In 1991 John Drummond criticised Kennedy publicly, calling him "a Liberace for the nineties" and noting specifically his "ludicrous" clothes and "self-invented accent".
(meta data) TITLE: Kennedy hits back at arts elitism | UK news | The Guardian (meta data) AUTHOR: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/paulkelso (meta data) PUBLISHER: https://www.facebook.com/theguardian (meta data) PUBLISHED DATETIME: 2000-08-29T19:42:29-0400 Skip to main content The Guardian - Back to home Support The Guardian Available for everyone, funded by readers Search jobs Sign in current edition: US edition UK politics Northern Ireland UK news # Kennedy hits back at arts elitism Paul Kelso Tue 29 Aug 2000 19.42 EDT The slumbering debate surrounding elitism within classical music and the arts was reawakened yesterday when the violinist Nigel Kennedy accused Sir John Drummond, former head of the Edinburgh festival and BBC Radio 3, of cultural elitism and "the typical arrogance of a self-appointed guardian of the arts world". Mr Kennedy, a Brummie whose flamboyant clothes and haircuts, and unashamedly populist approach to symphonic work brought him enormous success and a public profile almost unprecedented among classical musicians, was responding to comments made last week by Sir John at the Edinburgh book festival. Speaking at the launch of his memoirs, Tainted by Experience, Sir John, 65, described Kennedy's clothes as "ludicrous" and mocked his accent as "self-invented". He criticised the government for dumbing down the arts and accused Tony Blair and his cabinet of philistinism and a fetish for dismissing anything that might be seen as elitist. "They [the government] know nothing about culture and they don't really care. You can tell what kind of a man the prime minister is by his choice on Desert Island Discs. Rock bands that have disappeared, Rule Britannia, and Ivanhoe - I suppose that was the last book he read," said Sir John. But in a letter to the Times, which last week serialised Sir John's memoirs, Mr Kennedy, 43, hit back. "Whatever pivotal positions Drummond may have held, his comments merely serve to demonstrate the typical arrogance of a self-appointed guardian of the arts world," he wrote. "For me, the cause of this dumbing down is a natural rebellion against the ill-informed classical music administrators who consciously encourage exclusivity, refusing to embrace those outside their spectacularly precious world. "However much people like Drummond might dismiss Vanessa-Mae, for instance, she has done more to enable people to listen to symphonic instruments than Drummond ever did." Mr Kennedy recalled Sir John's "pompous tirades" and recounts a performance of the Berg violin concerto, a work concerned with death, for which he wore a black cape. "I was possibly a little paler than usual and the deep red mark on my neck (a painful condition that most violinists who practise several hours a day suffer from) was also noticeable. Drummond took the opportunity to fume publicly over my vampire-like appearance. I never did learn what he thought of my performance or the depth of his own knowledge of the Berg." Sir Colin Davis, chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, declined to comment on the feud, but said: "It's a mistake to consider classical music in any form as elitist. Very few of the supremely gifted performers and composers who gave us this music were of any consequence at all... It isn't a question of elitism, rather it is one of intellect and imagination and zest for life. The elitism label gives it a class thing which it should not have." Culture clash: Violinist versus 'arrogant' Sir John Nigel Kennedy, 43  Educated at Yehudi Menuhin school  Debut at the Royal Festival hall with the Philharmonia Orchestra aged 21 in 1977  Once claimed Jimi Hendrix was as important as Mahler; sprayed his Jaguar car claret and blue, the colours of his beloved Aston Villa  His recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons sold 2m copies, prompting a stream of "personality" violinists, including Vanessa-Mae Sir John Drummond, 65  Educated at Canford school and Trinity college, Cambridge.  Joined BBC in 1958, rising to become assistant head of music and arts  Director of the Edinburgh international festival 1978-1983  Controller of Radio 3 1987-1992  Director of the Proms 1986-1995 UK news Nigel Kennedy Reuse this content
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Nigel Kennedy
Early life and musical career.:Image and controversies.
Kennedy's persona is seen by some as abrasive and limiting to his career. They cite as an example his use of a mockney accent instead of the received pronunciation he had when he was interviewed as a child in 1964 on the BBC's "Town and Around".