News just in from Holland that could be be an omen for the UK after the comprehensive spending slash in a couple of weeks. The Dutch government has proposed that the Muziekcentrum van de Omroep in Hilversum – better known as the Netherlands Broadcasting Music Centre – be closed down. If the Dutch parliament passes the motion, it would mean the closure of a symphony orchestra, a chamber orchestra, the world's largest pop and jazz orchestra and a library.
The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic is the Muziekcentrum's blue-riband ensemble: an orchestra with a proud history, a critically-lauded present and, with conductor Jaap van Zweden at the helm, what looked like a bright future. Their tour to Birmingham's Symphony Hall earlier this year brought plaudits in the papers and the realisation that there's much more to Dutch orchestral life than the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
The centre's Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic is one of the best in Holland as well, with Michael Schønwandt as its chief conductor and strong relationships with Franz Brüggen and James MacMillan. The Metropole Orchestra – the Netherlands' equivalent of the BBC Concert Orchestra – is also in fine fettle, as is the Netherlands Radio Choir.
The loss of these ensembles would be a massive bodyblow to Holland's classical scene, not to mention the hundreds of musicians and broadcasters who would lose their jobs, and would have a direct impact here as well. If you listen to Radio 3, you'll regularly hear all of these ensembles thanks to the links in place between Dutch radio and the Beeb. No longer, should they all disappear with a single stroke of a governmental pen.
If you're moved, you can sign a petition protesting at the planned cuts here because, as a baby-faced pseudo-economist once said, we're in this together ...
