Shall I start with the expected and the obvious? I will! Thank you for the wonderful company we formed a few days ago at Bluhaus in Exarcheia Square, where we gathered to chat and get to know each other! Personally, I was delighted to see old friends and meet new ones who show an interest in music in Greece. And no, we didn’t argue about Tebaldi and Callas! The discussion covered many things, musical and otherwise, including the disappointments Panathinaikos has served us (again this year)…

The subject of today’s “Letter” troubled me. I had many options to choose from, and the selection was difficult. I chose to write to you about the closure of the Barbican in London in 2028, which will leave the legendary London Symphony Orchestra “homeless” for at least a year. Essentially, the works will begin in 2027 and are supposed to last until 2030 (a doubtful scenario, to be honest). Obviously, for the hall to close in 2028, the works will start around the perimeter and then extend to the main building.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been to the Barbican. I’ve heard some amazing concerts there, but the building always seemed — at best — uninspiring to me. Grey and utterly unattractive, with mediocre facilities but good acoustics (to be fair), it was a concert hall that didn’t meet modern standards. I’ve been there four times, and on two of those occasions, the doors were broken. Now it’s going for an upgrade. But what about one of the world’s best orchestras? It’s losing its home for at least a year and will be playing here and there. What does one do in such cases? It reminds me a bit of the difficulty this year’s (and subsequent) Athens Festival will face with the closure of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, but in Athens, we now have facilities that can adequately support classical music. Besides, the Odeon is 1900 years old, while the Barbican was inaugurated in 1982. Not to mention that concerts were only held there in the summer (and the seats are a bit uncomfortable, and the acoustics are a bit tricky…).

The main issue is that a leading orchestra is losing its primary venue for performing and rehearsing music! Reading various reports on the matter, it seems the decision was made somewhat hastily, as no solution had been found before the Barbican’s closure was decided. It appears things were handled more “Southern European” than British, from what I can tell. Unless, of course, no solution could be found, and the orchestra playing in various other halls was the only option. So, there will be congestion, as there are other orchestras that need to find their dates and play in London, plus all those that come during various tours.

Let’s hope it’s for the best… but the saying goes, “Big ships, big storms,” and it’s not wrong.

Merry Christmas to all!