Dear Millers — the Hallé orchestra was described two years ago by The Times as “one of the world’s best orchestras”. But it wasn’t always the case. At the turn of the millennium, the orchestra was on the verge of bankruptcy, being kept alive only by emergency funds from Manchester city council.
The man who has been credited more than anyone else for the transformation since is Sir Mark Elder, who last month led the Hallé for the final time in Manchester (before a final performance at the BBC Proms later this month). For today’s piece, David Ward, former Northern correspondent for The Guardian and longtime associate of Elder, caught up with him for his exit interview.
But first, your Mill briefing.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Mill to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.