Irish Times, February 13th) prompts me to write concerning the persistent negativity displayed by your music critic, Mr Dervan, towards the work of RTE's performing groups and their management. It seems that, almost on a weekly basis, his reviews of our concerts are at variance not just with the enthusiastic reaction of our audiences, whom he obviously assumes to be ignorant about music, but with reviews of other reputable critics.
In the past, in an attempt to reinforce his views, Mr Dervan has referred to poor attendances at the National Concert Hall. Perhaps he might now be interested to learn that over the past three years, under Kasper de Roo's principal conductorship, both attendances and revenue have consistently risen.
The negativity and begrudgery of the music critic of The Irish Times is something that is all too familiar to us in RTE and to the wider music community in Ireland. Not even on such an auspicious occasion as the golden jubilee of the foremost ensemble in the country, the National Symphony Orchestra, can he find it in himself to be positive or laudatory, let alone celebratory. Fortunately, it is quite obvious from our capacity houses this season, and from the warmth of the response at the jubilee gala, that Mr Dervan's particular personal tastes and prejudices are of no great interest or consequence to our audience.
It is a disappointment, however, that a journal as distinguished as The Irish Times should see it fit to take a similar approach in its Editorial of the same date. To postulate that RTE's sole patronage of orchestral music over most of the past 50 years has had a damaging effect on the development of "external orchestral competition" is just silly. Were it not for the very existence of RTE's two orchestras, how many professional musicians would there be here anyhow? Let whoever is willing to supply the several millions per annum to run a symphony orchestra get on with it.
Meanwhile RTE will continue to fund its two orchestras and other groups, to support opera in Dublin and Wexford and to allow its accomplished and talented musicians to perform in the various and many ensembles that, along with the National Symphony Orchestra and the RTE Concert Orchestra, form the basis of so much of our musical life. - Yours, etc., Kevin Healy,
Director of Public Affairs, RTE, Dublin 4.