Page 55 - RPS Awards 2023 Coverage Book
P. 55

2 March 2023

               Live review – Royal Philharmonic


               Society Awards 2023 @ Queen



               Elizabeth Hall






























               From left: RPS Awards winners Anna Lapwood, Abel Selaocoe, Leeds Piano Trail, The Endz,
               Manchester Collective


               Queen Elizabeth Hall
               2 March 2023


               by Ben Hogwood
               Timing is everything in music – and as the attendees of the Royal Philharmonic Society
               Awards unanimously agreed, both the show and its message at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
               were just what classical music needed.


               As RPS chairman John Gilhooly emphasised in his no holds barred opening address, times
               in the industry are hard. Arts Council England have never been less connected with classical
               music than they are currently, looking past its versatility and potential to make increasingly
               bizarre funding decisions. All working in music are affected, from those starting out in
               education and learning their first instrument to those receiving music as therapy and
               stimulation for dementia and good mental health. Music, it is clear, should not be treated as
               a ‘nice to have’ extra. Rather, it is a galvanizing force bringing good into the lives of
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